TimeTravel Adventures of The 1800 Club: Book 12

by P McAuley, Robert

She answered with a smile, “Yes. But soon the streets will be cobblestoned and almost everyone will own a horse that will make your eyes water as their waste will sit in the streets until it rains, as street cleaners are still in their future.”

  “Still,” Watson continued, “a doctor from their future would be a godsend to them.”

  “Are you saying,” asked Bill, “that you would like to settle down in this time period?”

  “Oh, no. As you know Scotland Yard has need of me and Holmes in our time.” He looked out the window again and said in a low tone of voice, “However . . . “

  Shirley patted his arm, “Watson, no more thinking like that. You are needed in your own time.”

  “Well, still, it is quite quaint and without those street engines of our time spouting smoke and thunder from their steam engines and destroying the roads with their wide tires. You must admit to having a love of these quieter times.” He looked at Bill and added, “Bill, I would imagine that you would find this time a better place to settle down after a day of dodging around those busses, cars bicycles and motor bikes, never mind the children’s slateboards. Heavens, if I were you I’d work in your time but live in this one.”

  “That’s ‘skateboards’, and you must be a mind reader, Watson, as I’ve thought of that many times.”

  The cab came to a slow walk as traffic increased closer to their destination and in a few moments the tall masts of many ships tied up at the docks appeared.

  “Whoa,” called the driver as he applied the mechanical brake with his foot and rapped on the cab’s roof. “Here we are, folks.”

  Bill paid the fare and gave a large tip. Once again Johnnie drove away a happy man.

  Bill took his and Shirley’s valise and the three time travelers walked down the dock looking for their ship. Shirley spotted it first and she pointed it out.

  The Packet ship was no different than the other ships and in fact she sat slightly lower in the water. As they reached her, a crewman was signing off for a large pouch of mail. The mailman went down the slim wooden gangway that, unlike the other ships had a banister for the passengers. A large flatbed wagon pulled by four horses was being unloaded and its cargo of wooden furniture manhandled down the Packet ship’s open hatch. Standing on the dock next to the gangway was a seaman dressed in a dark blue uniform with brass buttons for its double-breasted jacket. He wore white canvas shoes, a white knitted turtleneck sweater and captain’s hat and as they approached said with a smile that lifted his thick brown handlebar mustache, “Greetings. Are you scheduled to sail aboard the Penquin?”

  “We are,” answered Bill as he put the two valises down and took out the tickets Matt had provided them with. The seaman looked at them and then at a slip of paper in his hand. “Ah, Mister Scott. My captain wishes to meet you and your group personally. Please wait one moment.” He walked quickly up the gangway and returned in less than two minutes with a tall slim man with a deeply tanned, clean shaven face and brown hair that rested easily on the shoulders of his white uniform. He tipped his white captain’s hat and said as he offered his hand, “Mister Scott. You do me a great honor sir by traveling aboard the Penquin. I am Captain Whiting at your service.”

  “Pleased to meet you, captain. Matt told me that your ship is the best way to travel to England.” He turned and guided Shirley and Watson forward and introduced them. “Miss Shirley Holmes and Doctor John Watson this is Captain Whiting.”

  Whiting took Shirley’s hand and as he did a short bow from his waist, kissed her hand, “So very pleased to meet you, Miss Holmes.” Bill noticed that she blushed as the captain turned to Watson and said as he shook his hand, “Doctor Watson. A plus to have a man such as yourself aboard my ship.” Bill swore that he saw Watson also blush.

  “Allow me to show you to your cabins,” he said as he took Shirley’s valise and stepped onto the gangway followed by the three time travelers. “The Penquin is a not a new type of ship, but it was reconfigured to try a new form of scheduled trips not with just cargo, but mail and passengers as well. She was built to only handle cargo so her hold is very large and the owner uses that to his advantage when he decided to use her as a passenger ship. I am proud to say that he listened to my plea for such a vessel.”

