From Powder Monkey to Admiral: A Story of Naval Adventure

  CHAPTER SIX.

  TAKEN PRISONERS.

  Jack and Bill made themselves very useful in hauling the nets, andcleaning the fish when caught. Jack was well up to the work, and showedBill how to do it. Captain Turgot was highly pleased, and called them"bons garcons," and said he hoped that they would remain with him tillthe war was over, and as much longer as they liked. When the cutterreturned into the harbour to land her fish, Jack and Bill were sentbelow, so that the authorities might not see them and carry them off.Captain Turgot was much afraid of losing them. They were getting onfamously with their French, and Bill could chatter away already at agreat rate, though not in very good French, to be sure, for he made anumber of blunders, which afforded constant amusement to his companions,but Pierre was always ready to set him right.

  Jack made much slower progress. He could not, he said, twist his tongueabout sufficiently to get out the words, even when he remembered them.Some, he found, were wonderfully like English, and those he recollectedthe best, though, to be sure, they had different meanings. One day thecutter had stood out farther from the shore than usual, her nets beingdown, when, at daybreak, a strange sail was seen in the offing. Thecaptain, after taking one look at her, was convinced that she was anenemy.

  "Quick! quick! my sons," he shouted: "we must haul the nets and makesail, or we shall be caught by the English. They are brave people, butI have no wish to see the inside of one of their prisons."

  All hands worked away as if their lives depended on their exertions.Jack and Bill lent a hand as usual. They scarcely knew what to wish.Should the stranger prove to be an English ship, and come up with them,they would be restored to liberty; but, at the same time, they wouldfeel very sorry that their kind friends should lose their vessel and bemade prisoners; still, Jack wanted to let his mother know that he wasalive, and Bill wished to be on board a man-of-war again, fighting forOld England, and getting a foot or two up the ratlines.

  His ambition had been aroused by what the captain had said to him, andthe assistant master had observed, though he had spoken in joke, that hemight, some day or other, become an admiral.

  Bill had thought the subject over and over, till he began to fancy that,could he get another chance, the road to fame might be open to him. Theloss of the ship with the captain and officers seemed, to be sure, tohave overthrown all his hopes; but what had happened once might happenagain, and by attending to his duty, and keeping his eyes open, and hiswits awake, he might have another opportunity of distinguishing himself.

  No one could possibly have suspected what was passing in Bill's mind, ashe worked away as energetically as the rest in stowing the nets andmaking sail.

  The stranger was now made out to a certainty to be an English frigate,and a fast one, too, by the way she slipped through the water.

  The wind was from the south-east, and being thus partially off shore,would enable the frigate to stand in closer to the land than sheotherwise might have ventured to do. This greatly diminished thechances of the cutter's escape.

  Captain Turgot, however, like a brave man, did not tear his hair, orstamp, or swear, as Frenchmen are sometimes supposed to do, but, takingthe helm, set every sail his craft could carry, and did his best, bycareful steering, to keep to windward of the enemy.

  Could he once get into harbour he would be safe, unless the frigateshould send her boats in to cut his vessel out. The cutter possessed acouple of long sweeps. Should it fall calm, they would be of use; butat present the breeze was too strong to render them necessary.

  The crew kept looking astern to watch the progress made by theirpursuer, which was evidently coming up with them. What chance, indeed,had a little fishing craft with a dashing frigate?

  An idea occurred to Jack which had not struck Bill.

  "Suppose we are taken--and it looks to me as if we shall be beforelong--what will they say on board the frigate when they find us riggedout in fisherman's clothes? They will be thinking we are deserters, andwill be hanging us up at the yard-arm."

  "I hope it won't go so hard as that with us," answered Bill. "We cantell them that the Frenchmen took away our clothes, and rigged us out inthese, and we could not help ourselves."

  "But will they believe us?" asked Jack.

