The Privateersman

by The Privateersman (retail) (epub)

  The Customs officer nodded. ‘Indeed. I heard he was at Salem or Marblehead.’

  ‘But,’ said Kite rising, pulling a chart out of a folio and spreading it on the cabin table, ‘that is not far away!’

  ‘Not at all, Captain, why the man is as bold a devil as any. For all I know he was in that redoubt yesterday. Yes indeed, I should not be at all surprised if he was.’

  ‘Well, well,’ Kite tapped the chart thoughtfully then suggested his visitor relaxed until the cargo was discharged and excused himself. ‘I must go on deck, for a moment. Sarah my dear, do please entertain our guest for a while.’

  Running up on deck he began to pace the starboard side of the after deck, ignoring the fine cloud of white dust that settled over everything. Such was his preoccupation that he failed to notice Lamont trying to attract his attention. After about twenty minutes he suddenly stopped and spun on his heel.

  ‘Mr Lamont?’ he called and the mate emerged from under a fold of the mainsail that hung almost to the deck from the dipped gaff above them.

  ‘Captain?’

  ‘What news of Johnstone?’

  ‘None sir, I’m afraid.’

  ‘Damn! And how long until that confounded flour’s is out of the ship?’

  ‘Another hour, two at the most.’

  ‘Very well.’

  But the lightermen stopped for a meal break at noon and the two hours dragged on into the afternoon so that by the time the lighter bore all the Spitfire’s cargo, the Customs officer was dead-drunk and Kite sent the barge ashore without him, ordering two men to pitch the inebriated official into Johnstone’s cot.

  ‘By God, sir,’ Harper remarked with a broad grin, ‘these recruiting methods are worthy of the Royal Navy.’

  ‘Believe me Zachariah,’ Kite responded, warming to the Second Mate’s drollery, ‘I have no intention of shipping that wastrel in place of Johnstone. Now,’ Kite went on lowering his voice, ‘do you know any reason why Nathan Johnstone should still be ashore?’

  Harper dropped his eyes to the planking on the deck. He was a poor dissembler and his awkwardness was almost palpable. ‘Zachariah?’ he prompted.

  ‘Well, sir, he was ashore with Carse, sir…’

  ‘And? Is this significant?’

  ‘Well, sir…’

  ‘Come on, Zachariah, spill the beans, damn it…’

  ‘Carse is a Bostonian, sir and, er, he has an uncommonly pretty sister.’

  Kite was aware of Jacob grinning as he coiled a rope within earshot. ‘Well, Jacob, is this true? What do you know about it?’

  Jacob hung the rope over a belaying pin and confronted Kite. ‘Well, sah, all I can say is that Massa Johnstone is drawn to de wimmin like a moth to a candle.’

  ‘D’you know where this Carse lives, Jacob?’

  ‘I do, sir,’ Harper admitted. ‘His parents run a boarding house. I stayed there between voyages.’

  ‘Very well then. Let us have the long-boat manned. Zachariah, do you come with me. Hamish,’ he turned to the Mate, ‘Secure the deck in my absence and get her ready for sea. We’ll pick up ballast from one of the islands tomorrow.’

  ‘Aye, aye, sir.’

  Kite went below to consult Sarah and a few moments later he scrambled over the side.

  Even almost a day after the affair on the slopes of Bunker Hill the streets of Boston fairly seethed. There was an air of nervous expectation about the place after the long months of complacent inactivity. The few troops on the streets had a slightly battered and hang-dog look, and yet there was a typically British disregard for disaster in the attempt by all parties to continue with everyday affairs as though nothing of note had occurred.

  Carse’s boarding house stood up an alley off Ship Street and an enquiry from Kite soon revealed that Johnstone was indeed in the place. It was clear from the attitude of the serving-girl that his presence was a matter of some amusement as she rolled her eyes at Harper with a giggle.

  ‘Damned wenches,’ muttered the big American.

  The two men were shown into a tawdry parlour the whitewashed walls of which were ochre with tobacco smoke. Harper sat down and stretched his long legs out in front of him while Kite stared out of a grimy window. A few moments later Johnstone came in. He was in his shirt-sleeves.

