The gallant frigate, which bore the three midshipmen and their fortunes,
was soon plunging into a heavy sea, caused by a strong breeze from the
westward, which she encountered as she stood across the Bay of Biscay.
"There we lay all the day, in the Bay of Biscay, oh!" sang Paddy Adair,
as he, with other young gentlemen, sat in the berth after dinner; but,
as he sang, there was a tremulousness in his voice ominous of a troubled
soul within, while the "Oh!" came out with a peculiar emphasis which
brought down upon him the laughter of the other youngsters, who, having
been rather longer at sea, had become accustomed to such joltings and
tumblings about. Jack meantime, who had just come below from his watch
on deck, was attacking, with a ferocity which made it appear as if he
was contending with some bitter enemy, instead of a plentiful dinner,
the boiled beef and biscuit the boy had lately placed on the table.
When spoken to, he scarcely looked up, but continued cramming mouthful
after mouthful down his throat, while his eyes rolled round and round;
and more than once he gazed at the door, contemplating evidently how he
could most quickly make his escape on deck. Alick Murray meantime
leaned back at the end of the berth, with a book in his hand, under the
impression that he was reading; but his head ached; his dinner had been
untasted, and, though his eyes may have seen the letters, they conveyed
no impression to his brain. The rest of the members of the mess were
variously employed. Some were writing up their logs; others doing their
day's work; a few reading, and some were discussing subjects, if not
very erudite, at all events, apparently highly amusing to themselves,
from the peals of laughter they occasionally elicited. Two youngsters
were having a quiet little fight in the corner, pummelling each other's
heads to their hearts' content, till brought to order by a couple of
books aimed scientifically across the berth by old Hemming, the senior
mate of the mess, who, from constant practice, was very perfect in that
mode of projecting missiles. There were several other passed mates in
the berth, and two assistant-surgeons--one of them old enough to be the
father of any of the youngsters--and a second master and a master's
assistant, and the captain and purser's clerks, and three or four other
midshipmen of various ages. All of them did not belong to the frigate,
but some were supernumeraries going out to other ships on the station.
The fathers of some present were of high rank, and they had been
accustomed to all the luxuries wealth can give, while others were the
sons of poor men, officers in the army and navy, who had little beyond
their pay on which to depend. Altogether they formed a very
heterogeneous mass, and a strict system of discipline was required to
keep them in order. Captain Lascelles, who commanded the _Racer_, was
an officer and a gentleman in the true sense of the word, and he wished
that all the officers under his command should deserve the same
character. Those belonging to the gun-room were mostly men of this
description, but one or two scarcely came up to it. Of these one was
the lieutenant of marines. He formed an exception to the general
character won by that noble corp--for a braver and more gallant set of
men are nowhere to be found. Lieutenant Spry was not a favourite either
with his superiors or with those below him. The midshipmen especially
disliked him, and he seemed to have a decided antipathy to them.
To return to the midshipmen's berth: Jack Rogers continued to bolt his
beef, Alick to fancy that he was reading, and Adair to try and sing,
when, in spite of his courage, nature, or rather the _tumblification_ of
the ship, triumphed;--springing over the table, he rushed up the
hatchway towards the nearest port on the upper deck. Now, as it
happened, Lieutenant Spry was with uneasy steps endeavouring to take his
constitutional walk along the deck at that moment, and Paddy, not seeing
him, ran with his head directly against the lower button of the marine
officer's waistcoat, whereon the seasick midshipman found his ears
pinched, and received a shower of no very refined epithets. Poor
Terence, who, essentially the gentleman, would not have retorted if he
could, was able only to ejaculate, "Beg pardon, sir!" when the usual
result of seasickness followed, to the no small disfigurement of the
marine's white trousers. The enraged officer, on this, thundered down
invectives on poor Paddy's head, and finished off in a most
un-officer-like way by kicking him down the hatchway from whence he had
just emerged. Adair returned crestfallen and miserable, brooding over
the injury and insults he had received. There could have been no doubt
that a formal complaint made to the captain would have brought down a
severe reprimand on the head of the marine officer, but the idea of
making a complaint never crossed the imagination of the midshipman.
