“Panic followed, some wanted to fight and two tried to get out of a window at the back but were pushed back at the point of bayonets. Then the door crashed open and young Andrews was shouting for us to surrender. The ones who wanted to fight did so furiously but were quickly killed and we took the rest prisoner, unfortunately one of your men was killed. We brought him back with us but left the others there for their friends to find. I think a bit of forceful questioning of the prisoners will give us some more information James.”
Merriman grinned at Grahame, “Excellent Sir, the plan worked but I must confess that I was very worried about it. Now here’s Peters hovering around with some more coffee so I suggest you have some more and then find your way to your cabin, you look as though you can’t keep your eyes open.” Not having slept all night Merriman followed suit but not before he was sure the injured had been taken care of and all the shore party given a tot of grog. The dead sailor was in the orlop being prepared for a sea burial the next day. Merriman fell asleep well satisfied with the results of the plan.
Chapter 14 - Interrogation of Prisoners
Merriman did not sleep for long, he was awakened by shouting and thumps on the quarterdeck above his head. He was groggily calling for Peters when the cabin door was flung open and an agitated Owen - his cox’n - said “Mr. Laing’s respects Sir. He apologises for disturbing you but needs you on deck urgently.”
“Oh very well then Owen, I shall be there directly.” Apart from his uniform coat he had not taken his clothes off to sleep and it only took a moment to find his shoes, comb his fingers through his hair before climbing up on deck to be greeted by the sight of a group of men standing round a body. “What’s all this then Mr. Laing, why is that man dead?” “Sir, he is one of the four prisoners, one of the deserters I think. He was being questioned by Mr. St James when he pulled a knife from his trouser leg and made a bolt for it. He stabbed a marine Sir, fortunately not seriously, and got up on deck before another marine followed and skewered him with his bayonet.”
“Damn it man, was he not searched for weapons after his capture, and were they not in irons?” Laing gestured to a distraught Andrews who had been in charge of the prisoners. “Yes Sir, I did but never thought to look in his lower trouser leg. He is one of the English deserters Sir and would have known that he would be hanged for it and made a last desperate attempt to escape. We took his chains off when we brought him up for questioning. I’m sorry sir.”
“A pity, now we shall never know what he might have told us.” Merriman looked at a white faced marine with a bloodied bayonet. “What have you to say about this and what is your name?” The man dragged himself up to attention, “Sir, Stokes Sir an' I was one o’ the two guards while Mr. St James was questioning ‘im. I don’t know where ‘e got the knife from Sir but ‘e stabbed me mate an’ climbed up t’companion way Sir. I followed ’im an’ caught ‘im, ’e was going to jump overboard Sir so I stopped ’im. I thought I was doing right Sir” The marine looked into space over Merriman’s shoulder, his face a mixture of feelings, wondering if he had done right and in awe of facing his captain and worried that he would be punished.
Merriman turned to the marine officer, “Mr. St James, I want no action taken against this man, indeed I wish you to make a favourable mention of him in your report.” He turned back to the marine, “Did you hear that Stokes? You did well and Mr. St James will say so in his report. Now go and clean that bayonet, I don‘t want any more blood on my deck.” “Yessir, thank you Sir.” As the very relieved marine left the deck Merriman turned to his Officers and said harshly “I want no repeat of this, these prisoners must be kept in irons at all times, do you understand?” There was a subdued chorus of “Yessir” and then he went back below to tell Mr. Grahame that one of his potential informers was dead.
“If he was a deserter James he won’t be missed but I don’t think he would have been able to tell us much anyway. Being English they would not have trusted him with anything important.”
Having dismissed the fate of the mutineer from his mind, Grahame continued, “Now then, we must ensure that none of the other prisoners has the chance to escape, but how we can make them talk without beating them I’m not sure, beaten and tortured men would be apt to say what they thought we wanted to know but even then one couldn’t trust that information completely.”
“During the time you were ill ashore under the care of Doctor Simpson, Sir, we devised a plan to trick the French prisoners we held into believing that they were to be shot or hanged at the yardarm. Does it seem to you that one of them is their leader or was he killed?”
“I think the man who first spoke to me in The Harlot’s Arms the other night is the leader, he is French and when we arrested them he shouted “Fight but if you live don’t tell the damned English anything.” Merriman told Grahame what had happened and a slow smile crossed Grahame’s face. “By God, James it could work, let us try it.”
