"And I understand that you are a good seaman and navigator," resumed the
admiral. "I suppose you have no fear of failing when you go up for your
examination?" I modestly replied that I had not, provided that I was
treated fairly, and had not a lot of catch-questions put to me.
"Just so," responded the admiral musingly. "Your navigation, I have no
doubt, is all right," he continued, "and of course you can work a ship
when she is all ataunto. But suppose you belonged, let us say, to a
frigate, and at the end of an engagement you found yourself in command,
and your ship unrigged, what is the first thing you would do?"
I considered for a moment, and then proceeded to describe the steps I
should take under such circumstances, the admiral listening all the time
intently, but uttering no word and giving no sign of any kind to
indicate whether my reply was satisfactory or not, until I had finished,
when he said--
"Very good, Mr Courtenay, very good indeed--on the whole. Have you
ever helped to fit out a ship?"
"Yes, sir," answered I, "I was aboard the poor old _Althea_ during the
whole time that she was in the hands of the riggers."
"Ah!" he exclaimed, "and you heartily wished yourself anywhere else than
there, I'll be bound. But it has done you good, young gentleman; you
have profited by your experience, I can see, and will perhaps some day
be deeply thankful for the knowledge you then gained. Now, supposing
that you found yourself on a lee shore, in a heavy gale of wind, with
all your masts gone, what steps would you take for the preservation of
the ship and the lives of your crew?"
Again I replied at length, stating that I should anchor the moment that
the ship drifted into a suitable depth of water, letting go both bowers,
backing them up with the sheet anchors, and shackling the remainder of
the bower cables on to those of the sheet anchors, which latter I should
then veer away upon to within a few fathoms of the clinch.
"And suppose that, having done this, your ship dragged, or parted her
cables, what then?" persisted the admiral.
"Then, sir," said I, "we could only trust in God's mercy, while standing
by to take care of ourselves and each other as soon as the ship should
strike."
"Good!" exclaimed the admiral; "a very excellent and proper answer, Mr
Courtenay. Now," he continued, "I have been asking you these questions
with a purpose. I wanted to ascertain for myself whether I should be
justified in sending you away in command of that little schooner that
you took so cleverly, and I think I shall. I believe you will do
exactly for the work I have in my mind for you. Sickness and casualties
together have played havoc among the officers on this station of late,
to such an extent that I have not nearly as many as I want; consequently
I am only too glad to meet with young gentlemen like yourself, who have
made good use of their opportunities. These waters are swarming with
the enemy's privateers,--with a sprinkling of pirates thrown in, it
would appear, from what the skipper of the unfortunate _Wyvern_ says,--
and they must be put down--sunk, burned, destroyed by any means that can
best be compassed, or, better still, captured. I therefore propose to
fit out that little schooner of yours, and to place you in command of
her, for the especial purpose of suppressing these pests, and
incidentally capturing as many of the enemy's merchantmen as you can
fall in with. Now, how d'ye think you'll like the job?"
I replied, delightedly, that nothing could possibly suit me better; that
I was inexpressibly grateful for the confidence he was about to repose
in me, and that I would leave nothing undone to prove that such
confidence was justified.
"Very well, then, that is settled," observed the admiral genially. "We
will have the schooner overhauled at once, and made ready for sea as
quickly as may be. Then you can go to sea for a month; there will be an
examination next month, for which you must arrange to be in port, and
then--having passed, as I feel certain you will--you shall have your
commission, and be off to sea again to win your next step."