Chapter Fifteen.The escape.Jack and Bill heard Colonel O’Toole descending the stairs, and, listening, were convinced that he had gone away without leaving a sentry at the door.“We are in luck,” said Bill, as he looked round the room. “This is a better place than the old tower, and I don’t see that it will be much more difficult to escape from.”They went to the window. It was long and narrow, but there was ample space for them to creep out of it. It was, however, a great height from the ground; three or four storeys up they calculated; and should they attempt to drop down, they would break every bone in their bodies.“It cannot be done, I fear,” said Jack.“It can be done, and we’ll do it before to-morrow morning, too,” answered Bill. “When the general ordered us to be shut up here, he was thinking that we were just like a couple of French boys, without a notion of going aloft, or of finding their way down again.”“But I don’t see how we can manage to get down here,” said Jack, peeping through the window, cautiously though, for fear of being seen. “There is nothing to lay hold of, and the door is locked and bolted. I heard that traitor Irishman shoot a bolt before he went away.”“Look here,” replied Bill, pointing towards the bed.“Why, that’s a bed,” said Jack. “It was very good-natured in the mounseers to give it us to sleep on.”“What do you think it’s made of?” asked Bill. “Why, sheets and blankets and ticking,” replied Jack. “Yes,” said Bill, “you are right; and with those selfsame sheets and blankets, and maybe a fathom or two of rope besides, underneath, I intend that we shall try to lower ourselves down to the ground; and when we are once outside, it will be our own fault if we do not get back to the harbour, and when there, that we do not get on board our raft again. The French captain said it was to be left just as it was for the general to see it to-morrow morning. Before that time comes, I hope that we shall be out of sight of land, if we get a fair breeze, or, at all events, out of sight of the people on shore.”“I’m always ready for anything you propose, Bill,” said Jack. “I see now well enough how we are to get away. If all goes smoothly, we shall do it. But suppose we are caught?—and there are a good many chances against us, you’ll allow.”“We can but be shut up again. Even if they were to flog us, we could stand it well enough; and as to the pain, that would be nothing, and it would not be like being flogged for breaking the articles of war, or doing anything against the law. I should call it an honourable flogging, and should not mind showing the scars, if any remained,” said Bill.“I’m your man, and the sooner we set about turning our sheets and blankets into a rope the better,” exclaimed Jack, enthusiastically. “If we are caught and punished ever so much, we must not mind it.”“Stop a bit,” said Bill. “Perhaps the red-haired colonel may pay us a visit before nightfall. We must not be caught making preparations for our escape; that would be a green trick.”“I hope if they come they’ll bring us some supper,” said Jack. “I am pretty sharp set already; and if the mounseers should have stolen the grub out of our chest, we should have nothing to eat on our voyage.”“I have been thinking too much about going away to feel hungry,” said Bill. “But now you talk of it, I should like some food, and I hope they’ll bring enough to last us for a day or two. Now, I say, it’s getting dark, and we must fix upon the best spot to lower ourselves down to. You listen at the door lest any one should come up suddenly, and I’ll examine the windows and settle the best plan.”Bill, however, first went to the bed, examined the blankets and sheets and mattress, and found, to his satisfaction, that below all were two thick pieces of canvas, drawn together by a rope. The rope, though rather thin, would, he was satisfied, bear their light weights. It might take them half an hour or so to twist the various materials up into a rope, and altogether would give them one of ample length for their purpose.This discovery greatly raised the boys’ spirits and hopes of success.Bill now went to the window, and found that the grass came close up to the walls of the tower underneath. Even should they fall from a considerable height, they might have the chance of not breaking their bones, and that was some satisfaction. An iron bar extended from the top of the window to the bottom in the centre. He felt it, and it was strong as need be. It would do well for securing their rope. As far as he could judge, there was no window under them. This was of consequence, as had there been, they might have been seen by any person within during their descent, rapidly as they might make it. Bill considered whether it would be possible to withdraw the rope after they had descended, but he doubted whether they had sufficient materials to enable them to do that.“Well, it cannot be helped,” Bill said to himself. “The Frenchmen will see how we escaped, but they won’t find it out till daylight, and it won’t matter much then.”He had finished his survey, and settled his plan, when Jack cried out, “Hist! there’s some one coming!” and they ran back and sat themselves down near the table with their heads on their hands, as if they were feeling very melancholy and disconsolate.“I wish I could squeeze out a tear,” said Jack; “but I can’t for the life of me. I feel so jolly at your idea of getting off.”Presently the door opened, and an old woman entered with a basket.“I have brought you some food and a bottle of wine, mes garçons,” she said, in a kind tone. “The general gave me permission, and I was very glad to bring it, as I knew that you must be hungry. Poor boys! I heard of your attempt to get away. You would have been drowned to a certainty if you hadn’t been caught, and that would have been sad, for one of you, they say, wanted to get back to see his mother. I have got a son at sea, so I can feel for her. I wish he was safe back again. I don’t know what they will do with you, but I hear that you are to be tried to-morrow, and the Irish officer here says you are spies, and if so, you will run a great chance of being hung, or, at all events, shut up in a prison till you confess what you have been about. Ah! but I forgot. They say you don’t speak French, and you may not have understood a word I have said.”Jack and Bill could scarcely refrain from laughing as the old woman ran on, but they restrained themselves, and when she showed them the contents of the basket, they merely said, “Bon! bon! merci! merci!” several times, and looked very well pleased, as indeed they were, for there was food enough to last them two or three days, full allowance—cheese and sausages, bread, figs, raisins, and butter, besides the bottle of wine.They were afraid of drinking much of that, not knowing how weak it was, lest it should get into their heads, for they wanted no Dutch courage to do what they intended—they had pluck enough without that.The old woman—not that she was so very old, but she was small and thin, with a high white cap and a brown dress fitting closely, which made her look older than she was—stood by, after she had covered the table with the provisions, that she might have the pleasure of seeing the boys eat. They were very willing to give her that pleasure, and set to with a good appetite.She smiled benignantly, and patted them on their heads, as she watched them stowing away the various things. They were not very particular as to which they took first.“Bon! bon!” said Jack, every now and then, as he saw that his saying so pleased her. “Merci! merci!”She poured them out some wine; it was dreadfully sour, so Bill thought, and he made signs to her that he would drink it by-and-by, as he did not like to show her how much he disliked it.Jack was not so particular, but he was content with a mouthful or two, and then began again on the sausages and figs.“I hope she is not going to stop till we have done,” said Bill, “or she may take away the remainder. I’ll try and make her understand that we should like a little more by-and-by. I vote we stop now and put the things into the basket. We’ll then show her that we do not wish her to take them away.”The kind old housekeeper of the chateau—for such she was—seemed to understand the boys’ wishes. Bill even ventured to say a few words in French, which would show her what they wanted; and at last, wishing them good-night, she took her departure.They heard the door locked and bolted after she went out, as if by some other person; and it made them fear that a sentry was placed there, who might, should they make any noise, look in to see what they were about. It would be necessary, therefore, to be extremely cautious as to their proceedings.“There’s no one moving,” said Bill, who had crept to the door to listen. He, of course, spoke in a low whisper. “I vote we set to work at once and make our rope. It will take some time, and we ought to be off as soon as the people have turned in, as we must try to get a good distance from the shore before daylight.”“Suppose any one was to come, and find us cutting up our bed-clothes,” said Jack, “it would be suspected what we were going to do.”“We’ll keep the coverlid till the last, so as to throw it over the bed should we hear a step on the stair; we must then sit down on the edge, and pretend that we are too sorrowful to think of going to bed,” said Bill.“That will do,” replied Jack; “I never was a good hand at piping my eye, but I know that I should be inclined to blubber if I thought there was a chance of being found out.”“There’s no use talking about that. We must run the risk,” observed Bill; “so here goes.” And he forthwith turned back the coverlid, and began measuring the sheets. They were of strong and tough material, and by dividing each into four lengths, he calculated that a rope formed of them would be of sufficient strength for their purpose, and they were quickly cut through with their knives, and each length was then twisted tightly up.The bed-ticking was treated in the same manner; but that being of less strength, gave them only six much shorter lengths. The sacking and rope at the bottom of the bed would, Bill was sure, reach, at all events, to a short distance from the ground.As they twisted and bent one piece to another, they surveyed their work with satisfaction, and were convinced that it would bear their weight, though it would hardly have borne that of a man of moderate size. To try it, they tugged away against each other, and it held perfectly firm.“It will do famously,” exclaimed Bill, after they had joined all the pieces together. “Even if it does not quite reach to the ground, I should not mind dropping a dozen feet or so.”“But if we do that, the noise we make in our fall may be heard,” said Jack. “Hadn’t we better bend on the coverlid? It’s not so strong as the sheets, but we can put it at the lower end.”Bill agreed to this, and, as it was of considerable width, it formed three lengths.“We have enough almost for a double rope, I expect,” said Bill, as he coiled it away ready to carry to the window at the opposite side of the room.“Oh, no; I don’t think we’ve enough for that,” said Jack; “even if we had, it won’t matter leaving the rope behind. The Frenchmen will see by the disappearance of the bed-clothes how we got out. I advise that we make only one rope, and just get down to the ground as quietly as we can manage to do.”Bill made another trip to the door to listen.“No one is coming,” he whispered, as he returned. “Now let’s carry the rope to the window.”They did so, and Bill leant out to listen again. No sounds reached his ear, except the occasional barking of a dog.“The people go to bed early in this country,” he observed, “and I am very much obliged to them. We may start, Jack, without much fear of being stopped.”“But don’t let us forget our grub,” said Jack; and they filled their pockets with the provisions the old woman had brought them, tying up the remainder in their handkerchiefs, which they fastened to the lanyards of their knives. “Now let’s bend on the rope,” said Bill.They secured it round the iron bar.“I’ll go first,” said Jack; “if the rope bears me, it’s certain to bear you.”“No; I proposed the plan, and I ought to go first,” answered Bill. “It’s of no use wasting words. Don’t begin to come down till you feel that I am off the rope. So here goes.”Bill, on saying this, climbed through the narrow opening between the bar and the side of the window, and then, first grasping the bar with his hands, threw his legs off straight down, and began descending the thin rope. Jack stretched out his head to watch him, but Bill soon disappeared in the darkness.The rope held, however, though, as he felt it, it appeared stretched to the utmost. He could with difficulty draw a breath, while he waited till, by finding the rope slacken, he should know that Bill had safely reached the bottom. At last he ascertained that Bill was no longer hanging to the rope, while, from not hearing a sound, he was sure that his companion had performed the feat in safety.As Bill had charged him not to lose a moment, he, following his example, commenced his descent.Down and down he went, but had he not been thoroughly accustomed to suspend himself on thin ropes, he could not have held on. It seemed to him that he should never reach the bottom; how much further he had to go he could not tell.All at once he felt a hand grasping him by the leg. A sudden fear seized him.Could the Frenchmen have got hold of Bill, and were they about to recapture him?He could with difficulty refrain from crying out; still, as there would be no use in attempting to get up the rope again, he continued to lower himself.The hand was withdrawn, and presently he found that he had reached the ground.“All right,” whispered Bill in his ear; “I caught hold of your ankle to let you understand that you were close to the bottom. Now let’s be off! The harbour lies directly under yonder star. I marked its position during daylight, and again just before I began to descend the rope.”
Jack and Bill heard Colonel O’Toole descending the stairs, and, listening, were convinced that he had gone away without leaving a sentry at the door.
“We are in luck,” said Bill, as he looked round the room. “This is a better place than the old tower, and I don’t see that it will be much more difficult to escape from.”
