The Worthington advance., 1881-08-18

OF the cutter" s-..
But a. I said this tho fog closed all round
again and Shelvocke shook his head.
II see nothing" !" he answered, and went
to the side and looked over; then returned
to me. She has not an inch of way on
her!" he exclaimed, and motioned with his
head to the leadsman. The fellow dropped
the lead softly; the soundings made twenty
two fathoms.
-Four bells were struck in tho fog. The
tone WAS marvelously clear, and so close az
to make ME start, and q moment after We
heard mans voice hailing some oae alott
or forward on the vessel.
What lingo WIS that?" exclaimed Shell
woke, eagerly.
Il only caught two words, 'laissez! lais-
eek whish 1 take to be French for 'd,op
itr" answered.
"Hush!" cyied Shelvocke; and at that
instant another voice called out loudly.
This evidently came from aloft; it seemed
to be up in the air over our heads.
Shelyocke made no remark, but walked
aft, and stood looking over the taffrail. For
some minutes we stood staring and listen
ing, and were beginning to think that it
would end the vessels drifting apart, and in
our getting NO sight of our neighbor il the
fog not lift before the night came, when all
once the fog thinned right abeam, as
though lane was opened in it by q passage
of wind, and disclosed about q quarter Of
mile of white water, with just faint
spaDgle of sunlight touching the further
extremity of it. The folds Of the fog roll
ing to the southwark. this lane went with
them, and when it reached the quarter,
there, standing in the clear space of it, and
about pistol shot away from the TS0ress,
large black ship of not less than six hun-
dred tons, lying broadside on to us with
great channels which gave her rigging a tre-
mendously wide spread, and Immensely
square lower-yards. The fog came down
as low as her tops, SO that oil of her upper
spars were hidden. She showed five gums
for her broadside. sprang aft to take her
bearings by the compass, and when looked
again she was gone. But gone only to the
eye, for now that they had seen us, the ear
could determine their whereabouts with
laughable precision. It was evident that
our sudden apparition had greatly alarmed
her people. We heard whole volley of
orders thundered out in French; ropes were
let 60, blocks squealed, yards were sharply
braced around.
"A merchantmen, and fine one!" ex-
claimed Shelvocke. Mr.. Corney. you
speak French, believe. in = way to deceive
Frenchmen," said Shelvocke. will you
please hail that vessel, and get them to tell
what they know Of herr"
What vessel, captain?" said Corney,
staring into tine fog.
why, the vessel You can hear, sir!'
"Ho, the ship ahoy!" shouted Corney.
"Who are you?' came back the reply.
THE French schooner st. BrieatC, from
the north, bound to St. Nazaire," 1espoad-
ed Corney, promptly. And you?"
There was no answer to this; instead, I
heard a sound uncommonly like the travers-
ing of carronade- slides, accompanied by
more hauling, and pulling, and boxing
about of the Yards.
"Mind!"1 sung out. They are making
ready to give us . broadside, sir. They
evidently suspect u.s."
And sure enough, as I said this, the
white mist flashed up. like crimson, as
though mine had exploded close aboard, a
heavy roar of artillery followed, and the
sea was torn up by shower Of grape about
twenty feet away from u.s.
Let them hare it, men!" shouted Shell
woke, in . voice that must immediately
have let tho Frenchmen into the secret 0f
the st. Brieur;; aim as point, and hight
cripple ler for US when the fog lifts. How
does she bear, Mr.. Madison?"
Northeast three e-quarters east, sir.
He glanced at the compass, and indicated
the position Of the vessel by extending his
hand. The guns were canted and fred. In
all five pieces were discharged, and to Judge
by the crashing and splintering of timber
and several sharp yells, the grape and round
shot had pumped faithfully home.
Another broadside followed from
the Frenchmen, and again the
iron sleet tore up the water wide of the
mark. From the heavy, broad scattering
of the missiles, it was plain that they were
fighting us with carronades, and it seemed
by the explosions that the metal was of
heavy ca]ibre.
Onr men, following the direction indi-
Gated by Shelvocke, fired again. and once
more We heard tho grape rattling and tear
ing along the invisible deck, and the splin-
tering and crashing of yards and masts
aloft. If the fog was thick before, there
remains no word to express the capacity of
it now that the smoke Of the cannon hung
around US. Although, as have said, the
spouts Of his last broadside had not glanced
tie least rejection on the solid body Of
smoke aud vapor; the men stationed at our
when we fired our third broadside they had
nothing but the recollection Of the spot in
dicated by the captain to go by.
Five times the F1enchman fred at us,
and the last time his grape SUNG close along
the port side of the schooner. showing they
were aware that their shot had taken no
effect, and that that they had shifted their
aim. A little more and this broadside
would have raked us, for they fred with
depressed muzzles, and their vessel was
twice as high out of water as ours. AS it
was, not single shot touched us. We had
taken their bearings, though they had evi-
IDENTIFY not taken ours, and it was by omis.
sions of this kind, apparently 50 inc0nsid.
erable, but in reality Of the verv first i'm.
portance, that French navel officers lost
most of the vessels entrusted to them by a
country whose reverses on sea were only to
be equalled by its disasters on land.
We were in the act Of giving them a
fourth broadside, when they hailed to say
they surrendered. Shelvocke Immediately
ordered the pinnace to be lowered and
name with twelve ssamen, in charge of
Mr.. Tapping, with orders to take possess
ion. The boats crew were armed to the
teeth, Shelvocke being apprehensive of
treachery, and small compass being sent
down, and the vessels bearings given, the
pinnace showed of, and was immediately
swallowed up in the fog.
We waited anxiously for Tapping's hail to
announce his arrival, the men being still at
quarters and the guns doubled shotted,
ready to bestow their terrible dose should
the boats crew meet with any resistance.
But We had no fear that the third mate
would overshoot his mark, AZ he had the
bearing of his prlze; and it was certain from
the result of our broadsides, that the vessel
had not drifted half her own length from
the spot in which We had sighted her.
for one. expecting every moment to hear
pistol. shots and the clash Of cutlasses, 40 I
thought it extremely probable that tie
Frenohman had called for quarters % au
exsg.e 70 get biz bpeN ont md tox away