When Conyngham had finished at last, Mr. Nesbit, who had not allowed himself to interrupt the recital4 by even so much as a question, propounded5 his first interrogation.
“And what do you intend to do now, Brother Conyngham?” he said. “Of course you do not mean to rest idle upon either your oars6 or your laurels7.”
“I suppose I shall have to wait orders from the Naval8 Committee,” was the reply. “As an officer in the regular126 service, I have already reported my arrival and asked for an audience on the morrow. I hope,” he added, “they will see fit to make use of my services.”
“There is little hope of finding them in a mood to adopt any proposition of an aggressive nature,” returned Mr. Nesbit ponderously9, “and there are few commands lying idle. It is as much as Congress can do to keep our army supplied with clothing, food, and ammunition10. The fleet under Admiral Hopkins did not meet with any signal success. England is too strong for us on the sea.”
Conyngham shrugged11 his shoulders. There probably came to his mind the months during which in one little vessel3 he had dared the strength of the English fleets in their home waters. But he said nothing, and waited for Mr. Nesbit to continue.
“You are perfectly12 satisfied with the vessel which you have commanded, Captain Conyngham?” the latter asked.
“Perfectly, so far as she goes,” was the reply. “But I have it in my mind that I should like to command a larger. Sure, if you know of any loose seventy-fours wanting a skipper, you might put in a word for me. In case there is nothing better, I mean to apply for the command of the Revenge again.”
“What do you suppose that they will do with her?” asked Mr. Nesbit; and then, as if answering his own question, he went on, “Sell her, I suppose. They are in more need of money than of ships.”
As he finished speaking he leaned forward and placed his hand on Conyngham’s arm.
“If they do,” he said, “I may have a proposition to make to you. Why not let us buy her in? You could sail her under a letter of marque in joint13 ownership, and127 you must have a good sum of money to your credit. See what the privateersmen of this port and that of Baltimore have accomplished14. They have practically already swept British commerce from the seas.”
“I would much sooner,” replied Conyngham, “accept a regular command; but rather than remain idle,” he concluded, “I would accept your proposition. It depends entirely15 upon Congress.”
“Your commission would, of course, stand you in good stead,” remarked Mr. Nesbit, “and a letter of marque could easily be obtained in addition.”
As Conyngham had not as yet joined his family, that had moved out to Germantown, he was evidently anxious to be away, and in a few minutes he parted company with Mr. Nesbit, promising16 to meet him again on the morrow.
It was much to his surprise that he found himself quite a hero among his friends and acquaintances, but, strange to say, Mr. Hewes, of the Naval Committee, to whom he reported, had heard nothing official in regard to him from either Dr. Franklin or Silas Deane, and his name had not as yet been placed on the naval list.
All this, of course, caused him more chagrin17 than uneasiness. He claimed that the Revenge was subject to the orders of the Naval Committee, and gained a point at last in that they accepted her as public property, and as such she was almost immediately offered for sale at auction18. “Conyngham, Nesbit and Company” bought her in, one third being credited to Gustavus, to whom Mr. Nesbit and his cousin advanced the money.
So the further fortunes of the young captain were still bound up in the Revenge. Unfortunately, however, there were some enemies of his at work. Whether it was128 the tory lawyer whose designs he had thwarted19 in regard to his first command (by the way, he was now a most pronounced believer in the cause of liberty), or whether it was a discharged surgeon’s mate who had lodged20 complaints against him, Conyngham never found out. But suffice it, some one was working against him, and the letter of marque—the authority to “cruise, capture, and destroy”—was withheld21 by the Naval Committee and Congress. Perhaps they were waiting until they could secure some substantiation22 of his claim in regard to his commission—it may have been that; but, at all events, the delay grew more and more irksome to him and to his partner in the enterprise.
Good seamen23 were difficult to find idle in American ports; the few ships of the navy had hard work in recruiting their complement24; almost every one who followed the sea for a living was already off privateering, and the Revenge was forced to complete her crew out of the riffraff of the docks, supplemented by numerous landsmen who, attracted by the rich rewards offered, dodged25 service in the army and flocked to the seaports26. Out of the crew of one hundred men that Conyngham had hastily gathered together, only twenty-two had seen service on deep water, and more than half of these were men who had served with him in the Channel cruise. Owing to the delay in sailing, the Revenge’s people were almost in a state of mutiny, and for three weeks nothing but the young captain’s presence on board his vessel prevented wholesale27 desertions. One day there came a notice from Mr. Nesbit—the Revenge was anchored out in the river—informing him that the letter of marque was likely to be refused, and intimating that probably the Naval Committee would require129 his presence on shore, to be placed on waiting orders.
This was too much for Conyngham’s gallant28 spirit. The prospect29 of months of inaction galled30 him, and he replied that if he left his vessel the greater part of the crew would desert and the whole adventure be a failure.
It was while he was writing this in a note to be taken ashore31 to his partners that he remembered that the second commission, given him by Mr. Hodge in Dunkirk, was still in his possession. It had never been rescinded32, and the vessel he commanded was the same! It was surely authority enough. Without hesitation33 he added a postscript—“Am sailing with the flood-tide in half an hour”—and sent the note off to Mr. Nesbit. So the deciding die was cast, and at the top of the flood the Revenge made out into the midstream and floated into the lower bay. The green crew, glad to be off, burst into a ragged34 cheer. Had they known what was before them they would not have felt so much like rejoicing.