  Bill knew that the big ship had a small group of ten cabins, five and five separated by a hallway that gave entrance to their cabins. The cabins were added to the main deck and each had two windows facing out to sea and a door. At the rear of the ten cabins was another that was the size of one and a half cabins and this was the dining area. A small section of the dining area was a washroom for the passengers of the top deck. The room offered cold running water and as there was no flushing system available yet, it was a ‘lookout below’ system with tin chutes that carried waste to an opening close to the ship’s waterline. Bill also knew that the washroom had a water tank in the ceiling that provided running water as fast as gravity allowed it to flow down to the open spigot. There were another twenty cabins below deck, ten on each side with a wide walkway running down the middle of the ship separating them. These were the less expensive cabins and had one window that looked like a cannon port and in bad weather they had to be closed to prevent water from entering. At the rear of the hallway below deck were two washrooms with cold water only for the passengers that had rented the below deck cabins. Once again as there was no flushing system available it was a ‘lookout below’ system. Aft of these cabins was part of the cargo area and some of the crew’s quarters. Below that deck was the rest of the cargo area and crew quarters along with the ship’s cook and galley. Part of the galley was a pen that held a cow and chickens so the ship would be able to serve milk and eggs for most of the journey and chicken dinners when they were getting close to their destination.

  Captain Whiting opened the door that led to the hall which separated the ten cabins, five to a side. On both walls was a brass banister that stopped only at the cabin doors then continued to the next door. Once again they were there for the passengers to grip as they went down the hall in rough seas. The captain put the valise down in front of cabin number one and handed Shirley the key.

  “Lunch will be served in the dining area aft of these cabins when we depart. Now I must be off and see to the cargo.” He tipped his hat and walked down past the cabins and out the door to go down to the cargo hold.

  Bill asked, “Shall we take a few minutes to put away our clothes?”

  “I’d love to spend thirty minutes settling in,” said Shirley and both men looked at their pocket watches. Bill said as he snapped his closed, “Meet here at 11:45? That would give us fifteen minutes before sailing.”

  Both nodded and Shirley opened her cabin door. Bill looked at his key and it had the number 2 stamped on it while Watson’s had a 3.

  “See you in thirty-minutes,” said Bill as he opened his cabin door. Knowing that the cabin was added on just recently he expected a roughly put-together room but he underestimated the carpenters of the times as he stood in the doorway of his cabin.

  The room was eight feet wide and twelve feet long and made of oak that, except for the dark brown floor, was painted a light green. Attached to the wall to the left of the entrance was a bed not unlike the lower part of a bunk bed. It was wide enough for two and was constructed with an ten-inch high lip that ran down the outside of the bed to prevent a passenger from rolling out during a rough voyage. Beneath the bed was a double door that hid a deep storage section. The bed’s two pillows were fluffed up and the bed was covered with a white linen cover while a heavier woolen cover was folded at the foot of the bed. To the right of the bed was a small table with a door beneath it that hid the bedpan. Against the wall opposite the door was an oak table that was attached to the wall so it needed just two legs and once again there was a storage section beneath it. On either side of table were two straight-back wooden chairs loosely tied to a brass ring so they wouldn’t stray in a rolling sea. Attached to the wall opposite the bed was a well-stuffed couch that also
had two drawers for storage beneath it. Against the wall to the right of the open door was a single easy chair that was also tied to a brass ring. Between the easy chair and the door was a window with a wooden cover that could be raised up and out and held in place by a wooden brace. There were a pair of white linen curtains on it and to the left of the doorway was another window with the same type of cover. Attached to the wall above the bed was a brass oil lamp mounted on a swivel that allowed the lamp to be vertical even in rough seas and another was mounted over the table. Finishing the compact cabin was a round six-foot dark green rug with a three-inch black border running around it.

  Wow, he thought as he sat on the bed, this is really well done. Better than many hotels I’ve stayed in in my time period. Matt, you’ve done it again, my friend.

  Ten minutes later Bill stepped into the hallway and tapped on Shirley’s door. “Ready when you are,” he said as the door to Watson’s cabin opened.

