Thunder On the Sea: A Tim Phillips novel (War at Sea Book 11)

by Richard Testrake

  As the luggers neared, they separated and came up on either side of Mastiff. Swarms of men were to be seen at the luggers’ sides. Phillips, realizing that he was a passenger here and Fitzhugh was commanding the brig, wondered how they were loaded. Fitzhugh reported all guns were loaded with ball. He felt a quick way to get the pirates attention was to give them a broadside of those thirty-two pound iron balls travelling at over 800 feet in a second. The reload for the discharged guns would be grapeshot to help thin out the swarms of boarders aboard the pirates.

  Eying the closest lugger, Phillips could see only a pair of guns aboard. These were mounted midships between the fore and main masts, on each beam. The guns appeared to be old French eight-pounders. These guns could be deadly if loaded with the proper ammunition.

  Turning to the brig’s captain, he advised, “Captain Fitzhugh, I will be grateful if you do not allow those fellows to fire into us at close range.”

  “Do you wish me to fire a warning shot, sir? I was afraid that would make them sheer off.”

  “Fire away, Captain Fitzhugh. If they reply, give them a broadside, and reload with grape.” The lugger to starboard edged closer, spilling her wind to avoid closing too rapidly. Fitzhugh ordered the brig to come to starboard a few points, which allowed the starboard six-pounder to bear on the pirate. As alarmed shouts came from the lugger, the gun roared and slammed back until stopped by its breaching cables, pitching the shot just ahead of the lugger’s bow.

  Phillips rather expected the lugger to get the message and to sheer off. She did not. Instead, a fellow with a ridiculously large hat got behind his gun and began directing men with crows to shift the gun from one side to another.

  Wasting no more time, Fitzhugh ordered the ports opened and the guns to fire. As the big guns exploded, the marines leaped to their feet and began firing their muskets. Those heavy iron balls, belched from the muzzles of the carronades and striking the lightly constructed lugger, dis-assembled the boat. One moment it was there, and the next, it was in bits and pieces on the waves.

  Now the lugger to port made its move to escape. Fitzhugh had no gunners manning the guns of that side. All of his men were on the starboard guns. No matter, it was only a few steps across the deck. In seconds, the crews were at the portside guns. In a few more seconds, these guns fired also. There was not the instant destruction of the previous discharge this time. This lugger was farther away and not all shots fired hit. Enough did hit to smash the pirate’s port beam. The little lugger could not live with such a savage wound and immediately began to fill and sink.

  Few crew members of either boat stayed on the surface long. Those who did manage to remain afloat were soon joined by sharks that had been pacing the ships. The sharks began making their slashing attacks against the struggling survivors and then they were gone.

  Phillips’ steward Jacobs, emerged from a hatch with a screaming child in his arms. Mary came behind with the other infant. Jacobs appeared incongruous holding a child while wearing a cutlass at his side and a pair of Navy Sea Service pistols in his sash, ‘Just in case!’ The goat clambered unassisted up the ladder and made her way to the site of her stable, now taken apart and stowed away.

  Mary appeared white-faced and terrified after her confinement in a pitch black compartment with her only companions, an ancient, feeble servant, two infants and a goat. After gaining the sunlight however, she made not a word of complaint, but took charge of both children and began the attempt to soothe them.

  The great cabin had been knocked down when the brig cleared for action, but the crew soon had everything put back together again. One item was missing. A temporary partition had divided Phillip’s sleeping compartment. Mary had used one of the small compartments while Phillips used the other. Mary had a hanging bed the carpenter had constructed for her, but now it was in the plain sight of all with business inside the owner’s quarters.

  Mary and the babies had had a difficult morning and paid the matter no mind. She stretched out with a child in each arm and soon both babies were quiet and sleeping.

  The carpenter took this moment to come in with his crew, and with exaggerated care, began erecting the misplaced partition.

