“Sirs, take your places,
and be vigilant.”
Henry IV.
The succeeding day was one in which
the weather had a fixed character. The wind was
east, and, though light, not fluctuating. The
air had that thick and hazy appearance, which properly
belongs to the Autumn in this climate, but which is
sometimes seen at midsummer, when a dry wind blows
from the ocean. The roll of the surf, on the
shore, was regular and monotonous, and the currents
of the air were so steady as to remove every apprehension
of a change. The moment to which the action of
the tale is transferred, was in the earlier hours
of the afternoon.
At that time the Coquette lay again
at her anchors, just within the shelter of the cape.
There were a few small sails to be seen passing up
the bay; but the scene, as was common at that distant
day, presented little of the activity of our own times,
to the eye. The windows of the Lust in Rust were
again open, and the movement of the slaves, in and
about the villa, announced the presence of its master.
The Alderman was in truth, at the
hour named, passing the little lawn in front of la
Cour des Fees, accompanied by Oloff
Van Staats and the commander of the cruiser.
It was evident, by the frequent glances which the
latter threw in the direction of the pavilion, that
he still thought of her who was absent; while the
faculties of the two others were either in better
subjection, or less stimulated by anxiety. One
who understood the character of the individual, and
who was acquainted with the past, might have suspected,
by this indifference on the part of the Patroon, placed
as it was in such a singular contrast to a sort of
mysterious animation which enlivened a countenance
whose ordinary expression was placid content, that
the young suitor thought less than formerly of the
assets of old Etienne, and more of the secret pleasure
he found in the singular incidents of which he had
been a witness.
“Propriety and discretion!”
observed the burgher, in reply to a remark of one
of the young men “I say again, for
the twentieth time, that we shall have Alida Barberie
back among us, as handsome, as innocent, ay, and as
rich, as ever! perhaps I should also say,
as wilful. A baggage, to worry her old uncle,
and two honorable suitors, in so thoughtless a manner!
Circumstances, gentlemen,” continued the wary
merchant, who saw that the value of the hand of which
he had to dispose, was somewhat reduced in the market,
“have placed you on a footing, in my esteem.
Should my niece, after all, prefer Captain Ludlow
for a partner in her worldly affairs, why it should
not weaken friendship between the son of old Stephanus
Van Staats and Myndert Van Beverout. Our grandmothers
were cousins, and there should be charities in the
same blood.”
“I could not wish to press my
suit,” returned the Patroon, “when the
lady has given so direct a hint that it is disagreeable ”
“Hint me no hints! Do you
call this caprice of a moment, this trifling, as the
captain here would call it, with the winds and tides,
a hint! The girl has Norman blood in her veins,
and she wishes to put animation into the courtship.
If bargains were to be interrupted by a little cheapening
of the buyer, and some affectation of waiting for
a better market in the seller, Her Majesty might as
well order her custom-houses to be closed at once,
and look to other sources for revenue. Let the
girl’s fancy have its swing, and the profits
of a year’s peltry against thy rent-roll, we
shall see her penitent for her folly, and willing
to hear reason. My sister’s daughter is
no witch, to go journeying for ever about the world,
on a broomstick!”
“There is a tradition in our
family,” said Oloff Van Staats, his eye lighting
with a mysterious excitement, while he affected to
laugh at the folly he uttered, “that the great
Poughkeepsie fortune-teller foretold, in the presence
of my grandmother, that a Patroon of Kinderhook should
intermarry with a witch. So, should I see la Belle
in the position you name, it would not greatly alarm
me.”
“The prophecy was fulfilled
at the wedding of thy father!” muttered Myndert,
who, notwithstanding the outward levity with which
he treated the subject, was not entirely free from
secret reverence for the provincial soothsayers, some
of whom continued in high repute, even to the close
of the last century. “His son would not
else have been so clever a youth! But here is
Captain Ludlow looking at the ocean, as if he expected
to see my niece rise out of the water, in the shape
of a mermaid.”
The commander of the Coquette pointed
to the object which attracted his gaze, and which,
appearing as it did at that moment, was certainly not
of a nature to lessen the faith of either of his companions
in supernatural agencies.
