william price and the thetis 22

 oops sorry, sorry! my fault this time

 

 

Chapter 22

 

It took a while to cross back to Gibraltar, as the ‘Sparrowhawk’ needed to be nursed a bit, as the sprung planks at the bow needed to be repaired several times under the press of the Atlantic.  At least the prevailing westerly winds aided a course to the east.

At least, thought William, he could write up his reports very carefully, and make sure that everything is logged. He made sure to describe everything, and make it clear what he was planning at each stage. He sat back to rest, and admired again the pretty rosewood desk with its carvings down the sides. He reached down to one of the carvings, which seemed slightly out of true, and tinkered with it.

There was a click! And a small drawer sprang open. In it was a leather bag.

William opened his door.

“Pass the word for Mr. Scully and Mr. Pollard,” he said.

Scully slid down quickly, and Erasmus Pollard followed shortly after.

“Sir?” Scully was concerned.

“I found a hidden drawer in my desk,” said William. “There’s a bag of washleather in it, and I wanted to empty it with witnesses. Unless it belonged to the hapless lieutenant who died, in which case… well, let us see what is in it.”

He laid a tray on the desk and emptied out the washleather bag.

A coruscating array of jewellery was revealed.

Scully whistled.

“Probably from Doña Mercedes,” he said.

“Of course,” said William. “He emptied her jewellery boxes, and hung on to these for himself.”

“Is  there one the other side?” asked Pollard.

“Oh, that’s unlikely, don’t you think?” said William.

“Try it,” said Pollard.

William did.

The other side also had a drawer.

“I thought there was too little for a great lady,” said Pollard. “Oh, well, I’ll log it and lock it up for you, sir. I assume it is part of the spoils?”

“It ought to be returned to her,” said William. “It was taken from her, and she will need it until her people pick her up. We are not at war with Portugal. I don’t even know if the ship should be returned.”

“You’re right,” said Scully. “But we should, as a company, get an award from the insurance company.”

“I want to make a detour to pick up the ‘John and Betsy,’ in any case,” said William. “I want to send Colin ahead in it so we don’t get fired on off Gibraltar.”

 

William went to see the governor in the small harbour where he had left Doña Mercedes. The lady received him with the governor and his wife.

William bowed low.

“I have the honour to return your jewellery to you, my lady,” he said, handing over the bags to Doña Mercedes.

With shaking hands she emptied the jewels onto the desk.

“Mother of God! You have recovered them all!” she cried. “Ah, and all of them have sentimental value; what can I do to thank you?”

“Ma’am, it is the pleasure of the Royal Navy to be of service,” said William. “Also, we have anchored in the bay the ship you were on, her cargo is intact.”

“I will see that you have an award from the insurance company,” said the governor. “What then is your name?” his English was accented, but good.

“Sir, it is the ship’s company of the ‘Thetis’ schooner who deserve any award; I am William Price, and I have the honour to command a crew of fine men,” said William.

He was treated to a fine meal, and made much of, which, being a modest man, he was glad to escape, and get back on board, where, relieved of the wallowing merchantman and able to make better time, he promptly forgot every last word about the business.

 

Colin, meanwhile, took command of the ‘John and Betsy’ and sailed off at best speed to pass the word to Admiral Pellew that the ‘Sparrowhawk’ was being brought in.

William estimated that Colin would manage to gain the better part of a day with his fleet little ship, and sailed into Gibraltar with the fair certainty that he would not be mistaken for a pirate here.

He was not prepared for the ships in the harbour to have every spar manned with sailors, cheering as they came in to anchor.

“Well, that’s very nice of them,” said William, who had a large lump in his throat.

“It’s because we avenged the crew, and put right a wrong,” said Scully. “You’ll be feted, and quite right too.”

“Admiral Pellew relied on us to do it, so we had to do it,” said William.

“And the Navy has all good-hearted and upright honourable young officers fooled into thinking that acts of outrageous bravery are no more than their duty,” said Scully, cynically.

“Best shot of your life,” William reminded him.

“Well, sometimes even I get caught up in the need to make the admiralty look good,” said Scully. “I love those eighteen-pounders.”

“How did you manage to aim them up?”

“Carpenter’s jack,” said Scully. “Despite Mr. Lord’s suggestion that we should permit the eighteen-pounder to mount a nine-pounder in a kind of munitional act of unlawful carnal knowledge. The jack was a lot safer.”

“Mr. Lord is getting a wide education,” said William. “Bless the child, has he actually got as far as figuring out the, er, ins and outs of carnality?”

