“Thus guided on their course they bore,
Until they near'd the mainland shore;
When frequent on the hollow blast,
Wild shouts of merriment were cast.”
_Lord of the Isles_.
The joyful shouts and hearty cheers of the Ariel's crew continued for
some time after her commander had reached her deck. Barnstable answered
the congratulations of his officers by cordial shakes of the hand; and
after waiting for the ebullition of delight among the seamen to subside
a little, he beckoned with an air of authority for silence.
“I thank you, my lads, for your good-will,” he said, when all were
gathered around him in deep attention; “they have given us a tough
chase, and if you had left us another mile to go, we had been lost. That
fellow is a king's cutter; and though his disposition to run to leeward
is a good deal mollified, yet he shows signs of fight. At any rate, he
is stripping off some of his clothes, which looks as if he were game.
Luckily for us, Captain Manual has taken all the marines ashore with
him, (though what he has done with them, or himself, is a mystery,) or
we should have had our decks lumbered with live cattle; but, as it is,
we have a good working breeze, tolerably smooth water, and a dead match!
There is a sort of national obligation on us to whip that fellow; and
therefore, without more words about the matter, let us turn to and do
it, that we may get our breakfasts.”
To this specimen of marine eloquence the crew cheered as usual, the
young men burning for the combat, and the few old sailors who belonged
to the schooner shaking their heads with infinite satisfaction, and
swearing by sundry strange oaths that their captain “could talk, when
there was need of such thing, like the best dictionary that ever was
launched.”
During this short harangue and the subsequent comments, the Ariel had
been kept, under a cloud of canvas, as near to the wind as she could
lie; and as this was her best sailing, she had stretched swiftly out
from the land, to a distance whence the cliffs and the soldiers, who
were spread along their summits, became plainly visible. Barnstable
turned his glass repeatedly from the cutter to the shore, as different
feelings predominated in his breast, before he again spoke.
“If Mr. Griffith is stowed away among those rocks,” he at length said,
“he shall see as pretty an argument discussed, in as few words, as
he ever listened to, provided the gentlemen in yonder cutter have not
changed their minds as to the road they intend to journey--what think
you, Mr. Merry?”
“I wish with all my heart and soul, sir,” returned the fearless boy,
“that Mr. Griffith was safe aboard us; it seems the country is alarmed,
and God knows what will happen if he is taken! As to the fellow to
windward, he'll find it easier to deal with the Ariel's boat than with
her mother; but he carries a broad sail; I question if he means to show
play.”
“Never doubt him, boy,” said Barnstable, “he is working off the shore,
like a man of sense, and besides, he has his spectacles on, trying to
make out what tribe of Yankee Indians we belong to. You'll see him come
to the wind presently, and send a few pieces of iron down this way,
by way of letting us know where to find him. Much as I like your first
lieutenant, Mr. Merry, I would rather leave him on the land this day,
than see him on my decks. I want no fighting captain to work this boat
for me! But tell the drummer, sir, to beat to quarters.”
The boy, who was staggering under the weight of his melodious
instrument, had been expecting this command, and, without waiting
for the midshipman to communicate the order, he commenced that short
rub-a-dub air, that will at any time rouse a thousand men from the
deepest sleep, and cause them to fly to their means of offence with a
common soul. The crew of the Ariel had been collected in groups studying
the appearance of the enemy, cracking their jokes, and waiting only
for this usual order to repair to the guns; and at the first tap of the
drum, they spread with steadiness to the different parts of the
little vessel, where their various duties called them. The cannon were
surrounded by small parties of vigorous and athletic young men; the few
marines were drawn up in array with muskets; the officers appeared in
their boarding-caps, with pistols stuck in their belts, and naked sabres
in their hands. Barnstable paced his little quarter-deck with a firm
tread, dangling a speaking-trumpet by its lanyard on his forefinger, or
occasionally applying the glass to his eye, which, when not in use, was
placed under one arm, while his sword was resting against the foot of
the mainmast; a pair of heavy ship's pistols were thrust into his belt
also; and piles of muskets, boarding-pikes, and naked sabres were placed
on different parts of the deck. The laugh of the seamen was heard no
longer, and those who spoke uttered their thoughts only in low and
indistinct whispers.
The English cutter held her way from the land, until she got an offing
of more than two miles, when she reduced her sails to a yet smaller
number; and, heaving into the wind, she fired a gun in a direction
opposite to that which pointed to the Ariel.
