“Yes, sir,” said I, “I believe I could. At all events, I’ll undertake to silence the battery; and if care and patience will enable me to do so without alarming the frigate, it shall be done.”
“Very well, then,” said the skipper; “you shall conduct the enterprise; and remember that a surprise is eminently desirable, but that the spiking of the guns is an imperative necessity.”
We sat a little while longer, and then, rising and making our bows, retired in a body.
We stood on until within an hour and a half of midnight, when we wore ship and began to retrace our steps.
By three o’clock next morning we were off the spot which Captain Annesley had selected for the landing (a small strip of sandy beach, distant about a mile to the southward of the southernmost end of North-East Bay); and the frigate was once more hove-to.
The first cutter, which was the boat selected for the service, was lowered, and at four a.m. left the ship, having on board twenty picked men, in addition to the coxswain and myself, all fully armed.
On approaching the shore, we found ourselves to all appearance with a rock-bound coast under our lee, upon which the sea was breaking with considerable violence. As we drew closer in, however, I made out the point behind which the landing-place was situate, and in five minutes afterwards we slid round the projection and found ourselves in smooth water, with the beach close aboard. Giving the boat good way, we ran her well up on the sand, and all hands jumped out except two, who were to remain in her as boatkeepers. She was then shoved off again; the two men in charge being instructed to keep a bright lookout, and to be prepared to back in and receive us at a moment’s notice, in the event of anything going wrong.
I then paraded my small command, and, first repeating to them their instructions, led the way up the steep slope of the cliff. It was very dark, the moon—what there was of her—having set nearly an hour before; but, by dint of great caution and taking our time about it, we safely reached the top of the cliff in about ten minutes. Here all hands lay down upon the grass, while I went forward on hands and knees over the brow of the hill to reconnoitre. It was some little time before I could distinguish anything but the black shapeless bulk of the land before me; but at length I made out something which I thought was the battery, at a distance of about a quarter of a mile away, and at a somewhat lower level than the spot upon which I found myself. Returning to the surprise-party, we all moved cautiously forward toward the object which I had seen; and when within a hundred yards of it, I once more left the men, and crawled forward, as before, to reconnoitre. As we had drawn nearer to this object, I had seen that I was mistaken as to this being the battery; and I now made out that it was a block of two small stone buildings, evidently intended for use as a temporary barracks for the artillerymen belonging to the battery, and their officers.
I crept right up to the walls of these buildings, and finding everything perfectly dark and silent, pushed my investigations somewhat farther. Pulling off my boots, I passed right round both buildings; and then found that I had in the first instance come upon their rear. Rounding a corner of the block (which was built in the form of the letter L with the points facing inwards) I at once became aware of the presence of two doors, one in each wing, both of which were open, and from which as well as from the windows, a feeble stream of light was issuing. From the position which I occupied, I was able to see in through the door of the smaller building; and there, in a couple of hammocks, lay two figures partially undressed; that is to say, they had thrown off their jackets, waistcoats, and boots. The jackets and waistcoats lay upon two chairs; and from the quantity of gold lace upon these I rightly conjectured that they were the officers. I then ventured to take a look in through the window of the larger room, observing the precaution to stand far enough away in the first instance to prevent the light falling upon my face and so betraying my presence to any perchance wakeful artilleryman. All, however, was perfectly still and silent; the long row of pallets on each side of the room might have been tenanted by so many corpses for all the movement that they made. A loud nasal chorus, however, prevented any apprehension I might otherwise have felt upon this subject. So far, so good. I now withdrew until I considered myself quite beyond the influence of the lamps burning in the two apartments—and which, by-the-bye, I judged from the clearness with which they burned, must have been very recently trimmed—in order to ascertain the position of the battery. There it was, sure enough, within twenty yards of me; and the only reason why I had not seen it before was because the barrack-buildings were interposed between it and me. I sank hastily down upon the grass to examine the structure, and made out that it was a sort of redan, the two faces of which, forming a very obtuse angle, were composed of stone-work masked with sods. Five thirty-six-pounders grinned from the embrasures in each face, and alongside each gun was stacked up a goodly pile of shot. The merlons between the embrasures appeared to have been constructed in such a way as to form expense magazines, for I thought I could make out the doors leading thereto. The magazine proper I could not make out in the darkness, nor did I trouble to look for it. The battery, I ought to mention, was not enclosed at all in the rear, being evidently intended strictly as a sea-defence. I had been so busy noting all this that I had almost forgotten to look for the sentries which were sure to be posted somewhere. When I did at last make them out, I found, to my very great satisfaction, that there were only two of them, one at each wing of the battery; and these, instead of pacing backward and forward as they ought to have done, were standing with their backs turned toward me, gazing out to seaward—if indeed they were not more than half-asleep. I saw at once that the moment was eminently propitious; so hurrying back to my men, who must have wondered what had become of me, I led them up to within ten yards of the barrack-buildings, when I made each man take off his shoes. We then crept up to the barrack-walls, and telling off nine men, each provided with a hammer carefully faced with leather to deaden the sound, and a few nails (being similarly provided myself), I placed the remainder of my party, five at each wing of the building, well within the shadow, with instructions to seize—without noise it possible—and detain any one who might emerge from the building. In the event of an alarm being given and the garrison aroused, two of the men were to rush in and overpower the officers, while the remainder were to rally round the door of the larger room and prevent a sally until a signal-whistle should inform them that the work of spiking was completed, when the whole were to give leg-bail and make for the beach. But I warned them to prevent a general alarm, if possible, at all hazards.
Having posted this division of my party, I rejoined the other. Each man was to spike a gun; but the two on each wing were, in addition, to creep up to and surprise the sentry on that wing; and no one was to attempt anything until the word should be passed from each wing.