A FIRST COMMAND
For another couple of days no one was permitted to see Nat, but at the
end of that time the wound assumed a healthy aspect, and he was allowed
to receive visits. Captain Crosbie himself was the first to come down.
"I am very glad to hear so good an account of you, Mr. Glover," he said
cordially; "you have done us credit again, lad, and have rendered an
inestimable service to Monsieur Duchesne and his family. Although it can
hardly be considered as in your regular course of duty, I shall
certainly forward a narrative of your adventures to the admiral. The
next time we go to Port Royal you had better go in for your examination,
and if you pass I have very little doubt that acting rank will be given
to you at once. Your aiding to carry down that lady, when yourself
wounded, was really a very fine action, for Doctor Bemish tells me that
you must have suffered intensely. Monsieur Duchesne is most anxious to
see you, but the doctor has told him that it will be better for him to
wait until you are well enough to go ashore, when you can go and see
them all together."
"Thank you, sir, I would much rather do that. But really the person to
be thanked is the old negress who gave us warning in time to escape,
went down and fetched food, despatched a message to Monsieur Duchesne,
and got an answer back, and who did as much as I did in carrying her
mistress down."
"Doubtless she behaved very well, Mr. Glover, but that does not alter
the fact that you did so also. And, as even you will admit, she had no
hand in the fight in which you killed eight of these scoundrels."
"It was not much of a fight, sir. I had such an advantage in position
that I really did not like shooting them, in spite of what I had heard
of their doings; but it was our lives or theirs, and I knew that if one
of them got away he would bring down a score of others, and they would
speedily have starved us out."
"At the present time," the captain said sternly, "mercy to these
villains would be misapplied; the lesson must be a terrible one, or
there will speedily be an end to white rule in the island. Another thing
is, that were this revolution to succeed, we might expect similar
outbreaks in our own islands. Now I will leave you. Your comrades will
come in to see you, but their visits must, for the present, be short."
Nat progressed rapidly. In three days the water-dressings were given up
and he was tightly bandaged, and over this, rather to his disgust, the
doctor insisted upon his wearing a pair of stays.
"It is all very well, Glover," Doctor Bemish said in answer to his
remonstrances, "but we know what you are. You are as active as a cat,
and would be constantly forgetting yourself, and springing to do
something; but these things laced tightly on will act as a reminder, and
will also bind you so closely together that, while you will have the
free use of your limbs, your ribs will be held as if in a vice. You will
have to keep them on until the bone has fairly knit, and you have every
reason to be thankful that this is the only inconvenience you have to
suffer from an expedition which might have cost you your life."
Four days later Doctor Bemish said:
"I think you can go ashore to-day. Of course you must be careful,
especially, getting in and out of the boat, but if you do that and walk
slowly, I do not think it will do you any harm. Madame Duchesne is up
and going on nicely, and they are most anxiously expecting you, and
indeed Duchesne said yesterday, that if I did not let you go on shore
to-day, he would come on board to see you."
"But I feel like a hog in armour in these stays, doctor."
"Never mind that, lad, you would be almost as bad if you took them off,
for I should have to put on twice as many bandages, and to pull them
ever so much tighter. I have told the captain that I am letting you go
ashore, and have also told Mr. Philpot, so that is all settled. I shall
be going off myself in an hour, and will take you with me, and keep an
eye over you until you get to their gate."
"One would think that I was a small boy going to be taken to school,"
Nat laughed, stopping, however, abruptly.
"There! you see," the doctor said, "that gave you a twinge, I know; you
must be careful, lad, you must, indeed. There is no objection to your
smiling as much as you like, but there is nothing that shakes one up
more than a hearty laugh. That is why at other times laughing is a
healthy exercise, but with a rib in the process of healing, it is better
not to indulge in it."
"Well, I shall be ready when you are."
Nat accomplished the journey without pain.
"Won't you come in, doctor?" he asked when they arrived at the gate.
"No, Glover; this will be a sort of family party. I have warned Duchesne
not to throw himself on your neck, and have told him that you are to be
looked at and not touched."
With an uneasy smile Nat left him at the gate and walked up the drive.
They were evidently on the watch for him, for the door opened almost
immediately, and Monsieur Duchesne ran down. "Mon cher!" he exclaimed,
"the doctor has said that I must not touch you, but I can scarce
refrain from embracing you. How can I thank you for all that you have
done?"
