Afloat and Ashore (42 page)

Fifteen days after the loss of the whale-boat, we made the peaks of
the Andes, a very few degrees to the southward of the equator. From
some casual remarks made by the French, and which I had overheard, I
had been led to believe they intended to run for Guayaquil, or its
vicinity; and I aimed at reaching the coast near the same point. We
had been in, ourselves, at several bays and roadsteads, moreover, on
this part of the shore, on our way north; and I felt at home among
them. We had acquaintances, too, who could not fail to be of use to
us; and everything conspired to render this an advantageous land-fall.

On the evening of the twenty-ninth day after quitting the island, we
took the schooner into an open roadstead, where we had carried on some
extensive traffic in the ship, about eight months before, and where I
fancied we should still be recognised. As was expected, we had
scarcely anchored, before a Don Pedro Something, a fellow with a
surprising string of names, came off to us in a boat, in order to
ascertain who we were, and what we wanted. Perhaps it would be better
to say, what we had that
he
wanted. I knew the man at a glance,
having delivered to him, myself, three boat-loads of goods, and
received a small bag of doubloons in exchange. A very few words,
half-English, half-Spanish, served to renew our acquaintance; and I
gave our old friend to understand that I was in search of the ship,
from which I had been separated on some extra duty. After beating the
bush to discover all he could, the Don Pedro gave me to understand
that
a
ship had gone in behind an island that was only ten
miles to the southward of us, that very afternoon; that he had seen
her himself, and had supposed she might be his old friend the Crisis,
until he saw the French ensign at her gaff. This was sufficient, and I
made inquiries for a pilot. A man qualified to carry us to the place
was found in one of the boatmen. As I feared the news of the arrival
of a schooner might be carried to the ship, much as we had got our
intelligence, no time was lost, but we were under-way by ten o'clock.
At midnight we entered the pass between the main and the island; there
I got into a boat, and pulled ahead, in order to reconnoitre. I found
the ship lying close under a high bluff, which made a capital lee, and
with every sign about her of tranquillity. Still, I knew a vessel
that was always in danger from the
guarda-costas
, and which
relied on the celerity of its movements for its safety, would have a
vigilant look-out. Accordingly, I took a cool and careful examination
of the ship's position, landing and ascending the bluff, in order to
do this at my ease. About two o'clock in the morning, I returned to
the schooner.

When I put my foot on the Polly's deck again, she was quite near the
point, or bluff, having set down towards it during my absence. All
hands were on deck, armed, and in readiness. Expectation had got to be
so keen, that we had a little difficulty in keeping the men from
cheering; but silence was preserved, and I communicated the result of
my observations in as few words as possible. The orders were then
given, and the schooner was brought under short sail, for the
attack. We were so near our side of the bluff, while the ship lay so
near the other, that my principal apprehension was of falling to
leeward, which might give the French time to muster, and recollect
themselves. The canvass, accordingly, was reduced to the fore-sail,
though the jib, main-sail, and top-sail were all loose, in readiness
to be set, if wanted. The plan was to run the ship aboard, on her
starboard-bow, or off-side, as respected the island; and to do this
with as little of a shock as possible.

When everything was ready, I went aft, stood by the man at the helm,
and ordered him to bear up. Neb placed himself just behind me. I knew
it was useless to interfere, and let the fellow do as he pleased. The
pilot had told me the water was deep, up to the rocks of the bluff;
and we hugged the land as close as possible, in rounding the point. At
the next moment the ship was in sight, distant less than a hundred
fathoms. I saw we had good way, and, three minutes later, I ordered
the fore-sail brailed. At the same instant I walked forward. So near
were we, that the flapping of the canvass was heard in the ship, and
we got a hail. A mystified answer followed, and then crash came our
bows along those of the Crisis. "Hurrah! for the old craft!" shouted
our men, and aboard we tumbled in a body. Our charge was like the
plunge of a pack of hounds, as they leap through a hedge.

