The Threat in the Baltic (The Merriman Chronicles Book 5)

by Roger Burnage

  “I watched your action with the frigate Sir, every move you made and I cannot say that I have seen a finer ship to ship action and I must congratulate you. I have been chasing that damned ship for nearly two days, in fact I thought I had lost her in the night. She slipped out from Dunkirk, our blockade is spread too thinly you see, but she was spotted and I followed. What about this brig you captured? I put a prize crew aboard as you requested, do you want them to take her back to Portsmouth?”

  “That would be best Sir if you are agreeable and the same must apply to the frigate, I cannot spare the men or the time to do it”. “How badly is she damaged Captain, she lost a mast of course but is she fit for the journey back to Portsmouth?” asked McMasters.

  “I can't say Sir, my Lieutenant had not reported back to me when I left to come here, but apart from the mast there must be a lot of damage to her gundeck and a lot of dead and wounded men there”. “Very well Captain, I can arrange all that and I will escort them both back home. If you will give me your written report before we part including what you know about the French spies, I will ensure that you will get all due credit for your actions. This affair will yield us both a nice bag of prize money though of course that for the brig will be entirely yours, but we will share that for the frigate”.

  “Thank you Sir, there is one other thing, I have the brig's crew under guard on my ship, so if you are agreeable Sir, I propose to press them to make up my losses. If one of them is a spy we shall find him”. Captain McMasters agreed and so with thanks for the hospitality, Grahame and Merriman departed, Merriman promising that his report together with the spy's letter would be sent over as soon as possible.

  Aboard the Lord Stevenage Merriman found his First Lieutenant ready to report about the condition of the frigate. “Not too bad Sir, the mizzen mast is the worst but there is chaos on the gun deck, bodies everywhere and several guns and carriages smashed. The Captain is dead Sir and I left a lieutenant in charge of sorting it out with the rest of the men, albeit under the careful watch of our men”.

  “Thank you David”, he turned and looked at the damage to the Lord Stevenage, a lot of it already repaired and the ship looked almost ready to face another battle. Men were still scrubbing blood off the deck and cutting off splinters from the deck planks and some others aloft reeving some new running rigging. “I will have to deal with that” he said, pointing to the pile of corpses already sewn up in canvas, and I'll have to do the same over there on the frigate. Shaking off his depression he shouted for his clerk Tomkins to come and copy his reports.

  Chapter 12 - Through the Skagerrak and Kattegat

  Four days later the Lord Stevenage was approaching the north- western corner of Denmark to turn north-east into the Skagerrak leading to the Kattegat which with its many islands led in turn to a narrow strait and to Copenhagen. Merriman was walking up and down on the weather side of the quarterdeck, sniffing the air and feeling pleased with life although he was careful not to show it in case the officer of the watch approached him to chat. It was unlikely as all his officers knew that his morning exercise was not to be interrupted. Before leaving the Conqueror he had carried out the necessary service on his own ship for burial at sea and then did the same aboard the captured frigate assisted by the senior French officer left alive.

  He thought back over the last few days. The Conqueror, the big seventy four had left with the captured prizes and carrying his reports for the Admiralty and taking the brig's captain with them for interrogation. He thought with smug satisfaction that he was now many hundreds of guineas richer. He wondered if the prize money from the two frigates captured off India had reached his account yet, the Honourable East India Company had purchased them promising that their office in London would pay for them. Well, that was out of his hands now.

  There was something else that he had good reason to be pleased about. The eight pressed men from the brig had all proved to be good seamen. Although they had settled down to their places on the Watchbill, probably realising that they were better off there than being sent back to Portsmouth and possible execution, two of them were sullen and kept to themselves and slow to follow orders but they were competent enough. He had spoken to them, promising fair treatment so long as they obeyed orders and worked with a will. Of course one of them might be the spy but short of beating them to near death there was no way to find out which. He hoped that one of them might accidentally let slip that fact. He had instructed his officers to separate the two of them into separate watches,

