GALE CONTINUES.--MY LADY PASSENGERS.--MY LOYALTY PUT TO THE TEST.--REACH
RHODE ISLAND.--ORDERED TO ESCORT LADIES TO THEIR DESTINATION.--CHASED BY
A STRANGER.--FEARFUL DANGERS.--RUN THROUGH A NARROW PASSAGE.--ANCHOR.
The little schooner kept plunging away through the heavy seas caused by
the gale, with her prize dragging astern. Grampus had got some sail on
her to help her along, but still she not only made us labour much, but
exposed us to considerable risk. This, under ordinary circumstances, I
should not have minded, and of course, except in the case of the last
necessity, I would not have thought of casting her adrift to look after
herself. Night came on, and still there was no chance of the gale going
down. I was much relieved by O'Driscoll ranging up alongside and
hailing me, promising to stay by the prize should I be compelled to cast
her off. Still, as I had taken her, I naturally wanted to have the
satisfaction of bringing her in. As the darkness increased, the gale
blew heavier and the sea ran higher. Still, fortunately, we were able
to keep our course. Hour after hour passed away, the little vessel
plunging bows under, and dragging away lustily at her heavy prize. I
felt that she was straining very much, and on sending below I found that
she was making more water than she ought to have done. Still I held on
with the Crab, hoping that the gale would break. At last it seemed to
have moderated a little, so I left the deck in charge of Rockets, and
descended into the cabin to offer what comfort I could to its fair
occupants. I asked leave to enter. Mrs Tarleton's voice assured me
that I was welcome. I found both ladies sitting on a sofa which I had
lashed close to the table. A swing lamp hung from above. They had
books before them, and were attempting to read. I doubt if they had
made much progress. I told them that I thought the gale was breaking,
and that we might have fair weather again before the morning.
"I trust so, indeed," said Miss Carlyon. "It appeared to me that we
have been in very great danger; even now the vessel seems dreadfully
agitated, though my aunt assures me that such storms are constantly met
with at sea."
"She is right, I assure you," said I. "There is no danger that may
alarm you."
Just as I spoke there was a loud report. Both ladies shrieked.
"Oh, what is that?" exclaimed the younger. "What can have happened, Mr
Poynder?"
"Parted the hawser, which was towing the prize," I answered hurriedly.
"Let me entreat you: do not be alarmed, whatever happens. We shall have
probably to lie by her all night. With daylight we may make her fast
again."
Saying this I rushed on deck. I could just see the Crab astern of us.
The mainsail being handed, we hove the vessel to, under her
fore-staysail. She felt far more easy than she had done, going free,
and with the prize in tow. Still I never spent a more anxious night. I
did not either forget friend Cobb's kind intentions by me, and I hinted
to him that I remembered them. At length daylight came, and a dark
cloudy sky hung over a dull leaden sea. I looked anxiously around for
the prize. She had drifted away some three miles to leeward of us. I
would rather not have been nearer the coast than we were. Still I bore
down to her. O'Driscoll was nowhere to be seen. A cheery reply from
old Grampus assured me that all was right. He, moreover, volunteered to
send a hawser aboard of us. I accordingly hove-to again on his
weather-bow. A boat was lowered from the Crab, manned by the prisoners,
and in a short time, though not without risk to the boat's crew, we had
the prize once more in tow.
"I'll not forget you for this, my lads," I sang out.
Captain Cobb looked daggers at his people, but I took care that he
should hold no communication with them.
My fair passengers, I found, had not suffered during the night. As the
schooner, when hove-to, rode easily, they fancied that the weather had
improved, and were perfectly satisfied. When we once more made sail,
although there really was less wind and sea, they fancied that the
weather had become worse, and I had some difficulty in assuring them to
the contrary. The subject which caused me the most anxiety was the
quantity of water the vessel was making. It became, therefore,
necessary to man the pumps, and I was not sorry to have a good excuse
for setting Captain Cobb and his people to labour at them. The master,
especially, did not like it, and showed signs of disobedience.
"Come, come, my friend," said I; "I have been somewhat lenient with you.
I might have kept you in irons, had I not run you up to the yard-arm,
in return for the trick you wished to play with me."
