American colours, and I said “Why, Jack, you are between the Devil and the deep blue sea,” meaning the Cornélie’s devilish eighteen-pounders behind me and the concentrated fire of an American squadron in front and no sea-room to manoeuvre. But then I saw the dear Surprise appear – Lord, what joy! -and I threw out the signal to chase to the north-west.
‘Clearly, five against one was not fair odds, so Jean-Pierre hauled his wind in the hope of getting away behind one of the islands to the south under cover of a squall. But his people had scarcely been able to keep pace with the leak even when they had the wind well abaft the beam, and now with a head-sea and all hands utterly exhausted she could no longer swim. He just had time to get his boats clear before she settled. The Surprise recovered them – some could barely stand, and had to be hauled aboard in slings – and when the Nutmeg came up and I went across he surrendered to me.
‘Then, the Passage being but an uneasy place to lie in, we proceeded eastwards to this sheltered road, anchored in sixty-fathom water and made acquaintance with the other ships. The Triton is a heavy letter of marque, almost as large as the Surprise; she is commanded by Horse-Flesh Goffin, whose court-martial for a false muster you will probably remember, and they had been cruising together for some time. The others were splendid American prizes they had taken, all the more splendid because they contained the cargoes of several other vessels too small to be worth a prize-crew. One of them is crammed with furs, sea-otter and the like, much demanded in China, where both ships were bound. Upon the whole the Surprise seems to have had an unusually successful cruise even before these two big merchant-men, capturing Nantucket and New Bedford whalers and sending them into South American ports, but I do not know exactly – we have so much to say to one another and there was so much to do in the poor battered Nutmeg that I do not know half what there is to know.’ He was sitting at the starboard extremity of the line of sash lights that filled the great cabin with sunshine reflected from a dappled sea, a window that was more familiar to him than any he had known on land, and looking out he saw the Nutmeg,
trim again after a surprisingly short stay in this road, with the carpenter and his crew over the side, putting the last touches to the stern gallery. He glanced along the table to the other end of the range; but seeing that Stephen was writing busily, with a contentious look on his face, he let his gaze wander over the table itself, which had been set, quite exceptionally, in the great cabin, to seat fourteen men in comfort; and he saw not without a certain complacency that it was set with uncommon magnificence. This was the sort of occasion that Killick loved more than his soul, and Jack’s silver, preserved through all the vicissitudes of the voyage, blazed and twinkled in the shifting light. Stephen scratched steadily on, though now his look was
more benign as he wrote’. . . and so, having demolished Baker on the economy of the solitary bee, I shall only add that I am heartily tired of being a solitary bee myself. I have no words to express my longing to hear from you again, to learn that you, and perhaps our daughter, are recovered, well and happy. And so far as material things affect happiness, it may increase yours as it has increased mine, to know that if these prizes reach port, our economy may be somewhat less sparse, pinched, anxious, grey.’
Jack returned to his letter: ‘Yet Surprise’s share of these two merchantmen alone should be something of a relief to poor Stephen, as owner and fitter-out he has the largest share, of -course. Something of a relief, I say; but I am afraid it can go only a very little way towards recovering his fortunes. I am not sure how they stand, because although as soon as I heard of the bank being broke I hurried to his room and said that I had never regretted anything in my life so much as my advice to move to Smith and Clowes, that I hoped and prayed he had not followed it to a disastrous extent, and I had meant to go on to say that we had shared purses before and must certainly do so again. But I stumbled over my words – I had already put it badly – and he pulled me up – “No, no. Not at all. It was no great matter. I am infinitely obliged to you.” Since then he has said nothing and although from time to time I have thrown out what I hope were delicate hints and suggestions he has not seemed to notice them; and with a man Lucifer could
not hold a book, bell or candle to for pride I cannot raise the subject directly. But, however, when this voyage is over I shall beg him, as a favour, to sell me the Surprise: not only would it give me extraordinary pleasure, but it would at least serve to keep him afloat.
‘To go back to the other ships: the Americans are rather thinly manned, many of their people having been set ashore in Peru, it being so much wiser to put it out of their power to rise upon you and recapture the ship; but there is little risk of that, since they will be escorted not only by the Triton, which is a powerful ship for these waters and full of hands, but by the Nutmeg too. It will be quicker for her to return to Batavia by way of Canton, there waiting for the north-east monsoon – quicker than beating back into the teeth of this one. I offered Tom the command, but he said he had rather stay with us; so Fielding has her, and very highly delighted he
is. ‘
Killick came in and stood breathing heavily in the doorway and looking disagreeable. They took no notice, intent upon their letters; he came forward to the table and moved some knives and forks, quite unnecessarily, and with unnecessary noise.
‘Get out, Killick,’ said Jack, without looking round.
‘Killick, you break in upon my thoughts,’ said Stephen.
‘Which I only came to say the cook has burnt the soup, the Doctor ain’t shaved yet, and your honour has spilt ink on your breeches, your only decent breeches.’
‘God’s blood – hell and death, so I have,’ cried Jack. ‘Go and rouse out my second-best –
Stephen, we may poach upon your comforts, may we not? Killick, go and ask Mr Martin, with the Doctor’s compliments, for three slabs of portable soup.’
‘Three slabs of portable soup it is, sir,’ said Killick, adding ‘It won’t be nearly enough, though; not nearly enough,’ as it were to himself.
Jack returned to his letter. ‘My dear, we are to have a farewell dinner in half an hour.
There is plenty of time, but I know that all hands concerned are anxious for its success, the more
so in that Nutmeg is a regular man-of-war with a pennant, and led by Killick they will come in on one pretext or another, or peer through the companion, glooming and coughing at us until we are up there, square-rigged and spotless, to welcome our guests.’
He had finished the letter, with love and kisses all round when the door opened for Tom Pullings, now acting as the frigate’s first lieutenant again, in spite of which he was wearing the uniform of his rank as commander, a splendid uniform, though somewhat creased and smelling of tropical mould, not having been put on for the last nine thousand miles.
‘Forgive me, sir,’ he said, ‘but you did not hear me knock; and I believe a boat is putting off from Triton.’
‘Thank you, Tom,’ said Jack. ‘I shall just seal this letter and then I am with you.’
‘And sir, I am very much ashamed to say that when you first came aboard I quite forgot to give you a letter handed to me at Callao. It was in the pocket of this here coat and it flew clean out of my mind till I heard it crinkle.’ Jack instantly perceived that the letter was from his natural son, begotten when he was on the Cape Station in his youth, and he scarcely heard Pullings’ confused account of a clergyman that had visited the Surprise when she put in, had been deeply disappointed at finding that Captain Aubrey was not aboard, nor Dr Maturin; spoke perfect English, only with a sort of brogue; you would have said he was an Irishman, only he was black, coal-black. Tom had met him again at the Governor’s, where he stood next to the Bishop, dressed in a purple frock and treated with great respect. It was there that he had given Tom this letter. Renewed apologies: retreat.