  On that point Bill acknowledged that there was some doubt; either way,he would be very sorry for Captain Turgot. One thing could be said,that neither their fears nor wishes would prevent the frigate fromcapturing the cutter. They looked upon that as a settled matter. Aslong, however, as there was a possibility of escaping, Captain Turgotresolved to persevere.

  Matters began to look serious, when a flash and wreath of smoke was seento issue from one of the bow guns of the frigate, and a shot camejumping over the water towards them. It did not reach them, however.

  "You must get nearer, monsieur, before you hurt us," said the captain,as he watched the shot fall into the water.

  Shortly afterwards another followed. It came close up to the cutter;but a miss is as good as a mile, and the little vessel was none theworse for it.

  Another shot, however, might produce a very different result.

  "I say, Bill, I don't quite like the look of things," observed Jack."Our skipper had better give in, or one of those shot will be comingaboard us, and carrying somebody's head off."

  "He doesn't look as if he had any thoughts of the sort," said Bill; "andas long as there is any chance of keeping ahead, he'll stand on."

  Soon after Bill had made this remark, another shot was fired from thefrigate, and passed alongside the cutter, falling some way ahead.

  Had it been better aimed, the effect might have been somewhatdisastrous. Still Captain Turgot kept at the helm.

  Some of the crew, however, began to cry out, and begged him to heave to.He pointed to the shore.

  "Do you want to see your wives and families again?" he asked. "Lookthere! How smooth the water is ahead. The wind is falling, and thefrigate will soon be becalmed. She'll not think it worth while to sendher boats after us. Come! out with the sweeps, and we shall soon drawout of shot of her. Look there! now her topsails are already flappingagainst the masts. Be of good courage, my sons!"

  Thus incited, the crew got out the sweeps.

  Jack and Bill helped them with as much apparent good-will as if they hadhad no wish to be on board the frigate.

  The little vessel felt the effects of the powerful sweeps, and, in spiteof the calm, continued to move ahead.

  Again and again the frigate fired at her, but she was a small object,and each shot missed.

  This encouraged the French crew, whose spirits rose as they saw theirchance of escaping increase.

  Farther and farther they got from the frigate, which, with theuncertainty from what quarter the wind would next blow, was afraid ofstanding closer in shore.

  By nightfall the cutter, by dint of hard rowing, had got safe intoharbour.

  When Dame Turgot and Jeannette heard what had occurred, they expressedtheir delight at seeing their young friends back.

  "We must not let you go to sea again, for it would be a sad thing tohear that you had been captured and shot for being deserters," saidJeannette.

  She had the same idea which had occurred to Jack.

  The English frigates were at this time so frequently seen off the coast,that Captain Turgot, who had several boats as well as the cutter,thought it prudent to confine his operations to inshore fishing, so asnot to run the risk of being captured.

  Jack and Bill sometimes went out with him, but, for some reason orother, he more generally left them at home.

  Pierre, who was a good swimmer, induced them to come down and bathe withhim in the morning, and gave them instruction in the art.

  Jack could already swim a little. Bill took to it at once, and beat himhollow; in a short time being able to perform all sorts of evolutions.He was soon so perfectly at home in the water, that he declared he feltable to swim across the Channel, if he could carry some food with him tosupport hi
mself on the way.

  Jack laughed at the idea, observing that "nobody ever had swum acrossthe Channel, and he did not believe that anybody ever would do so."

  Pierre advised Bill not to make the attempt.

  "No fear," said Jack. "He'll not go without me, and I am not going todrown myself if I can help it."

  Bill, however, often thought over the matter, and tried to devise someplan by which he and Jack might manage to get across. His plans came tonothing; and, indeed, the Channel where they were was much too wide tobe crossed except in a small vessel or in a large boat. Jack wasbeginning to speak French pretty well, and Bill was able to gabble awaywith considerable fluency, greatly to the delight of Jeannette, who washis usual instructress. He tried to teach her a little English inreturn, but she laughed at her own attempts, and declared that sheshould never be able to pronounce so break-jaw a language.