  ‘Ahh, Captain Kite…’

  Kite turned from the window and regarded Johnstone. ‘Mr Johnstone,’ he began formally, ‘on your absence from the schooner yesterday, I put your motive down to one of humanity…’

  ‘Indeed it was sir.’

  ‘But it seems that this is no longer the case.’

  ‘Carse and I were very tired, sir,’ Johnstone began.

  ‘But I am told that you are probably late a-bed for purposes other than sleep.’

  Johnstone grinned and looked from Kite to Harper and back again, seeking a measure of understanding from two fellow males. ‘Well sir, I have formed a sincere attachment…’

  Kite broke in. ‘You know Nathan, when you first agreed to sail with me you were a grieving widower, as was I…’

  ‘And you have married again, Captain Kite,’ Johnstone interrupted sharply, ‘pray do not forget that.’

  ‘I do not even consider it, Nathan, but do not forget that you engaged to be gunner aboard the Spitfire.’

  ‘Well, sir, I wish now to break that engagement and establish another.’ Hostility or determination were clear in Johnstone’s tone.

  Kite frowned. ‘You wish to stay in Boston?’ he asked incredulously.

  Johnstone nodded. ‘I do, sir. I intend to marry, sir.’

  ‘And what of the rumoured evacuation? What will become of you then?’

  Johnstone shrugged, a trifle smugly, Kite thought as he nodded to Harper. There was no point in pressing the matter he thought as the Second Mate stood up. ‘Very well. I presume you wish to gather your personal effects. Will you come off with us now?’

  ‘I will come out in an hour, Captain.’

  Kite nodded. ‘As you please. And you may keep your prospective brother-in- law with you.’

  ‘That will not greatly trouble him, Captain Kite.’

  ‘It will not greatly trouble me either.’

  Kite and Harper returned to the ship in silence and it was only when they regained the schooner’s deck and Kite noticed with satisfaction that Lamont had had the crew refurl the sails, that Harper caught his sleeve. Kite turned.

  ‘Beg pardon, sir, but I couldn’t say anything in the boat,’ Harper said in a low voice.

  ‘Well?’

  ‘It’s Carse, sir…’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘I think he’s attached to the patriot party, sir. I surmise that Johnstone may be falling for the other side…’

  ‘Johnstone’s to become a rebel?’ Kite asked with astonishment.

  ‘The movement is widespread, Captain Kite. If their rebellion succeeds it will mean new opportunities and Nathan’s an ambitious man..’

  ‘He’s certainly a changed man,’ Kite said grimly, adding, ‘damn him.’ Then reflecting upon what Harper had said he asked, ‘and what happens if their rebellion doesn’t succeed, eh? Tell me that?’

  Harper shrugged. ‘It may well do so, sir. This is a big country and the British army cannot hold it all…’ That was true enough, Kite thought ruefully, thinking of the British army’s clumsy attempt to hold Boston, let alone the whole of Massachusetts. ‘There is land west of the mountains, sir. The rebels will retreat there like the Israelites into a land of milk and honey…’

  ‘Indians and swamps, more like,’ said Kite with a sudden bitterness. Then he looked sharply at Harper. ‘And what about you, Zachariah? You are a born American, if the patriots win, what will you do?’

  ‘I don’t know what I shall do if they win, Captain, but for the time being you may rely upon my loyalty. I will fight with you as long as you will have me.’

  Kite looked hard at the big man. It was a curious world, he thought, damnably curious when a man who owed him much deser
ted him, and a man who owed him nothing protested a touching loyalty.

  ‘You have my hand and my word on it, sir,’ Harper said holding out his paw.

  Kite took it and instantly regretted it, for he felt the pressure in the big man’s grip. ‘I shall take your hand and your word, Zachariah. All that I ask is that if your loyalty wavers, you will leave me and not deceive me.’

  ‘There would never be any question of that, sir.’

  ‘Then I am content,’ he said as Harper released him. ‘I do not wish to know when Johnstone comes off to recover his gear. He will get a surprise to find a King’s officer lying in his cot. Pray put both of them over the side with the ship’s garbage,’ Kite said over his shoulder as he made for the companionway and the society of his wife in the cabin below.

  He was dozing in a chair when the knock came at the cabin door. Sarah laid aside her needlework and went to the see who it was.

  ‘It’s Mr Johnstone,’ Sarah announced as Kite stirred and rubbed his face.

  ‘What?’

