* * * * *For a week after the capture of the island of Hong Lu the gale blew with such fury that Helston could not venture out of the snug harbour.During this time practically the whole of the Chinamen had surrendered, and were employed by Ping Sang and A Tsi to bury their dead countrymen, and afterwards to load the merchant ships with what goods had been saved from the great fire and prepare them for departure. Among the coolies were sufficient seamen to form crews for all the captured merchantmen, and the survivors of the men-of-war's crews were also set to work on board the remaining cruisers, destroyers, and torpedo-boats to get them in a fit state to steam to the mainland.Personally I should have hesitated to send these men aboard their own ships again, but Ping Sang and A Tsi never doubted the expediency of this course, and their trust was not misplaced, for they worked with such energy that in a very few days the ships were ready for sea, and cleaner probably than they had ever been.A Chinaman knows his master when he meets him—he has wits enough for that—and right well did they labour to appease the wrath of such a tyrant as was Ping Sang.Each one thought that the safety of his head and his pigtail depended upon his exertions, and no greater stimulus was required. Though a Chinaman may not dread death, he dislikes the idea of the preliminary pain sufficiently strongly.At any rate, they coaled our five ships with a speed which could not be equalled by the smartest ship in the Channel Fleet.During this time we doctors were extremely busy, and, more by good luck than by excessive skill, the wounded progressed favourably.They were all aboard theHoi Feng—the steamer I had converted into a hospital ship for them—and did extremely well. Pattison was convalescent in ten days. Saunderson and little Cummins joined him soon after, and all three were always ready to greet me cheerily whenever I climbed up the side, Cummins chuckling hugely, and annoyingly, at having "dodged the doctors", because he knew well that I had at first thought his arm would have to come off.Young Glover rather worried me. The boy's wounds would not heal properly, and the wound in the chest must have penetrated more deeply than I, at first, had thought, because he developed some pleurisy on that side.Helston's broken arm was also on the way to recovery, and the rest in harbour and the comparative immunity from worry did him a vast amount of good.I took him for walks ashore every day when it did not rain, but was always careful to land on the side opposite to the town, and never went anywhere near One Gun Hill or Hopkins's bungalow. He always made great efforts to talk about every subject under the sun, but before we had gone far he inevitably reverted to the one subject—Milly. It was slightly tedious, and tried me considerably; but the man's whole existence was centred round her, so I suppose it was natural.That did not make it any the less boring, however.Our people had been for a month on salt provisions, but we were able to supply them now with fresh vegetables from the island, and killed the few oxen and goats we could find to give them fresh meat.There had been many fowls on the island, but, unfortunately, during the first two days, the coolies had eaten them all.However, there were plenty of pheasants and pigeons in the woods, and from somewhere or other guns appeared—every officer seemed to have brought one, though little did any of us think that we should get any sport—and shooting-parties landed every day and were so successful, that the wounded on board theHoi Fengfairly revelled in fresh game.The fresh meat and the vegetables did probably more good than all our doctors' skill; at any rate, we attributed the excellent progress they made to this change of diet—and rightly, I think.Eventually the weather moderated, and Helston sent theSylviato Shanghai to telegraph his dispatches to Peking and to the Admiralty at home, to purchase more surgical dressings and more cattle, and to await instructions from England before returning.Ping Sang went with her.Very glad, too, we were to get rid of him, for the old gentleman had got "on our nerves", and we had begun to dislike him intensely. Without a spark of humanity, and unable to sympathize with our heavy losses, he showed by his manner, even if not by his actual words, that he regarded us practically as his employees, and, now that our work was accomplished, was only too anxious to see us started on our way home. According to agreement with the Admiralty, the cost of the personnel of the expedition would cease when he had sent us to Hong-Kong, so it was quite natural that he should try to hasten our departure. However, he showed so little consideration for everybody that we hated him.He was also much incensed at Helston's absolute refusal to allow his men to aid in refitting the captured ships; but Helston rightly considered that they deserved a rest after their three months' hard work, and a right good time did they have, leave being given after morning "divisions" to every man not actually required on board, and they indulged themselves to their hearts' content in securing trophies, playing football, seining for fish, and scrambling about the island.What strange beings blue-jackets and marines are!They asked to be allowed to mount guard over the graves on One Gun Hill during the time the squadron remained, and worked out all the details themselves. Helston found their arrangements such that every man in the squadron would at one time or other do his turn of duty on that plateau, and the only alteration he made in the scheme was to detail two midshipmen for duty there in charge of the hilltop, changing them every twenty-four hours.Many of the men also went ashore in their working suits, and the blacksmiths and the armourers obtained permission to take their tools with them.We could see from the ship that they were working round the big Krupp gun, but did not interfere, and in about ten days they asked Helston and myself to go up there. We found that they had constructed a stout iron fence, enclosing the gun-pit and the graves, planted small fir-trees all round it, and actually built a solid stone cairn supporting a great boulder of some hard rock. It had evidently come from the beach at the foot of the hill; but we never asked how they had managed to haul it up, though we shrewdly suspected that they had forced the coolies to do this for them.They had smoothed and polished the faces of this boulder, and on them had engraved the names of all the men buried there. On one face were also