Book 11

by Robert P McAuley

  Could this be the beginning of a smooth mission? he thought as he waved it down. The driver, who sat at the front of the carriage, was an old hand at working in the rain and he deftly reached down and back to open the door for Bill, who tossed in his valise, closed the umbrella and jumped in.

  Through the small window between the passenger and driver Bill saw that the cabby was wrapped in a cocoon of oilcloth with a hole for his head to stick out. He wore a wide brimmed beaver skin hat that seemed to keep the rain off of his face and he clenched his pipe upside down between his teeth while the reins disappeared under the oilcloth. Bill smiled as he saw the large sheet of oilcloth that covered most of his horse as well.

  “Where to, sir?” the driver called out.

  “The Fourteenth Street pier, please.”

  With a slight nod the driver had the horse up to a trot. Bill sat back and realized that the seats were one of the softest he’d ever sat on in a cab and the window on each side plus the two smaller ones in front and rear were hardly scratched at all. Wow! he thought, Brand new. Well we’ll see. Let me put it through the handgrip test. He slipped his hand into the leather handgrip attached to the right side and slightly higher than the door. It’s still supple not pulled out of shape and twisted. The other three grips looked the same. He lowered the glass window and was rewarded with a spray of rainwater. He quickly slid it back up, sat back and enjoyed the sway of a new carriage as it rolled down the empty streets of 1865 New York City.

  The twenty-minute ride ended beneath an overhang built for just such a day. He paid the driver the dollar twenty-five and added another dollar tip. The time traveler entered a long, one-story building thinking, I wonder why all of these ticket offices are made of wood and look as though they were put up overnight?

  A very tall, thin man nodded from behind a desk that was obviously raised for his height. He put a hand out and Bill put the ticket in it. Bill was amazed how small it looked in his very large hand. Boy, he thought, this guy could help the New York Knicks win the championship.

  “Ship is boarding right away, sir,” he said as he handed him back the ticket, “Walk out the rear of this building and follow the line of passengers. Have a nice trip.”

  Bill nodded, picked up his valise and followed the man’s instructions until he stood at the end of a short line of passengers shuffling towards the gangway. Once on the slow moving line the combination of mildew, wet clothing and the habit of tossing garbage and waste overboard along with the lack of deodorants was almost overpowering. He took out a handkerchief and, as casual as possible, covered his nose only to see that at least half of his fellow passengers did the same. Oh well, he thought as he shuffled along, one must take the bad with the good.

  At the top of the walkway a clerk took his ticket and said, “Cabin 102, sir. Just one deck up.”

  Bill went up one deck and had to open his umbrella again as it was the top deck and was exposed to the elements. He stood beneath a short overhang and looked up. While it was just an ocean liner to most, Bill was seeing something that nobody in his time had ever seen. There were three tall masts with all of the spars, ropes and rigging that a ship needed to catch the wind. All of the many yards of canvas were rolled up and tied down as a curl of gray smoke came from the ship’s main means of propulsion: the steam engine that turned the paddle wheel on her port side. He saw the way the rainwater rolled down and off the deck into the Hudson River. The rainwater also tended to bead up on any polished flat surfaces until the ship rolled ever so slightly, almost as though she were shaking the water off her back as a duck would do. He located his cabin and entered, finding the key on the small table next to the door. Bill smiled as he took stock of his new home for more than a week. A double bed with two over-stuffed pillows and a light blue, silk cover was the main piece of furniture and two square white tables, one of which had the almost prerequisite writing paper with inkwell and pen, flanked it. Attached to the wall over that table was an oil lamp with a circular brass plate between it and the wall to better reflect the light. A glass vase that held a bunch of red and yellow flowers sat on a single table that stood against the wall and Bill recognized it as one that had two folding drop-leaves to enlarge it. There were three white, straight back chairs: one on either side of the table, the third tucked under it. But it was the floor, walls and ceiling that showed Bill that the craftsmen of this time period were the best. They were made of cherry wood and the wall followed the curve of the ship while the ceiling had one of the first skylights he had seen in his travels. The floor was made of oak and the lighter color of the wooden nails was used as decorations as well as fasteners. To the right of the table was a small closet and next to that was an open door to the washroom. Once in there Bill saw that the walls, floor and ceiling continued the look of the main cabin. However the pedestal sink, small bathtub and toilet all sat on a sheet of copper with a stamped design of many small Fleurs De Lis. Once again, there was an oil lamp backed by a copper sheet attached above the sink.

