Blackbird

by David Crookes

  `Captain said to go fetch him just as soon as you woke up Miss,' he blurted out quickly, and fled out the door.

  After a few minutes there was a sharp knock on the door and three men entered the big cabin. Sky stirred at that moment, and Kiri clutched him to her tightly, when she realized one of the men was Bates. He stood silently with his head lowered. Kiri noticed he had iron manacles on his wrists and wore a filthy bandage on his forearm.

  Christian Blue smiled at Kiri. `I am the master of this schooner,' he said gently. `My name is Christian Blue.' He nodded toward Jackson, `And this man is my first mate Mr Jackson. We want you to know that you and your son are quite safe aboard this vessel. Do you understand what I am saying?'

  `Yes, I do speak English Captain Blue, and I thank you.' Kiri spoke without taking her eyes off Bates.

  Christian Blue pointed a finger at Bates. `We plucked this man out of the ocean just before we boarded the Faithful, Miss. He said the vessel was sinking and that there wasn't a living soul aboard her. He said later that he had no knowledge that you and the boy were on the ship.He claims you are stowaways. What do you say to that?'

  Kiri's eyes widened in anger.

  `I say this pig is a liar Captain Blue. I say he kidnapped me from my island of Kiriwina nearly five years ago and killed many of my people. I was taken to Queensland aboard that very ship and sold as a whore. But later, I found a home with a good man, until I was kidnapped again with my son just a few weeks ago, and for a second time, I was held prisoner aboard the Faithful.'

  `Lies, Captain Blue... she's speaking nothing' but lies,' Bates protested. `That's all these islanders ever do. On my oath Captain Blue, I've never seen this Kanaka before.'

  `He is the liar,' Kiri said calmly. `And I can prove it. He attacked us in the forepeak about a week ago. When he did, I bit him. Take off the bandage on his arm. You will see I speak the truth.'

  Jackson ripped the filthy cloth from Bates' forearm. It was plain to see the wound beneath it was a deep bite, only just beginning to heal.

  Christian Blue glanced at the wound then looked into Bates eyes. His contempt showed on his face. `Get this scum out of my cabin and out of my sight Mr Jackson. Take him back aboard the Faithful and lock him in the forepeak. The least we can do is afford him the same hospitality he showed to this woman and her child.'

  Jackson non too gently shoved Bates out of the cabin door. When they had gone, Christian Blue turned to Kiri `We found the master of the Faithful dead, floating face down in his cabin. I became suspicious of Bates. I have known ship's captains to drown before, but never in their own cabins, and certainly never when their ship was still afloat. That is why I chose to keep Bates in irons until we were able to hear what you had to say.'

  `I am so grateful for what you have done for my son and I Captain.' Kiri said. `Your cook has fed us good food, and we have slept well. But it is not necessary for us to be in your cabin any longer.' She took Sky by the hand. 'We will go up to the deck now.'

  Sky looked up at the captain and smiled for the first time in over two weeks.

  Christian Blue ran a playful hand through his hair. No, no. You and the boy will remain here until you are both well, then we can decide what can be done for you. At the moment I think the best solution would be to take you home. This vessel is bound for Java through the Torres Straight. To call at your island of Kiriwina would only add two or three days to a long voyage. It is the least I can do for you after all you have been through. You see, you and I have something in common. In the past I too have suffered at the hands of the Stonehouse Shipping Company.'

  Before Kiri could say a word, Christian Blue closed the cabin door behind him. Soon after, she heard him shouting the orders to make sail.

  Slowly the ship began to come alive. Men clambered aloft. Running rigging clattered through wooden blocks. Canvas snapped and cracked, as it fell from the yards and flapped loosely in the breeze. Then the sails were sheeted home, and the timbers of the great schooner began to creak, as she gently heeled over, yielding to the power of the wind on the huge press of sail she was carrying.

  Kiri and Sky settled back down in the captain's bunk and felt the Mendocino Trader surge slowly forward into the night—towards the island of Kiriwina.

