A PIRATE HOLD
The _Furious_ was at once placed in the hands of the dockyard people, who
set to work immediately to repair damages, while large quantities of
provisions were brought off from the stores on shore.
“They are not generally as sharp as this,” Forster said; “I should say
there must be something in the wind.”
Such was the general opinion on board the ship, for double gangs of
workers were put on, and in three days she was reported to be again ready
for sea. The captain came on board half an hour later and spoke to the
first lieutenant, and orders were at once issued to get up the anchors and
set sail. Her head was pointed west as she left the harbour, and the
general opinion was that she was bound for Gibraltar. It leaked out,
however, in the afternoon that she was sailing under sealed orders, and as
that would hardly be the case if she were bound for Gibraltar, there were
innumerable discussions among the sailors as to her destination. Could she
be meant to cruise along the west coast of France, or to return to England
and join a fleet being got ready there for some important operation?
“What do you say, Bill?” one of the men asked an old sailor, who had sat
quietly, taking no part in the discussion.
“Well, if you asks me,” he said, “I should say we are bound for the West
Indies.”
“The West Indies, Bill! What makes you think that?”
“Well, I thinks that, because it seems to me as that is where we are most
wanted. The French have got a stronger fleet than we have out there.”
“Well, they have got as strong a fleet at Toulon, and quite as strong a
one at Brest.”
“Yes, that may be so, but I think we are pretty safe to lick them at
either of these places if they will come out and fight us fair, whereas in
the West Indies they are a good bit stronger. There are so many ports and
islands that, as we are, so to speak, a good deal scattered, they might at
any moment come upon us in double our strength.”
“Have you ever been there before, Bill?”
“Ay, two or three times. In some respects it could not be better; you can
buy fruit, and ’bacca and rum for next to nothing, when your officers give
you a chance. Lor’, the games them niggers are up to to circumvent them
would make you laugh! When you land, an old black woman will come up with
a basket full of cocoa-nuts. Your officer steps up to her and examines
them, and they look as right as can be. Perhaps he breaks one and it is
full of milk; very good. So you go up to buy, and the officer looks on.
The woman hands you two or three, and when she gives you the last one she
winks her eye. She don’t say anything, but you drop a sixpence into her
hand among the coppers you have to pay for the others, and when she has
quite sold out the officer orders you into the boat to lie off till he
comes back. And when he returns he is quite astonished to find that most
of the crew are three sheets in the wind.
“Then they will bring you sugar-canes half as thick as your wrist, looking
as innocent as may be; both ends are sealed up with bits of the pith, and
when you open one end you find that all the joints have been bored
through, and the cane is full of rum. But mind, lads, you are fools if you
touch it; it is new and strong and rank, and a bottle of it would knock
you silly. And that is not the worst of it, for fever catches hold of you,
and fever out there ain’t no joke. You eats a good dinner at twelve
o’clock, and you are buried in the palisades at six; that’s called yellow
jack. It is a country where you can enjoy yourselves reasonable with
fruit, and perhaps a small sup of rum, but where you must beware of
drinking; if you do that you are all right. The islands are beautiful,
downright beautiful; there ain’t many places which I troubles myself to
look at, but the West Indies are like gardens with feathery sorts of
trees, and mountains, and everything that you can want in nature.”
“It is very hot, isn’t it, Bill?”
“It ain’t, so to speak, cool in summer-time. In winter it is just right,
but in summer you would like to lie naked all day and have cold water
poured over you. Still, one gets accustomed to it in time. Then, you see,
there is always excitement of some kind. There are pirates and Frenchmen,
and there are Spaniards, whom I regard as a cross between the other two.
They hide about among the islands and pop out when you least expect them.
