THE NAVAL RENDEZVOUS.
About a week after the events recorded in the preceding chapters,
Lieutenant Bankhead paid another visit to Pinchbrook; but the way had
already been prepared for him. Mrs. Somers, finding that she should be
compelled to yield to the tremendous pressure which would be brought
to bear upon her, had already decided to yield gracefully and without
a struggle. Captain Barney had used his eloquence to some purpose; but
the strong desire of John to serve his country was the most powerful
influence acting upon her mind.
On the morning after the captain’s visit, John was somewhat surprised
to hear her open the subject herself, without any prompting on his part.
“I have been thinking about your going into the navy, John, ever since
I waked up this morning.”
“Have you? Well, what do you think about it, mother?” replied John.
“I have come to the conclusion that you had better go, if you want to.”
“Of course, I want to go; but I don’t want to go if you are not
willing. I shouldn’t have a moment’s comfort if I thought you were
worrying about me all the time.”
“I don’t think I should worry any more if you were gone than I have for
the last two or three months.”
“Well, I didn’t mean to drive you into letting me go.”
“You haven’t. I’ve made up my mind that you will be just as well off
in the navy as you will be at home. You always was a good boy; and I
expect you will behave yourself wherever you go.”
“I always mean to do that, mother. A fellow can’t be a very bad boy in
the navy, they are so strict.”
So it was decided that John should go into the navy; and there wasn’t
half so much friction about the matter as he thought there would be
when the final action should come. His mother seemed to be entirely
satisfied to have him go; and she was more cheerful for the few days
following the decision than she had been before. All doubt and anxiety
on the subject were removed, and she was disposed to look on the bright
side of the case.
When Lieutenant Bankhead appeared, there was no occasion for the array
of excellent and convincing arguments which he had provided to overcome
the mother’s repugnance to the proposed step.
“Is your son at home, madam?” said he, after the introductory remarks
were concluded.
“Yes, sir: he is out in the garden. I have sent Jenny after him, and he
will be here in a few moments.”
“I suppose you know what kind of a time we had upon the water the other
night,” continued the visitor.
“Yes, sir: John told me all about it.”
“And, of course, he told you how deeply I am indebted to him for the
service he rendered me?”
“He didn’t say much about that,” replied Mrs. Somers, who did not know
but that he might think her son had criticised the conduct of his
passenger on that eventful night.
“He is a brave little fellow, and I owe him a debt I shall never be
able to repay.”
“Oh, well! John don’t mind that.”
“But I mind it; and I should have been here before to repeat my thanks,
if the death of my father had not prevented.”
“John thought ever so much of you; and I rather think he is much
obliged to you for falling overboard, and giving him the chance to pull
you into the boat. But you are not the first man that John has pulled
out of the water,” added the mother proudly.
“I am very glad to have obliged him, though it is not every young man
whom I should be willing to oblige in that manner. But, madam, your son
wishes to go into the navy.”
“Yes, sir; he has been wanting to go ever since the war broke out: but
I couldn’t make up my mind to let him go before; and John isn’t a boy
that would go without his mother’s leave.”
“Good boys always love and respect their mothers.”
“But I’ve made up my mind to let him go just as soon as he has a mind
to. He wanted to go off and sign the papers yesterday; but I told him
he had better wait till he saw you.”
“Indeed! I am very glad you have consented.”
“Yes, sir; I thought it would not do any good to hold out any longer:
and John is a good boy, and will behave himself wherever he goes. Here
he comes: he can speak for himself.”
Lieutenant Bankhead rose, and grasped the hand of John as he entered
the room; and, after they had talked a while about their trip to Fort
Warren, the subject nearest to the young man’s heart was again brought
up for consideration. His grateful friend gave him all the information
necessary for his guidance in the important step he was about to take.
It was decided that John should enter the navy on the following day;
but, as the ship to which Mr. Bankhead had been ordered would not
be ready for sea for a few weeks, it was thought best, for several
reasons, that the young sailor should enlist in Boston, and spend the
period of his probation on board the receiving-ship at Charlestown. The
arrangements having been completed, and an appointment made for John to
meet his friend in the city at noon the next day, Mr. Bankhead rose to
take his leave.
