 | CHAPTER XIV. The free-trader, or, The cruiser of Narragansett Bay |  |
14. CHAPTER XIV.
There was one man on board the
ship who saw the head of the swimmer
twice rise and disappear beneath
the surface. It was by mere accident
that he looked shoreward, in the
direction in which Martin was swimming,
when all other eyes were directed
astern at the buoy.
He watched for a moment closely,
till he saw the dark head disppear and
reappear twice, with intervals of eight
or ten yards between the two points,
before he felt sure that he was the only
man in the ship who really knew
which way the prisoner was directing
his escape.
He, however, felt no disposition to
betray his discovery, although he was
a firm friend to his king, and to the
service, in which he had sailed thirty
was considered one of the staunchest
men for his country in the ship. But
he had been sick, four months before,
in the West Indies, and came near
death, but Manwaring so faithfully attended
him, that he recovered, and
every one said that he owed his recovery
to the unremitting kindness and attention
of the youthful sailor. The
gunner's mate felt that all men spoke
the truth, and he became strongly attached
to his generous benefactor. Between
them in the long night-watches,
there recently had arisen a good deal
of warm but friendly discussion, touching
the impressment of the colonists, and
the oppressive rule of the king over his
colonies. Bunter, though not quite convinced
by his young friend's arguments,
felt a ready sympathy in his own impressment,
but nevertheless, gave him
his advice, and recommended him to
submission, and the quiet service of the
king, now that he was fairly in for it.
Manwaring, however, did not hesitate
to declare to him that the law under
which he was detained was unjust, and
that he should the first opportunity
leave the ship and the service.
When, therefore, old Bunter's quick
eye caught sight of the appearing and
disappearing head, he merely shook his
and muttered:
“The lad's off! He has given them
the slip this time, and while they are
all chasing a buoy or log, he is safely
striking out for shore. Well, I hope he
may get there safe, and not be caught
again. It may be my duty to report
what I see, but if younger eyes and
those whose duty it is to look-out don't
see him, I have no business to see better
than they do. They won't put me under
arrest for it; so to make all safe,
I'll let em find out themselves. But
he is got out of sight now. Even their
glasses wouldn't make him out now.
I am glad to see the luffs over-done
once. His escape 'll make 'em sore.
Well, bless the brave lad! He has a
hear as big as a whale, and I only wish
him safe into port.”
The officers of the sloop after search-about
the channels and bows of their
ship for the escaped bird, and examining
every square yard of the water
around with their glasses, came to the
conclusion that he had drowned in his attempt
to get off. This opinion was
more flattering to their pride than that
they should believe he had succeeded
in effecting his purpose securely.
The cutter after rowing about this
way and that, at the orders of Lieutenant
Welford, returned to the ship, having
been engaged in her fruitless search
full half an hour. The sloop-of-war had
once more settled into comparative
quiet, and an hour elapsed without any
occurrence to disturb the repose of the
decks, or to alarm the watch as they
lounged about or paced to and fro in
various parts of the ship. The lieutenants
had talked over the affair and
though vexed at having been foiled,
they did not refuse to laugh at the spirted
chase of the life buoy. With the
true love of betting, characteristic of
Englishmen, they speculated on the
chances whether he had reached the
shore or not, and laid bets upon them.
Lieutenant Welford would gladly have
distributed all three of the cutters at
different points to watch the shore, but
Sir William objected to it, giving as
a reason that the boats might be needed.
Althorp was delighted to find that the
proposal of the officer was rejected by
the captain, for being sure that Manwaring
must be making the best of his
way to the land in some quarter, he
boats were all ordered out. But Sir
Willaim had had enough of the buoy
for one night, and did not wish his crew
to bring any farther ridicule upon the
Bexley, by giving chase to any other
phantom.
How Martin could have got away
from the ship, Althorp was at a loss to
conceive; but that he had something
to do with cutting the line of the life-buoy,
he was very certain, but why he
should cut it, and then not avail himself
of it to help float, he could not conceive;
for the idea that he should have severed
it for any other object, did not occur to
him.
He was walking the deck, thinking
upon the matter, and trusting that the
young colonist would effectually elude
all pursnit, when he was startled, as well
as all others on board by the opening of
the first broadside of the Gaspee upon
the Free-Trader.
“There is something going on now
down below!” cried the quarter-master,
with an oath of surprise. “Hear
that, my masters.”
“It is a regular cannonading. Five,
six, seven guns in succession!” said
Lieutenant Welford. “It must be the
Gaspee engaged.”
He was about to go to the cabin door
to report the firing, which was very
spirited and lighted up the sky almost
incessantly, when Sir William Petty appeared
in his dressing-gown and slippers,
in too great a hurry to don his uniform
coat.
“What is all this, Mr. Welford?”
he exclaimed in amazement, as the
flashes of the Gaspee's guns illumined
the heavens, and the quick report of the
discharge reached his ears.
“It is impossible to tell, sir.”
“There is an engagement certainly.”
“It sounds as if the firing was all on
one side, sir,” remarked the quarter-master.
“There is no mixed or confused
discharges. I should think it was
the Gaspee delivering three or four
broadsides.”
“But at what?” demanded the lieutenant.
