THE UNION JACK BEATS--THE RAFT STILL UNSEEN--THE PRIVATEER--DEATH OF OLD
JEFFERIES--THE FRENCH CAPTAIN.
The loss of her mizen-mast did not appear to damp the ardour of the
British frigate's crew. The firing was continued with unabated fury on
both sides, neither ship apparently moving through the water; now they
were shrouded in smoke--now the smoke was blown away, and the firing
ceased. "The Frenchman's foremast is tottering!" shouted Harry. "See!
see! David. Down it comes--hurrah! hurrah!" Still the flags of their
respective countries waved at the mastheads of the frigates. The mast
did not come down either when Harry thought it would, neither did the
firing cease altogether. Faint sounds of musketry or pistol-shots came
across the water--then three or four great guns were fired--the sides of
the ships were close together, or rather, the bow of the English frigate
was fast to the Frenchman's side.
"They are boarding," cried Harry; "I know it must be that--then our
fellows will win the day.--The Frenchman's flag will be down directly.
Watch! watch! I know it will."
They waited eagerly, looking out for some time. Suddenly a cloud of
smoke ascended from one of the ships. It was difficult to say from
which; again and again the guns were fired. "I am afraid that after all
our friends are getting the worst of it," remarked David, with a sigh.
"Oh, no, no! impossible!" exclaimed Harry. "See, see! down comes the
Frenchman's flag--hurrah! hurrah! I knew it would be so. Englishmen
are never licked. We would go down first with our colours flying.
Hurrah! hurrah! we've gained the day." Harry waved his cap above his
head, and shouted long and loudly, communicating his enthusiasm, not
only to David, but to the old man himself; but so vehement in his
demonstrations of joy did he become at last, that he nearly upset the
raft, and then well-nigh fell overboard himself. David was rather more
quiet in his demonstrations, still he did not feel less satisfaction
probably than his friend.
"We must get on board to congratulate them," exclaimed Harry; "I
wouldn't miss that on any account; if we pull hard we shall be able to
get up to them--eh, Mr Jefferies? They will be some time repairing
damages and shifting the prisoners, and they are not likely to make sail
till then."
"We mustn't count too much upon that, young gentleman; we are further
off than you think, and darkness will be down over the ocean long before
we can get up to them. Besides, do you know, I don't think the sights
aboard those ships, either the conqueror or the conquered, would be so
pleasant as you suppose. I know what a man-of-war is after a
hard-fought battle. The decks strewn with the dead, and slippery with
blood and gore, the cockpit full of wounded men, lately strong and
hardy, now cripples for life, many dying, entering into eternity,
without a hope beyond their ocean grave, Christless, heathens in reality
if not in name, stifled groans and sighs, and oftentimes shrieks of
despair on every side. Such sights I have seen in my youth, and I speak
the language of some of the great preachers who have come down to these
parts, and boldly put forth the gospel of salvation to perishing sinners
under the blue vault of heaven. You only look at one side of the
picture, and that quickly vanishes away; mine, unhappily, is too real to
be wiped out quickly." The old man spoke in a tone he had not hitherto
used, which showed that his education had been superior to that which
men of his vocation generally possess.
This remark, it must be confessed, considerably damped the ardour of the
young midshipman. The latter, however, still continued to urge him and
David to try and get on board one of the ships. They were in reality as
anxious as he was to do so, for they could not but feel that they were
exposed to many dangers while they remained on the raft. The wind had
dropped, and in one respect this was in their favour, as the frigates
could not sail away; but what little wind there was was against them,
and this made rowing their heavy craft more tedious. They progressed
very slowly, and after two hours' hard rowing they seemed no nearer than
before. The day was drawing on; still they persevered. Hope continued
to cheer the two boys, whatever the old man might have thought about the
matter. At last Harry stopped. "They are making sail, and the breeze
is getting up. Oh dear! oh dear! They'll be off before we can reach
them. Still we'll try--pull away, David, pull away, there's a good
fellow."
All the efforts of the lads brought them no nearer the two frigates.
They could see the British ensign run up above that of the French.
Still it was evident that they themselves were not observed: no wonder,
under the circumstances, as everybody on board must have been busily
engaged. Still thus, as it were, to be deserted, was very trying to the
young lads. They bore up, however, manfully under the disappointment.
