First, they had replaced the light
rail on her gunwale, by heavy solid bulwarks four feet high, surmounted
by hammock nettings, at least another foot, so that the symmetrical
little vessel, that formerly floated on the foam light as a seagull, now
looked like a clumsy dish--shaped Dutch dogger. Her long slender wands
of masts, which used to swig about, as if there were neither shrouds nor
stays to support them, were now as taut and stiff as church steeples,
with four heavy shrouds of a side, and stays and back--stays, and the
Devil knows what all.
"Now," quoth Tailtackle, "if them heave'emtaughts at the yard have not
taken the speed out of the little beauty, I am a Dutchman." Timotheus, I
may state in the bygoing, was not a Dutchman; he was fundamentally any
thing but a Dutchman; but his opinion was sound, and soon verified to my
cost. Jigmaree now approached.
"The Captain wants you in the cabin, sir," said he.
I descended, and found the skipper seated at a table with his clerk
beside him, and several open letters lying before him. "Sit down, Mr
Cringle." I took a chair. "There--read that," and he threw an open
letter across the table to me, which ran as follows:
SIR,
"The Vice--Admiral, commanding on the Jamaica station, desires me to
say, that the bearer, the boatswain of the dockyard, Mr Luke Jigmaree,
has instructions to cruise for, and if possible to fall in with you,
before you weather Cape Maize, and falling in with you, to deliver up
charge of the vessel to you, as well as of the five negroes, and the
pilot, Peter Mangrove, who are on board of her.
Pages:
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553