14 - Blake of the "Rattlesnake" - The Day Before

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter fourteen of Blake of the Rattlesnake. This is a
LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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This recording is by Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina.

(00:22):
Blake of the Rattlesnake by Frederick T. Jane, Chapter fourteen.
The day before, on twenty ninth October, the time being
ripe and our preparations complete, we put to sea with
a fleet consisting of HMSS Rattlesnake, Niger, Hornet, Dasher, Speedy,

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five torpedo boats, and the colliers Elizabeth E. Greenwood, Lily,
Blanche and Emerald Lass, which last two we have managed
to pick up during our stay at Lamblash. There should
have been any more vessels, but alas they had gone
to join the Great Majority since that meeting in the
vernon the Alta we left behind. She was too cumbersome

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to be of use with us. Blake sent the Lily
over to Glasgow as we left, with instructions to let
it be discovered that a British cruiser was or had
been hiding at Lamlash. The report soon found its way
to the enemy, and later Lieutenant Orchardston, who was left
behind with a torpedo boat to defend our base, managed

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to blow up a hostile vessel that crossed our minefield
with a view to reconnoitering the harbor. The Lily, having
rejoined our flotilla, made for Loose Bay, which was reached
in the early morning without anything hostile being sighted. Spending
the day here, as soon as it was dusk, we
set off again over a practically deserted sea. Once we

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met a fishing smack who, taking us to be an enemy,
crowded on all sail and tried to escape. A torpedo
boat overhauling him learned from a terrified fisherman that an
immense Russian ship was lying somewhere in Milford Haven. This was,
though we did not know it then none other than

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the celebrated Ruric. Anxious as he was not to knowingly
leave an enemy in our wake, our commodore hesitated to
risk his torpedo boats in an attempt to destroy the warship,
and he would probably have led her alone, but for
the project unfolded by Borsett Senior. This was nothing less

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than to get into the water with a torpedo, swim
to near the Russian and then let the weapon go
on its era and of destruction. Since leaving this vessel
behind might involve us in unforeseen difficulties, Blake at last
consented to the arrangement, and number fifty four went off
towards Dale Road, getting into Jack's Sound without betraying her

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presence to anyone. When night fell, Borset's boats steamed cautiously
to the mouth of the haven, and there lowered her dinghy. Fortunately,
the water was smooth and the night dark and foggy.
While the British fleet being presumably non existent, the Russians
were not likely to be expecting any attack. Nevertheless, they

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had boats out patrolling round the ship, which made it
impossible for the dinghy to get anywhere near her. However,
as but for these boats, the Borsets might have hunted
in vain for their quarry in the darkness, the circumstance was,
on the whole a favorable one. The cruiser was lying
close inshore by Saint Anne's Head, and the boats covered

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a semicircle some two thousand yards to seaward of her,
the land side being left quite unguarded, the dinghy which
contained the two Borsets and a blue jacket, rowed back
to number fifty four, and after a consultation there in
towards the seashore, where after a while they found a

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landing place, and here by superhuman efforts, the three of
them got the torpedo up over the cliffs and down
again into Dale Flats. The first streak of dawn was
already in the sky when mister Borset, with a life
buoy around him, entered the water with the torpedo. The
tide carried him out to where the Ruric was lying,

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some half mile from his starting point, and he had
covered more than half the distance when a Russian with
sharper eyes than his fellows noticed him and fired a rifle.
The shot was followed by a volley, but a man
in the water is a poor target at the best
of times, and mister Borset was able to push the
torpedo ahead of him, set the motive power to work,

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and let her go, and a minute later the career
of the Ruric was ended for many weeks to come.
The gallot civilian w was nearly dead from cold and exposure,
and would have been drowned if his son and the
blue Jacket had not swum out to him. As it was,
he had to be left in a cottage ashore. Borset's

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boat joined us soon after sunrise with news of the
successful enterprise, a long and interesting account of which appears
in a Civilian's Reminiscences of the War by John Borset,
wherein the author modestly states that he got the idea
from a similar episode that occurred in the Maneuvers several

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years before. Just before sunrise went off the scillies we
made out a cruiser bearing down upon us, and failure
seemed to again threaten our enterprise, for though our warships
could give her the heels, the colliers were only too
likely to fall a prey, so there was nothing for
it but to fight it out. Our torpedo boats were

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skulking behind the colliers, and the enemy apparently took the
whole lot of us for merchant men, all of us
being disguised. It was getting dark before she came within
range of our aftermost collier we had straggled out in
apparent flight, the Emerald last stopped directly. The cruiser fired,
and the boats, coming suddenly out, torpedoed the vessel before

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she had got over her surprise, and two torpedoes striking her.
She sank almost immediately. Blake steamed back to the spot
and found a few French sailors in one of their boats.
As these were they picked up by their friends, would
have given information about us. We tried to take them prisoners,

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but they made a desperate and gallant resistance before they
were overcome and taken on board one of the colliers.
This task accomplished, we put into Penzance, and great was
the terror our arrival created in the morning, for we
flew the Russian flag, lying inshore all day and getting

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provisions in water, which we took without asking for the
people it all fled from the town. We left as
night came on, and daybreak next morning found us inside
Exmouth Bar, where a couple of ancient forts had been
reduced to ruins by a hostile cruiser a few days before.
It was a thick, heavy night coming round, and we

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saw nothing of the ironclads supposed to be beleaguering Plymouth
beyond a stray ship that nearly ran down Number forty
five and got torpedoed in return. The solent was our objective,
and Blake did not wish to risk an alarm reaching
there for the sake of destroying a few ships off
Plymouth that could very well wait till we came back again.

