CHAPTER TWENTY TWO.
OUR HERO IS SICK WITH THE SERVICE, BUT RECOVERS WITH PROPER MEDICINE--ANARGUMENT, ENDING, AS MOST DO, IN A BLOW UP--MESTY LECTURES UPONCRANIOLOGY.
The day after the funeral, H.M. ship _Aurora_ sailed for Malta, and onher arrival the acting captain sent our two midshipmen on board the_Harpy_ without any remark, except "victualled the day discharged," asthey had been borne on the ship's books as supernumeraries.
Mr James, who was acting in the _Aurora_, was anxious to join theadmiral at Toulon, and intended to sail the next day. He met CaptainWilson at the Governor's table, and stated that Jack and Gascoigne hadbeen put in irons by order of Captain Tartar; his suspicions, and thereport that the duel had in consequence taken place; but Gascoigne andJack had both agreed that they would not communicate the events of theircruise to anybody on board of the _Aurora_; and therefore nothing elsewas known, except that they must have made powerful friends somehow oranother; and there appeared in the conduct of Captain Tartar, as well asin the whole transaction, somewhat of a mystery.
"I should like to know what happened to my friend Jack, who fought theduel," said the Governor, who had laughed at it till he held his sides;"Wilson, do bring him here to-morrow morning, and let us have hisstory."
"I am afraid of encouraging him, Sir Thomas--he is much too wildalready. I told you of his first cruise. He has nothing butadventures, and they all end too favourably."
"Well, but you can send for him here and blow him up just as well as inyour own cabin, and then we will have the truth out of him."
"That you certainly will," replied Captain Wilson, "for he tells itplainly enough."
"Well, to oblige me, send for him--I don't see he was much to blame inabsconding, as it appears he thought he would be hung--I want to see thelad."
"Well, Governor, if you wish it," replied Captain Wilson, who wrote anote to Mr Sawbridge, requesting he would send Mr Easy to him at theGovernor's house at ten o'clock in the morning.
Jack made his appearance in his uniform--he did not much care for whatwas said to him, as he was resolved to leave the service. He had beenput in irons, and the iron had _entered into his soul_.
Mr Sawbridge had gone on shore about an hour before Jack had been senton board, and he had remained on shore all the night. He did nottherefore see Jack but for a few minutes, and thinking it his duty tosay nothing to him at first, or to express his displeasure, he merelyobserved to him that the captain would speak to him as soon as he cameon board. As Gascoigne and our hero did not know how far it might besafe, even at Malta, to acknowledge to what occurred on board thesperonare, which might get wind, they did not even tell their messmates,resolving only to confide it to the captain.
When Jack was ushered into the presence of the captain, he found himsitting with the Governor, and the breakfast on the table ready forthem. Jack walked in with courage, but respectfully. He was fond ofCaptain Wilson, and wished to show him respect. Captain Wilsonaddressed him, pointed out that he had committed a great error infighting a duel, a greater error in demeaning himself by fighting thepurser's steward, and still greater in running away from his ship. Jacklooked respectfully to Captain Wilson, acknowledged that he had donewrong, and promised to be more careful another time, if Captain Wilsonwould look over it.
"Captain Wilson, allow me to plead for the young gentleman," said theGovernor; "I am convinced that it has only been an error in judgment."
"Well, Mr Easy, as you express your contrition, and the Governorinterferes in your behalf, I shall take no more notice of this; butrecollect, Mr Easy, that you have occasioned me a great deal of anxietyby your mad pranks, and I trust another time you will remember that I amtoo anxious for your welfare not to be uncomfortable when you run suchrisks. You may now go on board to your duty, and tell Mr Gascoigne todo the same; and pray let us hear of no more duels or running away."
Jack, whose heart softened at this kind treatment, did not venture tospeak; he made his bow, and was about to quit the room, when theGovernor said:
"Mr Easy, you have not breakfasted."
"I have, sir," replied Jack, "before I came on shore."
"But a midshipman can always eat two breakfasts, particularly when hisown comes first--so sit down and breakfast with us--it's all over now."
