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Arbuthnot made signal to wear in pursuit, but the Robust and Prudent, two of the van ships, were now wholly unmanageable from the concentration of fire upon them caused by des Touches's last movement; and the maintopsail yard of the London, the only British three-decker, had been shot away. The French returned to Newport.
We were lying still, while the other ships were fast disappearing from view, the commodore going north and the Essex Junior, with her convoy, steering to the south for Valparaiso. But the time had come for me at least to play the man; so I mustered up courage and informed the captain that I desired the maintopsail filled away, in order that we might close up with the Essex Junior.
I repeated my call from the weather yard arm; but I left out the crow and the prayer for blessings. The skipper and mates were looking up at me, and I saw that the first was about to sing out something; but Casey over to leeward interrupted. "'Eight bells! he called. 'See maintopsail yard arm.
At 8 set the Foretopsail, single reeft, and loosed all the Reefs out of the Maintopsail, and Steer'd North-East by East 1/2 East in order to make the land. At 10 saw it bearing East-North-East, and appeared to be very high; but, being hazey over it, we could see nothing distinct neither now nor at Noon, when, by Observation, we were in the Latitude of 46 degrees 0 minutes South.
As soon as the ship had lost her way, two or three boats that had been towing astern, each with its boat-sitter, or keeper, in it, were hauled up alongside, or to the quarters, were "hooked on," and "run up" to the whistling of the call. All was done at once, and all was done in a couple of minutes. As soon as effected, the maintopsail was again filled, and away the ship glided.
Christie, recognising that his duty was to take care of the prize, had hauled his wind when we passed ahead of him, and was now about a mile to windward, with his maintopsail to the mast; but when he saw that the fight was over he filled away and came booming down to us, sweeping close athwart our stern and heaving-to close to leeward of us.
Wallingford, do you stand ready to back the maintopsail when she is alongside, though if she attempts to pass in front of us we 'll up helm and take her on the port side. Two of you after-guards go below and bring up the captain of the Mellish. Lively, we shall soon have the sloop down on us." In a few moments the unfortunate British skipper was standing on the poop-deck beside Captain Jones.
We observed innumerable shoals of fishes, the motions of which appeared to be more than usually vivid and redundant. At twelve o'clock, on my taking charge of the deck, the scene bore a character widely different from that which it presented but three hours before. We now sailed under close-reefed maintopsail and foresail.
He replied that he would shoot any man who dared to touch a rope without his orders; he 'would go his own course, and had no idea of trusting himself with a d d nutshell'; and then he went below for his pistols. I called my right-hand man of the crew and told him my situation. I also informed him that I wanted the maintopsail filled.
"Well, lay up there and help loose the maintopsail. Don't stand here." He looked bewildered for a moment and then started up the fore rigging. "Here, you blazing idiot," I bawled. "What are you about? Don't you know one end of a ship from another?" The fellow came to me and spoke in a low voice. "I have never shipped before the mast only as cook, or steward," he said.
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