That same day George waited upon the admiral and formally laid claim to
the _Jeune Virginie_. He was very well received, his statement
patiently listened to, and--to make a long story short--in about three
weeks afterwards the claim was actually allowed, and the vessel handed
over to her rightful owners.
George was agreeably surprised, for--notwithstanding Bowen's implicit
confidence--he fully anticipated that there would be some trouble over
the matter. Legal possession once obtained, Leicester had no difficulty
in raising money by means of a bottomry bond, and with this he
provisioned the brig for six months, intending to take out letters of
marque, and endeavour to make good his losses--a resolution in which he
was cordially seconded by Bowen.
But, though all this gave him plenty of occupation, he had not forgotten
his old crew, and he found--or rather took--time, not only to prepare a
complete list of the names and a full description of all those who were
still--so far as he knew--in a state of slavery, but also to put it into
the hands of the proper authorities, with such an urgent representation
of their probable sufferings, that the matter was at once taken up; and
he had the satisfaction of knowing, before he sailed, that negotiations
were already in progress for their discovery and deliverance.
Considerable difficulty was experienced in obtaining a crew for the
brig, good men being scarce; but at last this was overcome, and on a
bright September morning the anchor was hove up, and the _Virginie_
started upon her cruise. The shoals outside the harbour were cleared in
due time, the brig working like a top, and sailing like a witch, to the
unbounded delight of all hands; and then George hauled sharp up on the
port tack, his intention being to cruise for a few days in the Windward
and Caycos Passages before shaping a course for home.
For the first five days of their cruise they were singularly unlucky,
seeing nothing but a man-o'-war schooner, which, on speaking, they found
had been equally as unfortunate as themselves.
On the morning of the sixth day, however, being then in the
neighbourhood of the Hogsties, the lookout aloft reported at daybreak a
couple of sail dead to windward, hove-to close together. On the usual
inquiries being made, the lookout further reported that one of the
strangers was a barque; the rig of the other, which happened to be lying
end-on, he could not clearly make out, but, from her size, he judged her
to be a ship. Mr Bowen, whose watch it was, at once went below and
informed George of this circumstance, and then, leaving him to don the
most indispensable portions of his attire, returned to the deck, and
proceeded thence aloft to have a look at the strangers for himself.
By the time that he had seen all that it was then possible to see, and
had descended again to the deck, George was awaiting him there.
"Well, Bowen, what do you make of them?" was Leicester's first inquiry.
"Well, there's two of 'em there, sure enough, close together--a good
deal too close together to be up to any good, to my thinking," was the
reply.
"What do you think they are, then?" asked George.
"One of 'em is a privateer--or a pirate; and t'other is her prize, in my
opinion," answered Bowen.
"Then we'll make their further acquaintance," said George. "Perhaps if
we trim the canvas a bit slovenly, and act as though we had not seen
these craft, we may coax down towards us the privateer, or whatever she
is."
"That'll be the best plan, no doubt," acquiesced the chief mate; and he
proceeded forthwith on a tour round the decks, easing up a brace here,
and a halliard there, with a touch also at the sheets and bowlines, by
way of insuring an agreeable and harmonious result. When he had
finished, the brig looked like a collier, and her speed had decreased
from eight to a little over five knots.
"There," said Bowen to George, with an admiring glance aloft at his own
handiwork, "I think that'll do pretty well; we look helpless enough now
for anything. Masthead, ahoy!"--to the lookout aloft--"what about the
strangers now?"
"They've dropped alongside one another, sir," was the reply.
"Very well; keep your eye upon them, and let us know when you see any
change in their movements."
The stereotyped "Ay, ay," by way of reply, was duly given, and then
George and Bowen, side by side, and with hands folded behind them, began
to trudge fore and aft, from the main-mast to the taffrail, patiently
awaiting the course of events.