  Bill thought that she got on very well, but she seemed more anxious toteach him French than to learn English herself.

  Several weeks more passed by. Well treated as they were, still the boyshad a longing to return to England, though the opportunity of doing soappeared as far off as ever.

  They were in the house one afternoon, laughing and joking merrily withJeannette, while Dame Turgot was away at the neighbouring town tomarket, when the door opened, and she entered, with a look of alarm onher countenance.

  "Quick, quick, come here!" she said; and seizing them both by the arms,she dragged them into the little inner room.

  "Pull off your clothes and jump into bed!" she exclaimed. "Whatever youhear, don't move or speak, but pretend to be fast asleep."

  They obeyed her; and snatching up their jackets and trousers, shehurried from the room, locking the door behind her.

  She had just time to tumble their clothes into a chest, when a loudknocking was heard at the door. She opened it, and several soldiers,under the command of a sergeant, entered.

  The boys guessed who they were by their voices, and the noise they madewhen grounding their muskets.

  "Well, messieurs," said Dame Turgot, with perfect composure, "and whatdo you want here?"

  "We come in search of prisoners. It is reported that you have someconcealed in your house," said the sergeant.

  "Ma foi! that is a good joke! I conceal prisoners indeed!" exclaimedthe dame, laughing. "Pray who are these notable prisoners?"

  "That's for you to say. We only know that you have prisoners," answeredthe sergeant.

  "Then, if you will have it so, one may possibly be a general, and theother an admiral, and the sooner they are lodged in the Bastille, thebetter for the safety of France," answered the dame, laughing. "I am aloyal Frenchwoman, and can cry `Vive le Roi!' `Vive la France!' withall my heart."

  Jack and Bill, who had quaked at the thoughts of being made prisoners bythe soldiers, now began to have better hope of escaping.

  The sergeant, however, was not to be deceived by Dame Turgot's manner.

  "Come, come, I must search your house, notwithstanding. For thatpurpose I was sent, and I must perform my duty," he said; and he huntedround the room.

  "Now let us look into your room;" and the soldiers, entering, beganpoking about with their bayonets, running them under the bed, andthrough the bedding, in a way likely to kill anybody concealed.

  Jeannette's little room was visited and treated in the same manner.

  "And what's this room?" asked the sergeant, pointing to the boys' room.

  "That? That is a closet," answered the dame; "or if you like it, thegeneral and admiral are both there fast asleep, but I am unwilling todisturb them."

  She said this in a laughing tone, as if she were joking.

  "Well, open the door," said the sergeant, not expecting to find anybody.

  "But I tell you the door is locked. Who has got the key, I wonder?"said the dame.

  "Come, come, unlock the door, or we must force it open," said thesergeant, making as if he was about to prise it open with his bayonet.

  On this the dame pulled the key out of her pocket, and opening the door,exclaimed--

  "There in one bed you will find the general, and in the other theadmiral; or, without joking, they are two poor boys whom my good manpicked up at sea, and already they are more French than English."

  The sergeant, looking into the beds, discovered the boys.

  "Come, get up, mes garcons," he said; "you must come with me, whoeveryou are, and give an account of yourselves."

  Neither of the boys made any reply, deeming it wiser to keep silence.

  "Come along," he said; and he dragged first one, and then the other, outof bed.

  "Bring the boys' clothes," he added, turning to the dame, who quicklybrought their original suits.

  They soon dressed themselves, hanging their knives round their necks.

  "I told you the truth. You see who and what they are!" exclaimed thedame.

  Jeannette, too, pleaded eloquently on their behalf, but the sergeant wasunmoved.

  "All you say may be right, but I must take them," he answered. "Come--quick march!"

  He allowed them, however, to take an affectionate farewell of the dameand Jeannette, the latter bursting into tears as she saw them draggedoff by the soldiers.