I signified my readiness to listen to any offer they had to make, as I felt sure it would be a good one.
"We were thinking of converting the Camperdown into a privateer," said he, "by reducing her free-board so that she will sit low in the water. She can easily carry twelve or fourteen guns, and a proportionately larger crew than the Marguerite. We think that she will be a good sailer with the alterations we propose; but there is the possible chance that she will be injured rather than improved. What do you think of the plan? We shall give the command of the new privateer to you in case the change is made."
"At first thought it does not strike me favorably," I answered, "in spite of the temptation it offers in giving me command of a larger vessel than the Marguerite. The schooner is very fast and easily handled; she is faster than the Camperdown, and can be brought about more readily, which is often a very important thing at sea, especially in time of war. For capturing merchant-ships, which is the object of privateering, seven guns are as good as fourteen; now and then an armed merchantman might surrender to the larger vessel when she would not to the smaller one, but such cases are not numerous.
"Besides, sir," I continued, "you will excuse the suggestion, but I know my crew regards the Marguerite as a lucky craft, and that goes a long way in keeping up the spirits of the men during a cruise. They believe she will win every time; and with this belief they will always be ready to take any risk that I put upon them. Of course I have no superstitions of the sort myself; but, all things being equal, I prefer a lucky ship every time."
"Spoken like a man," said my employer; and then he asked what I would advise under the circumstances.
"I would advise that the Camperdown be sold; probably the government would pay a good price for her, and convert her into a cruiser. The proceeds of the sale would buy and equip a privateer of the same grade as the Marguerite, and probably less time would be lost in making the sale and purchase than in altering the Camperdown in the manner proposed."
He said they would think the matter over, and decide upon it as soon as possible. Then came up the question of prize-money for the captures we had made; and on this subject I received some important information.
The cargoes of the prizes had been sold in great part, but all the goods could not find a ready market, except at a sacrifice, which was not considered judicious. Congress had enacted a law regulating the distribution of prize-money arising from captures by national vessels, and my employer said the same rule, as far as practicable, would be adopted by the owners of privateers. Here is the law as it relates to captures by national vessels:—
"One-half of the prize-money goes to the National Government; the other half is divided into twenty equal parts, and shall be distributed in the following manner: to captains, three parts; to lieutenants and sailing-masters, two parts; to the marine officers, surgeons, pursers, gunners, carpenters, master's mates, and chaplains, two parts; to midshipmen, surgeon's mates, captain's clerks, schoolmasters, boatswain's mates, gunner's mates, carpenter's mates, stewards, sailmakers, masters-at-arms, cockswains, and armorers, three parts; to gunner's yeomen, boatswain's yeomen, quartermasters, quarter-gunners, coopers, sailmaker's mates, sergeants, and corporals of marine, drummers and fifers, and extra petty officers, three parts; to seamen, ordinary seamen, and boys, seven parts."
As he finished reading the new law he paused, and said, with a laugh, that he thought it doubtful if I would have as many classes of men for whom to make a distribution of prize money. I replied that it was probably in order to give me a chance to have them that they had proposed to convert the Camperdown into a privateer, and put her under my command.