"Give her a shot, Tom," said Nettleship. "We mustn"t let her lead us out of our course."
Tom and I hurried forward, and, training the gun ourselves, fired. The chase took no notice of the first shot, but we quickly again loaded, and managed to send a second plump on board her. To our satisfaction, she immediately rounded to, when we were soon up to her, we also heaving to to windward.
"You shall board her, Paddy," said Nettleship. "Take care to let the Frenchmen understand that it was fortunate for them we didn"t sink the brig."
Larry, Hoolan, and four other men, formed my boat"s crew, all of us of course being armed to the teeth. We found only ten men on board, three of whom were blacks, the rest French, under the command of a young French midshipman. He at once handed me his sword, with a polite bow.
As I understood French,--I forget if I before said so,--I learnt from him that the brig was, as we supposed, English; that she had been captured a week before by a French corvette; and that he was on his way to Saint Domingo. He looked a little downcast on losing his command, but shrugged his shoulders, and observed that it was "_la fortune de la guerre_." I requested him and five of his white crew to accompany me on board my ship. He replied that he was ready, and begged that he might be allowed to carry his traps with him.
"Certainly, monsieur," I replied; and he dived down below, as he said, to pack them up. As he was much longer in the cabin than I considered necessary, I grew impatient, and followed him. I found him talking to a person in bed in one of the side-berths.
"I ought, monsieur, to have told you that I have a brother aspirant, who is very ill; and I fear that it might cause his death were he to be removed. Your captain would be conferring a great favour on us both, were he to allow me to remain with him, as no one else is so well able to nurse him as I am."
"I"ll ask him," I said, looking at the sick youth, who certainly appeared very ill. I regret, however, that I cannot delay longer, so you must come with me.
"I"ll obey you, monsieur," said the midshipman; and exchanging a few more words with his sick companion, he followed me on deck.
Leaving Larry and two other men on board, I made three of the Frenchmen take their places in the boat, and returned to the _Soleil_ with the young Frenchman. I told Nettleship of the request he had made.
"I don"t like to refuse him, as what he says is no doubt true," said Nettleship; "but we must take care that he plays us no tricks."
"Then am I to tell him that he may return on board the brig?" I asked.
"Yes, you may take him with you, for I intend to send you in charge of the prize, as I can"t spare Tom; but Nash shall go with you,--you couldn"t have a better man;--and so with five hands, and the help of the blacks you speak of, and a couple of the Frenchmen, you"ll be able to work the vessel, and by keeping in our wake you"ll easily find your way to Port Royal." I was highly pleased at the confidence Nettleship placed in me, especially as Tom was not a bit jealous.
"Nettleship thinks that as I"m a little chap I shouldn"t inspire the same respect among the Frenchmen that you will," he said, as we shook hands before I went down the side.
The brig was the _Good Luck_, bound from Barbadoes to Halifax when she had been captured. The French midshipman, who was profuse in his expressions of grat.i.tude for being allowed to return to look after his sick messmate, told me that his name was La Touche.
As soon as the boat which had brought me on board had gone back to the _Soleil_ she made sail, and I followed in her wake. I at once mustered my crew. The two Frenchmen said that they were perfectly ready to do as their officer wished.
"I desire you, then, to obey monsieur, who is in command of this vessel," said La Touche.
"Certainly we will obey him," answered the Frenchmen, making flourishing bows.
The blacks, two of whom spoke English, said also that they were ready to obey me.
On looking at the men, I saw that not only Dan Hoolan, but two of the men who had been pressed with him, had also been sent; but then I had Ben and Larry, on whom I could thoroughly rely; and the others, while we kept close to the _Soleil_, would not venture to attempt any treachery.
In less than an hour the wind fell very light. I saw, notwithstanding this, by the way in which the brig slipped through the water, that she was remarkably fast for an English merchant vessel. This was satisfactory, as I felt sure that during the night I was not likely to fall behind the _Soleil_.
As the day drew on the wind fell altogether, and we lay becalmed at a short distance from each other. I divided my crew into two watches. I took one with Larry, two of our own crew, a Frenchman, and a black. Ben had charge of the other, with the remainder. I did not think it prudent to let La Touche take a watch, though he politely offered to do so. The night was excessively hot, and I felt more inclined to remain on deck than below. After La Touche and I had had supper, he said he would remain in the cabin to look after his sick friend. One of the Frenchmen acted as steward, and the other as cook. The former frequently came into the cabin to bring us our meals, and to take food to the sick midshipman.
I kept the first watch, and Ben relieved me at midnight, when I lay down on deck, on a mattress I had brought up from the cabin, under a small awning rigged near the after-part of the vessel. I had been asleep for a couple of hours or more, when I was awakened by feeling the vessel heel suddenly over.
"All hands on deck! Shorten sail!" shouted Ben in a l.u.s.ty voice.
I sprang to my feet. There was not a moment to lose. La Touche, who had been awakened at the same time, rushed up on deck, followed by another person, who appeared to be as active as any one. As rapidly as we could, we let fly the topgallant sheets, lowered the peak, and brailed up the foresail, while the helm was put up. The brig righted, fortunately not carrying away the masts, and off we flew before the wind. The Frenchmen and blacks behaved remarkably well, and ran aloft to reef the topsails, and stow the lighter sails, which were flapping loudly as they blew out with the wind.
