AT SEA.
It was about four in the morning; the dawn was beginning to mark the
horizon with wide white bands; on the extreme line of the water, a
bright red reflection, the harbinger of sunrise, announced that the sun
would soon appear. At this moment a light brig gradually emerged from
the dense fog that hid it, and could be seen sailing close to the wind
along the dangerous and rugged coast which forms the entrance of
Galveston Bay, at the mouth of the Rio Trinidad.
It was a neat vessel of three hundred tons at the most, with a
gracefully-built hull, and its tall masts coquettishly raking. The
rigging was carefully painted and tarred, the yards symmetrically
square, and more than all, the menacing muzzles of four eight-pounder
carronades which peered out of the bulwarks on either side, and the long
thirty-two pounder swivel in the bows, indicated that, although a
man-of-war pennant might not be flying from the mainmast, it was not the
less resolved, in case of necessity, to fight energetically against the
cruisers that might attempt to check its progress.
At the moment when we first notice the brig, with the exception of the
man at the wheel, and an individual walking up and down the poop smoking
his pipe, at the first glance the brig's deck seemed deserted; still, on
examining it carefully, fifteen men constituting the watch might have
been seen sleeping in the bows, whom the slightest signal would be
sufficient to awaken.
"Halloh!" the walker said suddenly, as he halted near the binnacle, and
addressed the helmsman; "I fancy the wind is shifting."
"Yes, Master Lovel," the sailor answered, as he raised his hand to his
woollen cap; "it has veered round two points."
As the individual who answered to the pleasant name of Lovel is destined
to play a certain part in the scenes we have undertaken to describe, we
ask our readers' permission to draw his portrait. Physically, he was a
man of about fifty, nearly as broad as he was tall, and bearing a
striking resemblance to a barrel mounted on feet, but for all that
gifted with far from common strength and activity; his violet nose, his
thick lips, and highly-coloured face, with large red whiskers, gave him
a jovial appearance, to which, however, two small grey and deep-set
eyes, full of fire and resolution, imparted something skeptical and
mocking.
Morally, he was an honest, worthy man, open-hearted and loyal, an
excellent sailor, and loving only two things, or rather beings, in the
world: his Captain, who had brought him up, and, as he often said, had
taught him to make his first splice by administering tobacco to him, and
his ship, which he had seen built, which he had gone aboard when ready
for sea, and had never quitted since.
Master Lovel had never known either father or mother; hence he had made
the brig and his Captain his family. All his loving faculties, a long
time driven back and slumbering in his heart, were so fully concentrated
on them, that what he felt for both went beyond the limits of a
reasonable affection, and had acquired the veritable proportions of a
gigantic fanaticism. However, the Captain, of whom we shall soon speak,
amply requited the old sailor's friendship.
"By the way, Lieutenant, I ask your pardon," the helmsman continued,
doubtless encouraged by the manner in which his officer had spoken to
him; "do you know that we have been making a precious queer navigation
the last few days?"
"Do you think so, lad?"
"Hang it, sir, these continued tacks, and that boat we sent ashore
yesterday, and has not yet returned--all that is rather singular."
"Hum!" the officer said, without any other expression of his opinion.
"Where may we be going, Lieutenant?" the sailor went on.
"Are you very anxious to know?" Lovel asked him, with a half-sweet,
half-bitter tone.
"Well," the other said, as he turned his quid in his mouth, and sent
forth a stream of blackish saliva, "I confess that I should not be sorry
to know."
"Really now?--well, my boy," the old sailor said, with a crafty smile,
"if you are asked, you will answer that you do not know; in that way you
are certain of not compromising, and, before all, of not deceiving,
yourself."
Then, after looking for an instant at the helmsman's downcast face on
receiving this strange answer, he added--"Strike eight bells, my dear;
there is the sun rising over there behind the mountains: we will call
the watch."
And, after restoring his pipe to the corner of his mouth, he resumed his
walk. The sailor seized the cord fastened to the clapper of the bell,
and struck four double strokes. At this signal they knew so well, the
men lying in the forecastle sprang up tumultuously, and rushed to the
hatchway, shouting--
"Up with you, starboard watch; up, up, it is four o'clock. Starboard
watch, ahoy!"
