On the eleventh day the Rebiera entered the Straits, and the Rock of
Gibraltar was in sight as the sun went down; after which the wind fell
light, and about midnight it became calm, and they drifted up. At
sunrise they were roused by the report of heavy guns, and perceived an
English frigate about eight miles farther up the Straits, and more in
the mid-channel, engaging nine or ten Spanish gunboats, which had come
out from Algesiras to attack her. It still continued a dead calm, and
the boats of the frigate were all ahead towing her, so as to bring her
broadside to bear upon the Spanish flotilla. The reverberating of the
heavy cannon on both sides over the placid surface of the water--the
white smoke ascending as the sun rose in brilliancy in a clear blue
sky--the distant echoes repeated from the high hills--had a very
beautiful effect for those who are partial to the picturesque. But Jack
thought it advisable to prepare for action instead of watching for
tints--and in a short time all was ready.
"They'll not come to us, Mr Easy, as long as they have the frigate to
hammer at; but still we had better be prepared, for we cannot well pass
them without having a few shot. When I came up the Straits in the
privateer we were attacked by two, and fought them for three hours;
their shot dashed the water over our decks till they were wet fore and
aft, but somehow or another they never hit us--we were as low as they
were. I'll be bound but they'll hull the frigate though. Mrs Oxbelly
and Billy were on deck the whole time--and Billy was quite delighted,
and cried when they took him down to breakfast."
"Why, Mrs Oxbelly must be very courageous."
"Cares neither for shot nor shell, sir, laughs when they whiz over her
head, and tells Billy to hark. But, sir, it's not surprising; her
father is a major, and her two brothers are lieutenants in the
bombardiers."
"That, indeed," replied Jack--"but see, there is a breeze springing up
from the westward."
"Very true, Mr Easy, and a steady one it will be, for it comes up dark
and slow; so much the better for the frigate, for she'll get little
honour and plenty of mauling at this work."
"I hope we shall take it up with us," observed Jack; "how far do you
reckon the gun-boats from the shore?"
"I should think about five miles, or rather less."
"Trim sails, Mr Oxbelly--perhaps we may cut one or two of these off--
steer inshore of them."
"Exactly. Up there, my lads, set top-gallant studding sails, top-mast
studdings to hand-rig out the booms--keep as you go now, my lad--we
shall be well inshore of them, and out of the range of the batteries."
The breeze came down fresh, and all sail was set upon the _Rebiera_.
She took the wind down with her, and it passed her but little--half a
mile ahead of them all was still and smooth as a glass mirror, and they
neared and gained inshore at the same time. The gun-boats were still
engaging the frigate, and did not appear to pay any attention to the
_Rebiera_ coming down. At last the breeze reached them and the frigate,
light at first and then gradually increasing, while the _Rebiera_ foamed
through the water and had now every chance of cutting off some of the
gun-boats. The frigate trimmed her sails and steered towards the
flotilla, which now thought proper to haul off and put their heads
inshore, followed by the frigate firing her bow-chasers. But the
_Rebiera_ was now within half gun-shot, inshore, and steering so as to
intercept them. As she rapidly closed, the flotilla scarcely knew how
to act; to attack her would be to lose time, and allow the frigate to
come up and occasion their own capture; so they satisfied themselves
with firing at her as she continued to run down between them and the
land. As they neared, Jack opened his fire with his eighteen-pound
carronades and long nines. The gun-boats returned his fire, and they
were within a quarter of a mile, when Jack shortened sail to his
top-sails, and a warm engagement took place, which ended in one of the
gun-boats being in a few minutes dismasted. The frigate, under all
canvas, came rapidly up, and her shot now fell thick. The flotilla then
ceased firing, passing about two cables' lengths ahead of the _Rebiera_,
and making all possible sail for the land. Jack now fired at the
flotilla as they passed, with his larboard broadside, while with his
starboard he poured in grape and canister upon the unfortunate gun-boat
which was dismasted, and which soon hauled down her colours. In a few
minutes more the remainder were too far distant for the carronades, and,
as they did not fire, Jack turned his attention to take possession of
his prize, sending a boat with ten men on board, and heaving-to close to
her to take her in tow. Ten minutes more and the frigate was hove-to a
cable's length from the _Rebiera_, and our hero lowered down his other
quarter boat to go on board.
"Have we any men hurt, Mr Oxbelly?" inquired Jack.
"Only two; Spearling has lost his thumb with a piece of langrage, and
James has a bad wound in the thigh."
"Very well; I will ask for the surgeon to come on board."
Jack pulled to the frigate and went up the side, touched his hat in due
form, and was introduced by the midshipmen to the other side, where the
captain stood.
"Mr Easy!" exclaimed the captain.
"Captain Sawbridge?" replied our hero with surprise.
"Good heavens! what brought you here!" said the captain; "and what
vessel is that?"
"The _Rebiera_, letter of marque, commanded and owned by Mr Easy,"
replied Jack, laughing.
Captain Sawbridge gave him his hand. "Come down with me in the cabin,
Mr Easy; I am very glad to see you. Give you great credit for your
conduct, and am still more anxious to know what has induced you to come
out again. I knew that you had left the service."
