Quickly Harry gave his report and asked for instructions, adding, "We have lost a number of our hands sir, four dead and five wounded with one of our boys missing. Perhaps we could take some volunteers from among the convicts?"
"What? Oh, yes. I will signal Captain Blackwood to that effect." The lieutenant gave Harry an appraising look. "Set the Master's Mate to assist the ship's own Mates to setting the damage to rights, then signal Spartan with my request."
"You have no authority to take any hands from this ship," growled the Maid of Selsey's master.
Ignoring this intervention the lieutenant said, "Carry on, Mister Heron, you have your orders."
As Harry left, closing the door behind him, he heard the lieutenant say, "And you, sir, have no power to prevent me or my Captain's calling for volunteers from among your seamen or 'passengers'." The door closed on the rest of what sounded to be the beginnings of an argument. Emerging onto the deck he quickly carried out his orders and managed to get a signal hoisted with the request that 'volunteers' might be found to replace any losses. It was acknowledged from the Spartan and he set about helping where he could with the wounded and in restoring calm in the prison holds.
It was here that another idea struck him forcefully and he again sought out the lieutenant. "Sir, we have a number of women below decks, many of them are skilled in tending the wounded. May I have your permission to employ some to assist with the wounded and release the men to more pressing matters? There is also the matter of damage to the main bilge pump, sir, and we have four feet of water in the hold."
"Have we by God," exclaimed the lieutenant. "Very well, Mister Heron, get some women to deal with the wounded, no murderers mind. And then get some men to assist with the pumps – have we a carpenter aboard?" He demanded from the ship's master. Receiving an affirmative reply he said, "Come, Mister Heron, and let us attend to this immediately. Find me this carpenter and bring him to the hold. Get some volunteers from among the women for the wounded. I will deal with the men."
"We may have need of some boys as well, sir," Harry dared to venture. "There is one here I know. Taken for a poacher, sir, but I think I can vouch for him."
"Eh?" The lieutenant frowned. "Yes, by God, you're right." He laughed, "Cheeky devil you are, Mister Heron. Very well, fetch your young poacher friend."
***
The signal to Spartan received a direct reply in the form of the First Lieutenant, Mister Bell himself, arriving in one of the launches. He confronted the Master, saying, "I have here a requisition from Captain Blackwood for volunteers to fill our vacancies. You will find it in order, sir." Mister Bell cast an eye around the deck. "And it will no doubt relieve you of the burden of provisioning them for the remainder of this voyage. I will speak to Lieutenant Rogers and a boat will be sent to collect the volunteers on my signal. I trust I have your co-operation in this?"
"It seems I have little choice," the Master replied angrily. "By all means relieve me of some of these scum – gallows bait all of them." He turned and stomped away to confer with his surviving Mates.
***
Several hours later Harry and the remaining Spartan's returned to their own ship, Harry seated tiredly and proudly in the sternsheets, his torn and dirty uniform a testament to their achievement. Forward Ferghal huddled in the bows with several other men and boys, among them Cormac Murphy, still in his prison rags, but already looking eagerly and hopefully about him as he tasted the clean fresh air of the sea around them. Between the rowers, and watched by the red coated Marines, sat or crouched another twenty men and boys also dressed in rags, but, like Cormac, their eyes showing hope for the first time in many months as they peered at the towering bulk of the Spartan.
In his hammock later, Harry drifted into sleep, the image of the shattered corsair dragging her human cargo to their deaths as she sank, born down by the weight of her guns and ballast, vivid in his mind. He sent a prayer for their souls heavenwards as he sank into an exhausted slumber. At least he had been instrumental in the release a few unfortunates from the misery of the convict ship. Perhaps it balanced the account.
***
"Land ho!" The cry from the lookout brought a pause to the ship's activities. The word spread rapidly, carried downwards to the carpenter and his mates as they checked the frames and timbers deep within the hull, to the sail makers as they worked on the repairs to heavy weather canvas, the Gunner as he and his mates checked their stock of cartridges and to the midshipmen in their improvised classroom near the gratings beneath the boat tiers.
"That will be the island of Ascension, sir," the Master told the First Lieutenant. "A nice piece of navigation if I may say so."
"I shall share the compliment, Mister Wentworth," the Captain said as he emerged from his great cabin. "It is thanks largely to your care with the charts and the handling of the ship." He turned to the First Lieutenant. "Very well, Thomas, we will lie off the island at Georgetown." To the Master he said, "You have visited this place have you not, Mister Wentworth, what does it offer?" "
"There is good water here, so we may replenish our casks and the prison ships will have great need of fresh water and some other supplies I have no doubt, sir." The Master replied, continuing, "This is the last opportunity before we reach the Cape of Good Hope. We shall no doubt be called upon to assist the other ships since there is no harbour here and the boats must land through surf and return through it once loaded. If we are fortunate and the winds remain as they are, we may have little difficulty since the landing beach in the town is well shielded from the oceanic swell." He paused, receiving a nod of encouragement fro the Captain. "The anchorage is difficult, but has good holding, sandy bottom with rocky outcrops. Very exposed and quite shallow, the ground drops away steeply though once you clear the island."
