Prison Ship

by Paul Dowswell

  Gray kneed Dan hard in the stomach. As he bent forward in agony another soldier stepped forward and hit him hard over the head with a pistol butt. He fell to the floor and was roughly dragged to his feet by two other soldiers.

  ‘I demand to see your commanding officer,’ said Dan breathlessly. Gray cuffed him around the back of the neck. ‘Shut up before you start losing your teeth,’ he hissed.

  A horrible thought occurred to me. Did Gray know Dan was a doctor and a friend of the Governor? Almost certainly. Doctors were well known to most people in Sydney. If he was treating Dan this brutally, perhaps he intended to kill us all.

  Outside the barracks there was a horse and cart, with a load of empty sacks on the back. ‘On you get,’ said Gray, and all of us clambered aboard.

  ‘Where are we going?’ said Dan. Gray took his pistol and pointed it straight in Dan’s face. For a moment I thought he was going to kill him on the spot.

  ‘I won’t tell you again,’ he said. ‘Shut up.’

  Then he turned to the driver and said, ‘Devon Wood.’ It was a little way out of town, and we all knew what was going to happen when we got there.

  Gray was going to have us all killed. No doubt he would claim we had run away from a patrol and had been shot as they tried to apprehend us. Dan was right about how angry he was about our pardon.

  I tried to stay calm, wracking my brains for a way out. Gray was sitting just in front of me, so I spoke up. I didn’t care if he hit me, I’d be dead soon anyway. ‘Lieutenant Gray, sir. You have no quarrel with Doctor Sadler. Let him go, I beg you.’

  Gray laughed. ‘What, and let him tell everyone what happened to you two? Another word and I’ll have you gagged.’

  In my mind’s eye I could see what was coming out there in the woods. Gunshots, or glinting bayonets, in the half moon. A cold, dark death. We had cheated fate in battle, escaped our hanging, outwitted our cannibal friend, and now our luck had run out.

  As the cart approached the edge of town, we heard the rattle and snort of another horse-drawn vehicle heading towards us. It was an enclosed carriage complete with a detachment of marines marching briskly alongside. Only the Governor would travel in such style. Gray pulled our cart to one side and we waited for them to pass.

  Gray hissed, ‘Not a word or we’ll kill you here on the spot.’ The soldier opposite me pressed his bayonet into my stomach, so close I could feel the blade on my skin.

  Richard and I were sitting with our backs to the carriage. Doctor Dan was facing it. He sat as upright as he could so his face would be visible over the top of our heads. We saw at once what he was doing and hunched our heads down.

  The carriage trundled past. It did not stop. ‘Move on,’ shouted Gray and we began to lurch forward.

  Then I heard shouting. I looked back to see Governor King himself clamber from his carriage. He yelled out, ‘You soldiers. Stand down.’

  A moment later, King and four of his marine escort strode up to the cart.

  ‘Doctor Sadler? Is that you?’

  Dan smiled broadly. ‘Your Excellency, I am very pleased to see you.’

  King turned at once to Gray. ‘Lieutenant, explain yourself.’

  Gray seemed unflappable. ‘The two boys are escaped convicts. The man here was harbouring them.’

  ‘But this is Doctor Sadler, man,’ King said with some exasperation.

  ‘So he told me, sir,’ said Gray. ‘I am not acquainted with him.’

  ‘So where are you taking them?’ said King.

  ‘Sussex barracks, sir,’ said Gray. ‘The town barracks gaol is full.’

  ‘Well Lieutenant, I can see there must have been a mistake. Doctor Sadler is my friend, and he is welcome to return to my residence with me.’

  ‘Release the prisoner,’ said Gray to his men. Dan stood up and jumped down from the cart.

  ‘Now, your Excellency,’ said Gray, with icy politeness. ‘May I proceed?’

  They were going to leave Richard and me with Gray.

  ‘Carry on,’ shouted King.

  The clatter of horse and cart setting into motion must have drowned out the conversation Dan had with King.

  We heard another command.

  ‘Lieutenant, stop that cart.’

  King spoke firmly, in a tone that broached no argument. ‘These boys have been acquitted of the charges against them by order of His Majesty the King. They are to be released at once.’