You always have to keep your eyes in your head and your cutlass handy when
you go ashore. The worst of them are what they call mulattoes; they are a
whity-brown sort of chaps, neither one thing nor the other, and a nice
cut-throat lot they are. A sailor who drinks too much and loses his boat
is as like as not to be murdered by some of them before morning. I hate
them chaps like poison. There are scores of small craft manned by them
which prey upon the negroes, who are an honest, merry lot, and not bad
sailors either in their way. Sometimes four or five of these pirate craft
will go together, and many of them are a good size and carry a lot of
guns. They make some island their head-quarters. Any niggers there may be
on it they turn into slaves. There are thousands of these islands, so at
least I should say, scattered about, some of them mere sand-spots, others
a goodish size.
“Well, I hope it is the West Indies. There is plenty of amusement and
plenty of fighting to be done there, and I should like to know what a
sailor can want more.”
There was a hum of approval; the picture was certainly tempting.
After a six days’ run with a favourable wind they passed through the
Straits without touching at Gibraltar, and held west for twenty-four
hours. Then the sealed orders were opened, and it was soon known
throughout the ship that it was indeed the West Indies for which they were
bound. The ship’s course was at once changed. Teneriffe was passed, and
they stopped for a day to take in fresh water and vegetables at St.
Vincent. Then her head was turned more westward, and three weeks later the
_Furious_ anchored at Port Royal. The captain went on shore at once to
visit the admiral, and returned with the news that the _Furious_ was to
cruise off the coast of Cuba. The exact position of the French fleet was
unknown, but when last heard of was in the neighbourhood of that island.
“I must keep a sharp look-out for them,” the captain said, “and bring back
news of their whereabouts if I do catch sight of them; that is, of course,
if we don’t catch a tartar, for not only do the French ships carry heavier
guns than we do, but they sail faster. We are as speedy, however, as any
of our class, and will, I hope, be able to show them a clean pair of
heels. In addition to this, I am told that three piratical craft, which
have their rendezvous on some island off the south coast of Cuba, have
been committing great depredations. A number of merchantmen have been
missed; so I am to keep a sharp look-out for them and to clip their wings
if I can.”
“What size are they?” asked the first lieutenant.
“One is said to be a cutter carrying eight guns and a long-tom, the other
two are schooners, each carrying six guns on a broadside; it is not known
whether they have a long-tom, but the probability is that they have.”
“They would be rather formidable opponents then if we caught them
together, as they carry as many guns as we do, and those long-toms are
vastly more powerful than anything we have. I think it is a pity that they
don’t furnish all ships on this station with a long twenty-four; it would
be worth nearly all our broadsides.”
“That is so, Mr. Farrance, but somehow the people at home cannot get out
of their regular groove, and fill up the ships with eight and
ten-pounders, while, as you say, one long twenty-four would be worth a
dozen of them. If we do catch one of these pirates I shall confiscate
their long guns to our own use.”
“It would be a capital plan, sir. Well, I am glad we shall have something
to look for besides the French fleet, which may be a hundred miles away.”
“Ay, or a thousand,” the captain added.
Will had been standing not far from the captain, and heard this
conversation. His heart beat high at the thought of the possibility of a
fight with these murderous pirates.
For three weeks they cruised off the coast of Cuba. They saw no sign
whatever of the French fleet, but from time to time they heard from native
craft of the pirates. The natives differed somewhat widely as to the
head-quarters of these pests, but all agreed that it was on an island
lying in the middle of dangerous shoals.
One day they saw smoke rising some fifteen miles away and at once shaped
their course for it. When they approached it they found that it rose from
a vessel enveloped in flames.
“She is a European ship,” the captain said as they neared her. “Send an
officer in a boat to row round her and gather any particulars as to her
fate. I see no boats near her, and I am afraid that it is the work of
those pirates.”
All watched the boat with intent interest as she rowed round the ship.
“I have no doubt whatever that it is the work of pirates,” the officer
said on his return. “Her bulwarks are burnt away, and I could make out
several piles on deck which looked like dead men.”
“Send a man up to the mast-head, Farrance, and tell him to scan the
horizon carefully for a sail. I should say this ship can’t have been
burning above three hours at most.”
No sooner had the man reached the top of the mast than he called down
“Sail ho!”