“Jack, I dare say you may think I am a very forgetful man,” continued
the lieutenant, with a smile upon his handsome face.
“Forgetful? I don’t understand you, sir. I’m sure I never thought
anything of the kind,” replied John, blushing up to his eyes.
“You know, I promised to give you ten dollars if you brought me back
safely from the fort the other night.”
“I never thought of it, sir.”
“Well, I did; though the illness of my father drove it out of my head
for the time,” added the officer, taking out his porte-monnaie.
“Really, sir, I don’t want you to give me a cent. I don’t ask anything
for what I did.”
“I don’t care what you want, Jack. My conscience wouldn’t let me sleep
at night, if I didn’t keep my promise. Oh! you needn’t blush, my boy:
I’m not going to pay you; but I want to make you a small present, and
my brother insisted upon adding something to my little gift. Here is
mine, and here is my brother’s;” and Mr. Bankhead handed him first a
hundred-dollar bill, and then a fifty-dollar bill.
“Why, sir, I----”
“Take them, Jack, just to oblige me,” added the lieutenant.
“No sir: I can’t take all this money. It will burn my fingers if I keep
it.”
“If you feel afraid of it, just hand it to your mother, who, I dare
say, will find a good use for it.”
John protested, and Mrs. Somers protested; they protested singly and
together: but the officer was resolute, and positively refused to take
back the bills.
“If I thought I could pay you, Jack, in money, I should have given you
a thousand dollars. There is an elderly lady, who lives only seven
miles from here, who is just as grateful to you as I am; and, when she
feels able to leave home, she is coming over to see your mother; and I
know they will be the best friends in the world.”
“Who, sir?”
“My mother, Jack. She already thinks a great deal of you, my boy; and,
when she sees you, she will not think the less of you.”
Lieutenant Bankhead took his leave; and John and his mother were so
bewildered when he had gone, that they hardly knew what had happened
during his visit. But there were the two bank-bills to attest the
reality of what had occurred; and the rest of the day was spent in
making preparations for the sailor-boy’s departure. The question
of what should be done with the hundred and fifty dollars caused
considerable discussion; for Mrs. Somers thought it should be placed
to John’s credit in the Savings Bank, and he declared she must use
it to make herself comfortable until he could get some money to send
home. John was the stronger party in the argument; and the money
was carefully deposited in the bureau-drawer, to be expended as the
necessities of the family might require.
The next morning, John rose very early, and did his “chores” about the
house as usual. These were his last hours at home; and, though he was
not a very sentimental lad, he couldn’t help visiting all the familiar
spots in the vicinity, and recalling all the pleasant little incidents
of the past. He might never see them again; and, when he left the
little chamber which Thomas and himself had occupied since they were
old enough to leave the trundle-bed, he was weak enough to shed a few
tears. He compared his comfortable bed with a hammock on the berth-deck
of a sloop-of-war; but, when he thought that he was going forth to
fight for the glorious stripes and stars, he was reconciled to any
privations which he might be called upon to endure.
The hour for his departure came; and after his mother had given him a
few words of counsel, and a blessing warm from her heart, he kissed
his sisters, shook hands with Gran’ther Greene, and rushed out of the
house before anyone had an opportunity to shed many tears. At the
railroad station he found many of his young friends who had come to see
him off: but the train was approaching; and after Captain Barney had
wrung his hand, and his friends had given him a hearty God-speed, he
stepped into a car, and, as it seemed to him, actually entered upon his
career as a sailor-boy.
If our space would permit, we could, no doubt, tell what Jack Somers
was thinking about as the train hurled him along into the arms of
his future destiny. He was a good boy, and I suppose he thought of
everything that would be likely to occur to the mind of a good boy
leaving home to take a part in the most momentous war in which a nation
ever engaged. But, of whatever else he thought, I am sure that his
mother was uppermost in his mind. For her sake he was resolved to be
true to his God, his country, and himself.