  That was that. We got out. I could not see Gray’s face, but could imagine it. The thought of him grinding his teeth with rage would make me smile for months to come.

  We spent the night in the guardroom of the Governor’s house, where we were given new clothes, blankets, hot drink and food, and water to wash with. Dan came to see us first thing in the morning. ‘Get yourself cleaned up, boys. You’re up for an audience with the Governor.’

  We were ushered into his office. I was reminded of the captain’s cabins I had seen in the Navy. The same polished furniture, glinting silverware and oil paintings.

  Governor King was matter of fact. ‘I understand Doctor Sadler has already told you of your acquittal,’ he said. ‘So you are free to return home.’

  ‘Please sir,’ I asked, ‘can you tell us what happened. Who ordered our acquittal?’

  King frowned. Perhaps I was being impertinent. Then he reached into a drawer on his desk and began to sift through a pile of correspondence.

  ‘Here we are,’ he said, ‘letter from Viscount Neville. I believe you know his son, Robert?’

  He put on a pair of spectacles and read it through carefully. We waited awkwardly in the silence. Then he spoke.

  ‘Ah yes – Nathaniel Pritchard, the Purser on HMS Elephant. He’d been fiddling the ship’s books for years. And his son Oliver – he was the midshipman who deceived the court into thinking you had hidden in the hold, wasn’t he? Both of them exposed as crooks. They were sentenced to death. I’m told Oliver made a contrite confession admitting he had falsely accused you both. The court was intending to commute his sentence, as they did yours. But this confession tipped the balance against him. Good for you, not so good for him. Your shipmate Robert Neville has been hard at work on your behalf. His father is a good friend of mine. The family secured you both a full acquittal and ensured news of this was sent at once to the colony.

  ‘Now, I suggest you leave at the earliest opportunity. The New South Wales Corps is not best pleased that I have ordered you to be set free.’

  I spoke up. ‘Your Excellency, Lieutenant Gray was going to kill us. And Doctor Sadler too, when he tried to protect us.’

  King snorted impatiently. ‘I’m quite aware of that. Now, I want you to remain here in my house until a ship can take you back home. There should be one sailing in a week or two. I’m sure they’ll be able to make use of two experienced Navy men.’

  Richard snapped smartly to attention. ‘Permission to speak, sir.’

  ‘Carry on,’ said King.

  ‘Your Excellency, I am an American citizen. I would like your permission to join an American ship. There is one currently moored in the harbour – the Nantucket.’

  King eyed him coldly. ‘I’m afraid she sailed this morning, but I shall consider your request. Now, for your own safety, I insist on keeping you here. The guardroom’s the safest place. You’ll be protected by my marines there, and I’ll see to it you’re well fed and comfortable.’

  He nodded. Our audience was over.

  I felt I had to say something more. ‘Thank you, sir, for saving our lives.’

  King turned again and smiled. ‘Don’t thank me lad, thank Viscount Neville and his son.’

  ‘So you’re going back to America,’ I said as soon as we were alone in our new quarters.

  ‘I’ve had enough of the British Navy, Sam. I’ve had enough of high-born snobs telling me what to do and I’ve had enough of burgoo and scotch coffee for breakfast. I’ve had enough of fighting for a country I don’t actually belong to. You know a lot of us Yanks are
all in favour of the French and their revolution. If King George had lived in America, we would probably have chopped his head off too.’

  It was a high-born young man who got us out of this mess, I thought, but I wasn’t going to argue. ‘I’ll miss you Richard. You’re the brother I always wanted.’

  ‘Enough of the soppy stuff,’ said Richard. ‘Anyway, why don’t you come back to Boston with me? A bright lad like you. You’d make your fortune soon enough. You’d like it out there, and they’d like you.’

  It was an enticing idea. But then I thought of my mother and father, and our house in Norfolk. And Rosie. Had she caught the eye of another boy? Of course she had. She was too pretty and kind-hearted not to have. As for the Navy, I had had enough of burgoo for breakfast too, and the rest of it. The only thing that would get me back on a Navy ship was a press gang.

  I said, ‘Maybe, one fine day, I’ll come and see you in Boston, when I’m captain of my own merchantman!’