"But, monsieur, I have done next to nothing. I shot some negroes who had
not a chance of getting at me, and I helped Dinah to carry madame down.
We owe our safety to Dinah, who was splendid in her devotion, making
journeys backwards and forwards, to say nothing of giving us the warning
that enabled us all to escape in time."
"Dinah was splendid!" Monsieur Duchesne admitted. "But I can do nothing
for her. I have told her that she shall have a house and plenty to live
on all her days, but she will not leave us. I have made out her papers
of freedom, but she says, 'What use are these? I have been your servant
all my life, and should be no different whether I was what you call a
free woman or not.' What pleased her most was that I have given freedom
to her grandson who brought the message down here, and am going to
employ him in my stable, and that she has received a new black silk
gown. She has got it on in honour of your visit, and if it had been a
royal robe she could not be more proud of it."
They had by this time arrived at the door, and Monsieur Duchesne led Nat
to the drawing-room, where his wife was lying on a sofa, and Myra
standing beside her. The yellow dye had now nearly worn off their faces.
Madame Duchesne was still pale, but she looked bright and happy. Nat
went up to her and took her hand.
"I am truly glad to see you up again," he said.
"It has all ended well," she replied with tears in her eyes. "It seems
like a bad dream to me, especially that journey. How good and kind you
were! and I know now how terribly you must have suffered."
"It hurt a bit at the time, madame, but one gets accustomed to being
hurt, and it all went on so well that it was not worth grumbling about."
"Ah, you look more yourself now, Myra!" and he held out his hand to her.
"Embrace him, my dear, for me and for yourself. Twice has he saved your
life, and has been more than a brother to you."
Myra threw her arms round Nat's neck and kissed him heartily twice,
while her eyes were full of tears. "I have not hurt you, I hope," she
said as he drew back.
"Not a bit, and I should not have minded if you had," Nat said. Then he
sat down, and they talked quietly for some time. "I am going out
to-morrow again," Monsieur Duchesne said, "it is the duty of every white
to join in punishing these ungrateful fiends. I hear that they have been
beaten badly near Port-au-Prince. Some of the negroes are, we find,
remaining quietly on the plantations, and these, unless they have
murdered their masters, will be spared. No quarter will be given to
those taken in arms. At any rate we shall clear all of them out of the
plains near the bay, and drive them into the mountains, where we cannot
hope to subdue them till a large number of troops arrive from home."
So vigorously, indeed, did the whites pursue the negroes, that in a
fortnight after the outbreak it was calculated that no fewer than ten
thousand blacks had fallen, many of them being put to death by methods
almost as cruel and ferocious as those they had themselves adopted. They
were still in such vast numbers that it was evident that it would be
impossible to overpower them until troops arrived from France; and,
indeed, the farther the French columns penetrated into the mountains,
the more severe was the resistance they met with, and on several
occasions the whites were repulsed with heavy loss. A truce was
therefore agreed upon, it being arranged that neither party should
attack the other until its expiration. There being, therefore, no
occasion for the _Orpheus_ to remain longer at Cape Francois, she sailed
for Jamaica.
Nat's wounds continued to go on well. He was still stiff, and felt the
advantages of the encircling stays so much that he no longer objected to
wear them. As it was likely that, until matters were finally settled,
the _Orpheus_ would be constantly cruising on the coast of Hayti, and
that he would ere long see his French friends again, the parting was not
a sad one; and, indeed, Nat was by no means sorry to get under way again
to escape the expressions of gratitude of Monsieur Duchesne and his
wife. Two days after arriving at Port Royal, Nat received notice that a
court, composed of three captains of vessels then in port, would, on the
following day, sit to examine midshipmen who had either served their
time or were within a year of completing it. He at once sent in his
name. As he had read hard during the time he had been unfit for service,
he had no fear of not passing the ordeal, and at the conclusion of his
examination he was told by the president of the court that he had passed
with great credit.
On returning to the frigate, he found a note from the admiral requesting
him to call upon him on his return from the court, and he at once
proceeded to the flag-ship. "I have heard a great deal of you, Mr.
Glover," the admiral said when he was ushered into his cabin. "First of
all I heard the story from your captain of the gallant manner in which
you, at the risk of your own, saved a young lady's life at Cape
Francois, when attacked by a savage hound, and were seriously injured
thereby. Then I received Captain Crosbie's official report of the share
you took in the attack upon that formidable nest of pirates, the report
being supplemented by his subsequent relation to me of the whole facts
of the affair. Your conduct there also did you very great credit, and,
had you passed, I should at once have given you acting rank. Now you
have again distinguished yourself, though scarcely in a manner which
comes under my official knowledge. I should be glad to hear from you a
detailed account of the affair."
