"That"s the spirit that will put it down, ma"am," exclaimed Porpoise, enthusiastically. "When we sailors know that we have the prayers and good wishes of the ladies of England with us, we should very soon sweep all our enemies from the seas."
The rest of the party responded in most respects to these sentiments.
Hearty suggested that much might be hoped for from a wise and firm diplomacy, and by calmly waiting the course of events.
"No, no," answered Porpoise. "That"s what the people in parliament say, when they want to shelve a question. Do nothing, and let affairs take their own course. It"s a very easy way of doing nothing, but that is not like you, Mr Hearty. You would manage the matter in a very different way, I"m sure, if it was left to you."
"I should be very much puzzled if the question were left for me to decide it," said Hearty. "What do you think I should do?"
"Oh, I will soon tell you what you would do," replied Porpoise. "Why, you would look out for all the energetic, dashing officers you could find, and send them to the coast in command of as many fast steamers, and other small craft, with orders to overhaul every suspicious sail they could find on the coast. Then you would have a whacking big fleet in the Channel, and several others in different parts of the world. You would not forget to keep your coast defences in good order, and to have a compact well-disciplined army on sh.o.r.e, and a numerous trained militia, ready to call out at a moment"s notice. That"s what you and every other sensible man would do, Mr Hearty, and then I think we need have no fear that any one would causelessly attempt to molest us, or that we should be unable to make other nations keep their treaties with us."
"Bravo, Porpoise, bravo!" cried Hearty. "I wish that you were Prime Minister, or First Lord of the Admiralty, or Dictator, or something of that sort for a short time. I doubt not but that you would get things in prime order in a very short time."
While this conversation was going on, we were rapidly drawing in with the coast. Miss Mizen made two or three very masterly sketches, though the blue sea and water filled up the larger portion of the paper. The less there is in a subject the more does it exhibit a master"s talent if the picture is interesting.
A fresh breeze had been blowing all day, but towards evening the wind fell, and the cutter lay floating idly on the water. We were a.s.sembled after dinner as usual on deck, laughing, talking, yarn-spinning, and occasionally reading aloud, enjoying the moments to the full, and little dreaming of what a few short hours were to bring forth.
Evening was about to throw its dusky veil over the African sh.o.r.e. The idle flap of the mainsail showed us that there was a stark calm. A fish would occasionally leap out of the water, or the fin of some monster of the deep might be seen as it swam by in pursuit of prey, or a sea-bird would come swooping past to ascertain what strange craft had ventured into its haunts, ere it winged its way back to its roosting-place for the night, amid the crags of the neighbouring headland.
I was taking a turn on deck, when, as I looked over the side and measured our distance from the land, it appeared to me that, although the calm was so complete, we had considerably decreased our distance from it. Walking forward, I asked Snow if he had remarked any thing particular.
"Why, yes, sir; I was just going to speak to you or Mr Porpoise, about the matter," he answered. "I"ve been watching the land for an hour or more past, and it strikes me that there is a strong current, which sets in-sh.o.r.e to the westward hereabouts; it"s just the sort of thing, which, if we hadn"t found out in time, might have carried us much too close in on a dark night to be pleasant; as it is, if a breeze doesn"t spring up, and we continue to drift in, we must just get the boats out and tow her head off sh.o.r.e, so there"ll be no great harm come of that."
"You are right," said I; "there"s little doubt about it; I"ll mention the matter to Mr Porpoise, and he"ll approve of what you propose. But I do not think there"s any use in letting the ladies know, or they"ll be fancying all sorts of dreadful things--that they are going to be cast on sh.o.r.e, or eaten up by lions, or murdered by savages. I should not like to give them any uneasiness which can be helped."
I watched the old man"s countenance while I was speaking, to ascertain what he really thought about the matter. The truth was that I was not quite satisfied myself with our position. I had been along that coast some years before, looking into several of the ports; and I remembered that the Moors inhabiting the villages just above there, bore anything but a good character. I began to blame myself, when too late, for not having thought of this before. When the brig-of-war was with us, it mattered little; for no pirates would have ventured to come out to attack her: they would have known that she would have proved a dear bargain, even if they could ultimately have taken her, and very little value to them if taken, but with a yacht the case was different. We could not fail to appear a tempting prize, and easily won. Had we, however, been without ladies on board, we should, I expect, all have enjoyed the fun of showing the rascals that they had caught a Tartar, and am fully certain that we should have been able to render a good account of them.
I remember that these ideas crossed my mind as I walked the deck, waiting for an opportunity of speaking to Porpoise, who was still engaged in conversation with Mrs Mizen; then I burst into a fit of laughter at the thought of the ideal enemy I had so busily conjured up to fight with. Porpoise, who just then joined me, inquired the cause of my merriment.