  ‘Hey, we aren’t going just yet,’ said Richard, and for now, we said no more about his leaving.

  Doctor Dan brought dinner to the guardroom. He seemed unusually pleased with himself. I supposed he had just been spared from certain death. We told him about our meeting with King and he told us what was happening.

  ‘The New South Wales Corps are a law unto themselves around here. They know it and so does King. Gray has friends right at the top of the Corps, so the Governor won’t be questioning him about what he was up to with the three of us last night. It might provoke a mutiny. We should just be grateful King arrived when he did.

  ‘Now I have some interesting news of my own! The Governor has ordered me pardoned and tells me there’s need for doctors out in Parramatta, Richmond Hill and Green Hills. I can take my pick. What do you think of that! I think he just wants me out of the way of the New South Wales Corps and Lieutenant Gray. That suits me fine. I’ve had enough of the Rocks now.’

  We were delighted for him. ‘You could do worse than Green Hills, that’s for sure,’ I said. ‘It’s a beautiful spot. Will Tuck give you any trouble?’

  Dan shook his head. ‘He’s always been very respectful to me. I don’t see why that would change. Green Hills it is then. The Governor tells me I should go as soon as I can.’

  * * *

  Dan left to make his arrangements, promising he would be back to see us the following Saturday. In my quiet moments I thought a lot about Oliver Pritchard, how I had detested his sneering face, and how my hatred for him had been part of my determination to survive out here. In a strange way, he had given his own life to save ours. I wished he had been spared. Now he was dead, I could forgive him. I also wondered what had happened to Nathaniel Pritchard’s accomplice, John Giddes. He too had almost cost us our lives. Had that strange man been hanged or had he escaped? I would dearly love to find out what fate had befallen him and discover who he really was.

  On the Friday, the Governor sent one of his officers to talk to us.

  ‘There’s a merchantman leaving tomorrow. The Orion, she’s called. We’ve had a word with the Captain, and he’s sure he can make use of the two of you.’

  ‘What about me?’ said Richard. ‘I wanted to get an American ship.’

  The officer smiled patiently. ‘His Excellency feels that the sooner you are both away from Sydney, the safer you will be.’

  ‘Damn that,’ said Richard. ‘I’m quite happy to wait.’

  The man dropped his diplomatic façade. ‘This business with you both and Lieutenant Gray. It’s a running sore between the Corps and the Governor. You might have to wait months for an American ship. The sooner you go the better. The Orion is stopping off at Coupang, I dare say, so you could pick up an American ship there.’

  Richard nodded. ‘Thank you, sir.’

  So that was that. I was pleased he was coming with me.

  ‘Now, is there anything I can do for you?’ said the officer.

  ‘I want to say goodbye to all the people here who’ve been kind to me, and who I lived with in Sydney.’ I especially wanted to bid farewell to Doctor Dan. We could not have found a better friend, and I knew I would miss him greatly. Then there were our neighbours on the Rocks, Mad Bet at the Sailor’s Arms, and James Lyons and Orlagh, and all the people at the Navy office.

  He sighed. ‘Witchall. You don’t understand the seriousness of the situation. We’re going to have to take you to the Orion with an armed escort, probably in the middle of the night. If you go out on the streets, Gray and his men will kill you. There’s no doubt about it.’

  He agreed to bring me writing paper and envelopes. I filled the last day writing letters of farewell.

  The day of our departure arrived. I spent the night thinking of all the people and the things I would miss, Doctor Dan especially. I envied him his life in Green Hills, it was beautiful there. The stories were true. This land was full of promise for anyone with ambition and determination. But then there were the thugs of the New South Wales Corps, there were the seething resentments among the convicts, there were the natives and their unhappy lot… It was a long way off paradise when you stopped to think about it.

  We were taken down to the quayside at dawn, and got our first glimpse of the Orion, sitting in the bay. She was a large, handsome three-mast vessel and I knew at once I wanted to sail on her.

  Our marine escort rowed us over and we were introduced to the Captain, Henry Evison. Towering, unsmiling hands clasped behind his back, he was a forbidding figure. I watched him closely when Richard made it plain he would only be part of the ship’s company until Coupang. ‘You can stay on ship as long or as short as you like, lad,’ he said dourly. ‘I’m always happy to have Navy men in my crew.’

