From Powder Monkey to Admiral: A Story of Naval Adventure

  CHAPTER FIVE.

  PICKED UP BY A FISHING-VESSEL.

  After a time, Bill began to feel very hungry, and then he recollectedthat at dinner he had clapped a biscuit into his pocket. He felt forit. It was soaked through and through, and nearly turned into paste,but it served to stay his appetite, and to keep up his strength. Atlength he became somewhat drowsy, but he did his best to keep awake.Feeling about, he got hold of a piece of rope, with which he managed tosecure himself to the raft. Had he found it before, it would have savedhim much exertion.

  The feeling that there was now less risk of being washed away, made himnot so anxious as at first to withstand the strong desire which hadattacked him, and yielding to it, his eyes closed, and he dropped off tosleep.

  How long he had been in that state he could not tell, when he wasaroused by the sound of human voices. Opening his eyes, he found thatthe sun was shining down upon him, and looking round, he saw a smallvessel approaching. He soon made her out to be a fishing craft withfive people on board.

  They hailed him, but he was too weak to answer. He managed, however, towave one of his hands to show that he was alive.

  The fishing-vessel came on, and hove-to close to him. The sea hadconsiderably gone down. A boat was launched from her deck, and pulledup to the raft, with two men in her.

  They said something, but Bill could not understand them. One of them,as they got up alongside, sprang on to the raft, and casting off thelashings which held Bill to it, the next instant was safe in the boatwith him in his arms.

  The man having placed him in the stern-sheets, the boat quickly returnedto the cutter.

  Bill was lifted on board, and the boat was then hauled up again on thecutter's deck. His preservers, though rough-looking men, utteredexclamations in kind tones which assured Bill that he had fallen intogood hands. One of them then carried him down into the little cabin,and stripping off his wet clothes, placed him between the blankets in aberth on one side.

  In a few minutes the same man, who appeared to be the captain of thefishing-vessel, returned with a cup of hot coffee and some white bread.Stirring the coffee and blowing to cool it, he made signs to Bill thathe must drink some of it.

  This Bill very gladly did, and he then felt able to eat some of thebread, which seemed very sweet and nice. This greatly restored hisstrength.

  He wished, however, that he could answer the questions which the men putto him. He guessed that they were Frenchmen, but not a word of Frenchdid he know.

  At last another man came into the cabin.

  "You English boy?" asked the man.

  "Yes," said Bill.

  "Ship burn; blow up?" was the next question put to Bill, the speakershowing what he meant by suitable action.

  "Yes," said Bill, "and I am afraid all my shipmates are lost. Thoughyou are French, you won't send me to prison, I hope?"

  "Have no fear," answered the man, smiling; and turning round to hiscompanions, he explained what Bill had said. They smiled, and Billheard them say, "Pauvre garcon."

  "No! no! no! You sleep now, we take care of you," said the interpreter,whose knowledge of English was, however, somewhat limited.

  Bill felt a strong inclination to follow the advice given him. One ofthe men, bundling up his wet clothes, carried them to dry at the littlegalley fire forward. The rest went on deck, and Bill in another minutefell fast asleep. Where the cutter was going Bill could not tell. Hehad known her to be a fishing-vessel by seeing the nets on deck, and hehad guessed that she was French by the way in which the people on boardhad spoken. They had given evidence also that they intended to treathim kindly.

  Some hours must have passed away when Bill again awoke, feeling veryhungry. It was daylight, and he saw that his clothes were laid at thefoot of his berth.

  Finding that his strength had returned, he got up, and began dressinghimself. He had just finished when he saw that there was some one inthe opposite berth. "Perhaps the skipper was up all night, and hasturned in," thought Bill; but as he looked again, he saw that the headwas certainly not that of a man, but the face was turned away from him.

  His intention was to go on deck, to try and thank the French fishermen,as far as he was able, for saving his life, but before he did socuriosity prompted him to look again into the berth.

  What was his surprise and joy to recognise the features of his shipmate,Jack Peek! His face was very pale, but he was breathing, which showedthat he was alive. At all events, Bill thought that he would not awakehim, eager as he was to know how he had been saved.