  *

  For six days they sailed under a moderate sou'easter. The Mendocino Trader carried only enough sail to keep the Faithful manned by Jackson and a skeleton crew, in sight astern.

  The Faithful flew all the canvas her one remaining mast could carry: four square sails and four jibs hanked on to her bowsprit stays. Even with reduced sail the brigantine still travelled at a respectable turn of speed, with the shipwright and his crew making what repairs they could along the way.

  On the seventh morning they sighted the Trobriand Islands. Just before midday, they passed under the southern tip of the island of Kiriwina, then veered to the north, staying well clear of the dangerous coral heads along the shoreline. By mid-afternoon they were nearing the anchorage in the narrow channel between Kiriwina and the neighboring island of Kaileuna.

  Kiri and Sky sat huddled together on the Mendocino Trader's huge bowsprit where it fused with the foredeck. Her pulse quickened as the familiar surroundings brought on an almost overwhelming flood of memories and emotions, heightened by the strong ingrained homing instincts found in all Melanesians.

  Soon the Mendocino Trader was in the centre of the deep water passage between the two islands. She reduced sail and began to edge in toward the anchorage at Kiriwina. The Faithful was almost a full mile astern, but with her sail still hoisted, she quickly began to close the gap between the two vessels.

  Christian Blue was about to give the order to prepare a ship's boat to take Kiri and Sky ashore, when a loud roar broke the stillness of the late afternoon. A cannon shot whistled overhead. Seconds later it splashed into the water between the schooner and brigantine, sending a plume of white water shooting high into the air.

  Christian Blue looked to the north. A British warship was rounding the headland beyond the anchorage on Kiriwina. There was a puff of white smoke, and another shot whistled over the schooner's bow.

  Fifteen minutes later a sixteen-man armed boarding-party led by a young British naval officer climbed aboard the Mendocino Trader. The officer was tall and thin, immaculate in a Royal Navy uniform with polished brass buttons. He strutted arrogantly across the deck toward Christian Blue.

  `I am Lieutenant Heath of HMS Superior of the Royal Navy's Australian Squadron. I must inform you that your vessel is in breach of Imperial regulations governing Her Majesty's Protectorate of New Guinea, and which prohibit access to these islands by commercial shipping. I must further advise you, that under the regulations, I am empowered to confiscate this vessel.'

  A murmur ran through the crowd of seamen which had gathered on the deck around the boarding party. Just behind them, Kiri and Sky stood on a hatch cover and watched and listened.

  Christian Blue looked the officer directly in the eye.

  `I am not aware of any such regulations Lieutenant.'

  `Ignorance of the law is no excuse Captain,' the lieutenant snapped impatiently.

  `But Lieutenant,I only came here to the Trobriands to bring home an island girl and her son, kidnapped by a Queensland labor-ship.' Christian Blue waved a hand in the direction of the Faithful. We found them locked in the forepeak of that brigantine over there, and left to drown. I claimed the vessel under the law of the sea when we found her abandoned and sinking off the Solomon Islands.

  The officer's eyebrows shot up. `I see you have no ignorance of the law when there is a profit to be taken Captain.'

  Christian Blue's face tightened. `What do you intend to do Lieutenant?'

  `My orders are to search this vessel and escort you back to the Superior with any islanders found on board. Another officer is about to conduct a similar search aboard the brigantine. The boarding parties will take charge of both vessels until the captain of the Superior has decided what furthe
r action will be taken.'

  `And if we refuse?'

  `Then both vessels will be sunk immediately.'

  Another murmur ran through the crowd of sailors on the deck. This time it was much louder, and the boarding party backed off to the ship's rail, their firearms at the ready.

  Christian Blue's face showed his outrage. But when he spoke his voice was calm and clear: `I will comply with your captain's orders Lieutenant, only because I have nothing to hide. But you would do well to remember that this ship is an American commercial vessel, registered in the United States, and plainly flying the Stars and Stripes—not some colonial slave- trader hiding behind the Union Jack. And that brig over there is now a legitimate American ship, manned by an American crew. Let me warn you Lieutenant, if you or any other strutting pipsqueak, tries to sink or interfere with these vessels, then you and your superiors will answer to the United States Navy.'

