He had been forced to moor3 the Revenge to one of the naval4 mooring-buoys when he first entered, but upon explaining that he had lost both anchors during a stress of bad weather, the captain of the port had allowed him to remain until he could procure others.
To his delight, Conyngham had noticed five or six of his prizes lying farther up the harbor, and the Revenge herself had been recognized by some of the prize-crews that were still on board the latest captures.
As soon as possible Conyngham had pulled to shore and sought out the agents of the mysterious mercantile house of Hortalez and Company. At the offices of Signor Lazzonere, whom should he meet but the elder Ross!
117 Eager and warm were the greetings. Ross had so much to ask and so much to tell that he found it difficult to begin.
“Upon my word, captain,” he said at last, “could I have had a prayer answered, you could not have appeared at a more opportune5 moment. There is the old Harry6 to pay in France—upon no account must you return there, for——”
“I have no such intention,” was Conyngham’s answer, interrupting. “Sure our friend de Vergennes gave me hint enough for that. I shall, if I can, pick up some scrap7 iron here and something to throw it with, go back and pay the old country a fleeting8 visit, and then across the wide sea to America. But how goes it with all our friends?” he added.
“That is what I am about to tell you,” replied Ross. “Poor Hodge is in the Bastile, and my brother and Allan are confined in the prison at Dunkirk.”
“All on my account?” asked Conyngham.
“On our joint9 account. Charge it to the Revenge,” was the reply. “Hodge and Allan went on your bond, and at the first news that you were cruising de Vergennes remarked that ‘it was a bad matter to lie to a king,’ which he claimed they both had done, and clapped them into prison.”
Conyngham frowned and looked puzzled.
“But, upon my soul, the sheep attacked me first,” he said. “So my Lord Stormont has yet some influence.”
“But never fear,” Ross went on. “Hodge is being treated well; and as for my brother, he dines with the commandant every evening. Good news has come from America, and all things point to an early alliance between118 our country and France. And now,” he added, “tell me of yourself, and what do you mean by ‘scrap iron’?”
In a few words Conyngham related the story of his narrow escape and the loss of his guns, and the necessary jettisoning10 of his anchors and armament.
“We will arrange for all that,” was Ross’s comforting comment when he had finished. “There is money in the treasury11, and the commissioners12 are well satisfied. There must be some now to your credit. If you should care for an accounting13——”
“Let it stand,” replied Conyngham. “I desire no more than is customary for an officer in the regular service—two twentieths—and will wait for my accounting until the business is finished. By the Powers, I only ask to be at sea again.”
“The very person to help us out is Signor Lazzonere,” exclaimed Ross. “Although a Frenchman, he has strong connections here in Spain, and there is neither a Stormont nor a de Vergennes to be dealt with. Money can do a great deal when backed with a little influence.”
The conversation was here interrupted by the entrance of the merchant himself, and all then adjourned14 to Signor Lazzonere’s inner office.
In a few minutes Conyngham came out, a smile on his lips and a light of satisfaction dancing in his eyes.
That very night the Revenge was warped15 in with a small kedge and moored16 alongside a large bark that lay close inshore. Under cover of darkness there was transferred to the cruiser the very thing that her captain most wished for—a long twelve-pounder. It was hidden beneath a canvas covering in such a way that its shape119 took on the innocent appearance of a pile of wine casks, and the following evening work was again resumed and eight six-pounders and ten short swivels—what the French called demi-cannon—were put on board. By the fourth day the Revenge’s armament was practically complete. In fact, she was, if anything, in better fighting trim than ever before, and her crew was again recruited to its full strength. The Spanish authorities had paid not the least attention to the goings on, and no attempt was made to prevent her sailing, although by this time her character must have been known to every longshoreman in the port. Many Englishmen in Corunna were in high dudgeon, and as usual would have prevented her sailing if they could. But on the tenth day after her arrival, at noon of a Sunday, she made sail and put out into the rolling waters of the Bay of Biscay. The crew, all of whom had been paid part of their prize-money, looked to their young captain to bring them safely through any adventure that might be in store. Before the cruiser was out of the bay she had taken two prizes, and almost at the very spot where she had made her sensational17 escape she took a third. But it was in the Irish Channel that her run of luck began. No less than twelve richly laden18 craft were despatched to Spanish ports, and of them but two were recaptured. Nearly all of the merchantmen surrendered without making any resistance, either completely taken by surprise or, not being prepared for fighting, concluding that it would be wiser to give in at the very first summons.