  He went up on deck, hoping that the man who had spoken a few words ofEnglish might be able to tell him how Jack had been picked up. Onreaching the deck he found that the vessel was close in with the land.She was towing a shattered gig, which Bill recognised as one of thosebelonging to the _Foxhound_. He at once conjectured that Jack hadmanaged somehow or other to get into her.

  As soon as he appeared, the Frenchmen began talking to him, forgettingthat he was unable to understand them. As he made no reply, theyrecollected themselves, and began laughing at their own stupidity.

  One of them shouted down the fore-hatchway, and presently theinterpreter, as Bill called him, made his appearance.

  "Glad see you. All right now?" he said, in a tone of interrogation.

  "All right," said Bill, "but I want you to tell me how you happened tofind my shipmate Jack Peek;" and Bill pointed down into the cabin.

  "He, friend! not broder! no! We find him in boat, but he not say how hegot dere. Two oder men, but dey dead, so we heave dem overboard, andtake boat in tow," answered the man.

  Jack himself was probably not likely to be able to give any moreinformation than the Frenchman had done. Suddenly it struck his newfriends that Bill might be hungry, and the interpreter said to him, "Youwant manger," pointing to Bill's mouth.

  Bill understood him. "Yes, indeed I do; I am ready for anything you cangive me," he said.

  The fire was lighted, while a pot was put to boil on it, and, greatly toBill's satisfaction, in a few minutes one of the men, who acted as cook,poured the contents into a huge basin which was placed on the deck, andsmaller basins and wooden spoons were handed up from below.

  One man remaining at the helm, the remainder sat down and ladled thesoup into the smaller basins.

  Bill eagerly held out his.

  The mess, which consisted of fowl and pork and a variety of vegetables,smelt very tempting, and as soon as it was cool enough, Bill devoured itwith a good appetite.

  His friends asked him by signs if he would have any more.

  "Thank you," he answered, holding out his basin. "A spoonful or two;but we must not forget Jack Peek. When he awakes, he will be glad ofsome;" and he pointed into the cabin.

  The Frenchmen understood him, and made signs that they would keep somefor his friend, one of them patting him on the back and calling him "Bongarcon."

  Bill, after remaining some time on deck, again felt sleepy, and his headbegan to nod.

  The Frenchmen, seeing this, told him to go below. He gladly followedtheir advice, and descending into the cabin, lay down, and was once morefast asleep.

  The next time he awoke he found that the vessel was at anchor. He gotup, and looked into Jack's berth. Jack at that moment turned round, andopening his eyes, saw his shipmate.

  "Why, Bill, is it you!" he exclaimed. "I am main glad to see you; butwhere are we?--how did I come here? I thought that I was in thecaptain's gig with Tom Nokes and Dick Harbour. What has become of them?They were terribly hurt, poor fellows! though they managed to crawl onboard the gig."

  Bill told him what he had learned from the Frenchman.

  "They seem kind sort of fellows, and we have fallen into good hands," headded; "but what they're going to do with us is more than I can tell."

  Just then the captain of the fishing-vessel came below, and seeing thatJack was awake, he called out to one of the men to bring a basin of thesoup which had been kept for him.
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  While he was swallowing it, a man brought him his clothes, which hadbeen sent forward to dry. The captain then made signs to him to dress,as he intended taking them both on shore with him.

  Bill helped Jack, who was somewhat weak, to get on his clothes. Theythen went on deck.

  The vessel lay in a small harbour, protected by a reef of rocks from thesea. Near the shore were a number of cottages, and on one side of theharbour a line of cliffs running away to the eastward.

  Several other small vessels and open boats lay at anchor around.

  The captain, with the interpreter, whose name they found was Pierre, gotinto the boat, the latter telling the lads to come with them.

  They did as they were directed, sitting down in the stern-sheets, whilethe captain and Pierre took the oars and pulled towards the shore.

  It was now evening, and almost dark. They saw the lights shining in thewindows of several of the cottages.

