Ford of H.M.S. Vigilant: A Tale of the Chusan Archipelago Read online

  Produced by Al Haines.

  Cover art]

  THE SKIPPER RECEIVES THE MANDARIN]

  Ford of H.M.S. Vigilant

  A Tale of the Chusan Archipelago

  BY

  STAFF SURGEON T. T. JEANS, R.N.

  Author of "Mr. Midshipman Glover, R.N."

  _ILLUSTRATED BY WILLIAM RAINEY, R.I._

  BLACKIE AND SON LIMITED LONDON GLASGOW DUBLIN BOMBAY 1910

  *Preface*

  This story is written more or less on the same lines as my previousstory of naval adventures--_Mr. Midshipman Glover, R.M._--and describesevents subsequent to those narrated in that book.

  The proof sheets have been carefully read by messmates of differentbranches of the Service, and I am much indebted to them for correctingmany technical errors.

  Practically all the characters are drawn from life, and the cruisers andgunboats, British, American, and Chinese, taking part in the variousoperations are actual ships under altered names.

  I therefore hope that the story gives an accurate representation of lifein the Service under the war conditions described.

  T. T. JEANSStaff Surgeon, Royal NavyH.M.S. ALBION

  TO

  E. R. W., K. G., AND E. M.

  AS A SLIGHT RETURN FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE WHILST WRITING THIS BOOK

  *Contents*

  CHAP.

  I. How Dick Ford went to Sea II. Introduces Sally Hobbs III. The Vigilant under Orders IV. The Loss of Lieutenant Travers V. Midshipman Ford's First Command VI. The "Sally" goes into Action VII. Mr. Rashleigh takes Command VIII. The Vigilant Sails Again IX. Mr. Hoffman's Secret X. The Vigilant under Fire XI. The Landing Party XII. Midshipman Ford on his Mettle XIII. Mr. Ching to the Rescue XIV. "Old Lest" takes a Hand XV. The Retreat XVI. Ford saves "Old Lest's" Life XVII. Goodbye to the Huan Min XVIII. A Midnight Adventure XIX. The Captain Receives a Present XX. Home Again

  *Illustrations*

  The skipper receives the Mandarin . . . _Frontispiece_

  A Fierce Tussle

  "He hacked and hacked"

  Close Fighting

  "He was just going to fire"

  "The Skipper took her up in his arms"

  Plan of Creek (Hector Island)

  *CHAPTER I*

  *How Dick Ford went to Sea*

  Old Gurridge--Appointed to the Vigilant--Dick sends a Telegram--The Vigilant at Last!--"Dear Little Dicky!"--Dicky gives his Messages

  _Written by Midshipman Ford_

  I don't expect that you have ever heard of Upton Overy, in North Devon,but it is there where Captain Lester, of the Royal Navy, lives, and, atany rate, you must have heard of him. Everyone in the West Countryknows him by name and most of them by sight, and whenever he comes backfrom sea the villagers won't do any work, and the bellringers ring pealsand "changes" on the old church bells all day long, till you'd thinkthat the top stones must be shaken off. The noise always makes mymother's head ache terribly. You see, my father is the parson of UptonOvery, and our house is so close to the church, that the noise seems togo through and through it.

  If he happened to be at home, on leave or on half-pay, the Captainsometimes asked my father to go out shooting with him, and when I wasquite a kiddy I was so fearfully keen to go too, that once I crept awayand followed them. My father would have sent me back, had not theCaptain growled out--and he had an awfully deep growling voice--"Let thenipper come along o' us, Padre;" and you may be jolly well certain thatI did follow them, keeping close behind the Captain, without saying aword, and with my eyes glued on him, just to see exactly what he did. Igot so tired, that if I hadn't been afraid of making a noise I shouldhave cried.

  "Send the young 'un to sea. He'll do," he had said when my father, veryangry at having his day's sport spoilt, had at last to carry me back.

  That is the first I remember of Captain Lester, and is why I rememberwhat he said. Afterwards he would often let me go with him, and when Iwas big enough would let me hold his great mongrel dog "Blucher". TheCaptain used to take this dog to sea with him, and always brought himout shooting; but he used to get so excited that he would obey nobody,and if let loose, always ranged ahead of the guns, and put up every birdfor miles. The result was that he was kept on the chain nearly all thetime.

  Although he was so useless, the Captain would never leave him behind."I've spoilt the dog taking him to sea", he would growl; "I ain't goingto spoil his bit of sport", and he always let him have a run "on hisown" towards the end of the day.

  Sometimes his eldest girl, Nan, used to come too, and as she worshippedher father just as much as I did, we became quite chums, and had many ajolly day together, while we hung on to old Blucher's chain, and hetugged us about.

