CHAPTER X.A Consultation.
“What do you think of it, Fotheringay?” asked Captain Raggett.
“I think, sir, that Captain Mayo was right in saying the place is dangerous for the frigate. We certainly cannot afford to run any risks at present.”
Captain Raggett had great respect for the opinion of the young lieutenant and had invited him to the cabin for a consultation on the situation.
“This Mayo seems a shrewd fellow, Fotheringay, and I fancy he already suspects what I want him for.”
“Yes, sir, he is shrewd, and I have no doubt whatever that he has guessed your purpose. But I can assure you that he is a man highly respected by his neighbors for his integrity and courage and you may have great difficulty in bending him to your will.”
“You know the consequences of refusal on his part? Much as I dislike to do it, I shall have to transfer him to another ship where he will be obliged to take his chances in the forecastle and whatever rating on the ship’s books his commander decides on. You are aware that this is frequently done with American prisoners and when they show a spirit of disobedience to their fate they are triced up and flogged. The ‘Grampus’ has a rapscallion crew of jailbirds and pressed men, so Barclay is having daily use for the lash.”
“Yes, sir, we are lucky in having a picked crew on the ‘Spencer’.”
“That’s so. Mostly all the best men are engaged in the fleets off the French coast; but I had some influence with the admiral and used it to get a good crew for my ship. Some ofthem had served under me before. They are all right until they get foul of a cask of rum.”
“I’m afraid, sir, if Captain Mayo gets into Barclay’s hands there will be hard times for a man of his sturdy Americanism.”
“Aye, Mayo is of the stiff-necked breed that inhabits this region. And yet, he is of the purest English blood. I sometimes think these people must have just cause for their resentment against the mother country, but it wouldn’t do for me to say so openly. I admire the man’s pluck, and it would please me to do him a favor under happier circumstances; but, my dear Fotheringay, all such kindly thoughts have no place in our present plans. I have got my orders to proceed vigorously against these people and I’m going to do it.”
“And we all know that Captain Raggett has never shirked his duty no matter how distasteful to his personal feelings that duty might be. But it must be particularly obnoxious in the present case, when he has to fight men of his own race. In no part of this continent, Captain Raggett, are the inhabitants of such pure English stock as they are on Cape Cod.”
“So I hear, Fotheringay. I am not very well posted in their history, myself; but, of course, I know that Provincetown was the first harbor made by the ‘Mayflower’ and that the population of Cape Cod is largely descended from the first settlers.”
“The full story of the early settlers has yet to be written, sir. There has been little time for such work during the nearly two centuries that have elapsed since the ‘Mayflower’s’ voyage. Europe has been in a state of almost constant warfare, and the American colonies of Britain were engaged in the effort to establish a settled government and to protect themselves from the savage aborigines. The mother country was neglectful of her exiled children, her attention being entirely directed to the protection of her own shores from the assaults of her foes in Europe. Consequently, much ignorance of conditions in Americaprevailed, and it was not until the colonists revolted and won their independence that Britain realized how much she had lost.”
“Why, Fotheringay, you talk like a statesman! We never studied such subjects when I was your age. We were sent to sea when we reached fourteen and our learning was pretty limited. After that we had to do the best we could. I regret to say that I neglected my opportunities and you see the result—I have to depend on youngsters like you for information on matters with which every officer should be familiar!”
“If you will permit me to say so, Captain Raggett, I don’t think this lack of historical knowledge on your part has caused England to feel less pride in the career of the gallant seaman who has kept her flag flying through many a hard-fought fight.”
“Thank you, Fotheringay; thank you, my lad. Old Dick Raggett has done his best for his king and country according to the measure of his ability, even though some of the young bloods at the Admiralty don’t seem to think he’s fit for this blockading service!”
“Now,” he continued, “I feel somewhat interested in these people of Cape Cod, and you may help me to understand them better. I notice your friends, Captains Knowles and Mayo, speak excellent English for men in their station of life?”
