Dunton was furious. “You’ll be sorry for those words yet, you damned Yankee smuggler!”
“Maybe so,” returned Hoppy. “I’m willing to take a chance, anyway.”
There was some time to wait for the small boat to return from the frigate, and from the deck of the schooner the prisoners had a fine view of the splendid harbor of Provincetown, capable of affording anchorage for a thousand sail, as was noted by Bradford when the Mayflower first made the port. Many times had the captives sailed on these waters and to them every depth and shallow was familiar. And yet, notwithstanding the glorious summer morning, there seemed to be the shadow of disaster over the scene. The town had suffered severely from the presence of the enemy’s ships. Commerce was completely at a standstill, for the great industry of the place, fishing, could not be carried on under the muzzles of the British guns, and the few vessels left in the port were rotting on the beach. The population was reduced to a state of dumb submission to the invaders and, with the exception of the British ships, the roadstead was a waste of waters.
About fifty yards from the schooner, the “Spencer” presented a sight to gladden a sailor’s eye. Her towering masts and trim rigging showed clearly against the sky. Her deck was a-swarm with busy men and her burnished brasswork shone in the sunlight.
“She certainly is a beauty, Hoppy,” remarked Captain Knowles admiringly.
“Yes, Win, she is surely that,” replied Hoppy. “No wonder Raggett is proud of her.”
“Well, he’s got about three hundred hands to keep busy and they have nothing else to do but keep her tidied up. If there was a little more fighting she mightn’t look so pretty. Still, I don’t think I should like this navy life, myself.”
“Same here, Win. These Britishers have always had a navy and got kind o’ used to the thing, but we have hardly started in. Maybe in a few more years we shall have something besides a few cruisers and privateers to meet them.”
Soon after this the boat arrived and the prisoners were transferred to the frigate.
Lieutenant Fotheringay, courteous as ever, met them at the gangway.