  She worried very much because she was a girl and couldn't go to sea, butof course that wasn't her fault--I told her so, often--and it alwaysmade me feel what a jolly good thing it was to be a man, and that I wasgoing to sea. I had made up my mind to that, and had never forgottenwhat the Captain had said. I simply longed for the sea, and used tospend every moment I could down among the fishing boats, helping tospread the nets out along the shore to dry, and sometimes taking a handin mending them. I made chums, too, of the boys in the smaller smacks,which worked close inshore, and one of them took me out several times inhis uncle's boat.

  But just skirting along the coast was not enough for me, so one night Idid a very silly thing. Upton Overy owned six deep-sea trawlers, whichwere generally away on the fishing grounds for a whole week, and onenight, I couldn't stand it any longer, and crept out of the house, roundby the back of the church, down a cliff path to the harbour, crawledaboard one of these trawlers, and hid myself under the nets. I knewthat they were all going out before daylight, and that I shouldn't befound till we were right out of sight of land.

  When they did pull me out in the morning, old Gurridge--it was his boatI'd crept into--was rather beastly about it, and jawed at me till he wastired. He'd had some row with my father, and thought it a jolly goodopportunity of having a "dig" at him, and the way he'd brought me up;but I didn't mind what he said--not in the least--for all round me wassea, no land whichever way I looked, and I simply felt mad with delight.

  It came on to blow, too, and I don't think that old Gurridge could havetaken me back, even if he'd wanted to--and he didn't want to either,because of that row with my father--and all the time he made me work,scrubbing and cleaning, and jawing at me for being so wicked as to runaway.

  Of course I got back safely, had a jolly good beating, and was sent tobed; but, honestly, I couldn't feel wicked, because, right down insideme, I knew that I'd done it because the Captain wanted me to go to sea,and, as I told you before, I simply worshipped him. Most peopledid--even the "grown-ups"--so it was no wonder that I did.

  He heard about it too--my trip in the trawler, I mean--and that was onereason, I fancy, why he gave me a nomination for the _Britannia_, andwhen I had passed in, promised to look after me if I did well there.

  I can't help remembering the first time I came home in cadet's uniform,and rushed up to the House to show myself to Mrs. Lester
and the girls.Nan was most respectful, and she'd never been so before, and thatpleased me more than anything else. I expect that I put on a frightfulamount of "side", and must have been a horrid little bounder.

  I only saw Captain Lester twice whilst I was in the _Britannia_, andthen he commissioned the _Vigilant_ for the China station. Of course,what I really wanted to do was to go to his ship, but I thought thatprobably he'd forgotten all about me. He hadn't, though; for when,during my last term, my father had to write out to him about some churchrepairs, he wrote in his reply, "Tell the young 'un he can come out tomy ship, if he passes out of the _Britannia_ well".

  This news simply made me boil all over, and you may guess how hard Iworked that term, and what I felt like when the lists came out. Myname--Dick Ford--was seventh of my term, and next below me was JimRawlings, my best chum, and we both had just got enough marks to scrapeout as midshipmen straight away.

  Wasn't that splendid? It was grand, too, to see the little white badgessewn on the collars of our monkey jackets, and to know that we'dfinished being cadets.

  The next thing to do was to get Captain Lester to apply for me; but Ifunked asking Mrs. Lester, and my mother stood rather in awe of her too.However, it turned out that the Captain and Mrs. Lester between them hadarranged it all, and one morning, after I'd gone home on Christmasleave, there was a large blue envelope for me in the postbag. I tore itopen, and the first thing I saw was the name _Vigilant_ scrawled inamong the print. I yelled with delight, for there it was at last. Itwas grand, and at the end of the print was: "You are to embark on boardthe P. & O. Steamship _Marmora_ by noon on the 14th January".

  My mother ran up to her room directly I had read it aloud and she hadlooked to make certain, and my father frowned at me and said angrily,"You see what you've done? Broken your mother's heart," and that mademe miserable again, though I couldn't feel miserable for long, andrushed up to the House to show the appointment to Nan and everyone Imet. I shall never forget that day and the next three weeks, and atlast driving off to the station, with my sea chest on top of the villagecab, really, actually--I could hardly believe it--on my way toChina--and Captain Lester.

  Mrs. Lester and the girls were at the big gates, and I had to stop andwish them goodbye. Nan looked down her nose and pretended she wouldn'thave given her soul to be coming too, and Mrs. Lester, before I knewwhat was going to happen, actually bent down and kissed me. My motherwas so astonished that she left off crying, but I'm almost sure thatMrs. Lester had tears in her eyes. Of course I knew why--because I wasoff to join the Captain, and would---with luck--see him in six or sevenweeks.

