French and English: A Story of the Struggle in America

  Chapter 3: Mariners Of The Deep.

  "I must go! I must go!" shouted Colin, bursting into the house, madwith excitement and impetuosity.

  "My uncle, you will let me go! I must see this great and mightyfleet for myself. They say it is coming up the mighty river'smouth. Some say it will be wrecked ere it reach the Isle ofOrleans! Let me go and see it, I pray, and I will return and tellyou all."

  The whole city was in a ferment. For long weeks had the Englishfleet been watched and waited for--for so long, indeed, thatprovisions were already becoming a little scarce within the town,in spite of the convoy which had arrived earlier in the year. Somany mouths were there to feed that the question of supply wascausing anxiety already. Still with care there was enough to lastfor a considerable time. Only the delay of the English vessels hadupset the calculations of the men in charge of the commissariatdepartment, and the people had to be put upon rations, lest thereshould be a too quick consumption of the stores.

  This had caused a little murmuring and discontent, and the longwaiting had tried the citizens more than active work would havedone. It had given Montcalm time to fortify his camp very strongly,and make his position all that he desired; but it had been awearisome time to many, and the Canadian troops were alreadydiscontented, and wearying to get away from the life of the camp,back to their own homes and fields and farms.

  But now hot midsummer had come, and with it the. English foe. Afast-sailing sloop had brought word that the junction of thesquadrons was taking place just off Cape Tourmente, and Colin waswild to take boat and go to see the great ships.

  "They are saying that they must all be wrecked in trying tonavigate the Traverse," cried the boy; "but Peter and Paul andArthur laugh to scorn the notion, and say that we do not know whatsort of men the English mariners are. Some say that Admiral Durellhas already captured the pilots who live there, ready to take theFrench ships up and down. Let me go and learn what is happening.Let me take a boat, and take Peter and Paul and Arthur with me.They know how to manage one as well as any sailor in the town. Letus go, my uncle, and bring you word again."

  The boy was set on it; he could not be withheld. Moreover, the Abbeand Madame Drucour were keenly anxious for news.

  "Be careful, my boy, be cautious," he said; "run not into danger.But I think thou art safe upon the river with those lads. You willtake care of one another, and bring us word again what ishappening."

  "Oh, I will come back safe and sound, never fear for me!" answeredthe boy, in great delight. "We will bring you news, never fear! Wewill see all that is to be seen. Oh, I am glad the day of waitingis over, and that the day for fighting has come!"

  "Would that I were a boy like you, Colin!" cried Corinne, withsparkling eyes. "It is hard to be cooped up in the city when thereare such stirring things going on outside. But I will up to theheights and watch for the sight of sails; and you will come backsoon, Colin, and tell us all the news."

  Nevertheless it was a hard task for the eager girl to remain behindwhen her brother and their three merry friends went forth in searchof news.

  By this time the English midshipmen were quite at home in their newhome, and the blithest of companions for the brother and sisterthere. They did much to foster the sympathies of Colin and Corinnefor the English cause. The boys told of England and the life there,and were so full of enthusiasm for their country that it was almostimpossible not to catch something of the contagion of their mood.Both Colin and his sister had seen much to disgust and displeasethem amongst the French; whilst round their foes there seemed to bea sort of halo of romance and chivalry which appealed to theimaginative strain in both brother and sister.

  Their British blood could not fail to be stirred within them. Theysaw and heard of corruption, chicanery, and petty jealousy allround them here. It was hardly to be wondered at that they inclinedto the other side. England and Scotland were uniting together forthe conquest of this Western world. Their mother's countrymen werefighting the battle. They had the right to wish them success.

  Corinne rehearsed all this to herself as she stood upon the loftyheights behind the town that afternoon with her uncle and aunt.They were looking with anxiety and grave misgivings at theclustering sails dimly seen in the distance upon the shining waterof that vast estuary. Montcalm himself had come up to see, andstood with his telescope at his eye, watchful and grave.

