OVERHAULED BY THE GEORGETTE
At daybreak Captain Anthony was called by Mr. Smith, who announced
that the Georgette was approaching. Breslin was summoned, and the men
hastened on deck.
As the steamer came nearer, it was seen that she had a regiment of
soldiers aboard. The Georgette was a four hundred ton vessel, twice
as big as the Catalpa. On her upper deck a big gun was mounted, and
the soldiery were assembled on the main deck, a forest of bayonets
glistening in the morning sun.
It was a show which was calculated to intimidate the men on the little
whaleship, but no one on the Catalpa faltered. The captain ordered the
ensign hoisted to the masthead, and mounted the poop deck.
It was seen that Colonel Harvest, heavy laden in the gorgeous trappings
of a British army officer, was in charge of the deck. At one moment,
when the colonel's attention was elsewhere, Captain O'Grady waved his
hat at his whilom companion on a recent trip, and Captain Anthony waved
his hand in response.
The next salutation was a solid shot fired across the bow of the
Catalpa. As it ricocheted along, the water flew as high as the
masthead. Meanwhile the ship was rolling helplessly, for there was no
wind. As the yards bowed to meet the water, her sails flapped and yards
creaked. But now a faint breeze filled the sails, and the Catalpa began
to make some headway. When she was abeam the Georgette, Colonel Harvest
shouted:--
"Heave to!"
"What for?" screamed Captain Anthony in reply.
"You have escaped prisoners aboard that ship."
"You're mistaken," said Captain Anthony. "There are no prisoners aboard
this ship. They're all free men."
The Georgette had a whaleboat on the davits, and the men on the
whaleship assumed it was for boarding purposes. Breslin collected the
rescued men together, and they determined to resist. While the above
colloquy was in progress, Mr. Smith had fitted out the company with
cutting spades, whaling guns, and heavy pieces of iron and logs of wood
with which to sink the boat if it came alongside.
"I see the men aboard the ship now," yelled Colonel Harvest.
"You're mistaken, sir," returned Captain Anthony. "Get up, men, and
show yourselves."
The men walked to the rail. "You can see for yourself they are my
crew," said the captain.
"I have telegraphed the American government, and have orders to seize
you," was the colonel's next announcement.
Captain Anthony knew this was impossible and made no reply.
"Are you going to heave to?" asked the colonel.
"No, sir," replied Captain Anthony firmly.
The Georgette was on the lee of the Catalpa. The wind was freshening
and the Georgette was steaming to keep up.
"Don't you know you have violated the colonial laws?" asked Colonel
Harvest.
"No, sir," answered Captain Anthony; at which the colonel seemed
greatly enraged.
"I'll give you fifteen minutes in which to heave to," said he, "and
I'll blow your masts out unless you do so. I have the means to do it."
He pointed to the gun, which the soldiers were swabbing, preparatory to
reloading.
"This ship is sailing under the American flag and she is on the high
seas. If you fire on me, I warn you that you are firing on the American
flag." This was Captain Anthony's reply.
The vessels were now about eighteen miles offshore. On the tack upon
which she was sailing the Catalpa was running inshore. Captain Anthony
feared it was the trick to decoy him into Australian waters, and
decided to go about on the other tack. He consulted with Mr. Smith
whether it was advisable to tack or wear ship, his fear of the former
course being that the vessel might get "in irons" and lose her headway,
and in the confusion the Georgette might shoot alongside.
So it was decided to wear. When the Catalpa's crew hauled up the clews
of the mainsail, hauled down the head of the spanker, and let the
gafftopsail run down, the officers on the Georgette evidently thought
the Catalpa proposed to haul back, and the steamer was stopped.
Then Captain Anthony put the wheel up, and the vessel swung off quickly
and headed straight for the Georgette, going before the wind. The
captain of the steamer construed this as an attempt to run him down. He
rang the jingle-bell and went ahead at full speed, but when the Catalpa
swung by him, her flying jibboom just cleared the steamer's rigging.
The ship's sails filled on the other tack and the Catalpa headed
offshore.
The Georgette again steamed under the bark's lee. Colonel Harvest once
more asked the captain if he proposed to "heave to," and the captain
once more replied that he did not. The steamer followed for an hour,
Colonel Harvest walking the bridge. Then the Georgette stopped. It was
now four o'clock in the afternoon. The wind was fair and fresh, and
constantly increasing.
When the Catalpa was some distance away, Captain Anthony called to the
rescued men, "Boys, take a good look at her. Probably you'll never see
her again." When the vessels were a few miles apart, the Georgette
steamed back towards Freemantle, leaving a grateful and thankful party
behind.
"When the English commander gave the order to his stokers to slack
down the fires, a veritable _feu d'enfer_, the battle ended," said
the "Kilkenny Journal," in describing the incident. "But it was a
terrible affray, and while the firing lasted there was a tremendous
expenditure of coals. Every credit is due the Georgette. She steered
off in magnificent style. As it turned a stern lookout upon its foe,
the banner of Britain displayed its folds, and the blazoned lion,
shimmering in the sun, seemed to make a gesture of defiance with his
tail, by curving it between his heels."
And the Catalpa sailed serenely on, and the star-spangled banner
floated bravely in the breeze.