Band of Brothers

by Kent, Alexander

  The hull loomed over them, the long bowsprit and jib boom sweeping like a lance. And the figurehead, Poseidon, the god of the sea, resplendent in new gilt paint which alone must have cost a month’s pay. The ‘gilt on the gingerbread’, the sailors called it.

  The coxswain called, ‘Stand by! Bows!’

  The two bowmen stood and tapped their blades together to signal the crew to be ready. A ship shall be judged by her boats… .

  There were other boats at the booms or hooked on to the chains. Bolitho saw a lieutenant gesturing to the launch, heard the coxswain mutter, ‘I can see you, sir!’

  Martyn touched his sleeve. ‘Here we go, Dick.’ Their eyes met. ‘We’ll show them, eh?’

  Like those other times. Not arrogance or conceit. A sort of quiet assurance; he had seen it in the rough and tumble of the midshipmen’s berth, and again in the face of real, chilling danger. All in so short a while, and yet they were like brothers.

  ‘Boat yer oars!’

  The hull lurched against fenders and the coxswain stood by the tiller-bar again, his hat in one hand. He looked at the two midshipmen. One day they’d be like that bloody lieutenant up there at the nettings, waving his arms about.

  But he said, ‘Good luck!’

  They were on their own.

  The officer of the watch checked their names against a well-thumbed list and regarded the newcomers with a cold stare, as if to ensure that they were presentable enough to be allowed further.

  He glanced at Dancer’s leather crossbelt. ‘Take in the slack.’ He looked on critically while Dancer tugged the dirk into place and added, ‘This is the flagship, so don’t you forget it.’ He signalled to a young messenger. ‘He’ll take you to the captain’s clerk. Show you where to wait.’

  Bolitho said, ‘Are there many here for the Board, sir?’

  The lieutenant considered it.

  ‘They’re not dragging their feet, I’ll say that for them.’ He relented a little. ‘You will be the last today.’ He swung round to beckon to another seaman, and Dancer said quietly, ‘I hope we can get something to eat while we’re waiting!’

  Bolitho smiled, and felt sheer hilarity bubbling up. Like a dam breaking. Dancer could do always do it, no matter how tense the situation.

  They followed the messenger, the ship reaching around and above them. A teeming world of packed humanity separated only by the invisible boundaries of status or rank. As a mere boy, it had been like being carried on a tide, with all the bumps and bruises, spiritual as well as physical, you might expect along the way. And the characters, the good and the bad, those you trusted on sight, and others on whom you would never turn your back without risk.

  And always busy, ceremonial one moment, court martial the next. He felt the smile on his lips again. And always hungry.

  The captain’s clerk was a pale, solemn individual, who would have passed as a clergyman ashore or in more suitable surroundings. His cabin was close to the marines’ messdeck and stores, the ‘barracks’ as they termed it, and above the other shipboard sounds they could hear the clatter of weapons and military equipment and the thump of heavy boots.

  The captain’s clerk, Colchester, seemed oblivious to everything but his own work, and the position which set him apart from the crowded world around him.

  He waited for the two midshipmen to seat themselves on a bench half-covered by documents neatly tied with blue ribbon. It looked chaotic, but Bolitho had the feeling that Colchester would know immediately if a single item was misplaced.

  He regarded them with an expression that might have been patience or boredom.

  ‘The Board today consists of three captains, unlike the more usual practice of one captain and two junior officers.’ He cleared his throat, the sound like a gunshot in the paper-filled cabin.

  Three captains. Dancer had told him what to expect, to warn him, this very morning, while they had been trying to dress and prepare themselves mentally in the noise and upheaval of the midshipmen’s berth. It had seemed worse than usual, and the mess space was further reduced by stores and bedding from the sick quarters nearby.

  How had Dancer known about the Board’s members?

  He did not seem troubled by it, but that was Dancer. His way, his shield. No wonder he had won a kind of respect even from some of the hard men in Gorgon‘s company.