the names of those killed previously—during the fight south of Hong-Kong and during the operations outside the island.Strange fellows they are, for, probably, if Helston had given them orders to do this, the work would not have been carried out half so substantially.They were all up there to show it to Helston. Every man in the squadron had done a little, so they told me. Helston made a speech, and everybody was vastly pleased with himself—with justice, too, for the railings and the monument were stout enough to stand unattended for years.TheSylviareturned a day or two afterwards with the news that the Chinese Government was sending a transport with blue-jackets and officers to take over our ships, and that when this was done we should be immediately taken down to Hong-Kong and sent home.She brought a mail which she had found waiting for us at Shanghai. There was nothing for me, as usual, except a couple of bills. Telegrams came for Helston from the Admiralty congratulating him and the expedition on its success, and also the Queen had done us the honour of telegraphing her congratulations, condolence at our losses, and expressions of sympathy with the wounded.These two telegrams were immediately signalled round the fleet, and it was rather pleasant to know that they had been sent off from England only three days since.Helston made a big ceremony of the reading of the Queen's telegram, "dressed ship", and "fell in" the crew of theLairdon the quarter-deck, making them a speech after they had heard the telegram, and calling for three cheers for "The Queen". The feeling of personal loyalty to the Queen was always so intense that one invariably felt that the cheers were completely genuine. Every man Jack yelled his cheers till he was hoarse.Helston went from theLairdto each of the ships in turn and repeated the ceremony, returning so extremely pleased with himself that I conjectured rightly that he had repeated the speech as well.We had nothing now to do but wait for the transport, and it appeared at last, a great lumbering steamer, theMoi Wa, crowded with Chinese blue-jackets."Ping Sang must have hustled them at Peking," said Helston to me, evidently surprised at the promptness of the Chinese Admiralty. "He knows we are anxious to get home, and did his best for us, I expect.""Did his best for us? For himself, you mean!" I answered. "He doesn't care a twopenny rap for our feelings, but wants to get rid of us and the cost of our pay and food. Why, I actually heard the old miser ask the Paymaster whether he would have to pay the men left behind at Hong-Kong wounded; and the Paymaster told me that Ping Sang also asked him to let him know what was the total daily pay of the officers and men killed on One Gun Hill, and when he learnt it he rubbed his hands with delight—the fat, oily brute—and said, 'Five pounds a day, fifty dollars a day, nearly four hundred dollars a week', and went off chuckling.""You don't make allowance for him, Doc.""No, I don't," I replied shortly, "and I cannot either."How we all managed to pack ourselves into that transport I cannot imagine, but we did somehow or other after she had been cleaned out, and, amid much firing of salutes from the Chinese now aboard our old ships, we slowly steamed out of the harbour three days later, lumbered through the dark entrance-channel and between the forts which had kept us at bay for so long, and turned our bows southward.We all felt a pang of regret at leaving the ships which had been our homes for such an exciting three months, and I think everybody came on deck to watch One Gun Hill sink slowly beneath the horizon, and was somewhat silent for the rest of the day.We anchored off the dockyard at Hong-Kong four days afterwards. A most uncomfortable passage it was, and one of the first persons to come over the side was Harrington, the sub-lieutenant of "No. 1", who had been so badly scalded and kept in hospital. He was practically well, and only rather sad that he had been unable to accompany us.Helston and I, as soon as we could manage it, took rooms at the Peak Hotel, taking Jenkins with us and Hi Ling as well, for I meant to keep my eye on that man and see him safely in England, in case there was any legal trouble about Hopkins's will.A big cruiser left for home almost immediately, and the crew of theStrong Armtook passage in her. Bannerman went with them, of course, and very glad we were to see the last of him. I know that I was.The remainder of us were ordered home by the next intermediate P. & O., and we had five days to wait for her. These five days were full of troublesome annoyances to me, because the colony, from the Governor downwards, especially the Chinese merchants, fêted us as I certainly had never been fêted before and trust never will be again. However, I managed to avoid most of the entertainments, and spent most of my time playing golf in the Happy Valley, and left all those things to Helston, who, on the average, must have made three speeches a day, so enjoyed himself thoroughly.Cummins, Saunderson, and Glover I had sent up to the officer's sanatorium, and the last two were practically well before we left.Eventually our P. & O. arrived, and we made a comfortable voyage home in her, only marred by the foolish enthusiasm of the people at Singapore, Colombo, and Aden, who gave grand dinners in our honour, and wanted more speeches. They did not get them from me, but Helston was in his element.By the time we reached Port Said, Cummins had resumed duty, little the worse for his terrible wound, and Helston, frightfully eager to reach England, especially Fareham, as quickly as possible, telegraphed to the Admiralty and obtained permission to go overland. He arrived in London a week before we did.I joined him at his hotel as soon as possible, and found Jenkins there in a bland state of happiness."The Cap'en is just doing 'imself a treat, sir," he told me. "That there Miss Milly 'as come to 'er senses at last, sir, and all's going to end 'appy like. The Admiral 'as been and read 'The Articles of War' to 'er, I reckon, and the Cap'en 'e won't be wanting Mrs. J. and myself to keep house for him no longer.""Have you seen your wife yet?" I asked him; and his face dropped as he answered somewhat mournfully, "Well, sir, I ain't finished my leave yet."Helston came in presently, looking marvellously well and full of animation."It's all right, old chap," he sang out, as he nearly wrenched my hand off. "Milly is going to marry me directly I'm promoted, and, from what they tell me at the Admiralty, I shall be promoted in July without a doubt. You must be my