  Mastiff continued on her way toward Spanish waters. As the brig neared the Spanish island of Cuba, a lone sail was spotted ahead. It appeared to be a cutter, which the brig’s sailing master thought might be a Spanish Guarda Costa. Mastiff approached cautiously, coming to the wind outside gunshot range. It would mean a long pull for the oarsmen in the boat but no one could say they were trying to surprise the vessel.

  The Spanish cutter was not quite so shy. She approached within a cables length of Mastiff, then came to herself. An officer in ornate uniform climbed down into his boat, which was crewed by a dozen ragged individuals.

  The boat was pulled over to Mastiff, where Captain Fitzhugh busied himself organizing the welcoming ceremony. As the Spanish officer made his way up the brig’s side to the entry port, the bosun’s mates set their pipes twittering while the marines did their customary stamp and clash. The unusual thing of course was instead of red uniforms, these wore green.

  Phillips stood beside Fitzhugh to greet the Spanish officer. Fortunately, this officer was fluent in the English language and there was no difficulty understanding each other. The officer expressed his puzzlement at the green-coated marines. “Were they perhaps a new unit of His Majesty’s forces?”

  Phillips led the way into his quarters. There, he explained to his guest his purpose for being in these waters. He assured the Spanish lieutenant of the purely civilian nature of their travels, explaining he himself had purchased the brig at auction from the British government. After spending a fortune converting it to a private yacht, he intended to sail it to those parts of the world he had been unable to visit during the war. He shouted for Mary to come into his quarters.

  The situation had been explained to Mary before the officer had been pulled across. She readily agreed to have the partition pulled down in the great cabin so as to make it appear she and Phillips were wed. She had even had time to don a most splendid gown which had been purchased in the Canaries.

  After introducing Mary, Phillips again explained the brig’s presence to the officer, emphasizing he and his lady were enjoying a yachting expedition and hoped to spend some time in Spanish waters. He hoped there would be no difficulties with their travels locally.

  The Spanish officer identified himself. He was Lieutenant Alvarez y Morales, commanding the Guarda Costa cutter Cesar. Some years ago, his ship was taken in the Battle of Trafalgar, and he spent some time ashore in Britain. Then, after Spain changed sides in the war, he spent a year on a British three-decker line of battleship as a sort of advisor or coordinator to an admiral. Following those experiences, he had developed a fine sense of camaraderie with the British people, which he repeatedly explained to Captain Phillips.

  Phillips reiterated his message that Mastiff had no connection with the Royal Navy. He was merely sailing through tropical waters and enjoying the climate. He hoped to make port soon so that he could replenish his food supplies. He wondered whether Señor Lieutenant Alvarez y Morales had any advice for him.

  Alvarez explained, while he himself believed implicitly in Captain Phillips integrity, there was sometimes a problem when dealing with shoreside officials. As Captain Phillips perhaps already knew, the Spanish government was very reluctant to allow non-Spanish shipping to enter her colonial waters. It was not beyond the realm of possibility that if he entered a Spanish port, his ship might be forfeit. Perhaps it would be better if he turned around and sailed for home.

  As Alvarez made his farewell at the entry ort, before descending to his boat, he made one more request of Captain Phillips.

  “Please Captain, I beg you to remain well clear of Cuba. It would reflect ill upon both of us if you were to visit that island. The Viceroy is certain the British government is behind the activities of the insurrections of these parts. Any visit by your ship will doubtl
ess have unfortunate consequences.”

  As a token of his esteem, Phillips presented Alvarez with a case of Canary wine. They made their farewells and the Spanish vessel sailed off toward Cuba.

  Phillips was a little disappointed at this revelation, since he wished to visit Cuba himself. However, there were plenty of other parts of Spanish America to visit, some perhaps not quite as unfriendly.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Mastiff ranged down the coastline on Central America, hoping to find a port where she was welcome. Once, she was warned away when a fortress fired on her. On two other occasions Guarda Costa craft stopped them, examined their papers and sent them on. Of course, several British ports were available to them in the area, but the delicacy of the mission forbade their use unless in dire emergency.

