"Ah, my friend! a stern chase is a long chase," observed Dubois, who saw me watching the stranger. "You are not going to rejoin your ship just yet."
"I have made up my mind to be content with whatever happens," I said.
"You are wise," answered Dubois. "It is the best thing under all circ.u.mstances."
Still I did not despair of being overtaken. Perhaps she might be the _Liffy_ herself, which had gone back to Jamaica, and was now returning to the south. We had a brisk breeze, though it did not increase, and the brig continued running on at her utmost speed. When I looked again, some time afterwards, it did not appear to me that the stranger had gained on us. The hours pa.s.sed slowly on; evening, however, at length approached, and I was afraid that during the night Dubois would alter the brig"s course, and that we should manage to escape. When I went below for our meals, I endeavoured to maintain as calm a countenance as I could, and to appear as cheerful as usual.
"You are a brave _garcon_," said Dubois, as we sat at supper. "We should be very sorry to lose your society, and I"ll endeavour to keep you on board as long as I can."
I thanked him, and said that I hoped to have the satisfaction of returning his courtesy, should the tables once more be turned. At last darkness came on, and our pursuer was lost to sight. As it was useless to remain on deck, I turned in, and Larry as usual followed me below.
Whether it was from the excitement I had gone through, or from having remained on deck all day, I cannot say; but I fell asleep immediately my head touched the pillow, and slept as soundly as a top. When I awoke, I saw by the dim light coming through the bull"s-eye that the day had broken, and I hurried on deck, anxious to know if our pursuer was still in sight Dubois and La Touche were there. I saluted them as usual.
They did not appear quite as cheerful as they did on the previous day.
The brig was still before the wind, with every st.i.tch of canvas she could carry set. On looking astern, there was our pursuer, though hull down, but considerably nearer than before.
"Do not be too sanguine that she will come up with us. When the breeze freshens, we shall again get away from her," said Dubois.
"It is of course what you wish, monsieur," I observed.
"I"ve been after dreaming, Mr Terence, that that craft is the _Liffy_, and that we were again on board her, as merry as crickets," said Larry, coming to my side.
"But dreams, they say, go by contraries," I answered. "It would have been better not to have dreamed that."
"Shure, thin, I wish that I had dreamed that we had run her out of sight," he answered.
Soon after the wind got up, and was soon blowing as freshly as on the day before. The Frenchmen"s spirits once more rose. Larry"s and mine fell. The big ship, however, continued about the same distance off; but as long as she did not gain on us, our captors did not mind. At length it seemed to me that we were actually drawing ahead. Perhaps we might be leading our pursuer further out of her course than she wished to go, and she would give up the chase. The Frenchmen, from their remarks, seemed to think so.
Mid-day arrived; an observation was taken. I found that we were in the lat.i.tude of the Virgin Islands, still a long way from Guadaloupe. When once among the islands, we should very easily escape during the night.
Dubois and La Touche were congratulating themselves, when the look-out aloft shouted, "Several sail in sight to the south-east!"
La Touche, immediately on hearing this, went to the masthead. I should have liked to have followed him, eager to know what they were. He said nothing till he came down. I then saw by the way he spoke to Dubois that he considered them to be enemies. After a short consultation the helm was put to starboard, and the brig headed more to the north; the yards were braced up, though the studding-sails were still set. In my eagerness to ascertain what the strangers were, I sprang aloft without waiting to ask leave of Dubois. He did not, however, call me down. As I got to the topgallant masthead I looked eagerly to the southward, and I made out what I took to be a large fleet standing to the eastward, while here and there ships were scattered about, which I took to be frigates. I had no doubt that Dubois concluded they were English, and had therefore no wish to run in among them. We had heard before we left Jamaica that Sir George Rodney was expected out to join Sir Samuel Hood, and I had little doubt but that the fleet in sight was that of either the one or the other of those admirals. Whether the brig would escape them or not was doubtful, and I expected every instant to see either a frigate or corvette coming in chase of us. Our other pursuer could not have seen the ships visible from our masthead, and would therefore not understand the reason for our change of course. Had it been earlier in the day, our capture by either one or the other would have been certain; but Dubois might now manage, by good seamanship, to slip between the two. The wind increased, and our starboard studding-sails were taken in; we carried those on our larboard side to the last. Having satisfied myself, I returned on deck.
