And it was a good job I did. Six guineas is a fortune, but we didn’t find it easy getting a master to take us on. We were both scratty little things, and Davies was wheezing away half dead. He didn’t look as if he’d make it to the docks, let alone the wide world.
At first we tried to get on the big ships, but they wouldn’t touch us. But money works. On Orchard Wharf we found the master of the Alice May, an old ketch that plied her way round the coast carrying the big timbers they used for railways, bridges, and the like. Even he looked doubtfully at Davies. But in the end he grinned and shook hands with us.
“Three guineas each, and I’ll make seamen of the pair of you!”
So that was it. We had our berths on the Alice May, we had our dreams in our pockets! But there was none left over for Ten Tons. And none left over for my family, either.
I felt bad … but you don’t get such a chance twice. I was so ashamed I never even went to say goodbye, which I regretted as soon as we set sail. But Father would never have let me take all that money away. They wouldn’t have understood … they’d have called me greedy. Maybe I am, but one day I’ll come back and show them what kind of man I’ve become, and buy them all the good things they never had. This time there wasn’t enough to go round, but it won’t always be like that.
So for all my bad ways and dreaming ideas, I got work on board ship, which was all I ever wanted. Not much of a boat, but our first place. We got our orders soon enough … cleaning and scrubbing and carrying and climbing the ropes. Once we were out of the river the master promised to start teaching us all the things a seaman has to learn. Me and Davies, we’re bad lots and no good will come of us, but we did what we set out to do. And the master is a good man, too. He works us hard but he feeds us well. He even let us have a shilling back from our money, to buy flowers for Ten Tons the day we set sail.
We got him a huge bunch of lilies from a flower girl at the rail station. The master goggled when he saw them.
“The whole shilling on flowers!” he groaned. But I think he was impressed, too. He nodded at us and said, “Well, lads, if you show the same loyalty to me as you have to your friend, we’ll go far together.”
The sail was unfurled. Me and Davies ran to see the anchor go up. The deck hands yelled, “Hove to!” The wind caught the canvas, the deck moved under us. We were away! And I thought … no more mud, no more cracking the ice to lever out the coals. Me and Davies, we’d made it. We were our own men now, and in another few hours we’d be out of London and seeing the sea for the first time in our lives.
The ship moved off her moorings and headed out into mid water. It only took a few minutes to get to the place where Ten Tons had drowned. We leaned over and threw our lilies overboard.
“See yer, Tens.”
“Good luck, mate!”
The flowers scattered in the wind and floated on the water. It was so sad. They were pretty but there was nothing so good as just being alive. The whole crew went quiet … I don’t know if it was respect for Ten Tons, or if they were just watching two mad boys throw a shilling away like that.
The Alice May pushed on. The lilies bobbed in the water behind us. We were away down to the sea, following after our friend. The only difference was, he was under the water and we were up on top.
Glossary
barmy. Crazy.
bum. Backside or rear end.
capstone. Top of a pillar or wall.
daft. Silly.
dripping. Grease left over from cooking meat.
fathom. A unit of length equal to six feet.
fob off. To put someone off with something inferior.
gob. Mouth.
hornpipe. A lively folk dance.
Paddy-woman. Slang term for Irishwoman.
pinch. To steal.
rasher. Slice of bacon.
scratty. Dirty and disheveled.
sprities. Wooden sail support connected to the mast with the sail attached to help it catch the wind.
Ships on the River Thames
barge. A roomy, usually flat-bottomed boat used chiefly to transport goods on inland waterways and generally propelled by towing.
brig. A large two-masted square-rigged ship; short for brigantine.
clipper. General term for a fast sailing ship, especially one with long slender lines, an overhanging bow, tall masts, and a large sail area.
ferry. A boat used to transport passengers, vehicles, or goods; short for ferry boat.
ketch. A medium-size two-masted sailboat.
schooner. A large, typically two-masted sailing ship, often with some square-rigged sails.
square-rigged ship. A ship on which the mainsails face forward and extend on horizontal crossbeams fastened at their center to the masts.
tall ship. General term for a sailing ship with at least two masts, especially a square-rigged ship.
tug. A strongly built, powerful boat used for towing and pushing; short for tugboat.
Monetary Units in Victorian England
farthing. 2 farthings = 1 ha’penny.
ha’penny. 2 ha’pence (ha’pennies) = 1 penny.
penny (pl = pence). 12 pence = 1 shilling.
shilling. 20 shillings = 1 sovereign.
21 shillings = 1 guinea.
sovereign. Highest denomination of the time.
guinea. Replaced in 1813 by the sovereign, the term continued to be used for many years.
pound. 1 pound = 1 sovereign.
About the Authors
Melvin Burgess is the author of many novels for young adult and middle-grade readers. Among them are Nicholas Dane, Doing It (a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age), The Ghost Behind the Wall (Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year) and Smack (winner of Britain’s Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Prize for Fiction, as well as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults). In 2001, he wrote the novelization of the film, Billy Elliot. Mr. Burgess lives in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, in England. You can sign up for email updates here.
Richard Williams has been illustrating books and magazines for twenty years. His clients range from Mad Magazine to Reader’s Digest. He is also a nationally known portrait painter. Richard Williams resides in Syracuse, New York with his wife and two daughters. You can sign up for email updates here.
Thank you for buying this
Henry Holt and Company ebook.
To receive special offers, bonus content,
and info on new releases and other great reads,
sign up for our newsletters.
Or visit us online at
us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup
For email updates on Melvin Burgess, click here.
For email updates on Richard Williams, click here.
Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
One
The Tall Ship
Two
The Dreams
Three
The Plan
Four
The Rope
Five
The Timber
Six
The Lift
Seven
The Accident
Eight
Ten Tons Marks the Spot
Nine
The Copper Treasure
Ten
The Alice May
Glossary
About the Authors
Copyright
Henry Holt and Company, LLC, Publishers since 1866
115 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011
Henry Holt and Company is a registered trademark of Henry Holt and Company, LLC
Text copyright © 1998 by Melvin Burgess
Illustrations copyright © 2000 by Richard Williams
All rights reserved.
First published in the United States in 2000 by Henry Holt and Company, LLC.
Published in Canada by Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd.,
195 Allstate Parkway, Markham, Ontario L3R 4T8.
Originally published in Great Britain in 1998 by A & C Black (Publishers) Ltd.
Our e-books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at (800) 221-7945, extension 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
ISBN 0-8050-6381-1 / First American Edition—2000
eISBN 9781627799140
First eBook edition: September 2015
The Copper Treasure Page 5