Chapter 4. Under Way--Life On Board The Nancy...

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_ CHAPTER FOUR. UNDER WAY--LIFE ON BOARD THE NANCY--OFF THE FRENCH COAST--SHIPPING THE CONTRABAND GOODS--RUN FOR ENGLAND--A STRANGE SAIL--THE CHASE--ESCAPE OF THE LUGGER--LANDING THE CARGO--REVENUE OFFICERS--COOLNESS OF DORE--"YIELD, IN THE KING'S NAME."--A LITTLE TOO LATE--DICK QUESTIONED.

When Dick awoke, he knew by the motion of the vessel and the sounds he heard that she was under way. The _Nancy_ was a craft of nearly a hundred tons, decked all over, with three short, stout masts, the after one leaning over the taffrail, with a long out-rigger. On each of the masts a large lug was carried, and above them could be set flying topsails, and when before the wind studding-sails could be rigged out. She could also hoist an enormous squaresail. To set these sails, she carried a numerous crew of tried seamen; promptitude and decision being required in the dangerous work in which she was engaged. Her armament consisted of six short guns and a long nine-pounder, which could be trained either fore or aft, to bring to a merchantman endeavouring to escape, or to knock away the spars of an enemy chasing her. Besides these guns, she had an ample supply of cutlasses, pistols, and boarding-pikes, to enable her crew to repel an attack made by boats or from a hostile craft which might run alongside her. She was truly an Arab of the seas, with every man's hand against her, and her hand against every man. The captain, by means best known to himself, had obtained a privateer's licence, and in that character he appeared when in English waters, though her real employment was more than suspected by the revenue officers, who were on the look-out to catch her. In this they had invariably failed, owing to the vigilance of her crew, and to the exact information they received from their agents on shore. Dick, turning out of the skipper's bunk, went on deck.

He was greeted by Ben Rudall. "You are safe enough now, lad, from the constables who may be hunting for you through the country; and glad I am to have you on board the _Nancy_. When we get back you must remain stowed away until we are at sea again, and in a short time they'll get tired of looking for you."

"I hope they won't revenge themselves on my father," said Dick; "that's what's troubling me now!"

"No fear of that, for he is not answerable for what you do, any more than you are for his acts, and as he doesn't know where you are, he can't tell them."

"I wish, however, that I could let mother and Janet know that I am all safe; they may be fretting for me," said Dick.

"Never you fear, they'll guess that," said Ben, trying to set Dick's mind at ease on the subject. "It doesn't do to think about home or anything of that sort when we are out on a cruise. Cheer up, lad! cheer up!"

A fresh breeze was blowing from the north-west. The stars were shining brightly out of a clear sky, and the lugger, close hauled, was passing the Needle rocks, which could be dimly seen rising out of the dark water like huge giants on the lee beam, while astern were visible the lights on Hurst point now brought into one. The lugger having rounded the western end of the Isle of Wight, the helm was put up, the yards squared away, the flying topsails and big squaresail set, and she stood across Channel, bounding lightly over the dancing seas. A craft with a fast pair of heels alone could have caught her. Her hardy crew remained on deck, for all hands might at any moment have been required for an emergency, either to shorten sail, or to alter her course, should a suspicious vessel appear in sight. All night long the lugger kept on her course, steering westward of south.

"I say, Ben, how do the Frenchmen treat us if we go on shore, seeing that we and they are fighting each other?" asked Dick.

"Never you fear; we shan't go on shore, except it may be at night, in company with friends. You will soon see how we manage things," was the answer.

The lugger made such good way, that when morning dawned, the coast of France was seen close aboard. No vessels of any description were in sight. As she got closer in, the French flag was hoisted, and other flags were got ready for making signals. Dick heard the skipper talking to three men whom he had not before observed, and whom he now discovered to be Frenchmen. He asked Ben who they were.

"One of them is to act as captain, the other two as his mates. They will go on shore and arrange about getting our cargo shipped. They won't take long, as it will be all ready. If we have another favourable night, we may run it, and it will be up in London before a week is over."

A bright look-out was kept in every direction. As no suspicious sail appeared, the _Nancy_ stood on. The signal which she made was answered from the shore.

"All right," said Ben; "no fear of interruption for the present."

The topsails were lowered, and under the foresail and mizzen she glided on into a small harbour between rocks of sufficient height to hide her short masts from the view of any craft passing outside. The crew of the _Nancy_ appeared on deck, dressed as much as possible like French seamen, while they wisely kept their tongues quiet, so that their true character might not be suspected.