  Most of the wounded men were recovering well and even young Midshipman Evans was proudly walking around with his arm in a sling. Lieutenant Bristow was still giving McBride cause for concern but when Merriman spoke to him in his small cabin he was quite cheerful, “Be about again in a few days Sir”

  Merriman decided that before the ship reached the Kattegat he would have some officers to dinner that evening so he called over the midshipman of the watch - young Mr Edwards - and told him “My compliments to all officers and inform them that they are all invited to dinner this evening, except the duty watch of course. That will include the Master, the Doctor and Mr Grahame and one of you midshipmen too, and then send the cook to me”. “Aye-aye Sir” said the delighted Edwards dashing off, doubtless hoping he would be the one selected. The word spread rapidly and smiles appeared on officers faces. The apprehensive cook came running up to the quarterdeck and Merriman told him to prepare a good meal and to use another one of the pigs. “Be sure to produce plenty of crackling, remember” he said.

  Retiring to his cabin he told Peters and Tomkins what they would have to do that evening and then he sat to consider what Mr Grahame and he would have to do in Denmark. The marine sentry knocked and called “Mr Grahame Sir” Graham entered with a smile on his face and said “Thank you for the invitation James, I am told that we might expect roast pork”. “Yes Sir, I thought it about time I had everyone together again Sir”.

  “Look here James, we have known each other for several years now and I would be pleased if you would use my given name which as you know is Laurence. Now I would like to talk about what we are to do over the next few days and weeks”.

  “Yes Sir, sorry, I mean Laurence, it will take me a while to get used to that. I too have been thinking about the reception we might receive when we sail into Danish waters and Copenhagen, will we be fired upon?” “I certainly hope not James as far as we know we are not at war. We shall have to proceed as we discussed and hope for the best”.

  Dinner that evening was an enjoyable affair. All were present except the watch, even Mr Bristow arrived on shaky legs, determined not to miss anything. The cook did not disappoint them. The pork was done to a turn and the crispy crackling served up in manageable pieces. Peters and Tomkins served the food and then began to serve wine. “I hope you will like this wine Gentlemen, I bought it in Portsmouth and it has been in the bilges ever since. It was recommended to me by Admiral Fitzherbert himself. I apologise for the shortage of fresh vegetables, I hope we can restock in Copenhagen but meanwhile we have apple sauce and potatoes to go with the meat. Now before we set about the food I would like you to remember what Samuel Pepys said “Strange to see how a good dinner reconciles everybody”. They fed well with plenty of jesting and bonhomie but Merriman sensed that there was an undercurrent to the gathering.

  After they had fed and cheese and wine had been served, Merriman looked at the company, Lieutenant Bristow was looking pale faced and tired although he had made a valiant effort to eat and was obviously ready for his cot. Evans the Midshipman was nearly asleep with a contented grin on his face. Merriman rapped on the table and said “Mr Evans, I would be obliged if you would wake up and propose the toast as is your duty”. The bleary eyed youngster struggled to his feet, grabbed his glass and squeaked “Gentlemen, The King” before collapsing back onto his chair. Grahame said with a smile “When the wine is in the wit is out, an old proverb I think and I think also that our young friend has eaten and drunk enoug
h for two of them”. Indeed, as Shakespeare says in 'Much ado about nothing,' 'He is a very valiant trencherman'.

  There was much laughter and Merriman called for his servant Peters. “Take Mr Evans below to his berth Peters, we won't get much sense out of him now”. The conversation continued until Merriman said “I believe this has been a pleasant evening and I am sorry to bring it to a close but tomorrow morning we will be approaching Danish waters and I want all of you alert for what might happen. So then, goodnight Gentlemen”. The officers dispersed with many thanks to their host, two of them helping Bristow to his small cabin.

  Chapter 13 - Delayed by gales

  Dawn came, a cold wet dawn with dark clouds overhead and a biting north easterly wind. No other ships were visible and so the men were dismissed from the usual action stations. The ship was heeling over to larboard and Merriman, bundled up in his heaviest coat, scarf and oilskins and with his hat firmly fixed on his head, was standing on deck holding onto the weather rail and hoping this weather would not turn into a full gale although it seemed likely.

