SIR SIDNEY SMITH.
The first intimation that Napoleon received that the Sultan had declared
war with France, was the news that an army from Syria had advanced and
established itself at a fort in the desert half-way between the frontier
of that country and Egypt. He had, in the interval, endeavoured to make
himself familiar with the country. Forts had been erected all round
Cairo on heights dominating the town, so that a comparatively small
force could overawe the population. He himself paid two visits to Suez.
Desaix had pushed the Mamelukes still farther into Upper Egypt; a
division had established the French authority at Damietta and Rosetta,
and every arrangement was made by which the main body of the army could
move away with a fair hope that Egypt would remain quiet during its
absence.
It was now the beginning of December. During the journey down to the
coast Edgar had thought seriously of his position. It seemed to him
that, although finally the French would have to evacuate Egypt, a long
time might elapse before this took place, and he finally came to the
resolution to attempt to escape. He was doing neither himself nor his
father any good by remaining. He had already witnessed a great battle by
land, and one by sea, and he thought, by returning home and rejoining
his father, he would be better employed in acquiring commercial
knowledge in a business in London than in remaining in Egypt.
Accordingly, on the day after his arrival at the oasis he mounted and
rode into Alexandria, and entered his father's place of business for the
first time since the French had landed. Muller did not recognize him as
he entered, owing to his Arab dress and coloured skin. There were two
native clerks present, and Edgar went up to him, and said in a low
voice:
"I want to talk with you, Mr. Muller." The latter started slightly on
hearing the voice, but only requested him in Arabic to follow him into
the inner office, then he closed the door.
"My dear Edgar," he said, "I am delighted to see you. I have been in
great uneasiness about you. I had no doubt that you were with that
Bedouin chief, but whether he had taken part against the French, or
remained quiet, I knew not, and have been for a long time expecting to
hear from you."
Edgar gave him a brief sketch of what he had been doing since he had
been away, and then said, "I am desirous of making my way to England. Of
course it will be impossible to go direct, but if I could get to Italy,
I might get a ship home from there."
"That would not be difficult. No large Italian vessels come in here, but
small ones do so not infrequently. They generally bring spirits, wines,
and other goods that command a ready sale here, and they make a
considerable profit on their trading. No doubt you could obtain a
passage in one of these."
"And how goes on business, Mr. Muller?" Edgar asked after the question
of the passage had been discussed for some time.
"We have been pretty busy ever since the French arrived. Many of the
transports and store ships received damage on their voyage. We have had
a fair share of the work. Before you go I will draw up a short statement
of what we have done, for your father. I am on very good terms with the
French general and his staff. I represented to them that your father
had, on seeing the approach of their fleet, determined to abandon his
business altogether and leave the country, and that having saved a
considerable sum during my service with him, I was able to purchase from
him the heavy goods that he could not take away with him, and arranged
to conduct the business on my own account. I may tell you what perhaps
you did not know, that, before leaving, your father executed a deed of
partnership with me, by which he gave me a fourth share in the business,
and moreover arranged that I was to receive half the profit of it during
the French occupation. On his return it was arranged that the business
should be conducted under the name of Blagrove, Son, & Muller."
"I am glad to hear it, Mr. Muller. My father indeed mentioned to me,
some months before he left, that he intended to take you into
partnership, and that possibly he should, after a time, leave me here
with you and should fix himself in London and carry on the business of
the firm there, so the French invasion has only hastened it on. Of
course I have my European clothes here, and though I fancy I have grown
a couple of inches in the last five months, I daresay they will do very
well for me. The best plan will be to take the passage for me as a
French lad, the son of a trader in Cairo, who, in view of the late
events there, his father is sending home."
"I will look at my sailing lists," Mr. Muller said, "and will see if any
Italian craft is intending to sail in the next day or two."
He left the room, and returned in two or three minutes.
"There is one bound for Naples. She will sail on Saturday, so there are
four days to make your preparations."
"That will do well," Edgar said; "on Friday evening I will be here."
