From port to port went the cadet’s cruiser, saluting the flags, forts,
and ships of other nations and receiving salutes in turn, while the
young sailors were given a run ashore to see something of the countries
they were visiting.
At length one night came the cry from aloft:
“Light ho!”
It was Cape Rosa Light, and on the vessel sails in the coming dawn
until all the cadets gather on deck to behold the land of Portugal.
Lateen-rigged craft pass out, and other vessels are met, one large bark
flying the Stars and Stripes, which brings a cheer of greeting from the
young sailors.
The high crags of Cintra, with its castle and surrounding fields, are
passed, the old fort of St. Julian, next frowning Fort Bugio, and
thence onward into the waters of the Tagus.
The tower of Beleur next looms up, with fortress-clad cliffs, and the
cadets soon after are called to their stations as Lisbon, seated upon
her many hills, rises in terraces before them, telling them that the
haven is reached, for with a plunge the anchor is let fall.
Then up aloft is run a ball of bunting, which, when shaken out, reveals
the standard of Portugal, and gun after gun thunders a salute from the
cruiser to the old city of Lisbon.
As the health officer has reported all safe on board, a boat soon
after goes ashore, and in it are the three cadets who landed first at
Liverpool, and visited the jewelry establishment.
They now seek the offices of the Continental Express Company, and there
awaiting them is a small package.
The jeweler has kept his promise.
After a few days spent in Lisbon the cruiser sets sail for the blue
waters of the Mediterranean Sea, and once the shores of Portugal are
left astern a muster of all hands on deck is called, and Captain De
Long orders:
“Cadet Midshipman Merrill to the front!”
Mark Merrill promptly obeys, and then as the captain takes from a
morocco case a beautiful gold badge, he, for the first time, realizes
that he is to be the recipient of a token as an appreciation of his
services when he leaped from the yardarm to save the life of Scott
Clemmons.
In a few well-chosen words the captain made the presentation, in which
occurred the following:
“This souvenir, Midshipman Merrill, is a unanimous expression of
the appreciation of your daring deed by this ship’s crew, for from
quarter-deck to forecastle every one has insisted upon being a
subscriber, with the one exception of Mr. Clemmons, from whom the
intention was kept a secret as well as from yourself. I pin it upon
your breast for you to wear as a badge which you may well feel proud
of.”
As the captain spoke he pinned upon the jacket of the young hero a
beautiful emblem of his courage, which was a massive anchor of solid
gold, to which was suspended a shield with bars of pearls, turquoises
and rubies to represent the colors red, white and blue, while below was
engraved:
“PRESENTED
BY THE OFFICERS AND MEN
OF
_The U. S. Cadet Cruising Ship Constellation_
TO
CADET MIDSHIPMAN MARK MERRILL
_As an Appreciation of His Splendid Courage
in Leaping Overboard at Night
in a Storm to Save the Life of
a Shipmate_.”
In what was certainly a very neat speech, though taken unawares, Mark
Merrill thanked Captain De Long and all for their great kindness, and
raised his cap as three cheers were given for him.
A number of eyes were turned upon Scott Clemmons during this scene,
and it could be easily discovered that he seemed ill at ease, though
he stepped forward and told his rescuer how glad he was of the honor
bestowed upon him, adding, with some feeling:
“Had I chipped in, Merrill, it would have spoiled all, or had I
suggested it, for my debt to you can never be cancelled.”
Had Scott Clemmons overheard the criticism which Bemis Perry made of
his speech he would have been overwhelmed with confusion, for though
the young South Carolinian said but one word, and used slang, it was to
the point, for he simply said:
“Rats!”
There was another criticism offered also, and by Herbert Nazro, who
said with a wicked little laugh:
“Go tell that to the marines, Clemmons.”
After this episode Clemmons seemed more constrained than ever in
his conduct toward Mark Merrill. He seemed positively uneasy in his
presence.
At last, after a visit to several ports in the Mediterranean the prow
of the cruiser was turned homeward, for a stop was to be made upon the
New England coast.
It was a stormy passage home, keeping the young tars constantly busy
reefing, pulling, and setting more sail, and giving them a thorough
experience in the life of a sailor.
In the last storm not far off the coast, the cruiser had sprung her
mainmast, but fortunately the gale blew itself out, and a calm fell
upon the sea. The next morning the shores of New England were in view.
The weather was hazy and sultry, the barometer was steadily falling,
and Captain De Long and his lieutenants viewed the weather with anxiety.
There was a huge black mass gathering to seaward, and as the day passed
it began to rise slowly, though the deadest of calms still rested upon
the sea.
The shore was a little over a league distant, and with a breeze the
good ship could readily work off, but in the teeth of a storm, and with
the mainmast sprung, there were too many odds against her.
The afternoon passed, all eagerly watching for a cap full of air, to
bear the vessel into a haven of safety, the Kennebec River.
But no ripple stirred the glass-like waters, and to landward a wild and
forbidding coast only was seen.
The charts were examined closely, but no harbor was noted just there,
and all wondered what was to be done, for the sprung mast would never
stand to beat out to sea against such a tempest as was rising.
At last Captain De Long turned to Cadet Midshipman Clemmons, and asked:
“Do you not live somewhere in this vicinity, Mr. Clemmons?”
“Some leagues from here, sir.”
“And you know of no haven into which we could tow with our boats!”
“I have heard of several harbors for fishing boats, sir, but I do not
know of them,” replied Scott Clemmons, who would not say:
“But Merrill might know.”
He did not care to put another feather in the cap of his rival--his
rescuer though he had been.
“Pardon me, Captain De Long, but Mr. Merrill pointed out to me a while
ago with his glass his own home, and he may know,” said Herbert Nazro,
who had heard the captain questioning Clemmons.
“Ah, yes, he is the very man! Send Mr. Merrill here at once,” said the
captain, with considerable eagerness.
Mark Merrill reported promptly.
“Mr. Merrill, your home is near here, I am told?”
“My mother dwells in the large mansion, sir, you see on the cliff
yonder, a league and a half away, but it is not our own home, sir.”
“Do you know of any harborage in here which we can tow into with our
boats, for yonder seems like a good anchorage ground?”
“That, sir, is a death trap with a storm from seaward, for the coasters
call it Hopeless Haven. Yonder, where you see the cliff, is a harbor,
and a safe one, though small, and the entrance is dangerous.”
“Do you know these waters well?”
“Perfectly, sir,” was the response, and there was no boasting in the
reply.
“There is depth for this ship in the harbor you refer to?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And you can pilot her in with the boats ahead, if we can get there
before the storm breaks?”
“It was there, sir, I took General Peyton’s yacht, the Midshipman, sir,
when the Secretary of the Navy and Commodore Lucien were on board.”
“Ah, indeed! I have been told of that bold piloting by the commodore
himself; and it got you your appointment?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then I will order the boats out ahead, and----”
“Pardon me, Captain De Long, but as the gale is coming from seaward, I
can run in, sir, if you will order topmasts housed and set only lower
sails, to save the sprung mainmast,” said Mark modestly.
“Mr. Merrill, you are a born sailor, sir, and I give the ship over to
you as pilot,” said Captain De Long, with frank acknowledgment of the
youth’s skill and nerve.