  The officers were becoming concerned about provisions. The brig was in no actual danger, since she could always sail on over to visit one of the British controlled islands. This action however would put ‘Paid’ to the secret mission. A major difficulty surfaced when it was discovered there were few accurate charts of the area on the ship.

  Of course, when Mastiff left European waters, she had the relevant charts for the major Spanish ports in the southern continent of the New World. The problem was, however, Spanish officials did not welcome ships from other nations in these ports. It was hoped that the officials in the smaller ports might prove to be less strict.

  Mastiff’s sailing master received a welcome answer to the problem when the brig spoke a down-at-the-heels Spanish cargo vessel. The ship, far from its home in Spain, was uncertain of its position. Both Evers, the sailing master, and Mary Ferguson, Captain Phillips’ friend, were slightly familiar with the Spanish language. The two determined the needs of the Spanish captain and Evers wrote down their position on paper. In return, the pair begged that captain to let them copy his charts.

  Evers was a fine draftsman, and in a short time, had drawn up as fine a chart of the area as anyone might wish to see. Exchanging gifts of Canary wine and Cuban cigars, the ships went their separate ways.

  Closeted together in Phillips great cabin, Mister Evers, Mary Ferguson and Captain Fitzhugh went over the chart and determined a nearby port on the northern shoulder of South America might be worthwhile visiting.

  Vera Cruz was an unimportant port, tiny and used primarily for the shipment of locally produced agricultural commodities. Their chart gave no indication of the size of the community or who the local dominant official might be. It did show a harbor with an easy approach and plenty of space for mooring ship. There was even limited docking space available, at a ramshackle pier, although Mister Evers thought it might be wise to distrust the depths shown on his copy of the Spanish chart.

  On their way to Vera Cruz, one of the ubiquitous Spanish Guarda Costa vessels spotted them. Phillips did not really wish to speak with her Captain, knowing he would probably be warned off. The thought of just ignoring the vessel crossed his mind, but in the end he ordered the ship to come to the wind and await authority.

  With Mary and Mister Evers beside him on the quarterdeck to translate, he awaited the young Spanish officer who was pulled over to the brig. This person was very young indeed, probably not older than 18 years of age. Mary, a very attractive woman herself, gushed over the lad’s uniform and sword. Phillips, highly irritated at his friend’s actions, could think of nothing to say or do since he knew nothing of the Spanish language.

  After a certain amount of public flirting, a gun aboard the Spanish vessel fired, bringing the officer to his duty. Ignoring Phillips and Captain Fitzhugh, the officer bid Mary farewell and went back to his vessel.

  An irate Phillips was about to interrogate his passenger as to what the conversation was all about. Mister Evers, within earshot the whole time, interjected his interpretation.

  “Miss Mary told that boy we wanted to visit Vera Cruz. He at first told us we could not and must leave. After Miss Mary complemented him on his uniform and his sword, Miss Mary told the boy she wished to attend mass in the church there, and could he not make an exception in this case?

  The boy told us he would not mention our planned visit to his captain, but he hoped we would make it a fast one, in hopes that his captain would not find out. He did mention the Spanish Viceroy has forbidden any ships other than Spanish to visit their colonial ports.

  After all the trouble encountered trying to find this place, the port visit was a letdown. While it did have a fine harbor, the town itself was little more than a large village. Cattle, pigs and children wandered where they wished on the narrow unpaved streets.

  Donning his oldest pair of boots, in respect to the deep mud, Phillips prepared to go ashore with Mary and Captain Fitzhugh. They had barely stepped ashore when they were stopped by a patrol of barefoot soldiers. These men had nothing save their ragged coats and rusty muskets to prove their official status.

  They were escorted to a semi-ruined building that dated back a century. Ushered into an office, they were cordially greeted by an elaborately uniformed official. This person spoke no English, so again it was necessary for Mary to interpret. The official had no prohibitions to give his guests, but wondered why they had come to his town.

