第 48 页

we can; with our light draught we can lie well inside of the others,

and shall be in comparatively smooth water."

Before dusk the Fleet was at anchor, with the exception of two or

three of the fastest frigates, which were sent on to endeavour to

obtain some news of the enemy.

CHAPTER XX

THE FIGHT OFF DUNKIRK

As soon as the _Fan Fan_ had been brought to an anchor the boat was

lowered, and Cyril was rowed on board the Admiral's ship.

Albemarle was on the poop, and Cyril made his report to him.

"Very well, sir," the Duke said, "I dare say I shall be able to make

you of some use. Keep your craft close to us when we sail. I seem to

know your face."

"I am Sir Cyril Shenstone, my Lord Duke. I had the honour of meeting

you first at the fire in the Savoy, and Prince Rupert afterwards was

good enough to present me to you."

"Yes, yes, I remember. And it was you who saved the _Henrietta_ from

the fire-ship at Lowestoft. You have begun well indeed, young sir,

and are like to have further opportunities of showing your bravery."

Cyril bowed, and then, going down the side to his boat, returned to

the _Fan Fan._ She was lying in almost smooth water, and Sydney had

come up on deck again.

"You heard no news of the Dutch, I suppose, Cyril?"

"No; I asked a young officer as I left the ship, and he said that, so

far as he knew, nothing had been heard of them, but news had come in,

before the Admiral sailed from the Downs, that everything was ready

for sea, and that orders were expected every hour for them to put

out."

"It is rather to be hoped that they won't put out for another two

days," Sydney said. "That will give the Prince time to rejoin with

his squadron. The wind is favourable now for his return, and I should

think, as soon as they hear in London that the Dutch are on the point

of putting out, and Albemarle has sailed, they will send him orders

to join us at once. We have only about sixty sail, while they say

that the Dutch have over ninety, which is too heavy odds against us

to be pleasant."

"I should think the Duke will not fight till the Prince comes up."

"I don't think he will wait for him if he finds the Dutch near. All

say that he is over-confident, and apt to despise the Dutch too much.

Anyhow, he is as brave as a lion, and, though he might not attack

unless the Dutch begin it, I feel sure he will not run away from

them."

The next morning early, the _Bristol_ frigate was seen returning

from the east. She had to beat her way back in the teeth of the wind,

but, when still some miles away, a puff of white smoke was seen to

dart out from her side, and presently the boom of a heavy gun was

heard. Again and again she fired, and the signal was understood to be

a notification that she had seen the Dutch. The signal for the

captains of the men-of-war to come on board was at once run up to the

mast-head of the flagship, followed by another for the Fleet to be

prepared to weigh anchor. Captain Bacon, of the _Bristol_, went on

board as soon as his ship came up. In a short time the boats were

seen to put off, and as the captains reached their respective ships

the signal to weigh anchor was hoisted.

This was hailed with a burst of cheering throughout the Fleet, and

all felt that it signified that they would soon meet the Dutch. The

_Fan Fan_ was under sail long before the men-of-war had got up their

heavy anchors, and, sailing out, tacked backwards and forwards until

the Fleet were under sail, when Cyril told the boatswain to place her

within a few cables' length of the flagship on her weather quarter.

After two hours' sail the Dutch Fleet were made out, anchored off

Dunkirk. The Blue Squadron, under Sir William Berkley, led the way,

the Red Squadron, under the Duke, following.

"I will put a man in the chains with the lead," the boatswain said to

Cyril. "There are very bad sands off Dunkirk, and though we might get

over them in safety, the big ships would take ground, and if they did

so we should be in a bad plight indeed."

"In that case, we had best slack out the sheet a little, and take up

our post on the weather bow of the Admiral, so that we can signal to

him if we find water failing."

The topsail was hoisted, and the _Fan Fan,_ which was a very fast

craft in comparatively smooth water, ran past the Admiral's flagship.

"Shall I order him back, your Grace?" the Captain asked angrily.

Albemarle looked at the _Fan Fan_ attentively.

