Maine Ocean Fishing
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Fifty miles of ocean, twenty-seven thousand square leagues, and three weeks later the schooner was in sight.
It rose from a low rocky promontory on the south coast of Maine, and as she neared it the men stood up to get their first clear view of her: a huge, black hull with two white masts, a great red cross on its bow, and a dozen or more guns pointing outwards from either side like an army arrayed for battle. Her name was Maine.
“We are bound to take that there,” said one, “if ever a man is.”
“I reckon we’ll have no chance at all,” muttered another.
The ship had been built on the banks of a river near Belfast, and her construction gave some hint of her strength; she was twice as long as a British ship but half as wide—a good proportion for fighting the current in a northwesterly wind when the sea was running up against it.
Maine carried forty oars in the stern rigging, while in the forepart were ten gun ports and two long decks, each divided by waist-high partitions into three compartments. She looked well-suited to the work ahead of her. There was not one of these men who did not know exactly how he should be employed when she came close enough to board.
But the ship did not come so close as she might. She had been sailing from Nova Scotia to Boston, where she was to pick up cargo. A violent storm had overtaken her in mid-Atlantic, driving her far inshore before she could regain control of herself; then another followed, bringing her within gunshot of Cape Cod.
Here she was obliged to put into the port; her crew was exhausted after the strain they had undergone in steering a straight course through the tempest, and their captain was unable to make up his mind whether to risk carrying the ship back into open water or remain until the storm abated. So it proved.
By the time the gale had blown itself out, they were too weak and seasick to try again for sea; and instead of trying to reach land, they made for a sheltered bay on the southern coast of Maine.
As for Maine, her situation did not change much. She remained in her snug harbor, and only three men, the master, and mates set sail with orders to look over the horizon for any sign of the schooner. One morning soon afterward they were astonished to see her standing off from the shore, making for them across the water.
At the last moment, the mate ordered the sails down, and the schooner glided past her, and the next day they were both at anchor in Portland Harbour. The captain, a tall, lean Yankee from Maine, and the first lieutenant, a short, dark-haired Britisher, came out of the cabin of Maine and hailed the officers of the schooner.
They exchanged salutes, and after that, the Americans had plenty to say.
“I suppose you know what this is about,” said the first lieutenant to Captain Smith of Maine.
“Yes, I do,” replied the captain quietly, though he knew perfectly well what the reason was for the visit. Maine was a fishing ship.
“You don’t mean to say you’re going fishing?” said the first lieutenant incredulously.
“Yes,” said Captain Smith; “and I want your advice on the best way of doing it.”
“What do you think will be the best method of attack?” asked the captain.
There was something in his voice that seemed to give the second lieutenant a shock. He was thinking of how he should act upon such information if the occasion arose, and he felt very uncomfortable. But the captain spoke again without waiting for him to reply, and went on:
“Maine is fitted out for fish; she has four large boats under canvas, and thirty oarsmen in each, together with two seamen in the forecastle and midshipman on the poop. We are carrying twenty-six barrels of salt pork, five hundred pounds of biscuit, and two thousand rounds of ammunition, besides our own stores of flour and rice. I am afraid we shall need quite a lot of firepower.”
“That’s right,” said the captain. “And you know, Mr. Smith, that I’ve got two hundred and sixty-four men aboard my vessel, most of them in ordinary clothes. That means we have a lot more to lose than you have. But that’s the reason why we must take every precaution against being surprised on deck.”
“Well, now you mention it,” said Captain Smith, “it does seem to me that there would be one very effective way of getting hold of you if you are asleep in your bunk, which is to go along the forecastle and drop a grapnel round the corner of the bowsprit. As soon as I get that line on board, I can haul her around in half an hour and take the rest of them by surprise.
Of course, I couldn’t expect you to come at us with guns blazing, because that might frighten away my men, but I should have plenty of room to bring them up in a hurry—and as you say, sir, there’d be no need whatever for you to get up on deck.”
At that moment Captain Smith was feeling very satisfied with himself. He had not meant to tell the first lieutenant exactly what he wanted to do, and yet he knew perfectly well that he must have thought of it himself and had just been wondering why he had not done it already.