It has been said that the wind was
dry and the air misty, or rather so pregnant with
a thin haze, as to give it the appearance of a dull,
smoky light. In such a state of the weather,
the eye, more especially of one placed on an elevation,
is unable to distinguish what is termed the visible
horizon at sea. The two elements become so blended,
that our organs cannot tell where the water ends,
or where the void of the heavens commences. It
is a consequence of this in distinctness, that any
object seen beyond the apparent boundary of water,
has the appearance of floating in the air. It
is rare for the organs of a landsman to penetrate beyond
the apparent limits of the sea, when the atmosphere
exhibits this peculiarity, though the practised eye
of a mariner often detects vessels, which are hid
from others, merely because they are not sought in
the proper place. The deception may also be aided
by a slight degree of refraction.
“Here;” said Ludlow, pointing
in a line that would have struck the water some two
or three leagues in the offing. “First bring
the chimney of yonder low building on the plain, in
a range with the dead oak on the shore, and then raise
your eyes slowly, till they strike a sail.”
“That ship is navigating the
heavens!” exclaimed Myndert! “Thy
grandmother was a sensible woman, Patroon; she was
a cousin of my pious progenitor, and there is no knowing
what two clever old ladies, in their time, may have
heard and seen, when such sights as this are beheld
in our own!”
“I am as little disposed as
another, to put faith in incredible things,”
gravely returned Oloff Van Staats; “and yet,
if required to give my testimony, I should be reluctant
to say, that yonder vessel is not floating in the
heavens!”
“You might not give it to that
effect, in safety;” said Ludlow. “It
is no other than a half-rigged brigantine, on a taut
bowline, though she bears no great show of canvas.
Mr. Van Beverout, Her Majesty’s cruiser is about
to put to sea.”
Myndert heard this declaration in
visible dissatisfaction. He spoke of the virtue
of patience, and of the comforts of the solid ground;
but when he found the intention of the Queen’s
servant was not to be shaken, he reluctantly professed
an intention of repeating the personal experiment
of the preceding day. Accordingly, within half
an hour, the whole party were on the banks of the
Shrewsbury, and about to embark in the barge of the
Coquette.
“Adieu, Monsieur Francois;”
said the Alderman nodding his head to the ancient
valet, who stood with a disconsolate eye on the shore.
“Have a care of the movables in la Cour
des Fees; we may have further use for them.”
“Mais, Monsieur Beevre, mon
devoir, et, ma foi, suppose la mer was
plus agréable, mon désir shall
be to suivre Mam’selle Alide.
Jamais personne de la famille
Barberie love de sea; maïs, Monsieur, comment
faire? I shall die sur la mer de douleur;
and I shall die d’ennui, to rester ici,
bien sur!”
“Come then, faithful Francois,”
said Ludlow. “You shall follow your young
mistress; and perhaps, on further trial, you may be
disposed to think the lives of us seamen more tolerable
than you had believed.”
After an eloquent expression of countenance,
in which the secretly-amused though grave-looking
boat’s-crew thought the old man was about to
give a specimen of his powers of anticipation, the
affectionate domestic entered the barge. Ludlow
felt for his distress, and encouraged him by a look
of approbation. The language of kindness does
not always need a tongue; and the conscience of the
valet smote him with the idea that he might have expressed
himself too strongly, concerning a profession to which
the other had devoted life and hopes.
“La mer, Monsieur
lé Capitaine,” he said, with an acknowledging
reverence, “est un vaste theatre
de la gloire. Voila Messieurs de
Tourville et Dougay Trouin; ce sont des
hommes, vraiment remarquables! maïs
Monsieur, quant a toute la famille
de Barberie, we have toujours un sentiment
plus favorable pour la terre.”
“I wish your whimsical jade
of a mistress, Master Francois, had found the same
sentiment,” dryly observed Myndert: “for
let me tell you, this cruising about in a suspicious
vessel is as little creditable to her judgment as cheer
up, Patroon; the girl is only putting thy mettle to
the trial, and the sea air will do no damage to her
complexion or her pocket. A little predilection
for salt water must raise the girl in your estimation,
Captain Ludlow!”
“If the predilection goes no
further than to the element, Sir;” was the caustic
answer. “But, deluded or not, erring or
deceived, Alida Barberie is not to be deserted, the
victim of a villain’s arts. I did love your
niece, Mr. Van Beverout, and pull with a
will, men; fellows, are you sleeping on the oars?”