***
The sun was dipping below the horizon as the ships crept into the anchorage guarded by the low lying fort crouched on one side of the town. The bang of the guns as the salute rolled back and forth between the Spartan and the fort raised the flocks of sea birds screaming and wheeling from their nests.
"By the deep seven." The leadsman's voice carried from the fore chains. Rocky bottom with this line."
"That will do." The Captain nodded. "Bring us into the wind, Mister Wentworth. Let go the anchor, Mister Bell!"
The helm went hard over and the sails vanished from her yards as the topmen clawed the heavy canvas into a harbour stow. Men swarmed in the ordered chaos as the ship paid off with the wind at her head and came to rest with her great hull lying broadside to the land and her head angled to the wind. The response from forward was followed by the splash as the anchor plunged into the depths below the ship.
"Have the leadsman sound all round us if you please, Mister Beasley," ordered Captain Blackwood. "According to the charts this anchorage has a number of shoals and I have no desire to discover any of them while we are here."
With the sails still being furled and stowed, an awning was spread over the quarterdeck and now the smell of food from the galley chimney made Harry's stomach growl.
"Boat putting out from the shore, sir," Midshipman Peterson called.
"Side party, stand too!"
Harry hurried to join the group at the entry port as his duty, now the ship was at anchor, required. Around him, several sideboys, a Marine Guard and a Master's Mate took up positions ready to greet the visitor while overhead the tackles were already hoisting out the ship's own boats, the largest launches and the barge being required to fetch water and livestock, if any were available, for the ship.
By the time the shore boat arrived alongside order was rapidly being restored and its occupant clambered aboard to be greeted by the fifes and drums of the Marines with the stamping of feet as the guard stamped to attention and presented arms. To Harry's amusement the side party seemed to be enveloped in what seemed to be a cloud of pipe clay from their belts and pouches.
A portly gentleman in the uniform of an artillery colonel clambered through t
he entry port first, followed by several other soldiers and an elderly lieutenant in naval rig. Greeting the visitors, Captain Blackwood escorted them aft to his great cabin, saying as he passed Harry, "An unusual post for a Colonel of the Artillery is it not, to be governor in such an outpost?"
From the response Harry gathered that the Colonel in question held the position temporarily as the civil incumbent had been recalled to London. Then his lieutenant dismissed him to his supper and some rest before he was required to stand watch later. Already the lieutenants and the senior midshipmen were drifting aft to join the Captain and his guests and they would soon be joined by the Captains of the two frigates and the brig that made up the escort.
***
The sun had not long cleared the horizon when the first boats were dispatched toward the shore. The visitors of the previous night had lingered late and departed for the shore in darkness, the lieutenant assuring Thomas Bell that the boat crew knew their way by the feel of the currents, and this much appeared to be true for a check at dawn with the large signal telescope had shown the boat drawn up on the sand in the small inlet that formed the harbour.
The barge had been loaded with the empty casks and now the First Lieutenant instructed the Second, about to embark in the number one launch, "Take care that the men scrub the casks properly, David, we can't afford to have salt remaining in them when they are refilled. We do not know what the reception we may have at the Cape and will be in need of all the water we may get here."
"As you say, Mister Bell," Lieutenant Rae answered. "I have the Cooper and his mates with me to ensure they are properly found when we are ready to fill them." He glanced across at the nearest of the Prison Ships and asked, "Do you wish me to check that our consorts take adequate supplies as well."
"That may be wise." The First followed his companion's gaze and drew his breath sharply at the sight of ragged figures being herded together in the ship's waist while others manned the deck pump. "It looks as if they are at least attempting to cleanse the people in their charge." He shook his head sadly. "They may be gaol bait and the sweepings of the gutters, but I question the need to use such force on fettered and restrained men."
Lieutenant Rae, who knew the First Lieutenant's view that firm handling and respect to the men bore better fruit than brutality and fear, held his peace. He didn't entirely agree with his senior, but didn't approve of senseless bullying or abuse of authority either. Instead he said, "I have arranged for some of the ship's boys to accompany me, sir. They may do some of the simpler tasks and I can use them to run errands and seek out the suppliers of the provender we require."
"Aye, that will keep them well occupied." Thomas Bell was, at heart, a kindly man and regarded the welfare of the ship's contingent of boys in a rather fatherly manner. He added, as the thought came to him, "Try to secure us several pigs and some hens, or at least obtain a price for them." He passed a small purse. "Perhaps you and the Wardroom will join me in purchasing some for our own use?"
Mister Rae nodded. "I shall do so. Mister Beasley and the others have already given me some coin and a list of things they would like to enjoy, if you'll pardon me, I shall put your proposal to them."
His return a few minutes later, stowing a fatter purse into his pocket, coincided with the arrival on deck of Midshipman Bowles, also armed with a purse and a list of items the Gunroom wanted to acquire to bolster their rations.
