Chapter Twelve.I Get Promoted.We brought up for a few days at Singapore. It is a large place, numerous fine buildings, warehouses, public edifices, and private residences extending along the shore to a considerable distance, while the harbour is full of vessels of all nations from China, Japan, Russia, America, and every portion of the Eastern seas. I had never before seen such a curious collection of rigs, theRoarerlooking somewhat like a leviathan among minnows. Summary justice was here executed on the pirates we had captured, many of them having been taken red-handed from the murder of the crew of the barque. They themselves died with the most perfect indifference, fully impressed with the idea that they had lived excellent lives, and that their last act was highly meritorious. It was necessary, however, to read a lesson to the crews of the numberless vessels crowding the harbour, who would carry an account of the execution wherever they went, and show the piratical tribes that the English were determined to make them change their mode of life for one of a more peaceable character, and more conducive to the prosperity of commerce in those regions. The son of the Rajah whom we had captured was, however, pardoned; and it was made known that this was in consequence of the way we had been treated by our captors. The young gentleman was, however, not allowed to return to his family and friends, but kept at Singapore that he might receive instruction, and be induced to lead a more creditable life than his father and his ancestors had probably done. At first he begged very hard that instead of going to school he might be taken off and hung at the yard-arm as his friends had been. However, he shortly became reconciled to his lot, and is, I have reason to believe, by this time a very respectable member of civilised society.Sergeant Turbot told me that in his younger days he had come out to Singapore when it was little better than a sandbank with a few tumble-down huts upon it, inhabited by the followers of the Rajah, whose chief occupation was to pounce out and rob all passers-by.“That was a good many years ago, as you may suppose,” said the sergeant. “There was, however, at that time, a man out in these parts who had a head on his shoulders. He was called Sir Stamford Raffles. He was Governor of Java, which our Government, very foolishly, afterwards gave up to the Dutch, who owned it before we took it. Well, Sir Stamford saw that it was very important to have a place to which the traders in those seas could resort under English protection, and so he got the Government to purchase the island from the Malay owners, and it was established as a free port. That was all that was done. People very quickly came and bought the land and built the warehouses, and the place became what you now see it.”We had to keep a bright look-out as we passed through the Straits of Malacca. We made the northern end of Sumatra and were about a couple of days’ sail from it when the weather gave indications of a coming typhoon. All hands were on deck shortening sail when down it came upon us. Over heeled the old ship, and it seemed at first as if the masts would be taken out of her, or that she would go over altogether. She righted, however, and by desperate exertions she was made snug before any great damage was done. It reminded us somewhat of the one we had encountered at Hong Kong, but it was not so severe. Had we, however, delayed another five minutes in shortening sail, it would have made us look very foolish. All night we lay hove-to, trusting to One who looks after sailors, but feeling that we could do very little for ourselves. Next morning by daybreak the weather began to moderate. The hands had just been sent aloft to shake a reef out of the topsails, when Dicky Plumb, who was in the foretop, shouted out—“A vessel on the lee bow! Dismasted! She seems a large ship, sir!”All eyes were turned in the direction to which Mr Plumb pointed, but as yet the ship could not be seen from the deck. Mr Ormsby accordingly went aloft, and soon found that Mr Plumb was right. TheRoarerwas accordingly kept away towards her. As we approached her we saw signals of distress flying from a spar which had been secured to the stump of the mainmast, and, on passing near her, a man held up a board on which was written, “We are sinking! No time to be lost!”There was, however, still a good deal of sea running, and it was no easy matter for a boat to go alongside a vessel rolling as she was, without any masts to steady her. Captain Sharpe, however, was not a man to desert his fellow-creatures in distress; indeed, I may say, it would be hard to find a captain in the British navy who would do so. We accordingly hove-to to leeward of the ship, and made a signal that we would send assistance as soon as possible. After waiting for a little time the boats were lowered. Mr Blunt went in one of them, and Mr Ormsby in the other. We watched them anxiously as they pulled towards the dismasted ship. Now they seemed as if about to be thrown upon her deck; now they sank down, and it appeared impossible that they could escape being crushed by her as she rolled over. At length, however, with great risk they got alongside, and we could see several women and children being lowered into them, and