“Where away?” Mr. Farrance shouted.
“On the port bow, sir.”
“What do you make her out to be?”
“I should say she was a schooner by her topsails.”
The ship’s course was at once changed, and every rag of sail put upon her.
The first lieutenant climbed to the upper crosstrees, and after a long
look through his telescope returned to deck.
“I should say she is certainly one of the schooners that we are in search
of, sir, but I doubt whether with this light wind we have much chance of
overhauling her.”
“We will try anyhow,” the captain said. “She is probably steering for the
rendezvous, so by following her we may at least get some important
information.”
All day the chase continued, but there was no apparent change in the
position of the two vessels. The _Furious_ was kept on the same course
through the night, and to the satisfaction of all on board they found,
when morning broke, that they had certainly gained on the schooner, as her
mainsails were now visible. At twelve o’clock a low bank of sand was
sighted ahead, and the schooner had entered a channel in this two hours
later. The _Furious_ had to be hove-to outside the shoal. The sand
extended a long distance, but there were several breaks in it, and from
the masthead a net-work of channels could be made out. It was a great
disappointment to the crew of the _Furious_ to have to give up the chase
and see the schooner only some four miles off on her way under easy sail.
“This is an awkward place, Mr. Farrance,” the captain said, “and will need
a deal of examination before we go any farther. The first thing to do will
be to sail round and note and sound the various channels. I wish you would
go aloft with your glass and see whether there is any ground higher than
the rest. Such a place would naturally be the point of rendezvous.”
Lieutenant Farrance went aloft and presently returned.
“There is a clump of green trees,” he said, “some ten miles off. The
schooner is nearing them, and I think, though of this I am not certain,
that I can make out the masts of another craft lying there.”
“Well, it is something to have located her,” the captain said. “Now we
must find how we can best get there; that will be a work of time. We may
as well begin by examining some of these channels.”
Four boats were at once lowered and rowed to the mouths of those nearest.
The sounding operations quickly showed that in three of them there was but
two feet of water; the other was somewhat deeper, but there was still two
feet less water than the _Furious_ drew. The deep part was very narrow and
winding.
“It may be this one that the schooner has gone up,” the captain said. “I
have no doubt she draws three or four feet less than we do, and, knowing
the passage perfectly, she could get up it easily. I hope, however, we
shall find something deeper presently.”
The next three days were spent in circumnavigating the sand-banks and in
sounding the various channels, but at last the captain was obliged to
admit that none of them were deep enough for the _Furious_, although there
were fully half a dozen by which vessels of lighter draught might enter.
“I am ready to run any fair risk, Mr. Farrance,” he said, “but I daren’t
send a boat expedition against such a force as that, especially as they
have no doubt thrown up batteries to strengthen their position. They must
have any number of cannon which they have taken from ships they have
captured.”
“It would certainly be a desperate enterprise,” the first lieutenant
agreed, “and, as you say, too dangerous to be attempted now.”
“Gilmore,” Forster said, as the midshipmen met at dinner, “you are always
full of ideas; can’t you suggest any way by which we might get at them?”
“I am afraid not,” Will laughed. “The only possible way that I can see
would be to sail away, get together a number of native craft, and then
make a dash at the place.”
“What would be the advantage of native craft over our boats,” one of the
others said scoffingly.
“The great advantage would be that, if we had a dozen native craft, the
men would be scattered about their decks instead of being crowded in
boats, and would therefore be able to land with comparatively little
loss.”
“Upon my word,” one of the seniors said, “I think there is something in
Gilmore’s idea. Of course they would have to be very shallow, and one
would have to choose a night when there was just enough breeze to take
them quietly along. At any rate I will run the risk of being snubbed, and
will mention it to one of the lieutenants. ’Pon my word, the more I think
of it the more feasible does it seem.”
After dinner was over the midshipman went up to Mr. Peters, who was now
third lieutenant, and saluted.
“What is it?” the lieutenant asked.