best man, old chap; and the Admiral is bringing her up for a week or so, and we four will have a jolly good time before we go down to Fareham."My "jolly good time" meant, as I expected, looking after the Admiral and listening to his endless and pointless yarns. However, I did not mind for once in a way, and should have quite enjoyed myself if Milly herself had seemed happy. But, poor little soul, I could see that she was not, and one evening, when we happened to be alone in the private sitting-room, after a very tiring day, she suddenly came over to where I was reading the evening-paper, buried her head on my shoulder, and burst out crying. She broke my spectacles, too, which was a nuisance. As far as I could gather between her sobs, she was feeling frightfully lonely, wanted a mother, which, poor little soul, she had not had since she was two years old, and didn't want to marry anyone.I sent her off to bed, and went out to buy another pair of spectacles.I had an idea that the old Admiral would not be so keen for her to marry Helston if he had known that Hopkins had left her all his money, and told him all about it; but I had misjudged the old man, for the first thing he said was: "Well, Helston deserves it, if any man does, and Helston shall have it, too," so I could say no more.Next morning Milly was in the most boisterous spirits.CHAPTER XXVIHome AgainHome at Last!—The Big Gun Again—Milly's WeddingMr. Midshipman Glover tells of his home-comingHurrah! How jolly good it is to be back at home once more! You shore-going loafers don't know what it is like to feel that in an hour or two you will drop the Ushant light and pick up the Eddystone. It's pretty bad sometimes when it is the other way about, and you are going away and don't know how long it will be before you will see Old England again; but it's just worth it all to come back, see the Eddystone sticking up out of the sea, and then make Plymouth and the green hills of Devonshire and of Cornwall.You people who stay at home all your lives don't know what England is like till you have lost sight of her.Toddles, Mellins, and I, we were just fizzing over with happiness, and stayed up all the night, and had a bet as to who would spot the Eddystone first, the officer of the watch on board that P. & O. letting us stay in a corner of the bridge so long as we didn't make a row and move about much.Toddles saw it first, so Mellins and I had to stand a jolly good blow-out at the very first opportunity. I was all right now, as right as rain, and had been quite well for a fortnight at least.We ran into Plymouth Sound early in the morning; they sent out Admiralty tugs to take all our people ashore. We three midshipmen got leave till night, and the three of us had a splendid time. Mellins swore that he had never eaten so much in his life, and we all hoped that he hadn't—even he was rather sorry for himself afterwards.They let us go on leave next day. The Admiralty had given us a month as a special reward (whoop! wasn't that luck?), and it was just splendid going home.My Pater lives in Hampshire, and has a jolly snug house right in the country, miles away from the railway. Effie, my little sister, met me in a dog-cart and drove me home. She looked as smart as a new pin, but you can't imagine how shabby I was, for, somehow or other, I had lost all my plain clothes, and had to borrow odds and ends from Toddles, and they were much too small for me, and my boots were Purser's Crabs[#], done up with string. But it didn't matter a cent.[#] Boots of Admiralty pattern supplied to the men from the Paymaster's stores.Effie made her pony go like the wind, I can tell you, and my battered old uniform tin case went jumbling into the road—it couldn't damage it any more, though—and we had to lash it in.You feel such a man when you get into the train, and, well—when you get out at the sleepy old station and drive along the same old road and meet all the village people you've known ever since you can remember, you feel quite young.We met Toby, the stable-boy, half a mile from the house, leading the farm horses back from watering, and I couldn't resist this, made Effie stop, jumped on the back of one of them, and raced her home.She simply flew along, but I overhauled her and won easily, tearing up the drive; and though there were the Pater and my Mother and everybody at the door waiting for me, I couldn't stop the horse, and he turned sharply into the stable-yard and pitched me off into a bush.Jolly old bush! I'd been pitched into it fifty times.We sailor men look forward to that day coming home all the time we are away, and it's worth it, I can tell you.I'd brought everyone of them a present of sorts—a curio from Hong-Kong, or something I had picked up on the island—a rifle from One Gun Hill for the Pater, and a great piece of shell which had burst aboard theLairdfor my Mother, and she couldn't get it out of her head that that was what had wounded me.Then and there I had to show them all my wounds—I had four, you know.First, that little one on my head, which you could find if you looked carefully; and the one on my chest which had given all the trouble, and had left a pretty big scar; and the stab on my leg, and the bullet wound just below it.Wasn't the Pater proud, and so was Effie; but my Mother burst into tears, and then, I think, we all cried and hugged each other and had a ripping time; and I told them that Toddles and Mellins were coming to spend a fortnight with me, and that Mellins loved sardines and cake—the richer the better—and told Effie she would have to marry one of them, for they were the best fellows in the world, and she said she would, and so that was all right.Of course we quieted down afterwards, and then I had to go and show Toby my wounds, and the old housekeeper, and she cried too, and gave me some home-made bread, with honey spread half an inch thick on it, the honey-comb in it too, for she knew I liked that.And the bed too—same little bed, in the same old attic, with a funny, poky little window looking over the kitchen garden—it had never looked more cosy; and my Mother came up when I turned in, and cried when she saw my pyjamas all in holes, and knelt down by my bed and said her prayers, and I said mine to her, and she cried again, and I blubbered a little, I was so absolutely happy; and Effie came in very early next morning, and we had a jolly good pillow fight.Good things cannot last for ever. It's just as well too, I expect, or else we should never know they were so good.Toddles and Mellins came presently, and we had simply a ripping time; but then we were all