“Aye, aye, sir!” I responded, and descending to the yawl, I gave the order to pull away.
When near enough for the sound of our oars to be detected, we muffled them, and cautiously advanced, seeking to get under the stern of the craft without being discovered. At length we were near enough to discern through the darkness that she was a trim schooner carrying ten guns, and that her course showed she was trying to overhaul the British vessels. This fact made me a little suspicious of her character, for it seemed to me a daring attempt for her to be following up two vessels, each larger than herself, with an idea of attacking them. I called the attention of our boatswain, Joseph Lewis, to this circumstance, asking in a low tone:
“Does it not seem to you, Master Lewis, that she must be a Britisher, a consort of the ship and brig, and is endeavoring to overhaul them?”
“Two things are agin that, sir,” he replied in the same cautious way. “Fust, thar’s her build. She came from Yankee stocks as sure as my name is Joe Lewis. Then thar’s the flag she carries. I can’t jest make it out, sir, but it ain’t the English colors. As for her followin’ two vessels larger than herself, that doesn’t signify. We’ve got Capt’ns who’d do it with half her guns, hopin’ to find a way to cut out one or t’other of them. I’m sure, sir, we’ll find she’s a friend. I’m ready to risk runnin’ right up to her.”
“I hardly think we’ll do that,” I answered. “But we’ll work up under her stern, and make sure who she is.”
“I beg yer pardon, sir,” he continued, “but if ye’ll order all the men to lie low in the boat, an’ git down yerself, an’ let me have an oar, I’ll scull her up under the schooner in no time without their ’specting we’re thar.”
I gave the necessary command, and, stooping as low as he possibly could and yet work an oar, he sent our yawl noiselessly forward in the wake of the stranger. Five minutes later he touched my arm. I looked up and he made a quick upward gesture. I understood, and opened my dark lantern enough to send a single ray of light on the stern of the schooner which was now just above our heads. With a thrill of delight I read her name—Katy—and her port—Providence in the Rhode Island Plantations.
Dropping behind her far enough to make it safe to signal our frigate, we raised our light high in the air with an oar, and waited. It was not long, light as the breeze was, before the ship was alongside of us, and, picking us up, she went on after the schooner. In ten minutes we spoke with her, and her captain, Abraham Whipple, came on board.
Captain Tucker and he speedily came to an agreement to join forces and attack the English vessels, and since Captain Tucker held his commission from the Continental Congress, it was arranged that both of the Yankee crafts should be under his command. These preliminaries completed, we hastened on as fast as the light wind would permit us after the enemy. It was clear by their course that they were striving to make Boston harbor; and equally clear after an hour or two of watching that all four vessels were about equally matched in speed.
As we drew near Long Island clouds overcast the dim stars, shutting out what light we had, and we were uncertain whether the ships we were pursuing took the east or west channel. So Captain Tucker signalled the Katy to go up the east side, while he went up the west side of the island. It was our good fortune to speedily overtake the transports which, running too close to the flats, got aground.