about three weeks after the occurrences described in the foregoing chapter the stinger was ordered to japan, to join the squadron cruising off that coast in search of the russian fleet, which was supposed to have wintered in one of the northern ports of the island.
puffeigh was very anxious to fall in with a prize, his principal reason for taking command of the stinger being to save house expenses, and make as much prize money as possible. in order, therefore, still further to retrench his expenditure, he discharged his steward before leaving hong-kong, and, of all persons in the world, took the boy jordun as his attendant; assigning as a reason that the boy being unfitted for heavy work, it was better to make a steward of him than to send him home, where he would be a burden to his friends. not only was this excuse untrue, but the captain actually saved money by having the boy as his servant; and that exclusive of the salary he would have paid a proper steward. william jordun was rated captain's steward, and his rations claimed by that officer, who was paid for them, the boy being fed upon the scraps and leavings of his master's meals.
of course, under these circumstances, none of the officers were ever invited to dine in his cabin; and it was amusing to hear the excuses he invented in order to explain his not having a competent servant.
"it was very unfortunate my not being able to obtain that french steward, was it not?" he observed to one of his officers. "i made up my mind to ship the fellow when the admiral bagged him."
"he lost a good situation, and no doubt he has since regretted it," replied the officer with respectful sarcasm.
master william had never much fear of puffeigh, but when he became his servant the little he had quickly vanished, and he talked to his captain in the most confidential and cheeky manner, as the following conversation will sufficiently show:
"what did you do with those chops left by me at dinner yesterday?"
"chops?"
"yes, two large fat chops; surely you did not eat them for your dinner?"
"i never seed you leave no chops, sir."
"you did not see two chops left yesterday?"
"no, sir, there was no chops left that i seed; you must ha' eat 'em and forgot it."
"well, you little thief, you stole them. i'll flog you if you don't confess."
"i a thief, sir! well, how you can say that, i don't know. why, i might as well say that you stole 'em."
"silence! what did you have for your dinner yesterday?"
"let me see. i had two chops—some taters—"
"hang you, you little thief! why did you deny having stolen them?"
"i denigh avin a hooked them, sir. oh! where does you expect to go to?"
"i'll flog you. go to the pantry and think over that. as soon as we're in port and i can get a steward. i'll flog you."
"well, i never. you flog me for eatin' my dinner. i'm allowed as much as i can[pg 90] eat by the government, and you takes and grabs my rashions, and gets paid for 'em, and i eats yer leavins,—them yesterday were two chops,—now how you're going to flog me for that, i can't see."
"silence!"
the boy jordun pulled his forelock, and left the captain's presence.
the ship had been cruising about in the gulf of tartary for over four months, and fresh provisions were getting low, when one morning they sighted a french man-of-war, le terrible, and puffeigh received a present of three sheep from her commander. most captains under such circumstances would have divided them with their officers, but he was too mean, and kept them all to himself; the weather being cold the meat did not spoil when killed.
master jordun lived like an alderman during the time two of the sheep lasted, and, in spite of the watchful care of his master, managed to give away sundry fat morsels to his friends; but when the third animal was slaughtered, puffeigh watched its being jointed, and directed the pieces to be hung up in his gig, which was secured to the stern davits, and furthermore ordered a sentry to be placed over the same, day and night.
the hungry midshipmen and still more hungry crew watched the joints, the number of which became less every day, until at last there was only one remaining, this being a leg, which through exposure and hanging had become as tender as venison. puffeigh had expressed his determination to have it for his dinner the next day, sunday, and during his evening walk sent twice for his cook, and gave him fresh instructions as to the manner of dressing the delicacy.
eight o'clock p. m., and the sentry who took up his position over the mutton was cautioned to keep his eyes open. at twelve the man was relieved, and a marine named foley went upon guard, and at four o'clock the corporal reported him as intoxicated to the officer of the watch, upon which they discovered that the mutton had vanished.
when this was made known to the commander he became greatly enraged, and swore he would flog the sentry and all the watch if the thief were not discovered. after church was over, puffeigh mustered the men, and having abused them as "thieves and burglars," proceeded to order several of the watch to be placed in irons, upon which a midshipman named holt addressed him as follows:—
"the men are innocent, sir. i saw the mutton go."