“That is the question,” observed
Sir Willaim. “But we will soon answer
it. Pipe away the crews of the
two cutters, and let the men take their
cutlasses, and have a dozen pistols put
into the stern of each boat.”
“Aye, sir,” responded the officer of
the deck, and the shrill whistle of the
boatswain already rang through the
ship, and all was excitement and motion
on board.
“We have enough to keep all hands
stirring for one watch,” said the purser,
addressing Althorp. “It is nothing
but alarms since we have been anchored
in this confounded Newport.
I shall be glad when we leave it.”
“Let four marines be taken in each
boat, and four seamen beside the oarsmen,”
commanded Sir William. “Mr.
Welford, you will take charge of the
boats, and pull down the bay and try and
make out what this firing is about.—
You must be cautious, too, for there
may be an enemy there, though no
Dutch veesel would dare to venture
alone up this narrow bay, knowing we
have so many cruisers about. Be cautious,
and yet pull on till you learn the
cause of the firing. If the Gaspee is in
trouble, you will use your discretion
about advancing to her aid. Return or
send back a boat and report to me as
soon as you can find out anything.”
The firing continued for a few moments
longer, and then ceased, for the
Gaspee had grounded. The boats were
nevertheless ordered to proceed, and
the bay. Sir William, with his spy-glass
at his eye, watched them until
they were lost in the darkness, and
then speculated with his officers about
him, upon the causes of the cannonading.
It was the opinion of the purser
and quarter-master that the Gaspee had
been firing into some vessel that refused
to heave to.
“I cannot believe,” answered Captain
Petty, “that Arling would open
such a fire upon a colonial vessel merely
for not heaving to in the night. Yet
from the firing of two guns an hour ago,
and this heavy cannonading, I fear that
he has done so. He is very headstrong
at times.”
“We shall soon learn, sir, all about
it,” answered the officer of the deck.
“The boats seem to be going down with
the tide very fast as they left us.”
The two cutters after leaving the
ship, pulled down the bay at a rapid
rate, the officer in command being desirous
of coming upon the scene of
the late firing with as little delay as
possible. As the sloop lay out pretty
well and they kept a straight course from
her, they did not approach the eastern
shore near enough to distinguish the
Free-Trader, which was making her
way up the stream close in under the
land, and about half a mile distant from
the boats. Lieutenant Welford was too
eagerly looking down the bay, to give
his attention to objects in shore and the
brig had passed him so as to be moving
on her way off his quarter, ere a lad of
a midshipmnn, who was in the second
cutter, and who had very sharp eyes
which were always wandering restlessly
about, caught sight of the brig.
“Sail ho!” he shouted.
“Where away?” demanded the lieutenant,
in a quick tone.
“Three points abaft the beam, sir.”
“I see her,” answered Mr. Welford,
as he caught her with his glass. “It is
a square-rigged brig standing close in
shore. How is it that she could have
passed us?”
“It is more than likely she can tell
us something us about the firing, sir,”
remarked the officer in charge of the
second cutter which had now come up
with the leading boat.
“It is possible, sir. But we are too
far below her now to reach her with this
tide running against us. They will see
her in the sloop and take care of her, if
she is disposed to be refractory. We
will row down for a league farther, at
least, till we come to the place where
the cannonading seemed to be. We
shall probably fall in with the Gaspee
on the way, for if this brig be running
from her we must not be far behind the
chase. Keep a sharp lookout on all
sides, my men. A French crown-piece
to the man that first discovers the
Gaspee!”
Mr. Welford was not a little vexed
that the brig he had discovered, should
have been passed unseen by him, but
he did not like to display his annoyance
to his officers and crew, and so passed
the matter over lightly as he did. But
he felt that the brig ought to have been
boarded by him, for in his own mind he
was quite well assured that it was she
that had drawn the heavy fire of the
schooner, for there was no doubt that
the cannonading was from her, the calibre
of the guns precisely answering to
those carried by the Gaspee. He bit
his lip almost through in his vexation at
the brig's passing up with impunity, but
he saw that it would be impossible to
reach her against the tide before she
would come to anchor in the harbor,
and then, as she would be under the
be boarded by her at once, and his own
negligence redeemed.
The boats pulled on about a mile
farther, when, as Lieutenant Welford
had his glass at his eye, he discovered
a boat coming up. At first, he could
not distinctly decide what it was, but
by silencing the bars of his own boats,
there was distinctly heard the fall of distant
oars.
“It is a man-of-war's stroke, sir,”
said the young reefer.
“It is the Gaspee's boat then, without
doubt. Something must have happened
to her. Give way, men, all!
Let us meet them.”
The distance between the descending
and ascending boats lessened each intant,
and Mr. Welford standing up in the
boat, was able to see that it contained
six men, four at the oars, and two in
the stern-sheets.
“Boat ahoy!”
“Ho, the boats ahoy!” simultaneously
hailed both parties.
“Bexley's?” answered Welford.—
“Is that you, Arling?”
“Yes, and glad am I to see you,”
answered Arling, as his boat came up.
“Have you seen the brig?” he demanded,
in an eager voice.
| CHAPTER XIV. The free-trader, or, The cruiser of Narragansett Bay | |