The three prisoners were brought on deck and arranged in a line. Looking up they saw the noosed ropes over their head. They knew there was no escape, the grim faced file of marines in front of them made that certain and they could see the ship’s sail maker cutting old canvas into squares, just big enough for bodies to be sewn in. Merriman and Grahame faced the terrified men their faces set like stone. Merriman took the lead, speaking in English he said, “You know what is going to happen to you, don’t you. You are either traitors to England or Frenchmen, my country’s enemies. But if one of you will tell us what we want to know he will have a quick death in front of a firing squad instead of being hanged, or maybe he will be pressed into my crew if what he says is true. Mr. Grahame-----”
Grahame repeated in French and fractured Spanish what Merriman had said. The three trembling men looked at each other before one fell to his knees in front of them, babbling in English “I’ll tell you all I know Sir, don’t kill me Sir, don’t kill me please, I can help you.” The wretched man broke down into loud sobs, shaking his head and covering his face with his hands. The man that Grahame thought to be the leader, spat at him and shouted, “Traitor, coward, they‘ll kill you anyway.” Merriman turned to the marine Officer and said, “Mr. St. James, have some marines take him down to my cabin, the other two can go back below for now.”
Down in Merriman’s cabin it was still swelteringly hot in spite of all the windows and the skylight being open. Merriman and Grahame sat behind the desk facing the trembling man who had to be supported by two marines. “Right fellow, what is your name and how do you come to be mixed up with Frenchmen and privateers?” asked Merriman.
“Plover, Sir, Benjamin Plover Sir, please don’t kill me, I c’n ‘elp you if your honour will let me,” the terrified man stammered. Merriman regarded him with a baleful expression on his face. “Benjamin Plover eh, sounds like you are from Devon or maybe Cornwall, which is it?” “Me Mam’s from Devon Sir, I didn’t know me father Sir and I don’t think me Mam did either. I earned a living from fishin’ but when she died I joined as crew on a merchant ship out of Plymouth Sir. We was taken by privateers near Bermuda I think it was. We couldn’t fight Sir, there was too many of ‘em. They killed the captain and mate and took six of us prisoner and made us crew for them. We would be killed if we did anything wrong Sir. Two of me mates tried to escape one night but they were caught and shot. I can tell you some of the places where the privateers ‘ide Sir.”
“That’s as maybe Plover, we shall see,” said Merriman in a bored tone before telling the marines to take him down to the gunroom. The other two men, both chained, sat fearfully below guarded by marines who looked ready to kill them on any excuse. They heard the muted sound of a volley of musketry and looked at each other, white faced and shaking. Minutes later they were dragged up on deck where they saw what they assumed was the body of the third man lying face down in the scuppers, his shirt covered in blood. One of the men fainted but the other nearest to the rail - the man that Grahame thought was their leader - managed in spite of his chai
ns to throw himself overboard where the weight of them quickly dragged him down to his death.
“Throw some water over that fellow and bring him below” Merriman told Laing, “We’ll see what he will tell us.” When the man was dragged in, Merriman said “What do you know of the activities of privateers and the French in these islands and who informs them about the movements of the King’s ships? Tell me what you can and maybe you will live.”
The man looked at the deck, “What’s the point, you’ll kill me anyway like you did with my mate poor Benjamin. At that point his bladder emptied and he collapsed on the floor. “You marines, drag him out of here and have somebody bring a mop and clean up this mess,” To Grahame he said, ”We’ll let him recover and then show him that Plover isn’t dead and it was all a trick. Maybe he’ll be more co-operative next time.”
“We must remember James, I heard one of the men we killed or arrested in the house said something to the effect that ‘Things were going their way in Jamaica.’ It could be possible that all the French agents and their followers are in some way controlled from one place and one man.”
As Merriman suspected, upon his next interrogation, co-operative the man certainly was, he couldn’t talk fast enough, revealing what he knew about French agents and others who were trying to foment trouble amongst the slaves. Unfortunately he didn’t know much about other islands than Antigua but enough to tell them about the places other than ‘The Harlot’s Arms’ where conspirators might be found in Antigua.
“I think we should take these two ashore to the Admiral and the Senior Army Commander to interrogate further,” said Grahame. “They won’t be as lenient as we have been and surely they will be able to get more out of them. Besides that, they have the men and resources to follow up on anything they discover and they can also follow up on the news we did manage to get from these two.”
“Yes Sir, I agree. Do you wish to stay any longer here in Antigua or are we to move on?” “Eventually we’ll move on James, but first we must wait and see what the army has learned from the prisoners and what they are going to do. If more foreign agents can be found then we might learn more.”
The following morning a harassed Flag Lieutenant came aboard and told them that Admiral Howarth wished to see them at once. Merriman and Grahame arrived at the Admiral's office to find him with a tall, elegant officer dressed in an immaculate red coat with plenty of gold braid, spotless white breeches and black boots polished to a gleaming perfection. He was introduced as Colonel Henry Shawcross, and the officer with him, also immaculately dressed, as Major Heath-Jones.
When they were all settled with refreshment to hand, the Colonel began by thanking Merriman and Grahame for their part in uncovering several groups of French troublemakers. “Marvelous work Gentlemen, in the short time you have been here you have found and captured the kind of men we have been seeking for a long time.”
“The two prisoners you sent to us have been chattering ceaselessly, helped by my sergeant, a big man who would make a stone talk, and we now have a good idea where we may find more of them. Some stay at two isolated plantations and travel around trying to stir up the slaves with their revolutionary talk and they have a ship anchored in a small inlet in the north of Antigua to pass news and information between the islands.”