  Then, soon after noon we weighed anchor. Standing in the rigging, making sail, Richard and I had a splendid view of the harbour as we moved towards the open sea. The sun shone hot on our faces. It was a glorious day. Richard called over to me, ‘Psst! Psst!’ Then he lowered his voice. ‘Look. It’s Lizzie Borrow. What’s she doing here?’

  I looked down on to the deck. There she was, half hidden by her bonnet, come to see the last of Sydney. This was going to be an interesting voyage.

  Richard and I were due a rest period that afternoon. We found Lizzie soon enough, out on the deck with her pretty dark-haired maid. She was so delighted to see us she incurred the stern eye of the Captain.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ we both said at once.

  ‘You first,’ she insisted.

  We sat in the forecastle and told her our tale.

  ‘And what about you?’ said Richard.

  ‘I called off the engagement to Lieutenant Gray just after the incident that got you sent to Green Hills. I thought he was going to kill you on the spot.’

  We told her what had happened when we got back to Sydney, and how Gray had intended to kill us at night in the woods.

  ‘He’s angry with me, for refusing him. I don’t think he cares about me, he’s just lost face. I think he blames you both too. That’s why he was so keen to have his revenge.’

  The Orion passed round the headland and out into the vast sweep of the ocean. Today was the 15th October. If we were lucky, we would reach Coupang in eight weeks, and England by the spring. I would see my parents again, I kept telling myself. But half a year at sea lay between me and home. I had survived so far, but who could tell what storm, accident or misadventure lay ahead?

  Fact and Fiction

  In Sam Witchall’s previous book Powder Monkey, all the characters, ships and events were fictitious. Here, in Prison Ship, fact and fiction occasionally intertwine.

  Sam’s ship HMS Elephant was a ‘74’ of the period and took part in the Battle of Copenhagen on 2 April, 1801. Among her crew Captain Foley was the actual captain of the ship, Captain Hardy (of ‘Kiss me Hardy’ fame) was also present, and took a party of sailors out to the Danish line to test the water’s depth. Vice Admiral Nelson joined the Elephant for the Battle of Copenhagen and is widely claimed to
have spoken the words quoted on page 55.

  Captain William Bligh also took part in the battle as commander of HMS Glatton, as did other ships mentioned in the text, and Vice Admiral Hyde Parker was the commander of the fleet.

  In 1801 Australia was known as New South Wales, but also referred to as New Holland and Botany Bay. Matthew Flinders was the first person to call the continent Australia, in 1804, but it took several years for the term to come into common use. Philip Gidley King was the Governor of the colony from 1800 to 1806. Green Hills, where Sam and Richard were sent to work on Charlotte Farm, was the original name for the town of Windsor in New South Wales. It took its new name in 1810.

  The character Thomas Ferring was partly inspired by the ‘Wild White Man’ William Buckley, who lived for thirty-two years with the Wathaurong people after escaping from Port Phillip in 1803, near to modern-day Melbourne.

  Of the old Rocks and old Sydney from this story there is virtually no trace. Among the gleaming glass towers close to Circular Quay and the quaint Victoriana of the Rocks it is difficult to imagine life in the new settlement of 1801. The bush, though, is but a short train ride away from central Sydney, and still alarmingly dense and deserted.

  Some Notes on Sources

  Although I’ve tried to base these characters and their circumstances firmly on historic reality, I hope readers more familiar than me with both Nelson’s Navy and early colonial Australia will forgive any factual blunders. (In his book Down Under, Bill Bryson wryly noted that there was rarely a written fact about Australia that wasn’t contradicted somewhere else.)

  Most of the information in the Australian section of the story came from books and journals found in the Mitchell Library at the State Library of New South Wales, and in the Royal Australian Historical Society Library. The Museum of Sydney, the Mint Library, Sydney, and Elizabeth Farm, Parramatta, also provided very useful material. In England I’m especially grateful to the staff of the Caird Library at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, and the reference library staff at Birmingham and Wolverhampton Public Libraries, for helping me unearth useful sources.