CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.
THE SHIPWRECK.
As soon as Rayner could obtain a spare moment, he hastened below tovisit poor Jack. He met Tom on the way.
"Jack's very bad, Mr Rayner," answered Tom to his inquiries. "Hedidn't know me just now; he's talking about his mother, and fancyingshe's nursing him."
This news made our hero feel very sad, and he hurried on to the lowerdeck, where the wounded lay in their hammocks, sheltered by a canvasscreen.
He inquired of one of the attendants where Jack Peek was, and soon foundhim, the surgeon being by his side dressing his wound.
"I'm much afraid that he will slip through our fingers unless we canmanage to quell the fever. He requires constant watching, and that ismore than he can well obtain, with so many men laid up, and so much todo," said the doctor as he finished his task. "However, Rayner, if youcan stay by him, I'll be back in a few minutes to see how he's gettingon. In the meantime give him this medicine; if he comes to his senses,a word or two from you may do him good."
Though Rayner himself could scarcely stand from fatigue, he undertook todo as the doctor requested. He waited until he saw, by the light of thelantern hung up from a beam overhead, that Jack had come somewhat tohimself, when he got him to take the draught he held in his hand.
"How do you feel, Jack?" he asked in a low tone; but poor Jack did notreply. After waiting a little time longer, Rayner again spoke. "We'vebeaten off the enemy, you know, and are safe under shelter of the land.Cheer up now, you'll soon get round."
"Is that you, Bill?" asked Jack, in a faint voice. "I thought motherwas with me, and I was on shore, but I'm glad she's not, for it wouldgrieve her to see me knocked about as I am."
"You'll do well now, the doctor said so, as you've come to yourself,"observed Rayner, much cheered at hearing Jack speak. "I'll stay by youwhile it is my watch below, and then I'll get Tom to come. Now go tosleep, if the pain will let you."
"The pain isn't so very great, and I don't mind it since we have lickedthe enemy," answered Jack; "but I hope you won't be angry at me callingyou Bill; I quite forgot, Mr Rayner, that you were a midshipman."
"No, I didn't remark that you called me Bill," answered Rayner; "if Ihad, I shouldn't have thought about it. I just feel as I did when I wasyour messmate. However, I must not let you be talking, so now shut youreyes and get some sleep; it will do you more good than the doctor'sstuff."
Rayner was very glad when the doctor came back, accompanied by Tom, andhaving observed that Jack was going on as well as he expected, told himto go to his hammock. This he gladly did, leaving Tom in charge oftheir friend.
Rayner felt that he greatly needed rest; but as he had expended part ofhis watch below, he could not have three hours' sleep.
On coming on deck he found the gale was blowing harder than ever, thoughthe frigate lay sheltered by the land.
Almost immediately the sound of a distant gun reached his ear. It wasfollowed rapidly by others, and the sound appeared to come down on thegale.
"There's a ship in danger on the other side of Portland," observed thesecond lieutenant, who was the officer of the watch. "Rayner, go andtell the captain. He desired to be called if anything happened."
Captain Martin, who had only thrown himself down on his bed in hisclothes, was on his feet in a moment, and followed Rayner on deck.
After listening a minute. "It's more than possible she's our lateantagonist," he observed. "If the gale caught her unprepared, her mastsprobably went by the board, and, unable to help herself, she is drivingin here. Get a couple of boats ready with some coils of rope, andspars, and rockets, and we'll try and save the lives of the poorfellows."
Rayner was surprised to hear this, supposing that the captain intendedto pull out to sea, whereas he had resolved to go overland to the partof the coast which probably the ship in distress was approaching.Although where the frigate lay was tolerably smooth water, yet, from thewhite-crested seas which broke outside, and the roaring of the wind asit swept over the land, it was very evident that no boat could live whenonce from under its shelter.
The captain, accompanied by three gun-room officers, Rayner and anothermidshipman, and twenty men, landed at the nearest spot where the boatscould put in, and proceeded overland in the direction from which thesound of the guns had come.
Again and again they boomed forth through the midnight air. Solemnlythey struck on the ear, telling of danger and death. Scarcely, however,had the party proceeded a quarter of a mile than they ceased. In vainthey were listened for. It was too evident that the ship had struck thefatal rocks, and if so, there was not a moment to be lost, or tooprobably the whole of the hapless crew would be lost.