He had, on the previous evening, acquainted the sheik and his son of his
intention. Both had expressed deep regret, but acknowledged that his
arguments in favour of the plan he proposed were so strong that they
could urge nothing against them. On the Friday afternoon the sheik and
Sidi both rode down to Alexandria with him. The former returned that
evening to his camp, one of his followers taking Edgar's horse, which
they promised to keep for him until his return, as he assured them that
it would be next to impossible to get a passage for it to England, and
that even could he do so it might die during the voyage, and moreover
that it would be useless to him in London. Sidi slept at the house, and
accompanied him on board on the following morning.
The Italian craft was a brig of about a hundred and fifty tons burden,
but as Edgar was the only passenger the accommodation was ample. A few
minutes after he stepped on board the crew began to get up the anchor,
and as soon as this was done, Mr. Muller and Sidi said good-bye and
returned to shore. Edgar had, on coming on board, spoken a few words to
the captain, who was glad to find that his passenger spoke Italian
fluently. The wind was very light, and the brig made but little
progress, and five days after sailing was still a hundred miles south of
the Italian coast. Edgar, however, greatly enjoyed the time. He was in
no particular hurry, and the comparatively cool air and the fresh green
of the sea was delightful to him after the dry heat and sandy waste of
Egypt.
On the sixth day a vessel-of-war was seen in the west. The captain felt
no uneasiness; coming from Alexandria, a French vessel would regard him
as a friend, while a British ship would certainly not interfere with an
Italian trader, for the court of Naples was most friendly, and a portion
at least of the British fleet were off the town. The ship-of-war was
bringing up the breeze with her, and came along fast, and ere long the
captain was able to declare that she was British. As she approached they
found that she was the _Tigre_, an eighty-gun ship captured some time
before from the French. When she came near she fired a gun across the
bows of the brig, which at once lowered her sails. The man-of-war was
thrown up into the wind as she approached, and a voice shouted in
French, "What ship is that, and where from?"
"He wants to know your name and where from," Edgar translated, and the
captain shouted back, "the _Annetta_, bound from Alexandria to Naples."
"Send a boat alongside with your captain," was the order from the
_Tigre_.
"Shall I go with you, captain, to translate," Edgar volunteered.
The captain gladly assented, and the boat was at once lowered, and they
were rowed to the _Tigre_. On ascending the deck they were taken to the
captain. The latter glanced at Edgar and said, "Why, surely you are
English?"
"I am, sir. My father was a merchant at Alexandria. I was away at the
time the French arrived, and was left behind, and have been with a party
of Arabs ever since."
"Can you speak Arabic?"
"Yes, sir."
"Any other languages?"
"French and Italian, sir. It was for that reason that I came on board
with the captain to interpret for him."
"Where are you going now?"
"I was going to Naples first, in order to take a passage home from
there."
"Ah! What have they got on board?"
"Little enough, sir. They came across with spirits and wine and other
cargo. The man is a small trader and part owner of the ship."
"Tell him if he carries stores again to Alexandria his ship will be
seized as a prize by the first ship-of-war that comes across her. By
carrying them to Alexandria he is aiding the French. Now about yourself.
What are you going home for?"
"To join my father in England."
"What are you going to do there?"
"I believe that I shall go into an office, sir, till my father can
return to Egypt again."
"You speak these three languages well."
"Yes, sir; well enough to pass as a native."
"Have you been doing any fighting ashore?"
"Not much fighting, sir,--the Arabs could not stand against the French;
but I have seen a good deal. I saw the battle of the Pyramids, the sea
fight in Aboukir Bay, and the street fighting in Cairo."
"Well, with your knowledge of languages you ought to be able to do
better than go into a London office. You might be very useful to me,
and if you like to go with me to Constantinople, where I am bound, I
will give you a midshipman's rating. You may have an opportunity of
seeing some more service, and when this affair is over you could, of
course, leave the navy if you thought fit and rejoin your father. What
do you say? I will give you five minutes to think it over."
It required less time than this for Edgar to take his resolution. He had
no fancy whatever for work in a London office, and the prospect of
serving on board ship, the chance of seeing Constantinople and other
places, and possibly of active service against the French, was vastly
more pleasant. Before the end of that time he went up to the captain,
touched his hat, and said that he thankfully accepted his offer.