  Boy this is so different from the last ship I was on, he thought as he opened his valise and took out his communicator/hairbrush. He typed in his password then: HELLO MATT. I’M ABOARD THE SS CHINA AND AS USUAL THE ACCOMODATIONS ARE, WELL, THEY ARE FIRST CLASS! ONCE AGAIN I HAVE YOU TO THANK. COMM CHECK OUT, BILL

  Less than one minute later the small red light glowed and Bill pressed the read button.

  SIR, THE COMMUNICATIONS WORK FINE. GLAD THAT YOU LIKE THE QUARTERS I’VE ACQUIRED FOR YOU AND SAMSON SEEMS TO HAVE TAKEN OVER SOLE POSSESSION OF YOUR BED. GOOD LUCK. COMM CHECK OUT, MATT.

  Bill lay back on his bed and the slight sway of the ship as the winds created whitecaps caused him to sit up fast. He was sweating as he realized that he had just nodded off for a moment and with the ship’s movement thought he was back aboard the ghost ship. He got up quickly and ran cold water in the sink, then splashed it on his face. Is this something that’s going to happen every time I try to sleep aboard a ship? he thought as he dried his face only to have to do it again as he broke out in a cold sweat immediately.

  He paced the room until he heard the ship’s whistle blow followed by the sound of churning water as the side-wheeler backed out of her slip and entered the waterway.

  Get a hold of yourself, Bill, you know where you are so just take it easy, he instructed himself.

  Two hours later he entered the large dining room and saw that only twelve of the sixty tables were occupied. Seasickness, he reasoned as he felt the ship roll slightly, stop and then roll slightly the other way.

  He asked a passing waiter, “Sir, is it possible to have my meals sent to my cabin?”

  “Of course,” he answered with a smile as he handed Bill a menu. “For now just underline what you want for lunch and when it’s delivered, a menu for tonight’s meal will be with it. Just fill that one out and hand it in at the Ship’s Service window at the end of the upper deck. Just give me your name and cabin number and I’ll set it up. I’ll be right back for this menu.”

  Bill looked the menu over and underlined his choices for lunch.

  Calves’ head, served cold, Cervelas of any kind found at pork butchers, Headcheese, Mutton Chops, Veal Cutlets in white gravy, Eggs cooked in any way, Fried Fish, Fruit according to the season, Galantine of Birds, Galantine of Veal, Ham, Cold Meat of any kind, Oysters, Omelets, Pate de foie gras, Meat and Fruit Pies, served cold, Salad of Chicken, Salad of Partridge and other birds, Salad of Lobster, Sandwiches, Sardines, Sausages of any kind, fresh or smoked, Smoked Fish or Meat, Fried Vegetables, Drinks according to taste. Please serve me a hot coffee with cream and sugar. Thank you.

  The waiter returned and Bill gave him the information along with the lunch menu and a five-dollar tip to assure promptness.

  The young man smiled at his good luck: a tip and most of the passengers eating in their cabins! Less work for me working the tables, he thought as he went to turn Bill’s information into the office.

  Back in his cabin, Bill sat at the table a
nd picked up a blue and white six-page book that had facts and figures on the SS China. He loved reading the specifications of the old ships and always made sure that he took the brochure back with him to display in the club.

