found himself next to two young English officers proceeding in the
same direction. One of these turned sharply round as Jack addressed
his companion.
"Hallo, Jack!"
"Hallo, Harry! What! you here? I had no idea you had got your
commission yet. How are you, old fellow, and how are they all at
home?"
"Every one is all right, Jack. I thought you would have known all
about it. I was gazetted three days after you started, and was ordered
to join at once. We wrote to tell you it."
"I have never had a letter since I left home," Jack said. "I suppose
they are all knocking about somewhere. Every one is complaining about
the post. Well, this is jolly; and I see you are in the 33d too, the
regiment you wanted to get into. When did you arrive?"
"We came in two days ago in the 'Himalaya.' We are encamped with the
rest of the light division who have come up. Sir George Brown commands
us, and will be here from Gallipoli in a day or two with the rest of
the division."
The boys now introduced their respective friends to each other, and
the four wandered together through Constantinople, visited the
bazaars, fixed upon lots of pretty things as presents to be bought and
taken home at the end of the war, and then crossed the bridge again to
Pera, and had dinner at Missouri's, the principal hotel there, and the
great rendezvous of the officers of the British army and navy. Then
they took a boat and rowed across to Scutari, where Harry did the
honors of the camp, and at sundown Jack and his messmate returned on
board the "Falcon."
The next three weeks passed pleasantly, Jack spending all his time,
when he could get leave, with his brother, and the latter often coming
off for an hour or two to the "Falcon." Early in May the news arrived
that the Russians had advanced through the Dobrudscha and had
commenced the siege of Silistria. A few hours later the "Falcon" and
several other ships of war were on their way up the Dardanelles,
convoying numerous store-ships bound to Varna. Shortly afterwards the
generals of the allied armies determined that Varna should be the base
for the campaign against the Russians, and accordingly towards the end
of May the troops were again embarked.
Varna is a seaport, surrounded by an undulating country of park-like
appearance, and the troops were upon their arrival delighted with
their new quarters. Here some 22,000 English and 50,000 French were
encamped, together with 8,000 or 10,000 Turks. A few days after their
arrival Jack obtained leave for a day on shore, and rowed out to
Alladyn, nine miles and a half from Varna, where the light division,
consisting of the 7th, 19th, 23d, 33d, 77th, and 88th regiments, was
encamped. Close by was a fresh-water lake, and the undulated ground
was finely wooded with clumps of forest timber, and covered with
short, crisp grass. No more charming site for a camp could be
conceived. Game abounded, and the officers who had brought guns with
them found for a time capital sport. Everyone was in the highest
spirits, and the hopes that the campaign would soon open in earnest
were general. In this, however, they were destined to be disappointed,
for on the 24th of June the news came that the Turks had unaided
beaten off the Russians with such heavy loss in their attack upon
Silistria that the latter had broken up the siege, and were retreating
northward.
A weary delay then occurred while the English and French home
authorities, and the English and French generals in the field were
settling the point at which the attack should be made upon Russia. The
delay was a disastrous one, for it allowed an enemy more dangerous
than the Russians to make his insidious approaches. The heat was very
great; water bad, indeed almost undrinkable, the climate was
notoriously an unhealthy one, and fruit of all kinds, together with
cucumbers and melons, extremely cheap, and the soldiers consequently
consumed very large quantities of these.
Through June and up to the middle of July, however, no very evil
consequences were apparent. On the 21st of July two divisions of
French troops under General Canrobert marched into the Dobrudscha, in
search of some bodies of Russians who were said to be there. On the
night of the 28th cholera broke out, and before morning, in one
division no less than 600 men lay dead. The other divisions, although
situated at considerable distances, were simultaneously attacked with
equal violence, and three days later the expedition returned, having
lost over 7000 men. Scarcely less sudden or less fatal was the attack
among the English lines, and for some time the English camps were
ravaged by cholera.
Jack was extremely anxious about his brother, for the light division
suffered even more severely than did the others. But he was not able
to go himself to see as to the state of things, for the naval officers
were not allowed to go on shore more than was absolutely necessary.
And as the camp of the light division had been moved some ten miles
farther away on to the slopes of the Balkans, it would have been
impossible to go and return in one day. Such precautions as were
taken, however, were insufficient to keep the cholera from on board
ship. In a short time the fleet was attacked with a severity almost
equal to that on shore, and although the fleet put out to sea, the
flagship in two days lost seventy men.
Fortunately the "Falcon" had left Varna before the outbreak extended
to the ships. The Crimea had now been definitely determined upon as
the point of assault. Turkish vessels with heavy siege guns were on
their way to Varna, and the "Falcon" was ordered to cross to the
Crimea and report upon the advantages of several places for the
landing of the allied army. The mission was an exciting one, as beside
the chance of a brush with shore batteries, there was the possibility
that they might run against some of the Russian men-of-war, who still
held that part of the Black Sea, and whose headquarters were at
Sebastopol, the great fortress which was the main object of the
expedition to the Crimea.
The "Falcon" started at night, and in the morning of the second day
the hills of the Crimea were visible in the distance. The fires were
then banked up and she lay-to. With nightfall she steamed on until
within a mile or two of the coast, and here again anchored. With the
early dawn steam was turned on, and the "Falcon" steamed along as
close to the shore as she dare go, the lead being constantly kept
going, as but little was known of the depth of water on these shores.
Presently they came to a bay with a smooth beach. The ground rose but
gradually behind, and a small village stood close to the shore.
"This looks a good place," Captain Stuart said to the first
lieutenant. "We will anchor here and lower the boats. You, Mr.
Hethcote, with three boats, had better land at that village, get any
information that you can, and see that there are no troops about. If
attacked by a small force, you will of course repel it; if by a strong
one, fall back to your boats, and I will cover your retreat with the
guns of the ship. The other two boats will be employed in sounding.