The western shore was reached at last. As they approached the cliffsthey saw a number of people moving about, and as they got to the bay andlooked down over the foaming ocean, they could see a dark object somefifty fathoms off, from which proceeded piercing shrieks and cries forhelp. It was the hull of a large ship, hove on her beam-ends, her mastsgone, the after-part already shattered and rent by the fierce seas whichdashed furiously against her, threatening to sweep off the miserablewretches clinging to the bulwarks and stanchions. To form acommunication with her was Captain Martin's first object. As yet it wasevident that no attempt of the sort had been made, most of the peoplewho had collected being more eager apparently to secure the casks,chests, and other things thrown on shore than to assist their perishingfellow-creatures. It was vain to shout and direct the people on thewreck to attach a line to a cask and let it float in towards the beach.The most stentorian voices could not make themselves heard when sent inthe teeth of the gale now blowing. On descending the cliffs, CaptainMartin and his party found a narrow strip of beach, on which they couldstand out of the power of the seas, which, in quick succession, camefoaming and roaring in towards them. He immediately ordered a couple ofrockets to be let off, to show the strangers that there were those onshore who were ready to help them. No signal was fired in return, noteven a lantern shown, but the crashing, rending sounds which came fromthe wreck made it too evident that she could not much longer withstandthe furious assaults of the raging ocean. Captain Martin inquiredwhether any of his crew were sufficiently good swimmers to reach thewreck.
Rayner longed to say that he would try, but he had never swum in a heavysea, and felt that it would be madness to make the attempt.
"I'll try it, sir," cried Ben Twinch, the boatswain's mate, one of themost powerful men in the ship. "I'd like, howsomdever, to have a lineround my waist. Do you stand by, mates, and haul me back if I don'tmake way; there are some ugly bits of timber floating about, and one ofthem may give me a lick on the head, and I shan't know what'shappening."
Ben's offer was accepted. While the coil of line was being got ready, alarge spar, to which a couple of men were clinging, was seen floating intowards the beach, but it was still at some distance, and there was afearful probability that before it touched the shore the reflux of thewater might drag them off to destruction.
"Quick, lads, quick, and I'll try to get hold of one or both of them, ifI can," cried Ben, fastening the rope round his body. His example wasfollowed by another man, who, in the same way, secured a rope roundhimself, when both plunged in and seized the well-nigh drowningstrangers, just as, utterly exhausted, they had let go their hold. Theywere able, however, to speak, and Rayner discovered that they wereFrench.
By the captain's directions he inquired the name of the ship.
"The _Zenobie_ frigate, of forty guns and three hundred and forty men,"was the answer. "We had an action yesterday with an English frigate,which made off while we were repairing damages, but truly she so knockedus about that when we were caught by the gale our masts went over theside, and we were driven utterly helpless on this terrible coast."
Rayner did not tell the _Thisbe's_ men, who were trying to assist thehapless strangers, that they were their late antagonists. He merelysaid, "They are Frenchmen, lads; but
I'm sure that will make nodifference to any of us."
"I should think not, whether they're Mynheers or Mounseers," cried Ben."They're drowning, and want our help; so, whether enemies or friends,we'll try to haul as many of the poor fellows ashore as we can get holdof, and give them dry jackets, and a warm welcome afterwards. Slackaway, mates!" And he plunged into the foaming billows.
His progress was anxiously watched as he rose now on the top of aroaring sea, now concealed as he sank into the hollow to appear again onthe side of another, all the time buffeting the foaming breakers, nowavoiding a mass of timber, now grasping a spar, and making it supporthim as he forced his way onward, until he was lost to sight in thegloom.
After a considerable time of intense anxiety it was found that the linewas taut. Ben had, it was supposed, reached the forechains of thefrigate. Then the question rose, whether he would be able to makehimself understood by the Frenchmen. One of the men, however, who hadbeen washed on shore said that he believed one or two people on boardunderstood English; but it was doubtful whether they were among thosewho had already perished.
Some more minutes passed, and then they felt the line shaken. It wasthe signal for them to haul in. Rapidly pulling away, they at lengthhad the satisfaction of finding the end of a stout hawser, with asmaller line attached to it. The hawser was made fast round a rock,then, knowing the object of the line, they hauled away at it until theysaw a cradle coming along with a couple of boys in it. The moment theywere taken out the cradle was hauled back, and then a man appeared, andthus, one after another, about sixty of the French crew were dragged onshore.
Every time the cradle appeared, his shipmates hoped to see Ben in it;but Rayner learned from one of the persons in it that he had remained onthe wreck, assisting those who were too benumbed or bewildered with fearto secure themselves.