"Even if it was not," replied Captain Wilson, laughing, "I doubt whetherit would spoil Mr Easy's breakfast;--come, Mr Easy, sit down."
Jack bowed, and took his chair, and proved that his lecture had nottaken away his appetite. When breakfast was over, Captain Wilsonobserved:
"Mr Easy, you have generally a few adventures to speak of when youreturn; will you tell the Governor and me what has taken place since youleft us."
"Certainly, sir," replied Jack; "but I venture to request that it may beunder the promise of secrecy, for it's rather important to me andGascoigne."
"Yes, if secrecy is really necessary, my boy; but I'm the best judge ofthat," replied the Governor.
Jack then entered into a detail of his adventures, which we have alreadydescribed, much to the astonishment of the Governor and his captain, andconcluded his narration by stating that he wanted to leave the service;he hoped that Captain Wilson would discharge him and send him home.
"Pooh, nonsense!" said the Governor, "you shan't leave the Mediterraneanwhile I am here. No, no; you must have more adventures, and come backand tell them to me. And recollect, my lad, that whenever you come toMalta, there is a bed at the Governor's house, and a seat at his table,always ready for you."
"You are very kind, Sir Thomas," replied Jack, "but--"
"No buts at all, sir--you shan't leave the service; besides, recollectthat I can ask for leave of absence for you to go and see Donna Agnes--ay, and send you there too."
Captain Wilson also remonstrated with our hero, and he gave up thepoint. It was harsh treatment which made him form the resolution, itwas kindness which overcame it.
"With your permission, Captain Wilson, Mr Easy shall dine with usto-day, and bring Gascoigne with him; you shall first scold him, andI'll console him with a good dinner--and, boy, don't be afraid to tellyour story everywhere: sit down and tell it at Nix Mangare stairs, ifyou please--I'm Governor here."
Jack made his obeisance, and departed.
"The lad must be treated kindly, Captain Wilson," said the Governor; "hewould be a loss to the service. Good heavens, what adventures! and howhonestly he tells everything. I shall ask him to stay with me for thetime you are here, if you will allow me: I want to make friends withhim; he must not leave the service."
Captain Wilson, who felt that kindness and attention would be moreeffectual with our hero than any other measures, gave his consent to theGovernor's proposition. So Jack ate at the Governor's table, and tooklessons in Spanish and Italian until the _Harpy_ had been refitted,after heaving down. Before she was ready a vessel arrived from thefleet, directing Captain Wilson to repair to Mahon, and send atransport, lying there, to procure live bullocks for the fleet. Jackdid not join his ship very willingly, but he had promised the Governorto remain in the service, and he went on board the evening before shesailed. He had been living so well that he had, at first, a horror ofmidshipman's fare, but a good appetite seasons everything, and Jack sooncomplained that there was not enough. He was delighted to see Jolliffeand Mesty after so long an absence; he laughed at the boatswain'scheeks, inquired after the purser's steward's shot-holes, shook handswith Gascoigne and his other mess-mates, gave Vigors a thrashing, andthen sat down to supper.
"Ah, Massa Easy, why you take a cruise without me?" said Mesty; "datvery shabby--by de power, but I wish I was there; you ab too muchdanger, Massa Easy, without Mesty, anyhow."
The next day the _Harpy_ sailed, and Jack went to his duty. Mr Asperborrowed ten pounds, and our hero kept as much watch as he pleased,which, as watching did not please him, was very little. Mr Sawbridgehad long conversations with our hero, pointing out to him the necessityof discipline and obedience in the service
, and that there was no suchthing as equality, and that the rights of man secured to every one theproperty which he held in possession. "According to your ideas, MrEasy, a man has no more right to his wife than anything else, and anyother man may claim her." Jack thought of Agnes, and he made matrimonyan exception, as he continued to argue the point; but although heargued, still his philosophy was almost upset at the idea of any onedisputing with him the rights of man, with respect to Agnes.