appointed to different ships, and had to join them at Portsmouth.I hadn't forgotten Milly and the old Admiral at Fareham, and had taken him the will, as I promised Hopkins. I don't think the lawyers made any difficulty about it, though I believe it took a precious long time to get the money over from America.Milly wanted to kiss me—I always dreaded that—but I shook her hand hard and edged away; so that didn't come off, and she never tried again. She wanted to know a lot about Hopkins, but she never found out that he had been a pirate and was fighting against us, and I don't think anyone ever told her. I'm sure the Captain never would.She was properly engaged to him now, and things seemed to be going on very serenely.I went down to the village and saw him and Dr. Fox, and Jenkins too, in mortal fear of his wife—I guessed that at once—and the Captain asked me to his wedding, which he hoped would take place in August.Dr. Fox was as grim as ever. He was opening a parcel when I went in, and I heard him say in his snappy voice, "Look what the silly fools have sent me! What a waste of time, and I have nowhere to put the thing."It was a brass model of the big Krupp gun in its gun-pit, and round the oak stand was a silver plate with the names of all theLaird'smen on the lower deck who had fought on One Gun Hill.I myself should have been jolly proud to get it, but Dr. Fox gave one or two funny coughs, and said again, "What silly fools! I shall have to write and thank them, I suppose. I hate writing letters."I met Mr. Saunderson that day just outside Portsmouth Dockyard, walking along the Hard. He stretched out his huge hand and lifted me half off the ground.I was glad to see him."Don't want you to keep the bullets off now, Glover," he said, and took me into the Keppel's Head and gave me lunch.I went to sea for the next four months in my new ship, theRoyal Oak, in the Channel Fleet, and when the July promotions came out it was simply fizzing.Captain Helston and the Commander had both been promoted to post-captains, and Mr. Parker of "No. 3" and Mr. Lang of "No. 2" to commanders. Collins, the sub of "No. 3", and Harrington of "No. 1", who had tried to save the stokers when the shell burst her boiler, were made lieutenants, and best of all, down at the bottom of the list was "Noted for Early Promotion", and then followed my name, and Toddles's and Mellins's, two more of theLaird'smidshipmen, and three of theStrong Arm's. Dumpling's name wasn't there. Ogston, the Assistant Engineer of theLaird, had been promoted a few days before. We were all so glad.You can imagine how excited I was, and I had to stand a sardine supper that night down in theRoyal Oak'sgun-room.I knew, too, how frightfully delighted they would be at home, and the very next mail brought a fiver from my Pater.Pat Jones happened to have been sent to my ship as one of the quarter-masters, and he was just as delighted as I was, and I tried to make him share the fiver with me, but he wouldn't.However, I know that the Pater is going to look after him and give him a good billet whenever he leaves the service, so that will be all right.Well, Milly was married in August, up in London, and as theRoyal Oakhappened to be in Portland I managed to get leave, and went up to see the wedding. It was a jolly grand affair, and there were any number of old friends there.I met Captain Cummins the day before, looking in at a jeweller's shop in Regent Street, with his hands in his pockets and a toothpick in his mouth. He had such a melancholy, comic-looking expression, and he chuckled, just as he always did when he caught sight of me, and took me into the shop to help him to choose something for Milly.It was a thing she could stick in her hair if she wanted to, or she could divide it in three and fasten it round her neck by a chain, with the big piece under her chin if she wanted to wear it like that. I know he must have given a tremendous amount for it.He gave me lunch at a swagger club, but didn't talk much. He had just been given command of a ship on the Cape of Good Hope station, and was going to commission her in a week's time."Busy laying in a stock of toothpicks, youngster," he chuckled.I think he was rather down in his luck.The wedding was a glorious success, and I did think that Milly or any other girl ought to be jolly proud of such a husband as Captain Helston. He looked splendid, though his left arm was still almost helpless, and made a speech at the lunch afterwards; and dear old Toddles—he had managed to get away too—had to reply for the ladies, and we all enjoyed ourselves, except Toddles, who was red and angry for the rest of the day.Dr. Fox was there, quite genial, for a wonder, and Captain Williams and Mr. Saunderson, and Mr. Parker and Mr. Lang, now both of them commanders.Mr. Pattison had gone on the Australian station (I felt very sorry for him), but Captain Cummins was there, and made an awfully funny speech, and then went off without saying good-bye to anybody.Toddles and I managed to fasten a couple of white shoes on the carriage with wire, so that they couldn't get them off, and we made a splendid noise when Captain Helston and Milly drove away.In the evening Toddles and I went to a theatre—Captain Helston had given us a box all to ourselves—and we did wish that Mellins could have been with us. We had a ripping time. Toddles forgot all about the speech, and we managed to catch the last trains back—he to Portsmouth and I to Portland. He was much more lucky than I was, for his ship was alongside the jetty, and he only had to walk aboard, whilst I had to take a shore boat and pull two miles off to the ship, getting on board at two in the morning, wet through, and had to be up again by six o'clock, as I happened to be signal-midshipman for the week.I never heard anything more of Ping Sang, though I believe he sent Captain Helston and Dr. Fox two expensive Chinese jars; but about three months after the wedding both Toddles and I got letters from A Tsi, and he sent us each a very quaint carved ivory junk.We were both jolly pleased with these, and Toddles says he intends handing his junk down to his children as an heirloom.* * * * * * * *[Transcriber's note: the source book had running headings on its odd-numbered pages. In this etext, those headings have been combined into an introductory paragraph at the start of each chapter.]*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOKMR. MIDSHIPMAN GLOVER, R.N.***
* * * * *
For a week after the capture of the island of Hong Lu the gale blew with such fury that Helston could not venture out of the snug harbour.
