Chapter XLVI
O'Brien tells his crew that one Englishman is as good as three Frenchmenon salt water--They prove it--We fall in with an old acquaintance,although she could not be considered as a friend.
Our next cruise was on the coast of Guinea and Gulf of Mexico, where wewere running up and down for three months, without falling in withanything but West Indiamen bound to Demerara, Berbice, and Surinam, andoccasionally chasing a privateer; but in the light winds they were toofast for us. Still we were useful in protecting the trade, and O'Brienhad a letter of thanks from the merchants, and a handsome piece of plateupon his quitting the station. We had made sail for Barbadoes two days,and were within sight of the island of Trinidad, when we perceived sixsail on the lee-bow. We soon made them out to be three large ships andthree schooners; and immediately guessed, which afterwards proved to becorrect, that they were three privateers, with West India ships whichthey had captured. We made all sail, and at first the three privateersdid the same; but afterwards, having made out our force, and not likingto abandon their prizes, they resolved to fight. The West Indiamenhauled to the wind on the other tack, and the three privateers shortenedsail and awaited our coming. We beat to quarters, and when everythingwas ready, and we were within a mile of the enemy, who had now thrownout the tri-coloured flag, O'Brien ordered all the men aft on thequarter-deck, and addressed them: "Now, my men, you see that there arethree privateers, and you also see that there are three West Indiamen,which they have captured. As for the privateers, it's just a fair matchfor you one Englishman can always beat three Frenchmen. We must lick theprivateers for honour and glory, and we must re-capture the ships forprofit, because you'll all want some money when you get on shore again.So you've just half-a-dozen things to do, and then we'll pipe todinner."
This harangue suited the sailors very well, and they returned to theirguns. "Now, Peter," said O'Brien, "just call away the sail-trimmers fromthe guns, for I mean to fight these fellows under sail, andout-manoeuvre them, if I can. Tell Mr Webster I want to speak with him."
Mr Webster was the second lieutenant, a very steady, quiet young man,and a good officer.
"Mr Webster," said O'Brien, "remember that all the foremost guns must bevery much depressed. I prefer that the shot should strike the waterbefore it reaches them, rather than it should go over them. See thatyour screws are run up at once, and I will take care that no broadsideis thrown away. Starboard, Swinburne."
"Starboard it is, sir."
"Steady; so--that's right for the stern of the leeward vessel."
We were within two cable lengths of the privateers, who still remainedhove-to within half a cable's length of each other. They were very largeschooners, full of men, with their boarding netting triced up, andshowing a very good set of teeth: as it afterwards proved, one mountedsixteen, and the other two fourteen, guns.
"Now, my lads, over to the lee guns, and fire as they bear, when weround to. Hands by the lee head-braces, and jib-sheet, stretch along theweather braces. Quarter-master abaft, tend the boom-sheet. Port hard,Swinburne."
"Port it is, sir," replied Swinburne; and the brig rounded up on thewind, shooting up under the sterns of the two weathermost schooners, anddischarging the broadsides into them as the guns bore.
"Be smart and load, my lads, and stand by the same guns. Round in theweather head-braces. Peter, I don't want her to go about. Stand by tohaul over the boom-sheet, when she pays off. Swinburne, helm amidships."
By this time another broadside was poured into the schooner, who had notyet returned our fire, which, having foolishly remained hove to thewind, they could not do. The brig had now stern way, and O'Brien thenexecuted a very skilful manoeuvre: he shifted the helm, and made a sternboard, so as to back in between the two weather schooners and the one toleeward, bracing round at the same time on the other tack.
"Man both sides, my lads, and give them your broadsides as we pass."
The men stationed at the starboard guns flew over, and the other sidebeing again loaded, we exchanged broadsides with the leeward and one ofthe windward schooners, the brig continuing her stern way until wepassed ahead of them. By the time that we had re-loaded, the brig hadgathered headway, and again passed between the same two schooners,exchanging broadsides, and then passing astern of them.
"Capital, my lads--capital!" said O'Brien; "this is what I call goodfighting." And so it was; for O'Brien had given two raking broadsides,and four others, receiving only two in return, for the schooners werenot ready for us when we passed between them the last time.
The smoke had now rolled away to leeward, and we were able to see theeffect of our broadsides. The middle schooner had lost her main-boom,and appeared very much cut up in the hull. The schooner to leeward didnot appear to have suffered much; but they now perceived their error,and made sail. They had expected that we should have run in betweenthem, and fought broadside to broadside, by which means the weathermostschooner would have taken a raking position, while the others engaged usto windward and to leeward. Our own damages were trifling--two menslightly wounded, and one main shroud cut away. We ran about half a mileastern from them; then with both broadsides ready, we tacked, and foundthat, as we expected, we could weather the whole of them. This we did;O'Brien running the brig within biscuit-throw of the weather schooner,engaging him broadside to broadside, with the advantage that the othertwo could not fire a shot into us without standing a chance of strikingtheir consort. If he made more sail, so did we; if he shortened, so didwe; so as to keep our position with little variation. The schoonerfought well; but her metal was not to be compared with our thirty-twopound carronades, which ploughed up her sides at so short a distance,driving two ports into one. At last her foremast went by the board, andshe dropped astern. In the meantime the other schooners had both tacked,and were coming up under our stern to rake us, but the accident whichhappened to the one we had engaged left us at liberty. We knew that shecould not escape, so we tacked and engaged the other two, nearing themas fast as we could. The breeze now sprang up fast, and O'Brien put upthe helm and passed between them, giving them both a raking broadside ofgrape and cannister, which brought the sticks about their ears. Thissickened them; the smallest schooner, which had been the leewardmost atthe commencement of the action, made all sail on a wind. We clapped onthe royals to follow her, when we perceived that the other schooner,which had been in the middle, and whose main-boom we had shot away, hadput her helm up, and was crowding all sail before the wind. O'Brien thensaid, "Must not try for too much, or we shall lose all. Put her about,Peter, we must be content with the one that is left us."