"They have got a man sounding," he said. "It is a wise precaution.

The young fellow in command knows what he is doing. We ought to have

been taking the same care. See! he is taking down his topsail again.

Set an officer to watch the yacht, and if they signal, go about at

once."

The soundings continued for a short time at six fathoms, when

suddenly the man at the lead called out sharply,--

"Three fathoms!"

Cyril ran to the flagstaff, and as the next cry came--"Two

fathoms!"--hauled down the flag and stood waving his cap, while the

boatswain, who had gone to the tiller, at once pushed it over to

starboard, and brought the yacht up into the wind. Cyril heard orders

shouted on board the flagship, and saw her stern sweeping round. A

moment later her sails were aback, but the men, who already clustered

round the guns, were not quick enough in hauling the yards across,

and, to his dismay, he saw the main topmast bend, and then go over

the side with a crash. All was confusion on board, and for a time it

seemed as if the other topmast would also go.

"Run her alongside within hailing distance," Cyril said to the

boatswain. "They will want to question us."

As they came alongside the flagship the Duke himself leant over the

side.

"What water had you when you came about, sir?"

"We went suddenly from six fathoms to three, your Grace," Cyril

shouted, "and a moment after we found but two."

"Very well, sir," the Duke called back. "In that case you have

certainly saved our ship. I thought perhaps that you had been

over-hasty, and had thus cost us our topmast, but I see it was not

so, and thank you. Our pilot assured us there was plenty of water on

the course we were taking."

The ships of the Red Squadron had all changed their course on seeing

the flagship come about so suddenly, and considerable delay and

confusion was caused before they again formed in order, and, in

obedience to the Duke's signal, followed in support of the Blue

Squadron. This had already dashed into the midst of the Dutch Fleet,

who were themselves in some confusion; for, so sudden had been the

attack, that they had been forced to cut their cables, having no time

to get up their anchors.

The British ships poured in their broadsides as they approached,

while the Dutch opened a tremendous cannonade. Besides their great

inferiority in numbers, the British were under a serious

disadvantage. They had the weather gauge, and the wind was so strong

that it heeled them over, so that they were unable to open their

lower ports, and were therefore deprived of the use of their heaviest

guns.

Four of the ships of the Red Squadron remained by the flagship, to

protect her if attacked, and to keep off fire-ships, while her crew

laboured to get up another topmast. More than three hours were

occupied in this operation, but so busily did the rest of the Fleet

keep the Dutch at work that they were unable to detach sufficient

ships to attack her.

As soon as the topmast was in place and the sails hoisted, the

flagship and her consorts hastened to join their hard-pressed

comrades.

The fight was indeed a desperate one. Sir William Berkley and his

ship, the _Swiftsure,_ a second-rate, was taken, as was the

_Essex,_ a third-rate.

The _Henry,_ commanded by Sir John Harman, was surrounded by foes.

Her sails and rigging were shot to pieces, so she was completely

disabled, and the Dutch Admiral, Cornelius Evertz, summoned Sir John

Harman to surrender.

"It has not come to that yet," Sir John shouted back, and continued

to pour such heavy broadsides into the Dutch that several of their

ships were greatly damaged, and Evertz himself killed.

The Dutch captains drew off their vessels, and launched three

fire-ships at the _Henry._ The first one, coming up on her starboard

quarter, grappled with her. The dense volumes of smoke rising from

her prevented the sailors from discovering where the grapnels were

fixed, and the flames were spreading to her when her boatswain

gallantly leapt on board the fire-ship, and, by the light of its

flames, discovered the grapnels and threw them overboard, and

succeeded in regaining his ship.

A moment later, the second fire-ship came up on the port side, and so

great a body of flames swept across the _Henry_ that her chaplain

and fifty men sprang overboard. Sir John, however, drew his sword,

and threatened to cut down the first man who refused to obey orders,

and the rest of the crew, setting manfully to work, succeeded in

extinguishing the flames, and in getting free of the fire-ship. The

halliards of the main yard were, however, burnt through, and the spar

fell, striking Sir John Harman to the deck and breaking his leg.