“Now I would wager a quintal of codfish, Master Coffin,” said
Barnstable, “against the best cask of porter that was ever brewed in
England, that fellow believes a Yankee schooner can fly in the wind's
eye! If he wishes to speak to us, why don't he give his cutter a little
sheet, and come down?”
The cockswain had made his arrangements for the combat, with much more
method and philosophy than any other man in the vessel. When the drum
beat to quarters, he threw aside his jacket, vest, and shirt, with as
little hesitation as if he stood under an American sun, and with all the
discretion of a man who had engaged in an undertaking that required
the free use of his utmost powers. As he was known to be a privileged
individual in the Ariel, and one whose opinions, in all matters of
seamanship, were regarded as oracles by the crew, and were listened to
by his commander with no little demonstration of respect, the question
excited no surprise. He was standing at the breech of his long gun, with
his brawny arms folded on a breast that had been turned to the color of
blood by long exposure, his grizzled locks fluttering in the breeze, and
his tall form towering far above the heads of all near him.
“He hugs the wind, sir, as if it was his sweetheart,” was his answer;
“but he'll let go his hold soon; and if he don't, we can find a way to
make him fall to leeward.”
“Keep a good full!” cried the commander, in a stern voice; “and let the
vessel go through the water. That fellow walks well, long Tom; but we
are too much for him on a bowline; though, if he continue to draw ahead
in this manner, it will be night before we can get alongside him.”
“Ay, ay, sir,” returned the cockswain; “them cutters carries a press of
canvas when they seem to have but little; their gafts are all the same
as young booms, and spread a broad head to their mainsails. But it's no
hard matter to knock a few cloths out of their bolt-ropes, when she will
both drop astarn and to leeward.”
“I believe there is good sense in your scheme, this time,” said
Barnstable; “for I am anxious about the frigate's people--though I hate
a noisy chase; speak to him, Tom, and let us see if he will answer.”
“Ay, ay, sir,” cried the cockswain, sinking his body in such a manner
as to let his head fall to a level with the cannon that he controlled,
when, after divers orders and sundry movements to govern the direction
of the piece, he applied a match, with a rapid motion, to the priming.
An immense body of white smoke rushed from the muzzle of the cannon,
followed by a sheet of vivid fire, until, losing its power, it yielded
to the wind, and, as it rose from the water, spread like a cloud, and,
passing through the masts of the schooner, was driven far to leeward,
and soon blended in the mists which were swiftly scudding before the
fresh breezes of the ocean.
Although many curious eyes were watching this beautiful sight from the
cliffs, there was too little of novelty in the exhibition to attract
a single look of the crew of the schooner from the more important
examination of the effect of the shot on their enemy. Barnstable sprang
lightly on a gun, and watched the instant when the ball would strike,
with keen interest, while long Tom threw himself aside from the line
of the smoke with a similar intention; holding one of his long arms
extended toward his namesake, with a finger on the vent, and supporting
his frame by placing the hand of the other on the deck, as his eyes
glanced through an opposite port-hole, in an attitude that most men
might have despaired of imitating with success.
“There go the chips!” cried Barnstable. “Bravo! Master Coffin, you never
planted iron in the ribs of an English man with more judgment. Let him
have another piece of it; and if he like the sport, we'll play a game of
long bowls with him!”
“Ay, ay, sir,” returned the cockswain, who, the instant he witnessed the
effects of his shot, had returned to superintend the reloading of his
gun; “if he holds on half an hour longer, I'll dub him down to our own
size, when we can close, and make an even fight of it.”
The drum of the Englishman was now, for the first time, heard rattling
across the waters, and echoing the call to quarters, that had already
proceeded from the Ariel.
“Ay! you have sent him to his guns!” said Barnstable; “we shall now hear
more of it; wake him up, Tom--wake him up.”
“We shall start him on end, or put him to sleep altogether, shortly,”
said the deliberate cockswain, who never allowed himself to be at all
hurried, even by his commander. My shot are pretty much like a shoal of
porpoises, and commonly sail in each other's wake. Stand by--heave her
breech forward--so; get out of that, you damned young reprobate, and let
my harpoon alone!”
“What are you at, there, Master Coffin?” cried Barnstable; “are you
tongue-tied?”
“Here's one of the boys skylarking with my harpoon in the lee-scuppers,
and by and by, when I shall want it most, there'll be a no-man's land to
hunt for it in.”
“Never mind the boy, Tom; send him aft here to me, and I'll polish his
behavior; give the Englishman some more iron.”