  ‘It’s Mr Johnstone, my dear.’

  ‘I don’t want to see him.’

  ‘I think you do, Captain Kite,’ said Johnstone gently forcing his way into the cabin with an apology to Sarah. Kite was awake now and rose quickly to his feet, alarmed at Johnstone’s insolence in view of his changed political sympathies.

  ‘Damn you, Nathan! I know you have turned your coat by your intended union with Miss Carse, but you will gain nothing from me…’

  Johnstone held up his hand in a pacifying gesture. ‘Captain Kite! Please! Pray give me a moment of explanation, I beg you!’

  ‘Sir, the so-called patriot party have given me much cause for deep and lasting grief, so you cannot suppose that I wish to debate New England politics…’

  ‘I know that, Captain Kite! That is precisely why… Oh damn it, Mrs Kite can you not intercede. I know you of all people have no reason to sympathise, but pray give me a moment…’

  ‘William, perhaps..’ Sarah began, her lovely face marred by anxiety, ‘you might heed Nathan for a moment.’

  ‘Please, Captain…’ Johnstone pleaded.

  ‘Oh damn it. Very well.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Johnstone began, ‘I make no bones about this matter,’ he looked from one to the other of them, ‘and I know that I owe you, Captain Kite, a great debt for your kindness, that is why I come with a proposition.’

  ‘A proposition!’ Kite expostulated.

  ‘William!’ Sarah bid him to instant silence and Kite clamped his mouth firmly shut.

  ‘I confess that I behaved badly in remaining ashore, but Miss Carse is a most agreeable girl, not at all the type of daughter one would suspect of a common tavern-keeper. It is true that her father and three brothers are radicals. I have had long discussions with them, that and not dissolution was the reason for my sleeplessness, and I am convinced that despite all the horrors and excesses of the mob that presently calls itself a party of patriots, there is much to be said for the libertarian instincts of these Americans. Furthermore, Captain, I believe that were you not so circumstanced and were you not laid under so deep a grievance, that both you and Mrs Kite must agree that much justice lies in the claims of the radicals. I cannot, nor would I wish, to plead their cause with you now, but I will say that there is a movement particularly advocated by the Rhode Islanders to form a naval force on behalf of the United Colonies. You cannot pretend to avoid what this implies and I wish you and your enterprise well, for in the personal you deserve your vengeance. To this end I will tell you that I know that Captain John Rathburne’s ship Rattlesnake presently lies in Marblehead harbour.’

  ‘I already know that, if that is your proposition.’

  Johnstone shook his head. ‘No, it is not and it eases my conscience somewhat that you already have intelligence of Rathburne’s whereabouts. No, my proposition runs as follows: if this rebellion succeeds it is my intention to found or ally myself with ship-owning interests in New England. Sooner or later Great Britain and America must re-establish relations and while this might be politically strained, commercial pressures will prevail and a trade between say Boston and Liverpool will be revived and will flourish again. Such a trade will profit those ready to exploit it and I would have it that both the names of Johnstone and Kite were reunited under such happier circumstances. You must see, Captain Kite, that I am a rootless man unless I seize those opportunities that providence offers me. There is nothing to draw me back to Liverpool, though I own a personal attachment to your own person. Therefore, as long as you have your property in Liverpool I shall know where to find you.’

  ‘And if your rebellion fails, Jasper, what then?’

  ‘Judging by yesterday’s events, I do not think it will, Captain Kite, but if it does, the revival of trade will be necessary and those who first re-establish it will first profit from it.’

  Kite looked at his former clerk. ‘You astonish me with your audacity, Nathan,’ he said quietly, turning to his wife. ‘Have you an opinion, my dear?’ he asked. ‘You are, after all, an American.’

  ‘It is a bold notion, William, and since Nathan’s fortunes lie beyond the compass of our own plans, not without merit whichever way matters come to pass.’

  Kite nodded. ‘I do not like the manner of its inception,’ Kite said, ‘for it goes against the grain…’

  ‘Commerce, William,’ Johnstone said boldly, sensing the softening in Kite’s mood, ‘is of primary importance in this world, that you and I both know, as does Mistress Kite. Let us part as the friends we have hitherto been.’ he held out his hand.