  "We have made a mistake," he said to the Abbe in a low voice. "Idid speak to the Governor once; but he was against the measure, andwe permitted it to drop. But I can see now it was a mistake. Weshould have planted a battery--a strong one--upon Cape Tourmente,and bombarded the ships as they passed by. We trusted to thedangerous navigation of the Traverse, but we made a mistake:English sailors can go anywhere!"

  The Abbe made a sign of assent. He remembered now how the Generalhad made this suggestion to the Governor, and pressed it with someardour, but had been met with opposition at every point. Vaudreuilhad declared that it would weaken the town to bring out such aforce to a distant point; that they must concentrate all theirstrength around the city; that they would give the enemy the chanceof cutting their army in two. Montcalm had yielded the point. Therewas so much friction between him and the Governor that he had togive way where he could. Vaudreuil was always full of grand,swelling words, and boasts of his great deeds and devotion; but menwere beginning to note that when face to face with real peril helost his nerve and self confidence, and had to depend upon others.It was thus that he opposed Montcalm (of whose superior genius andpopularity he was bitterly jealous) at every turn when danger wasstill distant, but turned to him in a fluster of dismay when thehour of immediate peril had come, and had been made more perilousby his own lack of perception and forethought whilst things wereless imminent.

  "Yet look at our lines of defence!" he exclaimed, after he hadfinished all the survey he could make of the distant sails crowdedabout the Isle of Orleans. "Where could any army hope to land alongthis northern shore? Let them fire as they like from their ships;that will not hurt us. And we can answer back in a fashion thatmust soon silence them. The heights are ours; the town is safelyguarded. The summer is half spent already. Let us but keep them atbay for two months, and the storms of the equinox will do the rest.When September comes, then come the gales--and indeed they may helpus at any time in these treacherous waters. You mariners ofEngland, you are full of confidence and skill--I am the last todeny it--but the elements have proved stronger than you beforethis, and may do so again."

  Corinne listened to all this with a beating heart, and asked of heraunt:

  "What think you that they will first do--the English, I mean?"

  "Probably land and make a camp upon the Isle of Orleans, which hasbeen evacuated. A camp of some sort they must have, and can make itthere without damage to us. It will make a sort of basis ofoperations for them; but I think they will be sorely puzzled whatto do next. They cannot get near the city without exposingthemselves to a deadly fire which they cannot return--for gunsfired low from ships will not even touch our walls or ramparts--andany attempt along the shore by Beauport will be repulsed with heavyloss."

  "Yet they will do something, I am sure," spoke the girl, beneathher breath; and she was more sure still of this when upon themorrow Colin returned, all aglow with excitement and admiration,whilst the three midshipmen had much ado to restrain their whoopsof joy and triumph.

  "I never saw such a thing!" cried Colin, his face full of delightand enthusiasm, as he and the midshipmen got Corinne to themselves,and could talk unrestrainedly together; "I feel as though I couldnever take sides against the English again! If they are all suchmen as that old sailing master Killick, methinks the French havelittle chance against them."

  "Hurrah for old Killick! hurrah for England's sailors!" cried themidshipmen, as wildly excited as Colin himself; and Corinne pressedher hands together, and looked from one to the other, crying:

  "Oh tell me! what did he do?"

  "I'll tell you!" cried Colin. "You have heard them
speak of theTraverse, and what a difficult place it is to navigate?"

  "Yes: Monsieur de Montcalm was saying that no vessel ever venturedup or down without a pilot; but he said that a rumour had reachedhim that some pilots had been taken prisoners, and that the Englishships would get up with their help."

  "With or without!" cried Peter, tossing his cap into the air. "Asthough English sailors could not move without Frenchmen to helpthem!"

  "Some of them took pilots aboard; indeed they were sent to them,and had no choice. But I must not get confused, and confuse you,Corinne. I'll just tell you what we did ourselves.

  "We heard a great talk going on on board one of the transport boatscalled the Goodwill, which was almost in the van of the fleet, Isuppose because the old sailing master, Killick, was so good aseaman; and so they had sent a pilot out to her, and he wasjabbering away at a great rate--"

  "Just like all the Frenchies!" cut in Paul; "calling out that hewould never have acted pilot to an English ship except undercompulsion, and declaring that it was a dismal tale the survivorswould take to their own country--that Canada should be the grave ofthe whole army, and the St. Lawrence should bury beneath its wavesnine-tenths of the British ships, and that the walls of Quebecshould be lined with English scalps!"

