THE NAVAL BRIGADE LANDS.
When I went on deck the following morning, I found that the
steam-pinnace had towed the _Flying-fish_ to an anchorage in the
roadstead not many cable lengths from the _Rattler_. I at once observed
the strong resemblance she bore to the _Snapping Turtle_, and I no
longer felt surprise at the mistake Mr. Osborne had made at Santiago de
Cuba.
Mr. Thompson was standing by the taffrail narrowly observing her
through a telescope.
“I should like to see a race between her and the _Snapping Turtle_,
sir,” I said to him. “I’m not surprised the Yankee skipper was so keen
on it, for they’re wonderfully alike in build and rig.”
“Indeed they are,” answered the lieutenant; “one might almost call them
twin-vessels. The main difference is that the American’s masts rake
more.”
“It’s a curious thing about the cargo having been all taken out of the
_Flying-fish_, sir; and by all accounts it’s a valuable one.”
The gunnery lieutenant turned and looked at me keenly.
“You young rascal,” he said, “you’re trying to pump me; but you do it
in such a clumsy way that I can’t help seeing through you.”
I felt rather confused.
“Well, sir,” I said, “I _do_ hope that I may be allowed to go on the
expedition up country if it is true that a force is to be landed.”
“It will be no secret in an hour’s time, Darcy, so I may as well tell
you that to-morrow morning a naval brigade is to be landed in order to
hunt down the mutineers and rebels; and I think there is a very fair
chance of your being able to go. The captain, I believe, has permission
from the captain-general to take any steps he may think necessary to
bring the delinquents to justice.”
I begged the gunnery lieutenant, who had always shown me great
kindness, to try to get me appointed to the expedition, and he promised
to use his influence in that direction. I then ran off to the sick-bay
to see my friend Charlie and tell him the news, which I felt sure he
had not as yet heard. I found him much better; and the surgeon, who
was just leaving the sick-bay as I entered, told me that I need have no
fear as to his recovery.
This was very good news; but I found that I had been forestalled as
news-carrier by Dr. Grant, and that Charlie was as well informed on the
subject of the expedition as I was myself.
“It’s jolly hard lines that I can’t go, old chap,” he said to me; “but
the surgeon says I must be on the broad of my back and nurse this
wretched old head of mine for some time to come. Pleasant prospect, eh?”
“I’m very sorry indeed,” I answered; “and you must try to console
yourself with the fact that you’ve still a head screwed tight and fast
on your shoulders. Poor Lobb had his taken off by a round-shot.”
“Oh, I’m as grateful as anything, of course, Jack; not only on
my own account, but because as an out-and-out patriot I have the
best interests of my country at heart. What an irreparable loss it
would have been to Great Britain if my brains had bespattered the
battle-field! National mourning for a fortnight, eh, and messages to my
bereaved relatives from the Queen and the other members of the royal
family, to say nothing of minute guns, half-mast flags, and a tomb near
Nelson’s in the crypt of St. Paul’s? By Jove! it makes me quite excited
to think of it.”
“Has Grant ordered you any soothing draught?” I asked, hunting about
with pretended anxiety amongst a whole brigade of medicine-bottles that
stood upon a table at my elbow.
“Yes; Mother Gimcrack’s soothing syrup!” said my chum with a laugh.
“Good for teething babes; and do you know, Jack”—this very solemnly—“I
lost two or three of my front teeth in that nasty somersault I took
yesterday. My beauty is gone for ever and ever!”
I had noticed the disfigurement my friend referred to, but had not
alluded to it for fear of hurting his feelings.
“There is always a silver lining to the cloud,” continued Charlie more
cheerfully. “That rascal of a gunroom steward won’t be able to palm off
on me any longer his wofully tough salt horse and brickbat biscuit. No;
he’ll have to feed me on a special diet of Brand’s beef jelly, Benger’s
food, turtle soup, and jams of all sorts, varied occasionally by
oysters (real natives of course), tipsy cake, and fruit jellies. Not a
bad idea, eh? I’ll give you a tuck-in now and again, Jack, as you’re a
good chum to me!”
“Thanks, awfully!” I said; “but I’m certain the steward would rather go
to the expense of buying you a new set of teeth from a London dentist,
than feed you up on all the delicacies of the season for the rest of
the commission. Now I’m certain you oughtn’t to talk any more, Charlie,
so I’m going to make myself scarce; and you must try to sleep till
dinner-time, when I shall come and see you again.”
Half an hour later the _Rattler_ was a scene of great excitement, for
orders had gone forth that immediate preparations were to be made
for landing a powerful naval brigade. I was very quickly caught up
in the whirl of excitement, for Ned Burton, the coxswain of my boat,
came hurrying to me to say that he had received orders from the first
lieutenant to get the second cutter in readiness to assist in landing
men, stores, and ammunition.
“It’s to be a picked force, sir,” said the seaman in conclusion, “and
I’m glad to say that we’re both detailed for service.”
“I’m delighted to hear it,” I answered, “for I was half afraid that
midshipmen would be excluded. When do we land, Ned?”
“I think in the evening, sir, so as to be ready for a start in the
morning. We can’t take no field-guns, more’s the pity, for they say the
country is a sight too hilly for anything but mountain guns.”
“How about the commissariat, ammunition, tents, and so forth?” I asked;
“we shall require transport animals of some kind.”
“I believe the Spanish Government is going to let us have a lot of
mules that are accustomed to that sort of work,” said my coxswain.
“Oh, we shall pig it out somehow, I dare say,” I exclaimed with a
laugh, “and it would be rather fun to rough it a bit.”
That evening we occupied the fort in force. The dead had been buried
at an early hour in the morning, and so there was little or no trace
of the struggle that had taken place so recently, except in the fort
itself, where the dismounted and spiked guns told their own tale. In
all we numbered one hundred officers and men, well supplied with all
that was necessary for a short campaign. At the time of my story,
machine-guns had not been invented, and that underhand weapon of
warfare, the torpedo, was unknown. A few of the former would have been
extremely serviceable to our brigade on this occasion; but still we
were extremely well armed in accordance with the ideas of that day,
each man being supplied with a breech-loading rifle, a cutlass which
could be used as a sword-bayonet if necessary, and a revolver. An
ammunition-pouch, a blanket, a water-bottle, and a pair of leggings for
each man completed the equipment, nothing being showy, but everything
extremely serviceable.
As before, Mr. Thompson was appointed to command the brigade, as he
had had a great deal of experience in shore-going expeditions in a
previous commission on the west coast of Africa. Two lieutenants,
the captain of marines, Dr. Grant, four sub-lieutenants, the gunner,
Fitzgerald, and myself made up the list of officers; and about seventy
picked blue-jackets and twenty marines composed the rank-and-file. No
commanding officer could have wished for finer men. Not only was their
physique splendid, but they were tried, trustworthy fellows who had all
seen service on previous occasions, and could be relied on to do their
duty in the direst emergency.
Tenacious bull-dogs! that’s what they were. It would be impossible to
describe them better in a couple of words.