Paddy, however, told his story to his companions, and even Murray agreed
that Mr Spry had merited punishment. They eagerly discussed the
subject--all the midshipmen had been insulted in the person of Adair,
and it was not long before a bright idea was elicited from among them.
On board the ship, belonging to the men, was a large monkey, whom they
called Quirk, a very tame and sagacious animal, who had a peculiar
aptitude for learning any trick which any person had perseverance enough
to teach him. "He'd know more nor any of the ship's boys if it weren't
for his tail," the men used to remark after the performance of one of
his clever tricks.
"Capital!" exclaimed Jack, forgetting all about his seasickness and
clapping his hands with delight when the idea which had been brought
forth was propounded; "he'll do in it first-rate style--ha, ha, ha!" and
a merry peal of laughter ran through the berth.
The gale blew over, and the sea once more was bright and blue, as the
frigate made her way towards the Rock of Gibraltar. For several days
the three midshipmen were wonderfully quiet below; sometimes they were
forward, and sometimes they sat together at the farther end of their own
berth. They had needles and thread and scissors under weigh, and bits
of red cloth and leather, and indeed all sorts of outfitters' materials,
the employment on which seemed to afford them infinite satisfaction.
Mr Spry, as in fancied dignity he paced the quarter-deck, of course did
not remark the constant absence of so insignificant a person as a
midshipman from it; and the recollection that he had behaved not
altogether in a becoming way to Adair did not probably cross his mind.
Now the lieutenant had a peculiarly pompous air, and the habit, whenever
he wished to blow his nose, of drawing his white cambric
pocket-handkerchief from his breast pocket with what he thought peculiar
dignity, and of flourishing it in his hand after each operation in a
fine theatrical style. He had read in some advertising circular that
the use of a fine cambric handkerchief always marks the gentleman; so he
considered that if he purchased a set, no one would afterwards venture
to doubt his claim to that character. All day long, Jack, or Alick, or
Paddy, sometimes singly and sometimes all together, were forward in the
company of no less important a character than Quirk, the monkey. It is
extraordinary how perseveringly they devoted themselves to him. Had
they employed the same time in teaching some of their fellow-creatures,
the ship's boys, they might have imparted a considerable amount of
useful knowledge, notwithstanding what the men said on the subject. At
last they considered that the time had arrived for bringing their
labours to a triumphant result.
One fine calm morning the marines had been called out to drill. For
some reason Lieutenant Spry did not at once make his appearance, but a
representative came forward instead in the person of Master Quirk, who
sprang aft to the spot which should have been occupied by the
lieutenant, dressed in full fig, with red coat and belt and hat, and a
sword by his side, while his breast pocket was well stuffed out with a
huge piece of white cotton. "Attention!" cried out some one on deck.
The men unconsciously obeyed, and instantly Quirk drew out his
handkerchief, and, spluttering with a loud noise, flourished it
vehemently in the air. On this, even the self-possession of the marines
gave way; and instead of being angry, they burst into uncontrollable
fits of laughter, which were joined in by all the spectators, who were
crowding aft to see the fun.
At that moment Mr Spry rushed on deck, using his handkerchief exactly
as Quirk had been doing. When the whole scene burst on him, his fury
knew no bounds. He rushed to his station at the head of his men, which
the monkey seemed in no way disposed to vacate, nor did he till his
quick eye caught sight of the toe of the officer approaching him, when,
with a loud chuckling "Quacko! quacko! quacko!" he leaped nimbly up the
ringing.
