CHAPTER V.
THE BRITISH CRUISERS.
An hour passed. During this time the watchers on the hill saw that thebrig had been lying alongside the three-masted vessel, and felt surethat the cargo was being transferred, then the merchantman's sailswere hoisted, and she slowly sailed away. For another hour the othertwo crafts lay motionless, then they hoisted sail and headed for theisland. There was a brisk, steady wind blowing, and they came alongfast through the water.
"We shall soon see now whether your frigate has made them out,"Jacques said; "but I will not wait any longer but will go and tell thecaptain what is going on. In another hour the others will be up hereto relieve you, then you can bring down the latest news."
Left alone, Ralph watched anxiously the progress of the distantvessels, turning the glass frequently toward the other island, beyondthe end of which he momentarily expected to see the white sails of thefrigate appear. An hour passed. The schooner and the brig were nowwithin about four miles of the nearest point of the island, and stillthere were no signs of the English ship. Presently he heard voicesbehind him, and two French sailors came up. Ralph was now free toreturn, but he thought he had better wait until the brig and schoonerreached a point where they would be hidden by the island from thesight of any-one who might be watching on the hill six miles away.
In another half-hour they had reached this point. No signs had beenseen of the frigate, and Ralph felt sure that she must have beenanchored in some bay whose headland prevented her seeing theapproaching craft; for had she noticed them she would assuredly haveset out to intercept them before they reached the island, which layalmost dead to windward of them. He was just turning to go when one ofthe men gave a sudden exclamation. He turned round again and saw thefrigate just appearing from behind the other island. She wasclose-hauled, and it was soon evident by her course that she wasbeating up for the point round which the other two ships haddisappeared.
Ralph was puzzled at this; for if she had made out the brig andschooner, her natural course would have been to have made for theother end of the island, so as to cut them off as they sailed past it;whereas they would now, when they gained the extremity of the island,find themselves five or six miles astern of the other two craft. TheFrench sailors were equally puzzled, and there was a hot argumentbetween them; but they finally concluded that her appearance at thatmoment must be accidental, and she could not have made out theprivateers. They had just told Ralph to run down with the news to theharbor when a light was thrown upon the mystery; for from the otherend of the island from which the frigate had emerged a large schoonerappeared. Every sail was set, and her course was directed toward thisother end of the island upon which the watchers were standing. The twoFrench sailors burst out into a torrent of oaths, expressive ofsurprise and alarm; for it was evident that from the course theschooner was taking she intended to intercept the two privateers, andengage them until the frigate came to her assistance.
"Run, boy! run for your life!" one of them exclaimed, "and tell thecaptain. But no; wait a moment," and he directed the glass upon theschooner. "A thousand curses!" he exclaimed. "It is the Cerf schoonerthe English captured from us six months ago. She is the fastest craftin these waters. Tell the captain that I am coming after you, but yourlegs will beat mine."
Ralph dashed off at full speed, but as soon as he had fairly distancedthe French sailor he began to run more slowly. For the moment he hadso entered into the feelings of his companions that he had identifiedhimself with them, but now he had time to think, his sympathies swunground to the English ship. He did not particularly want La Belle Marieto be captured; for he had been so well treated on board her that hefelt no ill-will toward her. But her capture meant his deliverance.
He thought over the matter as he ran, and wondered first why thefrigate did not take the line to cut the privateers off, instead ofgoing round by the other end of the island. He could only suppose thatit was because the schooner was the fastest vessel, and was morelikely to arrive in time at the point. Beside, if she showed therebefore the privateers reached the point they might double back again,and the frigate would make the other end of the island before theywere halfway back. It might be, too, that the captain has suspectedthe truth, knowing that the privateers had a rendezvous somewhere inthat neighborhood, and that his object in remaining so long behind theisland was to give them time to enter their port in ignorance of hisbeing in the neighborhood. At any rate, the great thing was, that theschooner and brig should enter the little harbor before knowing thatthey were pursued. Once in, it would be impossible for them to get outagain and beat off shore with the wind blowing dead on the land,before both the schooner and frigate had rounded their respective endsof the island.
