The time traveler tapped on Edward’s cabin door and followed him through the belly of the ship to the small galley. Breakfast was eaten on a wooden table top that hung from the wooden ceiling on ropes to provide a semi-stationary setting as the ship rolled with the swells.
The cook said there was dark coffee or tea, thick white bread smothered in jam, soft-boiled eggs or porridge. He was a portly man in his fifties who was bald and wore an earring in his right ear. He cooked on a small iron stove and talked as he put out the breakfast for both men.
“Only two passengers this trip, eh? Good thing the cap’n took some cotton aboard ta’ sell to the Brits, ‘else the trip wouldn’t be worth makin’.” He stoked the coals in the small oven then looked at them with a grin.
“Well, gents don’t be thinking that this is every mornin’, ‘cause the bread ends when the bugs find it or it turns. Whichever happens first.” He smiled and showed a mostly toothless mouth. “Plenty of tea or coffee long as the water lasts. ‘Cause if’n it rains we’ll have more. Eggs will be here, ‘less the cap’n wants chicken for supper some night. An’ if’n we run outta fresh water, don’t be surprised to taste lots o’ salt in your eggs.”
The two ate their breakfast of eggs, bread and porridge, washed it down with thick, black coffee and went up on deck. It was a beautiful day for sailing with high clouds and a steady wind. Sailors were up on the yardarms piling on more sail to grab as much of the wind as they could under the watchful eyes of the captain and Jenkins.
Captain Sojack saw them and waved them over to the weather deck. He stood by the sailor at the wheel and checked the compass heading, as he watched his men climb about.
“It’s a ballet, gentlemen,” he said, proudly looking up at his crew, “A ballet of men going about as hazardous a job as any on land. Their work be as hard as any landlubber can ever fathom. Most came to sea when they were young ‘uns.” He turned and looked at them with a smile and said, “I myself started as a powder monkey at the tender age of eleven, and at that I was older than most.”
He looked off to the horizon as though remembering. “Many a friend of yer captain’s gone o’er the side, gents. Many a friend dwells in Mr. Davy Jones’s locker, they do.” He turned abruptly and smiled again. “Course, them’s the hazards o’ the sea and we’d have it no other way.” He shook his head. “No, ta be free with the wind. ‘Tis the life. Not stuck in some muddy hole on land.”
Rocky looked up at the sailors in the topsails. They were confident and relaxed as they went about their work. I’d give anything to be up there with them, he thought as he shook his head in admiration.
Mistaking his admiration for the sailors, as fear for them, the captain said as he slapped Rocky on his shoulder, “Don’t worry about them, sir. ‘Tis when they are aloft that they are at their best.”
Turning to the captain, Rocky kept up his act of uneasiness. “It is fear for them that makes me quiver, Captain. But it is, as you say, a ballet they perform up there. One does imagine it tests a man in many ways.”
“Aye, that it does.” The captain patted his slight paunch of a belly. “If not for this getting in the way, I’d gladly be up there with the lads. But these days I must stay with my feet planted firmly on deck.” He nudged Rocky in a fun way and continued, “Now, if ya should want to test yourself, sir, me lads would welcome you aloft with open arms.”
“Not I, sir,” Rocky answered quickly, “not I.”
“I would.”
They both turned to Edward who was looking up too.
“Yes, I would like to test myself out on the yards.” He looked at the captain. “Might I go aloft, Captain Sojack?”
The captain grinned and yelled, “Jenkins, Mr. Schure would climb to the yards. What say you of that, sir?”
“It be all right with me, Cap’n if’n it’s all right wi’ you. Shall I start ‘im up then?”
“If you please, Jenkins, if you please,” said the still grinning captain.
Jenkins walked Edward over to the rope ladder that went up from the ship’s rail, at an angle to the crow’s nest. “I’d advise ya ta remove ya shoes, sir. Yer toes’ll get ya a better grip. Step here ‘fore ya go up.” He pointed to the deck and Edward saw black tar between the deck planks, some of which was oozing out in the heat of the morning sun. Jenkins pushed Schure’s feet onto the tar and it clung to the bottom of his feet. “That’ll give ya some sticking, and less slipping. And mind you hold the rope sides and not the rungs. Let yer thumbs work for ya.” He looked up and shouted to the sailors aloft. “Be alert, men. The gentleman would join ya if’n he could. Should he get close ‘nough, give ‘im a hand, would ya’?”