It was some time before order was restored; and even while his drill was
going on, a merry peal of laughter reached the ears of the fuming
lieutenant from different parts of the deck, in which he felt certain he
could recognise the voices of Adair and his two friends. The moment the
drill was over, instead of acting like a wise man, and passing the
matter over as an occurrence in no way intended to annoy him, he went
aft and made a formal complaint to Captain Lascelles. As every man who
chooses to encourage a toady can have one, so even had Lieutenant Spry,
in the person of one of his men, who had watched the proceedings of the
midshipmen, and now came forward as a witness against them. All three
were summoned to the cabin, and they could not, of course, deny the
charge. The captain had considerable difficulty in keeping his
countenance, as Paddy, acting as spokesman of the party, pleaded their
cause. He did not mend it when he confessed that the trick had been
played in consequence of the way the lieutenant had treated him.
"It is mean, and unchristian, and altogether wrong, to harbour revenge,
young gentlemen," said the captain. "I cannot now take cognisance of
Mr Spry's conduct on the occasion to which you allude; and I conclude
that he will be satisfied if you apologise to him. As the conduct of
which you have been guilty was public, so also must be your punishment.
Go up, each of you, to one of the mast-heads, and remain there till I
call you down. Adair, do you go to the mizen-mast; Rogers, take the
mainmast; and Murray, the foremast. I have settled that matter, I hope,
to your satisfaction, Mr Spry," observed the captain, with a freezing
manner, which somewhat damped the dignity of the lieutenant.
Up the rigging went the three midshipmen, each of them obtaining
possession of a handful of biscuit and a piece of beef to stay their
hunger, as they had a prospect of losing their dinners unless the
captain relented sooner than could be expected. There they all sat on
their lofty perches, occasionally making telegraphic signals to each
other, and not particularly unhappy with their punishment.
The captain and gun-room officers were taking their for noon
quarter-deck walk, and nearly everybody on board was on deck, when a
loud chattering was heard, and who should be seen mounting the mizen
rigging but Quirk, still habited in his red coat, with his hat fixed
firmly on his head, intent, most clearly, on mischief. No sooner did he
get alongside Adair, than, pulling out his handkerchief, he flourished
it vehemently in his face; and then, as if satisfied with the
performance of his lesson, he slid down the mizen topmast stay, and in
an instant after was up again close to Jack, before whom he performed
the same ceremony. Paddy and Jack almost fell from their perches with
laughter, especially when Quirk sprang forward along another stay, and
paid a similar visit to Murray. Everybody on deck was looking on, and
all abaft were amused, with the exception of Lieutenant Spry, who was in
a towering rage, vowing that he would demand a court-martial, and get
the midshipmen, or the monkey, or himself--nobody knew exactly which--
dismissed the ship. The lieutenant shouted out to somebody to catch the
monkey, but as he did not name any one in particular, no one went, and
he had the pleasure of observing his own peculiarity exhibited backwards
and forwards, from mast-head to mast-head, several times in succession.
A joke must have an end; and the captain, seeing that the best way of
bringing this to a conclusion (it being somewhat subversive of
discipline) was to call the midshipmen down, they were allowed to return
once more on deck, while Quirk's new red coat and accoutrements were
seized and hove overboard, to appease the rage of the marine officer.
However, Quirk, having been carefully instructed, lost no opportunity of
exhibiting his talents; and whenever the marines were drawn up, or the
seamen were at divisions, if he happened to be loose, he invariably
appeared in front of them flourishing a piece of canvas, or a bit
of paper, or anything he could lay paws on to represent a
pocket-handkerchief.
At length that classic sea, whose shores have been the scene of the most
interesting events of the world's history--that sea which leads to
Italy, to Greece, to the Holy Land, to Egypt, with its wondrous Nile and
grand old mysterious ruins--the Mediterranean, was sighted; and the
frigate dropped her anchor below the high rock of Gibraltar, also
celebrated, somewhat in later times, for the way in which it was
captured by Sir George Rooke, and has been kept ever since by the
obstinate English. The midshipmen had just time to run through the
galleries perforated in the rock, to climb to its highest peak, and to
get a look at the frolicsome monkeys which dwell in undisturbed liberty
on its south-eastern side, before the ship again sailed. They heard
that the _Firefly_, the sloop of war to which Murray was appointed, had
gone to Greece, so they had the prospect of remaining some time longer
together. At Malta the _Racer_ remained only a few days, when she was
ordered off to the Ionian Islands.