Therefore, although Ralph ran fast enough to keep well ahead of thesailor, he made no effort to keep up a greater rate of speed than wasnecessary for this. As soon as he reached the shore a boat rowed offfrom the brig to fetch him. He saw with satisfaction that although themen were all on board, no preparations were made for getting under wayat once; and, indeed, the captain would have no anxiety for his ownship, as he would know that the privateers, if they saw the frigatecoming out to meet them, would sail right away from the island, andthe frigate would be sure to pursue until out of sight of land.
"What news, boy?" the captain asked as the boat came close alongside."Is the frigate in chase of the others?"
"Yes, sir," Ralph replied; "the frigate and a schooner are both inchase."
"Which way are they bearing?"
"The privateers do not know they are chased sir. The frigate did notshow round the island over there until the schooner and brig werehidden behind the end of this island. She made toward the western end,and the schooner is making for the eastern end. The sailors who cameup told me to tell you that the schooner is the Cerf, one of thefastest vessels out here."
The captain uttered an exclamation of dismay, which was echoed bythose standing round him.
"Row out through the entrance," he shouted to the coxswain of theboat, "and warn the others of the danger! Tell them to make straightout. If they come in here, we shall all be caught in a trap together!"
The oars dipped in the water, but before the boat was fairly in motionthere was an exclamation, for the head sail of the schooner glided inpast the projecting cliff. A moment later the whole vessel came intoview.
"Bring the boat back alongside!" the captain shouted. "I will go onboard her at once. She may get out in time yet!"
As the schooner rounded up her sails came down, and she headedstraight toward the brig. The captain of the Belle Marie stood up inthe stern-sheet of the boat, shouting and waving his hands andgesticulating to them to get up sail again. Those on board theschooner looked on in surprise, unable to guess his meaning.
"There are two English cruisers, one coming round each end of theisland!" he shouted as he approached the schooner. "Get out again ifyou can, otherwise they must catch us all in here!"
The captain in the schooner at once saw the emergency, and roared outorders. The boats were all lowered at once, and the men tumbled onboard. Hawsers were lowered from the bows, and they began at once totow her head round, for there was not a breath of wind in theland-locked harbor.
"How much time have we got?" the captain asked as the schooner's headcame slowly round.
"I don't know," the other captain replied. "It's a question ofminutes, anyhow. Ah, here is the brig!" and the boat dashed forwardand he gave similar orders to those that had been given to theschooner.
"Get them both round!" the captain shouted. "I will row out throughthe entrance and give you warning if these accursed cruisers are insight."
The boat dashed through the narrow entrance, and at once felt the fullforce of the breeze. "Dead on shore," the captain muttered bitterly."They will have to work right out into the arms of one or other ofthem."
They rowed a hundred yards out, when, beyond the furthermost pointthey could see to the east, the sails of the schooner were perceived
.
"Take her round," the captain said sharply. "It's too late now, wehave got to fight for it."
They rowed back through the entrance. The schooner slowly towed by herboats was approaching.
"It is no use," the captain said, "you are too late. The schooner hasrounded the end of the island, and with this breeze will be here inhalf an hour. You never can work out in time. Beside, they would seeyou come out; and even if you got away, which you couldn't do, theywould come back and capture the depot. We have got to fight for it,that's evident; and the boats of a fleet could hardly make their wayin here. We had best get the three craft moored with their broadsidesto the entrance. We will blow the boats to tinder if they try to comein, and then we can load up with all the most valuable goods and slipout at night-time. That is our only chance."