"Do you know what those ships are away to the southward?" asked Dubois.
"Yes, monsieur, I believe them to be English," I answered. "And you expect them to catch us, do you?" he said.
"That depends on circ.u.mstances," I replied; "but I know your determination, and believe that you will make every effort to escape."
"You may be sure of that," he said, laughing. "See how I"m carrying on.
Many would have shortened sail before this."
I made no reply, but looked aloft. The brig was literally tearing through the water; the breeze was increasing; the sails were bulging out, every rope stretched out to its utmost tension; the studding-sails pulled and tugged as if eager to fly away. Presently there came a loud crack, and both studding-sail booms broke off close to the irons. The men attempted to get in the fluttering canvas.
"Cut! cut!" cried Dubois. "Let them go!"
The wind shifted a point or two, and we had to haul still more up. As I had been unable lately to look at the chart, I could not make out exactly for what place we were steering, but I could distinguish several blue hillocks rising out of the ocean, which I knew must be small islands, either the Virgin Islands or others in their neighbourhood. We were now steering due north. I again went aloft. The main body of the fleet was no longer in sight, but three or four white sails could be seen shining brightly in the rays of the setting sun far away astern, while our pursuer could still be distinguished over our larboard quarter, yet apparently no nearer than before. On returning on deck Dubois looked at me with a smile of satisfaction.
"We are not caught yet," he said. "But bear it patiently, my young friend. We all have our trials."
I made no reply, but walked to the other side of the deck. It was again night; the steward came and invited me down to supper, in which I joined Dubois, while La Touche remained on deck. He did not think fit to tell me what were his intentions, and though I should have liked to have known, I did not ask him. At last I turned in, and tried to go to sleep. I should not have minded hearing the brig go crash on sh.o.r.e, so vexed did I feel at the idea of her having escaped. Still I could not but admire the determination of the two young French officers, and again better feelings rose in my breast. At length I fell fast asleep. As I had no watch to keep, I slept on, as usual, until daylight streamed in through the bull"s-eye over my head, when, to my surprise, I heard the sound of the cable slipping out, and knew that the brig had come to an anchor. I dressed as speedily as I could, and went on deck. We were in a fine harbour with numerous vessels of all sizes and nations--Spanish, French, Dutch, and Danish (the latter predominating)--floating on its bosom, and among them a frigate, with the colours of England flying at her peak. I knew, therefore, that we were in a neutral port, for which Dubois had steered when he found he could not otherwise escape. On examining the frigate more narrowly, my heart gave a bound, for I felt almost sure that she was the _Liffy_, but as several vessels were between us I could not make her out very clearly.
Dubois, who had probably been on deck most of the night, had gone below; and La Touche was engaged in issuing his orders to the crew. I took care to conceal my feelings, and on speaking to Larry I found he had not suspected that the frigate was the _Liffy_. Still he might do so, and I told him that I believed her to be our ship, charging him on no account to exhibit his feelings.
"Shure, Mr Terence, that"s a hard matter," he exclaimed. "I half feel inclined to leap out of my skin and get aboard her."
"We must try to do that by some means or other," I said; "but how to accomplish it is the question. Even if Captain Macnamara knew that we were on board this brig, he could not come and take us by force."
"Why not, Mr Terence?" exclaimed Larry in surprise. "Shure if I see one of our boats pulling by, I"ll be after shouting at the top of my voice, to tell them we"re here, and to axe them to come and take us off.
Our captain"s not the man to desert us, nor Mr Saunders either; and as soon as they know that we"re prisoners, they"ll be after sending a couple of boats to release us; or maybe they"ll bring the frigate round, and blaze away at the brig till they sink her."
"That would be an unpleasant way of proceeding for us, at all events," I answered, laughing. "The reason they can"t take us by force is, that this is a neutral port, and all vessels in here must keep the peace towards each other; so that if Monsieur Dubois refuses to give us up, our captain can"t compel him. We must therefore manage to get away by ourselves if we are to be free."