The first place at which she brought up was in the harbour of Corfu. It
is a lovely spot. The picturesque hills of the island are seen on one
side, and the lofty mountains of Albania on the other, of the strait
which divides it from the mainland. Here Murray was separated from his
two old schoolfellows. The _Firefly_ came in, and he had to join her.
The three midshipmen had made good use of their time, and had picked up
a fair amount of seamanship. They had now some practice in boating, an
amusement which the captain always encouraged; for, as he observed,
almost as many lives were lost from ignorance of how to manage a boat
properly, as in any other way. This sort of work Jack and Adair
especially liked. The frigate had put to sea to visit some of the
neighbouring islands, and had more than once returned into port; when
one forenoon Captain Lascelles summoned Hemming into the cabin.
"I have a despatch to send to Janina, Mr Hemming," said he. "You will
take the cutter and two of the midshipmen with you--Adair and Rogers.
Send them back as soon as you land. You will take horses and travel
across the country, and the frigate will call for you in the course of a
few days."
"Ay, ay, sir!" answered Hemming, who never spoke a work more than was
necessary in the presence of his superiors.
Jack and Paddy were delighted when they found that they were to go on
the expedition; for, though old Hemming kept somewhat a taut hand over
them, they had a just regard for his good qualities. They secretly also
resolved to indemnify themselves on their return passage by having as
much fun as they could. The cutter was a fine boat; and as they had a
fair breeze they made rapid progress towards their destination. They
sat very demurely, one on either side of old Hemming, eating their bread
and cheese, and taking the half wineglassful of grog, which he handed to
them each time that he helped himself to a full tumbler.
"That is quite enough for such little chaps as you," said he. "If you
were to begin now, and to take two or three tumblersful as I do, by the
time you are my age, you would have drunk fifty hogsheads of rum, and I
don't know how many tons of water."
Perhaps Hemming's calculations were not exactly correct, but the advice
was, at all events, good. He took care that it should be followed by
leaving them only half a bottle of rum for their return--putting the
remainder of the bottles into the saddle-bags he had brought for his
journey. Jack and Terence watched him trotting off on a Greek Rosinante
with the said well-filled saddle-bags behind him, a thick stick in his
hand, and a brace of ship's pistols in his holsters, till he was out of
sight.
"Terence," said Jack, "we ought to return to the boat, and get under
weigh."
"Yes; but I vote we do something in the catering line first," was the
answer.
So they found their way to the market, where by dint of signs and a few
words of _lingua franca_, they laid in a store of fruit and fowls, and
fish and vegetables of various sorts, with two or three bottles of what
they understood was first-rate Samian wine. With this provision for the
inner man they returned to the boat, and made sail for Corfu. The wind
was light, and they made but slow progress. However, they were very
happy, and in no hurry to get back to the ship. It happened that they
had been lately reading James's _Naval History_, and Paddy especially
had been much struck by some of the exploits performed by single boat's
crews.
"Jack," said he, "I don't think we ought to go back to the ship without
doing something."
"We are doing a good deal," answered Jack, who was very matter of fact.
"We are eating a jolly good dinner." He held up the leg of a chicken.
"This is the last of a fowl I've had to my share."
"Ay, but I mean something to be talked about--something glorious,"
answered Paddy. "Let's take a prize."
"A prize! Where is one to be found?" asked Jack, in no way disinclined
to do something.
"Oh! we'll fall in with her before long," replied Paddy. "One of these
Greek chaps. They are all pirates, you know, and would cut our throats
if they dared."
