United States or Comoros ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
This was a Philadelphia ship, called the Schuylkill, on board which I shipped as second-mate, while Marble and Neb took the berths of foremast Jacks. No one questioned us as to the past, and we had decided among ourselves, to do our duty and keep mum. We used our own names, and that was the extent of our communication on the subject of our true characters.
We had very ingenious excuses for our failure, however; and I make no doubt the French were just as ready, in this way, as we were ourselves. Our loss in this engagement amounted to two men killed outright, and to seven wounded, two of whom died within a few days. The remaining wounded all recovered, though the second-mate, who was one of them, I believe never got to be again the man he had been.
Green told me all he knew, which was briefly as follows: It seems that the second-mate of the Dawn, and such of her crew as had been put in the Speedy, and who had not been impressed either in the frigate itself, or in England after they were turned ashore, had found their way home, bringing with them an account of the capture of the ship, her extraordinary appearance near the four combatants, and their own attempt to escape.
That fall from the Jaffrail was a sad drawback for me, and I never recovered the lee-way it brought about. I was more than two months ashore, behaving myself rationally on account of my arm. At the end of that time, I went on board the Sally, a ship also bound to Greenock, as her second-mate. This vessel belonged to Charleston, and it was intended she should return to her own port.
"Up with it!" responded Captain Lennard from the poop, where the pilot now appeared by his side awaiting all these preparations to be completed before taking charge of the ship. Half-a-dozen more heaves and the anchor-stock showed above the water. "Hook cat!" cried the second-mate. "I wonder what that means!" thought Teddy. "I hope they won't hurt the poor thing!"
You scoundrel! what do you mean by this hiding down in that hold and giving us hours of work to get out your wretched carcass, eh?" "Please, sir forgive me, sir. Let me off this time, sir." "Kick the poor wretch out of the ship and let him go," said the second-mate in a low voice. "Let him go! Not I. I'm going to flog him and then hand him over to the police."
Find him, boy!" cried Mark; and as the moaning continued, the dog went scuffling and scratching over the cargo, snuffing here and there, and uttering a bark from time to time. "No, no, not there," cried the second-mate. "Let the dog be," said the first; and the result was that Bruff suddenly stopped a dozen yards away from them toward the forecastle, and began scratching and barking loudly.
"You are a good dog, then." Bruff whined, and just then the prostrate stowaway moved slightly. "There, he's coming to; give him a little more brandy, Gregory," said the second-mate. "Not a drop," cried the other fiercely. "Yes, he's coming round now. I think I'll finish off with the rope's end a scoundrel!"
"I should trust, for your conscience sake, Mr Jackson, that you did not; however, here I am again, as you see, by the blessing of Providence, and the exertions of this young man, whom I must introduce to you as our second-mate." Jackson cast an angry glance at Newton upon the conclusion of this speech.
Altogether, the voyage was uneventful except for one thing, and that was the persistent bullying of Mr Capstan the second-mate, who, whether from his relationship to Uncle Jack, his superior officer, or from some other cause, had apparently conceived such a dislike to Teddy that he tyrannised over him more than he seemed to think necessary either with little Maitland or Jones although they suffered, too, at his hands!
Word Of The Day