  She had a big box of things for me to take out to him too, and it took agreat deal of hoisting up alongside my chest.

  You can have no idea how many messages were given me for him. Of courseeveryone in the village knew I was going, and for the last fortnight, Ishould think, half the village had sent "best respects to the Captain",and news about their children or gardens or the fishing. I stuck themall down in a notebook so as not to forget them--my mother advised me todo this. At the station old Puddock, the station master, gave me a potof cranberry jam his wife had made--she'd been cook up at the Housebefore she married Puddock--"with our best respects for the Cap'en,Master Dick, and tell him we're both fair to middling, and I got firstprize at Barnton Show for the pigs". Out came the notebook again, andwe were off at last--my mother and I.

  But the funniest thing of all happened at the nextstation--Bodington--for there Ned the Poacher--he was an awful nuisancefor miles round, and spent half the year in prison--came sheepishly tothe carriage and asked me to tell the Captain that he and his palswouldn't be too hard on the pheasants this year, as they knew he wascoming home for next year's shooting. "Tell the Cap'en they birds bemighty strong and healthy, and there'll be plenty of 'em next year whenhe comes home," and he shuffled away. I suppose he hadn't the face tocome to me at Upton Overy itself.

  I wasn't going to put that down in the notebook, but my mother said Ihad better do so.

  When we went down to the docks next day and went aboard the _Marmora_,the very first person I saw was Jim Rawlings--on his way out to joinanother cruiser--and in the excitement of seeing him I hardly wished mymother "goodbye" properly, and it was only when the _Marmora_ shoved offand left her standing alone in the rain, on the dock wall, that I feltwhat an awful brute I was, and wanted to jump across the bit of waterjust to say "goodbye" once again.

  There were four cadets on board, as well; going out to join differentships. A lieutenant was in charge of all of us, and jolly nasty he madehimself too; and we were all jolly glad when we found his ship lying atSingapore, and he cleared out. I'm not going to tell you all about thevoyage. It would take too long, and there are too many exciting thingsfor you to hear. For me they began there, and it was Jim who made thediscovery. He'd got hold of a Singapore newspaper, and suddenly cameflying along the deck, whooping like a madman, and shoved it into myhands. You can imagine how excited I was, for among the telegrams wasthis:

  "Shanghai, February 22nd. Captain Lester, H.M.S. _Vigilant_, seniorofficer in the Chusan Archipelago, reports that the Chinese cruiser_Huan Min_ has picked up Mr. Martin P. Hobbs and his daughter, adrift ina boat, and that their steam yacht has been captured by a gang ofpirates in possession of a large steamer, and led by a European."

  At the end of the telegram followed--"We understand that Captain Lesterhas been ordered to take the necessary steps to recapture Mr. Hobbs'syacht."

  My Aunt! Wasn't that news? You can just fancy how I almost felt sickall over with excitement, and how frightfully important I felt at beingthe only one going to that ship, with a chance of chasing pirates. HowI wished it was possible for Jim to come too. We thought and thought ofany number of schemes, and then, "Let's telegraph to Captain Lester," heburst out; and we hunted out every penny we had in our chests, rushedashore, jumped into a double rickshaw, and went off like mad to theEastern Telegraph Office. The _Marmora_ was lying at Tanjong Pagarwharf, and we needn't have gone fifty yards, if we'd known, but we droveright into the town.

  When we got there our courage began to ooze away, because I knew it wasa frightfully cheeky thing to do; but Jim bucked me up, and thetelegraph people helped us, and put the best address they could thinkof. What we sent was: "Midshipman Rawlings chum mine wants come_Vigilant_--Ford Midshipman", and that took nearly all our money.Neither of us cared a "rap" about that, though, so long as CaptainLester would ask for Jim.

  We were half-dead with funk at what we'd done when we got outside theoffice, but Jim cheered me up by saying, "we couldn't get hanged", andthat they wouldn't send us home again, because of the expense, so wedrove back fairly happy, though I couldn't sleep much that night forwondering whether the Captain would think me frightfully impertinent.He was terrible when he was angry.

  We were a week punching up to Hong-Kong. It seemed a month, and when wedid get there, both Jim and I were waiting at the gangway for theofficer of the guard to board her, hoping to hear from Captain Lester.Of course there was nothing at all for us from him, and I was ordered togo across to H.M.S. _Tyne_, store-ship, for passage to the _Vigilant_,whilst Jim and the three cadets had to go aboard the _Tamar_, thereceiving ship, always stationed there. Jim didn't say anything, butwent down the gangway with his lips firmly pressed together, and I, verymiserable, went across to the _Tyne_ and wandered about her great wardroom like a lost sheep all the afternoon, getting in everyone's way,till I got into a corner, and wrote a long letter home.