  He frowned and scowled about him. That frown and scowl made everyone on deck keep away from him which was good as he wanted more time to himself to decide what to do if a full gale did blow up to delay the arrival at Copenhagen. Not that he could do much about it if it did other than to run before it or lie hove to under minimal sail. The best heavy weather canvas had been bent on for the last two days and lifelines would be fastened on as soon as necessary. Everything was already secured with extra lashings and the heavy guns especially well secured.

  However the weather did get worse and Merriman was forced to order the courses furled and the topgallant sails furled as well, a hard and difficult job it was with the topmen battered by incessant rain with showers of icy sleet - with frozen fingers they fought to control the hard canvas and tie the gaskets. Many a seaman had lost a fingernail in the process over the years. With their feet on the footropes they leaned perilously out over the yard to claw the wet and madly fighting sails up to the yards and tied them there. On deck the men handling the various ropes, buntlines, clewlines, sheets and others were sometimes waist deep in water as with the ship pitching and rolling the water came over the foc's'l and weather side by the ton with spray flying high as the ship hit the next wave full on, sending more water over the foc’s’l and pouring out of the scuppers as she rose again.

  It was sufficient to make progress under furled topsails, staysails and driver, although making good towards their destination was painfully slow, indeed in the worst of the gale the ship hove to was fast losing the ground she had made over the last two days. Despite his scowl Merriman was enjoying himself, this was real sailing and no mistake. He had full confidence in his ship and crew to weather the worst gale that blew up. He thought back to the gales and typhoon winds he had experienced in the past in both the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean. His thoughts were interrupted by an apologetic Peters, “Sir, Mr Grahame is asking for you Sir” he whispered as confidentially as he could above the noise of wind and wave “The Gentleman is ill again Sir”. “Very well Peters, I'll come below”. The officer of the watch was Lieutenant Merryweather very capable of handling the ship with the Master and Midshipman Small, so satisfied he went down to see what Mr Grahame wanted.

  Poor Graham had suffered greatly from seasickness in the past but had apparently got over it and it took really erratic movements of the ship to affect him now. In his cabin Merriman found the wretched man crouched over a bucket bringing up the remains of his breakfast. He recovered slightly and with a ghastly pallor on his face he collapsed back into his cot while Peters removed the bucket and left a clean one in its place.

  “Ah James, thank you for coming, I can hardly move and I thought I was cured of this damned Mal-de- Mer. Anyway, how is this weather affecting our voyage to Copenhagen?” “Well Sir, I'm sorry, Laurence, we are making slow progress and I must emphasise the 'slow' as the wind is blowing from where we need to go and constant tacking is needed. But we will get there in time but maybe a day or two later than I had hoped”. “I know you are doing your best James but you can't control the weath --------”. He groaned and climbed out of his cot to make use of the clean bucket. Merriman left and indicated to Peters that he was needed again.

  The bad weather continued for another three days before abating and allowing the ship to proceed easier in the right direction. As Lord Stevenage entered the huge bay, the Skagerrak, between Norway and Denmark the weather eased still more and they made better progress. On deck Merriman asked First Lieutenant Andrews and the Master Mr Henderson to join him in his cabin.

  “I think it is time we had extra lookouts aloft David, we have Norway to larboard and Denmark to starboard and they can be considered to be one country. And of course there is Sweden also. We will be well out of range until we enter Kattegat where the narrowest part is the strait between the extreme north eastern tip of the island of Zealand and the Norwegian coast is some two and a half miles wide. There are forts on either side and we might expect to be fired upon if we are at war with them although if we keep to the centre we should be safe enough. Mr Henderson, have you been here before and how are your charts?”

  “Yes Sir, I've been here twice before and the charts are as up to date as they can be although there are no really reliable charts available from the hydrographic office of the waters close inshore at Copenhagen”.

