The crew of the _Thisbe_ stood at their guns, ready to open fire at the
word of command. Several who had, at the commencement of the action,
been among them, were missing; and though the survivors mourned their
loss, that was not the time either to think or talk about them. Not a
word, indeed, was spoken fore and aft; not even the usual jokes passed
between the men. The Frenchman showed no inclination to avoid the
combat. He could not have got away even had he wished, for his
foretopmast was gone, and he had not fully repaired the other damages he
had received aloft.
Nearer and nearer the _Thisbe_ drew to the enemy, still the looked-for
word of command did not come. The captain resolved to wait till he got
close up to her. The French, also, for some time refrained from firing,
though the _Thisbe_ was within range of their guns. They were the first
to lose patience, or perhaps they thought that they could knock away the
spars and rigging of their antagonist, and thus be able to make their
escape.
The _Thisbe_, however, was coming up on their larboard quarter. Their
guns which they could bring to bear were trained high for the purpose
mentioned. The shot came whistling about her masts and rigging; but
though some of her sails were shot through, and a few ropes cut away, no
material damage was received. The breeze at that instant freshened, and
the _Thisbe_ glided rapidly on.
"Give it them, my lads!" cried the captain, as the helm being put to
starboard the whole of the _Thisbe's_ broadside was brought to bear with
terrible effect on the enemy.
The Frenchman again fired. The _Thisbe's_ guns were quickly run in and
reloaded. The breeze at that instant blew aside the smoke, and as it
did so the enemy's foremast was seen to fall with a crash overboard.
Loud cheers rang forth from the decks of the _Thisbe_. Again her
broadside was fired, but no return came. The next instant, through the
smoke, the Frenchman's ensign was seen in the act of being lowered, just
in time to save them from another broadside.
The British crew had cheered lustily when they saw the foremast fall.
They now redoubled their shouts, turning round and shaking each other
heartily by the hand; some throwing up their caps, and others, mostly
the Irishmen of the crew, leaping and dancing with delight.
Two of the _Thisbe's_ boats being uninjured, they were lowered; and the
third lieutenant, with a master's mate and a party of seamen, was sent
on board to take possession of the prize.
As they were about to shove off, Mr Saltwell inquired whether any one
could speak French.
"I can, sir," said Bill, touching his hat.
"Then go and assist Mr Sterling; you will be of much use," said the
first lieutenant.
Bill, who had been longing to visit the prize, obeyed with no small
satisfaction.
As they reached her deck, an officer advanced with his sword in his
hand, and presented it to Mr Sterling, who, receiving it, handed it to
Bill.
The French officer announced that he was the second lieutenant of the
_Diana_ frigate, which it was his misfortune now to yield into the
possession of her British conquerors.
Mr Sterling bowed in return.
"Tell him, Rayner," he said, "that we acknowledge how bravely he and his
countrymen have fought their ship, and that though they have lost her,
they have not lost their honour."
The French lieutenant looked highly gratified at this remark when Bill
interpreted it, and desired him to express his obligation to the English
lieutenant.
The captain and first lieutenant had been killed, as were no less than
thirty of the crew, including other officers, while fifty were wounded.
The deck, indeed, presented a dreadful scene--strewed in every direction
with corpses, while many poor fellows were so fearfully injured that
their shipmates had been unwilling to move them.
The other officers presented their swords, while the seamen unbuckled
their cutlasses, and the marines piled their arms. Many wry faces were
made, though most of the Frenchmen merely shrugged their shoulders,
observing that what had happened to them was the fortune of war. Bill
made himself very useful in communicating with the French officers and
crew.
One of the _Diana's_ boats had escaped injury, and she, being lowered,
assisted the other boats in carrying the prisoners on board the
_Thisbe_. They far outnumbered the English, and much vigilance was
required to keep them in order.
The prize crew sent on board the _Diana_ set to work, under the command
of Mr Sterling, to stop the shot-holes in her sides, and to repair her
other more serious damages. A jury-mast was rigged forward, to supply
the place of the foremast carried away. In the meantime, a hawser being
conveyed on board the _Thisbe_, the prize was taken in tow, and sail was
made for Plymouth.