At the appointed time, he met Lieutenant Bankhead at the hotel where he
was boarding while in the city; and after dinner they repaired to the
naval rendezvous, where John was duly presented for examination under
the auspices of his influential friend.
“Your name, my lad?” demanded the recruiting agent.
“John Somers,” replied our hero with a promptness which was part of his
nature.
“How old are you?”
“Seventeen, sir.”
“Have you been to sea?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How long?”
“One voyage to the West Indies, and two to Charlestown. I have been
about boats ever since I was a baby.”
“I can vouch for him that he is every inch a sailor,” added Lieutenant
Bankhead; “and the smartest lad in a small craft I ever came across in
my life.”
“Looks like it,” said the agent. “What can you do, my lad?”
“Hand, reef, and steer. I know something about rigging; but I don’t
want to ship as an able seaman.”
“Good: ordinary seaman, then; though you are rather young.”
“Better than half of them in the service,” said Jack’s friend.
“All right, Mr. Bankhead. We will take your word for it.”
“I ought to know: I have sailed with him when I wouldn’t trust myself
in the hands of many a skipper that I have known.”
John was then taken into another room, where he was ordered to “strip,”
and was thoroughly examined with regard to his physical condition. A
minute description of his person was then written out, including his
height, complexion, color of his eyes, and other distinguishing marks,
which would enable his officers to identify him if occasion should
require. He was pronounced sound in every respect, and fit to serve the
United States Government in the capacity of an ordinary seaman.
The men on board a ship-of-war are shipped in three classes: landsmen,
who know nothing about a ship; ordinary seamen, who can “hand, reef,
and steer,” and who are sent aloft to perform the ordinary work of a
sailor; and seamen, sometimes called “able seamen,” who are competent
to do everything required in fitting out and working the ship; who
know all about rigging, splicing ropes, making and mending sails; who
can rig and unrig any spar; and who understand the lead.
Landsmen, at the time of which we write, received twelve dollars a
month. They remain on deck, haul the halyards, braces, and other ropes
which are worked on deck, clean up, and do general work. The pay of
an ordinary seaman was fourteen dollars a month; and of a seaman,
eighteen. There are also three classes of boys, called first, second,
and third-class boys,--according to their knowledge and physical
ability,--who received, respectively, nine, eight, and seven dollars a
month.
When a sailor ships for the navy, he is supplied with clothing, and
other articles of comfort and luxury, upon credit; that is, the value
of the goods is charged to him, to be deducted from his future wages.
As my readers may be curious to know the contents of Jack Somers’s bag,
I shall add a list of the articles with which he was supplied, and the
prices of them:--
1 Pea Jacket $12 00
1 Blue Cloth Jacket 10 00
1 pair Blue Cloth Pants 4 00
1 pair Blue Cloth Satinet Pants 3 00
1 Blue Cap 1 00
2 Blue Flannel Shirts 4 00
2 White Frocks 3 00
2 White Inside Shirts 3 00
2 pairs Drawers 3 00
2 pairs Duck Pants 3 00
2 pairs Stockings 1 00
1 pair Shoes 2 00
1 Neck Hankderchief 1 50
1 Tin Pot and Pan 75
1 Jack-knife and Spoon 50
1 Bar Soap and Scrubbing-Brush 1 00
1 Shoe-brush and Blacking 50
1 Razor, Shaving-box, and Soap 2 15
------
$55 40
Jack blushed when the last-named articles were handed to him; but,
as he had already made some efforts to coax a little feathery down
upon his upper lip to vegetate more rapidly than Nature was disposed,
he determined to persevere, in the hope that he might surprise his
friends, at the expiration of his term, by presenting himself before
them with a full-grown beard.
Men may draw two pounds of tobacco; but it is not allowed if the sailor
is under twenty.
Our hero was appalled at the extent of his wardrobe: but Mr. Bankhead
assured him he would find a use for everything he had, unless it was
the shaving implements; which made Jack blush again, as though it were
wicked to shave.