The two Frenchmen went on shore, while the third remained on board to answer any questions which might be put to them. Dick observed that the lugger lay in such a position that she could easily slip out again, should danger threaten. The crew seemed perfectly at their ease, laughing and talking when below, as if their situation was one to which they were well accustomed.

The day passed away; still no cargo was forthcoming, nor did the Frenchmen re-appear. This made Dick fear that the authorities might have discovered the true character of the _Nancy_, and in spite of their precautions the smugglers might be taken in a trap. He did not, however, express his apprehensions, and neither Ben nor any of the men appeared troubled on the subject. At night the crew lay down on the deck with their pistols in their belts, and their cutlasses and boarding-pikes by their sides, each man at his station so that the cable might be cut and the sails hoisted at a moment's notice. It showed Dick that his fears were not altogether without some foundation. Nothing, however, occurred during the night, and the following day passed away much as the first had done.

Dore, however, grew impatient, and a boat was sent to watch outside the harbour in case any enemy might be stealing along the coast to prevent the _Nancy's_ escape. At length, some time after it grew dark, a boat came off from the shore, bringing the two Frenchmen, who reported that the cargo was ready and would shortly be on board. All hands stood prepared for hoisting it in. Several boats were quickly alongside, and with wonderful rapidity bales of silks, laces, and ribbons, and kegs of spirits and tobacco were transferred to the _Nancy's_ hold. As soon as they were stowed away, the anchor was got up, and the boats going ahead towed her out of the harbour, the Frenchmen wishing her "_Bon voyage_," and a speedy return.

Dick breathed more freely when the sails were set, and the _Nancy_ gliding swiftly over the smooth water, the dark outline of the French coast grew more and more indistinct. "How soon shall we get back to England?" he asked of Ben, by whose side he naturally kept when on deck.

"That depends on what may happen," answered Ben. "We shall have to wait for a dark night, and to take care that the coast is clear before we run in. It may be to-morrow, or it may be a week hence. We have done very well as yet, but there's many a slip between tin cup and the lip, as I have found to my cost more than once."

Dick had to rest satisfied with this answer. There were plenty of people on board ready to talk to him, but their conversation was not of an improving character. Their chief delight seemed to be to abuse the royal navy as well as the revenue laws, and those engaged in preventing their infringement. Dick was not accustomed to look too deep into matters, and thought that what they said was very right. It did not occur to him that the same men would greatly have objected to free trade, which would completely have deprived them of their present illegal way of gaining a livelihood; and though there might have been some truth in what they said about the navy, they were wrong in the sweeping condemnation they pronounced against the service. There were some abuses still existing, but many had been removed; and there were not a few commanders of king's ships who did their best to advance the welfare of their crews, and were at all times kind and considerate to those placed under them, as had been shown by numerous instances of devotion on the part of the men to their officers. The remarks of his associates, however, gave Dick an unmitigated horror of the navy, while he learned to look upon smugglers as a much-injured body of men, who were unjustly interfered with while engaged in endeavouring to gain their daily bread. At length, growing sleepy, he was glad to go below and lie down on one of the lockers in the little after cabin.

Next morning the lugger lay becalmed. While the breeze lasted, the smugglers had been in good humour, but as the watch below turned out, they swore and grumbled at finding their craft lying idle on the smooth surface of the ocean. No sail was in sight, and as long as the calm continued they could not come to harm; but an enemy might bring down a breeze which would enable her to get close up to them before their sails were filled. This was what they dreaded. All their seamanship and courage would not avail if she was a vessel too powerful for them to cope with.

Hour after hour passed away, and still the _Nancy_ lay floating idly, and carried down Channel by the ebb tide, and swept up again by the flood. An anxious look-out was kept for signs of a coming breeze. Evening was approaching. From whatever quarter the wind might come, it might bring up an enemy. English or French were equally to be dreaded. The skipper paced the deck, making short turns, telescope in hand, every now and then sweeping the horizon with it, and casting an eye on the dog-vanes which hung unmoved by a breath of air. At last he kept his glass longer than usual turned to the eastward.

"There's no doubt about it!" he exclaimed. "Those are the royals of a big ship of some sort; she's got a fresh breeze, too, or we shouldn't have risen them so fast above the horizon."

Dick could only see a white spot on which the sun was shining, but it appeared to be increasing in size and growing higher and higher. The gaze of most of those on board were turned towards her. That she was either an English or a French cruiser was the general opinion. Some thought that she was a frigate, others a corvette; for no merchantman, at that period, would have come down Channel alone. One thing was certain, that she was steering directly for the lugger.

"What chance have we of escaping her?" asked Dick of Ben.

"Many a chance, lad," answered his friend. "If she's English she may not send a boat on board to examine us, and we shall pass for a privateer, or we may get the breeze in time to slip out of her way to the northward, or to keep ahead of her and give her the go-by during the night. If she's French, we must put the Frenchman in command, show our French papers, and bamboozle the mounseers, or if the worst comes to the worst, tumble the crew of their boat overboard and try to get away."

"But suppose they fire into us?" said Dick, who though often thoughtless was alive to the true state of the case.

"We must run the chance of that, my lad," answered Ben, "though my idea is that yonder craft is an English corvette, and although she may be a pretty fast sailer, when once the _Nancy_ gets the breeze, we shall show her a clean pair of heels."

Dick sincerely hoped that such would be the case. He had not reckoned on the chance of being captured as a smuggler, or made prisoner by the enemy, or shot by either the one or the other. The crew were at their stations, ready to trim sails the moment the slightest breath of air should reach them. The topsails had before been set. The squaresail and studding-sails were got up ready to hoist at an instant's notice. Still the lugger lay motionless, and the corvette, for such she was pronounced to be, came rapidly on, under every stitch of canvas she could carry. She was soon within a mile of the lugger, when some cat's paws were seen playing over the water; the dog-vanes blew out and then dropped, the canvas flapped lightly against the masts. The skipper swore, and the crew swore, until once more they saw the sails bulging out slightly.

"Hurrah! here it comes at last! We'll keep out of that fellow's way," cried Captain Dore, eyeing the stranger. The lugger began gathering way. "Port the helm, Tom. We'll stand to the northward, and shall soon see whether he wishes to speak us. If he does, we'll take leave to disappoint him."

The yards were braced up on the starboard tack, and the lugger stood on the course proposed, so that the corvette, should she continue on as she was now steering, would pass astern. Dore kept his eye fixed on her.

"She's a fancy to know more about us," he remarked, as he observed the stranger also keeping up to the northward. "Her shot can't reach us yet, and we shall soon see, now we have got the breeze, which is the faster craft of the two."

As Dick looked over the starboard quarter, he saw the sails and dark hull of the corvette, lighted up by the rays of the setting sun, making her appear so much nearer than she really was, that he wondered she did not fire a shot to make the lugger heave to. He had no cowardly fears on the subject, but he again thought that he should have acted more wisely had he stowed himself away safely on shore, instead of coming on board the lugger. The corvette looked so powerful, that it seemed to him that a single broadside from her guns, would send the _Nancy_ with all on board to the bottom. He observed, however, that Dore walked the deck with as calm an air as usual, all the time, however, narrowly eyeing the king's ship, ready to take advantage of any change which might occur.

"We shall have darkness down upon us soon, and then we will show yonder fellow a trick or two. He wants to jam us up against the English coast; but we are not to be so caught," he observed to his mate, Ned Langdon.

The breeze had freshened considerably, and was now blowing so strong, that the lugger could, on a wind, with difficulty carry her topsails, which were still set. The corvette had handed her royals, presently she took in her topgallant sails. She had lately been gaining on the lugger. Dick, with the rest of his companions, seldom had his eyes off her; the darkness was increasing, and her outline was becoming less and less distinct. Presently he saw a bright flash dart from her bows, and the roar of a gun reached his ears. The shot, however, had fallen short. The smugglers laughed.

"You may blaze away, but you won't do us much harm!" observed Dore.

Another and another shot followed. The commander of the cruiser evidently wished to make the lugger heave to. If he had before had doubts of her character, he must now have been thoroughly satisfied as to what she was, and would become more eager to capture her.

"Stand by, my lads, to make sail!" cried Dore. "Keep up the helm, Tom, and hoist away on the squaresail!"

The lugger was put before the wind, running considerably faster than she had hitherto been doing through the water. The corvette must have observed her change of course, as she also kept away, and once more her topgallant sails were loosed. It was too dark to observe how the masts stood the pressure.

"I only wish that they would set the royals; with this breeze there would be a good chance of the spars being carried away," said Dore.

It was very doubtful whether the corvette was gaining on the lugger. Though the advancing night gradually shrouded her more and more in gloom, she could still be discerned, her canvas rising up like a dark phantom stalking over the ocean. The crew of the lugger stood at their stations, ready at a moment to obey their captain's orders. He kept his eye on the topsails, though if blown away the accident would not be of much consequence. The masts were tough, and bent like willow wands.

"They'll hold on as long as we want them now," observed Dore. Again and again he looked astern. Presently he shouted, "Lower the topsails! Starboard the helm, Tom! Haul away at the starboard braces!" and the lugger, on the port tack, stood close hauled to the southward.

The sharpest eyes on board were turned in the direction their pursuer was supposed to be. Some time passed away.

"There she is!" cried Ben. "Although we see her, she doesn't see us, as we are stern on, and much lower in the water than she is."

Dick looked with all his might. He could just discern some object moving along over the water, but so indistinctly that he could not be certain it was a ship. Still, the commander of the corvette might suspect that the lugger had changed her course, and changed his also.

"All right!" cried Dore, after watching the phantom-like stranger in the distance, until she totally disappeared. "She'll not catch us this cruise."

The lugger was put about, on the starboard tack, and once more stood towards the English coast.

"Shall we be in to-morrow morning?" asked Dick.

"No, no," answered Ben. "Whatever happens, we shall make the coast at night, when the revenue men can't see us. We have friends on the look-out, who will make signals to show us when and where to run in. The weather is too fine at present, so that we shall have to dodge about and wait for a dark night, with thick rain or fog; but we don't much trust fogs, they may lift suddenly and show our whereabouts to those we do not want to see us. However, we must run some risks. We want to land our goods in quiet, but if any one interferes with us, we of course must fight to defend our property. All right and square, you will understand, but if there's bloodshed, it is the fault of those who wish to take it from us."

Dick did not ask himself whether Ben was right or wrong. He forgot that one party were breaking the laws, the other performing their duty in protecting them.

Next morning, when Dick came on deck, he found the lugger hove to, with the blue line of the English coast to the northward. Though the shore could be seen, the vessel herself was too far off to be discerned from thence. Most of the crew were below, but the watch on deck, vigilant as ever, were turning their eyes in every direction, so that, should a suspicious sail appear, they might at once shape a course which would enable them to avoid her. Dick, who had been accustomed to an active life, began to grow weary at having nothing to do. He walked the deck with his hands in his pockets, talking to the men, or he sat below listening to their yarns, which were generally not of a very edifying character.

The greater number of the crew passed their time, either sleeping or playing at cards or dice. Sometimes, for a change they turned to and cleaned their muskets and pistols, or burnished up their cutlasses. It was a relief when a stranger appeared whom it was thought better to avoid. The lugger making sail stood to the southward. She returned to her former position, however, as soon as the suspicious craft had passed. This occurred twice during the day. At night she stood close in to the coast, to look out for signals, but none were seen, and before the morning she again took up her former position at a sufficient distance to be invisible from the shore.

For several days the same sort of proceeding took place. Two or three times she made all sail, it being supposed that she was chased, and once she had a narrow escape from a French cruiser, who probably took her for an English privateer. The wind continued moderate, and the sky clear, and Dore began to swear and to wish for some real honest Channel weather. At last the wind shifted, first to the southward and afterwards to the south-west, from which direction a thick bank of mist was seen coming up, and the lugger, directly she was shrouded by it, made sail for the English coast. Although there was no fear of her being seen from any distance, she still ran the risk of falling into the lion's jaws, to avoid which a sharp lookout was kept, and all hands stood ready to trim sails in case it should be necessary.

The night was coming on, and it was soon dark enough to suit their requirements. She now frequently hove to, to sound as well as to watch for any signal from the shore. At length a light was seen, faint and dim through the mist, another was shown a short distance from it, and then a third appeared, when all three in an instant disappeared. The lugger stood on, sail was shortened, and the anchor dropped. Scarcely had she brought up when half a dozen boats dashed alongside.

"Be smart, my lads!" cried Dore. "If we are quick about it, we may run the whole of the cargo before the revenue men are down upon us."

Not another word was spoken; every one knew exactly what he had to do. The lugger's crew hoisted out the bales and kegs, and the men who had come off stowed them away in the boats. The lugger's own boat was not idle. Having loaded her, Ben and Dick, with three other men, jumped in and pushed for the shore. The surf was pretty heavy, but without accident they reached the beach, where a large party of people were collected, with a number of pack horses and carts. The boats were at once surrounded, and their cargoes quickly taken out of them and placed either in the carts or on the backs of the horses. The work was carried on with the greatest rapidity, and by the time Dick and his companions had launched their boat, the whole had begun to move off, and before the lugger was reached, not a single person was to be seen on the beach.

On their return to the _Nancy_, the boat was hoisted in and preparations began for making sail. The operation required care, for should she cast the wrong way, she might drive on shore. The skipper himself took the helm. The hands went to their stations. The instant the anchor was away the sails were sheeted home, and the lugger, casting, as desired, to port, stood off from the dangerous coast, close-hauled. She had not got many cable lengths from the beach when two boats dashed alongside. A number of armed men sprang on board.

"We've caught you, my fine fellows," exclaimed an officer. "Yield, in the king's name!"

"Happy to see you, gentlemen," answered Dore, with the greatest coolness. "You are welcome to look over our craft, and if you find anything contraband on board--for that I suppose is what you are after-- we'll yield fast enough."

The officer was evidently nonplussed, but he was still not inclined to take the smuggler's word. He allowed the lugger, however, to stand further out, until she could heave to with safety, when he ordered the foresail to be backed. He, with several of his men, then went below, Dore ordering Dick and another lad to carry a couple of lanterns, that the officer might see his way. The search, as Dore well knew would be the case, revealed nothing on which the revenue could lay hands--not a bale nor keg of spirits, nor even a few pounds of tobacco.

"Circumstances certainly were suspicious. You have cleaned her out completely," said the officer, turning to Dick, and as he did so eyeing him narrowly. "Where was the cargo run?"

Dick was very nearly replying, "Not long ago," and thus confessing that the cargo had been run, but recollecting in time that the smugglers might object to such an answer, he said--

"I am merely a passenger on board, sir, and it is not my business to answer questions."

"What's your name, my lad?" asked the officer.

Dick was on the point of replying, when Ben, who had heard the question, stepped up. "It is your business, Mr Lieutenant, to overhaul this craft and see that there are no smuggled goods on board, and when that business is over you have nothing more to do. That youngster's name may be Jack Robinson, or it may be Tom Jones, but whatever it may be is no business of yours."

The officer put several questions to others of the crew, but neither from them nor from the captain could he elicit any of the information he required. They were perfectly civil to him, and offered not the slightest opposition to his going through every part of the vessel, and joked with the boats' crews, several recognising old shipmates. They shook hands, patted each other on the back, and appeared on the most friendly terms. Yet the case would have been very different had the _Nancy's_ cargo been on board. There would then have been a death struggle, the one to defend, the other to take possession of the craft, and they would have fought until one or the other had been defeated.

"Well, Captain Dore," said the lieutenant, "you have been too smart for us this time, but we intend to catch you some day or other."

"Maybe the _Nancy_ will be sunk by an enemy's cruiser before then. You seem to have an idea, lieutenant, that we are smugglers. I didn't think fit to gainsay you before, but if you'll step back into my cabin I'll show you my privateer's licence, which will prove to you that we are engaged lawfully, making war against the French trade," answered Dore.

"Well, well, whichever you are, I won't longer detain you; but before I go I wish to have a word with the youngster I saw on board, the son of a respectable farmer living out Milford way."

"We detain no one on board against his will, except he has signed articles. If the lad is the person you suppose, and is willing to go, go he may, provided you can promise that no harm can come to him."

"I wish to prevent him getting into harm," said the lieutenant, and he sent one of his men to find Dick, who was soon afterwards brought aft.

Dick was in two minds about going. When the lieutenant told him of the anxiety of his father and mother, he was on the point of accepting the offer. Just at that moment Ben stepped up.

"You'd better not," he whispered, "for the officer may mean you well, but remember there are others who want to get you into their power, and you will repent it."

"Thank you, sir," said Dick. "I have come on board this vessel of my own free will, and would rather stay where I am. If you will see father and mother, and tell them I am all right, I will be obliged to you."

"You see, sir, that the lad doesn't want to go, and as you have found nothing on board to enable you to detain this vessel, I must beg you to let us make sail, for we are drifting in shore closer than is safe."

Again the lieutenant appealed to Dick. Dore, however, suspected that if the lieutenant got him into his power he might induce him to come forward to prove that the _Nancy_ was engaged in smuggling, and that he should then be deprived of his privateer's licence, so, giving a hint to his men, they surrounded Dick and carried him forward.

As the lieutenant had performed his duty, he ordered his men into the boats and they pulled away for the shore, while the _Nancy_ stood out to sea. _

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