also a few men. At length they once more shoved off, and we watched them anxiously as they returned to theRoarer. I was standing near Dicky Plumb at the time they approached the ship; I saw him fix his eyes intently on one of the boats; he seized a glass and looked towards it:—“Yes, I’m sure I’m right! Why, I do believe there is my respected mother! Yes, and there is the Brigadier and my sisters! Yes, yes! How wonderful! Pray Heaven they may be got on board in safety!” he added, with more feeling than I had ever before known him exhibit.Every preparation had been made by Captain Sharpe to get the people out of the boats as they came alongside. The young ladies were first lifted up, for Mrs Brigadier would not go till she had seen them and her husband safe on board; she came last, and not till then did she discover that the ship was theRoarer, and that her son was on board. She received Dicky very affectionately; again and again she pressed him in her arms, and the tears rolled down her somewhat furrowed cheeks. Of course, his father and sisters exhibited the feeling that might have been expected. The boats returned immediately to the ship; and, to make a long story short, all the people from her were got safely on board; scarcely, however, had the last person left her, when her bows lifted, and then down she went as if to make a long dive; we looked, and looked in vain; she was never more destined to come up again.“Oh, Jack!” said Dicky, a short time afterwards to me, “I am so thankful that my father and mother, and those dear sisters of mine, were got safely on board theRoarer; suppose we had been too late, and they had all gone to the bottom! And, I say, Jack, I have been talking about you; and have told them all the things you have been doing; and they want to see you, and have a talk with you; the captain, too, I can tell you, has been praising you, and said—what I have often said—that you ought to be on the quarter-deck.”I thanked Master Dicky for his kind wishes; but replied (and I must honestly confess I did not speak the truth), that I had no ambition that way, but was very jovial and happy where I was.“Maybe, Jack,” he answered, “but I rather think you would find yourself still more jovial and happy as a midshipman.”Well, I had to go on the quarter-deck, where Mrs Brigadier shook hands with me, as did the young ladies and the Brigadier himself.“I have heard a good deal about you, young man,” said the old officer, taking me aside. “If it had not been for you I should have lost my son; and, since then, I hear you have done many gallant things. I think also that there is another reason why Mrs Brigadier is bound to give you a helping hand. Do you happen to know your mother’s maiden name?”“Evans, sir—Mary Evans.”“I thought so,” he said; “Evans was my wife’s name. There were two sisters: one married a private of marines, and the other a captain, as I then was; but blood is blood, and I am not the man to deny its claims. Your father is a fine, honest fellow, and I should not have been ashamed to call him brother-in-law therefore; in fact, Jack Junker, you are my nephew.”I will not say how I felt; indeed, I cannot very clearly. I know I felt very jovial; and my heart bumped and thumped in a way it had never done before. I thanked my uncle, the Brigadier, for his kindness; and told him I was very glad I had been of service to his son—though I little dreamed at the time that he was my cousin—and that I liked him for himself; and that ever since I had been on board theRoarerhe had proved a steady friend to me. I confess one thing—I could not help secretly hoping that my new aunt would not be too demonstrative in her affection. Dicky soon afterwards came up, and shook me warmly by the hand.“You are to be on the quarter-deck from this day forward,” he exclaimed. “I am so glad! I have not been more jovial for many a day. The Brigadier is to get your outfit, so you will have no trouble or bother about the matter.”This announcement was confirmed soon afterwards by Captain Sharpe himself, who complimented me very kindly on my conduct on several occasions; and said that even had not the Brigadier and my aunt made the application, he himself purposed endeavouring to obtain an appointment for me on our arrival in England. From that day I entered the midshipmen’s berth; and, to the credit of my new messmates, I must say they treated me with the greatest kindness and consideration. Of course, I was only provisionally a midshipman, but there was no doubt of my appointment being confirmed by the proper authorities, as captains have no longer the power they once had of making midshipmen.Dicky and I had a very pleasant time of it at Calcutta; he, generous fellow, insisting on calling me cousin, and introducing me wherever he went. We were both very sorry when at length the ship was ordered away on her return to England; however, our feelings were not shared in by the majority of the officers and ship’s company, who rejoiced at the thoughts of once more returning to the shores of their native land. By the time we reached England, I found that my father had gone to sea, my sisters were married, and our poor stepmother had been driven out of existence by her uproarious offspring. Ned Rawlings, on our arrival, in consequence of the recommendation of Captain Sharpe, got his warrant as a boatswain. Sergeant Turbot went on shore with his company, and he told me that he thought if he was ever ordered foreign again, he must quit the service.