“Oh, the boy knows what’s what; he’s seen horses in action,” said Scully. “He just doesn’t know all the rude words he thinks he needs.”

 

 

The ‘Thetis’ anchored with the ‘Sparrowhawk’ beside her, and William was rowed over to see Admiral Pellew.

“Well done, young man well done!” said the bluff admiral. “Lose many?”

“Three discharged dead, two probably discharged damaged, and one discharged because I will not sail with a man who freezes in action and then lies about why,” said William. “I could have flogged him, but it wouldn’t have helped matters. If he gets himself pressed and finds a less lenient captain, he has only himself to blame.”

“There are a few men who are so much trouble, that they are better for not having them,” agreed the admiral. “Did you bring back Snow as a prisoner?”

“No. I wanted him dead. It’s all in the report,” said William. “We gave back the Portuguese ship he had taken to the Portuguese; it’s their nightmare to do the paperwork about it. But he had cargo from a ship he sank, and I don’t know its nationality, is that fairly prize money for the crew?”

“If it’s obvious loot and could not be declared goods purchased for his company,” said Pellew.

“I’ve yet to see sailors dressed in ostrich feathers, sporting ivory goods,” said William. “And… one of my men came from the John Company, sir, and he says they are diamonds. Rough diamonds.”

“Really? I’ve heard that a few people turn up with diamonds from somewhere along the west African coast, but nobody seems to know where they came from,” said Pellew. “I take it, as you’re a bit cagey, this is more than a handful of pebbles?”

“A boxful, this size, sir,” said William, indicating with his hands. “And if not flawed… well, half a dozen of them are the size of a small pocket watch.”

“Good Gad!”, said Pellew.

“My thoughts exactly when Jepps told me,” said William.

 “Well, have it all brought aboard, and I’ll see about things; I’ll liaise with the Portuguese ambassador, too.  Take a couple of days leave, lad; then back to your slavers. Whom did you send back in command of the ‘Sparrowhawk?’”

“My number two; Lieutenant Erskine.”

“You know that this is an almost automatic promotion to him as master and commander in charge of it?”

“Yessir; I think he can handle it.”

“But not your number one?”

William sighed.

“Scully would be even better, but we did a mission for Sir William Wickham, who fineagled a promotion to lieutenant for Scully, even though he has not done six years at sea. And Sir William extracted a promise that he would seek no more promotion until he had done six years.”

“And when will that time be up?”

“In about four years’ time,” said William.

“What an extraordinary young man he must be, and so must you to accept him.”

“John is methodical and thorough but knows how to take calculated risks. He’s an asset,” said William. “And I am not tying him to me, but I do like working with him.”

“Understood. Oh! I contacted Withimere about your volunteer; tell him to give his father some time to calm down. He is raging about disowning the boy at the moment, but I expect he will come round.”

“I hope so, sir,” said William. “If not, at least he’ll have his share of the eighth to the warrant officers of anything from this cruise, which will be head money even if there are no diamonds.”

“Well, I will try to let you know before you go back on station,” said the admiral. William saluted again, and left.

 

As good as his word, Admiral Pellew sent out a note to the ‘Thetis.’

Stones are diamonds. Estimated value, difficult to calculate; but in light of there being several comparable to Pigott’s diamond, which could not be readily sold as one piece, and eventually went at lottery for three-and-twenty thousand pounds, the recommendation is to break them into matching stones for greater saleable value. The market value of the collection is not less than two million pounds, but may take several years to realise.

“Well, how about that,” said William. “At least there’s head money.” He went to tell the crew the good and the bad news about their box of dirty stones, and there was much rueful laughter.

 

oOoOo

                                                                                                 

 

The journey south was mostly uneventful, save a brief pause to aid a British 74 to fight off what appeared to be pirate ships. William went on board the ‘Northumberland’ to find a rather nervous reception with marines

“No, I’m not the pirate Snow, yes, we . took back the ‘Sparrowhawk’, and my number two is to take command of her,” said William.

The captain of the 74, a full Post Captain, of course, laughed.

“It sounds as if you’ve had a few problems,” he said. “What’s up with your number one if he isn’t in charge?”

“Oh, nothing wrong at all, but he joined the sea late, and because of a mission we aren’t allowed to talk about, his promotion was accelerated on the proviso he doesn’t seek promotion before he’s had his six years sea time,” said William.

“Ah, in other words the sort of man who does well out of ‘A long war and a sickly season,” said the other captain. “Sorry to be a bit jumpy; I have Napoleon Bonapart on board, on the way to St. Helena,” he gestured to the dark-visaged man who was watching with some interest.