"where, sir? why did you not speak before?"
"i have been below all the morning, and did not know what was going on, sir?"
"what do you know of the theft?"
"i saw the meat at eleven o'clock, and shortly after twelve it blew a strong breeze, and the mutton was blown away, as when the wind lulled it was not there."
now mr. holt was the nephew of one of the lords of the admiralty, and his uncle's heir, so puffeigh chose to accept his version, and even dismissed the marine with a light punishment. the fact was, the middies had given the sentry a strong dose of grog, and then appropriated the joint, which was cooked in the engine-room by a friendly stoker.
a few evenings after, they sighted several ships, and as two of them looked like russian men-of-war, the stinger got up steam, and was soon in full chase after them. the sun was sinking upon the horizon, and the ships plainly visible, when suddenly one of them vanished from their sight. puffeigh and his officers were puzzled,—there was one of the vessels, but the other had disappeared.
"it's the flying dutchman," observed an old quartermaster.
"beat to quarters and clear for action," shouted the captain.
the engineers drove the stinger at the top of her speed, but night soon hid the[pg 91] pursued ship; and after running far past the place, the commander determined to lay to until daylight.
about four bells in the middle watch a man on the look-out reported "ship right ahead," and a large vessel sailed past them, looming in the fog very much like a frigate. puffeigh was turned out, and, hurrying on deck, gave directions to bout ship and beat to quarters. in a few minutes the ship's course was altered, and the men at their guns ready to pour a broadside into the enemy. there was a thick mist falling, and every thing on deck was wet and sloppy; yet, in spite of that, the men were stripped to their waists, and as eager for the fray as a lot of tigers. puffeigh was on the bridge, speaking-trumpet in hand, and gave orders to fire if the ship did not reply to his hail the third time.
"ship ahoy! what ship's that?"
no reply.
"ship ahoy! what ship is that?"
again no response.
"ship ahoy! of what nation are you?"
before any reply could be heard one of the captains of a forward gun pulled his trigger line, and immediately the others discharged their guns. a howl of execration broke from the enemy, upon which the stingers let drive another volley.
"cease firing! let us wait for reply," roared the commander.
now loud upon the breeze came the words, "dod rot ye! what do you mean by firing into us in that fashion?"
"are you an enemy?" blurted puffeigh through his speaking-trumpet.
"if i had a few barkers i'd darn soon show you who i was, you cussed fool. i'm amos pelton, of the minnehaha, of martha's vineyard, massachusetts, united states of america."
"this is her britannic majesty's ship stinger. are you damaged?"
at this moment the man at the wheel put his helm aport, and the ships collided. after striking the whaler just abaft the foremast, the stinger swung round, and dropped alongside, causing the boats of both vessels to double up like hat-boxes,—yards locked, iron gear got entangled, rigging carried away, and general confusion prevailed, and for a short time the vessels hugged, ground, and rasped each other, like savage leviathans. upon order being restored, the crews vied with each other in their efforts to free their respective ships; and when at last their exertions were successful, each quickly cleared away the wreck, and proceeded to ascertain the amount of damage it had sustained, and to repair the same to the best of their ability.
when morning broke the stinger discovered the american vessel under easy sail upon her port bow; and after breakfast the captain was seen to leave his ship in his gig. puffeigh received him upon his quarter-deck, and politely inquired what he wanted?
"wall, capt'n, i guess john bull 'ull have to pay for last night's amusement. eleven shot holes in my ship's side, a fore-topmast carried away, and a vallyble dog killed, air to be paid for, capt'n."
"why did you not answer my hail, sir? i hailed your ship three times."