  “ Good and thank you. I know that most of the officers have been studying those charts most keenly so have them keep on studying them. Further south the strait widens out before we come to Copenhagen where it closes to only just over two miles wide, where there will be forts on either side and more to defend Copenhagen. There are sandbanks too, so I expect you to watch the depth Mr Henderson, using the leadline if you need it”. “Aye-aye Sir”, replied the Master, if he was annoyed that the captain had to tell him his job he was careful not to show it.

  In the event, no batteries fired from either shore and the ship passed near to the big Trekroner fortress at the entrance to the harbour of Copenhagen. The fort name meant Three Crowns, symbolising the crowns of Denmark, Norway and Sweden and it was armed with huge cannon frowning down over the harbour entrance and supported by other forts and batteries. As the ship neared the outer harbour a boat under sail approached and a little man shouted officiously “I am the harbourmaster, who are you and what do you want” His English was so bad that Merriman could only just make out what the man was saying. “We are bringing a diplomat to visit our Embassy here and we need fresh water and vegetables”, shouted Merriman “and a pig or two” he added as an afterthought

  “Very well” replied the man after some thought, “Follow me and anchor where I tell you and we'll send water and supplies out to you”. As they complied the man shouted again, “Nobody must leave your ship until our inspectors have spoken with you” As they anchored with the expected cannon fire of salutes ringing out Merriman was looking round with interest, realising that they had anchored within cannonshot of a Danish warship. “Not taking any chances it would seem” he thought. The next visitor was a man dressed in some sort of uniform who stepped aboard and raised his hat politely to Merriman. “I am the Customs Officer Sir and I must see your documents” he said in good English.

  Merriman took him below to where Mr Grahame was dressed in his best and waiting to show the man his diplomatic credentials. “I am here to visit the Embassy as a representative of King George and his Government Sir, I hope there will be no delay” said Grahame.

  “No Sir, all is in order and you may go ashore as soon as you wish” said the customs man, turning to Merriman “Captain, I am told by the harbourmaster that you need fresh water so I will arrange for a water hoy to come out to you and somebody will sell you fresh vegetables. However I must insist that nobody is to go ashore except for Mr Grahame. For you Sir I will arrange for a small carriage to take you to your Embassy”.

  Eventually a small carriage appeared and Grahame was row
ed to the dockside where he found the Customs Officer waiting to ensure that none of the boat's crew slipped ashore. While that was happening a sort of barge was being rowed out by men using big, heavy sweeps and came alongside. It was the water hoy and Merriman was requested to send his empty barrels over to be filled. Another Customs man was on board with two very obvious soldiers suspiciously watching to ensure that that was all that happened. A small boat came alongside with vegetables and a trussed pig. After Merriman paid what was owed, the boats returned to their places in the harbour and Merriman called his officers to his cabin.

  “Gentlemen” he said, “Mr Grahame will be gone for only two days and whilst he is gone we must try and record all the activity in the harbour and make drawings of what we can see of the harbour defences. But we must not be seen to be taking a lot of interest in that. Only one or two of you at a time must study what you can with a glass and others of you can sit out of sight and write it all down, bearings of forts and anything that will be of interest to our fleet if we have to attack. Mr Small, here is some paper, I know you to be good at drawing and you must take your turn with the glass and then try and draw what you see”.

  “Captain St James, it is many weeks since we last had our usual sword practice and I am feeling a bit rusty, so I think we should continue with it as often as we can, you can show me some more tricks”.

  “Aye-aye Sir”, responded the smiling marine, “I do have one or two more tricks up my sleeve, and remember Sir, the saying 'No skill in swordsmanship however Just, can secure against a madman's thrust'”. Ever since they had met aboard Merriman's sloop Aphrodite some six or seven years ago, St James, an accomplished swordsman, had been teaching Merriman some of the finer points of swordplay including some tricks which he had said were not in the usual fencing instructor's book of rules and were regarded as not suitable for Gentlemen to use. “That is all very well if you are fighting a duel Sir with seconds and a referee” St James said “but the purpose of this exercise is to get your blade into your opponent before he gets his into you, so rules be damned”.