"Very well, then, that is settled," the officer said kindly. "I will
give you ten minutes to row back to the brig and return with your
clothes."
In ten minutes Edgar was on board again, having explained to the
astonished captain that he was going as interpreter on board the British
ship. As soon as he stepped on deck again orders were shouted, the sails
trimmed, and the _Tigre_ proceeded on her way. An officer came up to
Edgar.
"What is your name, sir?"
"Edgar Blagrove, sir."
"I remember the name," the officer said. "I put into Alexandria some ten
months ago to get some repairs done, and I remember that your father
undertook them." He beckoned to a lad of about the same age as Edgar.
"Mr. Wilkinson," he said, "you may take this young gentleman, Mr.
Blagrove, down to the cockpit and introduce him to your messmates. He is
entered on board the ship as a midshipman by Sir Sidney Smith's
orders."
The midshipman took him below without a word. There were two other lads
in the cabin.
"Allow me," Edgar's guide said with a theatrical flourish of the hand,
"to introduce to you Mr. Blagrove, a fellow midshipman and messmate."
"Really, Wilkinson, one never knows whether you are in earnest or
playing the fool," growled one of the others, who was a master's mate
some nineteen years old.
"On the present occasion I am in earnest, Mr. Condor," Wilkinson
replied.
"Where did he spring from?"
"He has just come on board from that little brig that we made lie to
just now."
"I come from Alexandria," Edgar said quietly.
"From Alexandria!" Condor repeated in surprise, for he had not been on
deck when the Italian captain had answered the hail.
"I was accidentally left behind when most of the English inhabitants
left when the French ships came in sight."
"What did they do to you? Have you been in prison ever since?"
"Fortunately they never laid hands on me. A sheik of one of the Arab
tribes was a friend of mine, and I have been staying with him ever
since."
"How did you make them understand what you wanted?"
"I can talk Arabic as well as I can English," Edgar replied.
"Still you must have felt it awfully slow stopping at an Arab camp all
this time."
"It has not been by any means slow. The tribe harassed the French on
their march. We were present at the battle of the Pyramids, though we
did not take any active part in it; for when the Mamelukes were defeated
the Arabs knew that alone they had no chance of success. Then we came
down to the place where they generally encamp, some twelve miles from
Alexandria, and I had the good luck to see Nelson's fleet destroy the
French in Aboukir Bay."
"That was luck!" Wilkinson said warmly. "I would have given anything to
have been in that fight."
"You are taking late to the sea," the midshipman who had not yet spoken
remarked.
"I have no intention of taking to the sea for good," Edgar replied. "My
father has one of the largest businesses in Alexandria, and as soon as
the French leave Egypt I shall go back there. Sir Sidney Smith asked me
to come, as I talk French and Italian as well as Arabic, and he thought
that I should be useful to him as an interpreter, and said he would rate
me as a midshipman. I was very glad to accept, as I should have nothing
particular to do if I had gone home, and I thought that it would be far
more pleasant to have two or three years of active service."
"Have you been in England?" Wilkinson asked.
"Yes, I was there nearly three years, and only returned a few months
before the French landed."
"Well, it seems a rum start," Condor said, "but I suppose Sir Sidney
knows what he is doing."
"I should imagine he did," Edgar said quietly. "Possibly, if you like to
question him he will be good enough to explain the matter to your
satisfaction."
"Look here, youngster!" Condor growled. "You have come in here as a
midshipman, and let me tell you that whether a fellow is an interpreter
or not we don't allow cheek here."
"But you allow rudeness, eh?" Edgar said quietly. "I am new to ship's
manners, but at school, anyhow, a fellow was just as likely to get
thrashed for rudeness as he was for cheek."
"Come, Condor," Wilkinson said, as the master's mate sprang to his feet,
"you won't do yourself any good by quarrelling with a fellow who has
just come on board. He has certainly said nothing offensive to you.
Moreover, it is quite possible that the captain may want to ask him
questions about Egypt, and if he had any marks on the face you may be
pretty sure you would get such a wigging that you would never want
another, and possibly you might never have a chance of getting one."