“I want the little villain to pass up my cartridges,” returned the angry
old seaman; “but if you'll be so good, sir, as to hit him a crack or
two, now and then, as he goes by you to the magazine, the monkey will
learn his manners, and the schooner's work will be all the better done
for it. A young herring-faced monkey! to meddle with a tool ye don't
know the use of. If your parents had spent more of their money on your
edication, and less on your outfit, you'd ha' been a gentleman to what
ye are now.”
“Hurrah! Tom, hurrah!” cried Barnstable, a little impatiently; “is your
namesake never to open his throat again!”
“Ay, ay, sir; all ready,” grumbled the cockswain; “depress a little;
so--so; a damned young baboon-behaved curmudgeon; overhaul that forward
fall more; stand by with your match--but I'll pay him!--fire!” This
was the actual commencement of the fight; for as the shot of Tom Coffin
traveled, as he had intimated, very much in the same direction, their
enemy found the sport becoming too hot to be endured in silence, and the
report of the second gun from the Ariel was instantly followed by that
of the whole broadside of the Alacrity. The shot of the cutter flew in a
very good direction, but her guns were too light to give them efficiency
at that distance; and as one or two were heard to strike against the
bends of the schooner, and fall back, innocuously, into the water, the
cockswain, whose good-humor became gradually restored as the combat
thickened, remarked with his customary apathy:
“Them count for no more than love-taps--does the Englishman think that
we are firing salutes!”
“Stir him up, Tom! every blow you give him will help to open his eyes,”
cried Barnstable, rubbing his hands with glee, as he witnessed the
success of his efforts to close.
Thus far the cockswain and his crew had the fight, on the part of the
Ariel, altogether to themselves, the men who were stationed at the
smaller and shorter guns standing in perfect idleness by their sides;
but in ten or fifteen minutes the commander of the Alacrity, who had
been staggered by the weight of the shot that had struck him, found
that it was no longer in his power to retreat, if he wished it; when he
decided on the only course that was left for a brave man to pursue, and
steered boldly in such a direction as would soonest bring him in contact
with his enemy, without exposing his vessel to be raked by his fire.
Barnstable watched each movement of his foe with eagle eyes, and when
the vessel had got within a lessened distance, he gave the order for a
general fire to be opened. The action now grew warm and spirited on both
sides. The power of the wind was counteracted by the constant explosion
of the cannon; and, instead of driving rapidly to leeward, a white
canopy of curling smoke hung above the Ariel, or rested on the
water, lingering in her wake, so as to mark the path by which she was
approaching to a closer and still deadlier struggle. The shouts of the
young sailors, as they handled their instruments of death, became more
animated and fierce, while the cockswain pursued his occupation with the
silence and skill of one who labored in a regular vocation. Barnstable
was unusually composed and quiet, maintaining the grave deportment of a
commander on whom rested the fortunes of the contest, at the same time
that his dark eyes were dancing with the fire of suppressed animation.
“Give it them!” he occasionally cried, in a voice that might be heard
amid the bellowing of the cannon; “never mind their cordage, my lads;
drive home their bolts, and make your marks below their ridge-ropes.”
In the mean time the Englishman played a manful game.
He had suffered a heavy loss by the distant cannonade, which no metal he
possessed could retort upon his enemy; but he struggled nobly to repair
the error in judgment with which he had begun the contest. The two
vessels gradually drew nigher to each other, until they both entered
into the common cloud created by their fire, which thickened and spread
around them in such a manner as to conceal their dark hulls from the
gaze of the curious and interested spectators on the cliffs. The heavy
reports of the cannon were now mingled with the rattling of muskets
and pistols, and streaks of fire might be seen glancing like flashes of
lightning through the white cloud which enshrouded the combatants;
and many minutes of painful uncertainty followed, before the deeply
interested soldiers, who were gazing at the scene, discovered on whose
banners victory had alighted.
We shall follow the combatants into their misty wreath, and display to
the reader the events as they occurred.
The fire of the Ariel was much the most quick and deadly, both because
she had suffered less, and her men were less exhausted; and the cutter
stood desperately on to decide the combat, after grappling, hand to
hand. Barnstable anticipated her intention and well understood her
commander's reason for adopting this course; but he was not a man to
calculate coolly his advantages, when pride and daring invited him to a
more severe trial. Accordingly, he met the enemy half-way, and, as the
vessels rushed together, the stern of the schooner was secured to the
bows of the cutter, by the joint efforts of both parties. The voice
of the English commander was now plainly to be heard, in the uproar,
calling to his men to follow him.