The captain of the schooner jumped into the boat, and they again rowedout into the entrance. He saw at once that the other's advice was theonly one to be followed. It would be impossible to beat off the shorebefore the schooner came up and while they were talking the frigateappeared round the other end of the island. They therefore returnedinto the harbor. The Belle Marie's anchor was raised, and the threevessels moored head and stern across the harbor, a hundred yards fromthe entrance. As soon as this was done strong parties were sent ashorefrom each of the vessels, and six heavy ship's guns that had beenlanded from some captured vessel were dragged from their place nearthe storehouse and planted on the heights, so as to sweep the narrowchannel.
It was late in the evening before this was finished, and an earthworkthrown up to shelter the men working the guns from musketry fire. Inthe meantime the two ships of war had met outside, and againseparating cruised several times from end to end of the rocky wall,evidently searching for the entrance through which the privateers theyhad been pursuing had so suddenly disappeared. In the morning theFrench sailors were at work early, and two or three strong chains werefastened across the mouth of the passage.
"Now," the captain of the Belle Marie said exultantly, as he regainedthe deck of his ship, "we are ready to give them a warm reception. Theboats of all the British cruisers on the station would never forcetheir way through that gap."
Ralph had not been called upon to assist in the work of preparation,he and Jacques having done their day's work on the journey to the topof the hill and back. He saw from the exultation in the faces of theFrenchmen that they considered their position was impregnable, and heshuddered at the thought of the terrible carnage that would ensue ifthe boats of the English vessels should try to force an entrance. Thefollowing morning a lookout on the cliffs reported that two boats hadleft the ships and were rowing toward the shore. On reaching the footof the cliffs they rowed along abreast at a distance of thirty orforty yards of the shores. They stopped rowing at the mouth of theentrance, and were suddenly hailed by the captain of the schooner, whowas standing on the cliff above.
"If you try to enter," he said, "you will be destroyed at once. Wedon't want to harm you if you will leave us alone; but we have gunsenough to blow a whole fleet out of water, and will use them if we aredriven to it."
"Thank you for your warning," a voice shouted back from the boats, andthen an order was given, and they rowed back to the ships.
"Well, have you found the place, Lieutenant Pearson?" the captain ofthe frigate asked as the young lieutenant stepped on deck.
"Yes, sir, we have found it. It is just where the boat turned and cameout again."
"I can see no signs of it now," the captain said, examining the shorewith his telescope.
"No, sir; you wouldn't until you were within a hundred yards of it.But rowing close in as we were we saw it some time before we gotthere. The rocks overlap each other, and there is a narrow channelsome fifty yards long between them. Apparently this makes a sharp turnat the other end and opens out. We saw nothing of the vessels we werechasing yesterday, but on high ground facing the channel there is abattery of six guns planted so as to rake anything coming in. Thereare some chains across the end. While we were lying on our oars therewe were hailed." And he then repeated the warning that had been given.
"Nasty place to get into--eh?" the captain said thoughtfully.
"Very nasty, sir. You see, the guns would play right down into thechannel; then there are the chains to break down, and perhaps morebatteries, and certainly the ships to tackle when we get inside."
"Is there width for the frigate to enter?" the captain asked.
"Just width, I should say, and no more, sir. We should certainly haveto get the yards braced fore and aft, but the ship herself would gothrough with something to spare, I should say."
"What depth of water is there close in shore?"
"Plenty of depth sir, right up to the foot of the cliffs; but ofcourse I can say nothing as to the depth in the channel."
"No, of course not," the captain said. "Well, it's something that wehave run these pests to earth at last, but I see it is going to be noeasy matter to get at them."
The captain now signaled to the captain of the schooner to come onboard, and when he did so the two officers retired to the cabintogether and had a long consultation. The young officer on coming ondeck got into his boat, and taking Lieutenant Pearson with him rowedfor the cliffs, a few hundred yards to the west of the inlet. Herethey could obtain a view of the channel and its surroundings. Not aman was to be seen. The muzzles of the six guns pointed menacinglydown into the passage, and the chains could be seen just above thewater's edge.
"I think we will go back now, Mr. Pearson. I really think we ought tobe very much obliged to those fellows for not sinking us. I wonderwhat was their motive in letting us off so easily?"