  “Quite a cabin is it not?”

  “Sure is,” answered Bill.

  Shirley opened her door and stepped out into the hallway. “Did Matt set us up in another first-class situation?” she asked with a smile, “My cabin is wonderful.”

  “I’m sure that he had a hand in this. He enjoys doing it.”

  “According to my pocket watch,” said Bill, “we have time to watch the departure.”

  The three left the cabin area and went to the front of the main deck. Seamen were running around setting a small amount of sails as the captain stood on the rear of the deck and watched as the helmsman steered the ship in reverse as she backed out. Once clear of the dock and other ships, the captain ordered more sails to be lowered and soon they caught a breeze that brought a white froth of water to the ships bow. Bill noted that although the captain and the sailor who greeted them on the dock wore uniforms, the rest of the crew wore everyday clothes that allowed them to climb up into the rigging without a hindrance of a jacket or shoes.

  Understandable, he thought as he watched the very low skyline of 1805 New York glide by. The sky above the ship was full with diving and climbing seagulls, all screeching as they sought food, but as they fell behind another sound took their place, a sound that they would hear every minute of the day and night until they docked in England: the soft creaking of the wooden ship as she was forced through the water by the power of the wind filling her canvas sails.

  After a while the three time travelers reentered the cabin area and opened the door marked DINING CABIN.

  Once again the three were treated to what would soon become the norm in ocean travel. A ten-foot long table was centered in the large room with ten chairs on either side. The table was covered in a white linen tablecloth and pewter settings were set for twenty people. Cutlery with the initial ‘P’ on the handle were set out with linen napkins, also monogrammed with a ‘P’ as were the pewter cups.

  The four windows were open and the sea breeze entered putting the linen curtains in a horizontal position. The floor was painted dark rich brown while three of the walls were painted light green but it was the fourth wall that got their attention. It was a mural depicting six ships, all with a full press of sails and a white foam mustache at their bows as they raced along with the wind. The streak of lighting coming from the blue, black storm clouds that filled the background let the viewer know why the ships had put on all the sails they had: to escape the fury of the coming storm. Centered above the table were two oil lamps hanging from the white ceiling and one at both ends of the room.

  As Bill held out the seat for Shirley the door opened and the other passengers that occupied the other seven upper deck cabins entered. All were couples and after introductions they took their seats and chatted about, as usual, the weather and their cruise.

  The door opened again and a short pudgy man with a shaved head entered. He wore what Bill called ‘every day street clothes’ along with a white apron. He smiled and with a slight bow said with a thick English accent, “Good day, folks. I am Leopold and first I cook then I serve the food so if you become unhappy with it, please tell me. I have references from The Happy Times restaurant in London and the Williams House restaurant in Manchester. I shall return with your mid-day meal: beef stew with onions and carrots, brown bread with a butter spread, tea and milk. Dinner is at sundown and will be ham steak with potatoes and cabbage, brown bread with a butter spread, tea and a cup of rum.” He looked up as though trying to remember something then went on. “Morning meal is served at one hour after sun up and a boy will rap on each cabin door once to give you a quarter hour warning.

  Morning meal will be one egg a person, cheese, brown bread with a butter spread and a slice of bacon, milk and tea. The eggs will be served every day until we are close to England then we have a chicken dinner feast. Milk will be available unless we need to kill the cow for food. Then the milk stops but we serve meat.”

  “Let me explain that,” said Captain Whiting who just entered the room. “Leopold is correct in saying that we would serve the cow should we run low of food. You see we have a food stock for the passengers for twenty-five days. And although we intend to complete the trip in twenty-one days, we still are at the mercy of the elements. It has been said by the seamen that you can tell when we are getting close to shore by the drop in the choices of food that the cook offers as the food stocks dwindle. In fact this is a test that separates the good cooks from the average cooks because the better cook has lots of ways to serve the same food for weeks at a time and believe me, Leopold is one of the best cooks. We had to steal him away from the restaurant in Manchester.”