“As long as I have got a ship’s deck or a plain to fight on—provided there’s not much marching—it’s all very well, Jack,” he said; “but if I had to climb a hill, I should run a risk of losing my honour, if not my life, for up it I never could get.”I was very glad to find that shortly afterwards he got a snug little appointment, and was never likely again to be sent to sea.Little Joss, who had accompanied us to England, remained on shore as a servant in Captain Sharpe’s family. Becoming a Christian, he had no desire to return to his own country; and being a faithful and intelligent fellow, he ultimately became the captain’s butler, a position he still holds.I occasionally have the honour of dining with my old captain, and at no house am I so well looked after by the servants. I always stop afterwards to have a yarn about the Flowery Land with Mr Joss. He tells me that he thinks he could do very well at Hong Kong, and I should not be surprised to find him going off to establish himself there, with the wages gained during his long and faithful service.Dicky and I, soon afterwards, through Captain Sharpe’s interest, got appointed to a smart frigate; and when she was paid off, he having served his time, received his promotion as a lieutenant. All nonsense had long since been knocked out of him; and he was a universal favourite with officers and men, and acknowledged to be as gallant a fellow as ever walked a ship’s deck.Captain Sharpe is now an admiral, and highly esteemed in the service. One of my cousins married Mr Ormsby, who a short time before had been made a commander; and when I am not at sea I always find a pleasant home at his house, or at that of my kind-hearted uncle, who, after a few more years’ service, returned to England, and, in spite of his liver, has managed to live to a green old age. Mrs Brigadier has in no way changed; and owing to her exertions, Dicky, in a short time, was made a commander, and I became a lieutenant—a rank I at present hold. My friends flatter me, by saying that I am such a very good first-lieutenant, that it would be a loss to the service to make me a commander. I am jovial and contented as ever; and after all, in my opinion, I am in a far more enviable position than many who, as they think, have risen to the summit of fame.The End.
We brought up for a few days at Singapore. It is a large place, numerous fine buildings, warehouses, public edifices, and private residences extending along the shore to a considerable distance, while the harbour is full of vessels of all nations from China, Japan, Russia, America, and every portion of the Eastern seas. I had never before seen such a curious collection of rigs, theRoarerlooking somewhat like a leviathan among minnows. Summary justice was here executed on the pirates we had captured, many of them having been taken red-handed from the murder of the crew of the barque. They themselves died with the most perfect indifference, fully impressed with the idea that they had lived excellent lives, and that their last act was highly meritorious. It was necessary, however, to read a lesson to the crews of the numberless vessels crowding the harbour, who would carry an account of the execution wherever they went, and show the piratical tribes that the English were determined to make them change their mode of life for one of a more peaceable character, and more conducive to the prosperity of commerce in those regions. The son of the Rajah whom we had captured was, however, pardoned; and it was made known that this was in consequence of the way we had been treated by our captors. The young gentleman was, however, not allowed to return to his family and friends, but kept at Singapore that he might receive instruction, and be induced to lead a more creditable life than his father and his ancestors had probably done. At first he begged very hard that instead of going to school he might be taken off and hung at the yard-arm as his friends had been. However, he shortly became reconciled to his lot, and is, I have reason to believe, by this time a very respectable member of civilised society.
Sergeant Turbot told me that in his younger days he had come out to Singapore when it was little better than a sandbank with a few tumble-down huts upon it, inhabited by the followers of the Rajah, whose chief occupation was to pounce out and rob all passers-by.
“That was a good many years ago, as you may suppose,” said the sergeant. “There was, however, at that time, a man out in these parts who had a head on his shoulders. He was called Sir Stamford Raffles. He was Governor of Java, which our Government, very foolishly, afterwards gave up to the Dutch, who owned it before we took it. Well, Sir Stamford saw that it was very important to have a place to which the traders in those seas could resort under English protection, and so he got the Government to purchase the island from the Malay owners, and it was established as a free port. That was all that was done. People very quickly came and bought the land and built the warehouses, and the place became what you now see it.”