  I couldn't keep miserable very long, though, because we unmooreddirectly after dark, and at last I was really off to join the_Vigilant_, and in the excitement forgot about Jim. Boats had keptcoming and going, and I hadn't taken any notice of them, and they musthave come over in the last boat, because just as we cast off someonebanged me on the back, and there was Jim Rawlings, grinning all over hisjolly ugly red face, and behind him was that ass Dicky Morton, thejunior of the three cadets, with his silly littl
e eyes almost stickingout of his head with excitement.

  "We're both sent to the _Vigilant_," he squeaked out.

  Well, Jim coming too made me just completely happy, although it was abit toned down by having Dicky Morton with us too. "He's not a badlittle chap when you get used to him," Jim told me, but that was Jim"all over". He was the most unselfish fellow you ever met in the world,would have given you his last shirt if you asked him, and was alwaysstanding by to give a leg up to silly idiots like Dicky.

  He hadn't the least idea why he'd been sent; he'd just been given anorder, signed by the Commodore, and he hadn't heard whether CaptainLester had telegraphed or not. We tried to think that our telegram hadjust done the trick, but then that did not explain why Dicky was here.We didn't worry about anything, though, for long, and simply counted theminutes, and kept our eye on the cherub log all the time. You canimagine what we felt like when we ran into a fog, three days out, andhad to crawl along at about five knots, rolling about in a swell on ourstarboard bow. Our navigator was much too wily a bird to try and makethe Chusan group of islands from the south in that kind of weather, andthat meant another twelve hours steaming; but at last the fog blew away,the sun came out long enough for him to take a sight, and away we wentagain.

  The fifth day out from Hong-Kong we made the islands--you can bet yourboots we were on deck--dodged in between several of them, and then theharbour of Tinghai suddenly opened out, and far away, under a hill, wecould just see a white spot. "That's your ship, the _Vigilant_," asignalman told us as he hoisted the _Tyne's_ number. We got nearer andnearer; she got bigger and bigger. Presently the signalman hauled downthe pendants, and we knew that the _Vigilant_ had seen us, and Iwondered whether Captain Lester would be frightfully angry or not. I wasreally in a funk at meeting him, chiefly because of that telegram.

  We anchored quite close to her, over to us bobbed a steamboat with a big"V" on her bows--our steamboat--my steamboat some day perhaps--and wewere presently bundled in and taken across, the midshipman of the boatwinking at us patronizingly.

  "Have you caught the pirates?" we all asked him.

  "Not yet. You bet! but we're in for some fun. You're lucky beggars, Ican tell you. They're only expecting one mid. Where the dickens d'youother two come from?"

  The first bit made us fearfully excited, but the last part made memiserable again; for it made it quite certain that Captain Lester hadnot asked for Jim Rawlings, and I knew he would be angry with us both ifhe had received that telegram already, or if he ever did get it. Wewere alongside in a jiffy, I climbed up the ladder, and, in myexcitement at being at last on board the _Vigilant_, I forgot to salutethe quarterdeck, and so did Dicky, and the officer of the watch "jumped"on us both and sent us both down below with a flea in our ears. I gotred all over with shame, and it hurt me more because Dicky and I were inthe same box; it wouldn't have been so bad if it had been Jim. TheCaptain was ashore--I was jolly glad of that--and the Commander wasasleep, and didn't want to be disturbed, so we were left to ourselves,and saw our chests lowered into the gunroom flat, jammed together into adark corner, and then we sat down on them for company, swung our legs,and felt miserable.

  We weren't left alone for long, though, and soon we were hauled into thegunroom, where the Sub-lieutenant--a huge, great fellow--made us standin a row in front of him, and asked us silly questions, to make all theothers laugh. Jim and I got through this all right, but Dicky made aperfect little ass of himself--we were frightfully ashamed ofhim--squeaking out all sorts of things about his family and his sisters,and everyone roared with laughter.

  "What do they call you at home?" the Sub asked him.

  "Dicky, sir," the idiot bleated.

  "Don't they ever call you 'dear little Dicky'?" the Sub said coaxingly.He was enjoying himself immensely, and I could almost feel Jim grind histeeth with anger when Dicky smiled feebly, and answered, "Sometimes,sir."

  There were shouts of "dear little Dicky" all round the room, and the assnever saw what an idiot he had made of himself. He was always called"dear little Dicky" afterwards, by the Sub's orders, though there was noneed for orders to make them all do that.