"Thin, Mr Terence, that"s just what we will be after doing," said Larry, taking off his hat and scratching his head while he considered how the undertaking could be accomplished. "Couldn"t we just slip overboard at night and swim to the frigate? It wouldn"t be further than I have swum many a time in the Shannon."
"But the Shannon and this place are very different," I answered. "Jack Shark keeps as sharp a look-out here as he does in Port Royal harbour; and we may chance to have our legs nipped off before we can get up the side of the frigate."
"Shure, Mr Terence, thin I never thought of that," said Larry; "but maybe the officers will go on sh.o.r.e, and they don"t keep very strict watch aboard here, so I might just manage to slip a grating and a spar or two over the side, to make a raft; then we might paddle on it to the frigate."
"I don"t see any better plan than you propose," I answered; "though I would risk a swim and the chances of encountering a shark rather than not make the attempt to escape; for, even supposing the frigate on the other side of those merchantmen should not prove to be the _Liffy_, we should be welcome on board. It is of the greatest importance that the captain should know of the despatches the brig is carrying to Guadaloupe, so that a watch may be kept on her movements, and that she may be pursued and captured outside the harbour."
"Thin, Mr Terence, let me go alone; I"d have no difficulty in slipping overboard, and there"s less chance of my being missed," said Larry.
"When her captain knows that you"re aboard the brig, he"ll be after her in a jiffy."
"No, no, Larry; I can never let you go alone. Whatever we do, we"ll do together."
"That"s like you, Mr Terence. Just trust to me, thin; only do you be ready for a start directly it"s dark, and I"ll be keeping a look-out on deck for the chance of one of the _Liffy"s_ boats coming near, to let them know that we"re aboard."
Tantalising as it was to see the ship, as I supposed, to which I belonged within a short distance of me, and yet not be able to communicate with her, I felt that I could do nothing for the present, and that it was prudent not to be seen talking too much with Larry. I therefore told him to keep away from me during the day, unless he had something particular to say, while I went below again, to finish my toilet and wait for breakfast.
La Touche had been too busy to speak to me, and Dubois was still asleep.
I remained in my berth until the steward announced that breakfast was ready, when I met the two officers, who had just come below. They politely invited me to take a seat at the table.
"Well, you see, we have managed to escape your cruisers," said Dubois, as he poured me out a cup of coffee. "We have reason to congratulate ourselves, as we were very hard pressed."
"I must compliment you, monsieur, on your skilful seamanship," I said.
"I do so with sincerity, although I should have been very glad had you been caught. However, I am prepared to bear my disappointment philosophically. We have not yet reached Guadaloupe, and I don"t despair of regaining my liberty, though I conclude you"ll not consider yourself justified in letting me leave the brig?"
"For your sake I wish that we could," said La Touche; "but you are known to be on board, and we should have to account for you; so I"m afraid you must exercise the philosophy you speak of." Imitating the Frenchman, I shrugged my shoulders, as if I was perfectly resigned to my fate. I made no remark about the English frigate in the harbour, as the Frenchmen didn"t allude to her, though they could not have supposed that I was ignorant of her being there.
I saw that the brig was riding at single anchor and hove short, and I expected that Dubois was waiting for an opportunity of slipping out of the harbour before the frigate was prepared to follow him. That she would do so, should the brig be discovered to be an English vessel, a prize to the French, there could be no doubt, unless detained by some matter of more importance.
After breakfast we walked the deck for some time, and then Dubois ordered La Touche to take a boat and pull round the harbour.
"See as you pa.s.s yonder frigate there, how she"s riding," he said; "whether she appears to be ready to put to sea, and learn, if you can ascertain, what brought her in here. I wouldn"t have come in had I known that we should have found so unpleasant a neighbour."
"Do you know what frigate she is?" he asked, turning to me.
"As I can"t see her hull clearly, were I perfectly acquainted with her I should be unable to answer your questions, monsieur," I replied.