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One night, with a peculiar meaning in his eye, he sent me down on deck to invite Tubbs up aloft for a chat. Flattered by so marked an honor for we were somewhat fastidious, and did not extend such invitations to every body Tubb's quickly mounted the rigging, looking rather abashed at finding himself in the august presence of the assembled Quarter-Watch of main-top-men.
In this posture she hung so long that Captain Rosy, the master, bawled to me to tell the carpenter to stand by to cut away the topmast rigging.
The Egyptians, supposing that the ships would anchor close to the buoys, had pointed their guns too high; consequently most of their shot flew over the decks of the ships, wounding chiefly the rigging and spars, while the clouds of smoke which immediately enveloped the fleet prevented them from remedying their mistake.
In a moment they all started up, and each knocked his man on the head: a few ran wounded below, and four or five escaped up the rigging, and in a few seconds the savages had complete possession of the ship. The boy Davies escaped into the hold, where he lay concealed for several days, till they were fairly glutted with human blood, when they spared his life.
As the former found that her small antagonist was within range of her guns, she opened her fire; but the guns, being pointed high, either passed over the British ship or merely injured some of her rigging. When the Frenchman got within hail, some one on board, seeing the small size of the corvette, and believing that she would instantly give in, sang out, "Strike! strike, you English!"
"`No, I am not, replied I. "`Why, do you think that you dare go aloft? "`I'll show you, replied I; and I ran up the rigging like a cat, and went out at the topgallant yard-arm. "When I came down, the captain said, `Well, I think you'll make a sharp seaman by and by; so I'll take you, and, as soon as I get to London, I'll bind you apprentice.
One day we lay off the Cape on the home passage, and a half dozen of us got shore leave for a few hours, and I among the rest, and somehow I got rather more grog aboard than I could stow, and when I came off, the captain swore at me like a pirate, and after I got sober triced me up to the main rigging for a round dozen.
They put in their sweeps and, mounting the rail aft, clung to rigging, and shouted derision and defiance at their pursuers. Although the Britons had little hope or expectation of overtaking them, yet, with that bull-dog tenacity characteristic of Englishmen, they continued the chase. "That danger is over," said Terrence, as they once more resumed their seats in the boat.
She lies with her three masts sticking up out of the water, and careened over, the water being nearly on a level with her maintop, I mean that first landing-place from the deck of the vessel, after climbing the shrouds. The rigging does not appear at all damaged. I did not think it was in me to be so moved by any spectacle of the kind. Bodies still occasionally float up from it.
"Where away?" bawled Captain Rogers, who seemed tireless himself and expected every man and boy aboard to catch the inspiration of a sight that had now become terribly commonplace to us a spouting cachelot. "Two p'ints on yer weather bow, sir." The captain started up the rigging and in a moment the lookout repeated: "Thar she blo-o-ows!" "I see her!" bawled the captain.
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