  On the cover was a rendering of the ship ripping through rough waters with a plume of gray smoke, leaving her stack in a horizontal line and white water that churned from her side-wheel paddles that gave the viewer the impression she was sailing full speed. Her hull was painted a deep blue while her cabins were white and masts a red brown. The cover copy reads: Cunard Line SS China, and the inside copy stated: The Cunard ocean liner, SS China was built by Robert Napler & Sons. She was launched on October 8, 1861. Her maiden voyage was from Liverpool to Queenstown and New York on March 15, 1862. The China is an iron built ship, and very strongly framed, with amply secured strong watertight bulkheads. Two engines of the oscillating principle, with an aggregate of 560-horse power, propel her. She carries 268 first-class and 771 second class (or forward) passengers. Her dining room serves meals in two and often three shifts serving foods of only the highest quality and prepared by Chef Louis del Monte of the French Hotel, La Belle. Meals may be delivered directly to your cabin, three times a day if requested.

  Our staff changes bedclothes every two days and has clean towels available when asked for.

  Suddenly a shaft of light entered his cabin through the porthole type window: the rain had stopped and the sun was breaking through the gray clouds.

  Fifteen minutes later there was a knock on the cabin door and an elderly man in a white uniform entered and set up his lunch on the table. Bill tipped him and his expression told the time traveler that he didn’t get that many tips.

  The waiter said as he passed Bill a menu, “Here is this evening’s menu, sir. I do hope you enjoy your lunch.”

  “I’m sure I will, and I’ll probably have most of my meals in my cabin.”

  “Then, sir, I shall see you often. If there’s anything you need, please ask for me, James.”

  “I’ll do that, James. Thank you very much.”

  Bill looked the menu over and on the ship’s writing paper he wrote down his choices for his evening meal.

  Soup: Puree of Fowl,

  Entrée: Wild Red Duck, broiled with Currant Jelly Sauce,

  Vegetables: Squash, Oyster Plants, Beets,

  Relishes: Parker & Bro.’s London Club Sauce,

  Pastry: Fruit Pudding in red wine sauce (heated),

  Dessert: Cheese and Crackers with Mustard Sauce,

  Refreshments: Coffee, Lemon Drink.

  He finished his lunch, lit a cigar and stepped out on deck with the evening’s menu. He smoked the cigar as he looked at the miles of open water with only a thin wake of white foam to show that the ship was moving along. Finished, he dumped his cigar into one of the red buckets of sand that were strategically placed around the ship for putting cigars and cigarettes out in and went to the Ship’s Service window where the young man behind the glass enclosure nodded and said, “All meals will be served to you in your cabin, unless you notify us otherwise, Mister Scott.”

  Bill went back to his cabin, sat on the bed and said to himself as he took off his shoes, “Well, Bill. This is the big test. Do I sleep peacefully or will nightmares ruin my life.” He lay back on the bed and opened his tablet. He selected Jack Finney’s book: Time and Again and started to read it for the umpteenth time. It was around page eleven that he fell asleep and seven hours later was woken by a tap on his cabin door. It was dinner and he grinned as he stretched, “Well, sleeping is no problem!”

  The trip followed the same pattern: meals were had in his cabin, followed by a walk on the deck while smoking a cigar, then back to reading. Boring? he thought, Perhaps, but I’ve had it with ships for awhile.

  The ship made a steady nine knots until one day the engine quit and they proceeded with full sails until that night when the engine was repaired and the paddle wheel went back to work.

  They docked at eleven o’clock on August 14th. While waiting for the deckhands to lower the gangway, he overheard an older sailor say to one of the passengers, “The fog comes and goes, sir. When you are out to sea as often as I’ve been over the years you get to see everything. But, I agree with you that this was different, sir, and the red light that was tied to the mast of that ship in the fog was indeed eerie. However the fog plays tricks on the eye, especially at night.” He visibly shuddered as he went on, “I’m just glad that the captain decided to avoid going into the fog as it was the thickest I’ve ever seen. Oh,” he said as he pointed at the gangway being slid out, “The gangway is being put in place, you’ll be off the ship in ten minutes. Hope you sail with Cunard again, sir.”

  Bill stood open mouthed as he thought, Could it be a coincidence? I’m just glad that I stayed in my cabin much, much more than any other time.”

  He left the ship and went to a small pub and after having a drink and a plate of pork sausage with whole boiled potatoes, asked if they rented rooms.