When Nat had finished his narration, he said, "You have scarcely done
justice to yourself. Your captain and Dr. Bemish were dining with me
last night, and the latter said that, wounded as you were, the work of
carrying that French lady down to the coast must have been an intensely
painful one, as was shown by the state of your wound when he examined
it. In all these matters you have shown courage and conduct, and as I
hear that you have now passed, I shall take the first opportunity of
giving you acting rank. You speak French fluently?"
"I speak it quite fluently, sir, but as I have only picked it up by ear,
I cannot say that I speak it well."
"However, the fact that you speak it well enough to converse freely may
be useful. Hayti is likely to be in a very disturbed state for some
time. There can be little doubt that the negroes in the other islands
are all watching what takes place there with close attention, and that
there is a possibility of the revolt spreading. At present there is no
saying what the course of events may be. Already the governor here has
received letters from several French residents expressing their desire
that we should take the island, as they believe that the French
revolutionary government will make no serious effort to put down the
rising. Of course, at present, as we are at peace with France, nothing
whatever can be done. At the same time, it is important that we should
obtain accurate information as to what is going on there, and what is
the feeling of the negroes and of the mulatto population, and we shall
probably have several small vessels cruising in those waters. The
_Falcon_, under the command of Lieutenant Low, who also belonged to the
_Orpheus_, has been for some weeks on the southern coast of the island.
I intend to have three or four other craft at the same work soon, and on
the first opportunity I shall appoint you to one of them."
Nat expressed his warm thanks, and retired. Three or four days later he
received an intimation that the prize _Arrow_, a schooner of a hundred
and fifty tons, would at once be put into commission, and that the
admiral had selected him for her command. This was far more than Nat had
even hoped for. From the manner in which the admiral had spoken, he
thought that he would be appointed to a craft of this description, but
he had no expectation whatever of being given the command. With the
intimation was an order for him to again call upon the admiral.
"It is a small command," the admiral said when Nat expressed his thanks
for the appointment. "We cannot spare you more than twenty-five hands, a
quarter-master, and two midshipmen. You will have Mr. Turnbull of the
_Leander_ as your first officer, and Mr. Lippincott of the _Pallas_. She
has carried six guns hitherto, but you will only take four. These,
however, will be twelve-pounders; before, she had only nines. Naturally,
it is not intended that she shall do any fighting. Of course, if you are
attacked you will defend yourself, but you are hardly a match for any of
these piratical craft except quite the smaller class--native boats
manned by bands of desperadoes. Your mission will be to cruise on the
coast of Hayti, to take off white fugitives should any show themselves,
and to communicate if possible with the negroes, find out the object
they propose to themselves, and report on their forces, organization,
and methods of fighting. In all this great care will be necessary, for
they have shown themselves so faithless and treacherous that it is
impossible to place any confidence in their promises of safe-conduct. In
such matters it is impossible to give any advice as to your conduct, you
must be guided by circumstances; be prudent and careful, and at the
same time enterprising. The schooner is a very fast one. She has been a
slaver, and has more than once shown her heels to some of our fastest
cruisers. Therefore, if you come across any piratical craft too big to
fight, you will at least have a fair chance of outsailing her."
Greatly delighted, Nat returned to the _Orpheus_.
"So, you are going to leave us, Mr. Glover," the captain said when he
came on board. "I congratulate you, but at the same time we shall be
very sorry to lose you, and I hope that when there is a vacancy we shall
have you back again. You fully deserve your promotion, and have been a
credit to the ship."
The next day Nat moved his effects ashore. There was but little
leave-taking between him and his comrades, for it was certain that they
would often meet at Port Royal. He spent his time for the next fortnight
in the dockyard seeing to the refitting of the schooner. The
superintendent there had heard of the affair with the dog, and of the
manner in which he had saved the lives of the French lady and her
daughter, Dr. Bemish being an old friend of his. He was, therefore, much
more complaisant than dockyard officials generally are to the demands
made upon them by young lieutenants in command of small craft. Indeed,
when the schooner was ready for sea Nat had every reason to be proud of
her. She had been provided with a complete suit of new canvas, all her
woodwork had been scraped and varnished, the running rigging was new,
and the standing rigging had also been renewed wherever it showed signs
of wear. Her ballast, which had before been almost entirely of iron ore,
was now of pig-iron, and in view of the extra stability so given she had
had new topmasts ten feet higher than those she had before carried.