“Oh, I thought he was supposed to live in exile in rural England,” said William.

“So did he,” said the captain, dryly. “Instead of which, we get the dubious honour of escorting him somewhere he won’t escape.”

“May I meet him?” asked William, curiously. “He doesn’t look the bogeyman I grew up being warned about to make me behave.”

“Oh, I am sure he will be glad of a change of routine,” said the captain. He introduced William.

William advanced a hand.

“I hope no hard feelings now the war is over,” he said. “Personally, I’d have suggested negotiating for you to abdicate on behalf of your son, and for you to act as his regent. I have no great opinion of the Bourbons.”

He received a quick, cynical smile for this comment.

“I would have been more than happy to be an advisor by letter to my son, from England,” said the former emperor. “But I will end my days on a tropical island in obscurity.”

“Oh, your name will never fall into obscurity, sir,” said William. “In a way, I have you to thank for being independently wealthy, having my own ship, and knowing that my lads will be well off.”

“Indeed, how so?” asked Boneparte.

“My ship used to be ostensibly an American privateer who signed up with Denmark when you were making your march on Paris,” said William. “And I was involved in the capture of her, and her consorts, and the regaining of a British frigate. The prize money and head money was considerable, so I feel I ought to be thanking you.”

The Corsican laughed another wry laugh.

“It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good, you English say. I wish you well, young man.”

It would be a fantastic story one day to tell his children.

                                                                                              

 epilogue to go

 

William Price and the thetis 21

 Well, we're back online. Not a word what went wrong nor a apology, of course.

Chapter 21

 

William observed the silent, dead silent crew, standing feet apart, arms behind their backs in their best uniforms. It was a message of respect to the one of their own who was due punishment.

“Gowan,” said William, “Do you know why I have to flog you?”

“Aye, sir; I wouldn’t kill men on the word of a little boy,” said Gowan.

“No, Gowan. You acknowledged the right of pirates to rape our womenfolk and murder all your fellows and the women and children as well as disobeying the king,” said William.

“I never did!” said Gowan.

“Oh, but you did, Gowan,” said William. “Mr. Porkins is still a little boy, but he relays messages from me, and carried an order from me whilst he learns to be an officer in his own right. As I did at his age. And I ordered you to fire. As one of his majesty’s officers, I stand in the place of the king, who can hardly lead every one of his ships to war against enemies, pirates, slavers, and the like. So, you have disobeyed the king.  Do you have piratical leanings, Gowan? You know how this pirate killed every man jack on the ship he was sailing. You know how he killed all the men on that peaceful merchantman, raped to death the maid to the lady we rescued, raped her, would probably have raped her little girl if she had been a year or two older, and then set them forth with the expectation of dying in the storm or of thirst. Do you long to rape my wife, Gowan? Or any of the other women?  Does it give you a thrill to think of the pirate cutlasses slicing through the bellies of your messmates, which is Snow’s preferred way of killing? Would you stand proudly beside Snow and watch Davy Thorne, your friend, staring at you with reproach in his agony filled eyes as the life goes out of them, and they stare at nothing, the rictus of torture still on his face?”

Gowan was pale, and he heaved dry, having wisely eschewed food before being flogged.

“But I didn’t intend nothin’ of that!” he cried. “I… I just couldn’t kill men, when push came to shove. I’ve allus been on the guns when we took slavers, and didn’t have to get me hands dirty, with the killing.”

“How lucky for you,” said William. “You must have traded favours for that; the rest of us have risked our lives to save life, in fighting slavers. As we risked our lives and our ship to put out of action a filthy piece of dung who I cannot consider a fellow human being, and thereby save the lives of future victims. Do you read the Bible, Gowan?”

“Aye, sir, and it says, ‘Thou shalt not kill,’” said Gowan.

“And later, Jesus speaks out against ‘Ye Pharisees and whited sepulchres.’ Do you know what a whited sepulchre is, Gowan?”

“No, sir,” said Gowan.

“A sepulchre is a burial chamber, Gowan; where the body rots. They are whitewashed to try to keep away flies, and to look more pleasing, but they are still chambers of secret decay. A man who will not stand up for his fellows, nor for women and children, nor for peaceful merchants, and claims righteousness for not being prepared to kill the scum of the earth is a whited sepulchre. And Snow would not have spared you for it, you know, if you had said to him, ‘I killed none of your men,’ he would have said ‘More fool you,’ and would have spitted you on his sword. You froze because you were afraid, and seized on an excuse not to obey, didn’t you?”