The scene that followed was one of wild tumult. Some twenty pistols
were fired, and a good many hard blows were struck; but the surprise
secured us the victory. In less than three minutes, Talcott came to
report to me that our lads had complete possession of the deck, and
that the French asked for quarter. At first, the enemy supposed they
had been seized by a
guarda-costa
, for the impression had been
general among them that we intended to quit the island for Canton.
Great was the astonishment among them when the truth came to be
known. I heard a great many "
sacr-r-r-es
!" and certain other
maledictions in low French, that it is scarcely worth while to repeat.

Harris, one of the-Philadelphians, and the man who had got us into the
difficulty by falling asleep on his watch, was killed; and no less
than nine of our men, myself among the number, were hurt in this brisk
business. All the wounds, however, were slight; only three of the
injuries taking the parties off duty. As for the poor fellow who fell,
he owed his death to risking too much, in order to recover the ground
he had lost.

The French fared much worse than ourselves. Of those killed outright,
and those who died before morning, there were no less than sixteen;
our fellows having fired a volley into a group that was rushing on
deck, besides using their cutlasses with great severity for the first
minute or two. This was on the principle that the first blow was half
the battle. There were few wounded; most of those who fell being cut
or thrust at by several at the same time—a species of attack that
left little chance for escape. Poor Mons. Le Compte was found
stone-dead at the cabin-doors, having been shot in the forehead, just
as he put his foot on the deck. I heard his voice once in the fray,
and feared it boded no good; but the silence which succeeded was
probably caused by his just then receiving the fatal bullet. He was in
his shirt.

1st Witch
. "Hail!"
2d Witch
. "Hail!"
3d Witch
. "Hail!"
1st Witch
. "Lesser than Macbeth, and greater."
2d Witch
. "Not so happy, yet much happier."
MACBETH.

I hope I shall be believed in saying, if Marble had been with us when
we retook the ship, I should have been perfectly happy. He was not,
however, and regret was left to mingle in our triumph. I had a hasty
interview with Major Merton that night, and communicated all that was
necessary to quiet the apprehensions of his daughter. Emily was in her
state-room, and had been alarmed, as a matter of course; but when she
learned that all was over, and had terminated successfully, her fears
yielded to reason. Of course, both she and her father felt it to be a
great relief that they were no longer prisoners.

We were no sooner fairly in command of our old ship, again, than I had
all hands called to get the anchor. We hove up, and passed out to sea
without delay, it being necessary to cover our movements with as much
mystery as possible, in order to prevent certain awkward demands from
the Spanish government, on the subject of the violation of neutral
territory. A hint from Major Merton put me on my guard as respected
this point, and I determined to disappear as suddenly as we had
arrived, in order to throw obstacles in the way of being traced. By
day-light, therefore, both the ship and schooner were four leagues
from the land, and on the "great highway of nations;" a road, it may
be said in passing, that was then greatly infested by foot-pads and
other robbers.

Just as the sun rose, we buried the dead. This was done decently, and
with the usual ceremony, the triumph of victory giving place to the
sad reflections that are so apt to succeed to the excited feelings of
most of our struggles. I saw poor Le Compte disappear from sight with
regret, and remembered his recent hopes, his generous treatment, his
admiration of Emily, and all that he had so lately thought and felt,
as a warning of the fragile nature of life, and that which life can
bestow. Thus terminated an acquaintance of a month; but a month that
had been pregnant with incidents of great importance to myself.

It now became necessary to decide on our future course. I had the
ship, just as the French got her from us, with the addition of those
portions of their own cargo with which they had intended to trade on
the coast of South America. These consisted of silks and various
fancy articles, with a little wine, and would be nearly as valuable at
home as they were in Spanish America. I was strongly averse to
smuggling, and the ship having already followed out her original
instructions on this point, I saw no necessity for pursuing the
ungrateful trade any further. Could I return to the island, and get
the articles of value left on it by the French, such as the copper
they had not used, and divers pales received from the Bombay ship,
which had been abandoned by us all under a tent, more profit would
accrue to my owners than by any illicit commerce we could now possibly
carry into effect on the coast.

