Bolitho 04 - Sloop of War

by Alexander Kent

  vital part to play if a ship was to move and act tQ perfection?

  Bolitho crossed to the stern windows and stared aU the nearest strip of land. It was a bright morning, witN the sky above the hills very pale, washed-out anX clean. He could just see the staff above the headlanX battery, its flag no longer listless but lifting and curlin^ to a fair northeasterly. It was almost physical pain tQ stay sealed in the cabin, waiting and fretting for thO exact moment to show himself?

  Voices pealed along the upper deck and shadowY flitted busily across the skylight. Occasionally he coulX hear the plaintive squeak of a fiddle, the distorteX rumble of a shanty as the men tramped around thO capstan?

  In the past hours and for most of the night he haX tossed and turned in his cot, listening to the seZ noises, the creak of timbers and rigging, his minX exploring every contingency, his brain bursting to thO mental picture of his chart. Every unemployed eyO would be watching him this morning. From thO flagship's quarterdeck to some unknown lieutenanU who probably hated Bolitho for getting the golde[ chance which he considered should have been his?

  "The coffee, sir." Stockdale hovered by the table? "While it's still 'ot.T

  Bolitho swung round to curse him for breaking hiY racing thoughts, but the sight of his anxious face waY too much for him. As was so often the case?

  He sat down at the table and tried to relax? Stockdale was right. If he had forgotten anything it waY already too late. You could cram your head just sQ much. After that the mind became awash and confuseX beyond reason?

  He sipped his coffee and stared at the cold meat? He could not touch that. His stomach was alreada twisting with apprehension, the lean slices of por7 would be just enough to tip the balance?

  Stockdale peered through the windows. "It will be Z good passage, sir. Long enough to get the measure ob these fellows.T

  Bolitho glanced up at him. He must be a mind1 reader. In company with another sloop they were tQ escort two fat transports with supplies for the troops aU Philadelphia once a rendezvous with the inshorO squadron had been made. Two thousand miles, mostla

  in open waters, would certainly allow him time to tesU himself and his company. He had met his officers in thO small wardroom the previous evening. With thO exception of Tyrrell, all had been aboard sincO commissioning at Greenwich. He felt vaguely jealouY of their obvious familiarity with the Sparrow. The twQ midshipmen, each eighteen years old, had joined aY untrained novices. They had grown up in the SparrowB and were now hopefully awaiting promotion. It was Z pity they were only midshipmen, he thought. They mighU vie too much for their captain's approval, where, in Z larger ship and with more competition amongst thO "young gentlemen" it would be less direct?

  Buckle had said little during their informal meeting? Reserved, and no doubt waiting to see how his captai[ would behave under sail, he had restricted himself tQ matters of navigation?

  Robert Dalkeith, the surgeon, was an odd one? Young, but already too plump for his own good, he waY also completely bald, and wore a bright red wig. But hO appeared more skilled in his trade than was usual in Z King's ship, as well as cultivated, and Bolitho imagineX there was more to him than he showed at face value?

  Lock, the purser, a bobbing, genial stick of a manB

  completed the gathering?

  Graves had joined them later, making a good deal ob noise about his trouble with the water-lighters, thO difficulties in obtaining help ashore for loading boatsB in fact the list had been formidable?

  Tyrrell had interrupted cheerfully, "It ain't fair, Hector? You being singled out to be a bloody martyr like this!T

  Graves had frowned and then forced a smile whe[ the others had joined Tyrrell in the laughter?

  Bolitho leaned back and stared at the skylight. HO was not sure of Graves either. A hard worker? Ransome's toady? It was hard to see where the latenU bad feeling had started between him and Tyrrell. But iU was there right enough?

  "Captain, sir?T

  Bolitho started and looked at the door. Midshipma[ Bethune was standing with his hat under his arm, hiY free hand grasping the hilt of his dirk. He was round1 faced, sturdy youth, and his face was a mass of dar7 freckles?

  "Well?T

  Bethune swallowed. "Mr. Tyrrell's respects, sir, anX the transports have weighed. Fawn has he_ preparative hoisted, sir." He glanced curiously rounX the cabin?