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At Exmouth, where we still posed as Russians, Blake and
many others of us went ashore to get such newspapers
as were obtainable. As an English speaking Russian. Our commodore
interviewed some of the principal residents under a flot of truce,
and getting hold of one who appeared to be trustworthy,

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revealed his true identity to him. The latter, who was
taken completely by surprise on his part, told Blake that
he had sent a messenger to Limpstone, the nearest telegraph office,
with instructions to wire to Exeter for troops that must
already be on their way. This was an awkward contretemp.

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We did not wish to shoot down our own countrymen,
but on the other hand, if they once got to
hear that we were an English force, the news might
reach the enemy and our great attack prove a failure. Finally,
Blake decided to stay where we were under the flag
of truce, and when the military arrived, a company of

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the Devonshire regiment militia and a half battalion of volunteers.
They seemed disposed to go for our small force right away,
and were with difficulty restrained. Of course, course, when Blake
explained matters in confidence to Colonel top Higgins, the officer
in command, the latter withdrew his troops, who were given

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to understand that an armistice was arranged till the evening,
and they spent the rest of the day in putting
up entrenchments on the hill around the church. I do
not know how it was that none of them recognized
our uniforms, unless it was that all naval uniforms are
very similar to each other, and they could hardly be
expected to be familiar with the details of the Russian one. Anyway,

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everybody seemed satisfied as to our foreign origin, and we
were congratulating ourselves on a day in harbor without further trouble,
when an incident occurred that nearly wrecked all our plans.
The residents, on learning that no fighting was likely to
take place for several hours, got over their first terror,

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and soon we were surrounded by quite a crowd of people,
curious to behold the dreaded oh we, I should explain,
were on the beach. The townsfolk promenaded on the sea
wall to gaze at us, and it was while idly
watching the procession that my eye lighted on a figure
that seemed familiar to me, A lady dressed in deep mourning.

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She or the people she was with, had just stopped
to look at the supposed Russians when she came almost
face to face with Blake. For a moment they faced
each other in silent astonishment. Then with a cry Edward,
my darling, my love, you were not dead after all,
she rushed down the steps, and Blake held her in

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his arms. He would have been more than human to
have been able to keep up the Russian disguise, and
a moment later we were known to be English. Cheers
rent the air. An enthusiastic crowd fell about us. We
were welcomed as the saviors of a nation. The news
spread like wildfire. Our carefully kept secret was ours no longer.

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It was the property of a thousand tongues. Then it
was that Gern of the Hornet saved us, realizing that
unless immediate measures were taken, the news would soon spread
beyond the limits of Exmouth. He hastened to the soldiers
and persuaded the colonel to form a cordon round the town.

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Recognized the importance of this precaution that officer at once
posted his men with instructions to shoot anyone attempting to
force a passage through. Nor was he a moment too soon,
for several people were captured, some of them after a
lengthy chase. Who had started for the nearest telegraph office
to flash the good news about the country. Blake and

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Miss Monckton had disappeared, nor did he rejoin us until
it was time to be getting back to the ships.
She and her father came down to the boat to
see Blake off, and I could not help overhearing their
farewell words. Miss Monkton, I noticed, had already discarded her
mourning and was now dressed in something light. You are

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quite sure you forgive me, dear, I heard her, saying,
for all I have made you suffer, and now no
longer do we meet. Then we must part again, and
God only knows if I shall ever see you more.
I hear this awful war is nearly over. Oh why
need you go? Why cannot you stay here? My darling?

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He made answer, It is because peace is so near
that I must go. My duty to my country calls me,
and you would not have me go against that. What
we shall do tonight will please God alter the whole
course of the campaign. And if it be faded that
I see you no more yet, will you be happier

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for this meeting than had it not come about? And
giving her one long farewell kiss, he leaped into the
boat and we rowed back to the rattlesnake. Come back,
Come back, she cried to him in anguish, but fate
was inexorable, and no return was possible. Vainly she stood

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in the crimson glow, land and sea around her, dyed
to colors of fire and blood, as she stretched out
white arms towards her lover till the red haze hid
him from her eyes. It was a while in stormy sunset,
such as one as Turner used to paint at this
very place, a fitting accompaniment to the scene, and a

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fitting portent to the bloody sequel now so close at hand.
None of us, as we saw the sun sink behind
the hills, could expect or even hope to see him
rise again. End of chapter