We had to keep a bright look-out as we passed through the Straits of Malacca. We made the northern end of Sumatra and were about a couple of days’ sail from it when the weather gave indications of a coming typhoon. All hands were on deck shortening sail when down it came upon us. Over heeled the old ship, and it seemed at first as if the masts would be taken out of her, or that she would go over altogether. She righted, however, and by desperate exertions she was made snug before any great damage was done. It reminded us somewhat of the one we had encountered at Hong Kong, but it was not so severe. Had we, however, delayed another five minutes in shortening sail, it would have made us look very foolish. All night we lay hove-to, trusting to One who looks after sailors, but feeling that we could do very little for ourselves. Next morning by daybreak the weather began to moderate. The hands had just been sent aloft to shake a reef out of the topsails, when Dicky Plumb, who was in the foretop, shouted out—
“A vessel on the lee bow! Dismasted! She seems a large ship, sir!”
All eyes were turned in the direction to which Mr Plumb pointed, but as yet the ship could not be seen from the deck. Mr Ormsby accordingly went aloft, and soon found that Mr Plumb was right. TheRoarerwas accordingly kept away towards her. As we approached her we saw signals of distress flying from a spar which had been secured to the stump of the mainmast, and, on passing near her, a man held up a board on which was written, “We are sinking! No time to be lost!”
There was, however, still a good deal of sea running, and it was no easy matter for a boat to go alongside a vessel rolling as she was, without any masts to steady her. Captain Sharpe, however, was not a man to desert his fellow-creatures in distress; indeed, I may say, it would be hard to find a captain in the British navy who would do so. We accordingly hove-to to leeward of the ship, and made a signal that we would send assistance as soon as possible. After waiting for a little time the boats were lowered. Mr Blunt went in one of them, and Mr Ormsby in the other. We watched them anxiously as they pulled towards the dismasted ship. Now they seemed as if about to be thrown upon her deck; now they sank down, and it appeared impossible that they could escape being crushed by her as she rolled over. At length, however, with great risk they got alongside, and we could see several women and children being lowered into them, and also a few men. At length they once more shoved off, and we watched them anxiously as they returned to theRoarer. I was standing near Dicky Plumb at the time they approached the ship; I saw him fix his eyes intently on one of the boats; he seized a glass and looked towards it:—
“Yes, I’m sure I’m right! Why, I do believe there is my respected mother! Yes, and there is the Brigadier and my sisters! Yes, yes! How wonderful! Pray Heaven they may be got on board in safety!” he added, with more feeling than I had ever before known him exhibit.
Every preparation had been made by Captain Sharpe to get the people out of the boats as they came alongside. The young ladies were first lifted up, for Mrs Brigadier would not go till she had seen them and her husband safe on board; she came last, and not till then did she discover that the ship was theRoarer, and that her son was on board. She received Dicky very affectionately; again and again she pressed him in her arms, and the tears rolled down her somewhat furrowed cheeks. Of course, his father and sisters exhibited the feeling that might have been expected. The boats returned immediately to the ship; and, to make a long story short, all the people from her were got safely on board; scarcely, however, had the last person left her, when her bows lifted, and then down she went as if to make a long dive; we looked, and looked in vain; she was never more destined to come up again.
“Oh, Jack!” said Dicky, a short time afterwards to me, “I am so thankful that my father and mother, and those dear sisters of mine, were got safely on board theRoarer; suppose we had been too late, and they had all gone to the bottom! And, I say, Jack, I have been talking about you; and have told them all the things you have been doing; and they want to see you, and have a talk with you; the captain, too, I can tell you, has been praising you, and said—what I have often said—that you ought to be on the quarter-deck.”
I thanked Master Dicky for his kind wishes; but replied (and I must honestly confess I did not speak the truth), that I had no ambition that way, but was very jovial and happy where I was.
“Maybe, Jack,” he answered, “but I rather think you would find yourself still more jovial and happy as a midshipman.”
Well, I had to go on the quarter-deck, where Mrs Brigadier shook hands with me, as did the young ladies and the Brigadier himself.
“I have heard a good deal about you, young man,” said the old officer, taking me aside. “If it had not been for you I should have lost my son; and, since then, I hear you have done many gallant things. I think also that there is another reason why Mrs Brigadier is bound to give you a helping hand. Do you happen to know your mother’s maiden name?”