"Very well," Condor said, sitting down again, "you are safe for a day or
two; but mind, the first time I get an opportunity I will give you the
soundest thrashing that you ever had."
"I am sorry that it must be postponed," Edgar said quietly, "but I
daresay it will keep."
"Come on deck, Blagrove," Wilkinson said, putting his arm into that of
Edgar. "He is an ill-tempered brute," he went on as soon as they had
left the cockpit. "He only passed his examination a week before we
sailed, and we all heartily wish that he had failed. He is a regular
bully, and as none of us are older than I am he has pretty well his own
way, for he is a strong chap, and, as I heard from a fellow who sailed
with him, knows how to use his fists, and none of us would have any
chance with him. It is a great nuisance, for we should all be very
pleasant together if it were not for him. However, I don't expect he
will dare touch you, for the captain may, at any time, want you to put
questions to craft he may overhaul, and Condor would certainly get it
hot if he found out that he had been interfering with you."
Edgar smiled.
"I can assure you that I do not want the captain's assistance in the
matter. Boxing is a branch of my education which has not been
neglected, and I fancy that Mr. Condor will not find that he has it all
his own way."
"Well, if you could lick him we should all regard you as a benefactor,
Blagrove; but I am afraid you will find him a great deal too strong and
heavy for you."
"Well, we shall see, as he says, on the first opportunity. I don't think
that I am at all a quarrelsome chap, but I am certainly not going to put
up with being bullied by a fellow like that."
At this moment the boatswain came up. "Mr. Blagrove," he said, "I have
the first lieutenant's orders to take you to the tailor to be measured
for your uniform--an undress suit, he said. The tailor can manage that,
but you will have to get the rest of your kit later on."
"You will find me on deck, Blagrove," Wilkinson said, as Edgar followed
the boatswain, who led the way to the lower deck, where, by the light of
a couple of lanterns, two or three tailors were at work.
"Hall, the first lieutenant's orders are that you are to measure this
young gentleman for a midshipman's undress uniform, and you are to put
everything else by and push it forward."
"Very well," the man replied. "It makes no odds to me what I does first.
I doubt whether the first lieutenant will be pleased to-morrow; he tore
his trousers yesterday, and sent them down to me to be mended."
"Well, one of your hands can finish that," the boatswain said. "Anyhow,
you have got to do this suit, or you will hear of it."
Edgar was measured for his uniform by the head tailor, who was a cockney
who had been carried off by the press-gang. It was soon found that he
was of no use as a sailor, but as he was by trade a tailor he was given
a rating below, and it was not long before he gave such satisfaction
that he was made chief of the little party employed on that work.
Returning on deck Edgar rejoined Wilkinson, and was introduced by him to
several other midshipmen, who were all predisposed to like him, as
Wilkinson had informed them of his little encounter with Condor, and of
his readiness to fight the bully of the mess. This was considered,
however, a sign of pluck rather than wisdom, and one of them expressed
the general sentiment when he said, "You see he has been brought up
among these Egyptian chaps, who have no idea whatever of fighting. He
may have licked some of them easily, and that may have made him think he
can fight; he will find the difference when he stands up against a
fellow like Condor."
The first lieutenant presently sent for Edgar to come to the
quarter-deck.
"I quite understand, Mr. Blagrove, that although you are given a
midshipman's rating, it is really as an interpreter that Sir Sidney
Smith has engaged you. Would you wish to perform midshipman's duties
also? I have asked him what are his wishes in the matter, and he left it
entirely with you, saying that the very nominal pay of a midshipman was
really no remuneration for the services of a gentleman capable of
interpreting in three or four languages, but that as the rules of the
service made no provision for the engagement of an interpreter, except
under special circumstances, and as you said that you did not think it
likely you should make the sea your profession, you might not care to
undertake midshipman's duties in addition to those of interpreter."
"Thank you, sir; but I should certainly wish to learn my duties as
midshipman, and to take my share in all work. My duties as interpreter
must be generally very light, and I should find the time hang heavily on
my hands if I had nothing else to do. I hope, therefore, sir, that you
will put me to work, and have me taught my duty just as if I had joined
in the regular way."