  "The wretch!" cried Corinne. "I wonder the sailors did not throwhim overboard to find his own grave!"

  "I verily believe they would have done so, had it not been forstrict orders from the Admiral that the pilots were to be welltreated," answered Arthur. "Our English Admirals and officers areall like that: they will never have any advantage taken of helplessprisoners."

  "I know, I know!" answered Corinne quickly; "that is where theyteach the French such a lesson. But go on--tell me more. What aboutold Killick? and where were you all the while?"

  "Holding on to the side of the transport, where we could see andhear everything, and telling the sailors who were near about Quebecand what was going on there. But soon we were too much interestedin what was going on aboard to think of anything else.

  "Old Killick roared out after a bit, 'Has that confounded Frenchpilot done bragging yet?' And when somebody said he was ready toshow them the passage of the Traverse, he bawled out:

  "'What! d'ye think I'm going to take orders from a dog of aFrenchman, and aboard my own vessel, too? Get you to the helm, Jim,and mind you take no orders from anybody but me. If that Frenchmantries to speak, just rap him on the head with a rope's end to keephim quiet!'

  "And with that he rolled to the forecastle with his trumpet in hishand, and got the ship under way, bawling out his instructions tohis mate at the wheel, just as though he had been through the placeall his life!"

  "Had he ever been there before?" asked Corinne breathlessly.

  "No, never. I heard the commanding officer and some of thegentlemen on board asking him, and remonstrating; but it was nouse.

  "'Been through before! no, never,' he cried; 'but I'm going throughnow.'

  "Then they told him that not even a French vessel with anexperienced sailing master ever dared take the passage without apilot, even though he might know it well. Whereupon old Killickpatted the officer upon the back, and said, 'Ay, ay, my dear,that's right enough for them; but hang me if I don't show you allthat an Englishman shall go at ease where a Frenchman daren't showhis nose! Come along with me, my dear, and I'll show you thisdangerous passage.'

  "And he led him forward to the best place, giving his orders ascool and unconcerned as though he had been in the Thames itself.The vessel that followed, hearing what was going on, and beingafraid of falling into some peril herself, called out to know whothe rash sailing master was. 'I am old Killick!" roared back thebold old fellow himself, hearing the question, 'and that should beenough for you!'

  "And he turned his back, and went on laughing and joking with theofficer, and bawling out his orders with all the confidence of anexperienced pilot."

  "O Colin! And did he make no mistake? And what did the pilot say?"

  "Oh, he rolled up his eyes, and kept asking if they were sure theold fellow had never been there before; and when we had got throughthe great zigzag with never so much as the ghost of a misadventure,and the signalling boats pointed to the deeper water beyond, theold fellow only laughed, and said, 'Ay, ay, my dear, a terribledangerous navigation! Chalk it down, a terrible dangerousnavigation! If you don't make a sputter about it, you'll get nocredit in England!'

  "Then lounging away to his mate at the helm, he bid him give it tosomebody else; and walking off with him, he said, 'Hang me if thereare not a thousand places in the Thames fifty times worse thanthat. I'm ashamed that Englishmen should make such a rout aboutit!' And when his words were translated to the pilot, he raised hishands to heaven in mute protest, and evidently regarded old Killickas something not quite human."

  "Hurrah for the old sea dog! That's the kind of mariner we have,Mademoiselle Corinne; that's the way we rule the waves! Hurrah forbrave old Killick! We'll make as little of getting into Quebec ashe did of navigating the Traverse!"

  The story of the old captain's prowess ran through Quebec likelightning, and produced there a sensation of wonder not unmixedwith awe. If this was the spirit which animated the English fleet,what might not be the next move?

  It was quickly known that the redoubtable Wolfe had landed upon theIsle of Orleans, and was marching in a westerly direction towardsthe point three or four miles distant from the city where he wouldbe able to obtain a better view than heretofore of the nature ofthe task to which he was pledged.