While Talcott, and the new chief-mate, and myself were discussing
these points, the cry of "sail ho!" was heard. A large ship had
suddenly hove up out of the morning's mist, within a mile of us, and I
thought, at first, we had got under the guns of a Spanish
man-of-war. A second look at her, however, satisfied us all, that,
though heavy and armed, she was merely one of those clumsy traders
that sailed, periodically, from the colonies to Spain. We went to
quarters, and cleared ship, but made no effort to avoid the stranger.
The Spaniards, of the two, were the most uneasy, I believe, their
country being then at war with England; but we spoke each other
without coming to blows. As soon as the strangers saw the American
ensign, they expressed a wish to communicate with us; and, unwilling
to let them come on board us, I volunteered a visit to the Spanish
captain. He received me with formal politeness, and, after some
preliminary discourse, he put into my hands some American newspapers,
which contained a copy of the treaty of peace between the United
States and France. On looking over the articles of this new compact, I
found that, had our recapture of the Crisis been delayed to that very
day, at noon, it would have been illegal. The two nations, in fact,
were at peace, when the French seized the ship, but the customary
provisions as to captures in distant seas, just brought us within the
saving clauses. Such is war, and its concomitants!

In the course of half an hour's conversation, I discovered that the
Spaniard intended to touch at Valparaiso, and called, in order to get
men, his own having suffered, up the coast, with the small-pox. His
ship was large, carried a considerable armament, and he should not
deem her safe from the smaller English cruisers, unless he doubled the
Cape much stronger handed than he then was. I caught at the idea, and
inquired what he thought of Frenchmen? They would answer his purpose,
for France and Spain had a common enemy, and nothing would be easier
than to send the French from Cadiz to Marseilles. A bargain was
consequently struck on the spot.

When I got back on board the Crisis, I had all the prisoners mustered
on deck. They were made acquainted with the offers of the Spanish
captain, with the fact that peace now existed between our respective
countries, and with the chance that presented itself, so opportunely,
for them to return home. The proposition was cheerfully accepted,
anything being better than captivity. Before parting, I endeavoured to
impress on the French the necessity of prudence on the subject of our
recapturing the Crisis in Spanish waters, inasmuch as the circumstance
might induce an inquiry as to what took the ship there; it being well
understood that the mines were the punishment of those who were taken
in the contraband trade in that quarter of the world. The French
promised fairly. Whether they kept their words I never knew, but, if
they did not, no consequences ever followed from their revelations. In
such a case, indeed, the Spanish government would be very apt to
consider the question one that touched the interests of smugglers
alike, and to feel great indifference between the parties. At all
events, no complaints were ever made to the American government; or,
if made, they never reached my ears, or those of my owners. It is most
probable nothing was ever said on the subject.

About noon we had got rid of our prisoners. They were allowed to take
away with them all their own effects, and, as usually happens in such
cases, I make little doubt some that belonged to other persons. The
ships then made sail, each on her own course; the Spaniard running
down the coast, while we spread our studding-sails for the island. As
soon as this was done, I felt relieved from a great burthen, and had
leisure to think of other matters. I ought to mention, however, that I
put the second-mate, or him who had become chief-mate by my own
advancement, in command of the "Pretty Poll," giving him two
experienced seamen as his own mates, and six men, to sail her. This
made Talcott the Crisis' first officer, and glad was I to see him in a
station a little suited to his attainments.

That evening, just as the sun was setting, I saw Emily again, for the
first time since she had stood leaning over the rail as the Crisis
shot through the inlet of the lagoon. The poor girl was pale, and it
was evident, while she could not but rejoice at her liberation, and
her release from the solicitations of the unfortunate Le Compte, that
his death had cast a shade of sadness over her pretty features. It
could not well be otherwise, the female breast ever entertaining its
sympathies for those who submit to the influence of its owner's
charms. Then, poor Le Compte had some excellent qualities, and he
treated Emily, as she admitted to me herself, with the profoundest
respect, and delicacy. His admiration could scarce be an offence in
her
eyes, however disagreeable it proved, in certain points of
view.