  Leopold left the room as the captain continued, “As you see I’ve changed into my work clothes as the company uniform will not do at sailing across the ocean.” He wore a black crew neck knitted sweater, black pants tucked into calf-high brown boots and held up with a wide black leather belt. “I do hope that you all enjoy your trip with us and I encourage you to tell the management when we dock. For now, however, I must return to the helm. I bid you all good day and hope to chat with you over the next twenty-one days.” He tipped his tri-cornered black hat and left the room.

  Ten minutes later Leopold returned with a young boy who carried a large pot while he carried bread, butter and a pitcher of milk and another of tea on a large pewter tray. He set it down in the center of the long table and the boy stood by the head of the table waiting for his boss. Leopold went to him and took a ladle out of the pot and served a large dollop of stew onto Shirley’s pewter plate. He finished serving everyone and set the pot on a table standing in the corner next to the door. “Please,” he said, “eat as much as you wish and remember this: should a high sea come up, a meal might be skipped as the fire from the stove suddenly becomes a danger to the ship.”

  They emptied the pot, finished the bread and all had a second cup of tea. All agreed that the lunch was as good as any hotel restaurant. They all decided to walk the deck before dinner and as the ocean was calm a white flag was flying rather than a red flag, which prohibited deck strolling in bad weather. As they strolled, more passengers came up from the below deck section and joined Bill, Shirley and Watson and the other passengers. After two hours most of the group decided to return to their rooms and refresh before the next meal.

  Watson decided to take a nap and Bill invited Shirley into his cabin before dinner. Once the cabin door closed they embraced and kissed.

  “Do you know,” she whispered, “how torturous it is to be so near you and yet act like a proper lady?”

  “Yes, I do know! It’s the same for me.” They hugged and he went on, “I’ve missed you so much Shirley Holmes. I know that there is no fireplace in this room but if I invited you in this evening would you make my dreams come true?”

  “Yes, because we have the very same dream, my love.”

  Two hours later a rap on Bill’s cabin door startled them and when they realized that it was the boy giving them a warning that dinner would be served in fifteen minutes, they both got up from the
couch they were reclined on and started to fix their disheveled hair, clothes and wipe lipstick off of Bill’s collar before stepping out into the hall just as the door to Watson’s cabin opened.

  “Ah,” said the doctor, “I imagine I’m the last one out.”

  Other doors started opening as Shirley said, “I myself just stepped into the hallway as did Bill.”

  “Then off to dinner we go,” said the doctor as he led the way. They entered the dining room followed by the other upper deck passengers and after all were seated, Leopold appeared with the same boy. The cook pushed a rolling serving table with a covered pewter dish for each person. He placed one in front of Shirley as the boy put a large covered pewter dish of potatoes and another of cabbage in the center of the table. He then put a dish with a stack of brown bread towards one end of the table and one at the other end. He followed this up with the butter spread and a pot of tea at both ends as Leopold followed with a bottle of rum and poured half a mug for each passenger. Each passenger uncovered his or her dish to unveil a half-inch thick ham steak.

  After they were finished they all agreed that Leopold was indeed a good cook.

  The sun dipped beneath the horizon and many of the passengers enjoyed the cool night air by strolling on the deck. The ship had a few oil lamps lit for running at night and they made small pools of light aboard the dark ship, which were occupied by the married passengers while the younger ones giggled in the darker sections.

  “I say,” asked Watson as they walked down the hallway to their cabins, “do you play cards?’

  “Yes,” answered Shirley. “Do you have a deck of cards?”

  “Yes. I brought them from England for such an occasion.”

  Shirley, realizing that she had just trapped herself and Bill into playing cards for the next few hours, looked at Bill who winced as it hit him too.”

  It was eleven o’clock when they were able to leave Watson’s cabin and when Bill slipped her into his cabin they collapsed onto his bed and once again it was the rap on his cabin door the next morning that woke them. Shirley slipped into her cabin as Bill went down to the washroom just as another passenger came out.