  "Let him come," said the Marquis of Montcalm grimly; "let him havefrom thence a good view of our brave town and its defences!Perchance it will be a lesson to him, in his youthful pride. Hethinks he is a second Hannibal. It will cool his hot blood,perchance, to see the welcome we are prepared to accord to theinvaders of our soil."

  In effect there was another sort of welcome awaiting the Englishfleet; for upon the next day one of those violent squalls for whichthese northern waters are famous swept over the great river St.Lawrence, and in the town of Quebec there were rejoicing andtriumph.

  "Now let the British mariners look to themselves!" cried thepeople, shaking fists in the direction of the invisible fleet,which they knew was anchored off the south shore of the greatisland. "We shall soon see what they can do against one of ourCanadian tempests! Pray Heaven and all the saints that it may sinkevery one of them to the bottom, or grind them to pieces upon therocks!"

  "Pooh! not a bit of it," cried the midshipmen in contempt, though theywatched the storm with secret anxiety. "As though English-built vesselscould not ride out a capful of wind like this! See, it is clearing offalready! in an hour's time it will have subsided. As though our anchorswould not hold and our sailors keep their heads in such a little mocktempest as this!"

  Luckily for the English fleet, the squall was as brief as it wasviolent; nevertheless it did do considerable damage to the ships attheir anchorage, and flying rumours were brought in as to theamount of harm inflicted. Certainly some considerable damage hadbeen done, but nothing beyond repair. It had not daunted one whitthe hearts of the invading foe.

  Montcalm came into the city that evening, and supped with the Abbeand Madame Drucour. He was not without anxiety, and yet was calmand hopeful.

  "The tempest did not last long enough to serve our turn as wehoped. The Governor trusted it would have destroyed the wholefleet; but from what I can learn, nothing was really lost except afew of the flat-bottomed landing boats used in the disembarkationof the troops. The English are certainly notable sailors; but it iswith her soldiers that we shall have more directly to deal. Still,I wish we could have sunk her ships; it would have placed her onthe horns of a dilemma."

  "I have heard," said the Abbe, "that the Governor talks ofdestroying the fleet by fire. He has made considerable preparationfor such an attempt."

  Montcalm smiled slightly.

  "True; he has been busy with his fire ships for some while. For myown part, I have but limited fa
ith in them. They have cost us amillion, and I doubt whether they will prove of any service; yetVaudreuil is very confident."

  "The Governor is wont to be confident--till the moment of actualperil arrives," said the Abbe thoughtfully. "Well, we shall see--weshall see. When are these notable fire ships to be sent forth?"

  "I think tomorrow night," answered Montcalm, "but that is a matterwhich rests with the Governor. I have no concern in it; and whensuch is the case, I offer no advice and take no part in thearrangements. Doubtless I shall see what is going on from somevantage point; but Monsieur de Vaudreuil will not take counsel withme in the matter."

  "Fire ships!" cried the midshipmen, when Colin told them what hehad heard; "do they think to frighten English mariners withfireworks and bonfires? Good! let them try and see. And O Colin,good Colin, if they are going to send down fire ships upon thefleet, let us be there to see!"

  Colin desired nothing better himself. He was all agog to see thething through. And why should they not? It was not difficult toobtain a boat, and in the darkness and confusion the four ladswould easily be able to follow the fire ships and see the wholething through. The midshipmen could navigate a boat with anyone,and Colin had learned much of their skill. All day they were oftento be seen skimming about the basin of the St. Lawrence,prospecting about for news, and watching the movements of theEnglish soldiers on shore, or of the fleet anchored a few milesfarther off. They had only to steal away unnoticed, and take totheir boat before the excitement began, and they could follow thephantom ships upon their mysterious way, and watch the wholeattempt against the English fleet.

  "Ah, but take me," cried Corinne, when she heard thediscussion--"do take me! It is so hard to be a girl, and seenothing! I will not be in your way. I will not scream and cry, ordo anything like that. I only want to watch and see. I shall not beafraid. And I want so much to see something! I know I could slipaway without anyone's knowing or missing me. Only say you will takeme!"