“Colonel we seem to be getting somewhere, and now I must reveal to you the information we have learned about French dispositions in St Lucia and Martinique,” said Grahame, and he went on to relate what they knew and how they got it.
The colonel sat upright with a start of surprise. “Ye Gods, this is invaluable information Gentlemen, we must send it to Barbados as fast as possible to Sir Charles Grey who should have arrived there by now. He is to be in command of the new expedition being planned. If you could arrange that, Admiral, I would be vastly obliged. In the meanwhile we should acquaint Captain Merriman and Mr. Grahame with what is happening out here. You will realise that an invasion of Martinique and other islands is being planned under the orders of Sir Charles Grey and the ships gathering in the harbour are all part of it. More are expected with more men from various regiments. There is little we can do here to expedite matters so I'll tell you what we propose to do here in Antigua.”
“Colonel, what parts of your plan are we are to be involved in, if at all?” asked Merriman.
The Admiral broke in, “Colonel, if I may interrupt you, it is for me to tell Mr. Merriman what we would like him to do. Gentlemen, the army is ready to start off in the morning, before first light, both infantry and cavalry, to travel as fast as they can to the plantations where we hope these villains might be found. They will catch some but word of our movements will spread quickly and we think that others will move northward to where their ship is hidden to make their escape. That is where you come in. You will have seen that most of my small ships have left here, mostly on short and quick and various missions and patrols. They will be back soon but in the meanwhile I wish you to sail rapidly up the west coast to try and find that ship and take it. I am expecting another sloop here hourly and I will send it up the east side and perhaps between you, you will catch them. I know that you Mr. Merriman have Admiralty orders to help Mr. Grahame with his own duties, indeed the documents you have shown me make that quite clear, but I think that this operation will coincide with your orders. If we do capture a good number then surely much more information might be learned about the activities of pirates and privateers and rebels in and around these islands. What do you say Gentlemen?”
Merriman turned to Grahame with his eyebrows raised, but before he could speak Grahame said, “I think that is an excellent idea Gentlemen. The ship is well supplied for several weeks and we need all the information we can get. Can we start at first light James?” “I do not see why not Sir, we and the crew will be well pleased to get away from the stink in the harbour.”
So it was decided. As they parted the Colonel wished them luck and said he hoped all would go well.
Chapter 15 - Joint Naval and Army Action
First light the next morning found Aphrodite moving out of English Harbour and turning north past Shirley Heights fort and signaling station on to pass up as close as close to the shore as prudent navigation demanded. There were numerous small inlets with small local shipping but nothing like big enough to be a privateer.
Merriman had already told his officers what their task was and enjoined upon them the necessity of everything done to fight one or maybe two privateers. “There may well be hand to hand work if we find one so have all the cutlasses and pikes given an extra edge on the grindstone. We acquitted ourselves well in the encounter with the privateers before we reached Barbados and we must do it again. The Admiral has told me that he intends to send another sloop round the island the other way to try and find our quarry, so between us we should catch something. That is all Gentlemen, I know I can rely on you to a man.”
All morning went by without sight of anything warranting further investigation and Merriman was getting more and more restless, striding up and down the quarter deck with a scowl on his face so that all people there were at pains to keep out of his way. A significant throat clearing behind him interrupting his thoughts made him turn with a harsh remark, to see Mr. Cuthbert the Master standing there. “What the devil is it now Master?”
The master was holding a rolled chart and said “I am sorry to disturb you Sir but I have been going through some of my old notes and some notes and new navigation details about the coast given to me by other Masters while we were at anchor. I think our best chance of finding any privateers will be when we have passed round the northern tip of the island. Of course we must look everywhere we can but if you will look at the chart now Sir I think you will see what I mean.”
“Very well Master, bring it to my cabin and we'll spread it out.” That was soon done and as they bent over it Mr. Cuthbert pointed out certain places. “There are many small places Sir, but the best anchorages can be found in Parham harbour, Guiana Island and Me
rcers creek. I had no idea my chart was so much out of date until I transferred all my new information to it.”
“Indeed, I think you may be right Master, those places certainly seem to have more possibilities. As you know, the army is moving up the island to plantations and other places our prisoners revealed to them with the aim of driving as many rebels and privateers before them as they can and in view of that we could expect them to run to wherever their ship is.” Merriman turned and looked out of the cabin windows while he considered what to do whilst the Master waited quietly for his orders, “Right then Mr. Cuthbert, we must head to those places with all speed. Plot the best course for us and then we will be about it.”
Ashore, in the island the army had been moving steadily northward along well defined roads and in several groups commanded by either a lieutenant or sergeant. They had captured some men by suddenly surrounding those places they had been told of. True, some men had escaped capture and others who had resisted had been killed but Colonel Shawcross was well pleased with the results he had so far. It was noted that the men not captured had all fled northwards as had been hoped.
The Threat in the West Indies (The Merriman Chronicles Book 4) Page 6