It was of the greatest importance to get away from the French coast
without delay, for a northerly wind might spring up and drive the two
ships upon it; or if, as Captain Martin suspected, a French squadron was
in the neighbourhood, the sound of the firing might have reached them,
and they would very probably come up to ascertain what had taken place,
when the prize would be recaptured, and the _Thisbe_ herself might find
it very difficult to escape.
Everybody on board had, therefore, ample work to do; besides which the
prisoners in both ships had to be watched. Several had been allowed to
remain on board the prize to assist the surgeons in attending to the
wounded men. An eye had also to be kept on them.
Mr Saltwell sent for Bill, who had returned to the _Thisbe_.
"I remember well how you behaved on board the _Foxhound_, and I want you
to keep a watch on the prisoners, and let me know if you hear or see
anything suspicious. They will probably remain quiet enough, as they
must know that they would have very little chance of success should they
attempt to rise upon us. At the same time it is better to be on the
safe side, and not to trust them too much."
"They have heard me talking French to the officers, and will be careful
what they say when they see me near them," answered Bill; "but there's
my messmate, Jack Peek, who was in France with me, and knows their
`lingo' as well as I do; and as they have not heard him talking, they'll
not suspect him; and if you will allow me, sir, I will tell him to go
among them, and he'll soon find out if they have any thoughts of
mischief."
Mr Saltwell approved of Bill's proposal, and gave him leave to employ
Jack as he suggested.
Bill, going below, soon found out his messmate.
Jack was well pleased at the confidence placed in him, and promised to
keep his eyes and ears well open.
There was no time for conversation just then, for every man in the ship
was busy, and the boys were wanted to assist them.
The frigate and her prize had made some way to the northward before
night came on. A bright look-out was kept for any enemy which might
heave in sight; but when darkness gradually stole over the ocean, none
had appeared.
During that night none of the English officers or men turned in. The
most tired snatched a few moments of sleep at intervals as best they
could when off watch.
The Frenchmen were allowed to lie down on deck between the guns, with
sentries placed over them. It was very evident that, had they chosen to
rise, they might have overpowered the sentries at the cost of a few of
their own lives. Fortunately none of them liked to run the risk of
being shot, and remained quiet.
The wind was light, and the _Thisbe_ and her prize made but slow
progress.
The captain anxiously waited the return of morning.
At early dawn look-outs were sent aloft to ascertain if any vessels were
in sight. They reported three to the south-east, and one to the
westward; but what they were it was impossible at that distance to say,
as their loftier sails could but indistinctly be seen rising above the
horizon.
The _Thisbe_ had already as much sail set as she could carry, but
Lieutenant Sterling was making an effort to get up a maintopmast on
board the prize.
When Jack and Bill met at breakfast, Jack reported that he had been
frequently among the prisoners, but had failed to hear anything which
showed that they had the slightest thoughts of attempting to regain
their liberty.
"What would you know about the matter even if they had been talking
treason?" observed Tom. "I doubt if either of you fellows know much
about French."
"As to that," said Bill, "we managed to talk to Frenchmen, and to
understand what they said to us. That, at least, shows that we do know
something about French; not that I wish to boast, only I think I should
do much better if I could get hold of some French books."
Tom laughed. "Oh! I dare say you are going to become a great scholar,
and to beat us all," he observed, with a sneer. "Jack was even
declaring that you were likely to be placed on the quarter-deck. That
would be a good joke."
"It would be a good reality for me, though I don't think it's what is
very likely to happen," answered Bill, without getting at all angry.
"Nor do I," said Tom, in the same tone as before. "Just fancy a chap
like you turned into an officer. You can jabber a few words of French,
and may have picked up a smattering of navigation on board the
_Foxhound_, though I've a notion you must pretty well have forgotten all
you knew by this time, and you may be fond of books, but all that won't
turn a fellow who has come out of the gutter, as one may say, into a
gentleman, as I suppose those on the quarter-deck call themselves."
"And what do you call them?" exclaimed Jack, not liking to hear such
remarks made to Bill. "I wonder you dare to speak in that way."
"I call myself the son of a gentleman, and I'm thinking when I get into
port of writing to my father and asking him to have me placed on the
quarter-deck."