During this time practically the whole of the Chinamen had surrendered, and were employed by Ping Sang and A Tsi to bury their dead countrymen, and afterwards to load the merchant ships with what goods had been saved from the great fire and prepare them for departure. Among the coolies were sufficient seamen to form crews for all the captured merchantmen, and the survivors of the men-of-war's crews were also set to work on board the remaining cruisers, destroyers, and torpedo-boats to get them in a fit state to steam to the mainland.
Personally I should have hesitated to send these men aboard their own ships again, but Ping Sang and A Tsi never doubted the expediency of this course, and their trust was not misplaced, for they worked with such energy that in a very few days the ships were ready for sea, and cleaner probably than they had ever been.
A Chinaman knows his master when he meets him—he has wits enough for that—and right well did they labour to appease the wrath of such a tyrant as was Ping Sang.
Each one thought that the safety of his head and his pigtail depended upon his exertions, and no greater stimulus was required. Though a Chinaman may not dread death, he dislikes the idea of the preliminary pain sufficiently strongly.
At any rate, they coaled our five ships with a speed which could not be equalled by the smartest ship in the Channel Fleet.
During this time we doctors were extremely busy, and, more by good luck than by excessive skill, the wounded progressed favourably.
They were all aboard theHoi Feng—the steamer I had converted into a hospital ship for them—and did extremely well. Pattison was convalescent in ten days. Saunderson and little Cummins joined him soon after, and all three were always ready to greet me cheerily whenever I climbed up the side, Cummins chuckling hugely, and annoyingly, at having "dodged the doctors", because he knew well that I had at first thought his arm would have to come off.
Young Glover rather worried me. The boy's wounds would not heal properly, and the wound in the chest must have penetrated more deeply than I, at first, had thought, because he developed some pleurisy on that side.
Helston's broken arm was also on the way to recovery, and the rest in harbour and the comparative immunity from worry did him a vast amount of good.
I took him for walks ashore every day when it did not rain, but was always careful to land on the side opposite to the town, and never went anywhere near One Gun Hill or Hopkins's bungalow. He always made great efforts to talk about every subject under the sun, but before we had gone far he inevitably reverted to the one subject—Milly. It was slightly tedious, and tried me considerably; but the man's whole existence was centred round her, so I suppose it was natural.
That did not make it any the less boring, however.
Our people had been for a month on salt provisions, but we were able to supply them now with fresh vegetables from the island, and killed the few oxen and goats we could find to give them fresh meat.
There had been many fowls on the island, but, unfortunately, during the first two days, the coolies had eaten them all.
However, there were plenty of pheasants and pigeons in the woods, and from somewhere or other guns appeared—every officer seemed to have brought one, though little did any of us think that we should get any sport—and shooting-parties landed every day and were so successful, that the wounded on board theHoi Fengfairly revelled in fresh game.
The fresh meat and the vegetables did probably more good than all our doctors' skill; at any rate, we attributed the excellent progress they made to this change of diet—and rightly, I think.
Eventually the weather moderated, and Helston sent theSylviato Shanghai to telegraph his dispatches to Peking and to the Admiralty at home, to purchase more surgical dressings and more cattle, and to await instructions from England before returning.
Ping Sang went with her.
Very glad, too, we were to get rid of him, for the old gentleman had got "on our nerves", and we had begun to dislike him intensely. Without a spark of humanity, and unable to sympathize with our heavy losses, he showed by his manner, even if not by his actual words, that he regarded us practically as his employees, and, now that our work was accomplished, was only too anxious to see us started on our way home. According to agreement with the Admiralty, the cost of the personnel of the expedition would cease when he had sent us to Hong-Kong, so it was quite natural that he should try to hasten our departure. However, he showed so little consideration for everybody that we hated him.
He was also much incensed at Helston's absolute refusal to allow his men to aid in refitting the captured ships; but Helston rightly considered that they deserved a rest after their three months' hard work, and a right good time did they have, leave being given after morning "divisions" to every man not actually required on board, and they indulged themselves to their hearts' content in securing trophies, playing football, seining for fish, and scrambling about the island.
What strange beings blue-jackets and marines are!
They asked to be allowed to mount guard over the graves on One Gun Hill during the time the squadron remained, and worked out all the details themselves. Helston found their arrangements such that every man in the squadron would at one time or other do his turn of duty on that plateau, and the only alteration he made in the scheme was to detail two midshipmen for duty there in charge of the hilltop, changing them every twenty-four hours.
Many of the men also went ashore in their working suits, and the blacksmiths and the armourers obtained permission to take their tools with them.
We could see from the ship that they were working round the big Krupp gun, but did not interfere, and in about ten days they asked Helston and myself to go up there. We found that they had constructed a stout iron fence, enclosing the gun-pit and the graves, planted small fir-trees all round it, and actually built a solid stone cairn supporting a great boulder of some hard rock. It had evidently come from the beach at the foot of the hill; but we never asked how they had managed to haul it up, though we shrewdly suspected that they had forced the coolies to do this for them.
They had smoothed and polished the faces of this boulder, and on them had engraved the names of all the men buried there. On one face were also the names of those killed previously—during the fight south of Hong-Kong and during the operations outside the island.
Strange fellows they are, for, probably, if Helston had given them orders to do this, the work would not have been carried out half so substantially.
They were all up there to show it to Helston. Every man in the squadron had done a little, so they told me. Helston made a speech, and everybody was vastly pleased with himself—with justice, too, for the railings and the monument were stout enough to stand unattended for years.
TheSylviareturned a day or two afterwards with the news that the Chinese Government was sending a transport with blue-jackets and officers to take over our ships, and that when this was done we should be immediately taken down to Hong-Kong and sent home.