  Kite looked wary, then took the outstretched hand. ‘You and I shall both pursue our private goals and subject ourselves to the caprice of fate, Nathan, but whichever way the cards fall, and always supposing we shall both survive, let us hope that we may again shake hands in amity. Very well, I agree.’

  When Johnstone had gone Kite poured two glasses of wine and, handing one to Sarah, asked, ‘do you despise me, Sarah?’

  She took the glass and sipped at the wine, staring at her husband over its rim. ‘No,’ she said when she had swallowed and lowered the glass, ‘for such rifts will occur throughout the Thirteen Colonies if this civil war becomes general. Besides, you two will not act in concert until after this present matter is resolved, and in the aftermath men of goodwill must come together. But that will not be for a long time.’

  ‘Aye,’ Kite nodded, ‘and there is many a slip betwixt the cup and the lip.’

  ‘And we have a private matter to attend to.’

  Kite nodded. ‘Whatever justice Nathan conceives to lie with the patriots, cannot lie with John Rathburne. He has passed beyond the law.’

  Chapter Fifteen

  Beacon Island

  The Spitfire sailed from Boston harbour the following morning under the influence of a light breeze and her headsails, slipping easily between Governor’s Island and Castle William. Above the latter flew the bold colours of the British Union flag. Passing through King Road and doubling Spectacle Island, Kite brought her up to her anchor close to Long Island. Having before sunset established the fact that he might ballast the ship from stones and shingle on the shore, he made arrangements for the hire of three local boats and some labour the following morning.

  For almost a week the crew and a few local farm-hands and fishermen not otherwise employed, toiled at the tiresome business of loading stones and shingle into baskets, placing these in the long-boat and the local craft, pulling them out to the anchored schooner and transferring the contents into the hold. Here the ballast was shovelled out into the wings of the hold and forward and aft throughout the length of the hull, to stiffen the schooner and render her stable. Long acquaintance with the Spitfire had determined the draft and trim at which she sailed best on all points, though this was inevitably something of a matter of compromise, and Kite made frequent observations at bow and stern. Despite a gnawing anxiety to get away and nail Rathburne in Marblehead before he escaped, a
nd Kite could not rule out the strong possibility that Carse would reveal Kite’s intentions, he was nevertheless determined not to act precipitately. That Spitfire should be as carefully prepared as his forethought and endeavour could make her, remained Kite’s paramount consideration; he had been too long at sea not to know that one should leave as little to chance as possible.

  ‘Providence,’ he explained to Sarah over dinner one evening, ‘is a false goddess unless a proper and deferential sacrifice is first made to her. She lends her support only to those who first prepare themselves.’

  Such a sententious proposition would have seemed a pomposity had not they witnessed the fighting on Bunker Hill a week or so earlier. As it was, the terrible effects of military bungling lent a creeping purpose to their activities and while the crew grumbled about the fossicking of their commander, they admired his taking of pains, particularly as he was not averse to joining in with them as they worked. For Kite, such physical involvement was in part a panacea to his impatience, and in part a need to hasten things as much as he could, for he was aware of a smouldering agitation in Sarah, whose docile acceptance of the circumscribed life of a ship-master’s wife was, he knew, a temporary expedient. While the Spitfires and their hired help scrabbled and dug up the foreshore of Long Island, she went for walks across the island wrapped in her own solitude.

  In due course, however, the task was completed and Captain Kite pronounced himself satisfied with his vessel. The final layer of ballast was left in its wicker baskets on top of the dusty deposit in the schooner’s hold. Next morning, the decks having been washed off, the hatch battened and the long-boat hoisted inboard and placed on her chocks, the men went cheerfully forward to man the bars of the windlass. As they did so to the rousing chorus of a chanty, Sarah appeared on deck. She wore breeches, boots and a man’s shirt and bore in her arms a cascade of brilliant red, white and blue silk. Calling Jacob to help her she bent the large pendant to the mainmasthead flag halliards and had Jacob run it aloft. As the breeze lifted it, it streamed out revealing its motto, red letters on a white, red-edged ground: Spit-Fire and Seek Revenge. On reading it, or having it read to them, the men raised three cheers and in no time at all Harper was calling out the anchor was a-trip and the main and foresail halliards were manned. Ten minutes later Spitfire was heading for the north point of Long Island and the open sea of Broad Sound beyond.