“That is a characteristic of the people, Captain Raggett. The first settlers were men of unusual intelligence and, when you consider the age in which they lived, of some education. They were keen students of the Bible; in fact, it was their only book and their language was modeled on its style. Then, their ministers were men of great learning and they exercised much influence in secular as well as in religious affairs. Their word was law with their flocks and it is not improbable that the people paid them the compliment of imitation in their habit of conversing in good English.”
“Why did these first settlers leave England?”
“The primary reason was that their religious belief was antagonistic to the established church. They did not believe in the establishment, and they formed a society for the advancement of their own ideas. For this they were persecuted and fled to Holland where, after a residence of some years, they decided to cross the ocean in search of a new home.”
“Oh, they were for freedom of conscience, eh? Their descendants don’t follow them in that respect, Fotheringay. Why, in this very town of Provincetown there is at present open war between the Congregationalists and the Methodists! The Methodists are newcomers, and the adherents of the old order resent their presence. Are they not practising here the tactics against which their forefathers rebelled in England?”
The humor of the situation appealed to the lieutenant and he laughingly answered:
“That, indeed, seems to be the case, sir. It must certainly be admitted that the era of perfect religious toleration has not yet arrived. However, we English are not in a position to throw stones at the Cape Codders. Our own laws dealing with his majesty’s Catholic subjects are no credit to our enlightenment.”
“I quite agree with you, Fotheringay, and I hope we may live to see the day when every man can freely worship God as his conscience dictates. Creeds should matter little when a common danger threatens a people. I must say, however, that I am surprised to learn of intolerance in this young land of America. In old Europe we are the slaves of tradition and suspicion, and reform is slow, but the same thing does not apply to the New World where there’s a chance for all to start on the same level.”
After some further conversation of this kind, they resumed the discussion of the prospective operations.
“I shall have to ask tribute from all the towns, and I don’t mean to be hard on them; but they must pay, if only as evidenceto convince London that we are doing something. I know they are in a bad state financially but that’s their lookout.”
“In case they refuse, Captain Raggett, what are you going to do?”
Captain Raggett’s expression hardened. “They dare not refuse, Fotheringay. The salt works along the shore can easily be destroyed by our guns, and as salt-making is the principal industry the people will think a long time before they invite its destruction. We can throw shots into the villages, but I shall not resort to such extreme measures until I am forced to do so.”
“Brewster has an artillery company, I understand, sir, and it may do some damage to a landing party?”
“There will be no landing party, Fotheringay, unless we get reinforcements. I have been considering that point and I have come to the conclusion that these accursed flats are the greatest ally of the Cape Codders. Now, I have made up my mind to send the schooner on a surveying cruise in the bay and I purpose to have your friend Mayo act as pilot. Dunton will be the officer in charge of the schooner.”
“I foresee trouble, Captain Raggett. Dunton heartily hates all Americans and there is sure to be a clash. You know Dunton’s surly disposition?”
“Yes; but he’s a good man in his place. He’s sour because so many younger men have got ahead of him in the service. I don’t admire his surliness, but he’s just the man I want for this surveying business. The fact that he has got a Yankee pilot will make him suspicious, and with such a shrewd antagonist as Mayo he will require to be on the alert. I look for good results from the expedition.”
“It will take some time to survey so much shore line.”
“Oh, there’s no hurry about it. However, it should not take over a week if the weather continues fine. I intend to take the frigate for a practice cruise off Boston, but with a crew ofabout twenty Dunton should be able to protect himself during my absence.”
“That should be an ample force, sir. By the way, have you informed Captain Mayo of your purpose?”
“No, Fotheringay; but, as I said, I fancy he knows it. However, you will be good enough to convey it to him officially.”
“Then you don’t expect to see Captain Knowles again, sir?”
“Unless he tries to run another cargo to Eastham; then I may have the pleasure, Fotheringay. For the present, we will not bother ourselves about his return.”
“Very well, sir; I shall now deliver your orders to Captain Mayo.”