"I should advise you to keep your weather eye lifting, Mr. Glover,"
Captain Crosbie said when Nat paid his farewell visit to the frigate;
"that craft of yours looks very much over-sparred. If you were caught in
a squall with your topsails up the chances are you would turn turtle."
"I will be very careful, sir," Nat said; "although, now she has iron
ballast, I think that even with the slight addition in the height of the
spars she will be as stiff as she was before in moderate breezes, while
she will certainly be faster in light winds."
"That is so," the captain agreed; "and of course it is in light winds
that speed is of the most importance. There can be no doubt that in the
hands of a careful commander a large spread of canvas is a great
advantage, while in the hands of a rash one a craft can hardly be too
much under-sparred."
Turnbull, Nat's first officer, was a quiet young fellow, a few months
junior to Nat. He was square in build, with a resolute but good-humoured
face, and Nat had no doubt that the admiral had selected him as being
likely to pull better with him than a more lively and vivacious young
fellow would be. From the first day they met on board he was sure that
he and Turnbull would get on extremely well together. The latter carried
out his suggestions and orders as punctually as he would have done those
of a post-captain, going about his work in as steady and business-like a
way as if he had been accustomed for years to perform the duties of a
first officer. One evening Nat had asked him and Lippincott to dine with
him at an hotel, and ordered a private room.
"I think," he said when the meal was over and the waiter had placed the
dessert and wine on the table and had retired, "that we are going to
have a very pleasant cruise. I am afraid we sha'n't have much chance of
distinguishing ourselves in the fighting way, though we may pick up some
of those rascally little craft that prey on the native commerce and
capture a small European merchantman occasionally. With our small crew
we certainly cannot regard ourselves as a match for any of the regular
pirates, who would carry vastly heavier metal, and crews of at least
four times our strength. The admiral expressly warned me that it was not
intended that the _Arrow_ should undertake that sort of business. Our
mission is rather to gain news of what passes in the interior, pick up
fugitives who may be hiding in the woods, and act in fact as a sort of
floating observatory. Any fighting, therefore, that we may get will be
if we are attacked. In that case, of course, we shall do our best. I am
sure we shall be a pleasant party on board. Of course in a small craft
like this we shall mess together. It is necessary, for the sake of
discipline, that when we are on deck we should follow the usual
observances, but when we are below together we shall be three mess-mates
without any formality or nonsense."
The two juniors remained on their ships until the schooner was out of
the hands of the dockyard men. According to custom, Nat did not join
until they and the crew had gone on board and spent a day in scrubbing
the decks and making everything tidy and ship-shape; then the gig went
ashore to fetch him off. As he rowed alongside he could not help smiling
at seeing the sentries at the gangway and the two young officers
standing there to receive him. However, with an effort he recovered his
gravity, mounted the short accommodation ladder, saluted the flag, and
returned the salutes of his officers and men. On board the frigate he
had been an inconsiderable member of the crowd, now he was monarch of
all he surveyed. Then the crew were formed up, and according to custom
he read his commission appointing him to the command, and the articles
of war.
"Now, my men," he said when he had brought the meeting to an end, "I
have, according to rule, read the articles of war, a very necessary
step when taking command of a vessel of war with hands collected from
all parts, and many of them coming on board one of his majesty's ships
for the first time; but it is a mere formality to a crew composed of men
like yourselves, who will, I am perfectly sure, do your duty in storm
and calm, and who will, should there be any occasion for fighting, show
that, small as our number is, we are capable of taking our own part
against a considerably larger force. I and my officers, will do all in
our power to make the ship a comfortable and pleasant one, and I rely
upon you to show your zeal and heartiness in the service."
The men replied with a hearty cheer. Most of them belonged to the
_Orpheus_. These had already told the others of their captain's doings
in Hayti and in the attack on the pirate island, and said how popular he
was on board.
"I think we are going to have a good time," one of the others said as
they went forward. "We ain't likely to capture anything very big in this
cockle-shell, and I look upon it as a sort of pleasure ship."