The _Harpy_ made the African coast, the wind continued contrary, andthey were baffled for many days; at last they espied a brig under theland, about sixteen miles off; her rig and appearance made CaptainWilson suspect that she was a privateer of some description or another,but it was calm, and they could not approach her. Nevertheless, CaptainWilson thought it his duty to examine her; so at ten o'clock at nightthe boats were hoisted out: as this was merely intended for areconnoitre, for there was no saying what she might be, Mr Sawbridgedid not go. Mr Asper was on the sick-list, so Mr Smallsole the masterhad the command of the expedition. Jack asked Mr Sawbridge to let himhave charge of one of the boats. Mr Jolliffe and Mr Vigors went inthe pinnace with the master. The gunner had the charge of one cutter,and our hero had the command of the other. Jack, although not much morethan seventeen, was very strong and tall for his age; indeed, he was aman grown, and shaved twice a week. His only object in going was tohave a yarn for the Governor when he returned to Malta. Mesty went withhim, and, as the boat shoved off, Gascoigne slipped in, telling Jackthat he was come to take care of him, for which considerate kindnessJack expressed his warmest thanks. The orders to the master were veryexplicit; he was to reconnoitre the vessel, and if she proved heavilyarmed not to attack, for she was embayed, and could not escape the_Harpy_ as soon as there was wind. If not armed he was to board her,but he was to do nothing till the morning: the reason for sending theboats away so soon was, that the men might not suffer from the heat ofthe sun during the day-time, which was excessive, and had already putmany men on the sick-list. The boats were to pull to the bottom of thebay, not to go so near as to be discovered, and then drop their grapnelstill daylight. The orders were given to Mr Smallsole in presence of,the other officers who were appointed to the boats, that there might beno mistake, and the boats then shoved off. After a three hours' pull,they arrived to where the brig lay becalmed, and as they saw no lightsmoving on board, they supposed they were not seen. They dropped theirgrapnels in about seven fathoms water and waited for daylight. WhenJack heard Captain Wilson's orders that they were to lie at anchor tilldaylight he had sent down Mesty for fishing-lines, as fresh fish isalways agreeable in a midshipman's berth: he and Gascoigne amusedthemselves this way, and as they pulled up the fish they entered into anargument, and Mr Smallsole ordered them to be silent. The point whichthey discussed was relative to boat service; Gascoigne insisted that theboats should all board at once--while our hero took it into his headthat it was better they should come up one after another; a novel idea,but Jack's ideas on most points were singular.
"If you throw your whole force upon the decks at once, you overpowerthem," observed Gascoigne; "if you do not, you are beaten in detail."
"Very true," replied Jack, "supposing that you have an overpoweringforce, or they are not prepared; but recollect, that if they are, thecase is altered; for instance, as to fire-arms--they fire theirs at thefirst boat, and they have not time to reload, when the second comes upwith its fire reserved; every fresh boat arriving adds to the courage ofthose who have boarded, and to the alarm of those who defend; the mencome on fresh and fresh. Depend upon it, Gascoigne, there is nothinglike a _corps de reserve_."
"Will you keep silence in your boat, Mr Easy, or will you not?" criedthe master; "you're a disgrace to the service, sir."
"Thank ye, sir," replied Jack, in a low tone. "I've another bite, Ned."
Jack and his comrade continued to fish in silence till the day broke.The mist rolled off the stagnant water, and discovered the brig, who, assoon as she perceived the boats, threw out the French tricolour andfired a gun of defiance. Mr Smallsole was undecided; the gun fired wasnot a heavy one, and so Mr Jolliffe remarked; the men, as usual,anxious for the attack, asserted the same, and Mr Smallsole, afraid ofretreating from the enemy, and being afterwards despised by the ship'scompany, ordered the boats to weigh their grapnels.
"Stop a moment, my lads," said Jack to his men, "I've got a bite." Themen laughed at Jack's taking it so easy, but he was their pet; and theydid stop for him to pull up his fish, intending to pull up to the otherboats and recover their loss of a few seconds.
"I've hooked him now," said Jack; "you may up with the grapnel while Iup with the fish." But this delay gave the other boats a start of adozen strokes of their oars, which was a distance not easy to beregained.
"They will be aboard before us, sir," said the coxswain.
"Never mind that," replied Jack; "some one must be last."