The sudden manner in which the young
man interrupted himself, and the depth of tone in
which he spoke to the boat’s crew, put an end
to the discourse. It was apparent that he wished
to say no more, and that he even regretted the weakness
which had induced him to say so much. The remainder
of the distance, between the shore and the ship, was
passed in silence.
When Queen Anne’s cruiser was
seen doubling Sandy-Hook, past meridian on the 6th
June (sea-time) in the year 17 , the wind,
as stated in an ancient journal, which was kept by
one of the midshipmen, and is still in existence,
was light, steady at south, and by-west-half-west.
It appears, by the same document, that the vessel
took her departure at seven o’clock, P.M., the
point of Sandy-Hook bearing west-half-south, distant
three leagues. On the same page which contains
these particulars, it is observed, under the head
of remarks “Ship under starboard steering-sails,
forward and aft, making six knots. A suspicious
half-rigged brigantine lying-to on the eastern board,
under her mainsail, with fore-top-sail to the mast;
light and lofty sails and jib loose; foresail in the
brails. Her starboard steering-sail-booms appear
to be rigged out, and the gear rove, ready for a run.
This vessel is supposed to be the celebrated hermaphrodite,
the Water-Witch, commanded by the notorious ’Skimmer
of the Seas,’ and the same fellow who gave us
so queer a slip, yesterday. The Lord send us
a cap-full of wind, and we’l try his heels, before
morning! Passengers, Alderman Van Beverout,
of the second ward of the City of New-York, in Her
Majesty’s province of the same name; Oloff Van
Staats, Esq. commonly called the Patroon of Kinderhook,
of the same colony; and a qualmish-looking old chap,
in a sort of marine’s jacket, who answers when
hailed as Francis. A rum set taken altogether,
though they seem to suit the Captain’s fancy.
Mem. Each lipper of a wave works like tartar
emetic on the lad in marine gear.”
As no description of ours can give
a more graphic account of the position of the two
vessels in question, at the time named, than that which
is contained in the foregoing extract, we shall take
up the narrative at that moment, which the reader
will see must, in the 43d degree of latitude, and
in the month of June have been shortly after the close
of the day.
The young votary of Neptune, whose
opinions have just been quoted, had indeed presumed
on his knowledge of the localities, in affirming the
distance and position of the cape, since the low sandy
point was no longer visible from the deck. The
sun had set, as seen from the vessel, precisely in
the mouth of the Raritan; and the shadows from Navesink,
or Neversink as the hills are vulgarly called, were
thrown far upon the sea. In short, the night
was gathering round the mariners, with every appearance
of settled and mild weather, but of a darkness deeper
than is common on the ocean. Under such circumstances,
the great object was to keep on the track of the chase,
during the time when she must necessarily be hid from
their sight.
Ludlow walked into the lee-gangway
of his ship, and, leaning with his elbow on the empty
hammock-cloths, he gazed long and in silence at the
object of his pursuit. The Water-Witch was lying
in the quarter of the horizon most favorable to being
seen. The twilight, which still fell out of the
heavens, was without glare in that direction; and for
the first time that day, he saw her in her true proportions.
The admiration of a seaman was blended with the other
sensations of the young man. The brigantine lay
in the position that exhibited her exquisitely-moulded
hull and rakish rig to the most advantage. The
head, having come to the wind, was turned towards
her pursuer; and as the bows rose on some swell that
was heavier than common, Ludlow saw, or fancied he
saw, the mysterious image still perched on her cut-water,
holding the book to the curious, and ever pointing
with its finger across the waste of water. A movement
of the hammock-cloths caused the young sailor to bend
his head aside, and he then saw that the master had
drawn as near to his person as discipline would warrant.
Ludlow had a great respect for the professional attainments
that his inferior unquestionably possessed; and he
was not without some consideration for the chances
of a fortune, which had not done much to reward the
privations and the services of a seaman old enough
to be his father. The recollection of these facts
always disposed him to be indulgent to a man who had
little, beyond his seaman-like character and long
experience, to recommend him.
“We are likely to have a thick
night, Master Trysail,” said the young captain,
without deeming it necessary to change his look, “and
we may yet be brought on a bowline, before yonder
insolent is overhauled.”
The master smiled, like one who knew
more, than he expressed, find gravely shook his head.