“Well, sir, it is an idea of Gilmore’s. It may not be worth anything at
all, but it certainly seemed to me that there was something in it.”
“His ideas are generally worth something. What is it?”
The midshipman explained Will’s plan.
“There is certainly something in it,” Peters said. “What a beggar that boy
is for ideas! At any rate, I will mention it to Mr. Farrance.”
Mr. Farrance at first pooh-poohed the idea, but, on thinking it over, he
concluded that it would be as well at any rate to lay it before the
captain.
“’Pon my word it does seem feasible,” the captain said. “They could tow
the boats in after them, so that, when they came under the pirates’ fire,
the men could get into the boats and so be in shelter. Only one hand would
be required to steer each vessel, and the rest would remain out of sight
of the enemy until near enough to make a dash either for the shore or the
pirates’ craft, as the case might be. It is a good idea, a really
brilliant idea, and well worth putting into effect. Besides, each of the
vessels could carry one or two small guns, and so keep down the enemy’s
fire to some extent. Send for Gilmore.”
In a few minutes Will entered the captain’s cabin cap in hand.
“Mr. Farrance tells me, Mr. Gilmore, that you have an idea that by
collecting a number of native craft of shallow draught we might attack the
pirates with some hope of success.”
“It was only an idea, sir, that occurred to me on the spur of the moment.”
“Well, I am inclined to regard it as a feasible one,” the captain said. “A
dozen boats of that kind would carry the greater part of the ship’s crew,
and if each had a couple of light cannon on board they would be able to
answer the enemy’s fire. If I do attack in this manner I propose to send
the boats in towing behind the native craft, so that when the enemy’s fire
becomes really heavy the men can take their places in these, and so be in
shelter until close enough to make a dash. Is there any other suggestion
you can offer I?”
“No, sir. The plan of taking the boats certainly seems to me to be a good
one.”
The captain smiled a little. He was not accustomed to have his plans
approved of by midshipmen. However, he only said: “I think it will work.
Should any other suggestion occur to you, you will mention it to Mr.
Farrance. I am really obliged to you for the idea, which does great credit
to your sharpness.”
“Thank you, sir!” said Will, and retired.
An hour later the frigate was sailing away from the sand-banks.
“What did the old man say?” the midshipmen asked Will as he rejoined them.
“He thinks that there was something in the idea, but of course he has
greatly improved it. He means to send the boats towing behind the native
craft, so that if the fire gets very heavy the men can take to them and be
towed in perfect shelter until near enough to make a rush. He intends to
put a gun or two in each of the native boats, to keep down the enemy’s
fire a bit as they approach.”
“That is an improvement,” Forster said, “and it certainly seems, Gilmore,
as if you had found a way out of our dilemma.”
Those who had been most disposed to laugh at Will’s suggestion were eager
to congratulate him now that the captain had expressed his approval of it
and had adopted it.
The _Furious_ sailed direct for Port Royal. There was no fear that the
pirates would abandon their island, for they would naturally take the
retirement of the _Furious_ as an admission of defeat. They were, of
course, open to a boat attack, but they would consider themselves strong
enough to beat off any such attempt without difficulty.
Arriving at Port Royal, Lieutenant Farrance went ashore in search of
suitable craft. He had no difficulty in buying a dozen old native boats.
He then procured a large quantity of cane, and lashed these in the bottom
of the boats, using a sufficient quantity to keep them afloat even if they
were riddled with balls. Then the carpenters set to work to make platforms
in the bows of each to carry a seven-pounder gun. In three days the work
was completed and the _Furious_ started again, putting two men in each of
the boats and taking them in tow.
Five days later they arrived off the sand-spits, and preparations were at
once made for the attack. Lying low in the water, and keeping in a line
behind the _Furious_, the native craft would be altogether invisible from
the central islands, so that the pirates would not be aware of the method
of attack. The greater portion of the men were told off to them, only
forty remaining on board the _Furious_. All was ready an hour after
nightfall, and the men took their places in the native craft, fastening
their boats to the stern in each case. The sails were at once got up, and,
following each other in single file, they entered the channel which had
been found to be the deepest. The leading boat kept on sounding—an easy
matter, as, the wind being light, the rate of progress did not exceed a
mile an hour.