"Very well, Mr. Blagrove, I think that you are right. I will put you in
the starboard watch. I am sure that Mr. Bonnor, the third lieutenant,
will be glad to keep a special eye on you. Do you understand anything
about handling a boat?"
"Yes, sir. I have been accustomed to sailing, rowing, and steering as
long as I can remember."
"That is something gained at any rate. Do you know the names of the
various ropes and sheets?"
"I do in a vessel of ordinary size, sir. I was so often on board craft
that were in my father's hands for repair that I learned a good deal
about them, and at any rate can trust myself to go aloft."
"Well, Mr. Wilkinson is in your watch, and as I put you in his charge to
start with, I will tell him to act as your instructor in these matters.
Please ask him to step here.
"Mr. Wilkinson," he went on, as the midshipman came up, "I shall be
obliged if you will do what you can to assist Mr. Blagrove in learning
his duties. He has been knocking about among boats and merchant craft
since his childhood, and already knows a good deal about them; but
naturally there is much to learn in a ship like this. You will, of
course, keep your watches as usual at night, but I shall request Mr.
Bonnor to release you from all other duties for the present, in order
that you may assist Mr. Blagrove in learning the names and uses of all
the ropes, and the ordinary routine of his duty. He will, of course,
attend the master's class in navigation. There will be no occasion for
him to go through the whole routine of a freshly-joined lad in other
respects; but he must learn cutlass and musketry drill from the
master-at-arms, and to splice and make ordinary knots from the
boatswain's mate. Thank you, that will do for the present."
Lieutenant Bonnor came up to Wilkinson a few minutes later, and told him
that he was to consider himself relieved from all general duties at
present.
"I hope you won't find this a nuisance, Wilkinson," Edgar said.
"Not at all," the other laughed; "quite the contrary. It gets one off of
all sorts of disagreeable routine work, and as you know something about
it to begin with, I have no doubt that you will soon pick up your work.
A lot of the things that one has to learn when one first joins are not
of much use afterwards, and may not have to be done once a year.
However, I can lend you books, and if you really want to pick up all the
words of command you can study them when you have nothing else to do;
and I can tell you there are plenty of times when one is rather glad to
have something to amuse one; when one is running with a light wind aft,
like this, for instance, we may go on for days without having to touch a
sail. Well, we will begin at once. We won't go aloft till you have got
your togs; a fellow going aloft in landsmen's clothes always looks
rather a duffer. Now, let us see what you know about things."
As the names of the halliards, sheets, and tacks are the same in any
square-rigged vessel, Edgar answered all questions readily, and it was
only the precise position assigned to each on deck that he had to learn,
so that, even on the darkest night, he could at once lay hands on them
without hesitation; and in the course of a couple of days he knew these
as well as his instructor. On the third morning he put on his
midshipman's clothes for the first time.
"You are a great deal stronger fellow than I should have taken you
for," Wilkinson said, as he watched him dressing. "You have a tremendous
lot of muscle on the shoulders and arms, and on the back too."
"I took a lot of exercise when I was at school in England," Edgar
replied, "and I have been accustomed to riding ever since I was a boy,
and for the last five months have almost lived in the saddle. I have
done a good deal of rowing too, for I have had the use of a boat as long
as I can remember. Of course, I have done a lot of bathing and
swimming--you see, the water is so warm that one can stay in it for a
long time, and one can bathe all the year round. I cannot even remember
being taught to swim, I suppose it came naturally to me. I am sure that
my father would never have let me go out in boats as I used to do if he
had not known that I was as much at home in the water as out of it."
"Now we will go aloft," Wilkinson said.
Edgar ran up almost as quickly as his companion. He had not only been
accustomed to ships in the port of Alexandria, but on the voyage to
England and back he had spent much of his time aloft, the captains being
friends of his father, and allowing him to do as he liked, as soon as
they saw that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself.
"This is not the first time that you have been aloft, sir," one of the
top-men said, as he followed Wilkinson's example, instead of going up
through the lubber's hole.
