"Each ship must keep her station until the day has fairly dawned. Should
it turn out as I trust it may, that we've got le Few-Folly in-shore of
us, all we'll have to do will be to close in upon her and drive her up
higher and higher into the Bay. She will naturally run into shallow
water; when we must anchor off, man the boats, send them north and south
of her, and let them board her under cover of our fire. If we find the
lugger embayed, we'll have her as sure as fate."
"Very prettily conceived, Captain Cuffe; and in a way to be handsomely
executed. But if we should happen to find the heathen outside of us?"
"Then make sail in chase to seaward, each ship acting for the best.
Come, gentlemen, I do not wish to be inhospitable, but the Proserpine
must be off. She has a long road before her; and the winds of this
season of the year can barely be counted on for an hour at a time."
Cuffe being in such a hurry, his guests departed without further
ceremony. As for Sir Frederick, the first thing he did was to order
dinner an hour earlier than he had intended, and then to invite his
surgeon and marine-officer, two capital pairs of knives and forks, to
come and share it with him, after which he sat down to play somewhat
villanously on a flute. Two hours later he gave the necessary orders to
his first lieutenant; after which he troubled himself very little about
the frigate he commanded. Lyon, on the other hand, sat down to a very
frugal meal alone as soon as he found himself again in his sloop; first
ordering certain old sails to be got on deck and to be mended for the
eighth or ninth time.
With the Proserpine it was different Her capstan-bars flew round, and
one anchor was actually catted by the time her captain appeared on deck.
The other soon followed, the three topsails fell, were sheeted home and
hoisted, and sail was set after sail, until the ship went steadily past
the low promontory of Ana Capri a cloud of canvas. Her head was to the
westward, inclining a little north; and had there been any one to the
southward to watch her movements, as there was not, so far as the eye
could see, it would have been supposed that she was standing over toward
the coast of Sardinia, most probably with an intention of passing by the
Straits of Bonifacio, between that island and Corsica. The wind being
nearly east, and it blowing a good breeze, the progress of the ship was
such as promised to fulfil all the expectations of her commander.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account