“I rather think, sir, that the French officers will have saved us the trouble; for when they get on board and find what Hoolan and his mates have been about, they won’t be inclined to treat them leniently.”
“I wish that we had left them ashore at Cork,” observed the captain. “We should have been better without such scoundrels. Now, with regard to these despatches. I don’t understand a word of French, nor does the first lieutenant, nor any other officer in the ship except yourself, Finnahan; still it may be necessary to act immediately on them. I’ll open them, and you must translate their contents.”
I would thankfully have excused myself; for though I could jabber French pretty glibly, I was very little accustomed to write or translate it. The captain got out pens and paper from his desk and, telling me to sit down, opened the packet, and put it into my hands. The hand-writing greatly puzzled me, for it was not a style to which I was accustomed. I spelt out the words, however, as well as I could, and tried to get at the sense. It contained an account of the intended sailing of the Marquis de Boullie with four thousand troops for the relief of Guadaloupe, which was at that time being attacked by the English under General Prescott. There were also various directions for the guidance of the French forces in those seas; but the most important was a plan for the concentration of the fleet, carrying a large body of soldiers, so that they might pounce down on Jamaica while the English squadrons were being led away in opposite directions. It was some time before I arrived at the gist of the matter.
“This is important,” exclaimed the captain. “You would have rendered essential service to the country by bringing these on board, and I must see that Harrigan is rewarded; while the part you have played must not be forgotten, as, though your sense of honour prevented you from taking the packet, it is owing to your courage and determination that we have obtained it. However, we will talk of that by and by. We must look out, in the meantime, that the brig doesn’t escape us; for though I have got the information to put Sir Samuel Hood on his guard, the French may obtain it also, and act accordingly.”
While we were speaking, Mr Saunders came in to say the boat was ready, and the cable hove short; but that, as it was still a stark calm, there was no chance at present of the brig getting under weigh.
“You must go in the boat, Finnahan, and make sure that we watch the right brig. As we can’t see her from the ship, we may be following the wrong vessel,” said the captain.
Though I would much rather have turned in and gone to sleep, I of course obeyed orders.
Mr Harvey, the third lieutenant, was in charge of the boat, and as I stepped into her, I found that Larry Harrigan formed one of the crew. They pulled away under my directions, and soon gained sight of the brig.
“It’s mighty hard that we can’t jump aboard and take her,” I heard Larry say to the stroke oar, behind whom he was sitting. “I’d be after getting back my fiddle, at all events, if we could.”
“It’s agen’ the law of nations,” answered the man; “though I should like to punish the rascal Hoolan for murdering poor Ben Nash and Tim Logan.”