“Away there, boarders! repel boarders on the starboard quarter!” shouted
Barnstable, through his trumpet.
This was the last order that the gallant young sailor gave with this
instrument; for, as he spoke, he cast it from him, and, seizing his
sabre, flew to the spot where the enemy was about to make his most
desperate effort. The shouts, execrations, and tauntings of the
combatants, now succeeded to the roar of the cannon, which could be
used no longer with effect, though the fight was still maintained with
spirited discharges of the small-arms.
“Sweep him from his decks!” cried the English commander, as he appeared
on his own bulwarks, surrounded by a dozen of his bravest men; “drive
the rebellious dogs into the sea!”
“Away there, marines!” retorted Barnstable, firing his pistol at the
advancing enemy; “leave not a man of them to sup his grog again.”
The tremendous and close volley that succeeded this order nearly
accomplished the command of Barnstable to the letter, and the commander
of the Alacrity, perceiving that he stood alone, reluctantly fell back
on the deck of his own vessel, in order to bring on his men once more.
“Board her! graybeards and boys, idlers and all!” shouted Barnstable,
springing in advance of his crew--a powerful arm arrested the movement
of the dauntless seaman, and before he had time to recover himself, he
was drawn violently back to his own vessel by the irresistible grasp of
his cockswain.
“The fellow's in his flurry,” said Tom, “and it wouldn't be wise to go
within reach of his flukes; but I'll just step ahead and give him a set
with my harpoon.”
Without waiting for a reply, the cockswain reared his tall frame on the
bulwarks, and was in the attitude of stepping on board of his enemy,
when a sea separated the vessels, and he fell with a heavy dash of the
waters into the ocean. As twenty muskets and pistols were discharged at
the instant he appeared, the crew of the Ariel supposed his fall to be
occasioned by his wounds, and were rendered doubly fierce by the sight,
and the cry of their commander to:
“Revenge long Tom! board her! long Tom or death!”
They threw themselves forward in irresistible numbers, and forced a
passage, with much bloodshed, to the forecastle of the Alacrity. The
Englishman was overpowered, but still remained undaunted--he rallied his
crew, and bore up most gallantly to the fray. Thrusts of pikes and blows
of sabres were becoming close and deadly, while muskets and pistols
were constantly discharged by those who were kept at a distance by the
pressure of the throng of closer combatants.
Barnstable led his men in advance, and became a mark of peculiar
vengeance to his enemies, as they slowly yielded before his vigorous
assaults. Chance had placed the two commanders on opposite sides of the
cutter's deck, and the victory seemed to incline towards either party,
whenever these daring officers directed the struggle in person. But the
Englishman, perceiving that the ground he maintained in person was
lost elsewhere, made an effort to restore the battle, by changing his
position, followed by one or two of his best men. A marine, who preceded
him, leveled his musket within a few feet of the head of the American
commander, and was about to fire, when Merry glided among the
combatants, and passed his dirk into the body of the man, who fell
at the blow; shaking his piece, with horrid imprecations, the wounded
soldier prepared to deal his vengeance on his youthful assailant, when
the fearless boy leaped within its muzzle, and buried his own keen
weapon in his heart.
“Hurrah!” shouted the unconscious Barnstable, from the edge of the
quarter-deck, where, attended by a few men, he was driving all before
him. “Revenge!--long Tom and victory!”
“We have them!” exclaimed the Englishman; “handle your pikes! we have
them between two fires.”
The battle would probably have terminated very differently from what
previous circumstances had indicated, had not a wild-looking figure
appeared in the cutter's channels at that moment, issuing from the sea,
and gaining the deck at the same instant. It was long Tom, with his iron
visage rendered fierce by his previous discomfiture, and his grizzled
locks drenched with the briny element from which he had risen, looking
like Neptune with his trident. Without speaking, he poised his harpoon,
and, with a powerful effort, pinned the unfortunate Englishman to the
mast of his own vessel.
“Starn all!” cried Tom by a sort of instinct, when the blow was struck;
and catching up the musket of the fallen marine, he dealt out terrible
and fatal blows with its butt on all who approached him, utterly
disregarding the use of the bayonet on its muzzle. The unfortunate
commander of the Alacrity brandished his sword with frantic gestures,
while his eyes rolled in horrid wildness, when he writhed for an instant
in his passing agonies, and then, as his head dropped lifeless upon his
gored breast, he hung against the spar, a spectacle of dismay to his
crew, A few of the Englishmen stood chained to the spot in silent horror
at the sight, but most of them fled to their lower deck, or hastened
to conceal themselves in the secret parts of the vessel, leaving to the
Americans the undisputed possession of the Alacrity.