“We may have many pulls on our
bowlines, and some squaring of yards, too, before
the Coquette (the figure-head of the sloop-of-war was
also a female) gets near enough to the dark-faced
woman, under the bowsprit of the brigantine, to whisper
her mind. You and I have been nigh enough to
see the white of her eyes, and to count the teeth she
shows, in that cunning grin of hers, and
what good has come of our visit? I am but a subordinate,
Captain Ludlow, and I know my duty too well not to
be silent in a squall, and I hope too well not to
know how to speak when my commander wishes the opinions
of his officers at a council; and therefore mine,
just now, is perhaps different from that of some others
in this ship, that I will not name, who are good men,
too, though none of the oldest.”
“And what is thy opinion, Trysail? the
ship is doing well, and she carries her canvas bravely.”
“The ship behaves like a well-bred
young woman in the presence of the Queen; modest,
but stately but, of what use is canvas,
in a chase where witchcraft breeds squalls, and shortens
sail in one vessel, while it gives flying kites to
another! If Her Majesty, God bless her! should
be ever persuaded to do so silly a thing as to give
old Tom Trysail a ship, and the said ship lay, just
here-a-way, where the Coquette is now getting along
so cleverly, why then, as in duty bound, I know very
well what her commander would do ”
“Which would be ?”
“To, in all studding-sails, and bring the vessel
on the wind.”
“That would be to carry you
to the southward, while the chase lies here in the
eastern board!”
“Who can say, how long she will
lie there? They told us, in York, that there
was a Frenchman, of our burthen and metal, rummaging
about among the fishermen, lower down on the coast.
Now, Sir, no man knows that the war is half over better
than myself, for not a ha’penny of prize-money
has warmed my pocket, these three years; but,
as I was saying, if a Frenchman will come off his
ground, and will run his ship into troubled water,
why whose fault is it but his own?
A pretty affair might be made out of such a mistake,
Captain Ludlow; whereas running after yonder brigantine,
is napping out the Queen’s canvas for nothing.
The vessel’s bottom will want new sheathing,
in my poor opinion, before you catch him.”
“I know not, Trysail,”
returned his captain, glancing an eye aloft; “every
thing draws, and the ship never went along with less
trouble to herself. We shall not know which has
the longest legs, till the trial is made.”
“You may judge of the rogue’s
speed by his impudence. There he lies, waiting
for us, like a line-of-battle ship lying-to for an
enemy to come down. Though a man of some experience
in my way, I have never seen a lord’s son more
sure of promotion, than that same brigantine seems
to be of his heels! If this old Frenchman goes
on with his faces much longer, he will turn himself
inside-out, and then we shall get an honest look at
him, for these fellows never carry their true characters
above-board, like a fair-dealing Englishman.
Well, Sir, as I was remarking, yon rover, if rover
he be, has more faith in his canvas than in the church.
I make no doubt, Captain Ludlow, that the brigantine
went through the inlet, while we were handing our
top-sails yesterday; for I am none of those who are
in a hurry to give credit to any will-o’-the-wisp
tale; besides which, I sounded the passage with my
own hands, and know the thing to be possible, with
the wind blowing heavy over the taffrail; still, Sir,
human nature is human nature, and what is the oldest
seaman after all, but a man? And so to
conclude, I would rather any day chase a Frenchman,
whose disposition is known to me, than have the credit
of making traverses, for eight-and-forty hours, in
the wake of one of these flyers, with little hope
of getting him within hail.”
“You forget, Master Trysail,
that I have been aboard the chase, and know something
of his build and character.”
“They say as much aboard, here,”
returned the old tar, drawing nearer to the person
of his captain, under an impulse of strong curiosity;
“though crone presume to be acquainted with
the particulars. I am not one of those who ask
impertinent questions, more especially under Her Majesty’s
pennant; for the worst enemy I have will not say I
am very womanish. One would think, however, that
there was neat work on board a craft that is so prettily
moulded about her water-lines?”
“She is perfect as to construction,
and admirable in gear.”
“I thought as much, by instinct!
Her commander need not, however, be any the more sure
of keeping her off the rocks, on that account.