"Well, now, mister, how did you find all that out?" quoth my friend,
looking me coolly in the face.
"Never mind," I answered, tickled by his impudence. "Man the pumps."
And I made him work away, as he deserved, as long as he could stand. I
kept a look-out for the Lady Parker, and felt not a little anxious as to
what had become of her. I should have liked to have passed much more of
my time than I did in the cabin, but I was afraid of intruding on my
passengers. I believe they fully appreciated my delicacy. Several
times during the day Miss Carlyon ventured on deck, and seemed to enjoy
gazing on the stormy, foam-crested seas. I stood by her side and
supported her as the little vessel plunged into the troughs, and rose
again buoyantly to their summits.
"This is very fine," she exclaimed enthusiastically. "I do think the
life of a sailor must be very delightful, Mr Hurry. Had I my choice, I
would select it above all others."
"You may be a sailor's wife, though you cannot be a sailor," came to the
tip of my tongue, but I did not utter the words; instead of them I said,
looking at her beautiful countenance, and admiring its animation, "I
love it dearly, and would not change it for any other, Miss Carlyon,
though it has its shadows as well as its sunshine."
"Ah, yes, but I always look at the _sunny_ side of every picture," she
remarked, smiling sweetly.
"You cannot help that. The light you see shed over everything is but
the reflection from yourself!" I blushed as I felt an expression so
different from my usual matter-of-fact style drawn from my lips.
Miss Carlyon looked up with a bright glance, (not smiling exactly), as
much as to say, "What is that about?" She was not, I thought,
displeased, but I did not venture anything of the sort again. I found
myself led by degrees to tell her all about myself, and my early life,
and my adventures, and then I described the sea under its various
aspects, and I went on to talk about ships of different classes, and how
to rig them, and the names of the ropes and sails and spars. She told
me, in return, a good deal about herself and her family, and her likes
and dislikes and occupations. Her father had property, I found, between
the Chesapeake and Potomac rivers in Virginia, where she had generally
resided. Since his death she had remained chiefly with her aunt, Mrs
Tarleton, though she hoped to return in a short time, if the state of
the country would allow it, to Virginia.
"If you knew what a beautiful country it is, you would love it as I do,
Mr Hurry!" she exclaimed with enthusiasm. "When this dreadful war is
over, and the people have attained their rights, and returned to their
allegiance, you must come and see us. I am sure that my family will one
and all, whatever their politics, rejoice in the opportunity of thanking
you for your kindness and courtesy to my aunt and me on the present
occasion."
I of course said how delighted I should be, and fifty other very pretty
things besides. All I can say is that I had never spent so enjoyable a
time before at sea. Her aunt very seldom came on deck, so that Madeline
and I were left very much to ourselves. I believe that Mrs Tarleton
purposely did not interfere, hoping by means of her niece to gain me
over to the cause to which she was so enthusiastically attached. From
what I knew of her, I am certain that if such was the case, she fully
believed that she was employing a lawful means for a good end. The more
I saw, however, of Mrs Tarleton, the more I learned to admire her
high-minded, noble, self-sacrificing disposition. The love of freedom
was with her a passion, and she held in utter scorn all who submitted
to, what she considered, tyranny. She was indeed a person of the old
heroic stamp, ready to dare and to do all things in a righteous cause.
The gale moderated sooner than I had expected, the sea went down, and we
had moderate and pleasant weather. It was therefore with anything but
satisfaction that I made out Sir Peter Parker's flag flying aboard the
Chatham, off Rhode Island, which our squadron had been busily employed
in blockading. I brought up with my prize close to him, and assuring my
passengers that I would endeavour to carry out the plans they had
suggested would be most for their convenience, I pulled on board to
report myself. The admiral smiled when I told him all that had
occurred.