Will had been posted by the first lieutenant in his own boat, which was
the leader, and Dimchurch and Tom Stevens were among the crew. Dimchurch
had exchanged places with another seaman; Tom had been allowed a place by
the special solicitation of Will.
“He fought stoutly in that fight on the Moorish prize, and he is very much
attached to me. I should be obliged, sir, if you would take him.”
“All right!” said the first lieutenant; “let him stow himself away in the
bow till the fighting begins.” Accordingly Tom curled himself up by the
gun.
It was between two and three in the morning when the trees of the central
island were made out; they were not more than five hundred yards away.
Presently from a projecting point, where a heavy mass could be made out, a
cannon was fired. The shot flew overhead, but the effect was
instantaneous. Shouts were heard on shore and the sound of oars in
rowlocks.
“Take to the boats!” the lieutenant shouted. The two lines of lights in
the port-holes showed the positions of two vessels, and the men on the
native craft left to work the guns at once opened fire at them. For a
minute or two there was no return, and it was evident that the greater
portion of the crew had been ashore. The battery that had first fired now
kept up a steady discharge, but as the boats were almost invisible, the
shot flew wildly overhead or splashed harmlessly in the water. The gunners
on board disregarded it, and maintained a steady fire at the ports of the
enemy’s vessels. From these now came answering flashes, but the shot did
little damage.
When the attacking party had got within a hundred yards of the pirate
ships, the lieutenant gave the signal, and the boats, with a cheer, dashed
forward at full speed. They had received instructions how to act in case
two vessels were found, and, dividing, they made for their respective
quarters.
The race was short and sharp, each officer urging his men to the fullest
exertions. The instant they were alongside the oars were cast aside, and
the men, drawing their cutlasses, leapt to their feet and endeavoured to
climb up. They were thrust back with boarding-pikes, axes, and weapons of
all kinds, but at last managed to get a foothold aft.
Will in vain endeavoured to get on deck; the sides were too high for him.
Finding himself left with half the crew, he made his way in the boat
forward along the side of the pirate vessel and clambered up by the
bowsprit shrouds. Some of the men in the other boats, seeing what he was
doing, followed his example. They were unnoticed. A fierce fight was
raging on the quarter-deck, and the shouting was prodigious. When some
thirty men were gathered Will led the way aft. Their arrival was
opportune, for the attacking party, under the lieutenant, had been vastly
outnumbered by the pirates, and although fighting stoutly, had been penned
against the bulwark, where with difficulty they defended themselves.
[Illustration: WILL LEADS A PARTY TO TAKE THE ENEMY IN THE REAR]
With a cheer Will’s party rushed aft, taking the pirates in the rear. Many
of these were cut down, and the rest fell back confused by this unexpected
attack.
“Now is your time, lads!” the lieutenant shouted. “Throw yourselves upon
them and drive them back!”
Although the pirates still fought desperately, knowing that no mercy would
be extended them, the steady valour of the sailors was too much for them.
At last the pirate captain was cut down by Dimchurch, and with his fall
his men entirely lost heart. Some threw down their arms, and many of them
jumped overboard and swam ashore. A loud cheer burst from the sailors as
the resistance came to an end.
The fight was still raging on board the other ship, and the lieutenant
ordered the men of his own and another boat to row to it. Unseen by the
pirates they reached the bow and climbed on deck. Then as soon as all had
gained a footing they rushed aft. Here, too, the rear attack decided the
struggle; in five minutes all was over.
Daylight was now breaking, and they were able to see that there was a line
of storehouses on the islands together with a large number of huts. The
greater portion of the men were ordered to land, and the fugitives from
the ships were hunted down. Most of these had taken refuge in the battery
at the mouth of the harbour, but as this was open on the land side it was
soon stormed and the defenders all cut down. Then the huts were searched
and burnt and the storehouses opened.