So soon as the watch was changed, the master gave the necessary orders
to dress the vessel. Then, as the sun was beginning to rise above the
horizon in a flood of ruddy vapour, which gradually dispersed the dense
fog, that had enveloped the brig throughout the night, like a
winding-sheet, he set a man to the foretop to look seaward, and examine
the coast they were sailing along. When all these various duties had
been discharged, the old sailor resumed his walk, taking a look every
now and then at the masts, and muttering between his teeth--"Where can
we be going? He would be very kind, if he would tell me: we are making a
regular blind man's traverse, and we shall be very lucky if we get out
of it safe and sound."
All at once his face brightened, and a glad smile spread over it. The
Captain had just left his cabin and come upon deck. Captain Johnson was
at this period a man of hardly three-and-thirty years of age, above the
middle height; his gestures were simple, graceful, and full of natural
elegance; his features were masculine and marked, and his black eyes, in
which intelligence sparkled, gave his countenance an expression of
grandeur, strength, and loyalty.
"Good morning, father," he said to Master Lovel, as he cordially offered
him his hand.
"Good morning, lad," the latter replied; "did you sleep well?"
"Very well, thank you, father. Is there anything new?"
At this question, apparently so simple, the lieutenant drew himself up,
raised his hand to his hat, and answered deferentially--
"Captain, there is nothing new on board. I tacked at three o'clock, and,
according to your orders, we have been sailing as close to the wind as
we could, at a rate of six three-quarter knots an hour, under foretop
sails, and always keeping Galveston Point on the larboard quarter."
"That is well," the Captain answered, as he took a glance at the compass
and the sails.
In all matters connected with duty, Master Lovel, in spite of the
reiterated remarks of his Chief, constantly maintained toward the latter
the tone and manner of a subordinate to his superior. The Captain,
seeing that the old sailor could not be turned from this, ended by
paying no attention to it, and left him free to speak as he thought
proper.
"By the way, Captain," the Lieutenant continued, with some hesitation,
"we are drawing near the gut; do you intend to pass through it?"
"I do."
"But we shall be sunk."
"Not such fools."
"Hum! I do not see how we shall escape it."
"You will see; besides, must we not go and pick up our boat, which has
not yet returned?"
"That is true; I did not think of it."
"Well, you see; and our passengers?"
"I have not seen them yet this morning."
"They will soon come on deck."
"A ship in sight," the watch shouted.
"That is what I was waiting for," said the Captain.
"To tack?"
"On the contrary, to pass without a shot in front of the fort that
commands the entrance of the bay."
"I do not understand."
"All right; you soon will."
And speaking to the look-out man, he said--
"In what direction is that ship?"
"To starboard, to windward of us; it is coming out of a creek, in which
it was hidden, and steering straight down on the brig."
"Very good," the Captain answered; then, turning to Lovel, he continued:
"This ship is chasing us; we shall, by constant short tacks, pass the
fort and the battery which crosses fire with it. The Mexicans, who are
watching us, feeling convinced that we cannot escape their cruiser, will
not take the trouble to fire at us, but let us pass through without
offering any obstacle."
And, leaving his lieutenant astounded at this singular line of argument,
which he did not at all comprehend, the Captain went on the quarterdeck,
and leaning over the gangway, began carefully watching the movements of
the ship signalled by the lookout. An hour passed thus, without
producing any change in the respective position of the two ships; but
the brig, which had no intention of getting too far away from the
cruiser, did not carry half the sail it could.
The men had been quietly beaten to quarters, and thirty powerful
sailors, armed to the teeth, were holding the running rigging, ready to
obey the slightest signal from their Captain. For more than an hour the
brig had been approaching the coast, and the Captain, being now
compelled to skirt a submarine reef, whose situation was not positively
known to him, ordered sail to be reduced, and advanced, sounding lead in
hand. The cruiser, on the contrary, was literally covered with canvas,
and grew momentarily larger, while assuming the imposing proportions of
a first class corvette; its black hull could be clearly distinguished,
along which ran a long white stripe, containing sixteen portholes,
through which passed the muzzles of her Paixhan guns. On the shore, to
which the brig was now close, could be seen a great number of persons of
both sexes, who, shouting, yelling, and clapping their hands, eagerly
followed the incidents of this strange chase. Suddenly a light cloud of
smoke rose from the bow of the corvette, the sound of a gun was dully
heard, and a Mexican flag was hoisted at the peak.