The men looked down with wide grins as Edward looked up.
As Edward climbed up he realized the ship seemed to sway more as he got higher. The spray of salt water slicked the ropes and he grasped them tighter as he neared the halfway point. The men began cheering him on and shouting advice. “Wrap yer toes ‘round the rope, sir. Don’t grip the sides so tight as to hold longer than ya need ta.”
Finally Edward reached to just below the crow’s nest, and hands grabbed him and hoisted him onto it. A shout reverberated throughout the ship as he stood up on the small round platform high above the main deck, holding on with one hand as he waved the other in victory.
The captain looked at Rocky and said, “He’s a brave one, sir. Not many a landlubber’d go up there.” He winked at Rocky, “Good friend ta have in a scrap, sir.”
Rocky looked up and felt a new respect for his friend from 1772 and wished he were aloft with him.
Once back on deck, Edward was all smiles as he tried to remove the tar from his feet. The captain passed a drink of rum to both of them and took one himself. He raised his mug.
“Here’s to a landlubber what can climb a ship’s ropes. And should ya crave a job on a ship, come ta me first and I’ll teach ya all ya needs ta know. Cheers!” The three of them drained their mugs.
The rest of the trip went without incident and early on the morning of the twenty-seventh day, Rocky heard a sailor shout, “Land ho!” They all looked up and saw which way the man in the crow’s nest pointed and followed his gaze. Out of the morning fog was a dark slip of land.
“Ireland,” said the captain, as he looked through his glass. “We should port in London by noon, six days from t’day, if’n this wind holds, and we don’t meet any Brits along the way.” He looked at Rocky and Edward and said, “Plenty o’ time, I think, gentlemen, to wrap up yer parcels.” He did a 360 degrees sweep round the ship and said, “No warships ta greet us. Good luck fer us. Don’t need ta lose any o’ my men ta a press gang.” He turned to his two passengers and with a firm look said, “Come ta my cabin, gentlemen, I’d have a word wi’ ya.”
Both men followed him to his cabin on the main deck. It was a spacious room compared to the rest of the ship, and as they entered, a young boy was leaving with an empty breakfast tray.
The captain motioned them to sit in the two seats opposite him at his desk. He pulled out some papers and placed small spectacles on the end of his nose. He looked at the two men and smiled.
“Gentlemen, I usually don’t do this, but I’ve come to be fond of ya two. As ya heard from Captain Harper as we departed New York, the English are impressing men fer their ships. Now, over here they may do as they wish, as it’s looked upon by their government as a way ta keep their ships manned. Most times the press gang will leave a gentleman be, but, alas, a Colonist gentleman may be seen as fair game.”
He looked worried for them. “Thus, my warning to ya’. I fear for ya,” he said, looking at Rocky, “for I don’t think you would last a day aboard a Brit man-o-war Mister Perna.” He turned to Edward and continued, “Yourself, Mr. Schure, be a different case entirely. You, I believe would make it. And at that, I’m afraid they may seize ya, should they cross yer path. I warn ya in advance that our port o’ call has men paid to spot a possible sailor fer their navy, so ya got ta stay alert.”
Rocky nodded his head as Edward said; “We thank you for your kind words, Captain, and shall be ever vigilant while in port.”
Rocky spoke up with a plan. “Perhaps if we wore the finest of finery, we will be looked upon as, well . . . as gentlemen. Too weak a burden for their navy. Might that not do it?”
Edward smiled and answered, “I fear I have no such fineries as you, Rocky. But as a doctor in training I’m sure they will let me be.”
“I think you to be wrong, sir,” said Captain Sojack as he shook his head, “for a ship’s doctor is a prize catch. No, better to say you have a sickness than to say you can cure a sickness.” He paused and continued, “A place that is usually safe for gentlemen is the Quiet Village, just off Thames Way and the seafront. Good food, information and lodging should ya require it. If’’n our luck holds an’ we see nothin’ o’ their navy we should be visiting London in ‘bout a week’s time.”