  And from Bolitho’s sister Nancy, in the short time Dancer had stayed at the house in Falmouth. She was only sixteen, and it was hard for Bolitho to accept her as a woman. She was more used to the youngsters around Falmouth, farmers’ sons, and the callow young men who made up the bulk of the officers at the garrisons in Pendennis and Truro. But it had not been merely his imagination. She and Dancer had seemed to belong together.

  Three captains. There was no point in wondering why. A sudden sense of urgency? Unlikely. There were far too many officers in a state of stalemate, with no prospect of promotion. Only war increased demand, and cleared the way on the Navy List.

  Or perhaps it was the admiral’s idea… .

  He looked over at Dancer, who appeared serenely oblivious.

  Colchester said, ‘You will wait here until you are called.’ He got slowly to his feet, his lank hair brushing the deckhead beams. ‘Be patient, gentlemen. Always fire on the uproll… .’

  Dancer watched him leave, and said, ‘If I get through today, Dick, I shall always owe it to you!’

  Not so confident, then. Bolitho looked away, the words lingering in his mind. He had thought it was the other way around.

  * * *

  2

  Not A Contest

  * * *

  Waiting was the worst part, more than either of them would admit. And here they were shut off from life, while the great ship throbbed and murmured above and around them. The clerk’s cabin consisted merely of the screens which separated it from the marines’ quarters and stores, and was devoid of ports; the only light came from vents above the door and two small lanterns. How Colchester coped with his letters and files was a mystery.

  It was now afternoon, and apart from a brief visit by a young midshipman who had hovered half in and half outside the screen door as a seaman had delivered a plate of biscuits and a jug of wine, they had seen nobody. The midshipman, whom Bolitho thought was about twelve years old, seemed almost too frightened to speak, as if he had been ordered not to confide in or converse with anyone waiting to face the Board.

  So young. I must have been like that in Manxman. It had been his first ship.

  Even now, Poseidon was evoking those memories. Constant movement, like a small town. The click of heels, the thud of bare feet, and the heavier stamp of boots. He cocked his head. The marines must have abandoned their ‘barracks’ to carry out drills on the upper deck, or some special ceremony. This was the flagship, after all.

  Dancer was on his feet again, his face almost pressed against the door.

  ‘I’m beginning to think my father was right, Dick. That I should have followed his advice and stayed on dry land!’

  They listened to the rumble of gun trucks, one of the upper deck twelve-pounders being moved. To train a new crew, or for care and maintenance. At least they were doing something.

  Dancer sighed and sat down again. ‘I was just thinking about your sister.’ He ran his fingers through his fair hair, a habit Bolitho had come to know and recognise. He was coming to a decision. ‘It was such a pleasure to meet her. Nancy … I could have talked with her for ages. I was wondering… .’

  They both turned as the door clicked open. Another seaman this time, but the same midshipman hovering at a distance, the white patches on his uniform very clean and bright in the filtered sunlight from a grating above his head.

  ‘Just come for this gear, sir.’ The seaman gathered up the plates and the wine jug, which was empty, although neither of them could recall drinking the contents.

  He half turned as the midshipman outside the door answered someone who was passing. Friends, or a matter of duty, it was not clear. B
ut it was like a signal.

  He looked quickly at Dancer, then leaned over toward Bolitho.

  ‘I served with Cap’n James Bolitho, sir. In the old Dunbar, it was.’ He darted another glance at the door, but the voices were continuing as before. He added quietly, ”E were good to me. I said I’d never forget… .’

  Bolitho waited, afraid to interrupt. This man had served under his father. The Dunbar had been James Bolitho’s first command. Well before his own time, but as familiar to him as the family portraits. The seaman was not going to ask any favours. He wanted to repay one. And he was afraid, even now.

  ‘My father, yes.’ He knew Dancer was listening, but keeping his distance, possibly with disapproval.

  ‘Cap’n Greville.’ He leaned closer, and Bolitho could smell the heavy rum. ”E commands the Odin.’ He reached out as if to touch his arm, but withdrew just as quickly, perhaps regretting what he had begun.