The prettiest young woman in our parish was wrecked,
as one might say, on the shoals of her own good looks,
having cruised once too often in the company of the
squire’s son. A comely wench she was, though
she luffed athwart all her old companions, when the
young lord of the manor fell into her wake. Well,
she did bravely enough, Sir, as long as she could carry
her flying kites, and make a fair wind of it; but
when the squall of which I spoke, overtook her, what
could she do but keep away before it? and
as others, who are snugger in their morals hove-to
as it were, under the storm-sails of religion and
such matters as they had picked up in the catechism,
she drifted to leeward of all honest society!
A neatly-built and clean-heeled hussy was that girl;
and I am not certain, by any means, that Mrs. Trysail
would this day call herself the lady of a Queen’s
officer, had the other known how to carry sail in
the company of her betters.”
The worthy master drew a long breath,
which possibly was a nautical sigh, but which certainly
had more of the north wind than of the zephyr in its
breathing; and he had recourse to the little box of
iron, whence he usually drew consolation.
“I have heard of this accident
before;” returned Ludlow, who had sailed as
a midshipman in the same vessel with, and indeed as
a subordinate to, his present inferior. “But,
from all accounts, you have little reason to regret
the change, as I hear the best character of your present
worthy partner.”
“No doubt, Sir, no doubt. I
defy any man in the ship to say that I am a backbiter,
even against my wife, with whom I have a sort of lawful
right to deal candidly. I make no complaints,
and am a happy man at sea, and I piously hope Mrs.
Trysail knows how to submit to her duty at home. I
suppose you see, Sir, that the chase has hauled his
yards, and is getting his fore-tack aboard?”
Ludlow, whose eye did not often turn from the brigantine,
nodded assent; and the master, having satisfied himself,
by actual inspection, that every sail in the Coquette
did its duty, continued “The night
is coming on thick, and we shall have occasion for
all our eyes to keep the rogue in view, when he begins
to change his bearings but, as I was saying,
if the commander of yonder half-rig is too vain of
her good looks, he may yet wreck her, in his pride!
The rogue has a desperate character as a smuggler,
though, for my own part, I cannot say that I look
on such men with as unfavorable an eye as some others.
This business of trade seems to be a sort of chase
between one man’s wits and another man’s
wits, and the dullest goer must be content to fall
to leeward. When it comes to be a question of
revenue, why, he who goes free is lucky, and he who
is caught, a prize. I have known a flag-officer
look the other way, Captain Ludlow, when his own effects
were passing duty-free; and as to your admiral’s
lady, she is a great patroness of the contraband.
I do not deny, Sir, that a smuggler must be caught,
and when caught, condemned, after which there must
be a fair distribution among the captors; but all
that I mean to say is, that there are worse men in
the world than your British smuggler such,
for instance, as your Frenchman, your Dutchman, or
your Don.”
“These are heretodox opinions
for a Queen’s servant;” said Ludlow, as
much inclined to smile as to frown.
“I hope I know my duty too well
to preach them to the ship’s company, but a
man may say that, in a philosophical way, before his
captain, that he would not let run into a midshipman’s
ear. Though no lawyer, I know what is meant by
swearing a witness to the truth and nothing but the
truth. I wish the Queen got the last, God bless
her! several worn-out ships would then be broken up,
and better vessels sent to sea in their places.
But, Sir, speaking in a religious point of view, what
is the difference between passing in a trunk of finery,
with a duchess’s name on the brass plate, or
in passing in gin enough to fill a cutter’s hold?”
“One would think a man of your
years, Mr. Trysail, would see the difference between
robbing the revenue of a guinea, and robbing it of
a thousand pounds.”
“Which is just the difference
between retail and wholesale, and that is
no trifle, I admit, Captain Ludlow, in a commercial
country, especially in genteel life. Still, Sir,
revenue is the country’s right and therefore
I allow a smuggler to be a bad man only not so bad
as those I have just named, particularly your Dutchman!
The Queen is right to make those rogues lower their
flags to her in the narrow seas, which are her lawful
property; because England, being a wealthy island,
and Holland no more than a bit of bog turned up to
dry, it is reasonable that we should have the command
afloat. No, Sir, though none of your outcriers
against a man, because he has had bad luck in a chase
with a revenue-cutter, I hope I know what the natural
rights of an Englishman are. We must be masters,
here, Captain Ludlow, will-ye-nill-ye, and look to
the main chances of trade and manufactures!”
“I had not thought you so accomplished
a statesman, Master Trysail!”