These were found to contain an enormous quantity of goods, the spoil
evidently of many ships, and the men were at once set to work to transfer
it to the prizes, and when these were full, to the native craft. A boat
had been sent off, directly the fighting was over, with news to the
captain of the success they had gained, and in the morning another message
was sent saying that it would take four or five days to transfer the
stores to the ships, and the _Furious_ had in consequence hoisted anchor
and gone for a short cruise away from the dangerous proximity of the
sands.
On the afternoon of the third day a large cutter was seen approaching.
Lieutenant Farrance ordered the native craft to be towed behind a small
islet, where they were hidden from sight of a vessel entering the harbour,
and the crews to take their places on the captured vessels. When this was
done the guns were loaded and the men stood to their quarters. The
new-comer approached without apparently entertaining any suspicion that
anything unusual had happened, the huts that had been destroyed being
hidden by the groves of trees.
As she came abreast of them the guns were run out and the lieutenant
shouted: “I call upon you to surrender! These vessels are prizes of His
Majesty’s frigate _Furious_, and if you don’t surrender we will sink you
at once!”
There was a hoarse shout of fury and astonishment, and then the captain
called back: “We will never surrender!”
Both the schooners at once poured in their broadsides, doing immense
damage, and killing large numbers of the pirates. A few cannon were fired
in answer, but in such haste that they had no effect. When two more
broadsides had been fired into her, the cutter blew up with a tremendous
explosion which shook both vessels to the keel and threw many of the men
down. When the smoke cleared away the cutter had disappeared. Whether a
shot had reached her magazine, or whether she was blown up by her
desperate commander, was never known, as not a single survivor of the crew
was picked up.
When the work of loading was completed, and the storehouses had been
destroyed by fire, the two schooners sailed out, followed by the native
craft with the boats towing behind.
The victory had been won at very little cost. Only three men had been
killed and some seventeen wounded, while with the exception of some thirty
prisoners, for the most part wounded, the whole pirate force had been
annihilated.
The captain had already visited the scene, having rowed in as soon as he
had received news of the success of the expedition. In Lieutenant
Farrance’s despatch several officers were noted for distinguished conduct.
Among these was Will Gilmore, to whom the lieutenant gave great credit for
the manner in which he had boarded the pirate, and by his sudden attack
upon the rear of the enemy converted what was a distinctly perilous
situation into a success.
“I tell you what it is, Gilmore,” one of the midshipmen jestingly said,
“if you go on like this we shall send you to Coventry. It is unbearable
that you should always get to the front.”
Great was the rejoicing among the merchants of Port Royal when the
_Furious_ returned with her two prizes and it became known that the third
had been destroyed and the nest of pirates completely broken up.
On the following day Will was sent for by the admiral.
“My lad,” he said, “I wish to tell you that although it is not usual for a
captain to acknowledge in official despatches that he acted on the ideas
of a young midshipman, Captain Marker has done full justice to you in his
verbal report to me. Your idea showed great ingenuity, and although the
surprise was so complete that even had the attack been made by ships’
boats only it would probably have been successful, this detracts in no way
from the merit of the suggestion. Of course you have some years to serve
yet before you can pass, but I can promise you that as soon as you do so
you shall, if you are still here, have your appointment at once as mate,
with employment in which you can distinguish yourself.”
“Thank you very much, sir!” Will said, and, saluting, retired.
In three days the ship’s prizes and native craft were unloaded, and their
contents were found to be of very great value, for by the marks upon the
goods it was evident that at least twenty-three merchantmen must have been
captured and pillaged, and as none of these were ever heard of after they
had sailed it was reasonably concluded that all must have been burnt, and
those on board murdered. The case was so atrocious that the prisoners were
all tried, condemned to death, and executed in batches. There was little
doubt that the pirates must have had agents in the various ports who had
kept them informed of the sailing of ships, but there was no means of
ascertaining who these parties were.