  “Right up the stairs, my friend,” answered the pub’s owner, a big man with red hair, sideburns and mustache, Dan O’Donnell. “Two o’ yer dollars will get ya a room an’ breakfast. If ya want dinner, ‘tis with me an’ the missus at eight tonight.”

  Bill went upstairs and put his valise on the high, down-filled bed that almost sucked the valise into it, as it was so soft.

  “Mmm, good sleeping tonight,” he said as he removed his coat and hat. Bill stopped at the small mirror hanging on the wooden wall and seeing the cravat he wore, removed that too, as he thought, Everyone seems to be so relaxed here, why not join in? Besides, it’s on the warm side. He left the small pub and wandered down the cobblestone street towards the bay. He passed houses made of white stucco and thatched roofs that were old already and all had a curl of smoke coming out of their chimney as families prepared the mid-day meal. In front of almost every house was the family wash hanging on a wash-line stretched between a tree and the house while the street was filled with young children playing games. Bill stopped as an elderly man guiding ten sheep crossed the street in front of him. His walking stick became more than just a walking stick as a few of the older boys playfully tried to get a sheep to leave the herd.

  The sound of music suddenly started as the time traveler approached another pub with six men sitting at a long wooden table, a beer in front of each of them, as they played fiddles, tin whistles and drums.

  If I didn’t have a mission right now, he thought as he walked past them, I’d sit and enjoy the music with a beer. He grinned as he thought of his long-time watering hole: Paddy Diamond’s Bar & Grill. Old Paddy Diamond himself would have loved this. Maybe I’ll have a cold one after the mission is done.

  He kept up his pace and finally arrived at the foot of the long road. The houses that had lined both sides of the road now spread out into what seemed to be an unplanned arrangement with pretty homes flanked by various small stores that all catered to the fishing business. O’Leary’s Nets and Repair; McDougle’s Fish & Tackle, McKillop’s Boating Supply were just a few among the houses and all had flowers in window boxes or hanging from their thatched roofs. The sky was a beautiful azure blue that made the white seabirds stand out as they dived and swooped for fish in the deep blue waters of the bay. I don’t know why, he thought, but the riot of colors in the village and its surroundings remind me of a page out of a child’s coloring book.

  It was then that Bill realized that the cries from the sea birds lent a background to the music that seemed to come from every home, business or pub.

  Wow, he thought as he took it all in, I could easily retire to this village. The sight of the many sailboats bobbing in the bay shook him out of his thoughts and he got back to his mission.

  The time traveler went down the pebbled beach and played the part of an out-of-towner as he seemed to walk aimlessly along the beach picking up a stone here and there to throw in the water. Ahead was a fairly new wooden pier with about one dozen sailboats tied up to it. Ke
eping to the script of a wanderer, he approached the pier, stopped, tossed another stone in the water then casually stepped up onto the pier. He walked down the wooden structure reading all of the tied up boat’s names. It was when he got to the sixth boat that he saw her: A white, single-masted sailboat with a cabin, and painted on her rear was one word, WATERLOO! Part one completed, he thought as he walked to the end of the pier, turned and walked off and up the road to a pub for a cool beer.

  Eight o’clock sharp he left his room and joined Dan O’Donnell, his wife Margaret and four boys and one girl for a dinner of beef stew, carrots and bread washed down with warm beer. After dinner, he sat with Dan as he sipped some warm tea and smoked cigars in their small garden.

  “Are ya sure ya don’t want another ale, Bill?” Dan asked as his wife came out with a pitcher.

  “Not me, Dan, thanks. I think I’ll take a small walk before turning in.”

  “Fine with me, Bill, ‘tis a good man who knows when ta stop havin’ fun.”

  Bill grinned at his sense of humor. “I’m going upstairs to get another cigar for my walk, so I’ll say good night now in case you’re busy when I come back.”

  “Good night, Bill. See you for breakfast at seven?”

  “Seven it is! See you then.” He stood, patted his stomach and added, “I have to walk this off.”

  Bill went up the stairs, got into his swimsuit and redressed. He took the bolt cutter out of the valise and slipped it into the waistband of his pants, put the swimming goggles in his pocket and walked down and out of the pub.