Harry stopped Ferghal as that worthy made his way to the side. "Going ashore, Ferghal?"
"Aye, Master Harry." Ferghal grinned and touched his forelock. "I am accompanying the Cooper, though he says I may only carry his tools and scrub the casks."
"You have all the luck," Harry responded. "My seniors have decided that they have the right to a shore visit and not those of us still 'under instruction' as Mister Barclay puts it so politely. Mister Bowles is to buy us some fresh eggs and perhaps a chicken or two for our table, assist him if you can," he finished with a wink.
"O'Connor." The Second's voice cut across their conversation. "Into the barge with you now, or the Gunner's daughter will be seeking your kisses."
Though the threat was more for effect than real, Ferghal saluted Harry and ran to obey the lieutenant, scrambling down the long tumblehome and then into the barge, already waiting to slip its painter.
***
The day passed in a frenzy of hard labour. Even those who remained aboard had much to do. The entire content of the hold seemed in need of moving and restowing. Harry watched, and sometimes leant his own slender weight to the work, as the casks of salt beef and pork were moved and resecured to make room for the new stores to be brought off from the shore. Then the water casks required similar attention, with the Purser, the Boatswain and the fourth Lieutenant checking each cask and its contents carefully. Among the water casks two were found to be leaking and only part filled. These were swung out and then manhandled to where they could be hauled up on deck and first repaired, then carefully cleaned and sent ashore for refilling.
On deck, the sun blazed down on the toiling men, only the steady breeze off the land easing the heat even with the awning spread over the quarterdeck and poop. The stores began arriving just before dinnertime, eight bells in the forenoon watch. There were fresh vegetables in crates, live chickens and even several pigs among the various containers. Then came casks of preserved salt pork and a quantity of pickled vegetables as well, much to the seamen's disgust. In between these, the ship's barge travelled back and forth with the water casks to be laboriously refilled.
Similar scenes were evident around each of the ships at anchor, though the prison ships seemed to take on somewhat less than the men o' war or the Indiamen. By dusk Harry and the other midshipmen were exhausted and had barely the energy to eat their supper before tumbling into their hammocks.
"What a place," Ferghal told Harry as he cleared the remains of the midshipmen's meal. The sun had reddened his face painfully and he had already endured a scolding from the Surgeon who happened to encounter him. "The whole seems made of some black grit and the grass grows but sparsely. Even the trees struggle to survive. They say it is a volcano, though I cannot see it."
"Well I shall have the chance to see it for myself tomorrow," Harry told him. "I am to accompany Mister Rogers and the Reverend Bentley to Fort Hayes to collect mail for onward passage and deliver our own for transport homeward when a ship serves."
***
Harry and Kit Tanner had discovered that Mister Bentley was a fountain of knowledge when it came to bird and animal life. In fact the reverend gentleman was quite an accomplished ornithologist and became quite passionate when observing some new species he had not before encountered. The brief visit to Ascension had provided an opportunity to add to his extensive journal of notes on the variety of birds found nesting there and he had enlisted Harry to make detailed drawings of some of the specimens Kit, a dead shot with a fowling piece, had managed to shoot. This gave an opportunity to go ashore with him once Spartan had taken in all she required and waited only for the completion of some repairs to the Maid of Selsey which her Master described as 'minor matters occasioned by that late assault'.
"Now then, Mister Heron," the parson called. "Follow me please; I am advised there is a nesting site nearby of a bird I have previously observed only in flight. You too, Mister Tanner, but cautiously. I do not wish to have them fly away."
Harry glanced at Kit and grinned. With a wink to his friend he replied, "Aye, aye, sir." He followed carefully behind the parson as they walked slowly and cautiously up a small slope.
"Ah." The Parson had stopped and was peering over the top of an outcrop at something beyond. "Make no sudden noise or movement – we have found a nesting Atlantisia elpenor. They are now quite rare, but my references say it was once extremely abundant here."
Harry eased himself into a position from which he too would be able to see the bird. "I see it, sir, but what makes it so remarkable?"
Mister Bentley peered at him for a mo
ment. "What makes it remarkable? Why that it is found in no other place, Mister Heron. And no one is able to say why it is vanishing as it is. One of our Lord's deep mysteries I suspect." He returned to his study of the bird saying, "I desire you to capture its image for me, can you do so swiftly?"
Harry already had his pencil and pad to hand and, finding a suitable surface quickly roughed out a sketch, noting small details and surrounding it with notes as to colours and movement. The sun blazed down on him as he did so, and the breeze, fitful as it was, did little more than stir the dust. Everything he touched seemed to be coated with the gritty volcanic dust that formed the almost arid surface of the island. He finished his sketch and eased back to where Kit Tanner waited, watching a wheeling bird high above them. "I have finished, sir." He looked up at the bird Kit watched and asked, "What bird is that, sir, it appears similar to the frigate bird, yet quite distinct."
Their Lordships Request: A Harry Heron Adventure Page 9