"I wonder you didn't do that before you ran away from home," said Jack.
"They'll have forgotten all about you by this time, and maybe, if you do
manage to write a letter, your father won't believe that it comes from
you."
"Let him alone, Jack," said Bill; "I don't mind what he says about me.
If his father gets him made a midshipman, I shall be as glad as any
one."
"Thank you," said Tom; "I flatter myself I shall know how to strut about
the quarter-deck and order the men here and there as well as the rest of
them."
Just then a voice was heard shouting, "Tom Fletcher, the cook wants you
in the galley. Be smart, now, you've been long enough at breakfast."
Tom, bolting his last piece of biscuit, hurried away, as he had no fancy
for the rope's-ending which would have been bestowed upon him had he
delayed obeying the summons.
The mess-tins were stowed away, and the watch hastened on deck. The
wind by this time had somewhat freshened, and the frigate and her prize
were making better progress than before. The strangers, however, which
had appeared in sight in the morning were considerably nearer. A fourth
was now seen beyond the three which had been made out to the eastward.
The ship to the westward which was considerably farther off than the
others, was evidently a large vessel, and the captain declared his
belief that she was a line-of-battle ship, but whether English or
French, it was impossible to decide. He hoped, as did everybody on
board, that she was English, for should she prove to be French, as
undoubtedly were the vessels to the eastward, the _Thisbe_ would lose
her hard-won prize, even though she might manage to escape herself.
Still, Captain Martin was not a man to give up hope while there was a
chance of escape.
The _Thisbe_, followed by her prize, kept on her course with every
stitch of canvas she could carry set.
"I'm afraid if we don't outrun those fellows there, we shall get boxed
up again by the Frenchmen," observed Jack, pointing to the approaching
ships.
"If we do we must manage to get out somehow or other, as we did before,"
answered Bill; "but even if they do come up with us, that's no reason
why we should be taken. We must try and beat them off, and the captain
and Mr Saltwell are the men to do it. They are only four to our two
ships, for the lieutenant in charge of the prize will fight his guns as
well as we do ours."
"But what do you say to that big ship coming up Channel out there?"
asked Tom. "We shall be made mincemeat of if she gets up to us, for I
heard the boatswain's mate say that she's a seventy-four at least, and
may be an eighty-gun ship, or still larger."
"She hasn't come up with us yet," answered Bill. "We shall have time to
beat off the others and stand away to the northward before she gets us
within range of her guns. Perhaps, too, the wind will shift to the
eastward, and throw her to leeward. We shall then be well in with
Plymouth by the time she can manage to beat up to us. We are not going
to give in while the tight little frigate keeps above water."
Bill expressed the sentiments of most of the crew. Still, the odds were
greatly against the _Thisbe_ and _Diana_. The latter had but forty
hands on board to work the guns and manage the sails, while the crew of
the _Thisbe_ was thus far diminished, besides which they had to look
after their prisoners.
The two leading ships of the enemy had been made out to be frigates, as
it was thought probable were their consorts astern; and even though they
might fail to capture the _Thisbe_, they might knock away her masts and
spars, and so maul her that she would be compelled to succumb to the
line-of-battle ship coming up from the westward.
Not, however, by his manner, or anything he said, did the captain show
the least apprehension of such a result. The crew were at their
stations, ready to shorten sail should the breeze freshening render it
necessary. The men joked and laughed as usual, as ready for action as
if they were only expecting one opponent of equal size.
The morning wore on, the hands were piped down to dinner, the prospect
of hot work not at all damping their appetites, though perhaps they got
through their meal rather faster than was their wont; when they again
hurried on deck to see how things were going on. The two French
frigates were approaching. The headmost in a short time fired a
bowchaser, but the shot fell short. It served, however, as a signal to
prepare for action. Once more the guns were cast loose, and their crews
stood ready to fire as soon as they received the looked-for word of
command.
A few of the French prisoners who had been allowed to remain on deck
were now ordered below. They went willingly enough, exhibiting in their
countenances the satisfaction they felt at the expectation of being soon
restored to liberty. They were, of course, narrowly watched, and well
knew that they would be pretty severely dealt with should they show any
signs of insubordination.