"You will see, if he gets a chance he will take it," one of the men from
the _Orpheus_ said. "I was with him in that fight against the pirates,
and I tell you I have never been in anything hotter. I was one of those
who volunteered to go with him to drown the magazine of the brigantine
next to us, and I tell you I never felt so scared in my life. He was
just as cool as a cucumber, though he had been knocked silly by that
explosion a quarter of an hour before. He is the right sort, he is; and
though I expect he has got orders not to tackle anything too big for
us--he is not the sort of chap to run away if he can find the smallest
excuse for fighting."
In the meantime Nat had gone below with the two midshipmen. The
accommodation for officers was excellent. There was a large cabin aft
which had been handsomely fitted up by the late captain. Off this on
one side was his state-room, on the other those for the two officers;
beyond these were the steward's cabin and pantry on one side, and a
spare cabin which had been given to the quarter-master on the other. Nat
had engaged a negro as cook, and his son, a lad of seventeen or
eighteen, as cabin steward, and had sent on board a small stock of
wines. He ordered the boy to open a bottle and to put glasses on the
table, and they drank together to the success of the cruise. They had
just finished when the quarter-master came down.
"The admiral is signalling for us to send a boat to him, sir."
"Lower the gig at once!" and he and the officers followed the
quarter-master on deck. "Mr. Lippincott, you had better go with it."
In half an hour the midshipman returned with a despatch. Nat broke the
seal. It had evidently been dictated by the admiral to his clerk, his
signature being at the foot.
_News has just arrived that the French Assembly has cancelled the
act placing the mulattoes on the same footing as the whites, and
the former have in consequence risen and have joined the blacks.
The situation must be most precarious for whites in the island.
Get up sail at once and make for Cape Francois. Cruise between
that port and the south-eastern limit of Hayti. Do what you can
to aid fugitives._
"We are to be off at once," he said to Mr. Turnbull. "Please get up the
anchor and make sail. There is fresh trouble in Hayti; the mulattoes
have joined the blacks."
The quarter-master's whistle sounded, and the crew sprang into activity.
The capstan was manned, and the men ran to loosen the sails, and in ten
minutes the _Falcon_ was on her way.
"Matters were bad enough before," Nat said when, having seen that the
sails were all set and everything in good order, his two officers came
aft. "A few mulattoes, overseers and that class, rose with the negroes,
but the great bulk of them, having got what they wanted, joined the
whites or stood neutral; but now that they have thrown in their lot with
the blacks the prospect seems almost desperate. However it turns out,
there is no doubt that the island is ruined, and the whites who were
lucky enough to escape with their lives will find that instead of being
rich men they are penniless. It is a horrible business altogether. I
shall be glad when we get to Cape Francois and can get news of what is
really going on."
Nat was delighted at the speed shown by the schooner. The breeze was
light, and she felt the full advantage of her added spread of canvas.
She was a very beamy craft of light draught, and scarcely showed a
perceptible heel under the pressure of the wind, fully justifying his
opinion as to the improvement to be effected by the substitution of iron
ballast for that which she had before carried. Turnbull and Lippincott
were no less pleased, and the whole crew felt proud of their little
craft.
"She can go, sir, and no mistake!" Turnbull said, as they stood aft
looking upwards at the sails and down into the water glancing past her
sides. "It would take a fast craft indeed to overhaul her; her sails are
splendidly cut!"
"Yes, I tipped the man who is at the head of the sail-making gang a
five-pound note to take special pains with them, and the money would
have been well laid out if it had been fifty times as much; for it will
make the difference of a point at least when she is close-hauled, and
that means getting away from a fellow too big for us, instead of being
overhauled by him."
"Yes," Turnbull said with a smile, "and might enable us to keep out of
reach of his bow-guns, while we hammered him with our stern-chaser."
"Yes, it might have that effect," Nat replied with an answering smile.
"What is she going through the water now, quarter-master?"
"A good seven knots, sir."
"That is fast enough. The _Orpheus_ would not be making more than six in
such a light breeze as this."
Towards sunset the wind fell until it scarcely seemed that there was a
breath on the water, but the schooner still crept along at two and a
half knots an hour, although her sails scarcely lifted. The crew had
already been divided in watches. Turnbull took the starboard, and
Lippincott the larboard watch.