"I suppose they feel pretty confident that our report is not likely toencourage an attack, and they think that if they were to blow us topieces it would only make Captain Wilson the more determined todestroy them. At least that is the conclusion I came to as I rowedback last time."
"Yes, I should think that is it," the young captain said. "It iscertainly as awkward a looking place to attack in boats as I ever saw.Of course were it not for the chains my vessel could get in, and Idare say she has been in there many a time before we captured her, butit would be a very risky thing to take the frigate in without knowinganything of the depth of water either in the channel or inside."
Both returned to the frigate. "Mr. Pearson's report is fully borneout, Captain Wilson. It would be a most desperate enterprise to attackwith our boats. Half of them would be sunk before they got to thechains; and even if they got past them, which I doubt, there is nosaying what difficulties and obstacles may be inside."
"And now about the frigate, Captain Chambers."
"Well, sir, that is for you to decide. I am quite ready to take theschooner in; though with the plunging power of that battery raking herfore and aft I say fairly that it would be a desperate enterprise, andif she had not sufficient way upon her to carry away the chainsnothing could save her. As to the frigate, it seems to me that shewould run an equal risk with the schooner, with the additional dangerthat there may not be water enough for her."
"Well, it certainly doesn't seem to be an easy nut to crack," CaptainWilson said. "As we agreed before you started, we should not bejustified in risking both our vessels in assaulting a place which iscertainly extremely formidable, and where there may not be waterenough for the frigate to float. Still the question remains, what isto be done? It is no use anchoring here and trying to starve them out;they may have provisions enough to last them for years, for anythingwe know. If the weather were to turn bad we should have to make off atonce; it would never do to be caught in a hurricane with such a coastas that on our lee. I might send you to Port Royal with a letter tothe admiral, asking him to send us two or three more ships; but Idon't like doing that when it is a mere question of capturing tworascally privateers."
"I think the admiral would be glad to send them," the younger captainsaid; "for these two vessels have done a tremendous lot of damageduring the last year. I
believe that upward of twenty ships havereported being boarded and stripped by them."
"But if they came what could they do?" Captain Wilson asked. "You seewe consider it is not worth the risk of throwing away two ships twoforce this passage, still less would it be to risk four."
"That is so, no doubt," Captain Chambers agreed. "I should suggestthat however many of us there may be we should all draw off and keep awatch at a distance. Of course it would be necessary to approach atnight, and to lie behind the island somewhere in the daytime just aswe did yesterday, for from the top of that hill they can see anydistance round."
"Yes, and as soon as it is dusk they will have two or three hours toget away before we can come round here. Beside, with theirnight-glasses from the top of the cliffs they will be sure to be ableto make us out. There is only one other way that I can see of gettingat them, that is to find a landing-place and attack them from onshore."
"Ah! that's much more hopeful business. As far as I saw yesterdaythere are cliffs all round the island; but it is hard indeed if wecannot find some place where we can manage to effect a landing.
"This is the plan we must follow out. This afternoon an hour before itgets dark you get up sail and make away as if you were bound for PortRoyal. I shall keep my station here. They will think you have gone offto get some more ships. As soon as it is thoroughly dark bear roundand come back to the island; bring the schooner in close to the cliffson the other side and get into a bay if you can find one. You willthen be out of sight altogether unless somebody happens to look downfrom the edge of the cliffs above you.
"Then search the whole of the back of the island with boats, keepingat oar's length from the cliffs. There must be some places where a mancan climb up, probably gulleys worn by streams. Then to-morrow nightsail round and join us again. I will be waiting for you about twomiles off the land, and will show a light to seaward so that you willknow where to find me. Then we can talk matters over, and you can getback to the other side again before morning."
While the captains of the two English vessels were holdingconsultations a similar talk was going on between the three captainsof the privateers, and the conclusion they arrived at was preciselysimilar to that of the English officers. It was agreed that no attackwas likely to be made by the ships, as they would almost certainly besunk by the plunging fire of the battery as they came along thechannel; while an assault by the boats would be sheer madness.