"Perhaps the wind may fall or shift again, and they may have after all
to take a tack this way," exclaimed Harry, whose hopeful enthusiasm it
was impossible to damp. At last the night returned, and the darkness
shut out the frigates from their sight. The lads had to while away the
time by conversation, and expressed their intentions of not going to
sleep during the night; they, however, stowed themselves away in their
accustomed places, where, should they by any chance begin to slumber,
they might not run the risk of falling into the sea. For some time they
kept to this resolution, Harry still buoyed up with the hope that they
might get on board the frigate in the morning. At last David's voice
began to get very drowsy, so even did Harry's, and in spite of their
strange position and their anxiety, first one and then the other dropped
off to sleep. The old man leaned forward to ascertain that they were
both secure.
"Sleep on, lads! sleep on!" he muttered. "He who reigns above can alone
tell whether or not this is the last night you will spend on earth. I
liked not the look of the sky when the sun went down, and before many
hours have passed this frail raft may be tossing on an ocean of foaming
seas." The old man was silent, but he did not sleep. Often he prayed.
He thought over many things of his past life, as men under such
circumstances are apt to do. Happy are those who have not to reflect on
crimes committed, injuries done to others too late to remedy! and still
more fearful must be the thoughts of those who are not trusting to the
perfect and complete sacrifice offered on Calvary--whose sins have not
been washed away in the blood of the Lamb. The old man knew in whom he
trusted, and no bitterness entered his thoughts. The hours passed on;
stars became obscured; clouds were seen chasing each other across the
dark sky, slowly at first, then more and more rapidly; the raft began to
rock, scarcely perceptibly, then gently, then with more and more
movement, but the boys slept on; accustomed to spend their time on the
heaving wave, they did not feel the motion. At length a grey cold light
began gradually to steal over the foam-covered ocean. The boys still
slept on. The old man alone was awake on the raft. He lifted himself
up, and bent forward as if in prayer. Thus he remained for some time.
At length David, less accustomed to the sea than Harry, awoke from the
motion of the raft. The exclamation to which he gave utterance aroused
his companion; David quickly started to his feet, and gazed anxiously
around the horizon. The two frigates had disappeared. No sail was in
sight; nothing was to be seen but the heavy leaden-coloured waves, while
the clouds seemed to come closely down on all sides. The raft drove
quickly on before the storm.
"In what direction are we going?" asked David.
"To the south-west, I have an idea," answered Harry; "but I should not
mind that, if I thought we were likely to fall in with the two
frigates."
"Trust in God, my lads," said old Jefferies.
He spoke truly; for already the raft gave signs of breaking up, from the
violence to which it had been exposed. The old man and the two boys did
all they could to secure it more strongly by such ropes as they still
had to spare, but it was difficult and dangerous to move from their
positions. The seas followed rapidly, and more than once had almost
broken over them. Still, while their mast stood, and they could keep
their sail set, they hoped to continue running before the sea. They
spoke but little to each other, and continued looking out on either
side, in the hope of seeing some vessels which might afford them a
refuge. Still none appeared. The old man continued steering the raft
with great judgment and dexterity, but it was clear that the gale was
increasing, and that in a very short time the frail structure on which
they floated could not hold together amidst the fierce waves to which it
would be exposed. Still, serious as was their position, the boys did
not forget that they had had nothing to eat since the previous night.
Harry dived down into their provision-box, and produced some biscuits
and a piece of tongue. Their first care was to offer some to the old
man.
"No, thank you, good lads, I've no hunger," he answered.
In spite of their pressing, he refused to take any of the food.
"I can't say that I'm not hungry," cried Harry, "though I'm afraid we
must go without our tea."
David, who felt something like old Jefferies, when pressed, however, by
Harry, gladly joined him in discussing such provisions as they could
easily get at. Both of them were much refreshed by the nourishment, and
in spite of the foreboding looks of the old man could not help holding
sanguine hopes of escaping from their perilous position. Still they
were hoping against hope, for in spite of the additional lashings they
had cast round their raft, first one piece of plank and then another was
torn off.
"Hold on tight!" cried Harry, as he gazed astern, "here comes a
tremendous sea, and I don't know how we shall keep before it."
As he spoke a high foaming wave came roaring up. Already the raft was
mounting a wave in front, or the consequences would have been more
disastrous. The upper part of the sea broke completely over the raft,
but it still floated on. Those on it looked anxiously round to see if
any of their number were missing. The old man was still at his post at
the helm, and the two boys at their places. It was evident, however,
that a few more such seas would utterly destroy the raft. As Harry
again gazed astern, he saw to his dismay many similar seas preparing to
follow; still he would not say this, even to David, and tried in his own
hearty way to keep up his companions' spirits. An hour or so thus
passed away, when the raft gave stronger signs than ever of not having
power to hold together.