“I… yes!” said Gowan, who would rather accept the scorn of his fellows than the blazing contempt in the captain’s eyes.

“There is no shame in being afraid, Gowan,” said William. “We all fear, if not death, then the manner in which we are to die. But you lied about it. I am not going to whip you, Gowan, but you are to consider yourself under arrest, and I am going to discharge you the service. Whipping a man is one thing, but you are too weak to tell the truth and face your fear, too weak to stand up for what is right, and you are too weak for my crew. I will work out what pay should have accrued to you, take your debt from it as the difference, and you will leave the navy at Gibraltar, without a portion of the prize money won by the other crew members who were prepared to fight for right, and therefore get the perks of what goes with valour. Get him out of my sight; I’d as soon flog a buttercup.” He turned to the crew. “We work, we fight as a team of men, each man responsible for the safety of all the others by doing his work, whether that is running about with canteens of water under fire like the women and girls, or making the shot of his life to decapitate a pirate king with more aplomb than ever Robespierre managed with Louis XVI. And a man who will not stand up for his fellows is no man.”

There was a low murmur of assent, and as Gowan was led away, the sailors turned as a body and gave him a slow hand clap.

Gowan would be glad to leave the ship at Gibraltar, but would suffer most when he heard how much prize money he had missed out on. But he had done nothing to earn it, and the tars would recognise that.

“Mr. Price, we men thank you for counting us!” called out Cassie.

“My apologies for the way I worded it, but you girls and women are more use than many a man,” said William.

They had worked like Trojans to help clear up the mess. Any man with any carpentry skill had been employed making the ‘Sparrowhawk’ safe for occupation, and the stern lights were temporarily replaced with cotton mull. It let in some light.

 

William meanwhile wrote orders for Erskine and Pigeon to go on board and take charge of the ‘Sparrowhawk’ and ‘Nossa Senhora das Flores’ respectively.

“Sir,” said Erskine, “Are you sure you don’t want Scully on the ‘Sparrowhawk?’ After all, if a prize lieutenant is sent back in a lieutenant’s command, he is sometimes offered the command as a regular matter.”

“You’re an ambitious young man, Nat,” said William. “I know John’s mind, and he is happy where he is. He has not been a sailor as long as some of us, and he wants the experience; don’t curl your lip, he is not afraid of responsibility, he just feels he could give more to the navy with a bit more time taking orders, before giving them. He doesn’t have even seven years’ sea time, you know.”

“Oh!  I see, sir,” said Erskine. “Yes, under the circumstances, I’d want more experience.”

Scully, in fact, had not as much as three years’ sea time, but had received his promotion on nepotism, jiggery pokery, and doing a favour to the Royal spymaster, Sir William Wickham. It was a secret kept by William, Scully, and Colin, and one of the provisos was that Scully was not to seek promotion until he had six years’ sea time, and Scully was happy with this stricture.

And then they were clawing their way back north towards Gibraltar.

 

oOoOo

 

“Deck there!  Three vessels!” the call came from aloft.

“Bend on our number and the answer for the day,” said William. “Don’t run them up yet, let’s identify them first.”

“Deck there! British frigates, and I swear one of them is ‘Endeavour!” called the lookout. “Signal on the lead mast; what ship, and challenge!”

“Answer,” said William.

“Signal… 167… 163…578…317.”

“Commodore come on board Frigate,” said William. “Acknowledge; ready the captain’s pinnace. I expect they want to know about the fight with Snow.”

 

 

William was surprised not to be given the customary piping to come on board, and frowned as he saluted.

“Ha! I can’t believe you fell for it, Snow!” gloated the rather florid captain of the lead frigate. “You’ll be up on the yard arm before noon, and your flotilla sunk.”

“I don’t quite know how you have made up your mind that I am Snow, when the sloop he took is flying my ship’s pennant over it as a prize. I am William Price, master and commander of the ‘Thetis’ and we destroyed Peter Snow’s pirates and took over the prize they had taken, ‘Nossa Senhora das Flores.’”

“Oh, very easy to say,” sneered William’s captor.

“It’s easy to prove,” said William. “I note you are sailing in company with the ‘Endeavour,’ which is, or was, last I knew, under the command of Captain Mornington.”

“And how would you know that?” snapped the choleric captain.

“Because I have served under Captain Mornington since I passed as lieutenant, until I was given the ‘Thetis’ to command,” said William. “I did not bring my muster book, since I did not think it would be necessary.”