The _Furious_ sailed four days after her return, and this time cruised on
the northern coast of Cuba. One day, when sailing along by a stretch of
high cliffs, a ship of war suddenly appeared from a narrow inlet; she was
followed by two others. The _Furious_ was headed round at once, and with
the three French frigates in pursuit started on her way back. The wind was
light, and though every stitch of canvas was set, it was evident, after an
hour’s sailing, that one, at least, of her pursuers gained steadily on
her. The French ship would, indeed, have gained more than she had done had
she not yawed occasionally and fired with her bow-chasers. The _Furious_
had shifted two of her broadside guns to her stern to reply, but, although
the aim was good, only one or two hits were made, the distance being still
too great for accurate shooting.
“I wish the other two Frenchmen were a little slower,” the captain said to
the first lieutenant. “They are only a little farther behind her than when
we started, and are, I think, only about half a mile astern of her. If she
continues to travel at her present rate she will be close up to us by
sunset. She is just about our own size, and I make no doubt that we should
give a good account of her, but we could not hope to do so before her two
consorts came up, and we could not expect to beat all three. If we could
but fall in with one of our cruisers I would fight them willingly.”
“Yes, the odds are too much against us at present, sir. I don’t say that
we could not fight them separately, but we could hardly hope to beat three
of them at once. We can’t make her go through the water faster than she is
doing as far as I can see.”
“No, every sail seems to be doing its best. There is nothing for it but to
pray either for another frigate or for more wind. I am not sure that wind
would help us, still it might.”
“I think, sir,” the lieutenant said, two hours later, “that one of your
wishes is going to be fulfilled. There is a cloud rising very rapidly on
the larboard bow, and from its colour and appearance it seems to me that
we are going to have a tornado.”
“It will be welcome indeed,” the captain said. “We have been hit ten times
in the last half-hour, and the nearest ship is not more than
three-quarters of a mile away.”
Five minutes later the captain said: “It is certainly a tornado. All hands
reduce sail. Don’t waste a moment, lads; it will be on us in three
minutes.”
In a moment the vessel was a scene of bustle; the men swarmed up the
rigging, urged to the greatest exertions not only by the voices of their
officers but by the appearance of the heavens. The frigate behind held on
three or four minutes longer, then her sheets were let fly, and
immediately she was a scene of wild confusion.
“It will be on her before she is ready,” the captain said grimly, “and if
it is, she will turn turtle. It is as much as we shall do to be ready.”
Just as a line of white foam was seen approaching with the speed of a
race-horse, the last man reached the deck.
“I would give a great deal,” the captain said, “to have time to get down
all our light spars. Get ready your small fore try-sail, and a small
stay-sail to run up on the mizzen.”
A minute later the storm was upon them. A blinding sheet of spray, driven
with almost the force of grape-shot, swept over the ship, followed by a
deafening roar and a force of wind that seemed about to lift the ship
bodily out of the water. Over and over she heeled, and all thought that
she was about to founder, when, even above the noise of the storm, three
loud crashes were heard, and the three masts, with all their lofty hamper,
went over the side.
“Thank God,” the lieutenant exclaimed, “that has saved her!”
All hands with axes and knives began cutting away the wreckage. At the
same time the two try-sails were hoisted, but they at once blew out of the
bolt-ropes.
“Don’t you think, sir,” the first lieutenant shouted, “that if we lash a
hawser to all this hamper, and hang to it, it will act as a floating
anchor, and bring her head up to the wind?”
“Very well thought of, Mr. Farrance,” the captain shouted back; “by all
means do so.”
The order was given and immediately carried out. The tangle of ropes and
spars, with the ship’s strongest hawser attached, soon drifted past her,
and as the cable tightened the vessel’s head began to come slowly up into
the wind.
“That will delay her fate for a bit,” the captain said, “but we can’t hope
that it will more than delay it, unless we can get up some sail and crawl
off the coast. Get ready the strongest try-sails we have in case they may
be wanted.”