It was a very good idea, and now the first lieutenant would surely think of a better way of handling the affair when he saw how it could be carried out practically. The captain did not care to ask the man how he intended to handle it, because that would involve saying whether he approved or disapproved; so he merely grunted his acquiescence, and the conversation ended there.
It was all settled. In a few hours, the fishermen of Maine were rowing their boats into the water, and they set about taking out everything they needed for the expedition. A small boat was also taken on board, in case it should be necessary to row ashore at some point when there was no room enough for them in the schooner.
Then they hoisted the canvas coverings over the whole of the lower deck and secured them firmly so that nothing could happen to disturb the sleep of the seamen in their bunks. The men in the boats pulled off in the direction opposite the wind, while a little to starboard was hauled a large sheet of canvas which hung down over the stern rail, and formed a blind.
With its help, they were able to keep within earshot of each other without being seen.
When the schooner had passed Cape Elizabeth and was well out in the bay, her master gave orders to make fast at a point close inshore, so that if any of his people should venture ashore and find themselves lost in the darkness, they would not be obliged to swim the distance back to the ship.
He took a couple of seamen and a seaman in ordinary from Maine and put them in charge of his own boat, together with another seaman whom he appointed to take a turn at steering in her. This man had been chosen because he was very clever with his hands and would be able to rig a sail if necessary.
Captain Smith and Lieutenant Hodge went below to the aftermost cabin, where they could talk without fear of being overheard, and the latter began by saying that he knew perfectly well what was going to happen and that it was only necessary to follow the plan laid down for an operation of this sort.
“I don’t pretend to understand what’s going to happen,” said Captain Smith, “but I think you must remember that when we’re ready for action we can run in close alongside the schooner. You’ll be at the stern, where it will be easy to pull a rope around that bit of canvas, and we can haul her in. We’ll see then whether you really have any better idea than ours.”
“I’ve always heard that you Americans had plenty of courage,” said the lieutenant, “and I’m sure you have plenty of ingenuity too. If I can do anything for you, sir, please command me. I shall be delighted to give my assistance in any way in my power.”
“You’ll want to get back to your ship before you are missed, of course,” replied the captain.
The lieutenant smiled in such a way as to show that he understood the meaning of this remark.
“I’m very glad to hear you say that, sir,” he answered. “If I may say so, I believe it’s the safest thing for us to do. When I left Maine she was under full steam; I dare say it will still be running quietly when you reach her, and it won’t do her any harm for us to leave the schooner for the time being.
She may be in the dock for a couple of days—in fact, I doubt if she is likely to start again before next morning.”
The captain nodded assent but added that he hoped he could persuade Mr. Tregaskis to come aboard for the present. There was certainly nothing else to be done until he could be taken on shore again.
The lieutenant looked grave at this. He evidently felt that there were certain things that should not be divulged at present, and so he merely remarked that, although this might perhaps be true, it was a pity, as the schooner’s owner had given strict orders that nobody should enter her except in such a case.
The captain shook his head and said that there was no help for it; however, he would go and see what could be done and would report himself afterward.
As soon as the lieutenant had gone below, the captain asked Captain Smith to explain exactly how the operation was to be managed when once it had begun. It seemed to him as though there was much to be considered beforehand, and the more he thought about it the less easy he found it to realize what would actually happen.
The Americans did not seem to think there was anything to be greatly worried about.
“We’ll have plenty of time before us,” he said; “we ought not to be disturbed for a good two hours. I’ll go and tell the men what’s to happen, and I hope we shan’t find you wanting on deck. Now let’s have a look at that map you drew yesterday.”
“That’s all right,” said Captain Smith. “But suppose we should be interrupted before we’ve carried it out? You don’t know what these fellows are like; they might shoot at us as soon as they see our heads turn round!”
“It’s quite impossible that they should,” answered Tregaskis, smiling. “I mean to say that they wouldn’t risk doing that if they saw us coming on board. They are perfectly willing to trust in their own guns, and they’ll have their eyes open all the while. Besides, they’re not going to fire at us. What possible reason could they have for attacking us?”
The captain shrugged his shoulders and said nothing. However, he had got hold of his courage; at least he was determined not to shrink from anything whatever now that the moment was drawing near.
The End