"Do they mean young Morton’s killed or wounded?"
"Ask them."
Click, click went the shutter of the signalman’s lamp.
You could not hear a sound whilst the _Ringdove_ light twinkled the
reply, and we all gave a gasp of relief when we
read—W-O-U-N-D—O-F—S-C-A-L-P—O-U-T—O-F—D-A-N-G-E-R.
"Get ’em all aboard," the Skipper told me; "best send both cutters," and
he sent a midshipman running aft. "Tell the Doctor—ten wounded coming
from _Ringdove_."
We signalled across for her to "close", and that we were sending for the
wounded and for the rest of the crews of the two junks.
This was a jolly ticklish job, because a rather heavy sea was running;
but we ran our searchlights, and I sent Lawrence and Whitmore away in
charge of the boats, and we managed to transfer them all without
anything happening worse than breaking one or two oars.
We gave Travers a cheer when he came across, and all crowded round and
congratulated him; and we cheered Trevelyan, young Rawlings and their
men, and Ford and his. They had come over in the first boat, and
Rashleigh had come as well—to report personally.
Whilst he was down below I got a list of the names of those killed and
wounded from Trevelyan, and had it stuck on the lower deck notice board.
Scroggs was a serious loss to me—the captain of the fore top, and a fine
reliable man—and the others were all good men; they wouldn’t have been
sent there, of course, if they hadn’t been.
Ford and his six men had lost everything except what they stood up in,
but every one of them was in the best of spirits. The second cutter
came along-side with the wounded, and young Morton was the first to be
carried up the ladder, managed a smile from under his bandages, and we
gave him a cheer.
The mids who’d been left behind sang out, "Good old Dicky". I knew
perfectly well that he had been called "Dear Little Dicky", and that the
inoffensive, harmless little chap hated it, and was glad to hear them
drop it for once. I knew a good many more of the "ins and outs" of what
went on in the gunroom than the Mids used to give me credit for.
The rest of the wounded were carried up, or hobbled up the ladder, and
they all went for’ard to the sick bay.
Then Rashleigh went back, simply bubbling over with importance and
excitement, the Skipper actually coming up to see him over the side. He
didn’t often pay anyone under the rank of post captain that compliment.
"I thought that chap a blooming blockhead—told you so often—but he’s
done a jolly sight better than I gave him credit for; that he has,
Truscott, that he has. And he’s found a place where they’re as thick as
thieves—big guns mounted, and all that. I’ve sent him back to keep his
eye on it. Jolly smart chap! Things are just coming along now, eh?
They’ll find ’Old Lest’ ain’t such a fool as they think, eh?"
"We’ve made a good start, sir, although we’ve lost rather heavily."
"Put up a subscription list, Truscott; some of those men have left
families. Stick me down for twenty-five ’thick ’uns’. It’s more than
’Old Lest’ can afford, but stick ’em down. If the Admiralty don’t pay
for those junks, and the others get knocked about or lost as well, ’Old
Lest’ ’ll find himself in the Bankruptcy Court, umph!"
"Make a signal: Captain Lester to Captain, officers, and men of the
_Ringdove_.
"The Captain, officers, and men of the _Vigilant_ congratulate you on
the plucky rescue of Lieutenant Travers and the two junks’ crews."
He sent for’ard to tell the Fleet Surgeon to let him know directly he
could come down to see the wounded, and then stalked along the upper
deck to the bridge, swinging his great shoulders and striding down an
admiring lane of men, who made a gangway and stood to attention as he
passed. You could see, even by the little light there was, how they
worshipped him.
We hoisted in our boats and steamed off towards our island, the little
_Ringdove_ turning back to hers and signalling, "Captain, officers, and
men," to ditto. "Thank you very much. We are very proud to have the
honour of serving under your orders."
That pleased the Skipper—the last part, I mean—for he was simply a huge
simple-minded baby, and he grunted, and puffed at his cigar.
"He’s tickled to death with that," Lawrence whispered to me. "Old
Rashleigh knows how to get the soft side of him, doesn’t he?"
Rashleigh had brought over a written report of his proceedings, a copy
of which I give you, so that you may draw your own conclusions. He had
not had time to finish it properly, and I hardly think that he could
have read it over either, after having written it.
H.M.S. _Ringdove_,
Off the Chung-li Tao Group, Chusan Archipelago,
_May_ 7th.
SIR,—In pursuance of your orders, I have the honour to report that I
towed the two tenders, the _Ferret_, Lieutenant Trevelyan, and the
_Sally_, Midshipman Ford, to a position five miles to wind’ard (the wind
being SSW.) of the Chung-li Tao Islands, arriving there at 8 a.m. on the
2nd May.
At 10 a.m. I despatched the _Sally_ to search to the east’ard, and the
_Ferret_ to the west’ard, and repaired to a rendezvous to leeward of
them, giving them instructions which should meet any probable
eventualities which might arise.
I waited at the rendezvous till the morning of the 4th May, and then
sighted the _Sally_, and ordered her to come alongside. She reported
that she had three men killed, Mid Morton and two A.B.’s severely
wounded, and that she was much damaged by shot above the water line.
She had chased a pirate junk and sunk her, but had then most unwisely
attacked four others, and only escaped with the above losses. Her Maxim
gun had been destroyed, and she had expended practically all her
six-pounder ammunition.
Mr. Ford also reported having met the tender _Ferret_ the night before,
and that Mr. Trevelyan, contrary to my orders, had at once altered
course to the island where the _Sally_ had been attacked. The wind had
veered to NW. by N. during the night, and was now blowing a strong
breeze. As it was therefore impossible for him to beat back to me under
three days, I took the wounded on board my ship, buried two of his men
at sea, and steamed towards the island and channel in which Mr. Ford had
engaged the four junks. The _Sally_ followed me at all speed.
I arrived off the entrance to the channel at noon of next day, and on
entering it was fired at by a two-gun battery at close range. One shot
came aboard me and wounded two men—one, Edward Larking, ord. sea. No.
867037, has since died. I silenced these guns, and proceeding up the
channel, discovered that Mr. Trevelyan had wrecked his junk at the
entrance to a small creek, and was in a desperate position, being
attacked by rifle fire from both sides of the creek.
I made a hasty exploration of the creek, and found that a quarter of a
mile inland it opened out, and that anchored there were a number of war
junks, and a very large number of merchant junks.
I determined to attack, but first deemed it necessary to survey the
channel, which operation was successfully performed, under a heavy fire,
by Sub-lieutenant Harrow, who worked with great coolness, and lost one
man wounded.
By the time the channel was reported as being sufficiently deep to allow
the passage of the _Ringdove_, it was dusk, and I determined to take her
in at daybreak of the following day. Meanwhile I transferred the guns
and most of the stores of the _Ferret_ to my ship.
At daybreak I weighed, and was at once fired upon by a gun, mounted on
the cliffs three hundred feet above my head, to which it was impossible
to reply.
I immediately recognized that it would, under the circumstances, be
impossible to force the entrance, and stood off, ordering the _Sally_ to
follow me.
She was, however, struck by a large shot or shell, and commenced to
sink, and I had only sufficient time to bring off her crew, and could
not save any of her stores.
The cutter which brought off her crew sighted a man on the rocks, who
semaphored that he was Lieutenant Travers, and most pluckily brought him
off under a heavy fire.