CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.
On the third day, Tommy Dott and Mr Maxwell went on board, imaginingthat they had had a miraculous escape, and the two old planters and Iwere left the only inmates of the house to welcome the resurrection ofMammy Crissobella, who was again as busy as before. She said to me,"Massy Keene, I really under great obligation to you; suppose you wanttwo, three hundred, five hundred pounds, very much at your service;never mind pay back."
I replied that I did not want any money, and was equally obliged to her.But the affair had already made a great noise. It was at first reallysupposed that Mammy Crissobella had poisoned them as well as herself,and I was obliged to refute it, or the authorities would have taken itup. As the admiral sent down to make inquiries, I went up to him andtold him the whole story; I was obliged to do the same to the governor,and it was the occasion of great mirth all over the island, and no smallmortification to those who had been the sufferers. Mammy Crissobellawas complimented very much upon her successful stratagem to clear herhouse, and she was quite in ecstasies at the renown that she obtained.
One day the admiral sent for me, and said--"Keene, I can wait no longerthe arrival of another vessel. I must send you to England withdespatches: you must sail to-morrow morning."
As I was all ready, I took my leave of the admiral, who promised meevery assistance if on his station, and his good word with theAdmiralty, and said that he would send down my despatches at daylight.I went on board, gave the necessary orders, and then returned to thehotel to pack up my portmanteau and pay my bill; but Mammy Crissobellawould not hear of my paying anything; and as I found that she wasbeginning to be seriously angry, I gave up the point. So I gave the oldlady a kiss as a receipt-in-full, and another to Leila, as I slipped acouple of doubloons into her hand, and went on board. The next morningshortly after daylight the despatches were on board, and the Diligentewas under all the sail she could carry on her way to England.
The Diligente sailed as well as ever, and we made a very quick passage.I found my ship's company to be very good, and had no trouble with myofficers. Tommy Dott was very well behaved, notwithstanding all histhreats of what he would do. It was therefore to be presumed that hewas not very ill treated.
We were now fast approaching the end of our passage, being about ahundred miles to the South West of the Scilly Islands, with a light windfrom the southward when, in the middle watch, Bob Cross, who had thecharge of it, came down and reported firing in the South East. I wentup, but, although we heard the report of the guns, we could notdistinguish the flashes. I altered our course to the direction, and wewaited till daylight should reveal what was going on. Before daybreakwe could see the flashes, and make out one vessel, but not the other.But when the sun rose the mystery was cleared off. It was a Frenchschooner privateer engaging a large English ship, apparently anEast-Indiaman. The ship was evidently a good deal cut up in her sparsand rigging.
Bob Cross, who was close to my side when I examined them with my glass,said, "Captain Keene, that rascally Frenchman will be off as soon as hesees us, if we hoist English colours; but if you hoist French colours,we may get down and pin him before he knows what we are."
"I think you are right, Bob," says I. "Hoist French colours. He willmake sure of his prize then, and we shall laugh at his disappointment."
As Cross turned away to go aft, I perceived a chuckle on his part, whichI did not understand, as there was nothing particular to chuckle about.I thought it was on account of the Frenchman's disappointment, when hefound that we were not a friend, as he might suppose.
"Hadn't we better fire a gun, Captain Keene, to attract theirattention?"
"Yes," replied I; "it will look as if we really were Frenchmen." Thegun was fired, and we continued to stand towards them with a goodbreeze. About seven o'clock we were within two miles, and then weobserved the Englishman haul down her colours, and the schoonerimmediately went alongside, and took possession. I continued to rundown, and in half an hour was close to her. Calling up the boarders, Ilaid the brig alongside the schooner; as half her men were on board theIndiaman, they were taken by surprise, and we gained possession withvery trifling loss on our side, much to the astonishment of the crew ofthe privateer, as well as that of the Indiaman.
The captain, who was on deck, informed me that they had engaged theschooner for nine hours, and that he had some hopes of beating her off,until he saw me come down under French colours, upon which he felt thatfurther resistance was vain. I told him I was afraid the schooner wouldescape, if I had not deceived him, and complimented him upon hisvigorous defence. The schooner was a very fine vessel, mountingfourteen guns, and of three hundred tons burthen. In fact, she wasquite as large as the Diligente.
While we were handing the prisoners over to the brig, and securing them,I accepted the invitation of the captain of the Indiaman to go into thecabin with him, where I found a large party of passengers, chieflyladies, who were very loud in their thanks for my rescue. In anotherhour we were all ready. I left a party on board the Indiaman to repairdamages, and my surgeon to assist the wounded men, and hauled off thebrig and schooner. The latter I gave into the charge of Tommy Dott, andwe all made sail.
As I was walking the quarter-deck, delighted with my success, Cross, whohad the watch and was by my side, said, "I think, Captain Keene, you didvery right in hoisting French colours."
"Why, yes, Cross," replied I; "she is a very fast sailer, that isevident, and she might have escaped us."
"That's not what I mean, Captain Keene."
"What then, Cross?"
"Why, sir, I would not tell you why I wished you to hoist French coloursat the time, because I was afraid that, if I did, you would not havedone so; but my reason was, that it would make a great difference in ourprize-money, and I want some, if you do not."
Even then I could not imagine what Cross meant, for it never came intomy head, and I turned round and looked at him for an explanation.
"Why, Captain Keene, if we had hoisted English colours, the schoonerwould have made sail and gone off, and, even if she had not done so, theIndiaman would have held out till we came down; but as he hauled downhis colours, and was taken possession of by the enemy, he now becomes arecapture, and I expect the salvage of that Indiaman will be of morevalue to us than two or three of such schooners."
"That certainly did not enter my head when I hoisted the colours, Cross,I must confess."
"No, sir, that I saw it did not, but it did mine."
"It's hardly fair, Cross."
"Quite fair, sir," replied Bob. "The Company is rich, and can afford topay, and we want it in the first place, and deserve it in the next. Atall events, it's not upon your conscience, and that schooner is such aclipper, that I really think we should have lost her, if she had run forit; besides, as she is as strong as we are, we might have lost a goodmany men before we took her."
"That's very true, Bob," replied I, "and satisfies me that I was rightin what I did."
The wind had sprung up much fresher from the westward, and we were nowall three running with a fair wind; and as it continued, we did not putinto Plymouth, but continued our course for Portsmouth, and on the thirdday, at a very early hour in the morning, anchored at Spithead.