  It was a horribly bad beginning.

  They hadn't any news of the pirates either to cheer us up. They had hadone look for them, but had found nothing, and were now waiting for freshorders.

  Just before it got dark someone sung out that the Captain was comingback with the Fleet Paymaster. I hadn't the courage to go up on deck tolet him see me, but just peeped out of a gunroom scuttle as he camealongside.

  He was so broad and big, that he seemed to fill the galley's sternsheets. He was wearing the same stained old shooting-suit he alwayswore at Upton Overy--I never could remember seeing him in anyother--Blucher, thinner than ever, was squatting between his knees, andthe Fleet Paymaster, with white beard and a still older shooting-suit,was sitting next to him. He threw away the stump of a cigar, helpedBlucher scramble on to the ladder, gave a gruff order to the coxswain,and followed Blucher. He looked so stern, and I felt so afraid of him,that I popped my head in again lest he should see me, and waited, hotand cold, expecting him to send for me. I wasn't so silly as to thinkthat he would want to see _me_, but I knew that he would want to hearall about Mrs. Lester and the girls.

  Jim knew how frightened I was, and promised that directly I was sentfor, he and Dicky would bring along the packing-case which Mrs. Lesterhad sent, and put it outside his cabin door, so that I could get at itvery quickly.

  And then I remembered that pot of cranberry jam, and hunted for it in mychest. I couldn't find it anywhere. Jim asked what I was looking for,and he helped too. Suddenly he stopped, his face quite white.

  "Was it a white jar with the top covered with brown paper?"

  "Yes, it was," I told him, and knew that something awful was going tohappen.

  "I emptied it," he groaned; "ate the whole lot, half-way from Aden."

  I went cold all over, and just then the sentry sang out that the Captainwanted me, and I shuffled aft, knocked at the door, heard the Captain'sgrowl "Come in!" could hardly turn the handle for fright, went in, andstood before him absolutely speechless.

  He was reading a letter--we'd brought a mail with us in the _Tyne_--anddidn't look up for a moment or two, and just in that time, jolly oldBlucher stretched himself, came over, smelt me, got up on his hind legsand licked my face before I could prevent him. I could have hugged him,because that did the trick, and made me forget all about the jam and thetelegram--for the moment.

  "Hello, Dick! Got here at last?" and the Captain looked up, and heldout his great red hand. "How's the Missus and the girls? Where's thatbox of things she tells me she gave you?"

  "Outside, sir," I squeaked--like Dicky--and simply rushed out. Jim andDicky had just brought it along, and I dragged it in.

  "Umph! Don't spoil my carpet. Where's Willum? Willum!" the Captainshouted, "come and open this box." "Willum"--I never knew hissurname--was his valet, and between us we soon had the box open, theCaptain all the time asking me questions.

  "I had a number of messages for you, sir, from people in Upton Overy.I've got them all--nearly all of them--down in my notebook."

  "Where is it?" he growled. "Read 'em out."

  But I'd left it down in my chest purposely, so that I could get a"breather", and when I ran down to get it, Jim was waiting for me.

  "Anything about the telegram or the jam?" he asked anxiously.

  "Not yet; things are going all right so far;" and I raced back and beganreading the messages, till I came to the station master's, and then Igot red and spluttered a bit and didn't read it, but went on to Ned thePoacher's about the pheasants.

  "Like his darned cheek!" the Captain roared, purple in the face. "I'llshoot him the first time I catch him! He knows that, and keeps clearwhen I'm about. What's become of his wife and kids?"

  I told him, and then--I knew it must come out sooner or later--blurtedout, "and Puddock, the station master, asked me, sir,
to tell you thatthey were both 'fair to middling', and 'his pigs have won first prizethis year at Barnton'. Mrs. Puddock, sir, sent you a pot of cranberryjam, but--but----"

  "Where is it, Dick? She's made me a pot every year since I went to the_Britannia_. Bring it out."

  Well, there was nothing else to be done. I simply quaked with fear andstuttered out: "Jim ate it, sir--I mean we both ate it," and then,before he could say anything, I explained that Jim Rawlings had thoughtit was mine, and that it would be a good joke to eat it without myknowing.

  I suppose I looked so terrified that he hadn't the heart to be angry.He gurgled and growled and got red in the face, and I waited to seewhether it was going to be with amusement or anger, and oh! I was sothankful, it was only amusement.

  He sent me away then. "You'll shake down all right; glad to have you inmy ship;" and though I longed to ask him whether there was any chance ofgoing for those pirates, I hadn't the pluck to do so, and bolted like arabbit.

  H.M.S. "Vigilant"]