But this rather inglorious method of warfare19 did not altogether suit Captain Conyngham’s adventurous20 spirit, and time and again he wished for a brush with one of120 the king’s cutters before his crew and his stores were depleted21 by the manning of so many prizes. As yet he had found no occasion to use the long twelve-pounder. But the opportunity was soon to come, and the way it happened was this:
The Revenge was running short of water, and owing to the necessity of dividing her stores with some of the coasters that were provisioned for voyages of only one or two days’ duration, the crew was at last forced to accept half rations22, and sailors will grumble23 quicker at this than at any form of dangerous hardship.
Once, forced by a hard blow, Conyngham had boldly made into the mouth of the English harbor of Ravenglass, in Lancashire, where of course he dared not go ashore24, and owing to the presence of a British thirty-four-gun frigate25 he could not cut out any of the numerous fleet of merchant vessels27 by which he was surrounded. When the storm was over he sailed out of the harbor as boldly as he had entered it, and none of the English fleet imagined that the natty28 little craft that dropped anchor among them was the dreaded29 Yankee “pirate.”
But now to the adventure: The supply of water was growing less and less. It became an absolute necessity to fill the casks in some fashion, and also to procure some fresh provisions, for scurvy30, the dreaded enemy of sailors of that day, had begun to appear—at least there were signs of it, and the crew were grumbling31 louder than ever. So Conyngham bethought him of his promise to pay a visit to the land of his birth; and after skirting the Isle32 of Man in a fruitless search for a safe landing-place or a well-provisioned prize, he crossed the Channel and entered the harbor of a little Irish fishing port (the name121 of which he fails to record in his log) about twenty miles or so to the north of the town and harbor of Wicklow.
The dreaded Revenge was lying in the harbor.
Probably the fisher folk were simple and unsuspicious; mayhap they did not care to inquire closely into the mission of a polite fellow countryman who claimed to be a peaceable merchantman, for here Conyngham allowed his original nationality to be unmistakably plain if he did conceal33 his calling; or maybe it was the sight of the Spanish gold with which he paid for everything that blinded them; but they were eager and willing to help him to the things he wanted; and as many hands make light work, twelve hours sufficed to fill his casks with fresh water and his forehold with potatoes—the best cure for scurvy. Stores of various kinds to replace those he had sent to Spain were also taken on board.
It was a misty34, foggy day, with very little wind. The red evening sun could not pierce the thick clouds, and the falling barometer35 proved that heavy weather might be expected. Conyngham was anxious to be off. He did not relish36 being kept longer in port than was necessary; for, although he had seen that no vessel26, even of small size, had sailed out the harbor, he could not tell but that some suspicious person had traveled overland to Wicklow bearing the news that the dreaded Revenge was lying in the harbor. So, just before darkness set in, he bade good-by to his friendly countrymen, and getting up his anchor drifted out with the tide toward the Channel.
There was a steep headland to the south, and just as the Revenge was rounding it a vessel came into full view that, from her appearance, could be none other than a British cutter. There was hardly enough wind to fill her122 sails, and like the Revenge she was drifting slowly with the tide.
It would be hard to conjecture37 what it was that caused her captain to be suspicious, but immediately upon sighting Conyngham’s vessel two boats were lowered from the cutter’s side and filled with armed men. They pulled out as if to intercept39 him. There were altogether in the Revenge’s crew at this time but some thirty men left, but at once the long twelve was cast loose and the short broadside guns were double-shotted. Before the boats had traversed half the distance they were stopped by a challenging shot from the twelve-pounder, and with all haste they made back to their vessel. Although she was evidently of heavier metal, had Conyngham had his full complement40 of men he would not have shrunk from engaging her, but under the circumstances, as he had once remarked before, “discretion was the better part of valor,” and at long range a drifting fight began.