They went to the window. It was long and narrow, but there was ample space for them to creep out of it. It was, however, a great height from the ground; three or four storeys up they calculated; and should they attempt to drop down, they would break every bone in their bodies.
“It cannot be done, I fear,” said Jack.
“It can be done, and we’ll do it before to-morrow morning, too,” answered Bill. “When the general ordered us to be shut up here, he was thinking that we were just like a couple of French boys, without a notion of going aloft, or of finding their way down again.”
“But I don’t see how we can manage to get down here,” said Jack, peeping through the window, cautiously though, for fear of being seen. “There is nothing to lay hold of, and the door is locked and bolted. I heard that traitor Irishman shoot a bolt before he went away.”
“Look here,” replied Bill, pointing towards the bed.
“Why, that’s a bed,” said Jack. “It was very good-natured in the mounseers to give it us to sleep on.”
“What do you think it’s made of?” asked Bill. “Why, sheets and blankets and ticking,” replied Jack. “Yes,” said Bill, “you are right; and with those selfsame sheets and blankets, and maybe a fathom or two of rope besides, underneath, I intend that we shall try to lower ourselves down to the ground; and when we are once outside, it will be our own fault if we do not get back to the harbour, and when there, that we do not get on board our raft again. The French captain said it was to be left just as it was for the general to see it to-morrow morning. Before that time comes, I hope that we shall be out of sight of land, if we get a fair breeze, or, at all events, out of sight of the people on shore.”
“I’m always ready for anything you propose, Bill,” said Jack. “I see now well enough how we are to get away. If all goes smoothly, we shall do it. But suppose we are caught?—and there are a good many chances against us, you’ll allow.”
“We can but be shut up again. Even if they were to flog us, we could stand it well enough; and as to the pain, that would be nothing, and it would not be like being flogged for breaking the articles of war, or doing anything against the law. I should call it an honourable flogging, and should not mind showing the scars, if any remained,” said Bill.
“I’m your man, and the sooner we set about turning our sheets and blankets into a rope the better,” exclaimed Jack, enthusiastically. “If we are caught and punished ever so much, we must not mind it.”
“Stop a bit,” said Bill. “Perhaps the red-haired colonel may pay us a visit before nightfall. We must not be caught making preparations for our escape; that would be a green trick.”
“I hope if they come they’ll bring us some supper,” said Jack. “I am pretty sharp set already; and if the mounseers should have stolen the grub out of our chest, we should have nothing to eat on our voyage.”
“I have been thinking too much about going away to feel hungry,” said Bill. “But now you talk of it, I should like some food, and I hope they’ll bring enough to last us for a day or two. Now, I say, it’s getting dark, and we must fix upon the best spot to lower ourselves down to. You listen at the door lest any one should come up suddenly, and I’ll examine the windows and settle the best plan.”
Bill, however, first went to the bed, examined the blankets and sheets and mattress, and found, to his satisfaction, that below all were two thick pieces of canvas, drawn together by a rope. The rope, though rather thin, would, he was satisfied, bear their light weights. It might take them half an hour or so to twist the various materials up into a rope, and altogether would give them one of ample length for their purpose.
This discovery greatly raised the boys’ spirits and hopes of success.
Bill now went to the window, and found that the grass came close up to the walls of the tower underneath. Even should they fall from a considerable height, they might have the chance of not breaking their bones, and that was some satisfaction. An iron bar extended from the top of the window to the bottom in the centre. He felt it, and it was strong as need be. It would do well for securing their rope. As far as he could judge, there was no window under them. This was of consequence, as had there been, they might have been seen by any person within during their descent, rapidly as they might make it. Bill considered whether it would be possible to withdraw the rope after they had descended, but he doubted whether they had sufficient materials to enable them to do that.
“Well, it cannot be helped,” Bill said to himself. “The Frenchmen will see how we escaped, but they won’t find it out till daylight, and it won’t matter much then.”
He had finished his survey, and settled his plan, when Jack cried out, “Hist! there’s some one coming!” and they ran back and sat themselves down near the table with their heads on their hands, as if they were feeling very melancholy and disconsolate.
“I wish I could squeeze out a tear,” said Jack; “but I can’t for the life of me. I feel so jolly at your idea of getting off.”
Presently the door opened, and an old woman entered with a basket.
“I have brought you some food and a bottle of wine, mes garçons,” she said, in a kind tone. “The general gave me permission, and I was very glad to bring it, as I knew that you must be hungry. Poor boys! I heard of your attempt to get away. You would have been drowned to a certainty if you hadn’t been caught, and that would have been sad, for one of you, they say, wanted to get back to see his mother. I have got a son at sea, so I can feel for her. I wish he was safe back again. I don’t know what they will do with you, but I hear that you are to be tried to-morrow, and the Irish officer here says you are spies, and if so, you will run a great chance of being hung, or, at all events, shut up in a prison till you confess what you have been about. Ah! but I forgot. They say you don’t speak French, and you may not have understood a word I have said.”
Jack and Bill could scarcely refrain from laughing as the old woman ran on, but they restrained themselves, and when she showed them the contents of the basket, they merely said, “Bon! bon! merci! merci!” several times, and looked very well pleased, as indeed they were, for there was food enough to last them two or three days, full allowance—cheese and sausages, bread, figs, raisins, and butter, besides the bottle of wine.
They were afraid of drinking much of that, not knowing how weak it was, lest it should get into their heads, for they wanted no Dutch courage to do what they intended—they had pluck enough without that.
The old woman—not that she was so very old, but she was small and thin, with a high white cap and a brown dress fitting closely, which made her look older than she was—stood by, after she had covered the table with the provisions, that she might have the pleasure of seeing the boys eat. They were very willing to give her that pleasure, and set to with a good appetite.
She smiled benignantly, and patted them on their heads, as she watched them stowing away the various things. They were not very particular as to which they took first.
“Bon! bon!” said Jack, every now and then, as he saw that his saying so pleased her. “Merci! merci!”
She poured them out some wine; it was dreadfully sour, so Bill thought, and he made signs to her that he would drink it by-and-by, as he did not like to show her how much he disliked it.
Jack was not so particular, but he was content with a mouthful or two, and then began again on the sausages and figs.
“I hope she is not going to stop till we have done,” said Bill, “or she may take away the remainder. I’ll try and make her understand that we should like a little more by-and-by. I vote we stop now and put the things into the basket. We’ll then show her that we do not wish her to take them away.”
The kind old housekeeper of the chateau—for such she was—seemed to understand the boys’ wishes. Bill even ventured to say a few words in French, which would show her what they wanted; and at last, wishing them good-night, she took her departure.
They heard the door locked and bolted after she went out, as if by some other person; and it made them fear that a sentry was placed there, who might, should they make any noise, look in to see what they were about. It would be necessary, therefore, to be extremely cautious as to their proceedings.
“There’s no one moving,” said Bill, who had crept to the door to listen. He, of course, spoke in a low whisper. “I vote we set to work at once and make our rope. It will take some time, and we ought to be off as soon as the people have turned in, as we must try to get a good distance from the shore before daylight.”
“Suppose any one was to come, and find us cutting up our bed-clothes,” said Jack, “it would be suspected what we were going to do.”
“We’ll keep the coverlid till the last, so as to throw it over the bed should we hear a step on the stair; we must then sit down on the edge, and pretend that we are too sorrowful to think of going to bed,” said Bill.
“That will do,” replied Jack; “I never was a good hand at piping my eye, but I know that I should be inclined to blubber if I thought there was a chance of being found out.”
“There’s no use talking about that. We must run the risk,” observed Bill; “so here goes.” And he forthwith turned back the coverlid, and began measuring the sheets. They were of strong and tough material, and by dividing each into four lengths, he calculated that a rope formed of them would be of sufficient strength for their purpose, and they were quickly cut through with their knives, and each length was then twisted tightly up.
The bed-ticking was treated in the same manner; but that being of less strength, gave them only six much shorter lengths. The sacking and rope at the bottom of the bed would, Bill was sure, reach, at all events, to a short distance from the ground.
As they twisted and bent one piece to another, they surveyed their work with satisfaction, and were convinced that it would bear their weight, though it would hardly have borne that of a man of moderate size. To try it, they tugged away against each other, and it held perfectly firm.
“It will do famously,” exclaimed Bill, after they had joined all the pieces together. “Even if it does not quite reach to the ground, I should not mind dropping a dozen feet or so.”
“But if we do that, the noise we make in our fall may be heard,” said Jack. “Hadn’t we better bend on the coverlid? It’s not so strong as the sheets, but we can put it at the lower end.”
Bill agreed to this, and, as it was of considerable width, it formed three lengths.
“We have enough almost for a double rope, I expect,” said Bill, as he coiled it away ready to carry to the window at the opposite side of the room.
“Oh, no; I don’t think we’ve enough for that,” said Jack; “even if we had, it won’t matter leaving the rope behind. The Frenchmen will see by the disappearance of the bed-clothes how we got out. I advise that we make only one rope, and just get down to the ground as quietly as we can manage to do.”
Bill made another trip to the door to listen.
“No one is coming,” he whispered, as he returned. “Now let’s carry the rope to the window.”
They did so, and Bill leant out to listen again. No sounds reached his ear, except the occasional barking of a dog.
“The people go to bed early in this country,” he observed, “and I am very much obliged to them. We may start, Jack, without much fear of being stopped.”
“But don’t let us forget our grub,” said Jack; and they filled their pockets with the provisions the old woman had brought them, tying up the remainder in their handkerchiefs, which they fastened to the lanyards of their knives. “Now let’s bend on the rope,” said Bill.
They secured it round the iron bar.
“I’ll go first,” said Jack; “if the rope bears me, it’s certain to bear you.”
“No; I proposed the plan, and I ought to go first,” answered Bill. “It’s of no use wasting words. Don’t begin to come down till you feel that I am off the rope. So here goes.”
Bill, on saying this, climbed through the narrow opening between the bar and the side of the window, and then, first grasping the bar with his hands, threw his legs off straight down, and began descending the thin rope. Jack stretched out his head to watch him, but Bill soon disappeared in the darkness.
The rope held, however, though, as he felt it, it appeared stretched to the utmost. He could with difficulty draw a breath, while he waited till, by finding the rope slacken, he should know that Bill had safely reached the bottom. At last he ascertained that Bill was no longer hanging to the rope, while, from not hearing a sound, he was sure that his companion had performed the feat in safety.
As Bill had charged him not to lose a moment, he, following his example, commenced his descent.
Down and down he went, but had he not been thoroughly accustomed to suspend himself on thin ropes, he could not have held on. It seemed to him that he should never reach the bottom; how much further he had to go he could not tell.
All at once he felt a hand grasping him by the leg. A sudden fear seized him.
Could the Frenchmen have got hold of Bill, and were they about to recapture him?
He could with difficulty refrain from crying out; still, as there would be no use in attempting to get up the rope again, he continued to lower himself.
The hand was withdrawn, and presently he found that he had reached the ground.
“All right,” whispered Bill in his ear; “I caught hold of your ankle to let you understand that you were close to the bottom. Now let’s be off! The harbour lies directly under yonder star. I marked its position during daylight, and again just before I began to descend the rope.”
