“I am sorry to say I am quite unable to answer that question,” was the reply; “but, giving it—mind you, strictly as my private opinion—I am afraid you will have to suffer the loss. For my part I have never been able to understand why you masters of merchantmen will persist in so risky a policy as the payment of a month’s wages in advance, when you can never tell what may occur to prevent the men from working out their time. But this is not business; I must bear a hand and finish my work, or I shall get severely rapped over the knuckles.”
Then, turning once more to the men, he ordered the carpenter to get his things ready, and go into the boat.
“No,” said George, by this time thoroughly exasperated, “that I will not permit. This man is the ship’s carpenter, and I forbid you, sir, to impress him at your peril.”
“You forbid, eh?” said the lieutenant, turning angrily upon George. “Take care what you are saying, my fine fellow, or I may perhaps find ways and means of impressing you before you sail.”
Then, suddenly realising that he had allowed his temper to outrun his discretion, he added in a conciliatory tone—
“Well, since you say that this man is the carpenter, I will spare him; but you should have explained that fact to me at first; and as to impressing you, why, I daresay you know the old joke about impressing a ship-master, and will understand I was only jesting; you are a capital fellow, and have behaved very well over this business, so I will let you off as easily as I can. But of course I must do my duty and take another man or two from you; if I did not, some of the other ships would be sending on board you and leaving you really short-handed.”
With that he picked out with unerring eye the two able-seamen, and then, turning to George with a great show of generous forbearance, announced that he would leave him all the rest, though he could hardly reconcile it to his conscience to go away with only three men out of so strong and smart a crew as that belonging to the Aurora.
Cross was by this time with his chest on deck; the other two impressed men soon followed, and the disconsolate trio passed down the ship’s side in moody silence, unmoved alike by the commiserating looks of their late shipmates or the jocular and more than half-ironical congratulations of the man-o’-war’s men in the boat upon their entry into so promising a service as that of the British navy.
On the departure of the boat, George held a short consultation with Mr Bowen, the result of which was a very wise determination to “grin and bear it,” rather than risk fresh annoyance by an effort—which he very strongly suspected would be utterly useless—to obtain redress and the restitution of his men. This determination come to, the carpenter was summoned aft, and installed into the duties and the berth of the unfortunate Cross; George thus finding his crew reduced to three men, the officers included, and one lad in each watch, the cook and steward of course being “idlers,” and their services in the working of the ship only to be demanded on occasions of exceptional urgency.
On the day but one following that of the impressment of the Aurora’s men, a gun was fired at sunrise by the commodore, blue-peter was hoisted at the fore-royal-mastheads, and the fore-topsails were loosed on board the ships of the convoying squadron, and the still morning air immediately began to resound with the songs of seamen and the clanking of windlass-pawls, as the fleet of merchantmen constituting the convoy began to get under weigh. There was a considerable amount of emulation displayed among the merchant-skippers—those of them, at least, whose ships or crews had any pretensions to smartness, and in half an hour a good many of the craft were under weigh and standing out to sea with a light air of wind from the eastward. The old Tremendous, 74, led the van, closely followed by the Torpid, 50; while the frigates Andromeda and Vixen, each of 32 guns, assisted by the Dasher, Grampus, Throstle, and Mallard, 10-gun-brigs, cruised round and round the laggards, making signals, firing guns, and generally creating a great deal of fuss, noise, and excitement. The leading portion of the fleet was hove-to, hull-down, at sea, before the last craft in the convoy had succeeded in getting her anchor and making a start; but by noon the whole of the fleet was fairly in the Channel, when the Tremendous made the signal to fill, and away they all went, bowling along to the southward and westward, the dull sailers under every rag they could spread to the wind—now settled into a fine steady royal-breeze from east-south-east, while the smarter craft were compelled to show only such a spread of canvas as would enable the dullards to keep pace with them. The Tremendous and Torpid, under double-reefed topsails, led the way about two miles apart; the frigates were posted, one to windward and one to leeward of the merchant-fleet, and the brigs brought up the rear, it being their duty to whip-in the stragglers, urge on the slow-coaches, and keep a sharp lookout for prowling privateers.