We went about, and ranged up to the schooner which had lost herforemast; but she, finding that her consort had deserted her, hauleddown her colours just as we were about to pour in our broadside. Our mengave three cheers; and it was pleasant to see them all shaking handswith each other, congratulating and laughing at the successful result ofour action.
"Now, my lads, be smart;--we've done enough for honour, now for profit.Peter, take the two cutters full of men, and go on board of theschooner, while I get hold of the three West Indiamen. Rig somethingjury forward, and follow me."
In a minute the cutters were down and full of men. I took possession ofthe schooner, while the brig again tacked, and crowding all sail stoodafter the captured vessels. The schooner, which was the largest of thethree, was called the _Jean d' Arc_, mounting sixteen guns, and hadfifty-three men on board, the remainder being away in the prizes. Thecaptain was wounded very badly, and one officer killed. Out of hership's company, she had but eight killed and five wounded. They informedme, that they had sailed three months ago from St Pierre's, Martinique,and had fallen in with the other two privateers, and cruised in company,having taken nine West Indiamen since they had come out. "Pray," said Ito the officer who gave the information, "were you ever attacked byboats when you laid at St Pierre's?" He replied, yes; and that they hadbeaten them off. "Did you purchase these masts of an American?" Hereplied in the affirmative;
so that we had captured the very vessel, inattempting to cut out which, we had lost so many men.
We were all very glad of this, and Swinburne said, "Well, hang me if Ididn't think that I had seen that port-hole before; there it was that Iwrenched a pike out of one of the rascal's hands, who tried to stab me,and into that port-hole I fired at least a dozen muskets. Well, I'md----d glad we've got hold of the beggar at last."
We secured the prisoners below, and commenced putting the schooner inorder. In half an hour, we had completed our knotting and splicing, andhaving two of the carpenters with us, in an hour we had got up a smalljury mast forward, sufficient for the present. We lowered the mainsail,put try-sails on her, and stood after the brig, which was now close tothe prizes; but they separated, and it was not till dark that she hadpossession of two. The third was then hull down on the other tack, withthe brig in chase. We followed the brig, as did the two re-capturedvessels, and even with our jury up, we found that we could sail as fastas they. The next morning, we saw the brig hove-to, and about threemiles a-head, with the three vessels in her possession. We closed, and Iwent on board. Webster was put in charge of the privateer; and, afterlying-to for that day to send our prize-masters and men on board toremove the prisoners, we got up a proper jury-mast, and all made sailtogether for Barbadoes. On my return on board, I found that we had butone man and one boy killed and six wounded, which I was not aware of. Iforgot to say that the names of the other two privateers were _L'Etoile_and _La Madeleine_.
In a fortnight we arrived with all our prizes safe in Carlisle Bay,where we found the admiral, who had anchored but two days before. Ihardly need say that O'Brien was well received, and gained a great dealof credit for the action. I found several letters from my sister, thecontents of which gave me much pain. My father had been some months inIreland, and returned without gaining any information. My sister saidthat he was very unhappy, paid no attention to his clerical duties, andwould sit for days without speaking. That he was very much altered inhis appearance, and had grown thin and care-worn. "In short," said she"my dear Peter, I am afraid that he is fretting himself to death. Ofcourse, I am very lonely and melancholy. I cannot help reflecting uponwhat will be my situation if any accident should happen to my father.Accept my uncle's protection I will not; yet, how am I to live, for myfather has saved nothing? I have been very busy lately, trying toqualify myself for a governess, and practise the harp and piano forseveral hours every day. I shall be very, very glad when you come homeagain." I showed the letters to O'Brien, who read them with muchattention. I perceived the colour mount into his cheeks, when he readthose parts of her letters in which she mentioned his name, andexpressed her gratitude for his kindness towards me.
"Never mind, Peter," said O'Brien, returning me the letters; "to whom isit that I am indebted for my promotion, and this brig, but to you--andfor all the prize-money which I have made, and which, by the head of StPatrick, comes to a very dacent sum, but to you? Make yourself quiteeasy about your dear little sister. We'll club your prize-money and minetogether, and she shall marry a duke, if there is one in Englanddeserving her; and it's the French that shall furnish her dowry, as sureas the _Rattlesnake_ carries a tail."