  Pierre was a young man about nineteen or twenty, and, they fancied, mustbe the captain's son. They were right, they found, in theirconjectures.

  Pierre made them understand, in his broken language, that he had someshort time before been a prisoner in England, where he had been treatedvery kindly; but before he had time to learn much English, he had beenexchanged.

  This had made him anxious to show kindness to the young English lads.

  "Come along," said Pierre, as they reached the shore. "I show you myhouse, my mere, and my soeur. They take care of you; but mind! you notgo out till dey tell you, or de gendarmes take you to prison perhaps.Do not speak now till we get into de house."

  Bill and Jack followed their guide while the old man rowed back to thevessel.

  Pierre led them to a cottage a little distance from the shore, whichappeared to be somewhat larger than those they had passed. He openedthe door, telling them to come in with him, when he immediately againclosed it.

  A middle-aged woman and a young girl, in high white caps with flaps overthe shoulders, were seated spinning. They started up on seeing the twoyoung strangers, and began inquiring of Pierre who they were. Hisexplanation soon satisfied them, and jumping up, Madame Turgot andJeannette took their hands, and began pouring out in voluble languagetheir welcomes.

  "You say `Merci! merci!'" said Pierre, "which means `Thank you! thankyou!'"

  "Merci! merci!" said Jack and Bill.

  It was the first word of French they learned, and, as Jack observed,came in very convenient.

  What the mother and her daughter said they could not make out, but theyunderstood well enough that the French women intended to be kind.

  "You hungry?" asked Pierre.

  "Very," answered Jack.

  Pierre said something to his mother and sister, who at once set aboutspreading a cloth and placing eatables on the table--bread and cheese,and pickled fish, and some salad.

  "Merci! merci!" said Jack and Bill, as their hostess made signs to themto fall to. Pierre joined them, and in a short time Captain Turgothimself came in. He was as hospitably inclined as his wife anddaughter, and kept pressing the food upon the boys.

  "Merci! merci!" was their answer.

  At last Jeannette began to laugh, as if she thought it a good joke.

  Jack and Bill tried hard to understand what was said. Pierre observedthem listening, and did his best to explain.

  From him they learned that they must remain quiet in the house, or theymight be carried away as prisoners of war. He and his father wished tosave them from this, and intended, if they had the opportunity, enablingthem to get back to England.

  "But how will you manage that?" asked Bill.

  Pierre looked very knowing, and gave them to understand that smugglingvessels occasionally came into the harbour, and that they might easilyget on board one of them, and reach the English coast.

  "But we do not wish to get rid of you," said Pierre. "If you like toremain with us, you shall learn French, and become French boys; and youcan then go out and help us fish, and gain your livelihood."

  Pierre did not say this in as many words, but Jack and Bill agreed thatsuch was his meaning.

  "He's very kind," observed Bill; "but for my part, I should not wish tobecome a French boy; though I would not mind remaining for a while withthe French dame and her daughter, for they're both very kind, and weshall have a happy time of it."

  This was said a day or two after their arrival.

  Captain Turgot had fitted them up a couple of bunks in a small room inwhich Pierre slept, and they were both far more comfortable than theyhad ever been in their lives.

  Captain Turgot's cottage was far superior to that of Jack's father; andas for Bill, he had never before slept in so soft a bed. They had toremain in the house, however, all day; but Captain Turgot or Pierre tookthem out in the evening, when they could not be observed, to stretchtheir legs and get a little fresh air.

  They tried to make themselves useful by helping Madame Turgot, and theyrapidly picked up from her and her daughter a good amount of French, sothat in a short time they were able to converse, though in a curiousfashion, it must be owned.

  They soon got over their bashfulness, and asked the name of everythingthey saw, which Jeannette was always ready to tell them. Their attemptsat talking French afforded her vast amusement.

  Though kindly treated, they at length got tired of being shut up in thehouse, and were very well pleased when one day Captain Turgot broughtthem each a suit of clothes, and told them that he was going away tofish, and would take them with him.

  Next morning they went on board the cutter, and sail being soonafterwards made, she stood out of the harbour.