“Hurrah, lads! after them!” I exclaimed, far too excited to give a thought to the singularity of a newly-made midshipman presuming to assume the leadership in the presence of his superiors. Our men caught my enthusiasm, responding with a ringing cheer; and after them we went, helter-skelter, so rapidly that English and French tumbled over the bulwarks together. There was a momentary effort on the part of the French to make a stand on reaching their own deck; but they were, as a crew, now thoroughly demoralised, and our lads, their blood at last completely roused, gave them no time to rally, but cut down every man who offered the slightest opposition. Seeing that their case was hopeless, the French crew flung down their arms and cried for quarter, and in less than two minutes from the instant of boarding, we found ourselves masters of the “Sans-Culotte” privateer, mounting eight long 8-pounders and four 12-pound carronades, and with a crew originally of eighty-one men, of whom nine were killed and twenty wounded; our own loss being one man killed and one wounded. The action lasted three hours, and proved to be the first engagement of the war, much to the gratification of Mr Sennitt, who was intensely anxious for the distinction of sending in the first prize.
The first duty was of course to secure possession, after which, the weather appearing likely to continue fine, the hands were piped to dinner—such dinner, that is, as could be procured on the spur of the moment, the galley fire having been extinguished at the time of clearing for action. Captain Brisac allowed an hour for this meal and a little repose, at the expiration of which all hands were set to work to clear away the wreck and repair damages, a task which kept us busy until considerably after sunset. By eight p.m., however, our preparations were complete, a prize crew was placed on board the “Sans-Culotte,” and a nice little breeze having in the meantime sprung up from the westward, we made sail in company, shaping a course for Plymouth, off which we arrived about noon the next day.
The prize, now being safe from all chance of recapture, was sent in, while the “Scourge,” hauling her wind upon the starboard tack, reached off the land on her way back to her appointed cruising-ground.
On the following day, about an hour before the time for serving dinner in the cabin, Patterson, the captain’s steward, popped his head in at the door of the midshipmen’s berth and announced,—
“Captain’s compliments, and he will be glad to have the pleasure of Mr Chester’s company at dinner.”
“Tell Captain Brisac with my compliments that I am much obliged for his courteous invitation, which I accept with very great pleasure,” I responded, looking up from the “Day’s Work” upon which I was busy with my slate and pencil.
“You’re a lucky dog, Chester!” exclaimed young Harvey; “you seem to have dropped plump into the skipper’s good books all at once. It is not often that we mids are honoured with an invitation to the cabin-table, I can tell you.”
“Oh! come now, Harvey, I protest against your imposing upon the unfortunate Chester in that manner,” interposed little Markham (nicknamed “Goliath” because he measured exactly three feet, six inches in his stockings). “You know as well as I do that he is invited into the cabin to-night, in order that the skipper may give him a good wigging for that boarding business yesterday. I hope he won’t be very hard upon you, old chap,” he added, in a tone of deep sympathy, turning to me, “for somehow I have taken quite a liking to you, and if I had been at your elbow yesterday, instead of that over-grown lout, Harvey, I would have kept you out of the serape. You must be very quiet and submissive when he pitches into you, and plead ignorance—say you will be a good boy and not do it again, you know.”
“But have I really done anything very dreadful?” I inquired, more than half taken in by the young monkey’s serious manner.
“Oh, Lord! hold me, somebody, while I faint!” he exclaimed, turning up the whites of his eyes like a dying duck in a thunder-storm, and flinging himself so suddenly backwards into the arms of Harvey that the latter went down stern foremost, landing on the deck with one hand in the beef-kid and the other in the blacking-box, while Markham rolled on the top of him, kicking spasmodically, and simulating the feeble struggles of an expiring person.