The sky had become overcast; the scud flew rapidly along, just above our heads, as it seemed, while the spoon-drift, blown off from rising seas, covered the ocean with a sheet of white.
When all immediate danger was over, the stranger who had so mysteriously shown himself slipped down the companion ladder, and I was too busy to ask La Touche who he was. I naturally concluded that he was the sick midshipman La Touche had been so tenderly nursing.
As soon as we had got the brig to rights, I looked out for the _Soleil_ but could nowhere distinguish her. Had she borne up? or having shortened sail in time, was she still keeping her course? I hoped that the latter was the case, and resolved to attempt hauling to the wind, and steering for Port Royal. I told Ben of my intention, as he, I considered, was the best seaman among my crew.
"It will be as much as we can do, sir, if we could do it at all," he answered. "The brig is not particularly stiff, or she would not have heeled over as sharply as she did just now."
"The French officer knows better than we can what sail the brig will bear. I might ask his opinion," I remarked.
"Beg pardon, sir, but I would not ask him if I were you," said Ben.
"He"ll of course say, "Keep before the wind; but he won"t say that if we do we shall chance to run right into the midst of a Spanish or French fleet, or up to one of their cruisers, if so be this is only a pa.s.sing gale."
"I fear that it is not merely a pa.s.sing gale; but still, if we can keep the brig on a wind, we"ll try and do it," I said.
I gave the order to man the braces, waiting for an opportunity to put the helm down and bring the brig up to the wind. Scarcely was the order given, however, than a blast more furious than before struck the brig, and which, had I not delayed carrying out my intention, would either have hove her on her beam-ends or carried away the masts. On we flew before the wind, which was every moment increasing; while the seas rose higher and higher, and came roaring up around us. Even now we had more sail set than we could safely carry, and I at once ordered the hands aloft to furl the main-topsail, and to closely reef the fore-topsail.
Yet even when this was done, the brig flew on at a tremendous pace.
"To my mind, we"ve got old Harry Cane on board, sir," said Ben; "and the sooner we get our fore-topsail stowed the better, to save it from being blown out of the bolt ropes, and the less likely we shall be to lose the masts. If the foremast goes, the mainmast will be pretty sure to follow."
"You"re right, Ben," I answered, and I gave the order to furl the fore-topsail.
Ben and Larry led the way aloft, and most of our own men followed; but the two Frenchmen didn"t seem to like the look of things, and remained on deck. I ordered them up, but they stood holding on to the bulwarks without moving, and I had no power to compel them. My own men, however, were able to perform the operation without their aid, and at length, having stowed the sail, they came down on deck.
Even now the brig dashed on at a furious rate, while the sea, roaring up astern, threatened constantly to p.o.o.p her. Fortunately, we had plenty of sea-room, and unless the wind should suddenly shift round to the opposite quarter, as I knew it might do, I hoped that we should keep afloat till the hurricane had abated.
Consulting with Ben, I did everything he advised to secure the masts and spars.
When La Touche saw how we were employed, he went to the Frenchmen and blacks, and induced them to a.s.sist; indeed, without their help we could scarcely have done what was necessary.
As soon as we had finished all that was required, I went into the cabin, and asked La Touche to find me a chart, and calculating where we had been when the hurricane first struck us, I marked down as well as I could the course we had since run, that I might better be able to find my way back to Port Royal. I was not a very experienced navigator, still, having the exercise of my wits, I hoped to succeed, and I felt not a little proud at the thought that I must trust to my own resources.
I could not expect a.s.sistance from La Touche, and no one else on board, except the sick midshipman knew anything about navigation.
Expecting to follow close in the wake of the _Soleil_ I had not brought a quadrant with me, but I found one in the cabin, as well as a French nautical almanack; and I hoped, when the hurricane was over and the sky had cleared, to be able to use them.
La Touche had hitherto occupied the state-room, but supposing that I should turn him out, he had removed his things to a berth on the opposite side, close to that of his messmate.
Having placed the chart and quadrant with the almanack in what was now my cabin, I locked the door, and returned on deck.
The hurricane showed no signs of abating; but the brig, which was fortunately not fully laden, behaved beautifully, and literally bounded over the waves as she ran before the wind. The crew continued on deck, holding fast on to the stanchions, belaying-pins, and the rigging, to save themselves from being washed away; for every now and then a sea tumbled on board, and swept along the deck, sometimes over one quarter, sometimes over another, and frequently over the bows; but the hatches had been battened down, and no water got below.
"We shall do well, I hope, and carry the brig safely into Port Royal," I observed to La Touche.
He shrugged his shoulders, and answered--
"For your sake I may wish it, though I shall not be sorry if we fall in with one of our own cruisers before the voyage is ended."
"Very naturally; but should she appear, we will try our best to get away from her," I said, laughing.
At length daylight broke. A wild scene the ocean presented; the foaming seas dancing up on all sides, through which the brig was struggling onwards. It seemed to me that the wind was blowing stronger than ever, and I began to fear that we should be driven over towards the reefs and shoals upon the American coast before it had ceased. If so, shipwreck was almost certain, and the chance of saving our lives would be small indeed. Still I kept up my spirits, and took care not to express my fears to my shipmates.