"But not the boat I am in," replied Gascoigne; "if I could help it."
"I tell you," replied Jack, "we shall be the _corps de reserve_, andhave the honour of turning the scale in our favour."
"Give way, my lads," cried Gascoigne, perceiving the other boats stillkept their distance ahead of them, which was about a cable's length.
"Gascoigne, I command the boat," said Jack, "and I do not wish my men toboard without any breath in their bodies--that's a very unwise plan. Asteady pull, my lads, and not too much exertion."
"By heavens, they'll take the vessel before we get alongside."
"Even if they should, I am right, am I not, Mesty?"
"Yes, Massa Easy, you are right--suppose they take vessel without you,they no want you--suppose they want you, you come." And the negro, whohad thrown his jacket off, bared his arm, as if he intended mischief.
The first cutter, commanded by the gunner, now gained upon the launch,and was three boats'-lengths ahead of her when she came alongside. Thebrig poured in her broadside--it was well directed, and down went theboat.
"Cutter's sunk," exclaimed Gascoigne, "by heavens! Give way, my men."
"Now, don't you observe, that had we all three been pulling up together,the broadside would have sunk us all?" said Jack, very composedly.
"There's board in the launch--give way, my men, give way," saidGascoigne, stamping with impatience.
The reception was evidently warm; by the time that the launch had pouredin her men, the second cutter was close under the brig's quarter--twomore strokes and she was alongside; when of a sudden a tremendousexplosion took place on the deck of the vessel, and bodies and fragmentswere hurled up in the air. So tremendous was the explosion, that themen of the second cutter, as if transfixed, simultaneously stoppedpulling, their eyes directed to the volumes of smoke which pouredthrough the ports, and hid the whole of the masts and rigging of thevessel.
"Now's your time, my lads, give way and alongside," cried our hero.
The men, reminded by his voice, obeyed--but the impetus already given tothe boat was sufficient. Before they could drop their oars in the waterthey grazed against the vessel's sides, and, following Jack, were in afew seconds on the quarter-deck of the vessel. A dreadful sightpresented itself--the whole deck was black, and corpses lay strewed;their clothes on them still burning, and among the bodies lay fragmentsof what once were men.
The capstern was unshipped and turned over on its side--the binnacleswere in remnants, and many of the ropes ignited. There was not oneperson left on deck to oppose them.
As they afterwards learned from some of the men who had saved theirlives by remaining below, the French captain had seen the boats beforethey anchored, and had made every preparation; he had filled a largeammunition chest with cartridges for the guns, that they might not haveto hand them up. The conflict between the men of the pinnace and thecrew of the vessel was carried on near the capstern, and a pistol firedhad accidentally communicated with the powder, which blew up in the verycentre of the dense and desperate struggle.
The first object was to draw water and extinguish the flames, which werespreading over the vessel; as soon as that was accomplished, our herowent aft to the taffrail, and looked for the cutter which had beensunk.--"Gascoigne, jump into the boat with four men--I see the cutterfloats a quarter of a mile astern: there may be some one alive yet. Ithink now I see a head or two."
Gascoigne hastened away, and soon returned with three of the cutter'smen; the rest had sunk, probably killed or wounded by the discharge ofthe broadside.
"Thank God, there's three saved!" said Jack, "for we have lost too many.We must now see if any of these poor fellows are yet alive, and clearthe decks of the remnants of those who have been blown to pieces. Isay, Ned, where should we have been if we had boarded with the pinnace?"
"You always fall upon your feet, Easy," replied Gascoigne; "but thatdoes not prove that you are right."
"I see there's no convincing you, Ned, you are so confoundedly fond ofargument. However, I've no time to argue now--we must look to thesepoor fellows; some are still alive."
Body after body was thrown through the ports, the habiliments, in mostcases, enabling them to distinguish whether it was that of a departedfriend or foe.
Jack turned round, and observed Mesty with his foot on a head which hadbeen blown from the trunk.
"What are you about, Mesty?"