Chapter Sixteen.Voyage on the raft.Bill and Jack remained for a few seconds in the dark shade caused by the tall wall of the chateau, listening attentively for any sounds of people moving about. None reached their ears, and only here and there, in the more distant part of the building, were any lights to be seen gleaming from the windows.“We may run for it now without much chance of being seen,” said Bill. “We must step lightly, though, or we may be heard by some of the sentries. Keep your eye on the star, it’s the best guide we have for the harbour. Now for it! let’s start.”They set off, treading as lightly as they could on the ground with their bare feet, the soles of which were pretty well hardened. For some distance they had only grass to run over, and a couple of phantoms could scarcely have produced less sound.In a short time, however, they reached a fence. It was somewhat rotten, and as they were climbing over it, a part gave way and came down with a crash.“Quick!” said Bill, as he was helping over Jack, who followed him; “we must run on like the wind; somebody may be coming to find out what’s the matter.”They did not stop, as may be supposed, to repair the damage they had caused, but soon reaching a road which led in the direction they wished to take, they scampered on at full speed.Tall trees grew on either side of the road, which, casting a dark shadow over it, would have effectually concealed them from view, even if anybody had been looking out for them. The darkness, however, also prevented them from seeing any one who might be ahead.Sometimes indeed they had a difficulty in keeping in the middle of the road.“I hope we’re going in the right direction,” said Jack; “I can’t see the star, and the road seems to me to have twisted about.”“We must, at all events, go on,” answered Bill. “Perhaps we shall catch sight of the star again before long, and we must steer our course accordingly. There’s no use stopping still.”They went on and on.“There it is at last,” cried Jack.The trees which lined the road were much lower, being indeed mere pollards, and allowed them to see the sky overhead.Presently they heard a dog bark; then another and another. Could the brutes be barking at them?It was a sign that there were dwellings near, and the inhabitants might be looking out to ascertain what made their dogs bark.“Never mind,” whispered Bill; “the chances are that the dogs are tied up, and if we keep moving the people won’t see us.”They passed through the village or hamlet.They were still, they knew, some distance from the harbour.Here and there only could they see a light twinkling from a window, probably of some sick-chamber. It was pretty evident that most of the people had gone to bed, still some one or other might be up who would give the alarm.They found themselves verging to the right; it was better, however, than keeping to the left side, which might lead them away from the harbour. Presently they came to some grassy downs, and the regular road they had been pursuing turned sharp off to the left.“We had better keep straight on,” said Bill; “we shall be more exposed on the open downs; but then it isn’t likely that anybody will be there to see us, so that won’t matter.”Jack, as usual, was ready to do whatever Bill proposed. They got quickly over the grass, which was cropped short by sheep feeding on it, and they could manage to see somewhat better than they had done on the road. Presently Jack, whose eyesight was even keener than Bill’s, having been well practised at night from his childhood, caught his companion’s arm, exclaiming, “Hold back; it seems to me that we have got to the edge of the downs.”They crept cautiously forward. In another instant they would have leapt down a cliff some hundred feet in height, and been dashed to pieces.They turned away from it, shuddering at the fearful risk they had run, and kept along on somewhat lower ground, still having the star which had before guided them ahead.Once more they found themselves approaching buildings, but they were low and scattered; evidently only in the outskirts of the village.“We must be close to the harbour now,” said Jack.“The greater reason that we should be cautious,” observed Bill. “This road, I suspect, leads right down to the part of the harbour we want to reach.”They ran on, their hope of escape increasing.Suddenly they heard the voice of a man shouting out, “Who goes there?”Bill seized Jack’s arm, and pulled him down in the shadow of a high wall, near which they happened at that moment to find themselves.Some minutes they waited, scarcely daring to draw breath.The shout was not repeated.“We may go on now,” whispered Jack; and getting up, they crept forward. Presently, below them, they caught sight of the harbour, with the stars reflected on its surface.The most difficult part of their undertaking was now to be performed. They had to find out exactly where their raft lay.Bill had not failed to observe the shape of the harbour, and to take note of the various objects on shore, as he and Jack were brought in prisoners by the French boat; but the partial survey he was then able to make did not enable him to settle positively in what direction they ought to proceed to find their raft.By keeping on as they were then going they believed that they should make the shore of the harbour at no great distance from the mouth. They might then keep along up it until they reached the place where they landed, near which they hoped to find their raft moored.“I am only afraid that we may meet some guards or patrols, or fishermen coming on shore or going off to their vessels,” observed Jack.“If we do we must try to hide ourselves,” answered Bill. “We’ll keep along as close as we can under the cliffs, or any walls or houses we are passing, so that we may see people before we are seen ourselves.”They acted as Bill suggested, and pushed boldly onwards. Not a sound was heard coming either from the land side or from the harbour. The water was as smooth as glass.They were still going forward when Jack seized Bill’s arm. “That’s the place,” he whispered. “I can make out the raft, moored outside a boat at the end of a slip.”Bill, creeping forward, assured himself that Jack was right, and, as nothing could be gained by waiting a moment, they hurried on, and in a few seconds were on board their raft. Jack plunged his hand into one of the chests, to ascertain that the articles it had contained were still there. They had not been taken away.He could scarcely refrain from shouting out for joy.Even the oars had not been removed.They got another from the boat alongside to supply the place of the one which had been splintered.“Cut the warps,” cried Bill. “We’ll paddle on till we find the breeze.”The raft was quickly cast loose, and, getting out the oars, they began to paddle silently down the harbour. They could not avoid making some slight noise, but they hoped that there was no one on the watch to hear it. Very frequently they turned their glances astern to ascertain if they were followed, but they could see nothing moving. There were several vessels lower down the harbour, so they steered a course which would carry them past at some little distance from them.The raft moved easily over the smooth surface, and they made good way. There was only one vessel more which they had to pass before they reached the harbour’s mouth. They both earnestly hoped that her crew were fast asleep, and that no watch was kept on deck.They paddled slowly by, and more than half a cable’s length from her, moving their oars as gently as possible, and scarcely daring to breathe. The slightest sound might betray them.At length they got outside her, and there was nothing now between them and the open channel.Again Jack could hardly refrain from shouting.Just then a voice came from the vessel.Bill looked back. He judged by the distance the vessel was off that the character of the raft could not be discovered. He answered in very good French, “We are going out early this morning, and if we have good luck in fishing, we’ll bring you some for breakfast.”“Thank you, my friend, thank you,” answered the man on board the vessel.Bill had been paddling on all the time he was speaking. He was certain that the man did not suspect who he and Jack were, and in a few minutes they lost sight of the vessel altogether.They now gave way with might and main. They were rowing for life and liberty; for if again caught, they fully believed that they should be shot. How anxiously they wished that a breeze would spring up!For fully an hour they rowed on, till the shore faded from sight.They were steering by the polar star, which both Jack and Bill knew well.“If there’s a breeze from the southward, we ought to feel it by this time,” observed Jack.“Never fear; we shall find it before long,” answered Bill. “We are not so far away from the cliffs as you suppose, and it would be as well not to speak loud, or our voices may reach any boat passing, or even people on shore.”“I hope there will be none there at this hour, though they will come down fast enough in the morning from the chateau, when they find we have taken French leave,” said Jack.“A very proper thing to take, too, seeing we were in France,” remarked Bill, with a quiet chuckle. “I hope we shall never set foot on its shores again.”“So do I; but I’m afraid we have a great chance of doing so, unless we get a breeze pretty soon. I am inclined to whistle for it,” said Jack.“It won’t come the faster for that,” answered Bill. “We shall do more good by working our oars. We are sending the raft along at three knots an hour at least, and as it will be three hours or more before daylight, we shall be ten miles or so away from the shore, even if we do not get a breeze, before the Frenchmen find out that we have got off.”As Bill advised, he and Jack continued pulling away as lustily as at first.The smoothness of the water was a great advantage to them, for had there been any sea their progress would have been much slower.An hour or more passed away, when Bill exclaimed, “Here comes the wind, and right aft, too! It’s not very strong yet, but it will freshen soon, I hope. Stand by, Jack, to hoist the sail!”“Ay, ay!” answered Jack, taking hold of the halyards and feeling that all was clear.“Hand me the sheet; and now hoist away,” said Bill.Jack, with right good will, hauled away at the halyards, and the sail was soon set.The raft felt the influence of the breeze and glided on at an increased speed. It was cheery to hear the water rippling against the bows.“We must take care not to capsize the raft if the wind increases much,” observed Bill. “Keep the halyards ready to let go in a moment; the sail is full large for our craft, and it would not take long to capsize it.”“Trust me for that,” said Jack; “I have no wish to be drowned, and I feel wonderfully jolly at the thought of having got away. Are you steering a right course, Bill? It seems to me that the sail must be between you and the polar star.”“No; I can see it directly over the yard when I stand up and keep well aft,” answered Bill. “The wind, too, won’t let us go in any other direction.”“How about the tide?” asked Jack.“Why, as it was just on the ebb when we came out of the harbour, and helped us along, it is, I calculate, making to the westward. It won’t, however, run much longer in that direction, and it will then carry us to the eastward for a good six hours. We’ll be well out of sight of land by that time, and, I hope, may fall in with an English cruiser, though, for my part, I would rather run right across the Channel. It would be fine fun to land, and tell the people how we managed it. They would think more of our raft than the Frenchmen did, though there are not many boys afloat who would not try to do as we have done.”Jack was of the same opinion, and as there was no necessity for rowing, while Bill steered, Jack sat on a chest with his arms folded. Suddenly he exclaimed, “I say, Bill, I am getting very peckish; I vote we have some supper.”“Well, we have not far to go for it,” observed Bill, “seeing we have got enough in our pockets to last us for the whole of to-morrow.”As Bill could not well manage to steer and tend the sheet and eat his supper, too, he let Jack finish his; after which they changed places, and Bill fell to with a good appetite on some of the old Frenchwoman’s provisions.“I hope the kind old creature won’t get into any scrape for supplying us,” said Bill.“I don’t see how it will be found out that she gave us so much,” said Jack. “When she finds that we are gone, she’ll keep her own counsel, depend on that.”“We must not expend the food too fast, though,” remarked Bill. “It will take us several days to get across Channel; and it won’t do to run short of provisions.”“You forget those we have in the chest,” said Jack.“Are you certain that the Frenchmen allowed them to remain there,” asked Bill, opening the lid of one of them, and feeling about. “Yes! here’s a piece of beef or pork and some biscuit. All right, we shall do now. I’ll take the helm again if you like; I feel more comfortable when I’m at it, though you steer well enough, I dare say.”“As you like,” said Jack. “I’d just as soon stand by the halyards.”They again changed places.Bill kept his eye on the polar star, while Jack peered under the sail ahead, that they might not, as he said, run down any craft.Thus the night passed away. The breeze slightly increased, but Bill considered that they might still carry their whole sail with safety. Perhaps they did not move along quite so fast as he supposed. He told Jack that he thought they were running through the water at five knots an hour; but four, or even three, knots was a good deal for a raft to make, with flat bows, light and well put together as it was.They were too much excited to feel the slightest inclination to sleep, and being both in capital spirits, did not trouble themselves with thinking of the possibility that the weather might change before they could get across to the English coast. A fast lugger would take nearly two days to do the distance.The dawn now broke, and they eagerly looked out on every side for a sail. As the light increased they were greatly disappointed, on gazing astern, to discover the French coast still in sight, though blue and indistinct, like a cloud rising out of the water. No sail, however, was to be seen in that direction. That was a comfort; they were not pursued by any large craft, and could certainly not be seen from the shore.To the northward, however, they caught sight of a sail just rising above the horizon, and soon afterwards another was seen to the eastward, but which way she was standing they could not determine.As the sun rose the wind decreased, and before long it became perfectly calm.“We must lower the sail and take to our oars again,” said Bill. “It won’t do to stop where we are.”“I am ready to pull on as long as I have any strength in me,” answered Jack, as he stowed the sail, and got out his oar.