"I hardly know myself," Nat laughed, as they sat together in the cabin
after dinner. "Except when I was on the sick list, this is my first
experience of not having a night watch to keep. However, I expect I
shall be up and down, and at any rate call me if there is the slightest
change in the weather. We know what she can do in a light wind now, but
we won't risk anything until we have seen how she carries her sails in a
sharp blow."
Somewhat restless under the extent of his responsibility, Nat was on
deck several times during the night. There was, however, no sign of
change. The _Arrow_ was still stealing through the water with the wind
abeam. The two midshipmen, equally impressed with the responsibility of
being in command of a watch, were on the alert, and the look-out was
vigilant. The wind freshened again when the sun rose. At noon there were
white-heads on the water, and the schooner, heeling over a bit now, was
doing nearly nine knots. The three officers all took an observation, and
to their satisfaction found that they were within half a mile of each
other. At the present moment, however, there was no doubt as to their
situation, for the high land near Cape Dame Marie lay clearly in sight
over the bowsprit, while behind them the hills over Morant Point lay
like a dim haze.
"If we had had this wind the whole way," Nat said regretfully, "we
should have been well in the bay by this time. Still, we must not
grumble; we have made a hundred knots. The mid-day gun fired just as we
got under way, and, considering that for twelve hours we had no wind
worth speaking of, I think we have done very well. Indeed, if the wind
will hold like this, we shall be near port by noon to-morrow; but we
can't reckon on that, it is sure to fall before sunset, and besides, the
winds are generally baffling and shifty when we once get into the bay."
By three o'clock the wind had already begun to fall, and by five they
were lying almost becalmed off the westerly point of the island. For the
next two days the wind was very light, and it was late in the afternoon
of the second when they dropped anchor off Cape Francois. Nat at once
went ashore, and as usual received a warm welcome from the Duchesnes.
Madame had now quite recovered from the effect of her adventure, as also
had Myra.
"I did not know that the _Orpheus_ was in port, or else we should have
been expecting you."
"She is not in port, madame. I arrived in his majesty's schooner
_Arrow_, which I have the honour to command."
"Then you are Captain Glover now? I must be very respectful," and Myra
made a deep curtsy.
"It will be a good many years before I shall have the right to be
addressed by that title. I have passed my examination as lieutenant, and
have now acting rank, which will no doubt be confirmed by the
authorities at home, and I may be addressed as lieutenant without any
breach of etiquette. Still, of course, it is a grand thing to get a
command, and so much greater chance of distinguishing oneself. However,
as she is but a small craft, and carries only twenty-five men, we are
not in a position to do any great thing in the way of fighting, though
of course we may overhaul and capture some of these native craft that
are nominally traders, but are ready to capture any small vessel they
may come across. My mission really is to obtain news of what is passing
in the island. We have received word at Kingston that the mulattoes have
risen and joined the blacks, and I have been sent off at once to learn
the real state of things."
"Unhappily the news is true," Monsieur Duchesne said. "There have
already been several fights, in some of which we have got the best of
it, in others we have been driven back to the towns. It is impossible
for the look-out to be darker than it is. It seems to us that our only
hope is that England will consent to take over the sovereignty of the
island, and send a force large enough to put down the insurrection. Some
of the planters here have already lost heart, and have sailed for
Jamaica, Bermuda, and other British ports. I have no intention of
following their example at present. I am, as you know, a merchant as
well as a planter, and although, of course, all trade is at an end now,
it must spring up again in time. Fortunately, we feel confident that
this town can resist any assault. The French man-of-war that came in
after you sailed landed a dozen of her guns, and we have erected four
batteries. There were, too, a good many old guns in the town, which have
also been put into position; and as we have half a French regiment here,
and fully five hundred whites who can be relied on, we have small fear
of being overpowered. I am glad to say that before the man-of-war left,
the great majority of the negroes were expelled from the town and their
quarter burnt down, so that we have no fear of being attacked from
within as well as from without. That was really our greatest danger, and
has been hanging over us night and day ever since the beginning of the
rising."
"Are the mulattoes and negroes acting together?"
"In some cases, but as a rule they keep apart. There is no love lost
between them, and the only bond of union is hatred of us. The blacks,
curiously enough, have declared against the republic, and call
themselves the royalist army. They consider, and very naturally, that
the republic, while giving rights to the mulattoes, has done nothing for
them, and therefore, as the republic has declared against the king, they
have declared for him. Do you think that the English government will
accept our offer to transfer ourselves to British rule?"
