CHAPTER V.THE NAVAL BRIGADE LANDS.
WhenI went on deck the following morning, I found that the steam-pinnace had towed theFlying-fishto an anchorage in the roadstead not many cable lengths from theRattler. I at once observed the strong resemblance she bore to theSnapping Turtle, and I no longer felt surprise at the mistake Mr. Osborne had made at Santiago de Cuba.
Mr. Thompson was standing by the taffrail narrowly observing her through a telescope.
“I should like to see a race between her and theSnapping Turtle, sir,” I said to him. “I’m not surprised the Yankee skipper was so keen on it, for they’re wonderfully alike in build and rig.”
“Indeed they are,” answered the lieutenant; “one might almost call them twin-vessels. The main difference is that the American’s masts rake more.”
“It’s a curious thing about the cargo having beenall taken out of theFlying-fish, sir; and by all accounts it’s a valuable one.”
The gunnery lieutenant turned and looked at me keenly.
“You young rascal,” he said, “you’re trying to pump me; but you do it in such a clumsy way that I can’t help seeing through you.”
I felt rather confused.
“Well, sir,” I said, “Idohope that I may be allowed to go on the expedition up country if it is true that a force is to be landed.”
“It will be no secret in an hour’s time, Darcy, so I may as well tell you that to-morrow morning a naval brigade is to be landed in order to hunt down the mutineers and rebels; and I think there is a very fair chance of your being able to go. The captain, I believe, has permission from the captain-general to take any steps he may think necessary to bring the delinquents to justice.”
I begged the gunnery lieutenant, who had always shown me great kindness, to try to get me appointed to the expedition, and he promised to use his influence in that direction. I then ran off to the sick-bay to see my friend Charlie and tell him the news, which I felt sure he had not as yet heard. I found himmuch better; and the surgeon, who was just leaving the sick-bay as I entered, told me that I need have no fear as to his recovery.
This was very good news; but I found that I had been forestalled as news-carrier by Dr. Grant, and that Charlie was as well informed on the subject of the expedition as I was myself.
“It’s jolly hard lines that I can’t go, old chap,” he said to me; “but the surgeon says I must be on the broad of my back and nurse this wretched old head of mine for some time to come. Pleasant prospect, eh?”
“I’m very sorry indeed,” I answered; “and you must try to console yourself with the fact that you’ve still a head screwed tight and fast on your shoulders. Poor Lobb had his taken off by a round-shot.”
“Oh, I’m as grateful as anything, of course, Jack; not only on my own account, but because as an out-and-out patriot I have the best interests of my country at heart. What an irreparable loss it would have been to Great Britain if my brains had bespattered the battle-field! National mourning for a fortnight, eh, and messages to my bereaved relatives from the Queen and the other members of the royalfamily, to say nothing of minute guns, half-mast flags, and a tomb near Nelson’s in the crypt of St. Paul’s? By Jove! it makes me quite excited to think of it.”
“Has Grant ordered you any soothing draught?” I asked, hunting about with pretended anxiety amongst a whole brigade of medicine-bottles that stood upon a table at my elbow.
“Yes; Mother Gimcrack’s soothing syrup!” said my chum with a laugh. “Good for teething babes; and do you know, Jack”—this very solemnly—“I lost two or three of my front teeth in that nasty somersault I took yesterday. My beauty is gone for ever and ever!”
I had noticed the disfigurement my friend referred to, but had not alluded to it for fear of hurting his feelings.
“There is always a silver lining to the cloud,” continued Charlie more cheerfully. “That rascal of a gunroom steward won’t be able to palm off on me any longer his wofully tough salt horse and brickbat biscuit. No; he’ll have to feed me on a special diet of Brand’s beef jelly, Benger’s food, turtle soup, and jams of all sorts, varied occasionally by oysters (real natives of course), tipsy cake, and fruit jellies. Nota bad idea, eh? I’ll give you a tuck-in now and again, Jack, as you’re a good chum to me!”
“Thanks, awfully!” I said; “but I’m certain the steward would rather go to the expense of buying you a new set of teeth from a London dentist, than feed you up on all the delicacies of the season for the rest of the commission. Now I’m certain you oughtn’t to talk any more, Charlie, so I’m going to make myself scarce; and you must try to sleep till dinner-time, when I shall come and see you again.”
Half an hour later theRattlerwas a scene of great excitement, for orders had gone forth that immediate preparations were to be made for landing a powerful naval brigade. I was very quickly caught up in the whirl of excitement, for Ned Burton, the coxswain of my boat, came hurrying to me to say that he had received orders from the first lieutenant to get the second cutter in readiness to assist in landing men, stores, and ammunition.
“It’s to be a picked force, sir,” said the seaman in conclusion, “and I’m glad to say that we’re both detailed for service.”
“I’m delighted to hear it,” I answered, “for I was half afraid that midshipmen would be excluded. When do we land, Ned?”
“I think in the evening, sir, so as to be ready for a start in the morning. We can’t take no field-guns, more’s the pity, for they say the country is a sight too hilly for anything but mountain guns.”
“How about the commissariat, ammunition, tents, and so forth?” I asked; “we shall require transport animals of some kind.”
“I believe the Spanish Government is going to let us have a lot of mules that are accustomed to that sort of work,” said my coxswain.
“Oh, we shall pig it out somehow, I dare say,” I exclaimed with a laugh, “and it would be rather fun to rough it a bit.”
That evening we occupied the fort in force. The dead had been buried at an early hour in the morning, and so there was little or no trace of the struggle that had taken place so recently, except in the fort itself, where the dismounted and spiked guns told their own tale. In all we numbered one hundred officers and men, well supplied with all that was necessary for a short campaign. At the time of my story, machine-guns had not been invented, and that underhand weapon of warfare, the torpedo, was unknown. A few of the former would have been extremely serviceable to our brigade on this occasion;but still we were extremely well armed in accordance with the ideas of that day, each man being supplied with a breech-loading rifle, a cutlass which could be used as a sword-bayonet if necessary, and a revolver. An ammunition-pouch, a blanket, a water-bottle, and a pair of leggings for each man completed the equipment, nothing being showy, but everything extremely serviceable.
As before, Mr. Thompson was appointed to command the brigade, as he had had a great deal of experience in shore-going expeditions in a previous commission on the west coast of Africa. Two lieutenants, the captain of marines, Dr. Grant, four sub-lieutenants, the gunner, Fitzgerald, and myself made up the list of officers; and about seventy picked blue-jackets and twenty marines composed the rank-and-file. No commanding officer could have wished for finer men. Not only was their physique splendid, but they were tried, trustworthy fellows who had all seen service on previous occasions, and could be relied on to do their duty in the direst emergency.
Tenacious bull-dogs! that’s what they were. It would be impossible to describe them better in a couple of words.