"It suddenly occurred to me that we were off a somewhat ill-famed part of the coast, and I could not help fancying I saw half-a-dozen or more piratical row-boats come stealing out from under the cliffs there, with the intention of cutting our throats and rifling the vessel," I answered; "but of course it is a mere fancy. I never heard of an English yacht being attacked by pirates hereabouts, and it would be folly to make ourselves anxious about such a bugbear."
Now even while I was saying this I was not altogether satisfied in my own mind about the matter. If, as I before said, we had had only men on board, we might have fought to the last, and could only then have been killed; but should we be overpowered, the fate of the women committed to our charge would be too horrible to contemplate.
"I"m glad that you think there is no cause for apprehension," said I to Porpoise. "Still it might be as well to keep a sharp look-out during the night, and should a breeze spring up, to give the coast a more respectful offing."
"I"ll do that same," he answered. "I feel no inclination to turn in myself, so that should any of the natives of whom you are suspicious be inclined to visit us, they may not find us altogether unprepared."
The ladies soon after this retired to their cabin; we only then had an opportunity of mentioning the subject to Hearty. He rather laughed at the notion, but begged that he might be called when the fighting began.
After taking a few turns on deck, he also turned in, and Porpoise was left in charge of the deck. I, after a little time, went to my cabin; it seemed too ridiculous to lose my night"s rest for the sake of an idea. I had slept about a couple of hours, when I awoke by hearing the sound of Porpoise"s voice. He was standing directly over my skylight, which, on account of the heat of the weather, was kept off.
"Can you make any thing out, Snow?" he asked.
"I think I can now, sir. It seems to me that there are four or five dark spots on the water, just clear of the shadow of that headland in there," was the answer. "I can"t just make out what they are for certain."
I was on deck in a few seconds, with my night-gla.s.s at my eye pointed in the direction indicated.
"What think you of their being row-boats?" said I. "They look wonderfully like them."
"I can"t say that they are not," answered the old man. "They may be rocks just showing their heads above water. But what, if they are boats, can they be doing out there at this time of night?"
"Coming to pay us a visit, perhaps," I remarked. "We really should be prepared in case of accidents, Porpoise. By timely preparations we averted danger once before, when otherwise, in all probability, we should have had our throats cut. Do not let us be less wise on this occasion."
"Certainly not," said Porpoise; "and as discretion is the better part of valour, we will try and tow the cutter offsh.o.r.e. It will prolong the time till our visitors can overtake us, and will give us a better chance of having a breeze spring up. If we get that, we shall be able to laugh at any number of such fellows. They are only formidable when they can find a vessel becalmed. After all, I don"t say that those are pirates, and if it were not for the ladies on board, we would very quickly learn the truth of the case."
The thorough John Bull spoke out in these remarks. Porpoise did not at all like the idea of flying from an enemy under any circ.u.mstances, and as he had to do it, he wished to find every possible reason for so doing.
"Turn the hands up and get the boats out, Snow; we"ll see what towing will do," he continued. "You see that this current is setting us far too much in-sh.o.r.e, and, at all events, it is necessary to get a better offing before daybreak, lest no breeze should spring up in the morning to carry us back to the spot where Rullock was to find us."
Three boats were got into the water and manned forthwith; Porpoise, Hearty, Snow, and I, being the only people remaining on board. The crews gave way with a will, and the cutter soon began to slip through the water. She went along, probably, faster than the current was carrying her in an opposite direction. These arrangements being made, I took another scrutiny of the suspicious objects under the land. I had no longer any doubt in my mind that they were boats, and that they were pulling out to sea towards us. It was now time to call up Hearty. We had seen no necessity before this of making him unnecessarily anxious, and the noise of lowering the boats had not roused him; indeed, he would have slept through a hurricane, or while a dozen broadsides were being fired, I verily believe, if not called. He was brisk enough, however, when once roused up. As I expected, he was very anxious at the state of affairs.
"We were thoughtless and unwise to stand in so close to this sh.o.r.e," he remarked. "Brine, my friend, we must sink the cutter or blow her up rather than yield to those villains!"
He spoke with much emotion, and I could sincerely enter into his feelings. He did not utter a word of complaint against Porpoise or me, though I think he might have had some reason in blaming us for allowing the cutter to get into her present condition. He paced the deck with hurried steps, looking every now and then anxiously through the gla.s.s towards the objects we had observed, and then he would hail the boats.
"Give way, my lads--give way!" he shouted; "if any one knocks up, I"ll take his place."
Again he looked through his gla.s.s.
"Can they be rocks?" he exclaimed. "I seen no alteration in their appearance."
"I do, though, I am sorry to say," I answered. "They have got considerably more out of the shade of the land since I first saw them."
