Trundle smacked his lips so loudly at the sight that some of the party turned a hasty glance in the direction where we lay hidden, supposing probably that the noise was made by some bird in the foliage above their heads. In a short time one of the young gentlemen was called on for a song. He without hesitation complied. I forget the strain. It was a right merry one. Another followed him, and then another.
“I say, Braithwaite,” whispered Toby Trundle, “just let me go down and introduce myself, and then you know I can introduce you all, and I’m sure that they will be glad to make your acquaintance.”
I nodded to Toby, and in an instant he slid down the rock, and was in the very midst of the party before any one observed where he had come from. Their looks of astonishment at finding an English midshipman among them were amusing.
“Why, where have you dropped from, youngster?” exclaimed a civilian, a judge returning from—what was more unusual in those days than at present—a visit to England. “The clouds?”
“Not exactly; ’tis but from up there, where I have a number of friends who would be glad to make your acquaintance,” answered Toby promptly. “May I introduce them?”
“By all means—very happy to see them,” answered the nabob, as all civil servants of the Company were called in those days if they were well up the tree, and had made money. “Bring them down at once.”
“I have not a gun, sir, or I might do it; but I’ll hail them, which will answer the purpose,” answered Master Toby, with a twinkle in his eye.
We scarcely waited for his call, but tumbling down one after the other, we stood before the assembled company, to whom Toby, looking as grave as a judge, introduced us formally by name, finishing off with “Sam Kelson, boatswain’s mate of his Britannic Majesty’s frigate Phoebe.”
“The very ship we spoke the day before we were captured,” observed our friend the judge. “She was on the look-out for Captain La Roche and his merry men, and if she falls in with them, they will have a hard matter to escape; but sit down, gentlemen, we are very glad to make your acquaintance. We are companions in misfortune, though in some respects you have the advantage over us, by being at liberty.”
We found that the passengers were allowed to live as before on board the Indiaman, and were under no sort of restraint, they having given their word not to attempt to escape from the island while the French had possession of it. We were treated in the most friendly manner by all the party, Sam Kelson finding a companion in a corporal, the servant of a military officer going out to rejoin his regiment Trundle soon let out to our new friends the intention we had entertained of trying to release them. They thanked us, but said that the attempt would have been useless, as the mouth of the harbour was strongly guarded. There were a good many other people on board the ships, while the officers and seamen remained strictly guarded, and were not allowed to visit the shore, except when the Mignonne or some other privateer ship of war was in the harbour. Their only fear was that they might run short of provisions before they were released, or that at all events they should have to live on very coarse and scanty food. They advised us to keep out of the Frenchmen’s sight, lest we should be pounced on and treated as seamen and belligerents; this we very readily promised to do. Altogether we had a very pleasant and merry meeting, and were sorry when our friends told us that the hour for their return on board had arrived. It was arranged that they should have another picnic party in the same spot in three days, and they kindly invited us to join them. On our way back we had, as may be supposed, plenty of subjects for conversation.