In a few minutes the sails were got ready, but for the present there was
nothing for it but to hang on to the wreckage. The shore was some miles
away, but in spite of the floating anchor the drift was great. The crew of
the _Furious_ had now time to breathe, but it was pitch dark and nothing
could be seen save the white heads of the waves which now every moment
threatened to overwhelm them. Not a trace of the frigate which had so
hotly pursued them could be seen.
“God rest their souls!” the captain said earnestly. “I am afraid she is
gone. In fair fight one strives to do as much damage as possible, but such
a catastrophe as this is awful. I trust the other two took warning in
time.”
“I hope so too. They were under the lee of that island we passed shortly
before it began, so would be partially sheltered. There is no hope for the
first, and their fate is terrible indeed, sir; all the more awful,
perhaps, because we know that it may become ours before long.”
“There is no doubt about that,” the captain said. “Unless the wind drops
or chops round our fate is sealed, and a few hours will see the ship
grinding her bones on that rocky shore. It is too dark to see it, but we
know that we are most surely approaching it.”
As day broke the shore was made out a little more than half a mile away.
The captain then called the crew together.
“My lads,” he shouted, but in spite of his efforts his voice was heard but
a few yards away, “everything has been done for the ship that could be
done, but as you see for yourselves our efforts have been in vain. I trust
that you will all get ashore, but as far as we can see at present the
rocks are almost precipitous, and, high as they are, the spray flies right
over them. I thank you all for your good conduct while the ship has been
in commission, and am sure that you will know how to die, and will
preserve your calm and courage till the end. Go to your stations and
remain there until she is about to strike; then each man must make the
best fight for life that he can.”
The men went quietly off. Mr. Farrance stood watching the shore with his
telescope. Presently he exclaimed: “See, sir, there is a break in the
cliff! I do not know how far it goes in, but it looks to me as if it might
be the opening to an inlet. We are nearly opposite to it, so if we shift
the hawser from the bow to the stern she will swing round, and will
probably drift right into the creek if that is what it is.”
“By all means let us make the attempt,” the captain said. “Thank God,
there is a hope of escape for us all!”
The men sprang to their feet with alacrity when they heard the news.
Another hawser was brought up and firmly spliced to the one in use just
beyond the bulwark forward. Then it was led along outside the shrouds and
fastened to the bitts astern and then to the mizzen-mast. This done, the
first hawser was cut at the bulwark forward, and the ship swung round
almost instantly. As soon as she headed dead for shore the raffle that had
so long served for their floating anchor was cut adrift and the try-sail
was hoisted on the stump of the foremast, and with six good men at the
wheel the vessel surged shorewards under the force of the gale, every man
on board holding his breath. The opening was but a ship’s-length across,
but driven by the wind and steered with the greatest care the _Furious_
shot into it as quickly and as surely as if she were propelled with oars.
A great shout of relief burst from the whole crew when, after proceeding
for a hundred yards along a narrow channel, the passage suddenly widened
out into a pool a quarter of a mile across.
“Let go the anchor!” the captain cried, and he had scarce spoken when the
great anchor went thundering down. “Pay out the chain gradually,” was the
next order, “and check her when she gets half-way across.” The order was
obeyed and the vessel’s head swung round, and in less than a minute she
was riding quietly over great waves that came rolling in through the
entrance and broke in foam against the shore of the inlet. The quiet after
the roar and din was almost startling. Above, the clouds could be seen
flying past in rugged masses, but the breast of the pool, sheltered as it
was from the wind by its lofty sides, was scarcely rippled, and the waves
rolled in as if they were made of glass. Not a word was heard until the
captain spoke.
“It is the least we can do, men, to thank God for this miraculous escape.
I trust that there is not a man on board this ship who will not offer his
fervent thanks to Him who has so wonderfully brought us out of the jaws of
death.”
Every head was bared, and for two or three minutes no sound was heard on
board the ship. Then the captain replaced his hat, and the men went
quietly off to their duties.