Bill and Jack remained for a few seconds in the dark shade caused by the tall wall of the chateau, listening attentively for any sounds of people moving about. None reached their ears, and only here and there, in the more distant part of the building, were any lights to be seen gleaming from the windows.
“We may run for it now without much chance of being seen,” said Bill. “We must step lightly, though, or we may be heard by some of the sentries. Keep your eye on the star, it’s the best guide we have for the harbour. Now for it! let’s start.”
They set off, treading as lightly as they could on the ground with their bare feet, the soles of which were pretty well hardened. For some distance they had only grass to run over, and a couple of phantoms could scarcely have produced less sound.
In a short time, however, they reached a fence. It was somewhat rotten, and as they were climbing over it, a part gave way and came down with a crash.
“Quick!” said Bill, as he was helping over Jack, who followed him; “we must run on like the wind; somebody may be coming to find out what’s the matter.”
They did not stop, as may be supposed, to repair the damage they had caused, but soon reaching a road which led in the direction they wished to take, they scampered on at full speed.
Tall trees grew on either side of the road, which, casting a dark shadow over it, would have effectually concealed them from view, even if anybody had been looking out for them. The darkness, however, also prevented them from seeing any one who might be ahead.
Sometimes indeed they had a difficulty in keeping in the middle of the road.
“I hope we’re going in the right direction,” said Jack; “I can’t see the star, and the road seems to me to have twisted about.”
“We must, at all events, go on,” answered Bill. “Perhaps we shall catch sight of the star again before long, and we must steer our course accordingly. There’s no use stopping still.”
They went on and on.
“There it is at last,” cried Jack.
The trees which lined the road were much lower, being indeed mere pollards, and allowed them to see the sky overhead.
Presently they heard a dog bark; then another and another. Could the brutes be barking at them?
It was a sign that there were dwellings near, and the inhabitants might be looking out to ascertain what made their dogs bark.
“Never mind,” whispered Bill; “the chances are that the dogs are tied up, and if we keep moving the people won’t see us.”
They passed through the village or hamlet.
They were still, they knew, some distance from the harbour.
Here and there only could they see a light twinkling from a window, probably of some sick-chamber. It was pretty evident that most of the people had gone to bed, still some one or other might be up who would give the alarm.
They found themselves verging to the right; it was better, however, than keeping to the left side, which might lead them away from the harbour. Presently they came to some grassy downs, and the regular road they had been pursuing turned sharp off to the left.
“We had better keep straight on,” said Bill; “we shall be more exposed on the open downs; but then it isn’t likely that anybody will be there to see us, so that won’t matter.”
Jack, as usual, was ready to do whatever Bill proposed. They got quickly over the grass, which was cropped short by sheep feeding on it, and they could manage to see somewhat better than they had done on the road. Presently Jack, whose eyesight was even keener than Bill’s, having been well practised at night from his childhood, caught his companion’s arm, exclaiming, “Hold back; it seems to me that we have got to the edge of the downs.”
They crept cautiously forward. In another instant they would have leapt down a cliff some hundred feet in height, and been dashed to pieces.
They turned away from it, shuddering at the fearful risk they had run, and kept along on somewhat lower ground, still having the star which had before guided them ahead.
Once more they found themselves approaching buildings, but they were low and scattered; evidently only in the outskirts of the village.
“We must be close to the harbour now,” said Jack.
“The greater reason that we should be cautious,” observed Bill. “This road, I suspect, leads right down to the part of the harbour we want to reach.”
They ran on, their hope of escape increasing.
Suddenly they heard the voice of a man shouting out, “Who goes there?”
Bill seized Jack’s arm, and pulled him down in the shadow of a high wall, near which they happened at that moment to find themselves.
Some minutes they waited, scarcely daring to draw breath.
The shout was not repeated.
“We may go on now,” whispered Jack; and getting up, they crept forward. Presently, below them, they caught sight of the harbour, with the stars reflected on its surface.
The most difficult part of their undertaking was now to be performed. They had to find out exactly where their raft lay.
Bill had not failed to observe the shape of the harbour, and to take note of the various objects on shore, as he and Jack were brought in prisoners by the French boat; but the partial survey he was then able to make did not enable him to settle positively in what direction they ought to proceed to find their raft.
By keeping on as they were then going they believed that they should make the shore of the harbour at no great distance from the mouth. They might then keep along up it until they reached the place where they landed, near which they hoped to find their raft moored.
“I am only afraid that we may meet some guards or patrols, or fishermen coming on shore or going off to their vessels,” observed Jack.
“If we do we must try to hide ourselves,” answered Bill. “We’ll keep along as close as we can under the cliffs, or any walls or houses we are passing, so that we may see people before we are seen ourselves.”
They acted as Bill suggested, and pushed boldly onwards. Not a sound was heard coming either from the land side or from the harbour. The water was as smooth as glass.
They were still going forward when Jack seized Bill’s arm. “That’s the place,” he whispered. “I can make out the raft, moored outside a boat at the end of a slip.”
Bill, creeping forward, assured himself that Jack was right, and, as nothing could be gained by waiting a moment, they hurried on, and in a few seconds were on board their raft. Jack plunged his hand into one of the chests, to ascertain that the articles it had contained were still there. They had not been taken away.
He could scarcely refrain from shouting out for joy.
Even the oars had not been removed.
They got another from the boat alongside to supply the place of the one which had been splintered.
“Cut the warps,” cried Bill. “We’ll paddle on till we find the breeze.”
The raft was quickly cast loose, and, getting out the oars, they began to paddle silently down the harbour. They could not avoid making some slight noise, but they hoped that there was no one on the watch to hear it. Very frequently they turned their glances astern to ascertain if they were followed, but they could see nothing moving. There were several vessels lower down the harbour, so they steered a course which would carry them past at some little distance from them.
The raft moved easily over the smooth surface, and they made good way. There was only one vessel more which they had to pass before they reached the harbour’s mouth. They both earnestly hoped that her crew were fast asleep, and that no watch was kept on deck.
They paddled slowly by, and more than half a cable’s length from her, moving their oars as gently as possible, and scarcely daring to breathe. The slightest sound might betray them.
At length they got outside her, and there was nothing now between them and the open channel.
Again Jack could hardly refrain from shouting.
Just then a voice came from the vessel.
Bill looked back. He judged by the distance the vessel was off that the character of the raft could not be discovered. He answered in very good French, “We are going out early this morning, and if we have good luck in fishing, we’ll bring you some for breakfast.”
“Thank you, my friend, thank you,” answered the man on board the vessel.
Bill had been paddling on all the time he was speaking. He was certain that the man did not suspect who he and Jack were, and in a few minutes they lost sight of the vessel altogether.
They now gave way with might and main. They were rowing for life and liberty; for if again caught, they fully believed that they should be shot. How anxiously they wished that a breeze would spring up!
For fully an hour they rowed on, till the shore faded from sight.
They were steering by the polar star, which both Jack and Bill knew well.
“If there’s a breeze from the southward, we ought to feel it by this time,” observed Jack.
“Never fear; we shall find it before long,” answered Bill. “We are not so far away from the cliffs as you suppose, and it would be as well not to speak loud, or our voices may reach any boat passing, or even people on shore.”
“I hope there will be none there at this hour, though they will come down fast enough in the morning from the chateau, when they find we have taken French leave,” said Jack.
“A very proper thing to take, too, seeing we were in France,” remarked Bill, with a quiet chuckle. “I hope we shall never set foot on its shores again.”
“So do I; but I’m afraid we have a great chance of doing so, unless we get a breeze pretty soon. I am inclined to whistle for it,” said Jack.
“It won’t come the faster for that,” answered Bill. “We shall do more good by working our oars. We are sending the raft along at three knots an hour at least, and as it will be three hours or more before daylight, we shall be ten miles or so away from the shore, even if we do not get a breeze, before the Frenchmen find out that we have got off.”
As Bill advised, he and Jack continued pulling away as lustily as at first.
The smoothness of the water was a great advantage to them, for had there been any sea their progress would have been much slower.
An hour or more passed away, when Bill exclaimed, “Here comes the wind, and right aft, too! It’s not very strong yet, but it will freshen soon, I hope. Stand by, Jack, to hoist the sail!”
“Ay, ay!” answered Jack, taking hold of the halyards and feeling that all was clear.
“Hand me the sheet; and now hoist away,” said Bill.
Jack, with right good will, hauled away at the halyards, and the sail was soon set.
The raft felt the influence of the breeze and glided on at an increased speed. It was cheery to hear the water rippling against the bows.
“We must take care not to capsize the raft if the wind increases much,” observed Bill. “Keep the halyards ready to let go in a moment; the sail is full large for our craft, and it would not take long to capsize it.”
“Trust me for that,” said Jack; “I have no wish to be drowned, and I feel wonderfully jolly at the thought of having got away. Are you steering a right course, Bill? It seems to me that the sail must be between you and the polar star.”
“No; I can see it directly over the yard when I stand up and keep well aft,” answered Bill. “The wind, too, won’t let us go in any other direction.”
“How about the tide?” asked Jack.
“Why, as it was just on the ebb when we came out of the harbour, and helped us along, it is, I calculate, making to the westward. It won’t, however, run much longer in that direction, and it will then carry us to the eastward for a good six hours. We’ll be well out of sight of land by that time, and, I hope, may fall in with an English cruiser, though, for my part, I would rather run right across the Channel. It would be fine fun to land, and tell the people how we managed it. They would think more of our raft than the Frenchmen did, though there are not many boys afloat who would not try to do as we have done.”
Jack was of the same opinion, and as there was no necessity for rowing, while Bill steered, Jack sat on a chest with his arms folded. Suddenly he exclaimed, “I say, Bill, I am getting very peckish; I vote we have some supper.”
“Well, we have not far to go for it,” observed Bill, “seeing we have got enough in our pockets to last us for the whole of to-morrow.”
As Bill could not well manage to steer and tend the sheet and eat his supper, too, he let Jack finish his; after which they changed places, and Bill fell to with a good appetite on some of the old Frenchwoman’s provisions.
“I hope the kind old creature won’t get into any scrape for supplying us,” said Bill.
“I don’t see how it will be found out that she gave us so much,” said Jack. “When she finds that we are gone, she’ll keep her own counsel, depend on that.”
“We must not expend the food too fast, though,” remarked Bill. “It will take us several days to get across Channel; and it won’t do to run short of provisions.”
“You forget those we have in the chest,” said Jack.
“Are you certain that the Frenchmen allowed them to remain there,” asked Bill, opening the lid of one of them, and feeling about. “Yes! here’s a piece of beef or pork and some biscuit. All right, we shall do now. I’ll take the helm again if you like; I feel more comfortable when I’m at it, though you steer well enough, I dare say.”
“As you like,” said Jack. “I’d just as soon stand by the halyards.”
They again changed places.
Bill kept his eye on the polar star, while Jack peered under the sail ahead, that they might not, as he said, run down any craft.
Thus the night passed away. The breeze slightly increased, but Bill considered that they might still carry their whole sail with safety. Perhaps they did not move along quite so fast as he supposed. He told Jack that he thought they were running through the water at five knots an hour; but four, or even three, knots was a good deal for a raft to make, with flat bows, light and well put together as it was.
They were too much excited to feel the slightest inclination to sleep, and being both in capital spirits, did not trouble themselves with thinking of the possibility that the weather might change before they could get across to the English coast. A fast lugger would take nearly two days to do the distance.
The dawn now broke, and they eagerly looked out on every side for a sail. As the light increased they were greatly disappointed, on gazing astern, to discover the French coast still in sight, though blue and indistinct, like a cloud rising out of the water. No sail, however, was to be seen in that direction. That was a comfort; they were not pursued by any large craft, and could certainly not be seen from the shore.