  "Of course we will take you, Mademoiselle Corinne," cried Paul,with boyish gallantry; "why should you not see as well as we? Ihave a sister Margery at home who would be as wild to go as you canbe. She is as good as a boy any day. Wrap yourself well up in agreat cloak, so that you may keep warm, and so that nobody canguess we have a lady on board, and we will take care of you, neverfear!"

  Corinne clapped her hands gaily; although growing to maidenhood,she had the heart of a child, and was full of delight at thethought of anything that promised adventure and excitement.

  "How good you are! And pray call me not 'Mademoiselle' any more;call me Corinne--all of you. Let me be an English girl, and yoursister; for, in sooth, I feel more and more English every day of mylife. Sometimes I fear that I shall be hanged for a traitor to thecause; for I find myself on the side of our English rivals more andmore every day!"

  The compact thus sealed was easily carried out. The Abbe and hissister, Madame Drucour, were keenly interested in the attempt ofthe fire ships against the English fleet, and were to watchproceedings from the steeple of the Recollet Friars. The daylightlasted long now, and supper was over before the shadows began tofall; and the excited lads were able to wait till the seniors hadstarted forth before they made their own escape down to theharbour.

  Corinne wrapped herself in a long black cloak, drawing the hoodover her head, and thus disguising herself and her sex completelyfrom any prying eyes; but indeed they scarcely met anyone as theyhurried along through the narrow streets to the unfrequented wharf,where the boys had brought up the boat earlier in the day. Quicklythey were all aboard, and were gliding through the darkening water,whilst the crowd gathered at quite a different part of the harbourshowed where the launch of the fire ships was going on.

  Colin described them as well as he could.

  "There are three or four big ones, and Monsieur Delouche is incommand; and then there is a great fire raft, as they call it--alot of schooners, shallops, and such like, all chained together--aformidable-looking thing, for I got one of the sailors to show itme. I suppose they are all pretty much alike, crammed withexplosives and combustibles; old swivels and guns loaded up to themuzzle, grenades, and all sorts of things like that, some of theminvented for the occasion. We must give these fellows a wide berthwhen once they are set alight; for they will burn mightily, andshower lead and fire upon everything within reach. I only trustthey may not do fearful damage to the English ships!"

  "Not they!" cried Peter, with a fine contempt in his voice. "TheFrenchies are safe to make a muddle of it somewhere; and our boldjack tars won't be scared by noise and flame. You'll soon see thesort of welcome they will give these fiery messengers."

  The night darkened. There was no moon, and the faint wreaths ofvapour lay lightly upon the wide waste of waters. Corinne gazedabout her with a sense of fascination. She had never before been sofar out upon the river; and how strange and ghostlike it appearedin the silence of the night!

  Ten o'clock struck from the clocks in the town behind them, andColin turned back to look towards the harbour.

  "They were to start at ten," he remarked. "Let us lie to now andwatch for them. We must give them a wide berth, but not be too fardistant to see what they do."

  Corinne gazed, breathless with excitement, along the darkeningwater. The silence and increasing darkness seemed to weigh uponthem like a tangible oppression. They could hear their own excitedbreathing; and all started violently when Arthur's voice suddenlybroke the silence by exclaiming:

  "I see them! I see them--over yonder!"

  The boat in which the eager lads and equally eager girl were afloatwas drifting about not very far distant from the Point of Orleans,where were an English outpost and some English shipping, althoughthe main part of the fleet was some distance further on. Thewatchers expected that the ghostly ships, gliding upon their silentway, would pass this first shipping in silence and under cover ofthe darkness, and only begin to glow and fire when close to thelarger part of the hostile fleet. Yet as they watched the oncomingvessels through the murk of the night, they saw small tongues offlame beginning to flicker through the gloom, and run up the mastsand sails like live things; and all in a moment came a smotheredroar and a bright flashing flame which, for the few seconds itlasted, showed the whole fire fleet stealing onwards, and the boatsby which the crews of them were making good their escape.

  "They have fired them too soon!" cried Colin, in great excitement."I know they were not to have done it till they had passed thePoint and got well into the south channel, where all the shippinglies."