Two-thirds of the cutter's crew suffered either in life or limbs, by
this short struggle; nor was the victory obtained by Barnstable without
paying the price of several valuable lives. The first burst of conquest
was not, however, the moment to appreciate the sacrifice, and loud and
reiterated shouts proclaimed the exultation of the conquerors. As
the flush of victory subsided, however, recollection returned, and
Barnstable issued such orders as humanity and his duty rendered
necessary. While the vessels were separating, and the bodies of the dead
and wounded were removing, the conqueror paced the deck of his prize, as
if lost in deep reflection. He passed his hand, frequently, across his
blackened and blood-stained brow, while his eyes would rise to examine
the vast canopy of smoke that was hovering above the vessels, like a
dense fog exhaling from the ocean. The result of his deliberations was
soon announced to the crew.
“Haul down all your flags,” he cried; “set the Englishman's colors
again, and show the enemy's jack above our ensign in the Ariel.”
The appearance of the whole channel-fleet within half gunshot would
not have occasioned more astonishment among the victors than this
extraordinary mandate. The wondering seamen suspended their several
employments, to gaze at the singular change that was making in the
flags, those symbols that were viewed with a sort of reverence; but none
presumed to comment openly on the procedure except long Tom, who stood
on the quarter-deck of the prize, straightening the pliable iron of the
harpoon which he had recovered with as much care and diligence as if it
were necessary to the maintenance of their conquest. Like the others,
however, he suspended his employment when he heard this order, and
manifested no reluctance to express his dissatisfaction at the measure.
“If the Englishmen grumble at the fight, and think it not fair play,”
muttered the old cockswain, “let us try it over again, sir; as they are
somewhat short of hands, they can send a boat to the land, and get off a
gang of them lazy riptyles, the soldiers, who stand looking at us, like
so many red lizards crawling on a beach, and we'll give them another
chance; but damme, if I see the use of whipping them, if this is to be
the better end of the matter.”
“What's that you're grumbling there, like a dead northeaster, you
horse-mackerel?” said Barnstable; “where are our friends and countrymen
who are on the land? Are we to leave them to swing on gibbets or rot in
dungeons?”
The cockswain listened with great earnestness, and when his commander
had spoken, he struck the palm of his broad hand against his brawny
thigh, with a report like a pistol, and answered:
“I see how it is, sir; you reckon the red-coats have Mr. Griffith in
tow. Just run the schooner into shoal water, Captain Barnstable, and
drop an anchor, where we can get the long gun to bear on them, and give
me the whale-boat and five or six men to back me--they must have long
legs if they get an offing before I run them aboard!”
“Fool! do you think a boat's crew could contend with fifty armed
soldiers?”
“Soldiers!” echoed Tom, whose spirits had been strongly excited by the
conflict, snapping his fingers with ineffable disdain; “that for all the
soldiers that were ever rigged: one whale could kill a thousand of them!
and here stands the man that has killed his round hundred of whales!”
“Pshaw, you grampus, do you turn braggart in your old age?”
“It's no bragging, sir, to speak a log-book truth! but if Captain
Barnstable thinks that old Tom Coffin carries a speaking-trumpet for a
figure-head, let him pass the word forrard to man the boats.”
“No, no, my old master at the marlinspike,” said Barnstable, kindly, “I
know thee too well, thou brother of Neptune! but shall we not throw the
bread-room dust in those Englishmen's eyes, by wearing their bunting a
while, till something may offer to help our captured countrymen.”
The cockswain shook his head and cogitated a moment, as if struck with
sundry new ideas, when he answered:
“Ay, ay, sir; that's blue-water philosophy: as deep as the sea! Let the
riptyles clew up the corners of their mouths to their eyebrows, now!
when they come to hear the ra'al Yankee truth of the matter, they will
sheet them down to their leather neckcloths!”
With this reflection the cockswain was much consoled, and the business
of repairing damages and securing the prize proceeded without further
interruption on his part. The few prisoners who were unhurt were rapidly
transferred to the Ariel. While Barnstable was attending to this duty,
an unusual bustle drew his eyes to one of the hatchways, where he beheld
a couple of his marines dragging forward a gentleman, whose demeanor
and appearance indicated the most abject terror. After examining the
extraordinary appearance of this individual, for a moment, in silent
amazement, the lieutenant exclaimed:
“Who have we here? some amateur in fights! an inquisitive,
wonder-seeking non-combatant, who has volunteered to serve his king, and
perhaps draw a picture, or write a book, to serve himself! Pray, sir, in
what capacity did you serve in this vessel?”