She brought a mail which she had found waiting for us at Shanghai. There was nothing for me, as usual, except a couple of bills. Telegrams came for Helston from the Admiralty congratulating him and the expedition on its success, and also the Queen had done us the honour of telegraphing her congratulations, condolence at our losses, and expressions of sympathy with the wounded.
These two telegrams were immediately signalled round the fleet, and it was rather pleasant to know that they had been sent off from England only three days since.
Helston made a big ceremony of the reading of the Queen's telegram, "dressed ship", and "fell in" the crew of theLairdon the quarter-deck, making them a speech after they had heard the telegram, and calling for three cheers for "The Queen". The feeling of personal loyalty to the Queen was always so intense that one invariably felt that the cheers were completely genuine. Every man Jack yelled his cheers till he was hoarse.
Helston went from theLairdto each of the ships in turn and repeated the ceremony, returning so extremely pleased with himself that I conjectured rightly that he had repeated the speech as well.
We had nothing now to do but wait for the transport, and it appeared at last, a great lumbering steamer, theMoi Wa, crowded with Chinese blue-jackets.
"Ping Sang must have hustled them at Peking," said Helston to me, evidently surprised at the promptness of the Chinese Admiralty. "He knows we are anxious to get home, and did his best for us, I expect."
"Did his best for us? For himself, you mean!" I answered. "He doesn't care a twopenny rap for our feelings, but wants to get rid of us and the cost of our pay and food. Why, I actually heard the old miser ask the Paymaster whether he would have to pay the men left behind at Hong-Kong wounded; and the Paymaster told me that Ping Sang also asked him to let him know what was the total daily pay of the officers and men killed on One Gun Hill, and when he learnt it he rubbed his hands with delight—the fat, oily brute—and said, 'Five pounds a day, fifty dollars a day, nearly four hundred dollars a week', and went off chuckling."
"You don't make allowance for him, Doc."
"No, I don't," I replied shortly, "and I cannot either."
How we all managed to pack ourselves into that transport I cannot imagine, but we did somehow or other after she had been cleaned out, and, amid much firing of salutes from the Chinese now aboard our old ships, we slowly steamed out of the harbour three days later, lumbered through the dark entrance-channel and between the forts which had kept us at bay for so long, and turned our bows southward.
We all felt a pang of regret at leaving the ships which had been our homes for such an exciting three months, and I think everybody came on deck to watch One Gun Hill sink slowly beneath the horizon, and was somewhat silent for the rest of the day.
We anchored off the dockyard at Hong-Kong four days afterwards. A most uncomfortable passage it was, and one of the first persons to come over the side was Harrington, the sub-lieutenant of "No. 1", who had been so badly scalded and kept in hospital. He was practically well, and only rather sad that he had been unable to accompany us.
Helston and I, as soon as we could manage it, took rooms at the Peak Hotel, taking Jenkins with us and Hi Ling as well, for I meant to keep my eye on that man and see him safely in England, in case there was any legal trouble about Hopkins's will.
A big cruiser left for home almost immediately, and the crew of theStrong Armtook passage in her. Bannerman went with them, of course, and very glad we were to see the last of him. I know that I was.
The remainder of us were ordered home by the next intermediate P. & O., and we had five days to wait for her. These five days were full of troublesome annoyances to me, because the colony, from the Governor downwards, especially the Chinese merchants, fêted us as I certainly had never been fêted before and trust never will be again. However, I managed to avoid most of the entertainments, and spent most of my time playing golf in the Happy Valley, and left all those things to Helston, who, on the average, must have made three speeches a day, so enjoyed himself thoroughly.
Cummins, Saunderson, and Glover I had sent up to the officer's sanatorium, and the last two were practically well before we left.
Eventually our P. & O. arrived, and we made a comfortable voyage home in her, only marred by the foolish enthusiasm of the people at Singapore, Colombo, and Aden, who gave grand dinners in our honour, and wanted more speeches. They did not get them from me, but Helston was in his element.
By the time we reached Port Said, Cummins had resumed duty, little the worse for his terrible wound, and Helston, frightfully eager to reach England, especially Fareham, as quickly as possible, telegraphed to the Admiralty and obtained permission to go overland. He arrived in London a week before we did.
I joined him at his hotel as soon as possible, and found Jenkins there in a bland state of happiness.
"The Cap'en is just doing 'imself a treat, sir," he told me. "That there Miss Milly 'as come to 'er senses at last, sir, and all's going to end 'appy like. The Admiral 'as been and read 'The Articles of War' to 'er, I reckon, and the Cap'en 'e won't be wanting Mrs. J. and myself to keep house for him no longer."
"Have you seen your wife yet?" I asked him; and his face dropped as he answered somewhat mournfully, "Well, sir, I ain't finished my leave yet."
Helston came in presently, looking marvellously well and full of animation.
"It's all right, old chap," he sang out, as he nearly wrenched my hand off. "Milly is going to marry me directly I'm promoted, and, from what they tell me at the Admiralty, I shall be promoted in July without a doubt. You must be my best man, old chap; and the Admiral is bringing her up for a week or so, and we four will have a jolly good time before we go down to Fareham."