Their luck held and London was off their port bow on the sixth day. Rocky and Edward came up on deck and saw the captain as he watched small boats and freighters glide by. Captain Sojack spotted them and with his usual smile, offered them his hand.
Edward shook his hand and said, “Thank you for your friendship and conversation, Captain Sojack. I pray you will have a safe journey home.”
Rocky followed suit and shook the captain’s hand. Keeping in character, he said with a flourish of his arm, “I have the same hope for you, my dear Captain Sojack, and I wish to thank you for taking the smooth route.”
The captain winked again at Edward and said to Rocky, “Twas fer you, dear sir, that I took the smooth route.”
Both men went back to their cabins to pack.
Back on deck Edward said, “I’ll be stopping at the Quite Village as the captain suggested. And you my friend? Shall we part here or are you as hungry as I? And if so, this is on my ticket. What say you, friend Rocky Perna?”
“Well, friend Edward, if as you say, it’s on your ticket, then I shall gladly dine with you.”
Rocky was impressed at the way the captain and his crew docked against the wharf without even a bump. Jenkins was the first to jump from the rail and landed lightly on the wharf. He was tossed a thick rope, which he tied securely as a gangplank was pushed out from the ship’s railing. The two travelers left the ship and Rocky looked back as though he was losing an old friend. The captain and Jenkins waved good-bye as most of the crew watched them go with smiles on their leathered faces.
The dock was full of men working on their nets and other fishing tackle. Their heavy British accents made it hard for Rocky to understand them and he thought, as he looked up to see the seabirds swoop and dive above the tall ships, If not for their accents, they could easily be American seamen in New York. In fact, he thought, as they walked along the wharf, the cobblestone walkway and storefronts are exactly like the early New York docks because we copied them.
They came to the Quite Village without having to ask anyone, and went inside. It was a small two-story wood building with a bar, tables and stools and a kitchen on the main floor. The place was almost full as they grabbed an empty, ale soaked, table near the bar. Above the bar was a piece of slate with the menu printed in chalk. The one-word selections read: beef, noodles, soup, bread, sausage, pork, ale, stout, cider.
A thin gray-haired woman came over to them, saying as she tilted her head toward the menu, “’Whatcha ‘ave gents? ‘N ‘urry it up.”
Edward answered, “Beef, noodles and an ale.”
“Same,” said Rocky.
“Colonists!” she said, her hands on her thin hips. “Whatcha’ be doing ‘ere, lads?”
“Business,” answered Edward, “we’re both here on business. Do you have rooms to rent for the night, Madam?”
“Aye, that I do. One room at the ‘ead o’ the stairs. See me after the food, luv.” She went back into the kitchen.
They finished the beef and noodles and sat back to enjoy the rest of their ale as the frail woman came to collect their tin plates. The front door opened and four well-dressed young men entered. They were laughing and pushing people out of their way as they made their way to the bar.
She said in a low voice to Rocky and Edward, “Careful gents, these be rough ones, out drinking and ‘n pressin’ men for the Royal Navy. They gets reward crowns fer doin’ that. Don’t look sideways at ‘em ‘cause they like ta pick on me customers an’ yer foreign tongue’ll get ya in trouble with ‘em.”
“Ale, wench!” shouted the youngest man dressed in a green silk, tight fitting outfit and matching tri cornered hat with large white plume. His ruffled shirtfront showed signs of spilled ale on it. His three friends were well dressed, although not as natty as the young man who seemed to be the leader.
“Now! Me and my companions demand service now!” He slammed his walking stick on the wooden bar as the woman went behind it.
Edward said to Rocky in a low voice, “Come, Rocky. Let us leave for a walk, and return for the rooms later.” They got up to leave when the young man spotted them and decided to have some fun.
“Hold, sirs!” he shouted.
The bar went silent and it was evident to Edward and Rocky that these were troublemakers who delighted in teasing those they deemed to be of lesser importance.
“Tell us, sirs,” he continued, as he put out his walking stick to stop them, “what business have you in these parts? I have not seen either of you before, and demand to know of your business.”