Paddy was jumping rather too fast at conclusions; but Jack, who also
thought it would be a very fine thing to take a prize, although some
doubts crossed his mind as to the propriety of so doing, did not attempt
to dissuade him from his intentions. It never occurred to the young
aspirants for naval renown that they should have made the men get out
their oars and pull, as there was a perfect calm. The boat floated
quietly on all night. Soon after daylight they espied a long, low,
lateen-rigged craft stealing along close in with the land--her white
canvas dimly seen through the morning mist.
"That shall be our prize," exclaimed Paddy, standing up in the
stern-sheets; whereon he made the crew a speech, and talked a great deal
about honour, glory, and renown, and treading in the steps of the old
heroes of Great Britain, and prize-money, and several other themes. The
last-mentioned his auditors understood somewhat better than the first.
It was all the same to them whether England was at war or not with the
nation to which the craft in view belonged. Their officers must know
all about the matter, so there was no dissentient voice; and now,
getting out their oars fast enough, they pulled away with a hearty cheer
towards the craft in sight. The vessel was undoubtedly a Greek. Her
crew probably could not conceive why they were chased. The wind was too
light to enable them to make much way with their sails; and though they
had oars, they were unable to urge on their craft fast enough to escape
the English boat. From the gestures of their pursuers the Greeks saw
that they were about to be attacked, and as the cutter ran alongside
they attempted to defend themselves; but although the seamen had only
the boat's stretchers, and Paddy and Jack alone had pistols, which
fortunately would not go off, the Greeks very speedily gave way and
tumbled down below.
"What are we to do now?" asked Jack, who, having joined the ship later,
was under Adair's command.
"Carry our prize in triumph into Corfu," answered Paddy, taking a turn
with a dignified air on the deck. "I should like, to see what that prig
Spry will say to us now."
As the Greeks could not speak a word of English, nor the English a word
of Greek, no explanations could be made. The Greeks shrugged their
shoulders, and having been accustomed to be knocked about a good deal by
the Turks, and to untoward events in general, took things very
philosophically. A breeze sprang up, and with the cutter in tow, the
midshipmen shaped a course, as well as they could calculate, for Corfu.
The Greek crew were far more numerous than the English; so Jack advised
that a guard should be set over them lest they might attempt to retake
the vessel--an occurrence, he had read, which had often happened when
proper precautions were neglected.
"I hope it's all right," observed Jack, "but what we have done seems
somewhat funny."
"Who fears?" answered Paddy. "What else have we to do but to fight our
enemies?"
As Jack had not a ready answer to this question, the subject dropped.
Their attention was soon occupied by seeing a vessel standing up the
channel, so as directly to cross their course.
"She's the _Firefly_," exclaimed Jack; "is she not, Thomson?" he asked
of the boatswain of the boat.
"No doubt about it, sir," was the answer; and in a lower voice, "And
now, my wigs, won't the youngsters catch it!"
When the sloop of war drew near, she fired a gun as a signal to the
Greek vessel to heave-to. As the midshipmen knew what that meant, they
at once obeyed, and in a short time a boat was seen pulling towards
them; a lieutenant and a midshipman were in her. The latter was no
other than Alick Murray. They cordially greeted him; and Terence had
begun to boast of their achievement when the lieutenant, Mr Gale,
exclaimed, "What does all this mean, youngsters? What have you been
about?"
Terence tried to explain, but everything he said only made matters
worse. Happily, Mr Gale was a very kind, judicious man, and soon
comprehended that the midshipmen had acted through ignorance and
thoughtlessness.
"Had you reached Corfu with your so-called prize, you might have been
brought into serious trouble," he remarked. "As no great harm has
hitherto taken place, perhaps we may induce the Greek master and his
crew not to make any complaint. I will see what can be done."