"We have only to wait and tire them out," the captain of the schoonersaid, rubbing his hands. "The first gale from the north they must runfor shelter, and before they can come back to their station again weshall be gone. Of course we will load well up beforehand with all thatis really worth taking away, and can let them have the pleasure ofdestroying the rest after we have gone."
"They will know all that as well as we do," the captain of La BelleMarie said. "They will never be fools enough to try and starve us out,but you are quite mistaken if you think we are out of danger."
"Why, what danger can there be?" the others asked. "We have agreedthey cannot attack us by the channel."
"No, they cannot attack us from the channel, but they can attack usfrom somewhere else now they know we are here. They will find someplace where they can land and take us in rear."
An exclamation of dismay broke from the other captains.
"_Sapriste!_ I never thought of that. Of course they can. I have neverexamined the coast on the other side, but there must be places wherethey could land."
"No doubt there are; and you may be quite sure that is the course theywill adopt. These English are slow, but they are not fools; and I willbet ten to one that is the next move they will be up to. If you like Iwill take a score of my men and cross the island this afternoon, andto-morrow will examine the whole line of shore. If there are only oneor two places they can land at we may be able to defend them; but ifthere are four or five places far apart our force won't be sufficientto hold them all, for they could land two hundred and fifty men fromthose two ships, perhaps a hundred more."
"That is the best thing to be done, Vipon. Of course you will send usword across directly you see how the land lies. If we find that theycan land in a good many places, there will be nothing for us to do buttry and make a bolt for it. Keeping close in under the cliffs at nightwe may manage to give them the slip, or in any case one if not two ofus may get away. Better that than to run the risk of being all caughtlike rats in a trap here."
An hour afterward the captain of the Belle Marie started for the otherside of the island with twenty picked men, carrying with them theirarms, axes, and two days' provisions. The rest of the crews wereemployed during the day in filling up the three vessels with the mostvaluable portion of the booty in the storehouses, care being taken notto fill the vessels so deeply as would interfere seriously with theirsailing powers. An arrangement had been made between the captains thatthe Belle Marie should transfer her cargo to the first vessel worthsending to France that she captured, receiving as her share one-thirdof its value if it reached port safely.
The captain of the Belle Marie was well content with this arrangement,for the storehouses contained the spoils of upward of twenty ships,and his share would therefore be a considerable one, and he would onlyhave to carry the cargo till he fell in with an English merchantman.All speculation as to the British schooner's whereabouts was put anend to the next morning, by a message from Captain Vipon saying shehad been discovered lying close in under the cliffs at the back of theisland, and that her boats were already examining the shore. An hourlater the captain himself arrived.
"It is as I feared," he said when he joined the other captains; "thereare three bays about two miles apart and at all of these a landingcould be easily effected. The land slopes gradually down to the edgeof the sea. They might land at any of them, and of course the guns ofthe schooner would cover the landing if we opposed it."
"Still we might beat them back," one of the others said. "We canmuster about three hundred men between us, and they are not likely toland more than that."
"I don't think that would be a good plan," Captain Vipon said. "Tobegin with, we can't tell which of the three places they may choosefor landing at. We certainly cannot hurry through the woods anythinglike so fast as they can row along the shore, so that would place usat a disadvantage. In the second place, you know very well that wecan't rely upon our men defeating an equal number of these John Bulls;and in the last place, we should not gain much if we did. We shouldlose a tremendous lot of our men, and the schooner would go off andfetch two or three more ships of war here, so that in the end theymust beat us. I think that there is no question that it will be betterfor us to take our chances of escape now."