As the poor Frenchmen were landed, they were placed under charge of someof the men appointed for the purpose, while two of the officers suppliedthe most exhausted with such restoratives as they required.
Many, they said, had already been washed off the wreck and been lost,while others were too much paralysed by fear even to make their way towhere Ben was standing, lashed to a stanchion, ready to help them intothe cradle.
Great fears were now entertained lest he should suffer by his nobleexertions to save others. The crashing and rending sounds increased infrequency. Every instant some huge portion of the wreck was rent away,and the whole intervening mass of seething waters was covered by darkfragments of timber, tossing and rolling as they approached the beach,or were floated out to sea, or cast against the rocks. Still theFrenchmen kept arriving. Now one more daring than the others wouldcrawl along the cable in spite of the risk of being washed off by thehungry breakers into which it was occasionally plunged.
Rayner, who stood on the rock with a party engaged in assisting thepeople as they arrived in the cradle, inquired whether there were manymore to come.
"I think so, monsieur," was the answer; "we mustered nearly four hundredsouls, but of those, alas! numbers have already been washed away."
Again and again those fearful crashings, mingled with despairingshrieks, were heard above the roar of wild breakers. Rayner feltserious apprehensions about the safety of brave Ben.
At any moment the wreck might break up, and then it would be scarcelypossible for a human being to exist amidst the masses of timber whichwould be hurled wildly about.
Again the cradle was to be hauled in. In came with greater difficultythan before, as if it carried a heavier weight. It seemed as if thecable would not bear the additional strain.
The British seamen exerted all their strength, for at any moment, evenif the cable did not break, it might be torn from its holdfast on thewreck. As the cradle came in, two men were seen seated in it, oneholding another in his arms. Rayner heard the words, "Vite, vite, monami, ou nous sommes perdu."
"Haul away, lads, haul away!" he shouted out, though his men required nourging.
Just as the cradle was reaching the rock, a crash, even louder than itspredecessors, was heard. Several men sprang forward to grasp theoccupants of the cradle. The outer end of the rope had given way, andin another instant they would have been too late.
Again the wild shrieks of despair of the helpless wretches who stillremained on the wreck echoed along the cliffs.
"Poor Ben! has he gone?" exclaimed Rayner. "No, sir, he's one of thosewe've just got ashore," answered a quarter-master who, with severalothers, had rushed down to help the two men taken out of the cradle, andwho were now bearing the apparently inanimate body of the boatswain'smate up the rock; "the other's a Frenchman by his lingo."
Rayner hurried to the spot, when what was his surprise, as the light ofthe lantern fell on the countenance of the Frenchman last landed, to seePierre's father, Captain Turgot!
Putting out his hand, he warmly shook that of his old friend, who openedhis eyes with a look of astonishment, naturally not recognising him.
"Don't you know me, Captain Turgot?" said Rayner. "I am one of the boysyou saved when our frigate was blown up."
"What! are you little Bill?" exclaimed the honest fisherman. "That iswonderful. Then you escaped after all. I am indeed glad."
There was no time just then, however, for explanations. Rayner thankedhis old friend for saving Ben's life.
"I could do nothing else," was the answer. "He was about to placeanother man in the cradle who had not the courage to get into it byhimself, when a piece of timber surging up struck both of them, theother was swept away, and the brave English sailor would have sufferedthe same fate had I not got hold of him; and then, though I had made upmy mind to remain to the last, I saw that the only way to save him wasto bring him myself in the cradle to the shore, and I am thankful that Idid so. But my poor countrymen! There are many still remaining whomust perish if we cannot get another hawser secured to the wreck."
This was what Captain Martin was now endeavouring to do, but there wasno one found willing or able to swim back to the wreck. The danger ofmaking the attempt was, indeed, far greater than at first.
Ben was regaining his consciousness; but even had he been uninjured,after the exertions he had gone through, he would have been unfit torepeat the dangerous exploit.
Captain Turgot offered to try; but when he saw the intermediate spacethrough which he would have to pass covered with masses of wreck, heacknowledged that it would be impossible to succeed.
The final catastrophe came at last. A tremendous wave, higher than itspredecessors, rolled in, apparently lifting the wreck, which, comingdown again with fearful force upon the rocks, split into a thousandfragments.
As the wave, after dashing furiously on the shore, rolled back again, afew shattered timbers could alone be perceived, with not a human beingclinging to them.