"Ah, ah," Captain Johnson said, as he mechanically chumped the end of a
cigarette held between his teeth, "she has at length decided on throwing
off her incognito. Come, lieutenant, politeness deserves the same; show
her our colours; hang it all, they are worth showing."
A minute later, a large star-spangled flag was majestically fluttering
at the stern of the brig. At the appearance of the United States
colours, so audaciously hoisted, a shout of fury was raised aboard the
Mexican corvette, which was taken up by the crowd assembled at the
point, though it was impossible to tell, owing to the distance, whether
they were shouts of joy or anger.
In the meanwhile the sun was beginning to rise, the morning was growing
apace, and there must be an end to the affair, especially as the
corvette, confiding in her strength, and now almost within gunshot,
would not fail to open fire on the American vessel. Strange to say, the
garrisons of the fort and the battery, as the Captain had foreseen, had
allowed the brig to double the point without trying to stop it, which it
would have been most easy for them to do, owing to the crossfire.
The Captain gave his lieutenant a sign to come to him, and bending down
to his ear, whispered something in it.
"Eh, eh!" the lieutenant said with a hearty laugh, "That is an idea! By
Jove! We may have some fun."
And, without saying another word, he proceeded forwards. On reaching
the swivel gun he had it unlashed and carefully loaded, adding a ball
and a grape shot to the ordinary charge. Bending over the sight he
seized the screw placed under the breech, then making a sign to the men
who stood on either side with handspikes, he began laying the gun slowly
and with the utmost precaution, scrupulously calculating the distance
that separated the two ships, and the deviation caused by the rolling.
At length, when he believed he had attained the desired result, he
seized the lanyard, fell back, and made a signal to the Captain, who was
impatiently awaiting the termination of his proceedings.
"Attention!" the latter shouted; "Stand by, all."
There was a moment of supreme expectation.
"Is all clear?"
"Yes," the lieutenant replied.
"Ready about," the Captain ordered; "down with the helm! Ease off the
jib sheets! Sheet home top sails! Sheet home lower sails! Haul the
bowlines taut!"
The sailors hurried to the running rigging, and the ship, obedient to
the impulse given it, majestically swung round. At the moment when it
fell, and had its bows turned toward the broadside of the corvette,
Master Lovel, who was watching for a favourable opportunity to carry out
the orders he had received, sharply pulled the lanyard and fired. The
Mexicans, confounded by this sudden aggression, which they were far from
anticipating from an enemy apparently so weak, replied furiously, and a
shower of iron and lead hurtled over the deck and through the rigging of
the American ship. The fort and battery continued to preserve the
strictest neutrality, and Captain Johnson did not take the trouble to
reply.
"Brace up closer to the wind!" he shouted. "Haul down the sheets! We
have had fun enough, lads."
The brig continued its course, and when the smoke had dispersed the
Mexican corvette could be perceived in a pitiable condition. The shot
fired by Master Lovel had carried away her bowsprit close by the head,
which naturally entailed the fall of the foremast, and the poor
corvette, half rendered unserviceable, and unable longer to pursue its
audacious enemy, bore up to repair hastily the worst of the damage.
On board the brig, owing to the hurry in which the Mexicans had returned
the fire, only one man had been killed and three slightly wounded. As
for the damage, it was trifling; only a few ropes were cut, that was
all.
"Now," the Captain said, as he came down from the quarterdeck, "in ten
minutes, father, you will tack, and when we are abreast of the fort you
will lie to, let down a boat, and let me know."
"What!" the lieutenant could not refrain from saying, "You mean to go
ashore?"
"Hang it," said the Captain; "why, I only came here for that purpose."
"Are you going to the fort?"