  Bolitho nodded gravely. "I will be up directly!T

  With elaborate care he forced himself to takO another sip of coffee. It almost choked him. Fawn waY the other sloop for the escort and would be carryin^ Colquhoun, in addition to her commander, as senio_ officer?

  The midshipman was still inside the cabin. HO added awkwardly, "I am from Cornwall, too, sir.T

  Bolitho smiled in spite of his tension. ThO competition had begun already?

  He replied, "I will try not to hold it against you, Mr? Bethune." He dropped his eyes as the boy fled froR the cabin?

  He stood up and took his hat from Stockdale. The[ with a brief nod he strode out towards the waitin^ sunlight?

  The gangways and decks seemed more crowdeX than ever as seamen ran this way and that, pursued ba the hoarse shouts of their petty officers. As he reacheX the quarterdeck he saw two heavy transports idlin^ towards the headland, their tan sails flapping anX billowing in the breeze?

  Tyrrell touched his hat. "Anchor's hove short, sir.T

  "Thank you.T

  Bolitho strode to the larboard side and stareX towards the anchored Fawn. He could see the muddlO of men at her capstan, the scurrying preparations aY the cable became bar-taut beneath her beakhead?

  He crossed to the opposite side, trying to ignore thO seamen who were poised at their stations on evera hand. Beyond the nearest headland towards the harX blue horizon he saw a lively pattern of small whitO horses. Once outside this sheltered anchorage it woulX be good sailing weather. He glanced at the sluggisN swirl of currents around a nearby storeship and bit hiY lip. He had to get free of all the shipping first?

  "Fawn's signal is close up, sir!" Bethune waY clinging to the shrouds with his telescope, althougN

  Colquhoun's signal was clear enough to be see[ without any glass?

  "Stand by on the capstan!T

  Tyrrell ran to the rail and cupped his big hands? "Loose th' heads'ls!T

  Beside the wheel Buckle stood near the twQ helmsmen, his eyes watching Bolitho?

  "Breeze is freshening a mite, sir.T

  "Yes.T

  Bolitho walked to the rail and stared along hiY command. He saw Graves watching over the ancho_ party, Midshipman Heyward at the foot of the mainmasU with his division of seamen?

  "Signal, sir! Up anchor!T

  "Hands aloft and loose tops'ls!T

  He stood back to watch the seamen surging up thO shrouds and out along the swaying yards, their bodieY black against the sky. Tyrrell said very little, and BolithQ observed that the topmen were well able to managO

  without added inducement from the deck. As canvaY thundered loosely from the yards and the ship gave Z longdrawn shudder, he saw the Fawn's masts alreada swinging across the stern, her foretopsail filling to thO wind as she heeled over?

  Bethune called, "Signal! Make haste, sir!" HO lowered his glass, trying to avoid Bolitho's eye?

  "Man the braces!T

  He tried to shut out Colquhoun's last signal. MaybO he was endeavouring to goad him into doin^ something foolish. Perhaps he was always the same? But nothing must or would spoil this moment?

  From forward came the cry, "Anchor's aweigh, sir!T

  Free of the land the Sparrow tilted steeply to thO wind, the headland sliding across her jib-boom as witN more and more canvas thundering and hardening froR her yards she paid off into the wind?

  Blocks clattered and whined, and high above thO decks the seamen sprang about like monkeys?

  Bolitho looked at Buckle. "Lay her on the larboarX tack. Then set a course to weather the headland." HO

  held the master's gaze and added, "We will get thO courses on her
directly and see if we can take thO edge off Fawn's lead.T

  Moments later, with her courses and topsails filling tQ the morning breeze, the Sparrow glided swiftly past a[ anchored two-decker which wore a vice-admiral's fla^ at the fore?

  Bolitho glanced at Tyrrell and saw him give a quic7 grimace. He might have cause to regret his applicatio[ for transfer, Bolitho thought. And so, if his trust in TyrrelT proved false, would he?

  Between two anchored Indiamen and on down thO fairway towards that beckoning headland. Small crafU bobbed astern in the frothing wake, and when BolithQ moved from studying the compass he saw they haX already cut Fawn's lead by half a cable?

  Buckle glanced at the surgeon who was clinging tQ the mizzen shrouds with one hand and holding on to hiY outrageous wig with the other?