To the northward, however, they caught sight of a sail just rising above the horizon, and soon afterwards another was seen to the eastward, but which way she was standing they could not determine.
As the sun rose the wind decreased, and before long it became perfectly calm.
“We must lower the sail and take to our oars again,” said Bill. “It won’t do to stop where we are.”
“I am ready to pull on as long as I have any strength in me,” answered Jack, as he stowed the sail, and got out his oar.
Chapter Seventeen.A narrow escape—The fugitives picked up by a frigate.The rest Jack and Bill had obtained while their raft was under sail enabled them to row with as much vigour as at first; and row they did with might and main, knowing that their liberty might depend upon their exertions.The calm was very trying, for they had expected to be wafted quickly across the Channel, and row as hard as they could, their progress must be slow. After rowing for a couple of hours or more, they found themselves apparently no nearer the ship ahead than they had been at first.At length hunger compelled them to lay in their oars and take some breakfast. They ate a hearty one, for they had plenty of provisions; but on examining their stock of water they found that they must be very economical, or they might run short of that necessary of life.After a short rest, Bill sprang to his feet.“It won’t do to be stopping,” he observed. “If we only make a couple of miles an hour it will be something, and we shall be so much nearer home, and so much farther away from the French shore.”“I’m afraid that when the mounseers find out that we have escaped, they will be sending after us,” said Jack. “They will be ashamed of being outwitted by a couple of English boys, and will do all they can to bring us back.”“I believe you are right, Jack,” replied Bill; “only, as they certainly will not be able to see us from the shore, they won’t know in what direction to pull, and may fancy that we are hid away somewhere along the coast.”“They’ll guess well enough that we should have pulled to the nor’ard, and will be able to calculate by the set of the tide whereabouts to find us,” said Jack. “We mustn’t trust too much to being safe as yet. I wonder what that vessel to the eastward is. She’s a ship, for I can see her royals above the horizon, and she’s certainly nearer than when we first made her out.”“She must be standing to the westward, then, and will, I hope, pass inside of us, should the breeze spring up again from the same quarter,” observed Bill. “She’s probably French, or she would not be so close in with the coast.”“As to that, our cruisers stand in close enough at times, and she may be English notwithstanding,” answered Jack.“Unless we are certain that she’s English we shall be wiser to avoid her,” remarked Bill, “so we’ll pull away to the nor’ard.”“But what do you think of the ship out there?” asked Jack, pointing ahead.“I cannot help believing that she’s English,” said Bill. “We must run the chance of being seen by her. We shall have to pull on a good many hours, however, first, and when the breeze springs up, she’ll pretty quickly run either to the eastward or westward.”The boys, however, after all their remarks, could arrive at no conclusion. They rowed and rowed, but still appeared not to have moved their position with regard either to the shore or the two vessels in sight.The sun rose high above their heads and struck down with considerable force; but they cared little for the heat, though it made them apply more frequently than they otherwise would have done to their water-cask. Bill had more than once to warn Jack not to drink too much.The day was drawing on, and at last Jack proposed that they should have another rest and take some dinner. “There’s no use starving ourselves, and the more we eat the better we shall be able to pull,” he said.Bill was not quite of this opinion. At the same time he agreed to Jack’s proposal, as his arms were becoming very weary.They had just finished their dinner when Jack, getting up on the chest in which the mast was stepped, so that he might have a better look-out, exclaimed, “I see a sail between us and the land. The sun just now glanced on it. There’s a breeze in shore, depend on it, and it will reach us before long.”Bill jumped up to have a look-out also. He could not distinguish the sail, but he thought by the darker colour of the water to the southward that a breeze was playing over it, though it had not as yet got as far as they were. They again took to their oars and pulled on. Jack, however, occasionally turned round to look to the southward, for he entertained the uncomfortable idea that they were pursued.They were now, they agreed, nearer the ship to the northward. Her lofty sails must have caught a light westerly air, which did not reach close down to the water, and had sent her along two or three knots an hour. They could see half-way down her courses, and Jack declared his belief that she was a frigate, but whether English or French he could not determine.Unless, however, they were to hoist their sail, they might pass very close to her without being discovered, and the course she was steering would take her somewhat to the eastward of them.They would have to settle the point as to whether she was a friend or foe, and in the former case whether it would be advisable to hoist their sail, and made every signal in their power to attract her attention, or to keep the sail lowered until she was at a distance from them. Bill had not been convinced that Jack had seen a sail to the southward.“Whether or not I saw one before, there’s one now,” cried Jack, “and pretty near, too, and what’s worse, it’s a boat, so that they have oars, and will be coming up with us in spite of the calm.”“They must have had a breeze to get thus far,” remarked Bill.“Yes, but it has failed them now; see, they are lowering down the sail.” As Jack spoke, a light patch of white like the wing of a wild-fowl was seen for a moment glancing above the water landward.“Yes, there’s no doubt that was a sail, which must have come from the shore; but it is a question whether the Frenchmen will have the pluck to pull on in the hopes of finding us, or will turn back. One thing is certain, that we had better try to keep ahead, when they will have farther to come if they still pursue us.”Once more the boys got their oars out, and laboured away as energetically as before. They every now and then, however, looked back to ascertain if the boat were coming after them. Meantime a light breeze played occasionally over the water, but it was so light that it would not have helped them much, and they thought it wiser not to hoist their sail, as it would betray their position should a French boat really be in pursuit of them.The ship, which they supposed to be a frigate, was in in the meantime drawing nearer to them from the north-east.“I cannot help thinking that the boat is still coming after us,” cried Jack. “I fancy I caught sight of the gleam of the sun on the men’s hats; if I were to swarm up the mast I should be more certain.”“You will run the chance of capsizing the raft if you do,” observed Bill.“I’ll just go a little way up,” retorted Jack; and he jumped on the chest, and hoisted himself three or four feet only up the mast, while Bill sat down on the deck to counterbalance his weight.“Yes, I was right,” said Jack, coming down. “I made out a boat, as sure as we are here, and a large one, too, or I should not have seen her so clearly. She’s a good way off still, so that it will be some time before she can get up with us. The French fellows in her must take yonder ship to be a countryman, or they would not pull on so boldly.”“They may think that they have time to pick us up and be off again before the ship can get near them,” said Bill; “but whatever they think, we must try to disappoint them, so we’ll pull away as long as we can stand, and then we’ll row on our knees.”The sun was by this time sinking towards the west; and should darkness come on, their chances of escape would be increased. The wind had shifted slightly to the south-west, and should it freshen sufficiently to make it worth while hoisting the sail, they might stand away to the north-east. It still, however, wanted two or three hours before it would be perfectly dark, while the boat would be up to them before that time. After rowing for the greater part of an hour, Jack again took a look-out, and reported that he could distinctly see the boat.“So I suspect by this time can the people on board the ship,” observed Bill, “and probably they can see us also; but the crew of the boat well know that with this light wind they can easily row away from the ship should she prove to be English.”In a short time they could both see the boat when only standing up on the raft. They had now too much reason to fear that, in spite of all their efforts, they should be overtaken. Still, like brave boys, they pulled on, though their arms and backs were aching with their exertions.The Frenchmen, who must by this time have seen the raft, appeared determined to re-take them.Presently a report was heard, and a bullet flew skimming over the water, but dropped beneath the surface somewhere astern.Another and another followed.“Their shot won’t hurt us as yet,” observed Bill. “They fancy that they can frighten us, but we’ll show them that they are mistaken;” and he pulled on as steadily as he had before been doing.Jack, however, could not resist jumping up once more on the chest, and looking towards the ship.“Hurrah! there’s a boat coming off from the ship!” he cried out. “If she’s English, she’ll soon make the Frenchmen put about.”Jack was right as to a boat coming from the ship, but the Frenchmen still pulled on. Perhaps they did not see the boat, or if they did, thought that she also was French.Again and again the pursuers fired, the bullets now falling close to the raft.“A miss is as good as a mile,” cried Bill, rowing on.But the French boat was evidently getting terribly near.If any tolerable marksman were on board, he could easily pick off the two occupants of the raft. They knew that well enough, but they kept to their resolution of pulling on till the last.They were encouraged, too, by seeing the boat from the stranger making towards them. Presently three or four bullets together flew close to their ears, and fell into the water ahead.“Pull on! pull on!” cried Bill; “the fellows fired to vent their spite. They are going to give up the chase.”He looked round as he spoke, and, sure enough, the stern of the boat was seen.The Frenchmen were rowing back to the shore.The boat of the stranger, instead of steering, as she had been, towards the raft, was now seen directing her course after the French boat, the crew of which were evidently straining every nerve to escape.“Hurrah!” cried Jack, standing up and waving his cap, “that’s an English frigate.”“No doubt about it,” exclaimed Bill; “I can see her ensign blowing out;” and he could scarcely refrain from throwing up his cap, but remembered that it might chance to fall overboard if he did.Directly afterwards a gun was heard, fired by the frigate.It was a signal to recall the boat.She would have had a long pull before she could over take the Frenchmen.The signal was not to be disobeyed, and she was seen to pull round and steer for the raft.The boys eagerly watched her approach.She was soon up to them.“Hallo, my lads! where do you come from?” asked the officer, who was standing up in the stern-sheets.“We are running away from the Frenchmen, sir,” answered Bill.“A curious craft you have chosen for the purpose,” observed the officer.“It was the best we could get, sir,” said Bill. “We twice have managed to make our escape, and the first time were caught and carried back.”“Well, we’ll hear all about it by-and-by. Come, jump on board. I should like to tow your raft to the frigate, but we must not delay for that purpose,” exclaimed the officer.Jack and Bill quickly tumbled into the boat, though, as soon as they were on board, they cast wistful glances at their raft.The officer ordered the men to give way, and steered the boat towards the frigate. He now asked the lads how they came to be in France.Bill briefly described how theFoxhoundhad blown up, and the way in which they had been taken on board a French fishing-vessel, and their various adventures on shore.“That’s curious enough,” observed the lieutenant, “for we have on board the frigate most of those who escaped.”The officer, who was the third lieutenant of the frigate, had learned the greater part of their history by the time the boat got up to her.He and most of the crew quickly climbed on board, followed by the boys.The falls were hooked on, and the boat hoisted up.Whom should Jack and Bill see standing on the deck, and issuing his orders to the crew to “brace round the yards,” but Mr Saltwell, the first lieutenant of their former ship.They stood for some minutes by themselves, for everybody was too much engaged to attend to them. The frigate’s head was now turned in the direction of the stranger they had seen to the eastward, towards which they observed that the glasses of several of the officers were directed.“Though she has not shown her colours, I feel positive that she’s French,” observed the captain to Mr Saltwell.“I hope that you are right, sir,” was the answer; “but we shall scarcely get up to her before dark.”“We shall get near enough to make the private signal,” said the captain, “and if she does not answer it we shall know how to treat her when we do get up to her.”All the sail the frigate could carry was set, and as the breeze had increased, she ran rapidly through the water.
The rest Jack and Bill had obtained while their raft was under sail enabled them to row with as much vigour as at first; and row they did with might and main, knowing that their liberty might depend upon their exertions.
The calm was very trying, for they had expected to be wafted quickly across the Channel, and row as hard as they could, their progress must be slow. After rowing for a couple of hours or more, they found themselves apparently no nearer the ship ahead than they had been at first.
At length hunger compelled them to lay in their oars and take some breakfast. They ate a hearty one, for they had plenty of provisions; but on examining their stock of water they found that they must be very economical, or they might run short of that necessary of life.
