My first act on regaining the cutter was to rouse Bob and the boy who
officiated as cook on board the "Mouette;" with the object of obtaining
from the former any news he might have to impart, and from the latter as
substantial a breakfast as the resources of the cutter would permit.
I listened to Bob's story while engaged upon the highly necessary
operation of cleansing my person and encasing it once more in "the
uniform proper to my rank." Bobby had very little to tell me; and that
little was by no means reassuring. It appeared that a despatch-boat had
arrived from Malta on the previous day bringing letters for the fleet;
and, among the rest, there had been a couple of epistles for me. Bob
had gone on board the "Juno" for whatever letters there might be for the
cutter's crew, and had been ordered by the skipper to request my
presence on board. Thereupon master Bob had presented my note informing
the skipper of my proposed expedition. Instead of expressing his
gratification at my zeal, as Bobby had fully expected he would, it
appeared that the skipper had exhibited a very considerable amount of
irritation; finally ordering friend Robert somewhat peremptorily back to
the cutter, with instructions to send me without fail on board the
"Juno" immediately on my return, _if_ (which the skipper seemed to
consider highly improbable) I ever succeeded in returning at all.
By the time that Summers had brought his story to a close I was ready
for the breakfast which meantime had been preparing; and as it was still
much too early to present myself before Captain Hood (who seldom
appeared before eight bells) I sat down to the meal, with--it must be
confessed--a somewhat diminished appetite; hastily skimming through my
letters as I munched away at the weevily biscuits. There were two; one
from my dear old dad, and one from Sir Peregrine. There was nothing of
very special interest in either; my father's epistle dealing chiefly
with a few items of home gossip, such as that farmer Giles of the Glebe
had met with an accident in the hunting-field, his colt falling with him
and breaking the worthy farmer's leg--doctor pronounced it a compound
fracture; that the wife of Lightfoot, the gamekeeper, had presented her
husband with twins once more--two girls this time; mother and twins
doing well; that Old Jane Martin had been laid up all the winter with
rheumatism, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera; and that finally, all at home
were enjoying excellent health, and would be glad if I could find time
to write to them a little more frequently. My great-uncle, Sir
Peregrine, was not nearly so voluminous in his correspondence as my
father--sailors are not as a rule very good correspondents--what he had
to say was said in as few words as possible. Two pages of note-paper
sufficed the worthy admiral to inform me that he had been intensely
gratified at the terms in which my name had been mentioned in connexion
with the storming of the Convention Redoubt, and that he was writing per
same mail to "his friend Hood" (the admiral, not the captain), asking
him to give me as many opportunities as he could of distinguishing
myself--"or of getting knocked on the head," thought I; and that if I
needed any cash my drafts upon him would be duly honoured. Also, that
he had not been out much during the winter, his old enemy the gout
having attacked him so pertinaciously that he had been confined to the
house for weeks at a time, moored "stem and stern" before the library
fire, like a prison-hulk in Portsmouth Harbour!
My letters and my breakfast were got through in about the same time; and
as Bob and I emerged from our tiny cabin on to the cutter's narrow deck
the ship's bells were musically chiming out the eight strokes which
proclaimed the end of one watch and the commencement of another. The
skipper would, I knew, be stirring by this time, so I jumped into the
dinghy, and proceeded on board the frigate.
As I stepped in on the "Juno's" deck, Captain Hood made his appearance
at the cabin-door. Touching my hat, I went up and reported myself.
"Good morning, Mr Chester," observed he affably; "I am very glad to see
you have come safely out of your escapade. But what do you mean, sir,"
(assuming a tone of severity), "by presuming to undertake such an
expedition without asking and obtaining permission? It is a manifest
breach of discipline, and, as such, must be punished. I placed you in
charge of the cutter as a kind of promotion, and by way of reward for
your exemplary conduct generally. _Now_ I shall be compelled to deprive
you of your command. You will return forthwith to your duty on board
the frigate, sir."
"Ay, ay, sir," I responded, considerably crestfallen. "I am extremely
sorry to have incurred your displeasure, sir, I am sure. I _would_ have
asked permission, sir, but I was afraid that, after poor Mr Tupper's
death, it would be refused."
"Very well, Mr Chester. I have no doubt you _meant_ well, and
therefore I have been lenient in the punishment which your breach of
discipline demanded. You have been reprimanded on the quarter-deck,
sir, and so we will say nothing more about it. Only I must impress upon
you the necessity of being careful to avoid a repetition of the offence.
Now come into the cabin and have some breakfast with me, and you can
then tell us how you fared among the Frenchmen. If you have not already
breakfasted, Mr Annesley," (to the first lieutenant, who at this moment
approached), "I shall be glad to have the pleasure of your company."
So saying, the skipper turned on his heel, and led the way into the
cabin, where we found the table well provided with a variety of good
things highly provocative of appetite in a midshipman, even though he
might have partaken of one breakfast already within an hour.
As soon as we had seated ourselves, and were supplied from the stock of
delicacies before us,--
"Now," said the skipper, "overhaul your log, Mr Chester, and let us
hear how you managed to conduct your difficult enterprise. That young
scamp, Summers, told me all about your gallant capture," (with just the
faintest possible ironical emphasis on the word _gallant_) "of the
unfortunate fishermen, so you may as well commence at the point where
you left the cutter in their boat."
In obedience to this command I at once proceeded with my story, giving a
detailed account of everything that had happened from the time of
leaving the cutter to the moment of my return.
My auditors evinced the greatest interest in my narration, and were
mightily tickled when I described the manner in which I had been
relieved of my fish by the condescending cook and the friendly corporal.
