Next day, General Prescott’s division was re-embarked, as it was not a sufficient force to fight its way to General Fraser at Brimstone Hill. Other attempts were made to communicate with him, and two officers were captured; so that I had good cause to be thankful that I had escaped.
Dubois and La Touche confessed that they were very sorry to see me back.
“I felt sure that you would be made prisoner, and fully expected to have had the satisfaction of being exchanged for you,” said the latter. “But we have to practise patience and laugh at our misfortunes, to get on in this world.”
“I’m very glad you were not caught, Paddy,” said Tom Pim. “I envy you your success, and only wish that I could talk French as you do, to be employed on the same sort of service. La Touche is teaching me, and I’m trying to teach him English, but we make rum work of it without a grammar or dictionary, or any other book. I suspect he gets more out of me than I do out of him, though I try very hard to pronounce the words he says.”
We could hear the French guns thundering away at the fort, and those of the fort replying, hour after hour, without intermission, but the signals made by General Fraser were not supposed to be satisfactory.
At last, one day, we saw the flag hauled down; the guns at the same time ceased, and we knew that all was over, and the gallant garrison had been compelled to capitulate. Information of this was sent on board to the admiral, with a flag of truce, by the Marquis de Boullie.
That evening we sailed on a cruise to ascertain the movements of the French fleet. We had not been to sea many hours when we saw them standing in for Nevis Point, where they came to an anchor; and counting them, we found that they numbered no less than twenty-four sail of the line, several ships having lately joined them. We at once returned with the information to Sir Samuel Hood. It was now discovered that the French had been throwing up gun and mortar batteries on a hill, which would completely command the fleet.
We were seated in the berth after we had brought up, discussing the state of affairs.
“We’re in a nice position,” said Chaffey. “We shall be pounded at from the shore, and shall have the French fleet, with half as many more ships as we possess, down upon us before long, and it will be a tough job to fight our way out from among them.”
“Just trust our admiral,” answered Tom; “he knows what he’s about, depend on that; he won’t let us be caught like rats in a trap.”