"Oh, yes, sir," exclaimed Alick Murray; "if we can bribe him off I shall
be glad to pay any sum you think necessary. Fortunately, I have the
means at my disposal;" and he put a purse into Mr Gale's hand. "Don't
say a word about it, my dear fellows," he added, as Terence and Jack
were expostulating with him for spending so much money on their account.
"As we have done the harm, we must stand the blame, you know," they
said.
Mr Gale had long been accustomed to the Greeks, and spoke their
language fluently; and having first frightened the master by proving to
him that his detention was his own fault, because he had not explained
that he was an honest trader, in order to show the good feeling of the
English, he promised forthwith to liberate him. The Greek was profuse
in his thanks, especially when the lieutenant, to exhibit the
magnanimity of his captors, presented him with a bottle of rum and a few
piastres.
Perfectly satisfied with this turn in the state of affairs, the Greeks
were voluble in their expression of gratitude, and waving their hands,
pressed them to their hearts, as the two boats pulled away for the
corvette. Captain Hartland, her commander, soon after they came on
board, gave the two midshipmen a severe lecture for their behaviour, and
telling them to make the best of their way back to Corfu, advised them
not to boast too loudly of their exploit. Alick, who was decidedly a
favourite, had, they found in the meantime, contrived to plead their
cause. They followed Captain Hartland's advice, but they felt very
crestfallen and sheepish for some days after they got back to their own
ship. The story, however, leaked out in time, and Terence and Jack had,
of course, to stand a good deal of quizzing on the subject. At last, a
Paddy's Prize became a cant saying on board, when anybody had taken
anything to which he had no right.
Several months passed away--the winter came on. The _Racer_ met with a
severe gale, in which she was partially dismasted, and received so much
damage that she had to put into Valetta harbour to repair. She found
the _Firefly_ there, and as Captain Hartland had the character of being
very attentive to the instruction of his midshipmen in seamanship,
Captain Lascelles got him to take Terence and Jack with him for a cruise
while the frigate was refitting. Nothing loath, they transferred
themselves, with their chests, on board the corvette, and once more the
three schoolfellows were together. They found the life on board the
corvette very different to that of the frigate. Their hands were
constantly in the tar-bucket and paint-pot. They were for ever employed
in knotting and splicing, and in rigging and unrigging a model ship,
which had been made on purpose to instruct them. All the midshipmen of
the brig were compelled to man the mizen-mast, and to take it completely
under their charge. This system very much increased the knowledge of
the practical details of seamanship, which it is important every officer
should know. A good officer is thoroughly acquainted in the most minute
particular with everything men are required to know, and a great deal
more. This remark refers not only to the Navy, but to the Army, and to
every other calling in life. The _Firefly_ was a very happy ship; for
though no one was allowed to be idle, the captain was kind and just, and
took care that each person should do his duty; so that the work to be
done was equally divided among all hands.
On quitting Malta she sailed for the eastward, and was for some time
kept cruising among the Ionian Islands, and on the coast of Greece,
carrying despatches from place to place. The wind had been from the
northward, and the ship had been kept somewhat close in with the Greek
coast, to shorten the distance to be run from one spot to another, when
one of those severe gales, which in the winter season in the
Mediterranean sometimes spring up suddenly, came on to blow. The
corvette was caught on a lee shore and embayed. It was night. All
hands were called. The fury of the gale increased. Sail was taken off
the ship, but still it was necessary to carry far more than would have
been set under other circumstances, that she might, if possible, beat
out of the bay. She was pressed down till the hammock-nettings were
almost under water. Still her masts stood, but no one could predict how
long they could bear the terrific strain put upon them. Darker and
darker grew the night; the vivid flashes of lightning very now and then
revealing the countenances of the officers and crew, as they strained
their eyes in their endeavours to discover through the darkness how far
off was the much-dreaded shore. The three midshipmen stood together,
holding on to the weather bulwarks with some of the gun-room officers.