  The young midshipman was calling, ‘Tomorrow at noon, John. I’ll not forget!’

  Bolitho said quietly, ‘Tell me. You can rest easy.’

  The ship named Odin was a seventy-four like Gorgon, and in the same squadron, and that was all he knew, except that it was important to this seaman who had once served his father.

  The plates and the jug clashed together and the man blurted out, ‘Greville’s bad, right the way through.’ He nodded to emphasise it. ‘Right through!’

  The door swung slightly and the young voice rapped, ‘Come along, Webber, don’t take all day!’

  The door closed and they were alone again. He might have been a ghost.

  Bolitho spread his hands. ‘Maybe I was wrong to let him speak like that. Because he knew my father, I suppose. But the rest… .’

  Dancer made a cautioning gesture.

  ‘It cost him something to come here. He was afraid. More than afraid.’ He seemed to be listening. ‘One thing I do know. Captain Greville is on the Board, here and now.’ He regarded Bolitho steadily, his eyes very blue, like the sky which had begun the day. ‘So be warned, my friend.’

  The door swung open.

  ‘Follow me, if you please.’

  Bolitho walked out of the cabin, trying to remember exactly what the unknown seaman had said.

  But he kept hearing his father’s voice instead, seeing him. It was the closest they had been for a long, long time.

  The young midshipman trotted briskly ahead of them, as if he were afraid they might try to break the silence he had maintained. Perhaps it was policy in the flagship to keep candidates from any contact that might prepare or warn them against what lay in store. It was certainly true that they had seen no other ‘young gentlemen’ here for the same rendezvous.

  Up another ladder and past one of the long messdecks. Scrubbed tables and benches between each pair of guns: home to the men who worked and fought the ship, and the guns were always here from the moment when the pipe called them to lash up and stow their hammocks, to Sunset and pipe down. The constant reminder that this was no safe dwelling but a man-of-war.

  Dancer was close behind him, and Bolitho wondered if he remembered these surroundings as intensely after so many months. Like his own first ship, the noise and the smells, men always in close contact, cooking or stale food, damp clothing, damp everything. Most of the hands were at work, but there were still plenty of figures between decks, and he saw a glance here and there, casual or disinterested; it was hard to distinguish in the gloom. The gunports that lined either beam were sealed, a wise precaution against the January chill and the keen air from the Sound; as in Gorgon, only the galley fires provided any heat, and they would be kept as low as possible to avoid wasting fuel. The purser would make sure of that.

  Another climb now, to the impressive expanse of the quarterdeck, where the day seemed startlingly clear and light. Bolitho stared up at the towering mizzen mast and spars, the furled sails, and the ensign he had seen from the launch this morning, still lifting and curling beyond the poop. About seven hours ago, and the ordeal had not even begun. They had talked about it often enough, been warned what to expect, even if they survived the selection process today. Being successful and actually receiving the coveted commission were often two very different matters. A sign of the times, with promotion only for the lucky, and the clouds of war as yet unknown to those of their own age and service.

  A tall lieutenant was standing by the hammock nettings, a telescope trained on the shore, and a boatswain’s mate waiting close by. Apart from two seamen polishing the fittings around the compass box and the great double wheel by the poop ladders, the deck was deserted. After the confines of the world below, it seemed an almost sacred place.

  Bolitho looked at the land. The hills were edged with copper. Hard to believe it would be dark before long. Perhaps the examination had been postponed. Cancelled.

  ‘So. The last two.’ The lieutenant had moved, and sounded impatient. ‘You know what to do.’ He hardly spared them a glance. ‘Get along with you.’ He was already striding to the quarterdeck rail, straightening his coat as he went.

  Bolitho stared at the fresh gilt paintwork, the scrubbed gratings and perfectly flaked lines and halliards. The empty marines’ mess, the sound of oars alongside, no doubt at the ornate entry port. The admiral was about to go ashore, or visit another ship of the line in his command.