“Though a poor man’s son,
Captain Ludlow, I am a free-born Briton, and my education
has not been entirely overlooked. I hope I know
something of the constitution, as well as my betters.
Justice and honor being an Englishman’s mottoes,
we must look manfully to the main chance. We are
none of your flighty talkers, but a reasoning people,
and there is no want of deep thinkers on the little
island; and therefore, Sir, taking all together, why
England must stick up for her rights! Here is
your Dutchman, for instance, a ravenous cormorant;
a fellow with a throat wide enough to swallow all
the gold of the Great Mogul, if he could get at it;
and yet a vagabond who has not even a fair footing
on the earth, if the truth must be spoken! Well,
Sir, shall England give up her rights to a nation of
such blackguards? No, Sir; our venerable constitution
and mother church itself forbid, and therefore I say,
dam’me, lay them aboard, if they refuse us any
of our natural rights, or show a wish to bring us down
to their own dirty level!”
“Reasoned like a countryman
of Newton, and an eloquence that would do credit to
Cicero! I shall endeavor to digest your ideas
at my leisure, since they are much too solid food
to be disposed of in a minute. At present we
will look to the chase, for I see, by the aid of my
glass, that he has set his studding-sails, and is
beginning to draw ahead.”
This remark closed the dialogue, between
the captain and his subordinate. The latter quitted
the gangway with that secret and pleasurable sensation
which communicates itself to all who have reason to
think they have delivered themselves creditably of
a train of profound thought.
It was, in truth, time to lend every
faculty to the movements of the brigantine; for there
was great reason to apprehend, that by changing her
direction in the darkness, she might elude them.
The night was fast closing on the Coquette, and at
each moment the horizon narrowed around her, so that
it was only at uncertain intervals the men aloft could
distinguish the position of the chase. While the
two vessels were thus situated, Ludlow joined his
guests on the quarter-deck.
“A wise man will trust to his
wits, what cannot be done by force;” said the
Alderman. “I do not pretend to be much of
a mariner, Captain Ludlow, though I once spent a week
in London, and I have crossed the ocean seven times
to Rotterdam. We did little in our passages, by
striving to force nature. When the nights came
in dark, as at present, the honest schippers were
content to wait for better times; by which means we
were sure not to miss our road, and of finally arriving
at the destined port in safety.”
“You saw that the brigantine
was opening his canvas, when last seen; and he that
would move fast, must have recourse to his sails.”
“One never knows what may be
brewing, up there in the heavens, when the eye cannot
see the color of a cloud. I have little knowledge
of the character of the ‘Skimmer of the Seas,’
beyond that which common fame gives him; but, in the
poor judgment of a landsman, we should do better by
showing lanterns in different parts of the ship, lest
some homeward-bound vessel do us an injury, and waiting
until the morning, for further movements.”
“We are spared the trouble,
for look, the insolent has set a light himself, as
if to invite us to follow. This temerity exceeds
belief! To dare to trifle thus with one of the
swiftest cruisers in the English fleet! See that
every thing draws, gentlemen, and take a pull at all
the sheets. Hail the tops, Sir, and make sure
that every thing is home.”
The order was succeeded by the voice
of the officer of the watch, who inquired, as directed,
if each sail was distended to the utmost. Force
was applied to some of the ropes, and then a general
quiet succeeded to the momentary activity.
The brigantine had indeed showed a
light, as if in mockery of the attempt of the royal
cruiser. Though secretly stung by this open contempt
of their speed, the officers of the Coquette found
themselves relieved from a painful and anxious duty.
Before this beacon was seen, they were obliged to
exert their senses to the utmost, in order to get occasional
glimpses of the position of the chase; while they
now steered in confidence for the brilliant little
spot, that was gently rising and falling with the waves.
“I think we near him,”
half-whispered the eager captain; “for, see,
there is some design visible on the sides of the lantern.
Hold! Ah! ’tis the face of a woman,
as I live!”
“The men of the yawl report
that the rover shows this symbol in many parts of
his vessel, and we know he had the impudence to set
it yesterday in our presence, even on his ensign.”
“True true; take
you the glass, Mr. Luff, and tell me if there be not
a woman’s face sketched in front of that light we
certainly near him fast let there be silence,
fore and aft the ship. The rogues mistake our
bearings!”
“A saucy-looking jade, as one
might wish to see!” returned the lieutenant.