"Either the schooner will come back to-night and tow the boats of thefrigate round the other side of the island, or she will send a boatwith the news that she has found a landing-place, and then the frigatewill send all her boats. I don't think the attack will take placeto-night; but it may be made. It certainly won't if the schooner comesround, for the wind is very light. She will not leave her anchorageuntil it is quite dark; and by the time she has got round to thefrigate, and the boat's crews are ready to start, and they all get tothe back of the island, it will be morning. If they send a boat itwould reach the frigate after three hours' rowing; give them an hourto get ready and start, and three hours to row back, so that brings itto nearly the same thing. Beside, I don't suppose in any case theywould land before morning, for they would run the risk of losing theirway in the woods. So my proposal is that at about two o'clock in themorning we make a start, separate as soon as we get out of the harbor,and each shift for himself. The frigate will have more than half hercrew away, and being so short-handed will not be so smart with hersails, and will not be able to work half her guns; so that at theoutside two out of the three of us ought to get safely off."
"But suppose that the schooner happens to be round here, and they makeup their minds to wait a day before attacking, we should have two ofthem after us
then; and that schooner sails like a witch."
"I have thought of that," Captain Vipon said. "My idea is to put a manon the top of the cliff just above where the schooner is anchored. Ifshe is lying there he is to light a fire a short distance back fromthe edge of the cliff. There should be another man on the top of thehill. When he sees the fire he shall show a lantern three times. Wewill return the signal to let him know that we see it. If the schoonergoes away early in the evening the lookout is not to light the fireuntil he sees her returning, at whatever hour it may be. The moment wesee the light we will set sail."
"But how about the two signallers?" one of the other captains said."They would be left behind and might not get the chance of rejoiningus again."
"I have thought of that too," Captain Vipon, said. "I have an Englishlad on board whom I picked up in the channel. He is a smart lad, andhas been working as one of the crew. He would of course be glad tostay behind, because it will give him the chance of rejoining hisfriends."
"That would do capitally. But how about the other man? You see, if heshowed himself he would be made prisoner and sent to England; if hedidn't show himself he might be on this island for years before he gota chance of joining a French ship. It would need a high bribe toinduce anybody to run such a risk as that."
This was so evident that there was silence for two or three minutes,then Captain Vipon spoke again. "I have a man who would be more likelyto do it than any one else I think, because he has taken a strongfancy to this young English boy. He is a good hand, and I don't likelosing him; still the thing is so important that I should not hesitateat that. Still we must offer him something good to run the risk, orrather the certainty of imprisonment. I propose that his name shall beput down on the books of all three ships, so that if he ever gets backto France again he will have a fair certainty of a good lot of prizemoney, for it will be hard luck if two out of the three of us do notmanage to get back safely." The other captains agreed to this.
"He will be here in half an hour," Captain Vipon said. "The men weresitting down to a meal when I came away, and I ordered them to maketheir way back as soon as they had done. If he refuses, the only otherway I can see will be for all the men to cast lots, when, of course,whoever stays would get his three shares as we agreed."
Half an hour later the twenty men arrived from the other side of theisland. As soon as they came on board Captain Vipon called Jacquesinto the cabin and told him that it would be necessary to leave twomen behind, explaining the duties they would have to perform.
"Now Jacques," he said when he had finished, "I thought that perhapsyou would be more likely than any other man on board the three shipsto volunteer for this work."
"I volunteer!" Jacques said in astonishment. "What should make youthink of such a thing, captain?"
"For this reason, Jacques: I have settled to leave the English ladhere as one of the signallers. Of course he will gladly undertake thejob, as it will enable him to join his friends when they land; and asyou like him and he likes you, he might be able to make things easyfor you. In the second place we have determined that the name ofwhoever stops shall be borne on the ship books of all three vessels tothe end of their cruise, so that there would be a good bit of moneycoming even if only one out of the three ships gets back, and enoughto set you up for life if all three get back safely. Of course you mayhave a spell of imprisonment; but it is likely that one at least ofthe ships may be caught going out to-night, and if it happened to beours you would get the prison without the prize-money."
"That is so," Jacques agreed. "If you give me half an hour to think itover I will give you an answer. It's come upon me sudden-like. I willtalk it over with the boy. I suppose I can tell him, captain?"
