"I am glad of it," he answered. "There is not a better officer in the
service than Captain Pellew, and, as he is a friend of mine, I have no
doubt that I shall be able to get him to take the two youngsters. I
will go over to Portsmouth this very day and see about it."
As I had to join at once, the captain took me over in his wherry. In
about a couple of hours he came on board, and told me it was all
settled, and he should trust to me to look after his son as well as
Harry, as he was sure I should do my best for the lad.
I had taken lodgings for Susan, and she joined me two days afterwards,
bringing Harry with her. She had plenty to do in preparing his outfit,
and that kept her mind from dwelling too much on our approaching
parting. Harry was the first midshipman to join, and he had the
advantage of seeing the ship fitted out from the beginning. The captain
brought Reginald over about a week later, and Harry was proud in being
able to teach him all he knew. He had thus as it were got the lead, and
he kept it, though he did not let Reginald feel that he thought himself
superior to him in any way. The two lads were fast friends, as they had
always been, for both were honest, kind-hearted, and good-tempered.
There was no difficulty in getting hands; and as I knew where to find
the best men, we soon had a first-rate ship's company without much
pressing.
We stood down Channel, bound out for Lisbon, with some official
characters on board. The captain's great aim was to get the ship's
company into good order, and we were continually exercising the guns and
shortening and making sail. This was an advantage to the youngsters, as
they learnt much faster than they would otherwise have done. They used
to come to my cabin, and I taught them all I could, though with my
duties I had not much time to myself. I had advised Harry not to call
me "father"; not that he should have been ashamed of his father being a
boatswain had I been his father, but, as I was not, I thought it would
be better for him to be independent. I felt for him the same as if he
was my son. He and young Leslie got on very well in the berth, and,
young as they were, gained the respect of their messmates. Thus a year
or more passed by; we had visited Cadiz, and had taken a trip up the
Mediterranean, when we were ordered home with despatches. One day I
observed Harry was looking less merry than usual; I asked him what was
the matter. At first he did not like to tell me. At last he said--
"The truth is, father, that my messmates have found out that I was saved
when the _Royal George_ went down, and that Saint George is not my real
name."
"Never mind that, Harry," I answered; "you have as much right to it as
they have to theirs. Tell them you hope to make it some day as well
known to fame as Hawke's, Collier's, or Rodney's."
Harry promised to follow my advice; at the same time he confessed that
it made him more anxious than ever to find out who his parents really
were, and whether or not they were both on board the _Royal George_ when
she went down.
"You tell me that you think the poor lady who took me on board was not
my mother, and so perhaps my mother was on shore."
"But the young lady was in black, and so it's possible that your mother
may have died, and that she took you to see your father, to whom, for
some reason or other, she wanted to introduce you. That's how I read
the riddle, but maybe I am mistaken."
Harry was satisfied.
"When we return to England, you will try and get Jerry Dix to come to
see you, and learn if he has heard anything more?" he said.
Of course I replied that I would if I could; but that Jerry Dix had not
left me any address, and it might be a hard matter to find him. I did
not think that he had played me false, but I was afraid that some
accident might have happened to him, or that he might be dead, and then
the clue which he fancied he had found would be lost.
After visiting Cadiz and Gibraltar, we were on our way home, just
entering the chops of the Channel, after being kept at sea by calms and
contrary winds for three weeks or more, when a frigate hove in sight and
hoisted English colours. She made her number, and we knew her to be the
thirty-two gun frigate _Venus_. Captain Faulknor, who commanded her,
came on board, and we soon heard the news. The French Republicans had
risen up against their king, and cut his head off, and as the English
Government did not approve of that, they had ordered the French
ambassador to leave the country. The National Convention, as it was
called, had therefore declared war against Great Britain, and we were
now going to thrash the French Republicans soundly, wherever we could
find them, afloat or on shore.
This was, of course, considered to be glorious news; and all hands fore
and aft were in high glee at the thoughts of the work cut out for us.
The _Venus_ soon after parted company with us to go and look out for the
enemy, while we made the best of our way up Channel to Portsmouth, to
fill up with ammunition and stores. Before Susan could come over to see
me we had sailed for the westward. On our way down Channel we again
fell in with the _Venus_, which had had a sharp action with two French
frigates, the _Semillante_ and _Cleopatre_, when she beat off the first,
and escaped from the latter. We sailed together in search of the two
frigates. We sighted them three days afterwards, when they, having
nimble heels, escaped us and got into Cherbourg.
Having cruised together for some time, we parted company, and we put
into Falmouth. We had now been a year in commission, and all hands were
eager to meet an enemy of equal force. My fear was for Harry; I don't
know how I should have felt had he been my own son, but I doubt that I
should have been as anxious as I was about him, and I knew it would go
well-nigh to break Susan's heart should he be killed.
He and Reginald were in high spirits, and could talk of nothing else but
the battle in which they hoped to be engaged, and were always asking me
questions about those I had seen fought in my younger days. You see,
after the long peace, we had a good many officers and men on board, who
had never seen a shot fired in anger.
Our captain, however, and his brother, Commander Israel Pellew, had been
through the American War of Independence while they were midshipmen; the
latter had lately joined us as a volunteer. We sailed again on the 17th
of June on a cruise. When nearly abreast of the Start we stood out for
the southward, in the hopes of falling in with one of the two frigates
we had chased into Cherbourg. We were about six leagues from the Start,
when the look-out from the masthead hailed--
"A sail on the starboard beam."
This was as we were standing to the south-east. You may be sure that we
at once bore up in chase, under all sail. The stranger, as we got
nearer, was seen carrying a press of canvas, as we fancied, to get away
from us. We came up with her, however, and by the evening made her out
to be no other than the _Cleopatre_, one of the frigates of which we
were in search. Finding that she could not escape, even if she intended
to do so, she hauled up her foresail, and lowered her topgallant-sail,
bravely waiting for us. The men were at quarters, and the officers at
their stations, while the captain conning the ship stood at the gangway
with his hat in his hand. We were close up to each other and not a shot
had been fired; the French captain hailed, when our captain cried out--
"Ahoy! ahoy!"