After a short rest, Bill sprang to his feet.
“It won’t do to be stopping,” he observed. “If we only make a couple of miles an hour it will be something, and we shall be so much nearer home, and so much farther away from the French shore.”
“I’m afraid that when the mounseers find out that we have escaped, they will be sending after us,” said Jack. “They will be ashamed of being outwitted by a couple of English boys, and will do all they can to bring us back.”
“I believe you are right, Jack,” replied Bill; “only, as they certainly will not be able to see us from the shore, they won’t know in what direction to pull, and may fancy that we are hid away somewhere along the coast.”
“They’ll guess well enough that we should have pulled to the nor’ard, and will be able to calculate by the set of the tide whereabouts to find us,” said Jack. “We mustn’t trust too much to being safe as yet. I wonder what that vessel to the eastward is. She’s a ship, for I can see her royals above the horizon, and she’s certainly nearer than when we first made her out.”
“She must be standing to the westward, then, and will, I hope, pass inside of us, should the breeze spring up again from the same quarter,” observed Bill. “She’s probably French, or she would not be so close in with the coast.”
“As to that, our cruisers stand in close enough at times, and she may be English notwithstanding,” answered Jack.
“Unless we are certain that she’s English we shall be wiser to avoid her,” remarked Bill, “so we’ll pull away to the nor’ard.”
“But what do you think of the ship out there?” asked Jack, pointing ahead.
“I cannot help believing that she’s English,” said Bill. “We must run the chance of being seen by her. We shall have to pull on a good many hours, however, first, and when the breeze springs up, she’ll pretty quickly run either to the eastward or westward.”
The boys, however, after all their remarks, could arrive at no conclusion. They rowed and rowed, but still appeared not to have moved their position with regard either to the shore or the two vessels in sight.
The sun rose high above their heads and struck down with considerable force; but they cared little for the heat, though it made them apply more frequently than they otherwise would have done to their water-cask. Bill had more than once to warn Jack not to drink too much.
The day was drawing on, and at last Jack proposed that they should have another rest and take some dinner. “There’s no use starving ourselves, and the more we eat the better we shall be able to pull,” he said.
Bill was not quite of this opinion. At the same time he agreed to Jack’s proposal, as his arms were becoming very weary.
They had just finished their dinner when Jack, getting up on the chest in which the mast was stepped, so that he might have a better look-out, exclaimed, “I see a sail between us and the land. The sun just now glanced on it. There’s a breeze in shore, depend on it, and it will reach us before long.”
Bill jumped up to have a look-out also. He could not distinguish the sail, but he thought by the darker colour of the water to the southward that a breeze was playing over it, though it had not as yet got as far as they were. They again took to their oars and pulled on. Jack, however, occasionally turned round to look to the southward, for he entertained the uncomfortable idea that they were pursued.
They were now, they agreed, nearer the ship to the northward. Her lofty sails must have caught a light westerly air, which did not reach close down to the water, and had sent her along two or three knots an hour. They could see half-way down her courses, and Jack declared his belief that she was a frigate, but whether English or French he could not determine.
Unless, however, they were to hoist their sail, they might pass very close to her without being discovered, and the course she was steering would take her somewhat to the eastward of them.
They would have to settle the point as to whether she was a friend or foe, and in the former case whether it would be advisable to hoist their sail, and made every signal in their power to attract her attention, or to keep the sail lowered until she was at a distance from them. Bill had not been convinced that Jack had seen a sail to the southward.
“Whether or not I saw one before, there’s one now,” cried Jack, “and pretty near, too, and what’s worse, it’s a boat, so that they have oars, and will be coming up with us in spite of the calm.”
“They must have had a breeze to get thus far,” remarked Bill.
“Yes, but it has failed them now; see, they are lowering down the sail.” As Jack spoke, a light patch of white like the wing of a wild-fowl was seen for a moment glancing above the water landward.
“Yes, there’s no doubt that was a sail, which must have come from the shore; but it is a question whether the Frenchmen will have the pluck to pull on in the hopes of finding us, or will turn back. One thing is certain, that we had better try to keep ahead, when they will have farther to come if they still pursue us.”
Once more the boys got their oars out, and laboured away as energetically as before. They every now and then, however, looked back to ascertain if the boat were coming after them. Meantime a light breeze played occasionally over the water, but it was so light that it would not have helped them much, and they thought it wiser not to hoist their sail, as it would betray their position should a French boat really be in pursuit of them.
The ship, which they supposed to be a frigate, was in in the meantime drawing nearer to them from the north-east.
“I cannot help thinking that the boat is still coming after us,” cried Jack. “I fancy I caught sight of the gleam of the sun on the men’s hats; if I were to swarm up the mast I should be more certain.”
“You will run the chance of capsizing the raft if you do,” observed Bill.
“I’ll just go a little way up,” retorted Jack; and he jumped on the chest, and hoisted himself three or four feet only up the mast, while Bill sat down on the deck to counterbalance his weight.
“Yes, I was right,” said Jack, coming down. “I made out a boat, as sure as we are here, and a large one, too, or I should not have seen her so clearly. She’s a good way off still, so that it will be some time before she can get up with us. The French fellows in her must take yonder ship to be a countryman, or they would not pull on so boldly.”
“They may think that they have time to pick us up and be off again before the ship can get near them,” said Bill; “but whatever they think, we must try to disappoint them, so we’ll pull away as long as we can stand, and then we’ll row on our knees.”
The sun was by this time sinking towards the west; and should darkness come on, their chances of escape would be increased. The wind had shifted slightly to the south-west, and should it freshen sufficiently to make it worth while hoisting the sail, they might stand away to the north-east. It still, however, wanted two or three hours before it would be perfectly dark, while the boat would be up to them before that time. After rowing for the greater part of an hour, Jack again took a look-out, and reported that he could distinctly see the boat.
“So I suspect by this time can the people on board the ship,” observed Bill, “and probably they can see us also; but the crew of the boat well know that with this light wind they can easily row away from the ship should she prove to be English.”
In a short time they could both see the boat when only standing up on the raft. They had now too much reason to fear that, in spite of all their efforts, they should be overtaken. Still, like brave boys, they pulled on, though their arms and backs were aching with their exertions.
The Frenchmen, who must by this time have seen the raft, appeared determined to re-take them.
Presently a report was heard, and a bullet flew skimming over the water, but dropped beneath the surface somewhere astern.
Another and another followed.
“Their shot won’t hurt us as yet,” observed Bill. “They fancy that they can frighten us, but we’ll show them that they are mistaken;” and he pulled on as steadily as he had before been doing.
Jack, however, could not resist jumping up once more on the chest, and looking towards the ship.
“Hurrah! there’s a boat coming off from the ship!” he cried out. “If she’s English, she’ll soon make the Frenchmen put about.”
Jack was right as to a boat coming from the ship, but the Frenchmen still pulled on. Perhaps they did not see the boat, or if they did, thought that she also was French.
Again and again the pursuers fired, the bullets now falling close to the raft.
“A miss is as good as a mile,” cried Bill, rowing on.
But the French boat was evidently getting terribly near.
If any tolerable marksman were on board, he could easily pick off the two occupants of the raft. They knew that well enough, but they kept to their resolution of pulling on till the last.
They were encouraged, too, by seeing the boat from the stranger making towards them. Presently three or four bullets together flew close to their ears, and fell into the water ahead.
“Pull on! pull on!” cried Bill; “the fellows fired to vent their spite. They are going to give up the chase.”
He looked round as he spoke, and, sure enough, the stern of the boat was seen.
The Frenchmen were rowing back to the shore.
The boat of the stranger, instead of steering, as she had been, towards the raft, was now seen directing her course after the French boat, the crew of which were evidently straining every nerve to escape.
“Hurrah!” cried Jack, standing up and waving his cap, “that’s an English frigate.”
“No doubt about it,” exclaimed Bill; “I can see her ensign blowing out;” and he could scarcely refrain from throwing up his cap, but remembered that it might chance to fall overboard if he did.
Directly afterwards a gun was heard, fired by the frigate.
It was a signal to recall the boat.
She would have had a long pull before she could over take the Frenchmen.
The signal was not to be disobeyed, and she was seen to pull round and steer for the raft.
The boys eagerly watched her approach.
She was soon up to them.
“Hallo, my lads! where do you come from?” asked the officer, who was standing up in the stern-sheets.
“We are running away from the Frenchmen, sir,” answered Bill.
“A curious craft you have chosen for the purpose,” observed the officer.
“It was the best we could get, sir,” said Bill. “We twice have managed to make our escape, and the first time were caught and carried back.”
“Well, we’ll hear all about it by-and-by. Come, jump on board. I should like to tow your raft to the frigate, but we must not delay for that purpose,” exclaimed the officer.
Jack and Bill quickly tumbled into the boat, though, as soon as they were on board, they cast wistful glances at their raft.
The officer ordered the men to give way, and steered the boat towards the frigate. He now asked the lads how they came to be in France.
Bill briefly described how theFoxhoundhad blown up, and the way in which they had been taken on board a French fishing-vessel, and their various adventures on shore.
“That’s curious enough,” observed the lieutenant, “for we have on board the frigate most of those who escaped.”
The officer, who was the third lieutenant of the frigate, had learned the greater part of their history by the time the boat got up to her.
He and most of the crew quickly climbed on board, followed by the boys.
The falls were hooked on, and the boat hoisted up.
Whom should Jack and Bill see standing on the deck, and issuing his orders to the crew to “brace round the yards,” but Mr Saltwell, the first lieutenant of their former ship.
They stood for some minutes by themselves, for everybody was too much engaged to attend to them. The frigate’s head was now turned in the direction of the stranger they had seen to the eastward, towards which they observed that the glasses of several of the officers were directed.
“Though she has not shown her colours, I feel positive that she’s French,” observed the captain to Mr Saltwell.
“I hope that you are right, sir,” was the answer; “but we shall scarcely get up to her before dark.”
“We shall get near enough to make the private signal,” said the captain, “and if she does not answer it we shall know how to treat her when we do get up to her.”
All the sail the frigate could carry was set, and as the breeze had increased, she ran rapidly through the water.