“Her impudent laugh is visible to the naked eye.”
“See all clear for laying him
aboard! Get a party to throw on his decks, Sir!
I will lead them myself.”
These orders were given in an under
tone, and rapidly. They were promptly obeyed.
In the mean time, the Coquette continued to glide gently
ahead, her sails thickening with the dew, and every
breath of the heavy air acting with increased power
on their surfaces. The boarders were stationed,
orders were given for the most profound silence, and
as the ship drew nearer to the light, even the officers
were commanded not to stir. Ludlow stationed
himself in the mizen channels, to cun the ship; and
his directions were repeated to the quarter-master,
in a loud whisper.
“The night is so dark, we are
certainly unseen!” observed the young man to
his second in command; who stood at his elbow.
“They have unaccountably mistaken our position.
Observe how the face of the painting becomes more
distinct one can see even the curls of the
hair. Luff, Sir! luff we will
run him aboard! on his weather-quarter.”
“The fool must be lying-to!”
returned the lieutenant. “Even your witches
fail of common sense; at times! Do you see which
way he has his head, Sir?”
“I see nothing but the light.
It is so dark that our own sails are scarcely visible and
yet I think here are his yards, a little forward of
our lee beam.”
“’Tis our own lower boom.
I got it out, in readiness for the other tack, in
case the knave should ware. Are we not running
too full?”
“Luff you may, a little, luff, or
we shall crush him!”
As this order was given, Ludlow passed
swiftly forward. He found the hoarders ready
for a spring, and he rapidly gave his orders.
The men were told to carry the brigantine at every
hazard, but not to offer violence, unless serious
resistance was made. They were thrice enjoined
not to enter the cabins, and the young man expressed
a generous wish that, in every case, the ‘Skimmer
of the Seas’ might be taken alive. By the
time these directions were given, the light was so
near that the malign countenance of the sea-green
lady was seen in every lineament. Ludlow looked,
in vain, for the spars, in order to ascertain in which
direction the head of the brigantine lay; but, trusting
to luck, he saw that the decisive moment was come.
“Starboard, and run him aboard! Away
there, you boarders, away! Heave with your grapnels;
heave, men, with a long swing, heave! Meet her,
with the helm hard down meet
her steady!” was shouted
in a clear, full, and steady voice, that seemed to
deepen at each mandate which issued from the lips
of the young captain.
The boarders cheered heartily, and
leaped into the rigging. The Coquette readily
and rapidly yielded to the power of her rudder.
First inclining to the light, and then sweeping up
towards the wind again, in another instant she was
close upon the chase. The irons were thrown, the
men once more shouted, and all on board held their
breaths in expectation of the crash of the meeting
hulls. At that moment of high excitement, the
woman’s face rose a short distance in the air,
seemed to smile in derision of their attempt, and
suddenly disappeared. The ship passed steadily
ahead, while no noise but the sullen wash of the waters
was audible. The boarding-irons were heard falling
heavily into the sea; and the Coquette rapidly overrun
the spot where the light had been seen, without sustaining
any shock. Though the clouds lifted a little,
and the eye might embrace a circuit of a few hundred
feet, there certainly was nothing to be seen, within
its range, but the unquiet element, and the stately
cruiser of Queen Anne floating on its bosom.
Though its effects were different
on the differently-constituted minds of those who
witnessed the singular incident, the disappointment
was general. The common impression was certainly
unfavorable to the earthly character of the brigantine;
and when opinions of this nature once get possession
of the ignorant, they are not easily removed.
Even Trysail, though experienced in the arts of those
who trifle with the revenue-laws, was much inclined
to believe that this was no vulgar case of floating
lights or false beacons, but a manifestation that
others, besides those who had been regularly trained
to the sea, were occasionally to be found on the waters.
If Captain Ludlow thought differently, he saw no sufficient
reason to enter into an explanation with those who
were bound silently to obey. He paced the quarter-deck,
for many minutes; and then issued his orders to the
equally-disappointed lieutenants. The light canvas
of the Coquette was taken in, the studding-sail-gear
unrove, and the booms secured. The ship was then
brought to the wind, and her courses having been hauled
up, the fore-top-sail was thrown to the mast.
In this position the cruiser lay, waiting for the
morning light, in order to give greater certainty to
her movements.