It did not take the captain long to find out that his crew of farmhands and dock-rats was vastly different from the able lot of seamen that had contributed so much to the previous success of the Revenge. Before they were half-way to the capes35 a few had broken into the storeroom and a dozen were too drunk to pull a rope. The captain and the mate had their hands full, and the obstreperous36 ones were double-ironed and placed in the hold, to get sober at their leisure.
There was time found for one or two drills at the guns before the cruiser was out in the Atlantic, and here, as might have been expected, half of the crew were seasick130 and almost incapacitated from duty. Off the New Jersey37 coast, as the Revenge proceeded northward38, she ran into thick and stormy weather. On the third day, the 26th of April, while the wind went down the fog increased, and when it cleared away at last the captain found himself some ten miles south of Sandy Hook. Dead ahead were two small square-rigged vessels that had the look of English transports or supply ships, and Conyngham made all sail in chase.
This was the year 1779—a dreary39 one for the struggling colonies. New York city was in possession of the English troops under Lord Howe, and the Revenge was in dangerous waters; but the captain was in a reckless mood, and boldness having served his purpose so well at various times, he disdained40 his old adage41 about “discretion,” and pressed ahead. Once more the fog closed down, the wind died completely away, and as night came on the Revenge drifted slowly along on the round, oily seas, her prow42 turning first this way and then that. All night she swung about, when, early in the morning, a slight wind sprang up that Conyngham took advantage of to work off shore. But it held only for an hour or so, and fell calm again. The fog was thicker than ever at daybreak—one of those opaque43 white mists that the sun finds it impossible to penetrate44, and seems to give up trying in despair.
The captain had been on deck all night, and, tired out, was lying on the cabin transom half asleep when suddenly he was awakened45 by the shrilling46 of a boatswain’s pipe, so close that it seemed to come from his own forecastle. Then, as if it were the signal for the lifting of the misty47 shroud48, the fog broke and there lay131 the Revenge under the stern of a huge seventy-four. Under her gallery there could be read plainly the word “Galatea.”
It was all up! Even with the stiffest and most favorable wind, the little cruiser could not have escaped; she would have been blown out of the water before she had gone a cable’s length.
There was nothing to do. In two minutes two boatloads of armed sailors and marines had put off from the big vessel, and soon they clambered unmolested over the Revenge’s bulwarks49.
“Who commands this vessel?” asked a red-faced lieutenant50.
“I have the honor,” replied Conyngham, giving his name.
The lieutenant whistled.
“Conyngham!” he exclaimed. “Are you the pirate who sailed out of Dunkirk?”
“I am an officer in the navy of the United Colonies,” was Conyngham’s reply, “and will answer further questions to your superior officer.”
“That you will do at once,” sneered51 the lieutenant, and he gave orders for Conyngham to enter one of the boats. Much elated, he rowed off with his prisoner to the seventy-four.
On his way Conyngham learned that his captor was Captain Jordan, whose commodore was Sir George Collier, and his heart sank, for he knew that the latter had a reputation for being a man of a cruel and vindictive52 temper. The Galatea was the very vessel from which the Revenge had escaped off Land’s End on that memorable53 afternoon when the cross-barred flag had appeared132 in the sky. He felt that he could expect small favors under the circumstances, but his chief concern was for his crew. Poor fellows! Some had not even recovered from their sea-sickness. Now more than ever he longed for his missing regular commission. But one thing rejoiced him—war was now on between France and England. Stormont had packed up his belongings54 for the last time.
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1
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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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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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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5
propounded
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| v.提出（问题、计划等）供考虑[讨论]，提议( propound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6
oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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7
laurels
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| n.桂冠，荣誉 | |
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8
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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9
ponderously
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ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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12
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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13
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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14
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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16
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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chagrin
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| n.懊恼；气愤；委屈 | |
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18
auction
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| n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖 | |
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19
thwarted
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| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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20
lodged
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| v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属 | |
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21
withheld
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| withhold过去式及过去分词 | |
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substantiation
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| n. 实体化, 证实, 证明 | |
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seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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24
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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25
dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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26
seaports
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| n.海港( seaport的名词复数 ) | |
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wholesale
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| n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售 | |
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28
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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29
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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30
galled
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| v.使…擦痛( gall的过去式和过去分词 )；擦伤；烦扰；侮辱 | |
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31
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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32
rescinded
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| v.废除，取消( rescind的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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33
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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34
ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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35
capes
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| 碎谷； 斗篷( cape的名词复数 )； 披肩； 海角； 岬 | |
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36
obstreperous
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| adj.喧闹的，不守秩序的 | |
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37
jersey
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| n.运动衫 | |
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northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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39
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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40
disdained
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| 鄙视( disdain的过去式和过去分词 )； 不屑于做，不愿意做 | |
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41
adage
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| n.格言，古训 | |
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42
prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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43
opaque
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| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
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44
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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45
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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46
shrilling
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| （声音）尖锐的，刺耳的，高频率的( shrill的现在分词 )； 凄厉 | |
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47
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 | |
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48
shroud
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| n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏 | |
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49
bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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50
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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51
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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52
vindictive
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| adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的 | |
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53
memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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54
belongings
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| n.私人物品，私人财物 | |
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