If the people of the little fishing port had been at all in doubt as to who their visitor was, all such uncertainty41 was put at rest by the appearance the next morning of the cutter with her jib-boom and topsail-yard shot away and three shot holes in her hull42, one at the water-line that necessitated43 immediate38 attending to.
The Revenge had escaped all injury except to her larder44, a chance shot having entered at her cabin window and completely spoiled the captain’s dinner; thence glancing into the galley45, it broached46 a barrel of fine salt pork, and ended by lodging47 in one of the deck beams.
The cruise had ended in an adventure at last, although a rather tame one, and, satisfied with results, Captain Conyngham determined48 to set sail for America.
123 Another prize was added to his list before he was quite free of the Channel, and this was ordered to meet him at a port in the Spanish West Indies, toward which he now laid his course, as he deemed it much wiser to ascertain49 how matters stood in America before making for any home port, which, for all he knew, might be in possession of the enemy.
He was satisfied with the work that he had accomplished50, and well he might be. Perhaps the result of his cruises had been exaggerated, but he had prevented the sailing of two loaded transports, and from the very fear of his name over forty sail of vessels of all kinds, to quote from a contemporaneous account, “lay at anchor cooped up in the Thames.”
As Silas Deane wrote to Robert Morris and to the home Government, “His name has become more dreaded than that of the great Thurot, and merchants are constrained51 to ship their cargoes52 in French or Dutch vessels.”
Not a guard-ship on the coast but had received specific orders to be on the lookout53 for him, and yet he had cruised in the English and Irish Channels for month after month. Another fact that he regarded with satisfaction was that he had accomplished all this not merely as a privateersman, but as a regularly commissioned officer in the navy of his country. The prize-money due him as such, now amounting to a large sum, he regarded as safe in the hands of the commissioners.
After reaching the West Indies, where he spent some time, he learned from the American consul54 of the condition of affairs at home, and after waiting for the arrival of the latest prize he set sail for Philadelphia. The one124 thing that he regretted was the fact that he did not have in his possession the commission signed by John Hancock, then president of Congress, and given to him by Franklin in Paris, but he did not doubt that the good doctor had it in his possession and would produce it at the proper time. Without mishap55, the Revenge sailed up the coast, slipped by the British guard-ships off the capes56 of Delaware, and early in February, 1779, Conyngham was home at last!
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1
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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daunted
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| 使（某人）气馁，威吓( daunt的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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opportune
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| adj.合适的，适当的 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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jettisoning
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| v.抛弃，丢弃( jettison的现在分词 )；投下 | |
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treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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commissioners
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| n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官 | |
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accounting
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| n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表 | |
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adjourned
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| （使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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warped
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| adj.反常的；乖戾的；（变）弯曲的；变形的v.弄弯，变歪( warp的过去式和过去分词 )；使（行为等）不合情理，使乖戾， | |
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16
moored
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| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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sensational
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| adj.使人感动的，非常好的，轰动的，耸人听闻的 | |
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laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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depleted
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| adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词 | |
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rations
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| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
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grumble
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| vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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frigate
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| n.护航舰，大型驱逐舰 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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natty
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| adj.整洁的，漂亮的 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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scurvy
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| adj.下流的，卑鄙的，无礼的；n.坏血病 | |
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grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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isle
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| n.小岛，岛 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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barometer
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| n.气压表，睛雨表，反应指标 | |
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relish
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| n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味 | |
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conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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intercept
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| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
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complement
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| n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足 | |
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uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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42
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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43
necessitated
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| 使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44
larder
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| n.食物贮藏室，食品橱 | |
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45
galley
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| n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇； | |
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46
broached
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| v.谈起( broach的过去式和过去分词 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体 | |
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47
lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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48
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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49
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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50
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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51
constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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52
cargoes
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| n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负 | |
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53
lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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54
consul
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| n.领事；执政官 | |
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55
mishap
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| n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸 | |
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56
capes
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| 碎谷； 斗篷( cape的名词复数 )； 披肩； 海角； 岬 | |
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