  He winked. "We have a rare one here, Mr. Dalkeith.T

  Dalkeith kept his face immobile as Bolitho glanceX aft towards him before replying, "Poor Captai[

  Ransome would never have left port with such dashB eh?" He gave a sly grin. "But then, at this time o' thO morning he would have been somewhat tired!T

  They both laughed?

  Bolitho's voice brought them up with a jerk?

  "There is a yawl on the larboard bow, Mr. Buckle? Laugh later with my blessing, but run her down withi[ sight of the flagship and you will laugh to another tune!T

  He turned back to the rail as Buckle hurled himselb towards his helmsman?

  The tip of the headland was already droppin^ abeam, and he felt the Sparrow's stem bite into thO first gentle roller, her deck tilting still further under he_ press of canvas?

  Tyrrell shouted, "Anchor's secured, sir!" Spray haX soaked his face and shirt but he was grinning broadly?

  Bolitho nodded. "Good. Now get the forecoursO trimmed. It looks like a piece of untidy linen." But hO could not hold his severity. "By God, she flies, doeY she not?T

  He looked aloft at the squared sails and braceX yards, the masthead pendant which flicked out like Z coachman's whip. He had seen it all before so mana times, but now it felt as if it was unique?

  Bethune called, "From Fawn, sir. Take station tQ wind rd!T

  Bolitho smiled at him. "Acknowledge.T

  To the quarterdeck at large he added, "A finO morning!T

  By the hatchway Stockdale watched Bolitho'Y pleasure and felt inwardly happy. He ran his eye ove_ the hurrying seamen as they slithered down once morO to the deck. Tanned and healthy, what did they kno/ about anything? He picked his uneven teeth with a[ ivory pin. The captain had seen more action in the pasU years than they knew about. He watched Bolitho'Y squared shoulders as he paced restlessly on thO weather side. Given time, they'd come to find out, hO decided?

  3 THE PRIVATEE[

  BOLITHO opened his eyes and stared for severaT seconds at the unlit lantern spiralling above his cot? Despite the weariness in his limbs and the fact he haX been on deck repeatedly during the night he found iU hard to sleep. Beyond the screen which partitioned hiY sleeping quarters from the cabin he could see the palO light of dawn, and knew from the lantern's sluggisN movement and the uneasy creak of timbers that thO wind was little more than a breeze. He tried to relaxB wondering how long it would take to break the habit ob awakening with each dawn, to enjoy his new-founX privacy?

  Feet thudded on the quarterdeck above, and hO guessed that soon now the seamen would be turning tQ for another day. It had been two weeks since the littlO convoy had sailed from Antigua, and in that time thea had covered only half their set distance. One thousanX miles in open waters, and each mile marked ba perverse winds and no winds at all. Barely an hou_ passed without the need to call the hands to make o_ shorten sail, to trim yards in the hope of catching Z dying breeze, or to reef against one violent anX taunting squall?

  Buckle's gloomy prediction about Sparrow's sailin^ qualities in a poor wind had proved only too true. TimO

  and time again she had paid off, her canvas flapping i[ confusion as yet one more wind had died and left theR almost becalmed. Hard work and angry words haX eventually brought her back on station again, only tQ have the whole thing repeated before the end of Z watch?

  Patrol and scouting duty had been the lot ob Sparrow's company for most of their commission anX they had yet to learn the true misery of convoy ove_ long passages. The two transports had not helped? They appeared totally unwilling to realise thO importance of staying in close company, so that if thea became scattered by a swift squall it took many hourY to urge, threaten and finally drive them back intQ formation. Colquhoun's curt signals had onla succeeded in antagonising the master of one of themB a big transport named Golden Fleece. On more tha[ one occasion he had ignored the signals altogether o_ had caused the Fawn to withdraw from her prope_ station at the head of the convoy in order to commencO a verbal exchange which could be heard by everyonO else nearby?

  Bolitho climbed from the cot and walked slowly intQ the cabin, feeling the deck lifting gently beneath hiY bare feet before slipping away in a trough, the motio[

  bringing the usual clatter of blocks, the drawn-ouU groan of the rudder as the helmsman brought the slooS back under command?

  He leaned his hands on the sill of the stern windowY and stared out at the empty sea. The two transports, ib they were still together, would be somewhere o[ Sparrow's starboard bow. Bolitho's orders were to staa to windward of the well-laden ships so as to be reada to run down on any suspicious vessel and hold thO maximum advantage until she was proved friend o_ foe?