"It is the first time that I have ever gone up the mast of a
man-of-war," Edgar replied; "but everything is so big and solid here,
that it seems easy after being accustomed to smaller craft. It is a
wonderful spread of sail, Wilkinson, after having been on board nothing
bigger than a brig. I used to help reef the sails on my way back from
England; but these tremendous sails seem altogether too big to handle."
"So they would be without plenty of hands, but you see we have a great
many more men in proportion here than there are on board a merchant
craft. Will you go up higher?"
"Certainly." And they went up until nothing but the bare pole, with the
pennant floating from its summit, rose above them. "You don't feel giddy
at all, Blagrove?"
"Not a bit. If she were rolling heavily perhaps I might be, but she is
going on so steadily that I don't feel it at all."
"Then I will begin by giving you a lesson as to what your duties would
be if the order were given to send down the upper spars and yards. It is
a pleasure teaching a fellow who is so anxious to learn as you are, and
who knows enough to understand what you say."
For two hours he sat there explaining to Edgar exactly where his
position would be during this operation, and the orders that he would
have to give.
"When we get down below," he said, when he had finished, "I will give
you all the orders, and you can jot them down, and learn them by heart.
The great point, you see, is to fire them off exactly at the right
moment. A little too soon or a little too late makes all the difference.
It is generally a race between the top-men of the different masts, and
there is nothing that the men think more of than smartness in getting
down all the upper gear. When you have got all the words of command by
heart perfectly, you shall come with me the first time the order is
given to send down the spars and yards, so as to see exactly where the
orders come in. It is a thing that we very often practise. In fact, as a
rule, it is done every evening when we are cruising, or in harbour, or
at Spithead, or that sort of thing. When it is a race between the
different ships of a squadron, it is pretty bad for the top-men who are
the last to get their spars down. But, you see, as we are on a passage I
don't suppose we shall send down spars till we get to Constantinople."
"What are we going there for?"
"As far as I can understand, the captain is going on a sort of
diplomatic mission. His brother is our ambassador there, and he is
appointed to act with him in some sort of diplomatic way, I suppose, to
arrange what troops the Sultan is going to send against the French, and
what we are to do to help him, and what subvention is to be paid him,
and all that sort of thing. I expect you will be pretty busy while we
are there. Do you understand Turkish?"
"Yes, it is very like Arabic. All the officials and upper classes in
Egypt are Turks, and one hears more Turkish than Arabic, except among
the Bedouin tribes."
While they were talking they were leisurely descending the shrouds side
by side. As soon as they gained the deck, the captain's steward came up
to Edgar, and said that Sir Sidney Smith would be glad to see him and
Mr. Wilkinson to dinner that evening. The captain had abstained from
inviting him until he should have got his uniform, thinking that he
would find it uncomfortable sitting down in civilian dress. The fact
that he was going to dine late in no way interfered with Edgar's
enjoyment of his mid-day meal. During the two days he had been on board,
he had got on friendly terms with all his messmates excepting Condor,
who studiously abstained from noticing him in any way. The younger
midshipmen he bullied unmercifully, and had a general dictatorial way
with the others that made Edgar frequently long for the opportunity of
giving him a lesson.
He had no doubt that Condor had determined to postpone the occasion
until they had left the Pireus, at which point they were to call, as his
service might be required there to interpret. Once away from the island,
he would not be likely to be called upon to translate until they arrived
at Constantinople.
It was a pleasant dinner in Sir Sidney Smith's cabin. There were present
the first and third lieutenants, the captain of the marines, the doctor,
Wilkinson, and Edgar. Sir Sidney Smith was a delightful host; he
possessed a remarkable charm of manner, was most thoughtful and kind to
all his subordinates, and, though strict in all matters of discipline,
treated his officers as gentlemen and on terms of equality in his own
cabin. He had already accomplished many dashing exploits in the Baltic
and elsewhere, and was beloved both by the sailors and officers. It was
a time when life in the navy was very rough, when the lash was
unsparingly used for the smallest offences, and when too many ships were
made floating hells by the tyranny of their commanders.