“Evans, sir—Mary Evans.”
“I thought so,” he said; “Evans was my wife’s name. There were two sisters: one married a private of marines, and the other a captain, as I then was; but blood is blood, and I am not the man to deny its claims. Your father is a fine, honest fellow, and I should not have been ashamed to call him brother-in-law therefore; in fact, Jack Junker, you are my nephew.”
I will not say how I felt; indeed, I cannot very clearly. I know I felt very jovial; and my heart bumped and thumped in a way it had never done before. I thanked my uncle, the Brigadier, for his kindness; and told him I was very glad I had been of service to his son—though I little dreamed at the time that he was my cousin—and that I liked him for himself; and that ever since I had been on board theRoarerhe had proved a steady friend to me. I confess one thing—I could not help secretly hoping that my new aunt would not be too demonstrative in her affection. Dicky soon afterwards came up, and shook me warmly by the hand.
“You are to be on the quarter-deck from this day forward,” he exclaimed. “I am so glad! I have not been more jovial for many a day. The Brigadier is to get your outfit, so you will have no trouble or bother about the matter.”
This announcement was confirmed soon afterwards by Captain Sharpe himself, who complimented me very kindly on my conduct on several occasions; and said that even had not the Brigadier and my aunt made the application, he himself purposed endeavouring to obtain an appointment for me on our arrival in England. From that day I entered the midshipmen’s berth; and, to the credit of my new messmates, I must say they treated me with the greatest kindness and consideration. Of course, I was only provisionally a midshipman, but there was no doubt of my appointment being confirmed by the proper authorities, as captains have no longer the power they once had of making midshipmen.
Dicky and I had a very pleasant time of it at Calcutta; he, generous fellow, insisting on calling me cousin, and introducing me wherever he went. We were both very sorry when at length the ship was ordered away on her return to England; however, our feelings were not shared in by the majority of the officers and ship’s company, who rejoiced at the thoughts of once more returning to the shores of their native land. By the time we reached England, I found that my father had gone to sea, my sisters were married, and our poor stepmother had been driven out of existence by her uproarious offspring. Ned Rawlings, on our arrival, in consequence of the recommendation of Captain Sharpe, got his warrant as a boatswain. Sergeant Turbot went on shore with his company, and he told me that he thought if he was ever ordered foreign again, he must quit the service.
“As long as I have got a ship’s deck or a plain to fight on—provided there’s not much marching—it’s all very well, Jack,” he said; “but if I had to climb a hill, I should run a risk of losing my honour, if not my life, for up it I never could get.”
I was very glad to find that shortly afterwards he got a snug little appointment, and was never likely again to be sent to sea.
Little Joss, who had accompanied us to England, remained on shore as a servant in Captain Sharpe’s family. Becoming a Christian, he had no desire to return to his own country; and being a faithful and intelligent fellow, he ultimately became the captain’s butler, a position he still holds.
I occasionally have the honour of dining with my old captain, and at no house am I so well looked after by the servants. I always stop afterwards to have a yarn about the Flowery Land with Mr Joss. He tells me that he thinks he could do very well at Hong Kong, and I should not be surprised to find him going off to establish himself there, with the wages gained during his long and faithful service.
Dicky and I, soon afterwards, through Captain Sharpe’s interest, got appointed to a smart frigate; and when she was paid off, he having served his time, received his promotion as a lieutenant. All nonsense had long since been knocked out of him; and he was a universal favourite with officers and men, and acknowledged to be as gallant a fellow as ever walked a ship’s deck.
Captain Sharpe is now an admiral, and highly esteemed in the service. One of my cousins married Mr Ormsby, who a short time before had been made a commander; and when I am not at sea I always find a pleasant home at his house, or at that of my kind-hearted uncle, who, after a few more years’ service, returned to England, and, in spite of his liver, has managed to live to a green old age. Mrs Brigadier has in no way changed; and owing to her exertions, Dicky, in a short time, was made a commander, and I became a lieutenant—a rank I at present hold. My friends flatter me, by saying that I am such a very good first-lieutenant, that it would be a loss to the service to make me a commander. I am jovial and contented as ever; and after all, in my opinion, I am in a far more enviable position than many who, as they think, have risen to the summit of fame.
The End.