Others were at their stations in different parts of the ship. The
lightning showed that the cheeks of the oldest were pale. They full
well knew the terrific danger in which the ship was placed. The captain
stood calm and collected, conning the ship, and ready to take advantage
of any shift of wind which might enable her to get a point off the
shore. No one moved--no one spoke--the howling of the gale and the
dashing of the waters were the only sounds heard. Suddenly all were
aroused into activity by the deep full tones of the captain's voice.
"About ship!" "Down with the helm!" "Helm's a-lee!" "Maintopsail
haul!" "Haul-of-all!" were the orders given in slow succession. Round
came the ship in noble style, but it was soon clear that she had gained
nothing by the change. Her course did not point more off shore on her
present tack than it had done on the former one. No land could be seen,
but men were stationed in the chains with the lead to give notice of
their approach to it. It was soon evident that the ship was drifting
nearer and nearer to the shore, the rocky and dangerous character of
which every one on board full well knew, yet each was prepared to
struggle to the last to do his duty, whatever might befall them.
"What's going to happen?" asked Paddy. "People don't seem to like this
fun."
"We shall have to swim for it, I suspect," remarked Jack.
"We must be prepared for the worst," observed Alick Murray. "Rogers,
Adair, has it ever struck you that we maybe summoned at any moment to
stand in the presence of the Judge of all men? What shall we have to
say for ourselves? The thought should not make us cowards, but we
should not drive it away--I know that."
While Murray was speaking there was a terrific report. The foresail was
blown out of the bolt-ropes. At the same moment a more than usually
bright flash of lightning, which darted across the whole northern sky,
revealed the frowning rocks of the coast under their lee. "Prepare to
anchor ship!" cried the captain. It was a last resource. The remaining
canvas was furled. The best bower was let go; the topmasts were struck;
and it was hoped that the ship might hold on till the gale abated. No
one went below. This work performed, all hands returned to their
stations. Once more the gale came down on them with increased fury.
The ship plunged into the foaming seas which rolled up around her. The
best bower parted. Another anchor was let go, and the full length of
the cable veered out. An hour more passed by in anxious suspense;
death, in its most ferocious aspect, threatening all on board. The
cable parted. The sheet anchor was let go, and alone now kept the brig
from destruction. Still the gale did not abate. The night wore on.
The officers forward reported that the ship was dragging the anchor--her
last hope of safety.
"It must be done," said the captain with a sigh, to the first
lieutenant. "Order the carpenter to cut away the foremast."
The carpenter and his crew were prepared for what they had suspected was
inevitable. Their axes gleamed as the lightning flashed vividly around
them. The crew stood by to cut away the rigging with axes and knives.
Down came the mast with crash to port, and floated quickly by towards
the shore. The next few minutes were passed with intense anxiety by
every one on board.
"Does she hold on, Mr Gale?" the captain asked of the first lieutenant.
"She still drags, sir," was the ominous reply.
"The other masts must go," cried the captain.
The order was quickly executed. The mainmast fell to starboard,
followed by the mizen-mast, and the late gallant-looking ship floated a
dismantled hulk amid the foaming waves. But the sacrifice was in vain;
scarcely had the masts gone than the last cable parted, and the gallant
ship drifted onwards towards the threatening shore. Still Captain
Hartland was not a man to yield while a possibility remained of saving
his ship and the lives of those entrusted to him. The corvette carried
aft two heavy guns for throwing shells. Some spare hempen cables were
got up from below, and made fast to them; when hove overboard they
checked her way. Daylight at length came, and revealed her terrific
position. High cliffs, and dark, rugged, wild rocks, over which the sea
broke in masses of foam, appeared on every side. Pale and anxious the
crew stood at their stations. The wind roared, the cold was bitter. A
startling terror-inspiring cry was heard. "The last cable has parted!"
The three midshipmen shook hands; they believed that they were soon to
be separated, never to meet again in this world. On--on, with heavy
plunges, amid the foaming waters, the doomed ship hurried to meet her
fate.