Shrieks of despair, heard above the howling tempest, rose from thesurging water, but they were speedily hushed, and of the strugglingwretches two men alone, almost exhausted, were thrown by a succeedingwave on the shingly beach, together with the bodies of several alreadynumbered among the dead.
When Captain Martin came to muster the shipwrecked men saved by hisexertions, he found that upwards of three hundred of the crew of hislate antagonist had perished, seventy alone having landed in safety.Leaving a party on the beach to watch lest any more should be washed onshore, he and the magistrate led the way up the cliff. The Frenchmenfollowed with downcast hearts, fully believing that they were to betreated as prisoners of war. Some of them, aided by the British seamen,carried those who had been too much injured to walk.
After they had arrived at a spot where some shelter was found from thefury of the wind, Captain Martin, calling a halt, sent for Rayner, andtold him to assure the Frenchmen that he did not look upon them asenemies or prisoners of war, but rather as unfortunate strangers who,having been driven on the English coast by the elements, had a right toexpect assistance and kind treatment from the inhabitants, and that suchit was his
wish to afford them.
Expressions of gratitude rose from the lips of the Frenchmen when Raynerhad translated what Captain Martin had said. The magistrate thenoffered to receive as many as his own house could accommodate, as didtwo gentlemen who had accompanied him, their example being followed byother persons, and before morning the whole of the shipwrecked seamenwere housed, including three or four officers, the only ones saved. Thepoor fellows endeavoured by every way in their power to show howgrateful they were for the kindness they were receiving.
Captain Martin's first care was to write an account of the occurrence tothe Admiralty, stating what he had done, and expressing a hope that theshipwrecked crew would be sent back as soon as possible to France.
By return of post, which was not, however, until the end of three orfour days, Captain Martin had the satisfaction of receiving a letterfrom the king himself, highly approving of his conduct, and directingthat the Frenchmen should each receive as much clothing and money asthey required, and as soon as a cartel could be got ready, sent back toCherbourg or some other French port.
News of the battered state of the _Thisbe_ having been received at theAdmiralty, a frigate was ordered round to escort her into port, as shewas not in a position to put to sea safely by herself. The Frenchmenhaving been received on board the two frigates, and a light northerlybreeze springing up, they sailed together for Plymouth. The pumps werekept going on board the _Thisbe_ during the whole passage, when theFrenchmen, at the instigation of Captain Turgot, volunteered to workthem.
Rayner had many a talk about Pierre with his old friend, who longed toembrace his son, and was profuse in his expressions of gratitude for thekindness he had received.
Directly he returned on board, Rayner went to Jack, whom he found goingon well. Captain Turgot, on hearing that Jack had been wounded, beggedpermission to see him, and from that moment spent every instant he couldby his side, tending him as if he had been his own son.
It was curious to see the way the English sailors treated their Frenchguests who had so lately been engaged with them in a desperate fight.Several were suffering from bruises and exposure on the wreck. Thesewere nursed with a tender care, as if they had been women or children,the sailors carrying those about whose legs had been hurt, and feedingtwo or three, whose hands or arms had been injured, just as if they hadbeen big babies.
The rest of the Frenchmen who had escaped injury quickly recovered theirspirits, and might have been seen toeing and heeling it at night to thesound of Bob Rosin's fiddle; and Bob, a one-legged negro, who performedthe double duty of cook's second mate and musician-general of the ship,was never tired of playing as long as he could get any one to dance.The style of performance of the two nationalities was very different,but both received their share of applause from one another. TheFrenchmen leapt into the air, whirled, bounded and skipped, while theBritish tars did the double-shuffle and performed the various evolutionsof the hornpipe, to the admiration of their Gallic rivals.
By the time they had reached Plymouth they had won each other's hearts,and hands were wrung, and many of the Frenchmen burst into tears as theytook their leave of their gallant entertainers, all protesting that theyshould always remember their kindness, and expressing the hope that theyshould never meet again except as friends.
Sad it is that men, who would be ever ready to live on friendly termsand advance their mutual interests, should, by the ambition and lust ofpower of a few, be compelled to slaughter and injure each other, as hasunhappily been the case for so many centuries throughout the wholecivilised portion of the world.
As soon as the anchor was dropped, Rayner asked for leave to go on shorewith Captain Turgot, to visit Mrs Crofton, and learn how Pierre wasgetting on.
"You may go, but you must return on board at night, as there is plentyof work to be done," answered the first lieutenant.
"Thank you, sir," said Rayner; and he hurried below to tell CaptainTurgot to get ready.