"wall now, capt'n, we never heard you, an' my horn was below, an' i didn't' get it up for a minute. i was jes a going to hail you, when bang goes your guns, and i hollered out to you to know what on airth you was about."
"her britannic majesty's ship, captain—"
"all right, capt'n don't waste your words on me, we'll not fight over this little[pg 92] affair. i'll just fix matters, and run down to shanghay, and git your consul to foot my bill."
having settled the matter so far, captain amos pelton, who, as if in rivalry of the man-of-war captain, sported a suit of some sort of naval uniform, next asked puffeigh "if he had seen any rooshians," upon which the latter informed him "that he had seen two the evening before, but both had escaped."
"ken i have a word with you in private, capt'n?" mysteriously observed the yankee.
"yes, sir; come below."
having descended into the captain's cabin, captain pelton imbibed some of puffeigh's brandy, then drawing his chair towards him asked in a whisper, "ef he wanted to find out the rooshian ship which he had lost sight of last night?"
"i do; and would guarantee you a handsome reward if you give me any information."
"wall now, capt'n, your runnin' in to me ain't jes the most friendly kind of act, but i'll leave that for our consuls, and if you don't mind acting squarely, i'll give you the ren-dez-vous of the rooshian. le' me see, she's called the volganoski. i ken give you her next rendezvous ef so be you remunerate me."
puffeigh looked at the captain for a moment; but as he appeared as serious as a judge, he thought he would trust him, so he demanded what sort of remuneration he required.
"wall, capt'n, this air brandy is good; say two dozen of this, a dozen of sherry wine, a dozen of whiskey, a barl of cabin biscuit, some fine sugar, some sardines, some canned meats, and about a coil of inch and a half manilla rope, an' i'll give you the rendezvous."
"that's too much. you want all my private stores, and their value comes out of my pocket."
"that's jis what i ask them for. i don't want none of your infernal government contract stores. i'm a reasonable man, and not a darn'd fool, and i prefer tew have the best. say, capt'n, i'm off! you won't take my offer? good day!"
"here! i'll do it, but what security have i that you will not deceive me?"
"de-ceive you capt'n? why, dew i look like it?"
after some delay the articles were placed in the skipper's boat, upon which he returned to puffeigh's cabin and wrote the following:—
"rendezvous of the russian ship volganoski.
"on the 12th may this ship will be found at anchor off the island of sado in the japanese sea."
"thar, capt'n ef you jis go there right away, you will capture her sure pop, and i wish you joy of your bargain."
"well, sign it, captain pelton."
"no, siree; ef i did that, it might fall into the hands of the rooshians, and i don't care tew risk it;" saying this, the cute skipper left the cabin, descended into his gig, and in a few moments was alongside his own craft; then hoisting in his plunder and boat, he set sail, and made off in the opposite direction to which the stinger was heading.
puffeigh did not impart the information he had received to any of his officers, but kept on his way to the rendezvous, off which he arrived five days afterwards, but found no signs of the russian ship. upon returning to hong-kong some months after this, the following letter was handed him, and upon comparing the handwriting, he concluded it was from captain amos pelton.
[pg 93]
"shanghae,
"to captain puffeigh of the british ship stinger,
"you will be delighted to hear that the ship which disappeared so suddenly from your sight one evening in the gulf of tartary was the volganoski, and she had on board the russian admiral, with the treasure of the fleet. she furled sails just before sunset, and became invisible to you, and when it was dark altered her course and passed you, leaving me to fool you, which i did with the rendezvous. your brandy was good, and i should very much like to sell you another rendezvous for some more."
when the worthy commander read this, he foamed at the mouth, and wished he could have the whaling captain under his command for one day. probably had his amiable desire been gratified, amos pelton would have been again too many guns for him.
after remaining at the rendezvous long enough to find that he had been hoodwinked by his informant, puffeigh proceeded to the gulf of tartary, where he vented his spite upon his crew, whom he drilled almost out of their senses; for, as usual in such cases, what was amusement to the officers was torture to the men.