  "Hurrah!" cried Peter, waving his cap; "did we not say that theFrenchies would make a mess of it? They may be good for somethingon land; but at sea--"

  There was no hearing the end of the sentence; for with a roar likethat of a volcano in eruption one of the ships burst into a mass offlames, whilst the rest became lighted up by the glare, and weresoon adding to the conflagration--the fire racing up their mastsand rigging, and showing them against the black waters like vesselsof lambent flame.

  "How beautiful, yet how terrible!" cried Corinne, as she gazed withfascinated eyes. "But look--look--look--look how the water is tornup with the shower of lead that falls from them! Are they not likefiery dragons spouting out sheets of fire? Oh, and listen how theyhiss and roar! Are they not like live things? Oh, it is the mostterrible thing I have ever seen. How glad I am that they are notrunning amongst the English ships! They are beautiful, terriblecreatures; but I think they are doing no hurt to anything."

  "And look yonder!" cried Peter, pointing landwards in greatexcitement; "see those long red lines drawn up on shore! Those areour English soldiers, all ready to receive the foe should they seekto land under cover of this noise and smoke and confusion. Asthough our British grenadiers would be scared by false fire likeyon fireworks!"

  "And see, see again!" yelled Paul, still more excited--"see oursailors getting to their boats! They are going to row out andgrapple those flaming monsters. See if it be not so. They aredrifting down a little too near our f
ew ships. You will see now foryourself, Corinne, the stuff of which our mariners are made!"

  "Oh surely, surely they will not go near those terrible vessels!"cried Corinne.

  "Yes, but they will," cried Arthur, watching their movementskeenly; "oh, would I were with them to help! See, see! they aregetting their grappling irons into the boats. That means they aregoing to grapple these blazing ships, and tow them somewhere out ofharm's way. Hurrah for England and England's sailors! Now you willsee what our answer will be to these fiery messengers."

  Corinne clasped her hands in mute wonder and amaze as the boatsshot off from shore, bearing straight down upon the great fireraft--the most formidable of all the fleet--which was spoutingflame and lead, and blazing like a live volcano, roaring the whilelike a veritable wild beast, as though animated by a demon of fury.

  "They never can go near it; they will be burned alive!" cried thegirl, in affright.

  But the midshipmen watched the tactics of the boats with eyes fullof eager comprehension.

  "They will tackle it somehow, you will see," cried Peter. "See,they are getting round to the leeward of it, and they will lie offtill it has finished its most deadly spouting. But it is driftingdown upon the ships at anchor. They will never let it get amongstthem. You will see--you will see! O brave jack tars, show themettle you are made of in the eyes of all Quebec this night!"

  Corinne could scarcely bear to look, and yet she could not turn hereyes away. The English sailors, laughing and joking the while,swarmed round the fiery monster in their boats, singing out to oneanother, and at favourable moments flinging their grappling ironsand sheering off again.

  "All's well! all's well!" they kept calling out, as one afteranother they fixed their hold; then with united and manful effort,and with a sing-song sound which came rolling over the water withstrange effect, they commenced towing their blazing prize away fromthe ships she was nearing rather too threateningly, whilst greatshouts and rounds of cheering went up from those afloat and ashore.

  "Oh, well done, well done, brave men!" cried Corinne, roused to akeen enthusiasm; and in one of the pauses of the cheering, whensilence had fallen upon the spectators owing to a sudden viciousoutrush of flame, which seemed for a moment as though it mustoverwhelm the gallant English tars, a voice came from one of thetow boats, calling out to a companion in another:

  "I say, Jack, didst thou ever take hell in tow afore?"

  The monster raft, flaming and sputtering, together with the otherfire ships beyond, was coolly towed ashore by the intrepid sailors,and all were left to burn away harmlessly upon the strand, wherethey could hurt nothing; whilst peals of laughter and cheering wentup from the English camp.

  "Poor Monsieur de Vaudreuil!" exclaimed Colin, as he prepared tosail back to the dark city, "I wonder if he has seen the fate ofhis vaunted fire ships?"