Jack, in a very few words, told his object in fitting out the _Rebiera_;
"but," continued Jack, "allow me to congratulate you upon your
promotion, which I was not aware of. May I ask where you left the
_Harpy_, and what is the name of your frigate?"
"The _Latona_! I have only been appointed to her one month, after an
action in which the _Harpy_ took a large corvette, and am ordered home
with despatches to England. We sailed yesterday evening from Gibraltar,
were becalmed the whole night, and attacked this morning by the
gun-boats."
"How is Captain Wilson, sir?"
"I believe he is very well, but I have not seen him."
"How did you know, then, that I had left the service, Captain
Sawbridge?"
"From Mr Gascoigne, who is now on board."
"Gascoigne!" exclaimed our hero.
"Yes, he was sent up to join the _Aurora_ by the Governor, but she had
left the fleet, and having served his time, and a passing day being
ordered, he passed, and thought he might as well go home with me and see
if he could make any interest for his promotion."
"Pray, Captain Sawbridge, is the gun-boat our prize or yours?"
"It ought to be wholly yours; but the fact is, by the regulations, we
share."
"With all my heart, sir. Will you send an assistant-surgeon on board to
look after two of my men who are hurt?"
"Yes, directly; now send your boat away, Easy, with directions to your
officer in command. We must go back to Gibraltar, for we have received
some injury, and, I am sorry to say, lost some men. You are going then,
I presume, to stay on board and dine with me: we shall be at anchor
before night."
"I will, with pleasure, sir. But now I will send my boat away and shake
hands with Gascoigne."
Gascoigne was under the half-deck waiting to receive his friend, for he
had seen him come up the side from his station on the forecastle. A
hurried conversation took place, after our hero had dismissed his boat
with the assistant-surgeon in it to dress the two wounded men. Jack
then went on deck, talked with the officers, looked with pleasure at the
_Rebiera_ with the gun-boat in tow, keeping company with the frigate,
although only under the same canvas--promised Gascoigne to spend the
next day with him either on shore or on board of the _Rebiera_, and then
returned to the cabin, where he had a long conference with Captain
Sawbridge.
"When you first entered the service, Easy," said Captain Sawbridge, "I
thought that the sooner the service was rid of you the better; now that
you have left it, I feel that it has lost one, who, in all probability,
would have proved a credit to it."
"Many thanks, sir," replied Jack; "but how can I be a midshipman with
eight thousand pounds a year?"
"I agree with you that it is impossible:--but dinner is serving; go into
the after-cabin and the steward will give you all you require."
Our hero, whose face and hands were not a little grimed with the
gunpowder, washed himself, combed out his curly black hair, and found
all the party in the fore-cabin. Gascoigne, who had not been asked in
the forenoon, was, by the consideration of Captain Sawbridge, added to
the number. Before dinner was long off the table, the first lieutenant
reported that it was necessary to turn the hands up, as they were close
to the anchorage. The party, therefore, broke up sooner than otherwise
would have been the case; and as soon as the _Latona's_ sails were
furled Captain Sawbridge went on shore to acquaint the Governor with the
results of the action. He asked Jack to accompany him, but our hero,
wishing to be with Gascoigne, excused himself until the next day.
"And now, Easy," said Gascoigne, as soon as the captain had gone over
the side, "I will ask permission to go on board with you--or will you
ask?"
"I will ask," replied Jack; "a gentleman of fortune has more weight with
a first lieutenant than a midshipman."
So Jack went up to the first lieutenant, and with one of his polite bows
hoped, "if duty would permit, he would honour him by coming on board
that evening with some of his officers, to see the _Rebiera_ and to
drink a bottle or two of champagne."
The first lieutenant, as the _Rebiera_ was anchored not two cables'
lengths from him, replied, "that as soon as he had shifted the prisoners
and secured the gun-boat, he would be very glad;" so did three or four
more of the officers, and then Jack begged as a favour that his old
friend, Mr Gascoigne, might be permitted to go with him now, as he had
important packages to entrust to his care to England. The first
lieutenant was very willing, and Gascoigne and our hero jumped into the
boat, and were once more in all the confidence of tried and deserved
friendship.
"Jack, I've been thinking of it, and I've made up my mind," said
Gascoigne. "I shall gain little or nothing by going home for my
promotion: I may as well stay here, and as I have served my time and
passed, my pay is now of little consequence. Will you take me with
you?"
"It is exactly what I was thinking of, Ned. Do you think that Captain
Sawbridge will consent?"
"I do; he knows how I am circumstanced, and that my going home was
merely because I was tired of looking after the _Aurora_."
"We'll go together and ask him to-morrow," replied Jack.
"At all events, you'll have a more gentlemanly companion than Mr
Oxbelly."
"But not so steady, Ned."
The first lieutenant and officers came on board, and passed a merry
evening. There's nothing passes time more agreeably away than
champagne, and if you do not affront this regal wine by mixing him with
any other, he never punishes you next morning.