On regaining the deck Jacques looked about for Ralph.
"Come and sit along with me out on the bowsprit, lad, I want to have aprivate talk with you."
Somewhat surprised Ralph followed his friend out on to the bowsprit.
"Now, boy," he said, "I have got a bit of news to tell you that willbe pleasant to you. That's the first thing; and the next is, I wantyour advice. You are a sensible young chap, you are, although you arebut a lad, and I should like to know what you think about it."
"Well, what's the good news, Jacques?"
"The good news is this; you are likely, before this time to-morrow, tobe with your friends." Ralph gave such a start of delight that henearly slipped off the bowsprit.
"How is that Jacques? It seems too good to be true."
"This is the way of it," Jacques said. "The three vessels are allgoing to cut and run to-night. That schooner of yours is round theother side of the island, and we want to be sure she is stoppingthere, then there will only be the frigate to deal with, and in theselight winds and dark nights we ought to be able to give her the slip;but the only way to be sure the schooner keeps the other side is towatch her. So one man is to be placed on the cliff above her, and attwo o'clock in the morning, if she is still there, he is to light afire well back from the cliff, so that the light will not be seen byher. Another man is to be on the top of the hill, where we weretogether with a lantern. You see, we can just see the top of the hillfrom here. When he sees the fire he is to show a light three times. Ifhe sees it answered here he will know it's all right, and his work isdone; if not, of course he shows the lights again until it's answered.Now, they are going to leave you as one of the two signallers, and ofcourse all you will have to do will be to wait for a bit, and thencome down and join your friends."
"That is capital," Ralph said. "Nothing could be better. Now, what isthe other matter that you want my advice about, Jacques?"
"Well, you see, it will be awkward for the other man, for he willeither have the choice of coming down and giving himself up and beingcarried off as a prisoner, or of stopping on this island perhaps foryears till a French ship happens to come along; for once off the Mariewill continue her cruise to the Indian seas, and the other two willmake straight for France. Of course there is another course whichmight be taken. A boat might be hidden away for him, and he might gofor a cruise on his own account and take the chance of being pickedup.
"Well, they have offered to the man as stops to put his name down onthe books of all the three craft. That means, of course, that he willget a share in the prize-money of all three ships if they get back.That's a pretty good offer, you know. You see, a fellow on board mayget captured or killed in battle or wrecked, and in that case therewould not be a penny of prize-money. The man who stops here is sure ofprize-money if only one of the three craft get back to France. Now,they ask me if I will undertake it. I should be better off than theothers; because in the first place I shall have you to talk with tillI get to prison, and in the next place as I can talk English I can geton a good deal better in prison than other fellows would do. Now,what's your advice, lad?"
"I should say certainly accept the offer, Jacques. You see, I can tellthem all what a good friend you have been to me, and it maybe theywill let you go free; but even if they don't I could make it pleasantfor you with the men, and you may be sure that if they take you to anEnglish prison I will do all I can to get you out of it. You see, whenyou get back to France you would have really a good sum coming to youfrom these three ships. The two that have been out here have collecteda tremendous lot of valuable plunder, and the Bell Marie is likely toget quite as much if, as you say, she is going to spend two years outin the Indian seas. So I really think you would be wise to take theoffer. Another thing, if you like I will not show myself at all, butwill stop here with you, and we will take a boat together and make forsome port, where we can give out that we are shipwrecked sailors."
"No, lad, that wouldn't do; though I thank you for your offer. Youmight get a ship back to England, but I should have very little chanceof getting one for France."
"No; but we might get one together for America, and from there youmight get to France easily enough."
Jacques thought for some minutes. "No, lad; I will give myself up withyou. We
might get lost in a boat, seeing that neither of us know thegeography of these seas; we might get short of water, or caught in ahurricane. No, I will give myself up. I know the worst that way,anyhow. Another spell in an English prison; but from that I may eitherget exchanged, or escape, or the war come to an end. So that's thebest thing for me to do."