Let the master have charge of these, and make out, as far as he can, a
perfect chart of the bay."
In a few minutes the boats were lowered, and the men in the highest
glee took their places. Jack was in the gig with the first lieutenant.
The order was given, and the boats started together towards the shore.
They had not gone fifty yards before there was a roar of cannon,
succeeded by the whistle of shot. Two masked batteries, one upon each
side of the bay, and mounting each six guns, had opened upon them. The
cutter, commanded by the second lieutenant, was smashed by a round
shot and instantly sunk. A ball struck close to the stroke-oar of the
gig, deluging its occupants with water and ricochetting over the
gunwale of the boat, between the stroke-oar and Mr. Hethcote. Two shot
hulled the "Falcon," and others whistled through her rigging.
"Pick up the crew of the cutter, Mr. Hethcote, and return on board at
once," Captain Stuart shouted; the engines of the "Falcon" at once
began to move, and the captain interposed the ship between the nearest
battery and the boats, and a few seconds later her heavy guns, which
had previously been got ready for action, opened upon the forts. In
two minutes the boats were alongside with all hands, save one of the
cutter's crew who had been cut in two by the round shot. The men,
leaving the boats towing alongside, rushed to the guns, and the heavy
fire of the "Falcon" speedily silenced her opponents. Then, as his
object was to reconnoitre, not to fight, Captain Stuart steamed out to
sea. He was determined, however, to obtain further information
respecting the bay, which appeared to him one adapted for the purpose
of landing.
"I will keep off till nightfall, Mr. Hethcote. We will then run in as
close as we dare, showing no lights, and I will then ask you to take a
boat with muffled oars to row to the village. Make your way among the
houses as quietly as possible, and seize a couple of fishermen and
bring them off with you. Our interpreter will be able to find out from
them at any rate, general details as to the depth of water and the
nature of the anchorage."
"Who shall I take with me, sir?"
"The regular gig's crew and Mr. Simmonds. He has passed, and it may
give him a chance of promotion. I think, by the way, you may as well
take the launch also; it carries a gun. Do not let the men from it
land, but keep her lying a few yards off shore to cover your retreat
if necessary. Mr. Pascoe will command it."
There was a deep but quiet excitement among the men when at nightfall
the vessel's head was again turned towards shore, and the crews of the
gig and launch told to hold themselves in readiness. Cutlasses were
sharpened and pistols cleaned. Not less was the excitement in the
midshipmen's berth, where it was known that Simmonds was to go in the
gig; but no one knew who was to accompany the launch. However, Jack
turned out to be the lucky one, Mr. Pascoe being probably glad to
please the first lieutenant by selecting his relation, although that
officer would not himself have shown favoritism on his behalf.
It was about eleven o'clock when the "Falcon" approached her former
position, or rather to a point a mile seaward of it as nearly as the
master could bring her, for the night was extremely dark and the land
scarcely visible. Not a light was shown, not a voice raised on board,
and the only sound heard was the gentle splash of the paddles as they
revolved at their slowest rate of speed. The falls had been greased,
the rowlocks muffled, and the crew took their places in perfect
silence.
"You understand, Mr. Hethcote," were Captain Stuart's last words,
"that you are not to attempt a landing if there is the slightest
opposition."
Very quietly the boats left the "Falcon's" side. They rowed abreast
and close to each other, in order that the first lieutenant could give
orders to Mr. Pascoe in a low tone. The men were ordered to row
quietly, and to avoid any splashing or throwing up of water. It was a
longer row than they had expected, and it was evident that the master,
deceived by the uncertain light, had brought the vessel up at a point
considerably farther from the shore than he had intended. As they got
well in the bay they could see no lights in the village ahead; but an
occasional gleam near the points at either side showed that the men in
the batteries were awake and active. As the boat neared the shore the
men rowed, according to the first lieutenant's orders, more and more
gently, and at last, when the line of beach ahead became distinctly
visible, the order was given to lie upon their oars. All listened
intently, and then Mr. Hethcote put on his helm so that the boat which
had still some way on it drifted even closer to the launch.
"Do you hear anything, Mr. Pascoe?"
"I don't know, sir. I don't seem to make out any distinct sound, but
there certainly appears to be some sort of murmur in the air."
"So I think, too."
Again they listened.
"I don't know, sir," Jack whispered in Mr. Pascoe's ear, "but I fancy
that at times I see a faint light right along behind those trees. It
is very faint, but sometimes their outline seems clearer than at
others."
Mr. Pascoe repeated in a low voice to Mr. Hethcote what Jack had
remarked.
"I fancied so once or twice myself," he said. "There," he added
suddenly, "that is the neigh of a horse. However, there may be horses
anywhere. Now we will paddle slowly on. Lay within a boat's length of
the shore, Mr. Pascoe, keep the gun trained on the village, and let
the men hold their arms in readiness."
In another minute the gig's bow grated on the beach. "Quietly, lads,"
the first lieutenant said. "Step into the water without splashing.
Then follow me as quickly as you can."
The beach was a sandy one, and the footsteps of the sailors were
almost noiseless as they stole towards the village. The place seemed
hushed in quiet, but just as they entered the little street a figure
standing in the shade of a house rather larger than the rest, stepped
forward and challenged, bringing, as he did so, his musket to the
present. An instant later he fired, just as the words, "A Russian
sentry," broke from the first lieutenant's lips. Almost simultaneously
three or four other shots were fired at points along the beach. A
rocket whizzed high in the air from each side of the bay, a bugle
sounded the alarm, voices of command were heard, and, as if by
enchantment, a chaos of sounds followed the deep silence which had
before reigned, and from every house armed men poured out.