  Phillips gave him the standard script they had been using since before leaving England. He was a wealthy man who had purchased a surplus ship and had it converted into a yacht. He was now sailing about the world in interesting waters. He wished no harm to anyone but the brig was in need of supplies. He hoped he would be permitted to purchase such supplies locally. Payment would be made in silver or gold.

  It was soon learned nothing happened very fast in Vera Cruz and it might be wise to plan on a week or more for the needed supplies to appear in the market. Both beef and pork were needed, along with the salt to preserve the food. Pigs and salt were both plentiful, so there was no problem there. Cattle were much harder to come by, and if beef were insisted upon, a longer wait might be necessary.

  Deciding to forgo the beef, pigs were ordered, which would be slaughtered later in the week. Fruits and vegetables were also required and those crewmen who had never visited this part of the world before, marveled at the strange food.

  Mary occupied herself by visiting local markets and making her own purchases. With her Spanish skills improving day by day, she was able to learn something of the problems in the vicinity.

  Meantime, Phillips had been ordered he and his crew must remain on the ship, being only allowed at the market ashore on specified days, when the foodstuffs arrived. No attention was paid to Mary Ferguson, since as a woman of course, she was incapable of causing trouble. On the second day in the harbor, a dozen or so soldiers appeared on the beach to prevent any Britons from wondering off.

  Two weeks after arriving, the requested provisions had arrived and had been ferried out to the ship. It was now time to leave.

  Mary made one last visit to town, where she said goodbye to the many women she had befriended there. Leaving each of them a simple present, she returned to the ship and they were away.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Once out to sea, Mary closeted herself in her sleeping compartment and spent hours making notes from her memory as to what had been said to her by the women of the town. When these notes were presented to Phillips, he was astonished with the amount of pertinent information.

  Most of the women Mary had spoken with were bitter over the actions of the officials sent over from Spain. While there was no revolutionary activities taking place in the locale presently, such actions could not be ruled out in the future.

  While Phillips thought there was much more to learn on this voyage, if they learned nothing more, they would have done their duty.

  Continuing to follow the coast, Mastiff remained well offshore. Shipping was rare and she was alone much of the time. Phillips wished to visit another town far enough away from Vera Cruz, that no one there would have knowledge of the ship’s prior activities.

  As they continued on course, the mai
n top lookout hesitantly reported a sail ahead. Mister Evers ran up the shrouds to have a look for himself. Examining the sighting through his own glass, Evers returned to the quarterdeck and announced it was a ship rigged vessel and it was heading toward them.

  Reasoning the lookout on that ship ahead might not have seen the smaller brig, Phillips asked Captain Fitzhugh to take Mastiff out to sea, in hopes of evading detection. Now on an easterly heading, the strange sighting soon fell below the horizon and it was thought they had successfully avoided contact. Next morning though, the ship was back, this time far back on their port quarter.

  There was little question now that they had been seen. Phillips decided he would try to out sail the ship, asking Captain Fitzhugh to set all sail he thought proper. The sighting closed their ship, even with the additional canvas.

  It was obvious now, the stranger was a 32 gun frigate. One of a similar type, the Santa Fe, was known to be in these parts, and it was very likely this was that ship. It was obvious, with her greater length and sail plan, this new frigate could handily out sail the brig.

  Reluctantly, Phillips ordered Fitzhugh to bring the ship to the wind and wait for their pursuer. He felt he could probably talk his way out of any unpleasantness. He certainly did not wish to come to blows with this powerful ship. Mastiff laid to, awaiting any instructions from the Spaniard. No signals were flown from the approaching warship.

  Phillips was becoming puzzled. The big ship was approaching rapidly, giving no sign she wished to speak. At long gunshot range, the Spanish frigate was still on their quarter, when smoke blossomed on her bow. She had fired off her starboard bow chase and hoisted the Spanish flag.. The shot was rather closer than the people on the Mastiff would have liked. The ball narrowly missed coming aboard their midships.