Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: June 26, 2025
But for this he would most cheerfully have marched himself and his little party out of the camp and left it, with everything it contained, to the mercy of the barque's crew whom he had already, in some unaccountable fashion, come to look upon as outlaws.
By midnight the gale had moderated to a strong breeze, and the sky had cleared sufficiently to permit of a little moonlight percolating through between the denser clouds, and we were then able to make out to our inexpressible chagrin that the barque's people had already got their new topmast aloft and ridded, and were getting their main-topsail-yard across, having been hard at work, doubtless, ever since darkness set in, though how they had managed to perform their task was a puzzle to us.
Yet she was evidently a passenger ship, for the cabin under her full poop was brilliantly lighted up, and through its open door I caught a glimpse of several men and women so attired as to at once proclaim their status on board; moreover, the quarter-deck was also occupied by a group of men and women, evidently passengers, with two or three sailorly-looking men among them, over whom a party of O'Gorman's people were mounting guard, the remainder being stationed on guard over the fore-scuttle, down which I presumed the barque's crew had been driven.
I had just arrived at the above conclusion when I heard one of the barque's crew hailing the poop; I could not distinguish what was said, but I presumed that it had reference to the schooner, for immediately upon the hail I heard the creaking of the basket-chair on the poop, as though Marcel was just hoisting himself out of it, and presently his reply came floating down through the skylight, "Ay, ay; I see her."
The lee main-yard-arm at once flew forward, throwing the main-sail aback, and of course seriously interfering with the barque's flight. "Up with your helm and keep her away until the main-sail fills again," commanded George; "haul inboard the brace, and one hand get a marlinespike and jump aloft to make the splice. Be smart, lads; there's no great harm done."
The wait was not a very long one, however, and in less than five minutes I found myself abreast the barque's starboard quarter, and within a hundred feet of it.
As soon as he was gone, I wrote a hasty note to my sister, cautiously conveying to her the intelligence that we had obtained a faint trace of the Amazons fate; a trace which, I added, we intended to follow up as far as we could, and having sealed and addressed my missive, I hurried up over the barque's side, and placed it in her captain's hands, and then took leave of him with a hearty shake of the hand and many good wishes on his part that we might have a safe and pleasant voyage.
But these apparently adverse storms proved, by God's great mercy, the very means of the hallowed barque's deliverance from the enemy. On the 18th November she was chased by a French frigate, brought to, and forced to keep her company; but the sea ran so high that it was impossible for the frigate to get out a boat to board the Resolution, and continued so during that night and the following day.
The barque's crew had meanwhile made their way on deck, and were now clustered about their officers, anxious to know what they were to do, whilst the Aurora, left to herself, had shot up into the wind's eye, and was now lying stationary, with all her square canvas aback, and the rest of her sails fluttering loudly in the wind.
The whale, meanwhile, had been running in such a direction as to cross the barque's bows about a quarter of a mile distant, and he actually ran far enough to enable the crew of the boat which had fastened to him to cut themselves adrift when fairly in their ship's course; so that, in a very few minutes after the stroke of the keen tomahawk had severed their towline, they were alongside, and the boat was run up to the davits.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking