Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 11 — page 30: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

| . | | : | —-— -———-+ — =_—-- ——$— = —— _—= = _ Aa el ALC ALL LC LL GL LE LE OE A — ae i ———_— —— ee ee ee ee ee ee ee ee ee eee ee . a ‘**I do believe you are right, Gascoigne.” “I’m positive of nla ied Gascoigne; “I never made a mistake in my life ‘Bring me those letters, mee f ’ said the governor, **and let us see what they say o him. Here it is—Don Mathias de Alayeres. You may be mistaken, Gas- coigne; it’s a heavy charge you are making against this young man.”’ ‘Well, Sir Thomas, if that is not Don Silvio I'd for- feit my commission, if I had it herein my hand. Be- sides, I observed the change in his countenance when we told him that it was sy and I who had come to Don Rebiera’s assistance; and did you observe after that, Easy, that he hardly said a word?” ay true,’’ replied Jack. ‘‘ Well, well, we must see to this,’’ observed the gov- ernor; “if so, this letter of introduction must be a for- gery. The arty then retired to bed, and the next morning, while Easy was in Gascoigne’s room talking over their suspicions, letters from Palermo were brought up to They were in answer to those written by Jack on his arrival at Malta; a few lines from Don Rebiera, a small note from Agnes, and a voluminous detail from his friend Don Philip, who informed him of the good health of all parties, and of their good-will toward him; of mene being as PB onime as ever; of his having spoken p nly, as he had promised Jack, to his father and mother relative to their mutual attachment; of their consent be given, and then withheld, be- cause Father Thomas, their confessor, would not listen to the union of Agnes with a heretic; but, nevertheless, telling Jack this would be got over through the me- dium of his brother and himself, who were determined that their sister and he should not be made unhappy about such a trifle. But the latter part of the letter contained intelligence equally important, which was, that Don Silvio had again attempted the life of their father, and would have succeeded had not Father Thomas, who happened to be there, thrown himself be- tween them. That Don Silvio in his rage had actually stabbed the confessor, although the wound was not rous. That in consequence of this all further lenity was denied to him, and that the authorities were | | | ' in search of him to award him the punishment due to | murder and sacrilege. That up to the present they could not find him, and it was supposed that he had made his escape to Malta in one of the speronares. Such were the contents of the letter, which were im- mediately communicated to the governor and Captain Wilson, upon their meeting at breakfast. “Very well, we must see to this,’’ observed the gov- ernor, who then made inquiries as to the other intelli- gence contained in the letters. Jack and Gascoigne were uneasy until the breakfast was over, when they made their ap A few mo- ments afterward Captain Wilson rose go on board, and sent for them, but an were not to be found. “T understand it all, Wilson,”’ said the governor; “leave them to me; go on board and make yourself quite easy.” In the meantime our two midshipmen had taken their hats and walked away to the parapet of the bat- tery where they would not be interrupted. ‘ Now, Gascoigne,’ observed Jack, *‘ you guess what I'm about—I must shoot that rascal this very morning, and that’s why I came out with you.”’ ‘But, Easy, the only difference is this, that I must shoot , and not you; he is my property, for I found out.”’ “We'll argue that point,’’ replied Jack; “‘for he has | attempted the life of my is-to-be, please God, father- in-law, and therefore I have the best claim to him.” “I beg your pardon, Jack, he is mine, for I discovered him. Now let me put a case: suppose one man walking several yards before another, p cks up a purse, what claim has the other to it? found him, and not ou,” “‘That’s all very well, Gascoigne; but suppose the urse you picked up to be mine, then I have a right to t, although you found it; he is my bird by right, and not yours,”’ ‘** But I have another observation to make, which is very important: he is a blood relation of nes, and if his blood is on ip al hands, however much he may de- serve it, depend upon it, it will be raised as an obstacle to your union; think of that.” ack paused in thought. ‘““And let me induce you by another remark—you will confer on me amost particular favor.” “Tt will be the greatest I ever could,’ remarked Jack, ‘“‘and you ought to be eternally indebted to me.” “T trust to make him eternally indebted to me,” re- plied Gascoigne. Sailors, if going into action, always begin to reckon what their share of the prize-money may be, before a shot is’ fired—our two midshipmen appear in this in- stance to be doing the same. The point having been conceded to Gascoigne, Jack went to the inn where Don Silvio had mentioned that he had taken up his quarters, and sending up his card, followed the waiter up-stairs. The waiter opened the door and presented the card. “Very well,” replied Don Silvio, *‘ you can go down and show him up.’ Jack, hearing these words, did not wait, but walked in, where he found Don Silvio very busy Deeg ier | a hone upon which he had been whetting a sharp double- edged stiletto. The Sicilian walked up to him, offering his hand with apparent cordiality; but Jack, with a look of defiance, said, ‘‘ Don Silvio, we know beet my object now is to demand, on the part of myf end, the satisfaction which you do not deserve, but which our indignation at your second attempt upon Don Rebiera induces us to offer; for if you escape from him you will have todo with me. On the whole, Don Silvio, you may think yourself fortunate, for it is better to die by the hand of a gentleman than by the gibbet.”’ Don Silvio turned deadly pale—his hand sought his stiletto in his bosom, but it was remaining on the table; at last he replied, ‘‘ Be it so—I will meet you when and where you please in an hour from this.” Jack mentioned the place of meeting, and then walked out of the room. He and Gascoigne then has- tened to the quarters of an officer they were intimate with, and having provided themselves with the neces- sary firearms, were at the spot beforethe time. They waited for him till the exact time, yet no Don Silvio made his 2p oped o> ** He’s off, ‘observed Gascoigne; “ the villain has es- us, an hour over the time had passed, and still there was no sign of Gascoigne’s antagonist, but one of them. ‘*Here’s Atkins,’’ observed Jack; “‘that’s unlucky, but he won’t interfere.” **Gentlemen,”’ said Atkins, taking off his hat with much solemnity, “* the governor pa speak to you both.” ** We can’t come just now—we’ll be there in half an | who stood on the hammocks, hour.” “You must be there in three minutes, both of - ——- y | other vessel, as if they were about to answer, but she cularly wishes to | ou, length clear of the beam of the Aurora, continued to keep the Aurora to leeward at about half a cable’s length, and as the foremost of each vessel were abreast of each, hailed in Eng : “*Ship ahoy! what ship’s that?’’ “His Majesty’s ship Aurora,” replied Captain Wilson, “What ship’s that?” By this time, the other frigate had passed half her and at the same Excuse me, my orders are positive—and to see them | time that a pretended reply of “‘ His Majesty's shi e duly executed I havea gos and a file of men be- hind that wall. Of course, there will be no occasion to send for their assistance.” “This is confounded t ny,” cried Jack. ‘ Well may they call him ‘ King Tom.’’ ‘“* Yes,’’ replied Atkins, ‘“‘and he governs here in rey | out firing, absoluto; so come aay Jack and Gascoigne, having no choice, walked up the government house, where they found Sir Thomas in the veranda, which commanded a view of the har- bor and offing. “Come here, young gentlemen,” said the governor, in a severe tone; ‘“‘do you see that vessel about two miles clear of the port? Don Silvio is in it, going back to Sicily under a guard. Fight with gentlemen if you must fight, but not with villains and murderers. B ‘consenting’ to fight with a ‘ blackguard,’ you as muc disparage your cloth and compromise your own char- acters, as by refusing to give satisfaction to a ‘ gentle- man.’ There, go were or I’m angry with you, and don’t let me see you till dinner-time.” CHAPTER XXX. IN WHICH OUR HERO SEES A LITTLE MORE SERVICE, AND IS BETTER EMPLOYED THAN IN FIGHTING DON SILVIO. Bur before they met the governor at his table, a sloop-of-war arrived from the fleet with dispatches from the commander-in-chief. Those to Captain Wil- son required him to make all possible haste in fitting, and then to proceed and cruise off Corsica, to fall in with a Russian frigate which was on that coast; if not there to obtain intelligence, and to follow her wherever she might be. All was now bustle and activity on board of the Au- rora. Captain Wilson, with our hero and Gascoigne, quitted the governor’s house and repaired on board, where they remained day and night. On the third day the Aurora was complete and ready for sea, and about noon sailed out of Valette Harbor. In a week the Aurora had gained the coast of Cor- sica, and there was no need of sending look-out men to the mast-head, for one of the officers or midship- men was there from vee fg to dark. She ran up the coast to the northward without seeing the object of her pursuit, or obtaining any intelligence. Calms and light airs detained them for a few days, when a northerly breeze enabled them to run down the eastern side of the island. It was on the eighteenth day after they had quitted Malta, that a large vessel was seen ahead about eighteen miles off. e men were then at breakfast. “A frigate, Captain Wilson, I’m sure of it,” said Mr. Hawkins, the chaplain, whose anxiety induced him to go to the mast-head. ‘* How is she steering ?”’ “The same way as we are.” The Aurora was under all possible sail, and when the hands were piped to dinner, it was thought that they had neared the chase about two miles. “This will be a long chase; a stern chase always is,”’ observed Martin to Gascoigne. * Yes, I’m afraid so—but I’m more afraid of her es- eka ‘That's not unlikely either,’’ replied the mate. “You are one of Job’s comforters, Martin,’’ replied Gascoigne, “Then I’m not so often coenppemted, | replied the mate. ‘“‘There are two points to be asce ed; the first is, whether we shall come up with the vessel, or lose her—the next is, if we do come up with her, whether she is the vessel we are looking for.” “You seem very indifferent about it. “Indeed, Iam not: Iam the oldest passed midshi man in the ship, and the taking of the frigate will, if I live, give me my promotion, and if I’m killed, I sha’n’t want it. But I’ve been so often ae that I now make sure of not until I have it.” ; “Well, for your sake, Martin, I will still hope that the vessel is the one we seek, that we shall not be killed, and that you will ~ your promotion.”’ “TI thank you, Easy—I wish I was one that dared hope as you do,’ oor Martin! he had long felt how bitter it was to meet disappointment upon disappointment. How true it is, that hope deferred maketh the heart sick! and his anticipations of early omg do the buoyant calcula- tions of youth, had been one by one crushed, and now, aving served his time nearly three times over, the reaction had become too painful, and, as he truly said he dared not hope: still temper was not soured, but chastened, ' ““She has hauled her wind, sir,” hailed the second lieutenant from the topmast cross-trees. * What think you of that, Martin?’ observed Jack. ** Either that she is an English frigate, or that she is a vessel commanded by a very brave fellow, and well manned,”’ It was sunset before the Aurora had arrived within two miles of the vessel; the private signal had been thrown out, but had not been answered, either because it was too dark to make out the colors of the flags, or that these were unknown to an enemy. The wee had hoisted the English colors, but that was no satis- factory proof of her being a friend; and just before dark she had put her head toward the Aurora, who of the Aurora were all at their quarte utes would now decide whether they friend or foe. There is no situation perhaps more difficult, and de- manding so much caution, as the occasional meeting with a doubtful ship. On the one hand, it being neces- sary to be full prepared, and not allow the enemy the advantage which may be derived from your inaction; and on the other, the necessity of prudence, that you may not assault your friends and countrymen. Captain Wilson had hoisted the private night-s , but here agein it was difficult, from his sails intervening, for the other ship to make it out. Before the two frigates were within cables’ length of each other, Captain Wilson, determined that there should be no mistake from any want of precaution on his part, hauled up his courses and braiied up his driver that the night- t be clearly seen. had now come stem down to her. The ship’s company | as afew min- of the Aurora’s men, but also the Russian v to deal witha less he took a more decided step. Captain ph n, you walk with me quietly, | trained _and, at so short a to | dropped their lanyards in a broadside from her guns, which had been on purpose, was poured into the Aurora, tance, doing considerable execu- tion. The crew of the Aurora, hearing the hai in English, and the vessel passing them apparently with- had imagined that she had been one of their own cruisers. The captains of the guns had sappointment, and the silence which had been maintained as the two vessels met was just breaking up in various ways of lamenta- tion at their bad luck, when the broadside was poured in thundering in their ears, and the ripping and tandahe of the beams and planks astonished their senses. Many were carried down below, but it was difficult to say whether indignation at the enemy’s ruse, or satisfaction at discovering that they were not called to quarters in vain, most predominated. At allevents, it was answer- ed by three voluntary cheers, which drowned the cries of those who were being assisted to the cockpit. Man the larboard-guns and about ship!’’ cried Cap- was hear tain Wilson, leaping off the hammocks. ‘Look out, my lads, and rake her in stays. We'll pay him off for that foul play before we've done with . Look out, ay, lads, and take good aim as she pays around.” he Aurora was put about, and her broadside poured into the stern of the Russian frigate—for such she was. It was almost dark, but the enemy, who appeared as anxious as the Aurora to come to action ‘hauled up her courses to await her coming up. In five minutes the two vessels were alongside, aera murderous broadsides at little more than pisto ahot—sunning slowly in for the land, then not more than five miles distant. The skin-clad mountaineers of Corsica were aroused by the furious cannonading, watching the in- cessant flashes of the guns, and listening to their rever- berating roar. After half an hour’s fierce combat, during which the fire of both vessels was kept up with undiminished vigor, Captain Wilson went down on the main-deck, and self separately seems each gun after it was loaded; those amidshi direct for the main chan- nels of the enemy’s ship, while those abaft the beam were ually trained more and more forward, and those before the beam more and more aft, so as to throw all their shot nearly into one focus, giving direc- tion that they were all to be fired at once, at the word of command. The enemy, not aware of the cause of the delay, imagined that the fire of the Aurora had slackened, and loudly cheered. At the word given, the broadside was poured in, and dark as it was, the effects from it were evident. Two of the midship ports of the antagonist were blown into one, and her mainmast was seen to totter, and then to fall over the side. The mg pees bt nee Soren Seen had been oo up, an ooting ahead, a raki sition, while the Russian was still hampered witht hee and poured in grape and ter from her upper-deck carronades pede their labors on deck, while she continued her destructive fire upon the hull of the enemy from the main-deck battery. The moon now burst out from a low bank of clouds, and enabled them to accomplish their work with more recision. In a quarter of an hour the Russian was to- y dismasted, and Captain Wilson ordered half of his remaining ship’s company to repair the damages, which had been most severe, while the larboard men at quar- ters continued the fire from the main-deck. The enemy continued to return the fire from four guns, two on each of her decks, which sho could still make bear u on the Aurora; but after some time even these ce ; either from the men having deserted them, or from their being dismounted. Observing that the fire from her an nist had ceased, the Aurora also discontinu- ed, and the jolly-boat astern being still uninjured, the second-lieutenant was deputed to pull alongside of the frigatc to ascertain if she had struck. e beams of the bright moon silvered the ripp water as the boat shoved off; and Captain Wilson an his officers who were still unhurt, leant over the shat- tered sides of the Aurora, waiting for a reply: suddenly the silence of the night was broken upon by a loud splash from the bows of the Russian frigate, then about t cables’ length distant. ‘** What could that be?” cried Captain Wilson. ‘Her anchor’s down. Mr. Jones, a | over the side, and see what water we have.”’ Mr. Jones had long been carried down below, severed in two with a round shot—but a man lea into the rar spe and lowering down the lead, sounded in seven athoms. “Then I suspect he will give us more trouble = observed Captain Wilson; and so indeed it prov 2. the Russian captain, in reply to the second lieutenan had told him in lish t he would answer tha with his broadside,” and before the boat was drop astern, he had warped round with the springs oh ite cable, and had recommenced his fire upon the Aurora. ee Wilson made sail upon his ship, and sailed round and round the anchored vessel, so as to give her two broadsides to her one, and from the slowness with which she worked at her springs upon her cables, it was evident that she must now very weak-handed, | Still the pertinacity and decided courage of the Russian ‘ab tain convin Captain Wilson t, in all prob- haul down his colors; and not only would he lose more un- therefore, resolved to try her by the oo in a raking fire, he stood off for afew moments, uring which he called the officers and men on deck and stated his intention. He then went about, and himself co the Aurora, ran her on board the Rus- sian, pouring, 7 his reserved broadside as the vessels came into collision, and heading his men as they leaped oes Satta Wilson had tna ough, as n ned, the Rus- sian frigate hed nos men to 0 a to the Aurora’s, the deck was obstinately defended, the voice and the arm of the Russian captain were to be heard and seen everywhere, and his men, poecussane by him, ™ Gur heno, who had te good fortune Yo be si ero, who ortune to unh was for a little while close to Captain Wilson when a8 com (E(0) G€DOOKS ity, he would sink at his anchors before he would. - x — Py —— ee es ee