Their interest increased when I described my imprisonment in and the
mode of escape from my dungeon; and when I had finished they both
congratulated me very heartily upon what Captain Hood called "the
resolution and courage" which I had exhibited. "It was a remarkably
narrow squeak, Mr Chester," remarked the skipper, "and I hope it will
be a warning to you not to unnecessarily expose yourself to danger for
the future. When duty calls it is of course quite another thing; and I
am perfectly willing to give you credit for a desire in the present
instance to perform a very important service. I have already
reprimanded you for the breach of discipline which you committed in
undertaking this expedition without first obtaining leave; let me now
express my satisfaction with the way in which--apart from that--you have
conducted yourself. You have succeeded in obtaining information which,
I believe, will be of great value to the admiral, and I will endeavour
so to represent your conduct to him as that he shall view it in a
favourable light. Now, if you have finished breakfast, you had better
go on board the cutter and transfer your chest and hammock to the
frigate, and by-and-by I will take you on board the flag-ship and
introduce you to the admiral, when you can make your report."
Accepting this as a hint to be off about my business, I rose, and making
my bow, left the cabin.
On reaching the deck I found that the whole of the inmates of the
midshipmen's berth, already apprised by the loquacious Bob of my
escapade, were anxiously awaiting my reappearance, to learn all
particulars, including the result of my private interview with the
skipper. Briefly informing them, however, that I had been ordered to
rejoin the frigate, and postponing all further information until a more
convenient season, I hurried down over the side, and stepping into the
cockleshell of a dinghy pulled on board the "Mouette," where master Bob
received my narration with a show of sympathy which thinly veiled his
exultation at being left in sole command of the cutter.
Somehow I did not greatly regret the change. I was beginning to tire of
the cramped accommodation on board the "Mouette;" and although I had
been formally reprimanded for my "breach of discipline" I was acute
enough to see that my conduct had, after all, made a favourable
impression upon the skipper, and that I had, on the whole, risen, rather
than fallen, in his estimation.
Hurriedly bundling my few belongings together and stowing them away in
the boat, I shook hands with Bob, and was soon once more on board the
"Juno."
I had barely time to trim myself up a bit, when a message was brought me
to the effect that the skipper's gig was alongside, and only waited my
presence on board to shove off for the admiral's ship.
The "Victory" was lying at no great distance from us, and we were soon
alongside.
I followed the skipper up the side-ladder, and found myself in the
presence of the admiral, who was taking a constitutional up and down the
quarter-deck in company with Sir Hyde Parker and Vice-Admiral Hotham
from the "Britannia."
Captain Hood immediately joined company (I remaining discreetly in the
background, in accordance with previous instructions), and in the course
of a minute or two the party, no doubt in consequence of a suggestion
from the skipper, retired to the cabin.
In about twenty minutes afterwards I was sent for.
I entered the cabin with, I must confess, some slight degree of
trepidation; for the admiral was a very queer sort of man in some
respects, and one never knew in what light he would be likely to view
such an exploit as mine. I had known of his having disrated more than
one luckless mid for a far less heinous offence than so serious a breach
of discipline as that of which I had been guilty; and disrating was the
one thing which presented itself to me as more objectionable than
anything else in the shape of punishment--except flogging; but I built
my hopes upon the skipper's good offices; and the result showed that I
had no grounds for fear.
On entering, I was invited to take a chair which Lord Hood pointed out,
and then, waiting until the cabin-door was shut, he rested his elbows on
the table, and supporting his chin upon his hands, looked across at me
and said--
"Your captain informs me, young gentleman, that, understanding I was
anxious to obtain information respecting the condition of the enemy in
Bastia, you voluntarily undertook a most hazardous journey thither, and
were enabled, during your stay in the town, to make observations of
considerable value. I should like to hear from your own lips a detailed
narrative of the adventure."
Thus commanded, I once more told my story, Lord Hood interrupting me
from time to time to jot down memoranda in his note-book. When I had
concluded my narration the admiral thanked me heartily for the "very
important service" which I had rendered, and I was also complimented by
my audience upon "the skill and intrepidity" with which I had carried
out the reconnoissance. Taking these last remarks as a polite
intimation that the interview was at an end, I bowed and withdrew. A
few minutes afterwards the admiral's boat was ordered, and as soon as
she was manned, Lord Hood, Sir Hyde Parker, and the skipper got into
her, and pulled away for the British lines on shore--Captain Hood
directing me, as he passed down the side, to take his gig back to the
frigate.
On the following day a flag of truce was sent into the town negotiations
were opened, and on the 22nd of May, 1794, the garrison capitulated on
very favourable terms to themselves.
From this date I find nothing in my diary worthy of remark until we come
to the reduction of Calvi on the 10th of August following. I was at the
time recovering from an attack of low fever, and had been off duty for
some four or five weeks.
On the evening of the capture I was walking slowly up and down the poop,
when Captain Hood came up the poop-ladder and very kindly inquired after
my health. I replied that I was getting rapidly stronger, and should be
very glad when the doctor would allow me to return to duty.
"Ah! yes," said he, "I daresay you will. Very irksome to be idling
about the decks all day. I should think change of air would do you
good."
"I believe it would, sir," I replied, thinking from his manner of
speaking that he had a proposal of some sort to make.
"Yes, no doubt about it," returned the skipper. "And you would like it?
Then be so kind as to find Mr Malcolm," (the surgeon), "and ask him to
step into my cabin for a moment, if he is disengaged."
Certain now that there was something in the wind, I lost no time in
hunting up the worthy medico and delivering the skipper's message, which
I supplemented by a request upon my own account, that if any proposal
were made to send me away upon another expedition, the doctor would
kindly throw no difficulties in the way.