The third fire-ship was received with the fire of four cannon loaded

with chain shot. These brought her mast down, and she drifted by,

clear of the _Henry,_ which was brought safely into Harwich.

The fight continued the whole day, and did not terminate until ten

o'clock in the evening. The night was spent in repairing damages, and

in the morning the English recommenced the battle. It was again

obstinately contested. Admiral Van Tromp threw himself into the midst

of the British line, and suffered so heavily that he was only saved

by the arrival of Admiral de Ruyter. He, in his turn, was in a most

perilous position, and his ship disabled, when fresh reinforcements

arrived. And so the battle raged, until, in the afternoon, as if by

mutual consent, the Fleets drew off from each other, and the battle

ceased. The fighting had been extraordinarily obstinate and

determined on both sides, many ships had been sunk, several burnt,

and some captured. The sea was dotted with wreckage, masts, and

spars, fragments of boats and _debris_ of all kinds. Both fleets

presented a pitiable appearance; the hulls, but forty-eight hours ago

so trim and smooth, were splintered and jagged, port-holes were

knocked into one, bulwarks carried away, and stern galleries gone.

The sails were riddled with shot-holes, many of the ships had lost

one or more masts, while the light spars had been, in most cases,

carried away, and many of the yards had come down owing to the

destruction of the running gear.

In so tremendous a conflict the little _Fan Fan_ could bear but a

small part. Cyril and Lord Oliphant agreed, at the commencement of

the first day's fight, that it would be useless for them to attempt

to fire their two little guns, but that their efforts should be

entirely directed against the enemy's fire-ships. During each day's

battle, then, they hovered round the flagship, getting out of the way

whenever she was engaged, as she often was, on both broadsides, and

although once or twice struck by stray shots, the _Fan Fan_ received

no serious damage. In this encounter of giants, the little yacht was

entirely overlooked, and none of the great ships wasted a shot upon

her. Two or three times each day, when the Admiral's ship had beaten

off her foes, a fire-ship directed its course against her. Then came

the _Fan Fan's_ turn for action. Under the pressure of her twelve

oars she sped towards the fire-ship, and on reaching her a grapnel

was thrown over the end of the bowsprit, and by the efforts of the

rowers her course was changed, so that she swept harmlessly past the

flagship.

Twice when the vessels were coming down before the wind at a rate of

speed that rendered it evident that the efforts of the men at the

oars would be insufficient to turn her course, the _Fan Fan_ was

steered alongside, grapnels were thrown, and, headed by Lord Oliphant

and Cyril, the crew sprang on board, cut down or drove overboard the

few men who were in charge of her. Then, taking the helm and trimming

the sails, they directed her against one of the Dutch men-of-war,

threw the grapnels on board, lighted the train, leapt back into the

_Fan Fan_, rowed away, and took up their place near the Admiral, the

little craft being greeted with hearty cheers by the whole ship's

company.

The afternoon was spent in repairing damages as far as practicable,

but even the Duke saw it was impossible to continue the fight. The

Dutch had received a reinforcement while the fighting was going on

that morning, and although the English had inflicted terrible damage

upon the Dutch Fleet, their own loss in ships was greater than that

which they had caused their adversaries. A considerable portion of

their vessels were not in a condition to renew the battle, and the

carpenters had hard work to save them from sinking outright.

Albemarle himself embarked on the _Fan Fan_, and sailed from ship to

ship, ascertaining the condition of each, and the losses its crew had

suffered. As soon as night fell, the vessels most disabled were

ordered to sail for England as they best could. The crew of three

which were totally dismasted and could hardly be kept afloat, were

taken out and divided between the twenty-eight vessels which alone

remained in a condition to renew the fight.

These three battered hulks were, early the next morning, set on fire,

and the rest of the Fleet, in good order and prepared to give battle,

followed their companions that had sailed on the previous evening.

The Dutch followed, but at a distance, thinking to repair their

damages still farther before they again engaged. In the afternoon the

sails of a squadron were seen ahead, and a loud cheer ran from ship