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Updated: June 16, 2025
O'Halloran," Captain Lockett said, "I have a consignment for you. I will land it, the first thing in the morning, for I shall sail in the evening. We are to get our letters of marque, authorizing the capture of Spanish vessels, at ten o'clock in the morning." "What is the consignment, captain?" "It is from Mr. Bale, madam.
Captain Lockett rowed to the polacre, and examined his prize; and then, taking Bob in his boat, rowed to the barque. "Well, Joe, have you made out what you have got on board?" the captain said, when he reached the deck. "No, sir. Neither of the officers can speak a word of English. I have opened the hatches, and she is chock-full of hides; but what there is, underneath, I don't know."
It would never do to risk those fellows coming upon us, again, when we are quietly at anchor. We might not be so lucky, next time." An hour later the lookout in the top hailed the deck, and said that there was a sail in sight. "What does she look like, Halkett?" Joe Lockett shouted, for the captain was below. "As far as I can make out she is a two master I should say, a brig."
The batteries continued to fire; but their shooting was no longer accurate and, in another ten minutes, ceased altogether. The craft had now closed to within hailing distance of the brig. "Hallo, the polacre!" Captain Lockett shouted. "What damages?" "The boatswain is killed, sir," Bob shouted back, "and we have lost two spars but, in spite of that, I think we are sailing as fast as you."
"We are pretty well off Malaga," Captain Lockett said, in the afternoon. "If there had been any wind, we should have had a chance of picking up something making from there to the Straits; but there is no chance of that, today. People like making quick voyages, when there is a risk of falling in with an enemy; and they won't be putting out from port until there is some change in the weather.
Repton," and he then related how Bob had swum on board, and discovered the supposed merchantman to be a ship of war. "Thank you, Captain Lockett. I will go in and have a look after her. It is fortunate that you told me for, if I had seen her lying at anchor, under the land, I might have sent some boats in to cut her out; and might, as you nearly did, have caught a tartar.
Presently the man came aft, and reported that the captain was waving his hat from the taffrail. "We had better get up the main-topgallant sail, Brown, and run up to her," Bob said. The sail was soon hoisted and, in a quarter of an hour, they were alongside the brig. "That craft sails like a witch," Captain Lockett said, as they came abreast of him. "Yes, sir, she seems very fast."
At midnight the second mate, whose name was Crofts, came up to relieve watch; and Bob, who was beginning to feel very sleepy, was by no means sorry to turn in. It hardly seemed to him that he had closed an eye, when he was aroused by a knocking at the cabin door. "It's two bells, sir, and Mr. Lockett says you are to turn out."
He set about organizing a Committee at once and on September 24th he appeared before the Committee of Five accompanied by Messrs. A. C. Gwynne, F. H. Hatch, A. H. Lockett, and E. K. McCormick. These gentlemen announced that they were willing to act, with Mr. Smithers as their Chairman, and a plan for the control of the market in unlisted stocks was agreed upon.
I don't remember and I don't think I ever knew who the officer was who came to inspect our installations; I wasn't much interested. However the Machine Shop was set up to display our talents and virtually every machine was to be working, operators were called in from other jobs where necessary and Johnny Lockett was one such lucky one.
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