"Yes. Still, as it is always as well to be on the right side, you will
send into the boat the ten most resolute men of the crew, with axes,
cutlasses, muskets, and pistols. Let all be in order, and ready for
fighting."
"I fancy those precautions will be unnecessary," said a man who had just
come on deck and walked up to the spectators.
"Ah! it is you, Master Tranquil," the Captain replied, as he shook hands
with the old hunter; for it was he who had so unexpectedly interfered in
the conversation. "What do you say?"
"I say," the Canadian replied, in his calm voice, "that your precautions
will probably be unnecessary."
"Why so?"
"Hang it! I don't know, for I am not a sailor. But look for yourself. Do
you not think as I do--that something extraordinary is taking place on
board the corvette?"
The Captain quickly opened his telescope, and fixed it on the Mexican
ship.
"It is true," he said, a moment later. "Oh, oh! Can our audacious
attempt have proved successful?"
"All leads to the supposition," said the hunter, with his old stoicism.
"By Heavens! I will ascertain."
"What will you do?"
"By Jupiter! Convince myself of what is taking place."
"As you please."
"Bear up!" the Captain ordered.
The manoeuvre was executed. The sheets were let go, and the brig,
catching more wind in its sails, advanced rapidly toward the corvette,
on board which a strange scene was taking place at this moment, which
must interest Captain Johnson in the highest degree. But, in order to
make the reader thoroughly understand this scene, we must now return to
El Alferez and his comrades, whom we left at their departure from the
pulqueria.
At the moment when the four men reached the jetty, although it was about
seven in the morning, the beach was nearly deserted; only a few ships'
boats were fastened up, and landing the men who were going to buy
provisions. It was, therefore, an easy matter for the conspirators to,
embark without attracting attention to their movements. At a signal
given by Ramirez, the boat which had been pulling back and forwards
during the night, came nearer land, and when the four men were seated in
the stern sheets, and Ramirez had taken the tiller, the boat started for
a small creek situated a little distance beyond the roadstead.
The breeze, which during the night had been rather weak, had gradually
risen; the boat was easily got out to sea, sail was hoisted, and it soon
entered the creek, where the _Libertad_ was riding gently on her
anchors. Still, it was easy for a sailor to see that this ship,
apparently so quiet, was ready to slip out at a moment's notice. The
sails, though furled, were cast off, and the anchor, apeak, only needed
a turn of the capstan to be tripped. Posted craftily in this creek, like
a bird of prey in the hollow of a rock, the corvette could easily expand
its sails, and dart on any suspicious vessel signalled by the lookout.
Without uttering a syllable our friends exchanged a significant glance;
they understood one another's manoeuvring.
The boat had scarce come within hail ere a sentry, standing in the
starboard gangway, hailed it in Spanish. Ramirez replied, and, leaning
on the tiller, made the boat describe a graceful curve, and brought her
up to the starboard accommodation ladder. The officer of the watch was
standing at the top to receive the visitors. On perceiving a lady, he
hurried down the ladder to offer his hand, and do her the honours of the
ship she was about to enter.
To the right and left of the entrance, sailors, drawn up in file,
saluted by raising their hands to their caps, while a boatswain gave the
accustomed whistle. As we have already mentioned, the _Libertad_ was a
first class corvette. Don Manuel Rodriguez, her commandant, was an old
sailor, brought up in the Spanish Navy, and had retained its healthy
traditions: hence, his ship was kept with great care and coquettishness.
Don Serapio and Don Cristoval, themselves naval officers, could not
refrain from expressing to the officer of the watch the satisfaction
they experienced at seeing a vessel in such splendid order.
Commandant Rodriguez, called by a midshipman, hastened on deck to
receive his guests; the boat was fastened astern of the corvette, while
its crew went forward with the sailors of the vessel.
Like the other Spanish American Republics, the Mexican Confederation has
but few vessels; its navy is composed of but a dozen ships at the
most--consisting of corvettes, brigs, and schooners. The gravity of the
events taking place in Texas had induced the Mexican Government to send
a corvette there, in order to render themselves masters of the sea, and
prevent the United States, whose sympathies with the Texan Revolution
were notorious, from giving the insurgents help in arms, men, or money.