"I should have asked you to dinner on the day that you came on board,
Mr. Blagrove," Sir Sidney said kindly, as the two midshipmen entered,
"but I thought that you might prefer my not doing so until you got your
uniform. It has been some privation for myself, for I am anxious to hear
from you some details as to what has been doing in Egypt, of which, of
course, we know next to nothing at home."
During dinner no questions were asked, but after the cloth had been
removed and the decanters were placed upon the table, he said:
"Now, Mr. Blagrove, we shall be glad if you will give us details of how
you came to be left behind, of your personal adventures, and what you
yourself witnessed, and your opinion of the situation in Egypt. This is
desirable, not only as a matter of general information, but because it
will be really useful to me to understand the situation fully, for the
purposes of my mission."
Edgar began his story, but was interrupted almost at the outset by Sir
Sidney asking him how he came to be so intimate with these Bedouins. He
was therefore obliged to relate how he had rescued the sheik's son from
an attack by two of the lowest class of Europeans in Alexandria. Edgar
told the story modestly, making as little as possible of his share in
it.
"And were these fellows armed, Mr. Blagrove?"
"They had their knives, but they had not time to use them. These fellows
have no idea of boxing, and a straight hit is a mystery to them. The
thing was all over in less than a minute."
"Then, I suppose, you can box?" Sir Sidney said, with a smile.
"I was taught it in England, sir. My father thought that it would be
useful, for the population of Alexandria is a rough one."
Sir Sidney said no more, and Edgar told his story without further
interruption, and then answered many questions as to the proceedings of
the French, the rising in Cairo--of which Sir Sidney now heard for the
first time, and the prospect of a general insurrection.
"I don't think that there is much chance of that, sir. The defeat of the
Mamelukes led them to believe that the French were invincible. The
destruction of their fleet showed that this was not the case, and led to
the rising at Cairo, but their easy defeat there, and the terrible
slaughter inflicted upon them, will certainly cow them for a long time,
and as long as the whole French army remains there, I don't think there
will be much further trouble, but if a portion were to march away, no
doubt they might muster up courage to attack those that remained. Mourad
Bey, with a considerable force of Mamelukes, still keeps the field, and
the Arab tribes would certainly join him if they saw a chance of
defeating the invaders."
"And the two men you had that trouble with, have you ever come across
them again, Mr. Blagrove?" the first lieutenant asked.
"We came across them in Cairo, sir," Edgar replied reluctantly. "I was
with my friend, the sheik's son. They did not recognize me, being in my
Arab dress, but they knew him at once and pounced upon him, and were
dragging him into a house. Of course, I took his part and there was a
fight."
"And what was the result, Mr. Blagrove?"
"The result was that they were both killed," Edgar said quietly. "They
attacked us with knives, and we had to use ours. My friend killed one of
them and I killed the other. It was unfortunate, but it was their lives
or ours, and if we hadn't done it then, the thing would have happened
again, and next time we might have been stabbed before we had a chance
of defending ourselves."
"I can quite understand that, Mr. Blagrove," Sir Sidney said kindly,
while the others smiled at the matter-of-fact way in which Edgar related
what must have been a very dangerous business.
"I see that, whatever else we may have to teach you, it will not be how
to use your weapons. Indeed, it seems to me that you are getting on very
fast. I saw you go up the shrouds to-day, and I can see that you will
very soon be as much at home there as any of my midshipmen. And now,
gentlemen, we have had rather a long sitting, for it is nearly ten
o'clock; but I am sure that you must have been as interested as I have
been myself, in the information Mr. Blagrove has been good enough to
give us."
"By Jove, Blagrove," Wilkinson said when they had left the cabin, "if
you had told me all this before I should not have felt so doubtful about
your fight with Condor. So you can really use your fists well?"
"I learnt for over two years from some of the best light-weights in
London," Edgar replied, "and unless he has had wonderfully good teachers
I ought to have no trouble about the matter."
Two days later the _Tigre_ left the Pireus. To Sir Sidney Smith's
disappointment, he had not found Lord Nelson there, as he had expected
to do, and he was the more disappointed inasmuch as he had missed Lord
St. Vincent, who was commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, at
Gibraltar.