“An English fleet! Hereabouts!! diable!!!” he exclaimed. “I should like to fall in with them. I hope, however, they will not fall in with my prize. Ah! Good!! Listen, monsieur, I fell in with and captured an English merchantman yesterday, with a valuable cargo on board. You shall oblige me by going on until you fall in with him—he is only about one hundred miles south-east of us—and you shall escort him into Toulon; while as for ‘Le Narcisse’—parbleu, she will remain here in waiting for the accursed English fleet, and fight them all when they shall arrive. Is it not so?”
“Your orders shall have my best attention, monsieur,” I replied; “and I trust you will not have to wait long for the English. I have the honour to wish you a very good day.”
We raised our hats and bowed simultaneously; the little French captain scrambled down out of the rigging; I sprang off the low rail on to the deck; and we filled away upon our course once more, leaving the fire-eating Frenchman with his topsail still to the mast, waiting for “the accursed English.”
Little Smellie and I enjoyed a good laugh over the rencontre, now that it was past and we had escaped undetected; and we united in a cordial hope that the gallant little skipper of “Le Narcisse” would have his wish for a meeting with the English speedily gratified.
He had, as we subsequently found out, but the result could scarcely have been satisfactory to him; for when next I saw Malta “Le Narcisse” was in harbour there, a prize.
At six o’clock next morning we were fortunate enough to fall in with the prize—a barque of about 800 tons, loaded with various products of the East, forming, as Captain Alphonse Latour had truly remarked, a very valuable cargo—she had been steering a course which threw her fairly into our arms, so to speak; and, as the weather had moderated, and the sea gone down a good deal we simply ran her on board, drove the astonished French prize crew below, and took possession.
On instituting a search, we found that the astute skipper of “Le Narcisse” had taken out the entire crew except the second mate and three hands—whom he had left on board to assist in working the ship—so as to prevent all possibility of a rising and a recapture. We transferred the Frenchmen to the “Vigilant;” put eight of our own men on board, in charge of young Smellie; and then made sail in company for Gibraltar. As, however, the “Vigilant” sailed two feet to the barque’s one, we had run her completely out of sight by noon; and we could only hope that she would reach the Rock in safety—which she luckily did, and we of the “Vigilant” ultimately netted a good round sum in the shape of prize-money on her account.
About three p.m. on the same day as that on which we took our prize, we made another sail dead to windward, steering the same way as ourselves, but rather edging down upon us. We must have sighted each other simultaneously; for, while still examining him with my telescope, I saw him bear up upon a course evidently intended to cut us off. The “Vigilant,” however, continued to steer the same course as before; my intention being to try the same trick with him—in the event of his being a Frenchman—which had succeeded so well with “Le Narcisse”; and if he was an Englishman, I had of course nothing to fear.
In about another hour we had neared each other sufficiently to permit of our colours being seen; and no sooner was this the case than the stranger flew her ensign—the English—and fired a gun for us to heave-to. I at once obeyed; and in about twenty minutes afterwards she rounded-to within pistol-shot to windward of us and lowered a boat.
The day being fine I was of course in my ordinary uniform; and I could not wholly conceal a smile at the look of disappointment and disgust which overspread the features of the officer in charge, as the boat approached sufficiently near to permit of his seeing that, whatever the ship might be, the crew were English.