They shoved off by the first boat going on shore. They walked onquickly through the streets of Plymouth, Rayner anticipating thepleasure of seeing Mrs Crofton and Mary, and of witnessing the meetingbetween the honest Frenchman and his son.
"I hope that we shall find Pierre recovered; but the doctor said hiswound would take long to heal, and you must not be surprised if he isstill unable to move," he said to Captain Turgot. "Our friends willtake very good care of him, and perhaps you would like to remain behinduntil he is well."
"I would wish to be with him, but I am anxious to relieve the anxiety ofMadame Turgot and Jeannette, who, if they do not see me, will supposethat I am lost," answered the Captain. "I shall grieve to leave my boybehind, but I know that he will be well cared for, and I cannot tellyou, my young friend, how grateful I am. Little did I think, when Ipicked you up out of the water, how amply you would return the service Idid you."
"I certainly did not expect in any way to be able to repay it," saidRayner, "or, to say the truth, to feel the regard for Frenchmen which Ido for you and your son."
Rayner found Mrs Crofton and her daughter seated in the drawing-room.After the first greetings were over, and he had introduced CaptainTurgot, he inquired after Pierre, expecting, through not seeing him,that he was still unable to leave his room.
"He has gone out for a short walk, as the doctor tells him to be in thefresh air as much as possible, and he is well able to get along with thehelp of a stick," answered Mrs Crofton. "I hope his father has notcome to take him away, for we shall be very sorry to lose him?"
"I don't know whether he will be allowed to go without being exchanged,"answered Rayner; and he gave an account of the wreck of the _Zenobie_and the arrangement which had been made for sending the survivors of hercrew back to France.
"That is very kind and generous of our good king. No wonder that hissoldiers and sailors are so ready to fight for him," remarked MrsCrofton.
While they were speaking, Pierre entered the house. His joy at seeinghis father almost overcame him. They threw themselves into each other'sarms and embraced as Frenchmen are accustomed to embrace--somewhat, itmust be confessed, to Mary's amusement. After they had become moretranquil they sat down and talked away at such a rate that even Raynercould scarcely understand what they were saying. He meantime had apleasant conversation with Mary and her mother, for he had plenty totell them, and they evidently liked to listen to him.
After some time, during a pause in the conversation, Captain Turgotdesired Pierre to tell Mrs Crofton and her daughter how grateful hefelt for their kindness, his own knowledge of English being insufficientto express his wishes.
They, hearing him, replied in French, and soon the whole party wastalking away in that language, though Mary's French, it must beadmitted, was not of a very choice description; but she laughed at herown mistakes, and Rayner helped her out when she was in want of a word.
The afternoon passed pleasantly away, and Rayner, looking at his watch,was sorry to find it was time to return. He told Pierre that he mustreport his state to the Captain and Mr Saltwell, who would decide whathe was to do.
Captain Turgot went back with him, having nowhere else to go.
Captain Martin lost no time in carrying out the wishes of the kind king.A brig was chartered as a cartel, on board of which the Frenchmen wereat once sent. Rayner was not aware that Mr Saltwell had obtainedpermission for Pierre to go back with his father, and was much surprisedon being directed to go to Mrs Crofton's, and to escort him on boardthe brig.
Pierre seemed scarcely to know whether to laugh or cry at regaining hisliberty as he took leave of his kind hostess and her daughter; but hisdesire to see his mother and sister and la belle France finally overcamehis regret at parting from them, and he quickly got ready to set off.
"We shall be happy to see you as soon as you can come again, MrRayner," said Mrs Crofton.
"Oh yes," added Mary, in a sweet voice, with a smile, which made ourhero at once promise that he would lose no opportunity of paying them avisit.
Rayner's first duty was to see Captain Turgot and Pierre onboard the cartel. They embraced him with tears in their eyes as theywished him farewell, and many of the grateful Frenchmen gathered roundhim, several expressing their hopes that France and England would soonmake up their quarrel.
"What it's all about, ma foi, is more than I or any of us can tell,"exclaimed a boatswain's mate, wringing Rayner's hand, which all wereeager to grasp. "We are carried on board ship and told to fight, and sowe fight--more fools we! If we were wise, we should navigate ourmerchant vessels, or go fishing, or stay at home and cultivate ourfields and gardens. We all hope that there'll be peace when we nextmeet, messieurs."
Many others echoed the sentiment, and cheered Rayner, who, after he hadsent many kind messages to Madame Turgot and Jeannette, hurried down theside and returned on board the frigate.