This became very evident after some time; nor could Hearty any longer doubt the fact. I counted five of them, largish boats (I suspected), each pulling some twenty oars or more, probably double-banked. Very likely each boat carried not much fewer than sixty men--fearful odds for the "Frolic" to contend with. The "Zebra" would not have found them altogether contemptible antagonists, if, as I said, my suspicions were correct as to their size. Still, I hoped that I might be mistaken; we could not be certain as to their object. They might be mere fishing-boats magnified by the obscurity, or coasters which had pulled out in the expectation of getting a breeze in the morning to carry them alongsh.o.r.e, or to get into some current which might set in the direction in which they wished to go. All these ideas I suggested to Hearty; still my original notion outweighed all others in my mind. Indeed I have always found it wisest to take the point of view which requires the most caution; precautions can, at the worst, only give a little trouble; the neglect of them may bring ruin and misery. On this principle I was most anxious to get as far as possible from the sh.o.r.e. No one was idle.
Happily the ladies slept on, so that we had not the additional pain at feeling that they were left in a state of anxiety. Porpoise took the helm; Snow went forward to direct the boats how to pull; while Hearty and I busied ourselves in getting out the arms, arranging the ammunition, loading the guns, and muskets, and pistols; indeed, in making every preparation for a desperate struggle. The boats came on very warily. I suspected that we had been seen in the afternoon from the sh.o.r.e, and that as we appeared a tempting prize, the expedition had been planned to capture us.
"A very short time longer will settle the question," said I to Hearty.
"We must endeavour to keep them at a respectful distance as long as we can; should they once get alongside they would overpower us with their numbers. Happily these sort of gentry are as great cowards as they are scoundrels, and a firm front is certain to make them consider whether the profit is likely to be worth the risk of a battle."
I have gone through a good many anxious moments in the course of my life, but never did I feel more apprehension for the result of an adventure than I did for that in which we were at present engaged. A waning moon had now risen, and showed us very clearly the number and character of the strangers--whether friends or foes was hereafter to be decided. Another look at them through my night-gla.s.s showed me that they were large boats, as I had suspected, and full of men.
"There is little use in making any farther efforts to escape," said I to Hearty; "I would hoist in the boats and serve out some grog to the men.
They want something after their exertions, though they do not require Dutch courage to defend the ship."
Porpoise agreed to my suggestions; they were immediately put into execution. The men threw off their grog as coolly as if they had been about to sail a match at a regatta, instead being about to engage in deadly fight.
"Here"s to your health, Mr Hearty, and gentlemen all, and may we just give those scoundrels out there a thorough good drubbing if they attempt to attack us," quoth Snow, in the name of his shipmates.
"Thank you--thank you, my men," answered Hearty; "you"ll act like true-hearted Englishmen, and what men can do you"ll do, I know, to protect the helpless women we have on board. I won"t make you a long speech, you don"t want that to rouse your courage, but I do ask you not to yield while one man of us remains alive on deck."
"That"s just what we are resolved to do, Mr Hearty; no fear, sir,"
answered all hands, and they would have cheered l.u.s.tily, had I not restrained them for two reasons: I was unwilling to awaken the ladies sooner than was necessary, and also should the pirates have expected to surprise us, it would be a great advantage if we, on the contrary, should be able to surprise them. I mentioned this latter idea to my companions, and they immediately entered into it. The Moors had been too far off to allow them to perceive us hoisting in the boats, so they could not tell but that we were all fast asleep on board. Accordingly, the guns were loaded up to the muzzle with langrage and musket-b.a.l.l.s; pistols and cutla.s.ses were served out to the men, and it was encouraging to see their pleased manner as they stuck the one into their belts, and buckled the other round their waists. Some had, in addition, muskets, and a reserve of small-arms was placed amidships to be resorted to in case of necessity. The men then went and lay down so as to be effectually concealed under the bulwarks: Porpoise and I only walked the deck, as if we were the ordinary watch, and we agreed to pretend to be looking seaward when the boats drew near, as if unconscious of their approach. Meantime Hearty went below to perform the painful task of informing the ladies of our dangerous position. He did it with his usual tact.
"Mrs Mizen," I heard him say, "I must beg you and Miss Mizen to dress, but not to come on deck. We have got too close in-sh.o.r.e, and some Moorish boats appear to be coming off to us; they may not mean to do us any mischief, but it is as well to be prepared, and we do not intend to allow them to come too near to us."
There was a short pause. I heard no exclamations of surprise or terror--no cries, or lamentations, or forebodings of evil, but Mrs Mizen simply answered in a firm voice:--
"We trust, then, Mr Hearty, to you and your companions to defend us, and may a merciful G.o.d give you strength to fight and beat off our a.s.sailants!"
"That"s a speech worthy of a true heroine," exclaimed Porpoise, who had likewise overheard it. "Just the thing to strengthen our nerves, and to put true courage into us. I trust, Mrs Mizen, we shall not be long in beating off the pirates," he added, looking down the skylight; "do you, in the mean time, keep snug below, and don"t mind the uproar."