Chapter Eighteen.The frigate in action—Bill shows that he can be of use.The stranger, which had apparently been beating down Channel, now put up her helm, and setting studden sails stood to the eastward before the wind. She failed also to answer the private signal; no doubt, therefore, remained that she was French, and wished to avoid an action, though, as she appeared to be as large as the English frigate, if not larger, this was somewhat surprising.“Perhaps she has some consorts to the eastward, and wishes to lead us into their midst during the night,” observed Mr Saltwell.“She will find that she’s mistaken. We will keep too bright a look-out to be so caught,” said the captain.The first lieutenant, as he was walking forward, caught sight of Bill and Jack.“Why, lads, where do you come from?” he asked.As he spoke he recognised Bill.“Are you not the lad who gave notice of the plot of the American captain to capture our ship?” he asked.Bill acknowledged that such was the case.“I am truly glad that you have escaped. I promised our late captain that I would keep an eye on you,” he continued, “and I shall now have the opportunity. I thought you, with the rest of our poor fellows, had been lost when our ship blew up.”Bill briefly described their adventures, and the lieutenant seemed much interested. He said he would have them at once entered on the ship’s books, for as they were likely soon to be engaged with the enemy, it might be of importance to them.He accordingly sent for the purser, to whom he gave the proper directions. Bill and Jack then made their way below.On passing the galley they saw a boy busily employed, assisting the cook’s mate in cleaning pots and pans. He looked up at them and started, letting drop the pot at which he was scrubbing.“What! Bill! Jack! I thought you had gone to Davy Jones’s locker,” he exclaimed. “Are you really yourselves?”“No doubt about it, Tom,” answered Bill and in a few words they again told their adventures.Tom soon recovered from his astonishment. He appeared somewhat ashamed of his present occupation. He had got into a scrape, he acknowledged, and had been ordered to assist the cook’s mate.“I wish you would tell him, Tom, that we are very hungry, as we have had a long pull, and that if he would give us something to eat we should be very much obliged to him. If he’s a good-natured fellow, I daresay he will.”Tom undertook to plead for them with the cook himself, who just then put his head out of the galley. The cook, without hesitation, on hearing their story, gave them each a basin of broth and a handful of biscuit.While they were eating they asked Tom to tell them how he had escaped.“I’ve no very clear notion about the matter,” he answered; “I must have been in the water, for I found myself lying at the bottom of a boat wet to the skin, and more dead than alive. There were a dozen or more of our fellows in her, and Mr Saltwell, our first lieutenant, who had been picked up, I supposed, as I had been. They thought I was done for, and, as the boat was overloaded, they were about to heave me overboard, when I opened my eyes, and sang out, ‘Don’t;’ so they let me remain, and after some time pulled alongside a cutter, on board which we were taken and looked after below. Shortly afterwards we went in chase of a French craft of the same rig as ours, but she got away, and we then steered for Plymouth. We were at first taken on board the guardship, where we remained some time, and then I was transferred with others to this frigate, theThisbe, of which, to my great satisfaction, I found that Mr Saltwell had been appointed first lieutenant. Thinking that, as we had shared a common misfortune, he would stand my friend, I went up to him, and telling him that I was a gentleman’s son, begged he would have me put on the quarter-deck. He told me that if I did my duty I should have as good a chance as others; but here I am set to scrape potatoes and clean pots and pans. It’s a shame, a great shame, and I can’t stand it.”Bill and Jack had a tolerably correct notion why Tom was not better off, but they did not say so, as they did not wish to hurt his feelings, and were grateful to him for having obtained for them the broth and biscuits.They had scarcely finished their meal when the order came to extinguish the galley fire.A short time afterwards the drum beat to quarters, and every one was employed in getting the ship ready for action.Jack and Bill expected that they would be employed in their former occupation of powder-monkeys, though, having been awake all the previous night, and in active exertion the whole of the day, notwithstanding the expectation of a battle, they could with difficulty keep their eyes open. They were going with the rest of the boys to the powder-magazine, when they heard their names called out, and the ship’s corporal appearing, told them that the first lieutenant had directed that they should turn in below and take some sleep.A couple of hammocks were slung for them forward, and they very gladly obeyed the order.Bill made an effort to keep awake, that he might turn out again should the ship go into action, but in less than two minutes drowsiness overtook him, and he went fast asleep.He dreamed, however, that he heard the guns firing, and the crew shouting, and that he got up and found that the frigate had taken the Frenchman.Meantime, however, the wind falling light, the frigate made but slow progress, though she still kept the enemy in sight.When Bill really awoke, the light was streaming down through the fore-hatchway. He roused up Jack, as there was no one below to call them, and on going on deck they discovered the crew at their quarters, and the French frigate almost within range of their guns.She was to leeward, for the wind was still in its former quarter, and she had just then hauled up and backed her main-topsail to await their coming.She was now seen to carry four more guns than theThisbe, and to be apparently considerably larger, her bright, polished sides showing that she had not been long out of harbour.When a ship goes into action, sail is generally shortened, but Captain Martin kept all theThisbe’sset, and stood on, bearing down directly for the enemy.Jack had been sent to join the other boys, who were employed in bringing up the powder as required from the magazine, but the first lieutenant directed Bill to remain near him.Jack took his seat as a matter of course on his tub, and, as it happened, next to Tom.“How are you feeling?” asked Tom, who looked rather pale.“Much as I generally do, only I am rather peckish,” answered Jack. “I wish we had had time for breakfast before thrashing the mounseers, but I hope that won’t take us very long.”“I hope not,” said Tom; “only they say that the French ship is the bigger of the two.”“What’s the odds of that, provided we can work our guns twice as fast as they can?” observed Jack; “that’s the way we licked the Frenchmen before, and, of course, we shall lick them again; but I say, Tom, what makes you look so melancholy?”“Do I? Well, if you want to know, I was thinking of home, and wishing I had not run off to sea. I’ve had a miserable life of it since I came on board this frigate. It was my own fault that I did not go back when I was last on shore. I had the chance, but was ashamed to show my face.”“There’s no use thinking about that sort of thing now,” said Jack. “We shall be fighting the Frenchmen in a few minutes, and the round and grape shot and bullets will be flying about our ears.”“That’s what I don’t quite like the thoughts of,” replied Tom. “I hope neither you nor I will be hit, Jack.”“Of course not,” said Jack; “it wouldn’t be pleasant, though we must do our duty, and trust to chance, or rather trust in Providence, like the rest.”“I don’t envy Bill up on deck there,” remarked Tom. “I wonder what the first lieutenant wants with him.”“Perhaps he intends to turn him into a midshipman,” suggested Jack.“Into a midshipman! a London street boy, who scarcely knows who his father was,” ejaculated Tom. “I should think he would have made me one before him.”“The first lieutenant doesn’t care a rap what he or his father was. He remembers only the way Bill saved the ship from being taken by the American skipper, and he seemed highly pleased at our having escaped from France. I tell you I shouldn’t be at all surprised if Bill is placed on the quarter-deck,” said Jack.Tom gave a grunt of dissatisfaction. The conversation had a good effect, as far as he was concerned, as it made him forget the fears he had entertained about his personal safety.In the meantime Bill remained on deck watching what was going forward. He heard Captain Martin tell the first lieutenant that he intended to engage the enemy to leeward, in order to prevent her escape; but as theThisbeapproached the French ship, the latter, suspecting his intention, so as to frustrate it, wore round on the starboard tack.After much skilful seamanship on both sides, Captain Martin, finding that he could not succeed, ranged up to windward of the enemy within pistol shot, both ships being on the larboard tack, two or three points off the wind.They now simultaneously opened their broadsides, the shot of theThisbetelling with considerable effect, while not a few of those of the enemy came on board in return, cutting up her rigging, and laying low three or four of her men.The French ship now passed under the stern of theThisbe, firing her larboard broadside with great precision. A second time she attempted to repeat the manoeuvre, but the crew of theThisbe, having quickly rove new braces, her sails were thrown aback, and gathering sternway, her starboard quarter took the larboard bow of the French frigate.The French on this made several attempts to board, but the marines, who were drawn up on deck, opened so warm a fire that they were driven back with considerable loss.TheThisbehad now her enemy fast to her quarter. In order to keep her there, Captain Martin and some of his crew endeavoured to lash her bowsprit to his mizenmast; while others were engaged in bringing a gun to bear, out of a port which the carpenters quickly cut through the stern windows and quarter gallery.While they were thus engaged, the enemy kept up a hot fire on them, several men being killed and wounded; but the gun was at length brought into position.“Now fire, my lads!” cried the second lieutenant, who was superintending the operation.After the first, discharge, no sooner had the smoke cleared away, than full twenty Frenchmen were seen stretched on the deck.Bill had been standing near the first lieutenant. A marine had just loaded his musket, but was knocked over before he had time to fire it. Bill at that moment saw a French seaman run along the bowsprit with a musket in his hand. Bill, springing forward, seized that of the marine, and, as he did so, he observed the Frenchman taking aim at the head of Mr Saltwell, whose eyes were turned in a different direction.There was not a moment for deliberation. Without ceremony pushing the lieutenant aside, he fired at the Frenchman, who, as he did so, discharged his musket, but immediately fell overboard, the ball tearing away the rim of Mr Saltwell’s hat, but without hurting him.The first lieutenant, turning round, perceived the way by which his life had been saved.“Thank you, my lad,” he said, “I see how you did it, and I’ll not forget the service you have rendered me.”There was no time just then for saying more, for a party of Frenchmen were attempting to fire a carronade on their forecastle. Before they could succeed, the marines had picked off the greater number. Others took their places, but every man of them was treated in the same manner. At last the attempt to fire the gun was abandoned.The French ship now getting a breeze, began to forge ahead. This enabled theThisbe’screw to bring their aftermost gun on the starboard side to bear, the first discharge from which cut away the gammoning of the French frigate’s bowsprit.The two ships now separated, but were soon again abreast of each other exchanging broadsides; but so rapidly did the English crew work their guns that they managed to fire three to the Frenchman’s two.A loud cheer burst from their throats as they saw the enemy’s maintopmast go over the side. TheThisbenow forged ahead clear of her adversary, and the breeze dying away, the firing ceased on both sides. Still the Frenchmen kept their colours flying.The English crew were busily employed in knotting and splicing the rigging which had been cut away, and repairing other damages.“I hope they’ve had enough of it, and that the fighting is over,” exclaimed Tom.“Not so sure of that,” said Jack. “The French take a good deal of drubbing, and don’t always know when they are beaten.”Tom felt, at all events, that he had had enough of it, as he looked along the deck and saw numbers of the men who had been slightly hurt binding up each other’s wounds. Several lay stiff and stark, whose bodies were dragged on one side, while not a few, severely hurt, had been carried below to the cockpit, where the surgeon and his mates had ample employment.Among the killed was the second lieutenant, a master’s mate, and two young midshipmen; altogether of the two hundred and fifty men who that morning were in health and strength, forty were either killed outright or were severely wounded.Just then, however, the survivors were too much occupied to think about the matter; every man and boy was wanted to get the ship to rights, and all were eagerly looking out for a breeze that they might again attack the enemy. Bill was as eager as any one for the fight. He felt that he was somebody, as he could not help reflecting that he had done good service in saving the life of the first lieutenant, though he did not exactly expect any reward in consequence. It seemed to him that he had grown suddenly from a powder monkey into a man. Still the calm continued, and the two ships lay with their sails against the masts, the water shining like a polished mirror.The calm was to the advantage of the French, who had thus longer time to repair their damages. The English were soon ready to renew the action.What, however, might not happen in the meantime?Both the captain and Mr Saltwell thought it possible that the French squadron might be to the eastward, and should the firing have been heard, and a breeze spring up from that direction, which it was very likely to do, the Frenchmen in overwhelming force might be down upon them.The captain walked the deck, looking anxiously out in every direction for signs of a breeze. Occasionally reports were brought to him of the way the wounded men were getting on. The surgeons had as much work as they could get through, cutting off arms and legs, setting broken limbs, and binding up flesh wounds. Such are the horrors of war! How many might be added ere long to the number of the killed and wounded!It was nearly noon when the captain exclaimed, “Here comes a breeze! Trim sails, my lads!” The men flew to the braces. The canvas blew out, and the frigate began slowly to move towards her antagonist.
The stranger, which had apparently been beating down Channel, now put up her helm, and setting studden sails stood to the eastward before the wind. She failed also to answer the private signal; no doubt, therefore, remained that she was French, and wished to avoid an action, though, as she appeared to be as large as the English frigate, if not larger, this was somewhat surprising.
“Perhaps she has some consorts to the eastward, and wishes to lead us into their midst during the night,” observed Mr Saltwell.
“She will find that she’s mistaken. We will keep too bright a look-out to be so caught,” said the captain.
The first lieutenant, as he was walking forward, caught sight of Bill and Jack.
“Why, lads, where do you come from?” he asked.
As he spoke he recognised Bill.
“Are you not the lad who gave notice of the plot of the American captain to capture our ship?” he asked.
Bill acknowledged that such was the case.