My "jolly good time" meant, as I expected, looking after the Admiral and listening to his endless and pointless yarns. However, I did not mind for once in a way, and should have quite enjoyed myself if Milly herself had seemed happy. But, poor little soul, I could see that she was not, and one evening, when we happened to be alone in the private sitting-room, after a very tiring day, she suddenly came over to where I was reading the evening-paper, buried her head on my shoulder, and burst out crying. She broke my spectacles, too, which was a nuisance. As far as I could gather between her sobs, she was feeling frightfully lonely, wanted a mother, which, poor little soul, she had not had since she was two years old, and didn't want to marry anyone.
I sent her off to bed, and went out to buy another pair of spectacles.
I had an idea that the old Admiral would not be so keen for her to marry Helston if he had known that Hopkins had left her all his money, and told him all about it; but I had misjudged the old man, for the first thing he said was: "Well, Helston deserves it, if any man does, and Helston shall have it, too," so I could say no more.
Next morning Milly was in the most boisterous spirits.
CHAPTER XXVI
Home Again
Home at Last!—The Big Gun Again—Milly's Wedding
Home at Last!—The Big Gun Again—Milly's Wedding
Mr. Midshipman Glover tells of his home-coming
Hurrah! How jolly good it is to be back at home once more! You shore-going loafers don't know what it is like to feel that in an hour or two you will drop the Ushant light and pick up the Eddystone. It's pretty bad sometimes when it is the other way about, and you are going away and don't know how long it will be before you will see Old England again; but it's just worth it all to come back, see the Eddystone sticking up out of the sea, and then make Plymouth and the green hills of Devonshire and of Cornwall.
You people who stay at home all your lives don't know what England is like till you have lost sight of her.
Toddles, Mellins, and I, we were just fizzing over with happiness, and stayed up all the night, and had a bet as to who would spot the Eddystone first, the officer of the watch on board that P. & O. letting us stay in a corner of the bridge so long as we didn't make a row and move about much.
Toddles saw it first, so Mellins and I had to stand a jolly good blow-out at the very first opportunity. I was all right now, as right as rain, and had been quite well for a fortnight at least.
We ran into Plymouth Sound early in the morning; they sent out Admiralty tugs to take all our people ashore. We three midshipmen got leave till night, and the three of us had a splendid time. Mellins swore that he had never eaten so much in his life, and we all hoped that he hadn't—even he was rather sorry for himself afterwards.
They let us go on leave next day. The Admiralty had given us a month as a special reward (whoop! wasn't that luck?), and it was just splendid going home.
My Pater lives in Hampshire, and has a jolly snug house right in the country, miles away from the railway. Effie, my little sister, met me in a dog-cart and drove me home. She looked as smart as a new pin, but you can't imagine how shabby I was, for, somehow or other, I had lost all my plain clothes, and had to borrow odds and ends from Toddles, and they were much too small for me, and my boots were Purser's Crabs[#], done up with string. But it didn't matter a cent.
[#] Boots of Admiralty pattern supplied to the men from the Paymaster's stores.
Effie made her pony go like the wind, I can tell you, and my battered old uniform tin case went jumbling into the road—it couldn't damage it any more, though—and we had to lash it in.
You feel such a man when you get into the train, and, well—when you get out at the sleepy old station and drive along the same old road and meet all the village people you've known ever since you can remember, you feel quite young.
We met Toby, the stable-boy, half a mile from the house, leading the farm horses back from watering, and I couldn't resist this, made Effie stop, jumped on the back of one of them, and raced her home.
She simply flew along, but I overhauled her and won easily, tearing up the drive; and though there were the Pater and my Mother and everybody at the door waiting for me, I couldn't stop the horse, and he turned sharply into the stable-yard and pitched me off into a bush.
Jolly old bush! I'd been pitched into it fifty times.
We sailor men look forward to that day coming home all the time we are away, and it's worth it, I can tell you.
I'd brought everyone of them a present of sorts—a curio from Hong-Kong, or something I had picked up on the island—a rifle from One Gun Hill for the Pater, and a great piece of shell which had burst aboard theLairdfor my Mother, and she couldn't get it out of her head that that was what had wounded me.
Then and there I had to show them all my wounds—I had four, you know.
First, that little one on my head, which you could find if you looked carefully; and the one on my chest which had given all the trouble, and had left a pretty big scar; and the stab on my leg, and the bullet wound just below it.
Wasn't the Pater proud, and so was Effie; but my Mother burst into tears, and then, I think, we all cried and hugged each other and had a ripping time; and I told them that Toddles and Mellins were coming to spend a fortnight with me, and that Mellins loved sardines and cake—the richer the better—and told Effie she would have to marry one of them, for they were the best fellows in the world, and she said she would, and so that was all right.
Of course we quieted down afterwards, and then I had to go and show Toby my wounds, and the old housekeeper, and she cried too, and gave me some home-made bread, with honey spread half an inch thick on it, the honey-comb in it too, for she knew I liked that.
And the bed too—same little bed, in the same old attic, with a funny, poky little window looking over the kitchen garden—it had never looked more cosy; and my Mother came up when I turned in, and cried when she saw my pyjamas all in holes, and knelt down by my bed and said her prayers, and I said mine to her, and she cried again, and I blubbered a little, I was so absolutely happy; and Effie came in very early next morning, and we had a jolly good pillow fight.
Good things cannot last for ever. It's just as well too, I expect, or else we should never know they were so good.
Toddles and Mellins came presently, and we had simply a ripping time; but then we were all appointed to different ships, and had to join them at Portsmouth.
I hadn't forgotten Milly and the old Admiral at Fareham, and had taken him the will, as I promised Hopkins. I don't think the lawyers made any difficulty about it, though I believe it took a precious long time to get the money over from America.