"How fearful it would be if we were separated!" said David, who clearly
comprehended what was likely to happen. Just then another tremendous
sea came rolling up, and washed over the raft. The boys clung on for
their lives, but when the raft once more rose to the surface, the mast
was gone.
"No hope, I fear," said David.
"Yes, there is!" cried Harry; "I see a vessel bearing down directly for
us."
The boys eagerly turned their eyes towards the stranger. It seemed
doubtful, however, whether the raft would hold together till her
arrival, or whether they could avoid being washed off the raft by the
sea, which kept continually rolling over them. On she rapidly came.
"I don't much like her appearance," said the old man; "she doesn't look
much better than the craft which we before refused to go on board."
"We have no choice at all," said Harry. "She looks like a Frenchman;
but even the Monsieurs, considering our circumstances, would not treat
us otherwise than with kindness," said David.
The boys waved and shouted with all their might. It seemed doubtful
whether or not they were observed; still the stranger, a large topsail
schooner, was standing directly for them. Presently they saw her
shorten sail.
"All right!" cried Harry; "we're seen."
She rounded-to close to them, so close, indeed, that the two boys were
able to grasp the ropes which were thrown to them, and were immediately
hauled up on deck.
"But old Jefferies, we mustn't desert him!" cried Harry, as he saw the
old man still on the raft. "Here! fasten this rope round my waist, and
I'll go and haul him in."
The crew of the stranger seemed to understand him, but at that moment a
sea rolling up drove the raft completely under the schooner's bottom. A
few fragments again appeared, but the old man was not to be seen.
"Oh, where is he? where is he?" cried David and Harry; "we must save the
good old man."
The people on board looked round on every side. So deep was the grief
of the boys for his loss, that they scarcely for the moment seemed to
think of their own preservation, nor of the character of the vessel on
board which they had got. It was very clear that the old man had sunk
for ever, as no signs of him appeared. Once more the vessel was put
before the wind, and flew onward on her course.
Harry and David, on looking round, observed she was an armed vessel,
carrying sixteen long guns, with swivels and other pieces. From the
language they heard spoken by the crew, they knew she was French; while,
from the varied dresses of the men and officers, they suspected she was
a privateer, and not a man-of-war.
"I'm afraid we shall not much like our quarters here," said Harry. "The
best thing we can do is to put a good face on the matter, and go aft and
thank the captain for saving our lives; he will see by my uniform that I
am an officer, and treat us as gentlemen."
Poor Harry's patch of white cloth, however, was not likely to be treated
with much respect by a French privateer captain of those days.
"I wonder which of these fellows is captain," said Harry, as they
approached three or four rough-looking fellows, as they were walking the
deck with the air of officers. "Oh, I wonder whether they will
understand English, for not a word of French can I speak."
"Nor can I indeed," said David; "I didn't think of that."
"We must make our intentions known, however," said Harry, "and I must
muster up what I can say. I know they always begin by saying `Monsieur'
if they want to be polite, so I'll say `Monsieur Captain, Monsieur
Captain,'" looking round as he spoke, "we have to thank you for taking
us aboard your vessel, and should be still further obliged if you could
give us a change of clothes while ours are drying."
The Frenchmen looked at the boys with an air of indifference.
"Monsieur Captain," again began Harry, "I say we want to thank you for
pulling us out of the water."
"Perhaps the captain is not among these men," suggested David.
"I want to see the captain," said Harry, bowing as before.
At length a small wizen-faced man appeared from below. His countenance
wore anything but a pleasant aspect. By his dress, and the respect with
which the others seemed to treat him, the boys had little doubt that he
was the person of whom they were in search. They accordingly approached
him.
"Are you the captain?" said Harry, bowing as before, for he did not
forget his politeness, in spite of his wet clothes.
"Yes, I am," said the wizen-faced man.
"Oh, you speak English; how glad we are!" answered Harry, "because we
can thus thank you for saving our lives."
"No great reason to thank me," said the man, in an unpleasant tone.
"You speak English very well, sir," said Harry, wishing to soothe him.
"I have had plenty of time to learn it," said the captain.
"Where was that, sir?" asked Harry.
"In an English prison," answered the Frenchman, with a grin, turning on
his heel; "and I've no great cause to love those who kept me there, or
their countrymen."
"I'm afraid we've gained very little by the expression of our
gratitude," said David; "what are we to do?"