A puffing Captain Mornington heaved himself over the side. He had seen William through his telescope, and had a shrewd idea that the other captain was going to jump to conclusion.

“William, my dear boy!” he said. “Captain Speers, allow me to introduce one of the most brilliant young junior officers I have ever met, and I see he has taken back the ‘Sparrowhawk.’ What’s the other ship?”

“A Portuguese merchantman, sir,” said William, much relieved. “That bastard, Snow, put the only passenger over the side in a hurricane, with her children; we were lucky to be able to rescue them, and left them in the Canaries, and used that to work out the direction Snow would take. I managed to get a crew onto the merchantman, which may not be heavily armed, but we managed to use your tactic of the nutcracker, only from end to end.”

“Well done, Will! I’m sure Captain Speers will offer you refreshments, and you can tell us both all about it.”

“So long as I am not under arrest and about to be hanged for the Captain’s assumption that I am Snow,” said William.

“Oh, nonsense, nonsense, my dear boy, Captain Speers was doubtless joking,” said Mornington.

“You are certain this is William Price?” said Speers.

“Of course I am!  Looks like a choir boy, but for the cut on the side of his head here, that he took stopping a pirate dead by ramming it. How’s your lovely lady wife, Will?”

“Oh, she’s as happy as a grig,” said William. “We’re considering buying out the Thetis, since the war is over, as an escort to her father’s merchant fleet, once this cruise catching slavers is over.”

“Delightful girl, you’d never think she was an heiress, as natural as anyone,” said Mornington.

Speers was now sweating; he had nearly hung out of hand a coming young officer who spoke casually of buying out a ship, and whose father-in-law had a fleet of merchant ships. His career would be over if it came out.

“Ha! Jolly well done, taking the ‘Sparrowhawk,’” he said. “Forgive my little test, I am sure you understand?”

“Oh, perfectly, sir,” said William.

Speers sweated more when he suspected that William did.

“Did you make no effort to capture Snow?” he snapped.

“Not really, no,” said William. “Though had I known that ‘Sparrowhawk’ was carrying only nine-pounder stern chasers, I might have been more inclined to consider it.  But one of our bow chasers took his head off; you’ll be pleased, Captain Mornington, John Scully managed to get them to menace the quarterdeck.”

“Well, if John had not, Colin would have done,” said Mornington. “Call me ‘Edgar,’ my dear boy, we know each other well enough. Oh, and the port admiral asked to be reminded to Colin, and to find out if he had won any more shooting wagers.”

“Oh, you can tell him that Colin, prize captain on a lugger, with his eight men, took Snow’s then flagship Brig, which was being refitted, and captured Snow for the first time. And his training of his men meant that our first broadside put three balls through the enemy gun ports.”

“How that boy makes such a mess of his noon sights, and can calculate to an inch where to put a cannon ball I do not know,” laughed Edgar Mornington.

“Oh, he can take a noon sight now,” said William. “I’d trust him to take a ship back to Gibraltar now, without making a side trip to Hawaii via Nova Scotia.”

Mornington laughed.

“Well, I am glad he is able to work out where he is, now,” he said. “Well, well! We mustn’t keep you, William; got your prizes to return to Gibraltar, haven’t you, and we’ll get back on our cruise to deal with pirates.”

“I wish you, and Captain Speers, and your other consort, every good luck,” said William. “It’s been very nice to catch up with you.”

“Well, well, you bring me luck; though bringing back a Royal Navy ship won’t get you much prize money, it might get you mentioned in despatches.”

 

William waited until they were far enough away from the frigates, and hidden by the swell, to be violently sick overboard.

“ʼE wasn’t jokin’ was

 

ʼe?” said Walden.

“He most certainly was not,” said William, fervently.

“You go below when we gets back aboard, an’ I’ll sent the surgeon to you, for your nerves,” said Walden.

“Damn your eyes, Jeb,” said William, affectionately.

He wanted to wrap his arms around his wife and smell her sweet scent, and know that he was alive to embrace her, and that he was not about to be strung up the yardarm for the hasty judgement of a senior captain.

And William gave fervent thanks that Mornington had been there to vouch for him, and to put enough fear into his senior that William Price was not a helpless young man with no influence.

It was wrong, of course, that influence should count, but count it did. And the wealthy Mr. Price and his wealthy wife were far safer from any vindictive behaviour on the part of more senior officers than Will Price, nominally a gentleman, with vague connections through an aunt to the landed gentry.