Commandant Rodriguez, an energetic man, and excellent sailor, had been
chosen to carry out this dangerous mission; for two months he had been
cruising off the coast of Texas, where he had established a rigorous
blockade, and owing to his intelligent arrangements, he had managed, up
to the period we have arrived at, to stop or turn back all vessels sent
from the United States to the help of the insurgents. The latter,
reduced to their own resources, and understanding that the decisive hour
would soon strike for them, had resolved to get rid of this corvette,
which did them enormous injury, and seize it at all risks.
The Chiefs of the insurgents had formed their plans to this effect.
During Commandant Rodriguez's rare visits to Galveston, he was adroitly
surrounded by persons who ostensibly professed a deep hatred for the
revolution, while in secret they were the active and devoted agents of
the insurgent Chiefs. Almost involuntarily the Commandant had been
induced to invite several persons to visit his corvette, and breakfast
on board; but the old sailor was a true Mexican, that is to say,
accustomed to all the tricks and treachery of a country where
revolutions have been counted by hundreds during the twenty years since
it proclaimed its so-called independence, and his prudence did not fail
him under the circumstances. Being not at all anxious to run the risk of
seeing his ship boarded, he left the roads, and anchored in a solitary
creek, in order to have his elbows at liberty; and then, instead of
inviting many persons at the same time, he merely requested Doña Mencia,
her father, and two of her cousins, officers in the United States'
service, to pay him a visit. We know now who the persons really were who
accepted the invitation.
The Captain frowned on seeing the number of the boat's crew; but,
reflecting that he had two hundred and fifty men aboard, he did not
think for a moment that sixteen men, apparently unarmed, would try to
seize his ship, and it was with the most smiling and affectionate air
that he received Doña Mencia and the persons who accompanied her.
After showing them all over the corvette, he led his guests to the stern
gallery, where a table had been laid, and a magnificent breakfast
awaited them. Only five persons sat down, the supposed young lady, her
pretended cousins, the commandant, and his first lieutenant, an old
sailor like himself, full of experience and bravery. The breakfast began
in the most cordial and frank manner; the Commandant regretted that Doña
Mencia's father had been unable to accompany her, as he had promised,
and a most gallant conversation went on. Presently, a warrant officer
opened the door, and, at a sign from the Commandant, whispered a few
words in his ear; the latter, after excusing himself to his guests, gave
him an order in a low voice, and the officer retired as discreetly as he
had come in.
"Señora," the Commandant said, leaning over to the young lady seated by
his side; "are you afraid of the sea?"
"I?" she replied with a smile, "Why do you ask, Commandant?"
"Because," he answered, "unless you immediately leave my vessel, which,
I confess, would greatly annoy me, you will be compelled to take a trip
to sea for some hours."
"I am the daughter and cousin of sailors, Commandant; that is as good as
saying that a trip to sea would be most pleasing to me under any
circumstances; at this moment it would be a delightful interlude, and
complete the graceful hospitality you have been kind to offer us."
"Very good," the Commandant said gaily; "you are a true heroine, Doña
Mencia; you fear nothing."
"Or, at any rate, very little," she replied with an emphasis which
escaped the notice of the Commandant.
"Will you permit me to ask, Commandant," said Don Serapio, "whether you
are starting simply to afford us the pleasure of a trip, or whether a
more serious motive obliges you to leave your anchorage?"
"I have no secrets from you," he said simply, "and a few words will
explain the affair; for about a fortnight I have been playing a game of
chess with a brig, whose appearance is most suspicious. Its rig, and
fine lines, lead us to believe that it is a North-American privateer,
trying to land arms, and possibly men, for the insurgents."
"Do you imagine," Don Cristoval objected, "that a privateer brig,
knowing you to be in these parts, would venture to force a passage?"
"Yes, I do. These demons of privateers are afraid of nothing; and,
besides, during the war of independence, I myself carried out more
daring adventures than this."
"Then, we are about to witness a sea fight?" Doña Mencia asked timidly.