"Massa Easy, I look at dis, and I tink it Massa Vigor's head, and den Itink dis skull of his enemy nice present make to little Massa Gossett;and den I tink again, and I say, no, he dead and nebber thrash anymore--so let him go overboard."
Jack turned away, forgiving Vigors in his heart, he thought of the pettyanimosities of a midshipman's berth, as he looked at the blackenedportion of a body, half an hour before possessing intellect.
"Massy Easy," said Mesty, "I tink you say right, anyhow, when you sayforgive: den, Massa Vigors," continued Mesty, taking up the head by thesinged hair, and tossing it out of the port, "you really very bad man--but Ashantee forgive you."
"Here's somebody alive," said Gascoigne to Jack, examining a body, theface of which was black as a cinder and not to be recognised, "and he isone of our men too, by his dress."
Our hero went up to examine, and to assist Gascoigne in disengaging thebody from a heap of ropes and half-burned tarpaulings with which it wasentangled. Mesty followed, and looking at the lower extremities said,"Massa Easy, dat Massa Jolliffe, I know him trousers; marine tailor sayhe patch um for ever, and so old dat de thread no hold; yesterday he haddis patch put in, and marine tailor say he damn if he patch any more,please nobody."
Mesty was right; it was poor Jolliffe, whose face was burned as black asa coal by the explosion. He had also lost three fingers of the lefthand, but as soon as he was brought out on the deck he appeared torecover, and pointed to his mouth for water, which was instantlyprocured.
"Mesty," said Jack, "I leave you in charge of Mr Jolliffe; take everycare of him till I can come back."
The investigation was then continued, and four English sailors found whomight be expected to recover, as well as about the same number ofFrenchmen; the remainder of the bodies were then thrown overboard. Thehat only of the master was picked up between the guns, and there werebut eleven Frenchmen found below.
The vessel was the _Franklin_, a French privateer, of ten guns andsixty-five men, of which eight men were away in prizes. The loss on thepart of the vessel was forty-six killed and wounded. On that of the_Harpy_, it was five drowned in the cutter, and eighteen blown upbelonging to the pinnace, out of which total of twenty-three, they hadonly Mr Jolliffe and five seamen alive.
"The _Harpy_ is standing in with a breeze from the offing," saidGascoigne to Easy.
"So much the better, for I am sick of this, Ned; there is something sohorrible in it, and I wish I was on board again. I have just been toJolliffe; he can speak a little; I think he will recover. I hope so,poor fellow; he will then obtain his promotion, for he is the commandingofficer of all us who are left."
"And if he does," replied Gascoigne, "he can swear that it was by havingbeen blown up which spoiled his beauty--but here comes the _Harpy_. Ihave been looking for an English ensign to hoist over the French, butcannot find one; so I hoist a wheft over it--that will do."
The _Harpy_ was soon hove-to close to the brig, and Jack went on boardin the cutter to report what had taken place. Captain Wilson was muchvexed and grieved at the loss of so many men: fresh hands were put inthe cutter to man the pinnace, and he and Sawbridge both went on boardto witness the horrible effects of the explosion as described by ourhero.
Jolliffe and the wounded men were taken on board, and all of themrecovered. We have before stated how disfigured the countenance of poorMr Jolliffe had been by the smallpox--so severely was it burned thatthe whole of the countenance came off in three weeks like a mask, andevery one declared that, seamed as it still was, Mr Jolliffe was betterlooking than he was before. It may be as well here to state that MrJolliffe not only obtained his promotion, but a pension for his wounds,and retired from the service. He was still very plain, but as it wasknown that he had been blown up, the loss of his eye as well as thescars on his face were all put down to the same accident, and he excitedinterest as a gallant and maimed officer. He married, and livedcontented and happy to a good old age.
The _Harpy_ proceeded with her prize to Mahon. Jack, as usual, obtaineda great deal of credit; whether he deserved it, or whether, as Gascoigneobserved, he always fell upon his feet, the reader may decide from ournarrative; perhaps there was a little of both. The seamen of the_Harpy_, if summoned in a hurry, used very often to reply, "Stop aminute, I've got a bite"--as for Jack, he often said to himself, "I havea famous good yarn for the Governor."