"So these very charming ladies would like to continue their voyage, and
you pledged your word that I would not detain them?" said he in a kind
way. "Well, you were safe there; we do not war against women, and we
must not be behindhand in courtesy after the treatment which some of our
English ladies have received at the hands of the rebels. They are
anxious to proceed to the neighbourhood of Philadelphia. You shall go
there in the `Pigot,' and you will have no objection to keep them as
your passengers. Probably the city itself is by this time occupied by
the British forces; but I will give you a letter to General Howe, and
will beg him to afford them a pass through the country occupied by our
troops, and to allow you to escort them till they are placed in safety
among their own people. No; do not thank me. I am glad to afford you
what I have no doubt you will find an interesting occupation, but I also
have great satisfaction in finding an opportunity of treating the ladies
of the opposite party in the way I feel they should be treated."
Never had I heard more satisfactory words. I could scarcely refrain
from rubbing my hands with delight.
"Then am I to sail at once, sir?" I asked.
"Certainly, let there be no delay. You can supply yourself with
provisions and water from the ship, and send the master and crew of the
prize aboard here. I'll have them put on shore. From what you say you
will be glad to be rid of them."
Promising Sir Peter to carry out his instructions to the best of my
power, after seeing the purser about the provisions, and getting as many
extra luxuries as I could out of him, I jumped into my boat and returned
on board the tender. On my way I caught sight of two vessels standing
in towards the roads. I made out one of them to be the Lady Parker, and
the other looked very like a prize she had made. So it proved. Before
I sailed, O'Driscoll came on board me, and explained how he had missed
me. He was as much pleased to see me safe as I was that no harm had
befallen him. In the squall during which the Crab had broken adrift he
had been hove on his beam-ends, and on getting to rights he could
nowhere see me. After some time he caught sight of a craft, which he
took for me, and made sail after her. When morning broke she proved to
be a stranger and on over-hauling her he found that she was a rebel
merchantman, so he took her and brought her into Newport. He declared
that he was very jealous when he heard of what he called my good
fortune.
"Will you change places now?" said he coolly. "You shall have the `Lady
Parker' and all the prizes you are certain to take in her, and let me
run down in charge of the `Pigot' and the ladies."
"You are joking now," said I. "But stay a moment and you shall pay your
respects to my passengers. They made many inquiries about you when they
found that your craft was missing."
The ladies were most grateful to Sir Peter when they heard of his
courtesy, and begged O'Driscoll to bear their thanks to him. My friend
remained till the stores came on board, and when he took his departure
he vowed that he had irretrievably lost his heart to the beautiful
widow. I at the same time made sail and stood to the southward. For
the first day we had a fair breeze and fine weather, and I was in hopes,
for the sake of my passengers, that we should make a good run of it to
the Delaware. I need not describe the various incidents which occurred,
interesting as they were to me, and important in their results. I
entirely won my way to the good opinion of Mrs Tarleton, and I could
not help being conscious that her niece no longer regarded me as a
common stranger. Still, how could I venture ever to indulge any hopes
of making her mine? I depended entirely on my profession for my
support, and that profession compelled me to appear as an enemy of her
relations and friends. Before I was aware of the tendency of her
reasonings, I found that she had taught me to look on the fratricidal
war we were waging in a very different light to that in which I had at
first regarded it. She, however, I must insist, in no way weakened my
patriotism. I loved old England as much as ever, but she taught me to
feel the warmest sympathy for her countrymen and mine truly, who were
fighting in the noble cause of liberty. I describe my feelings as they
then existed. I leave to others to judge whether they were right or
wrong. A fierce war began to rage within me between principle and
feeling, interest and duty, and all the tender sentiments of my nature.
A less high-minded person would have thrown all her weight into the
scale, and might have made me false to the sovereign in whose service I
was engaged; but then I flattered myself that a girl of her exalted
principles would not have so speedily won my affections. [See Note 1.]
Now the murder is out; in plain English, I was head over ears in love,
and it was a toss up whether I should, for the sake of Madeline Carlyon,
desert my colours, go over and join the Americans, and get a captain's
commission, or remain true to my king and run the chance of losing her.
It puts me into a fever even now, to think of all the feelings which
came bubbling up in my bosom, and all the ideas which came rushing into
my brain, and the pulling and hauling and tugging at my heart. Never
had I been so racked and tormented, tossed to and fro, kicked here and
there, up and down. At length my good angel came to my assistance. "Do
your duty like a man," he whispered. "Don't think of consequences, what
you would like or what you wouldn't like. Find out what is right, and
do that."