"Oh, do not feel alarmed, Señorita; it will not go so far as that, I
hope; this brig, which I had lost out of sight for two days, has just
reappeared, but this time with the apparent object of getting close
enough to land to send a boat ashore. I will chase it vigorously, and do
not doubt I shall compel it to put out to sea again, for it is
impossible that it should attempt seriously to oppose us."
"Really, that is delightful!" Doña Mencia exclaimed with a laugh; "the
fête will be complete: a trip to sea, a chase, and, perhaps, the capture
of a vessel. You are really too kind, Commandant."
While the conversation became more and more friendly and lively in the
state cabin, the corvette had started, and with all sail set, was
pursuing Captain Johnson's brig.
"Halloh!" Don Cristoval suddenly asked, "What has become of our boat?"
"It was left fastened to a buoy," the Commandant said; "we will pick it
up again when we return to our anchorage."
"Well," Don Serapio remarked laughingly, "if the privateer should feel
inclined to fight, our sixteen men are quite at your disposal."
"I thank you, but do not think I shall requite their assistance."
"Who knows? No one can foresee events. Our sailors are brave, and, if it
should come to fighting, be assured they will do their share."
Only one of the guests had remained silent during the breakfast,
contenting himself with eating and drinking; while attentively listening
to what was said around him. This guest was the lieutenant. So soon as
the ship had started, he left the table, bowed to the company, and went
on deck.
"Your lieutenant is no talker, Commandant," Doña Mencia observed; "he
only opened his lips to eat and drink."
"That is true, Señorita; but pray excuse him, he is an old sailor, but
little accustomed to society--he felt embarrassed and almost in his
wrong place with you; but few men know their profession so well as he,
or are so firm and intrepid in danger."
At this moment a loud detonation made the vessel quiver. "Ah!" said Doña
Mencia with a cry of terror, "What does that mean?"
"Less than nothing, Señorita; we have merely hoisted our flag, and fired
a blank shot, to oblige the brig to show her colours."
"Would there be any danger in going on deck?" Doña Mencia asked with
curiosity.
"Not the least."
"In that case, with your permission, we will go up and see what is
happening."
"I am at your orders, Señorita."
The breakfast was over; they left the table and went up on the
quarterdeck. The ship offered to the sight of persons unacquainted with
naval affairs, a most singular and attractive appearance. The powerful
breeze had bellied the sails; the corvette bounded over the waves like a
gazelle, but did not take in a drop of water over the catheads. On deck,
the crew were standing silent and motionless by the standing rigging,
the gunners at their pieces, and the topmen at their posts. On the
forecastle Ramirez and his sixteen men were collected near the head,
apparently indifferent, but actually watching the movements of the
Mexican. At about a gunshot and a half distant, the brig could be seen,
from whose peak haughtily floated a large American flag.
"I suspected it," said the Commandant, "it is a privateer, and has
hoisted American colours to deceive us, but we are on our guard."
"Do you think, then, that ship is not American?" Don Serapio asked.
"No more than you are; it is an Argentine, or Brazilian privateer."
"Still, it appears American built,"
"That proves nothing; our ships, bought in different countries, have
nothing that causes them to be recognized, for we have no docks."
"That is true; but look, she is going to tack."
"Yes, the sails are beginning to shiver."
The Mexicans fancied themselves so secure from an attack, that most of
the crew had left their quarters to follow the manoeuvres of the brig;
the sailors, perched on the yards, or leaning out of the ports, were
curiously looking on, without dreaming of the danger such a breach of
discipline might entail. In the meanwhile the brig came round, as Don
Serapio had said. Suddenly, at the moment when it completed the
manoeuvre, a detonation was heard, a shrill whistle cut through the air,
and the corvette's bowsprit, pierced by a ball, fell into the sea,
dragging with it the foremast.
This produced an extraordinary pause and confusion on board the
corvette; the terrified sailors ran about in all directions, listening
to nothing. At length the Commandant succeeded in overcoming the tumult;
the crew recognized his voice, and at the order to fire, fifteen guns
thundered at once, in reply to the unjustifiable aggression of the
privateer.