“Sir,” answered Edward as he held his hat in his hands, “my business is mine alone to know, as is my friend’s. Now I wish you to remove your walking stick from my path.”
The young man turned to his friends and laughed, “Ha! Colonists! Here in his motherland. Telling us what we should know, and not know. What think you fellows about this turn of affairs?”
“Sirs,” said Rocky quickly, “we mean you no disrespect, but what my friend means is, we know not your ways, and wish to be left to our own devices. Now if you’ll remove your stick, we shall be on our way.”
“Your friend,” the young man said to Rocky, “needs a lesson in manners, sir.”
He raised an eyebrow and his three friends grabbed Edward’s arms in a well-rehearsed move. At the same time the young man rammed his walking stick into Edward’s solar plexus, collapsing him.
“Tut, tut,” said the man, as he turned and started out with his friends, “I’ve lost my thirst in this dirty place but fortune smiles on us, as we have a new recruit for the service of the crown.” They walked out laughing and dragging Edward with them.
Rocky watched them take his friend away and seethed inside at not trying to stop them. The mission is the most important thing,” he thought, “and I have to make sure I’m not pressed.
The small woman shook her head as she wiped the bar. “Someday, mind me, lad, someday them’s goin’ ta git what’s commin’ ta’ them. Mind ya, that time’s commin’.”
Rocky asked the woman, “Pray tell, Madam, where is it that they take my friend?”
She tilted her head to the right and answered, “Cullen’s house. They’ll go and tie ‘em up in the potato cellar whilst they get drunk as they can. Tommora’ they bring ‘im ta’ the dock, ‘n meet wi’ the navy man from the ship ta collect their Judas’s coins.”
“And pray tell again, Madam, where is Cullen’s house?”
“Ta the right o’ me place. End o’ the dock. Ya can’t miss it for its yeller walls.” She said as she wiped off a plate with the same rag she wiped down the bar. She looked at him with her eyebrows furrowed, “Ya cain’t be thinkin’ o’ goin’ there, ya silly sod. Next time they see ya’ they’ll take ya’ ‘long wi’ ‘em. Gentleman or no gentlemen.”
“May I rent a room, Madam,” he said with a wave of his hand before his face, “for I fear I am close to having a faint.”
“Fer sure, sir,” she said consolingly, “top o’ the stairs.” She grabbed an old key from the wall behind and passed it to him. “Settle up later,” she
said as she nodded her head, “ya needs yer rest, sir.”
Rocky feigned weariness, leaned on a table and pocketed a knife from the setting as he lugged his baggage up the stairs and opened the wooden door.
The small room was furnished with one bed by an open window and a small table with two chairs. Sticking out from under the bed was a tin pot, the privy. On the table was a small candle, an old chipped washbasin and a slightly dirty towel. Rocky shrugged his shoulders mentally as he sat on the chair and started sharpening the knife on the steel bedpost as he waited until dark.
It was just after eleven when Rocky stood and looked out the window. The dock was as dark as it was going to get. He put on a new white shirt without the cravat and his close-fitting black trousers with a red sash around his waist. He put on dark stockings and his leather deck shoes and finally his leather jerkin. He slid the sharp knife into the stocking top, and then placed a small three-cornered hat on his head.
He took the poor excuse for a bed cloth and fashioned it into a rucksack, and then placed the clothes he felt he needed in it, along with his toiletries. The bag of diamonds and the small ‘Text’ hairbrush, he wrapped securely around his waist in sort of a money belt under the sash. He then wrapped the makeshift rucksack over his shoulders like a backpack.
He left one crown on the bed. That should more than cover the food and room, he thought, along with the bed cloth. He then blew out the candle, let his eyes adjust to the dark and climbed out the window and slipped into the fog and shadows of the docks.
He saw right away that, as in New York, after dark another element walked the docks. Once again women with heavy makeup were walking about making small conversation with sailors. Dancing shadows streaked between posts and buildings as rats and cats played in the shadows as they did at every dock. Every now and then a carriage rolled slowly out of the fog through the area, bumping and sliding on the potholes and cobblestones.
Time Travel Adventures of the 1800 Club. Book III Page 14