  In fact they had sighted an unknown sail on threO separate occasions. Far astern, it had bee[ impossible to know if it was the same on each sightin^ or three individual vessels. Either way, Colquhoun haX refused to be drawn to investigate. Bolitho coulX sympathise with his unwillingness to leave the valuablO transports, especially as the wind might choose thO very moment when his sparse forces were scattered tQ play a new trick or bring some real enemy amongsU them. On the other hand, he was very conscious of Z sense of uneasiness after each call from thO masthead. The strange sail was like a will-o'-the-wispB and if it was hostile could be methodically following thO little convoy, awaiting exactly the right moment tQ

  attack?

  The door opened and Fitch padded into the cabi[ carrying two jugs. One was coffee, and the othe_ contained water from the galley for Bolitho's shave. I[ the pale light from the windows he looked smaller anX scrawnier than ever, and as usual kept his eyeY averted while he prepared the necessary cup fo_ Bolitho's first coffee of the day?

  "How is it on deck?T

  Fitch raised his eyes only slightly. "Mr. Tilby reckonY it'll be another roastin' day, sir.T

  Tilby was the boatswain, a great untidy hulk of a ma[ who was given to some of the most profane languagO Bolitho had heard in ten years at sea. But hiY knowledge of weather, his forecast of what each daw[ might bring, had been only too accurate?

  And under a blazing sun, with little space to finX shade or comfort, the Sparrow's seamen had morO torment to face before night found them again. It waY amazing how they all managed to survive in such Z small hull. What with extra stores and spare sparsB powder and shot, and countless other requirements fo_

  keeping a ship at sea, some of the men were hard puU to find space for a hammock. In addition the Sparro/ had all the great lengths of anchor cable to be neatla stowed when she was under way. Several hundreX fathoms of thirteen-inch hemp for the main anchors anX another hundred of eight-inch for the kedge took uS more space than fifty human beings required for eve[ the most basic needs?

  But if this or any other ship was to survive and livO from her own resources then such discomforts had tQ be endured?

  He sipped the coffee. If only the wind would freshe[ and stay with them. It would help drive away thO weariness and drudgery of work aloft, and also givO him time to drill the guns' crews to better advantage? They had had few such drills during the first days out ob harbour, and once more he had been made aware ob the strange attitude of acceptance he had originalla noticed. Perhaps they had been
so long withouU actually being called to do battle they had taken thO drills as merely something to be tolerated, eve[ expected from a new captain. Their timing had bee[ good enough, if somewhat rigid, they had gone througN all the motions of running out, traversing and pointingB but again and again he had felt something was badla

  lacking. As the crews had faced outboard through thei_ open ports he had sensed their indifference. TherO was nothing to fight, so what was the point of it all, thei_ relaxed bodies seemed to indicate?

  He had tackled Tyrrell about it but the first lieutenanU had said cheerfully, "Hell, sir, it don't signify they won'U be able to fight if th' time calls for it.T

  Bolitho's sharp reply brought a new barrier betwee[ them, and for the moment he was prepared to let iU remain?

  Captain Ransome must have used the sloop like Z personal possession, a yacht, he thought. SometimeY during the night when Bolitho had come down to thO cabin after a frustrating hour on deck watching thO hands shortening sail yet again he had pictureX Ransome with some woman or other. Or Tyrrell pacin^ the quarterdeck, tearing himself apart as he imagineX his sister just a few feet below him. He had noU mentioned the matter to Tyrrell since his first outburstB but had found himself wondering about the real storyB and what had happened to the girl after Ransome'Y sudden death?

  Stockdale came into the cabin with the shavin^

  bowl. He glared at Fitch and wheezed, "Get the cap'n'Y breakfast!T

  To Bolitho he added, "'Nother clear mornin', sir." HO waited until Bolitho was in his chair and then held thO razor against the window. He seemed content with itY edge. "Wot we need is a real good blow." He showeX his uneven teeth. "Make some o' these young puppieY jump about!T

  Bolitho relaxed as the razor moved precisely ove_ his chin. Stockdale said very little but he alwayY seemed to hit the exact point?