The captive ventured a sidelong glance at his interrogator, in whom he
expected to encounter Griffith, but perceiving that it was a face he did
not know, he felt a revival of confidence that enabled him to reply:
“I came here by accident; being on board the cutter at the time her late
commander determined to engage you. It was not in his power to land me,
as I trust you will not hesitate to do; your conjecture of my being a
non-combatant--”
“Is perfectly true,” interrupted Barnstable; “it requires no spyglass
to read that name written on you from stem to stern: but for certain
weighty reasons--”
He paused to turn at a signal given him by young Merry, who whispered
eagerly, in his ear:
“'Tis Mr. Dillon, kinsman of Colonel Howard; I've seen him often,
sailing in the wake of my cousin Cicely.”
“Dillon!” exclaimed Barnstable, rubbing his hands with pleasure; “what,
Kit of that name! he with 'the Savannah face, eyes of black, and skin of
the same color?' he's grown a little whiter with fear; but he's a prize,
at this moment, worth twenty Alacrities!”
These exclamations were made in a low voice, and at some little distance
from the prisoner, whom he now approached and addressed:
“Policy, and consequently duty, require that I should detain you for a
short time, sir; but you shall have a sailor's welcome to whatever we
possess, to lessen the weight of captivity.”
Barnstable precluded any reply, by bowing to his captive, and turning
away to superintend the management of his vessels. In a short time it
was announced that they were ready to make sail, when the Ariel and her
prize were brought close to the wind, and commenced beating slowly along
the land, as if intending to return to the bay whence the latter had
sailed that morning. As they stretched in to the shore on the first
tack, the soldiers on the cliffs rent the air with their shouts and
acclamations, to which Barnstable, pointing to the assumed symbols
that were fluttering in the breeze from his masts, directed his crew
to respond in the most cordial manner. As the distance, and the want of
boats, prevented any further communication, the soldiers, after gazing
at the receding vessels for a time, disappeared from the cliffs, and
were soon lost from the sight of the adventurous mariners. Hour after
hour was consumed in the tedious navigation, against an adverse tide,
and the short day was drawing to a close, before they approached the
mouth of their destined haven. While making one of their numerous
stretches to and from the land, the cutter, in which Barnstable
continued, passed the victim of their morning's sport, riding on the
water, the waves curling over his huge carcass as on some rounded
rock, and already surrounded by the sharks, who were preying on his
defenceless body.
“See! Master Coffin,” cried the lieutenant, pointing out the object
to his cockswain as they glided by it, “the shovel-nosed gentlemen are
regaling daintily: you have neglected the Christian's duty of burying
your dead.”
The old seaman cast a melancholy look at the dead whale and replied:
“If I had the creatur in Boston Bay, or on the Sandy Point of Munny-Moy,
'twould be the making of me! But riches and honor are for the great and
the larned, and there's nothing left for poor Tom Coffin to do but to
veer and haul on his own rolling-tackle, that he may ride out on the
rest of the gale of life without springing any of his old spars.”
“How now, long Tom!” cried his officer, “these rocks and cliffs will
shipwreck you on the shoals of poetry yet; you grow sentimental!”
“Them rocks might wrack any vessel that struck them,” said the literal
cockswain; “and as for poetry, I wants none better than the good old
song of Captain Kidd; but it's enough to raise solemn thoughts in a Cape
Poge Indian, to see an eighty-barrel whale devoured by shirks--'tis
an awful waste of property! I've seen the death of two hundred of the
creaturs, though it seems to keep the rations of poor old Tom as short
as ever.”
The cockswain walked aft, while the vessel was passing the whale, and
seating himself on the taffrail, with his face resting gloomily on his
bony hand, he fastened his eyes on the object of his solicitude, and
continued to gaze at it with melancholy regret, while it was to be seen
glistening in the sunbeams, as it rolled its glittering side of white
into the air, or the rays fell unreflected on the black and rougher coat
of the back of the monster. In the mean time, the navigators diligently
pursued their way for the haven we have mentioned, into which they
steered with every appearance of the fearlessness of friends, and the
exultation of conquerors.
A few eager and gratified spectators lined the edges of the small bay,
and Barnstable concluded his arrangement for deceiving the enemy, by
admonishing his crew that they were now about to enter on a service that
would require their utmost intrepidity and sagacity.