  Their youthful guide quickened his pace past the wheel, and Bolitho saw that the two seamen were packing away their cleaning gear. Down another hatchway where the deck planking was covered with black-and-white chequered canvas, he could see that the hand ropes were smartly pipeclayed, and a marine sentry, or at least the lower half of one, was standing rigidly beside the screen doors of the great day and dining cabin. The admiral’s quarters.

  ‘Wait!’ Another screen loomed before them, freshly painted, like white glass in the light from the quarterdeck, similar to the one directly beneath them.

  Dancer nudged him with his elbow.

  ‘The admiral’s on the prowl. And I thought it was all for us!’

  He was even smiling.

  A servant ushered them into a lobby, partitioned from the main cabin by more screens which could be hoisted and bolted to the deckhead if the ship was cleared for action. There were two or three comfortable chairs sharing the deck space with one of the after battery’s twelve-pounders.

  The cabin servant studied them severely and pointed to a bench by a sealed port.

  ‘When you are called.’ He had the stiff, tired face of a man who had seen it all before. Their midshipman guide had vanished.

  They sat, side by side. Almost soundless here, the highest part of the ship. There was a skylight almost directly above them and Bolitho could see the mizzen shrouds and part of a spar, the sky holding its light beyond. After all this time, nearly six years of his life in the navy, and he still had no head for heights. Even now, when the sails cracked and shook and the pipe shrilled All hands aloft! he had to force himself to respond.

  ‘When we get back to Gorgon, Dick … ‘ Dancer was gazing at the screen door. ‘I have something hoarded away for this occasion.’

  Nervous now, unsure? It went far deeper. He said lightly, ‘You’ll be fine, Martyn. Under full sail, remember?’

  Dancer said in an odd voice, ‘You’ll never know,’ but the smile was back. ‘Bless you!’

  ‘Mister Midshipman Dancer?’

  They were both on their feet, unconsciously, and the screen door was being held partly open by the cabin servant, as if he were guarding it.

  There was no time for words; perhaps there were none to say. They touched hands, like two friends passing in the street, and Bolitho was alone.

  He wanted to sit down, to gather his thoughts, perhaps in one of those comfortable chairs, as some act of defiance. Instead, he stood directly beneath the skylight and stared up at the mizzen shrouds and the empty sky, and very slowly, an inch at a time, made his mind and body relax, come to terms with this moment. They had even joked about it. Looked sometimes at
the lieutenants and wondered if they had ever had qualms, and, in some cases, how they had passed. And again the face and the words of the seaman kept coming back. He should have stopped him there and then. They were all told often enough never to listen to gossip or condone it. In the crowded world of a man-of-war, it could end in face-to-face confrontation, insubordination, or worse.

  He concentrated on the screen door. The great cabin was part of, but so completely separate from, this vast three-decker. Here the captain could entertain his particular friends and favoured subordinates, even the most junior if it suited him. Bolitho himself had been invited into the captain’s quarters aboard Gorgon on two occasions, once on the King’s birthday, when as the youngest present he had been required to give the Loyal Toast, and another to wait upon some female guests, and ensure that they did not stumble on the ladders between decks or entangle their gowns while entering or leaving the boats alongside.

  He thought of Dancer again. Always so at ease with women, outwardly anyway. It was not something false, or done for effect; Bolitho had known plenty like that. Martyn Dancer was of a different breed, something he had noticed even when they had first met. His father was a wealthy, worldly man, of influence and authority, who had made it plain from the outset that he was opposed to his son’s choice of career. Throwing his wits to the wind, as he had put it more than once.

  And he had seen it in his sister’s eyes when she and Martyn had talked and laughed together. And in the watchful glances from his mother.

  He walked to the opposite end of the screened lobby and peered through to the big double wheel, at the scrubbed gratings where two or more helmsmen would stand when the ship was under way, and heeling over to her towering pyramid of canvas. Another grating was propped upright by the mizzen, probably to dry, but suddenly reminiscent of those far-off days in Manxman and the first flogging he had ever witnessed. It was something you had to accept, a necessary discipline. What else would deter the persistent offender?