“It was a good plan,” the admiral said, “and you well deserve the credit you got. And so it was for that that you got the command of the cutter! Tell me about the capture of those two pirate vessels.”
Will related the story of the trap that had been formed for L’Agile, and the manner in which he had captured his two opponents.
“Admirably managed, Mr. Gilmore,” the admiral said. “How much longer have you to serve?”
“I have another year yet, sir.”
“Well, a commission is to sit here next week to pass midshipmen. I will direct them to examine you, and will see that you get your step the day you finish your term of service. If I had the power I would pass you at once, but that is one of the things an admiral cannot do. But how was it that you got on board the Lysander?”
Will related the story of his captivity with the Algerines and his escape.
“Just what I should have expected of you,” the admiral said. “I fancy it would take a very strong prison to hold you. Well, tell Lieutenant Hearsey that I shall expect him to dinner to-day, and that he is to bring you with him. I’ll ask two or three other officers to meet you, and you shall then tell the story of your adventures.”
A post-captain and three other captains dined that evening with the admiral, and when Will had modestly related his [pg 243]adventures they complimented him highly. Two of them happened to be on the examining committee, and consequently Will passed almost without question. A few days later he was appointed temporarily to a ship bound for the blockading fleet of Toulon, where he was informed he would probably find his own ship. When he and his two companions rejoined the Tartar they were warmly congratulated on their escape from Algiers.
“I am sorry for the loss of Lieutenant Saxton,” the captain said, when Will had reported the manner in which they had been captured. “He was a good officer, and in this case he was not to blame. With our telescopes we could only see a few men on board the Algerine, and they must have kept up the deception till the last. It is to be regretted that you followed her so far out of reach of our guns, though, so far as his fate was concerned, we could not have altered it even if we had been within easy range.
“At any rate, Mr. Gilmore, you were by no means to blame in the affair, and I congratulate you on having effected your escape with your two followers.”