“I am truly glad that you have escaped. I promised our late captain that I would keep an eye on you,” he continued, “and I shall now have the opportunity. I thought you, with the rest of our poor fellows, had been lost when our ship blew up.”
Bill briefly described their adventures, and the lieutenant seemed much interested. He said he would have them at once entered on the ship’s books, for as they were likely soon to be engaged with the enemy, it might be of importance to them.
He accordingly sent for the purser, to whom he gave the proper directions. Bill and Jack then made their way below.
On passing the galley they saw a boy busily employed, assisting the cook’s mate in cleaning pots and pans. He looked up at them and started, letting drop the pot at which he was scrubbing.
“What! Bill! Jack! I thought you had gone to Davy Jones’s locker,” he exclaimed. “Are you really yourselves?”
“No doubt about it, Tom,” answered Bill and in a few words they again told their adventures.
Tom soon recovered from his astonishment. He appeared somewhat ashamed of his present occupation. He had got into a scrape, he acknowledged, and had been ordered to assist the cook’s mate.
“I wish you would tell him, Tom, that we are very hungry, as we have had a long pull, and that if he would give us something to eat we should be very much obliged to him. If he’s a good-natured fellow, I daresay he will.”
Tom undertook to plead for them with the cook himself, who just then put his head out of the galley. The cook, without hesitation, on hearing their story, gave them each a basin of broth and a handful of biscuit.
While they were eating they asked Tom to tell them how he had escaped.
“I’ve no very clear notion about the matter,” he answered; “I must have been in the water, for I found myself lying at the bottom of a boat wet to the skin, and more dead than alive. There were a dozen or more of our fellows in her, and Mr Saltwell, our first lieutenant, who had been picked up, I supposed, as I had been. They thought I was done for, and, as the boat was overloaded, they were about to heave me overboard, when I opened my eyes, and sang out, ‘Don’t;’ so they let me remain, and after some time pulled alongside a cutter, on board which we were taken and looked after below. Shortly afterwards we went in chase of a French craft of the same rig as ours, but she got away, and we then steered for Plymouth. We were at first taken on board the guardship, where we remained some time, and then I was transferred with others to this frigate, theThisbe, of which, to my great satisfaction, I found that Mr Saltwell had been appointed first lieutenant. Thinking that, as we had shared a common misfortune, he would stand my friend, I went up to him, and telling him that I was a gentleman’s son, begged he would have me put on the quarter-deck. He told me that if I did my duty I should have as good a chance as others; but here I am set to scrape potatoes and clean pots and pans. It’s a shame, a great shame, and I can’t stand it.”
Bill and Jack had a tolerably correct notion why Tom was not better off, but they did not say so, as they did not wish to hurt his feelings, and were grateful to him for having obtained for them the broth and biscuits.
They had scarcely finished their meal when the order came to extinguish the galley fire.
A short time afterwards the drum beat to quarters, and every one was employed in getting the ship ready for action.
Jack and Bill expected that they would be employed in their former occupation of powder-monkeys, though, having been awake all the previous night, and in active exertion the whole of the day, notwithstanding the expectation of a battle, they could with difficulty keep their eyes open. They were going with the rest of the boys to the powder-magazine, when they heard their names called out, and the ship’s corporal appearing, told them that the first lieutenant had directed that they should turn in below and take some sleep.
A couple of hammocks were slung for them forward, and they very gladly obeyed the order.
Bill made an effort to keep awake, that he might turn out again should the ship go into action, but in less than two minutes drowsiness overtook him, and he went fast asleep.
He dreamed, however, that he heard the guns firing, and the crew shouting, and that he got up and found that the frigate had taken the Frenchman.
Meantime, however, the wind falling light, the frigate made but slow progress, though she still kept the enemy in sight.
When Bill really awoke, the light was streaming down through the fore-hatchway. He roused up Jack, as there was no one below to call them, and on going on deck they discovered the crew at their quarters, and the French frigate almost within range of their guns.
She was to leeward, for the wind was still in its former quarter, and she had just then hauled up and backed her main-topsail to await their coming.
She was now seen to carry four more guns than theThisbe, and to be apparently considerably larger, her bright, polished sides showing that she had not been long out of harbour.
When a ship goes into action, sail is generally shortened, but Captain Martin kept all theThisbe’sset, and stood on, bearing down directly for the enemy.
Jack had been sent to join the other boys, who were employed in bringing up the powder as required from the magazine, but the first lieutenant directed Bill to remain near him.
Jack took his seat as a matter of course on his tub, and, as it happened, next to Tom.
“How are you feeling?” asked Tom, who looked rather pale.
“Much as I generally do, only I am rather peckish,” answered Jack. “I wish we had had time for breakfast before thrashing the mounseers, but I hope that won’t take us very long.”
“I hope not,” said Tom; “only they say that the French ship is the bigger of the two.”
“What’s the odds of that, provided we can work our guns twice as fast as they can?” observed Jack; “that’s the way we licked the Frenchmen before, and, of course, we shall lick them again; but I say, Tom, what makes you look so melancholy?”
“Do I? Well, if you want to know, I was thinking of home, and wishing I had not run off to sea. I’ve had a miserable life of it since I came on board this frigate. It was my own fault that I did not go back when I was last on shore. I had the chance, but was ashamed to show my face.”
“There’s no use thinking about that sort of thing now,” said Jack. “We shall be fighting the Frenchmen in a few minutes, and the round and grape shot and bullets will be flying about our ears.”
“That’s what I don’t quite like the thoughts of,” replied Tom. “I hope neither you nor I will be hit, Jack.”
“Of course not,” said Jack; “it wouldn’t be pleasant, though we must do our duty, and trust to chance, or rather trust in Providence, like the rest.”
“I don’t envy Bill up on deck there,” remarked Tom. “I wonder what the first lieutenant wants with him.”
“Perhaps he intends to turn him into a midshipman,” suggested Jack.
“Into a midshipman! a London street boy, who scarcely knows who his father was,” ejaculated Tom. “I should think he would have made me one before him.”
“The first lieutenant doesn’t care a rap what he or his father was. He remembers only the way Bill saved the ship from being taken by the American skipper, and he seemed highly pleased at our having escaped from France. I tell you I shouldn’t be at all surprised if Bill is placed on the quarter-deck,” said Jack.
Tom gave a grunt of dissatisfaction. The conversation had a good effect, as far as he was concerned, as it made him forget the fears he had entertained about his personal safety.
In the meantime Bill remained on deck watching what was going forward. He heard Captain Martin tell the first lieutenant that he intended to engage the enemy to leeward, in order to prevent her escape; but as theThisbeapproached the French ship, the latter, suspecting his intention, so as to frustrate it, wore round on the starboard tack.
After much skilful seamanship on both sides, Captain Martin, finding that he could not succeed, ranged up to windward of the enemy within pistol shot, both ships being on the larboard tack, two or three points off the wind.
They now simultaneously opened their broadsides, the shot of theThisbetelling with considerable effect, while not a few of those of the enemy came on board in return, cutting up her rigging, and laying low three or four of her men.
The French ship now passed under the stern of theThisbe, firing her larboard broadside with great precision. A second time she attempted to repeat the manoeuvre, but the crew of theThisbe, having quickly rove new braces, her sails were thrown aback, and gathering sternway, her starboard quarter took the larboard bow of the French frigate.
The French on this made several attempts to board, but the marines, who were drawn up on deck, opened so warm a fire that they were driven back with considerable loss.
TheThisbehad now her enemy fast to her quarter. In order to keep her there, Captain Martin and some of his crew endeavoured to lash her bowsprit to his mizenmast; while others were engaged in bringing a gun to bear, out of a port which the carpenters quickly cut through the stern windows and quarter gallery.
While they were thus engaged, the enemy kept up a hot fire on them, several men being killed and wounded; but the gun was at length brought into position.
“Now fire, my lads!” cried the second lieutenant, who was superintending the operation.
After the first, discharge, no sooner had the smoke cleared away, than full twenty Frenchmen were seen stretched on the deck.
Bill had been standing near the first lieutenant. A marine had just loaded his musket, but was knocked over before he had time to fire it. Bill at that moment saw a French seaman run along the bowsprit with a musket in his hand. Bill, springing forward, seized that of the marine, and, as he did so, he observed the Frenchman taking aim at the head of Mr Saltwell, whose eyes were turned in a different direction.
There was not a moment for deliberation. Without ceremony pushing the lieutenant aside, he fired at the Frenchman, who, as he did so, discharged his musket, but immediately fell overboard, the ball tearing away the rim of Mr Saltwell’s hat, but without hurting him.
The first lieutenant, turning round, perceived the way by which his life had been saved.
“Thank you, my lad,” he said, “I see how you did it, and I’ll not forget the service you have rendered me.”
There was no time just then for saying more, for a party of Frenchmen were attempting to fire a carronade on their forecastle. Before they could succeed, the marines had picked off the greater number. Others took their places, but every man of them was treated in the same manner. At last the attempt to fire the gun was abandoned.
The French ship now getting a breeze, began to forge ahead. This enabled theThisbe’screw to bring their aftermost gun on the starboard side to bear, the first discharge from which cut away the gammoning of the French frigate’s bowsprit.
The two ships now separated, but were soon again abreast of each other exchanging broadsides; but so rapidly did the English crew work their guns that they managed to fire three to the Frenchman’s two.
A loud cheer burst from their throats as they saw the enemy’s maintopmast go over the side. TheThisbenow forged ahead clear of her adversary, and the breeze dying away, the firing ceased on both sides. Still the Frenchmen kept their colours flying.
The English crew were busily employed in knotting and splicing the rigging which had been cut away, and repairing other damages.
“I hope they’ve had enough of it, and that the fighting is over,” exclaimed Tom.
“Not so sure of that,” said Jack. “The French take a good deal of drubbing, and don’t always know when they are beaten.”
Tom felt, at all events, that he had had enough of it, as he looked along the deck and saw numbers of the men who had been slightly hurt binding up each other’s wounds. Several lay stiff and stark, whose bodies were dragged on one side, while not a few, severely hurt, had been carried below to the cockpit, where the surgeon and his mates had ample employment.
Among the killed was the second lieutenant, a master’s mate, and two young midshipmen; altogether of the two hundred and fifty men who that morning were in health and strength, forty were either killed outright or were severely wounded.
Just then, however, the survivors were too much occupied to think about the matter; every man and boy was wanted to get the ship to rights, and all were eagerly looking out for a breeze that they might again attack the enemy. Bill was as eager as any one for the fight. He felt that he was somebody, as he could not help reflecting that he had done good service in saving the life of the first lieutenant, though he did not exactly expect any reward in consequence. It seemed to him that he had grown suddenly from a powder monkey into a man. Still the calm continued, and the two ships lay with their sails against the masts, the water shining like a polished mirror.
The calm was to the advantage of the French, who had thus longer time to repair their damages. The English were soon ready to renew the action.
What, however, might not happen in the meantime?
Both the captain and Mr Saltwell thought it possible that the French squadron might be to the eastward, and should the firing have been heard, and a breeze spring up from that direction, which it was very likely to do, the Frenchmen in overwhelming force might be down upon them.
The captain walked the deck, looking anxiously out in every direction for signs of a breeze. Occasionally reports were brought to him of the way the wounded men were getting on. The surgeons had as much work as they could get through, cutting off arms and legs, setting broken limbs, and binding up flesh wounds. Such are the horrors of war! How many might be added ere long to the number of the killed and wounded!
It was nearly noon when the captain exclaimed, “Here comes a breeze! Trim sails, my lads!” The men flew to the braces. The canvas blew out, and the frigate began slowly to move towards her antagonist.