Milly wanted to kiss me—I always dreaded that—but I shook her hand hard and edged away; so that didn't come off, and she never tried again. She wanted to know a lot about Hopkins, but she never found out that he had been a pirate and was fighting against us, and I don't think anyone ever told her. I'm sure the Captain never would.
She was properly engaged to him now, and things seemed to be going on very serenely.
I went down to the village and saw him and Dr. Fox, and Jenkins too, in mortal fear of his wife—I guessed that at once—and the Captain asked me to his wedding, which he hoped would take place in August.
Dr. Fox was as grim as ever. He was opening a parcel when I went in, and I heard him say in his snappy voice, "Look what the silly fools have sent me! What a waste of time, and I have nowhere to put the thing."
It was a brass model of the big Krupp gun in its gun-pit, and round the oak stand was a silver plate with the names of all theLaird'smen on the lower deck who had fought on One Gun Hill.
I myself should have been jolly proud to get it, but Dr. Fox gave one or two funny coughs, and said again, "What silly fools! I shall have to write and thank them, I suppose. I hate writing letters."
I met Mr. Saunderson that day just outside Portsmouth Dockyard, walking along the Hard. He stretched out his huge hand and lifted me half off the ground.
I was glad to see him.
"Don't want you to keep the bullets off now, Glover," he said, and took me into the Keppel's Head and gave me lunch.
I went to sea for the next four months in my new ship, theRoyal Oak, in the Channel Fleet, and when the July promotions came out it was simply fizzing.
Captain Helston and the Commander had both been promoted to post-captains, and Mr. Parker of "No. 3" and Mr. Lang of "No. 2" to commanders. Collins, the sub of "No. 3", and Harrington of "No. 1", who had tried to save the stokers when the shell burst her boiler, were made lieutenants, and best of all, down at the bottom of the list was "Noted for Early Promotion", and then followed my name, and Toddles's and Mellins's, two more of theLaird'smidshipmen, and three of theStrong Arm's. Dumpling's name wasn't there. Ogston, the Assistant Engineer of theLaird, had been promoted a few days before. We were all so glad.
You can imagine how excited I was, and I had to stand a sardine supper that night down in theRoyal Oak'sgun-room.
I knew, too, how frightfully delighted they would be at home, and the very next mail brought a fiver from my Pater.
Pat Jones happened to have been sent to my ship as one of the quarter-masters, and he was just as delighted as I was, and I tried to make him share the fiver with me, but he wouldn't.
However, I know that the Pater is going to look after him and give him a good billet whenever he leaves the service, so that will be all right.
Well, Milly was married in August, up in London, and as theRoyal Oakhappened to be in Portland I managed to get leave, and went up to see the wedding. It was a jolly grand affair, and there were any number of old friends there.
I met Captain Cummins the day before, looking in at a jeweller's shop in Regent Street, with his hands in his pockets and a toothpick in his mouth. He had such a melancholy, comic-looking expression, and he chuckled, just as he always did when he caught sight of me, and took me into the shop to help him to choose something for Milly.
It was a thing she could stick in her hair if she wanted to, or she could divide it in three and fasten it round her neck by a chain, with the big piece under her chin if she wanted to wear it like that. I know he must have given a tremendous amount for it.
He gave me lunch at a swagger club, but didn't talk much. He had just been given command of a ship on the Cape of Good Hope station, and was going to commission her in a week's time.
"Busy laying in a stock of toothpicks, youngster," he chuckled.
I think he was rather down in his luck.
The wedding was a glorious success, and I did think that Milly or any other girl ought to be jolly proud of such a husband as Captain Helston. He looked splendid, though his left arm was still almost helpless, and made a speech at the lunch afterwards; and dear old Toddles—he had managed to get away too—had to reply for the ladies, and we all enjoyed ourselves, except Toddles, who was red and angry for the rest of the day.
Dr. Fox was there, quite genial, for a wonder, and Captain Williams and Mr. Saunderson, and Mr. Parker and Mr. Lang, now both of them commanders.
Mr. Pattison had gone on the Australian station (I felt very sorry for him), but Captain Cummins was there, and made an awfully funny speech, and then went off without saying good-bye to anybody.
Toddles and I managed to fasten a couple of white shoes on the carriage with wire, so that they couldn't get them off, and we made a splendid noise when Captain Helston and Milly drove away.
In the evening Toddles and I went to a theatre—Captain Helston had given us a box all to ourselves—and we did wish that Mellins could have been with us. We had a ripping time. Toddles forgot all about the speech, and we managed to catch the last trains back—he to Portsmouth and I to Portland. He was much more lucky than I was, for his ship was alongside the jetty, and he only had to walk aboard, whilst I had to take a shore boat and pull two miles off to the ship, getting on board at two in the morning, wet through, and had to be up again by six o'clock, as I happened to be signal-midshipman for the week.
I never heard anything more of Ping Sang, though I believe he sent Captain Helston and Dr. Fox two expensive Chinese jars; but about three months after the wedding both Toddles and I got letters from A Tsi, and he sent us each a very quaint carved ivory junk.
We were both jolly pleased with these, and Toddles says he intends handing his junk down to his children as an heirloom.
* * * * * * * *
[Transcriber's note: the source book had running headings on its odd-numbered pages. In this etext, those headings have been combined into an introductory paragraph at the start of each chapter.]
[Transcriber's note: the source book had running headings on its odd-numbered pages. In this etext, those headings have been combined into an introductory paragraph at the start of each chapter.]
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOKMR. MIDSHIPMAN GLOVER, R.N.***