"I do not see that they could do so, sir. At present we are nominally at
peace with France, although everyone sees that war must come before
long, but until it is declared we could scarcely take over a French
possession; nor do I think there are anything like troops enough in our
islands to undertake such a serious operation as this would be. Your
people could not give us much help. The negroes, though calling
themselves royalists, are fighting only for liberty, and would gain
nothing by a mere change of masters, knowing as they do that the slaves
are certainly no better treated in our islands than in those of France."
"That is what I thought," Monsieur Duchesne said. "Certainly nothing
short of an army of thirty thousand strong could hope for success, and I
doubt, indeed, whether in so large and mountainous an island even that
number could do much. Of course fully half of it is Spanish, which
complicates matters a great deal; but we may be sure that if the negroes
of this end are successful, those under the Spaniards will very soon
follow their example. If the worst comes to the worst, I shall of course
leave the island. Whether I should settle in one of your islands or
make England my residence I cannot say. Some of my countrymen have gone
to America, but I should put that out of my mind. I think I should
prefer England to remaining out here, for there might be similar risings
in Jamaica and elsewhere; as to France, it is out of the question.
"France has gone mad. I know that many of our good families have sought
refuge in England, and we should at least find society congenial to us.
Happily, we are in a condition to choose for ourselves; my ancestors
have been wise men, and have long foreseen that what has actually
occurred might possibly take place. Each in succession has impressed his
views upon his son, and it has become almost a family tradition among
us, and one upon which we have often been rallied. For with few
exceptions all here seem to have regarded the state of things as being
as unchangeable as Scripture says were the laws of the Medes and
Persians. If this had been only a tradition, and had not been acted
upon, it would not have benefited us now, but for six generations each
of my ancestors has regarded it as a sacred duty to set aside nearly a
tenth of his revenues as a provision when the troubles should come. This
money has been chiefly invested in England and Holland, and the interest
on the accumulations of all these years has been reinvested. I believe
that, although I regard such investments as were made in France as lost,
we shall, when we reckon up matters, find that our income will be fully
as large as that which I have drawn from my property and trade here."
"I am very glad to hear it, Monsieur Duchesne. I have indeed, while I
have been away, thought very often of what would happen to you and your
family if you were forced to finally abandon your estate and leave the
island."
"I have reason to be grateful indeed, Nat, to the forethought of those
who have gone before me; it is strange that the same idea did not occur
to others. One can see now that our people here have been living in a
fool's paradise, totally oblivious of the fact that a volcano might at
any moment open under their feet. Are you going to remain here?"
"Oh, no! I am only making this a starting-place. My orders are to cruise
along the southern coast, to render any assistance I can to the
refugees, and if possible, to open communications with some of the
chiefs of the insurgents and endeavour to find out what their plans are,
and, should it be decided to accept the cession of the island when war
with France breaks out, what the attitude of the blacks and mulattoes
would be."
"You will not be likely to pick up any refugees, for the whites are
exterminated except in the towns; but should any of the smaller places
be attacked you might render good service by receiving at least the
women and children on board."
That evening Monsieur Duchesne asked his brother-in-law, the doctor, and
several other leading inhabitants, to his house, in order that Nat might
gather their views. He found that these in the main agreed with those of
his host, except that they were hopeful that France would, as soon as
the news arrived, despatch an army of sufficient force to put down the
insurrection. After the last of the guests had departed, Monsieur
Duchesne shook his head.
"France will ere long require every soldier to defend her own frontiers;
the saturnalia of blood in which she is indulging will cause her to be
regarded as the common enemy of Europe. I hear that already the emigrant
nobles are pressing the various European courts to march armies into
France to free the king and royal family from their imprisonment by the
mob of Paris, and ere long there will assuredly be a coalition which
France will need all her strength to resist. England is certain to join
it; and even had France troops to spare, she would find a difficulty in
sending them here. So you will not change your mind and stay with us
for the night?"
"It is already nearly eleven, and I ordered the gig to be alongside at
that hour. I certainly should not like to sleep out of the ship, though
I have no doubt that my two young officers would see that everything
went on right."
On reaching the schooner, Nat found that both Turnbull and Lippincott
were still up.
"It was such a lovely night that we have been smoking on deck until a
few minutes ago; we were, of course, anxious to hear the news."
At Nat's order the steward brought hot water and glasses; three tumblers
of grog were filled, and they sat for a couple of hours discussing the
strange situation in the island.