in the course of a few days he fell in with h.m.s. choker, who reported the presence of the russian fleet in one of the bays at the head of the gulf of tartary, and despatched the stinger to convey the news to the admiral at chickodadi. captain puffeigh made all possible haste, and arrived in port just as the admiral was leaving for the north, and was by him directed to remain in harbour until relieved by a smaller ship. the stingers did not much enjoy their stay in this port, as immediately upon arrival a cordon of boats was placed round the vessel, and all communication with the shore strictly interdicted by the japanese authorities.
two months were passed in this dull port, and the stingers began to imagine themselves forgotten, when one morning h.m.s. squeezer steamed into the harbour, and delivered mails and despatches, by which captain puffeigh found himself directed to proceed at once to the gulf of pechele, information having been received that one of the russian ships, which had escaped from the gulf of tartary, was cruising off the mouth of the pei-ho. no time was lost in getting away from chickodadi; and two hours after the reception of orders the stinger was well on her way towards the coast of china.
we must do the japanese the credit of stating, that they did not court the visits of the british ships, and only acted according to time-honoured custom, in refusing to have anything to do with "outside barbarians." as the stinger was getting up anchor the harbour-master came off with a present of a boat-load of fresh provisions, which captain puffeigh courteously accepted, and coolly appropriated to his own use.
in the mean while clare, who had been unwell for some time, at last reluctantly went to the doctor, and that functionary, upon making a strict examination of his case, discovered that he was suffering from disease of the heart, no doubt brought on by the shock his system had sustained when being flogged.
one evening tom was sitting by the fore-hatchway in conversation with thompson, when he suddenly asked him "if he believed in ghosts?" jerry, who imagined his shipmate was joking, at first laughed at the question, as he did not believe in any such appearances, and seldom scrupled to ridicule those who affirmed they did; but the serious manner of his companion soon attracted his attention in a way which prevented his taking it lightly.
"you laugh! well, jerry, believe it or not, i saw polly a few minutes ago, and[pg 94] she smiled on me and then vanished. this is the sixteenth day of august; i won't forget this day."
"you're out of order, old man; it's the physic you're takin' has made you light-headed."
"no, i ain't light-headed; i know what i'm about; i say i saw polly, and she's dead," saying which his head dropped, and he remained some time as if buried in deep thought.
"come, come, old man, rouse a bit, polly's all right; you've got the blues, and are out of sorts; you'll be all right in a day or two."
however, when clare became better he did not lose the impression that his wife was dead, and although he went about his work as before, a great weight was at his heart. thompson would approach the subject, and try to ascertain if his shipmate were still under the hallucination, but tom evaded his questions, and almost resented his friend's officiousness.
puffeigh continued his plan of retrenchment, and the boy jordun was half-starved, being often indebted for a full meal to the officer's steward. upon one occasion the commander actually directed half a fowl to be cooked for his dinner, and the remainder hung until the next day. jordun severed the bird, and took half of it on deck in order to suspend it from the stay with the rest of the provisions, but presently returned to his master, saying, "he didn't dare hang it, as the men chaffed him so."
"chaffed you! who dared do that?"
"why," blubbered the boy, "the whole bileing on 'em forward was a-larfin and cuttin' jokes at the arf of a fowl—askin' if we killed arf at a time, and i was afraid to hang it arter what they said. i can't bear to go agin pop'lar opinion like that, it's too trying."
"popular opinion, you little ass! who put that rubbish into your head?"
"you did, sir."
"i did?"
"yes, sir! don't you remember, when captain interest said you wouldn't be posted until you got back to england, you said, 'oh, won't i?' ses you, 'the people at home will hear about my rescuing the young girl from the pirates, and there's no going agin pop'lar opinion.'"
at that moment a boot went flying after master jordun, such attacks being very common on the part of his master when he found himself worsted in argument with the lad.