  A cheer went up from the Mendocino Trader's crew, and there were guarded smirks on the faces of the ratings in the brash lieutenant's boarding-party. The search of the Mendocino Trader took a good deal longer than that of the much smaller Faithful. It was over two hours before Christian Blue, and Kiri and Sky, climbed down into the Superior's ship-boat, to transfer to the warship which lay almost a quarter of a mile away.

  Twelve naval ratings remained aboard the schooner, leaving just four men to man the shipboat's oars. Kiri and Sky sat with the lieutenant in the stern of the small craft. During the short passage to the Superior, Kiri noticed that one of the oarsmen—a young dark-haired sailor, never took his eyes off her, even for a moment.

  The sun was setting when they clambered aboard the Superior. They were led quickly to the after deck, where the captain of the warship, flanked by two other officers, was already interviewing Jackson and Bates.

  Lieutenant Heath presented his charges to the captain and informed him of the results of his search of the Mendocino Trader. Then he stepped back and stood at the ship's rail with the four oarsmen from the ship-boat.

  The captain of the Superior was a slightly built man in his early-forties, with pale blue eyes and sandy colored hair, already graying at the temples. He had the easy air of a career officer long used to command, and the patient, calm manner of a sailor who had spent a lifetime at sea. He smiled politely.

  `Captain Blue, welcome aboard my ship.'

  `Thank you Captain. Had I come of my own free will, it would have indeed been a pleasure.'

  `Please accept my apologies for any inconvenience Captain Blue. But the job of the Superior in these waters is to prevent the labor recruitment of the people of these islands by unscrupulous white men. If you can satisfy me, that was not the purpose of your visit, then you will be free to go.'

  `I have already told your lieutenant, our presence in these islands is to return this woman and her son toﾁKiriwina.'

  `Yes Captain Blue. So your Mr Jackson has already informed me. And Lieutenant Heath has confirmed your hold is indeed full of copra, which Mr Jackson tells me is bound for the Dutch East Indies.' The captain nodded toward Bates. `But this man, found imprisoned aboard the Faithful—which is a vessel well known to the Australian Squadron as a Queensland laborship, claims you seized the vessel illegally. He says he was on board the Faithful when you found her dismasted, after a storm off the Solomon Islands which claimed the lives of the rest of her crew. He says you stole the vessel from her rightful owner—the Stonehouse Shipping Company.'

  `God-dammit,' Christian Blue blurted out angrily. `That's a bare-faced lie.'

  `He also says this woman and boy were also on board the Faithful and that they were being lawfully returned to their home in the Solomon Islands from a plantation in Queensland.'

  Christian Blue shook his head in exasperation and turned to Kiri. `This woman speaks English remarkably well Captain. She will tell you that she was not in lawful custody, but had been kidnapped by the crew of the Faithful in Queensland.'

  `No doubt she will,' the captain said with a knowing smile. `Bates has already told us she took up with you in your cabin, just as soon as you seized the Faithful.'

  Kiri was unable to contain herself any longer.

  `Captain,' she called out loudly in a strong commanding tone. `My name is Kiri, and this is my son Sky. His father was Alexander Stonehouse, who, before his death, was the owner of the Stonehouse Shipping Company.' Kiri pointed at Bates. `This man lies when he says the Faithful was taking me home to the Solomons. Look at me. I have the light color of the people of the Trobriands, not the black skin of the Solomon Islanders. This man kidnapped me from Kiriwina many years ago. I was taken to Queensland aboard the Faithful where I was kept in a brothel for Alexander Stonehouse's pleasure.'

  Kiri took a deep breath. Tears began to stream down her face, as she continued to bare her soul to strangers.

  `Later I escaped and lived with a brick merchant on the banks of the Brisbane River. We thought no one at Stonehouse's knew about my son. But someone must have found out. A few weeks ago, the crew of the Faithful kidnapped us. After the storm, I told Captain Blue my story. He believed me. Now, is he to be punished for showing kindness and bringing me home to my people?'

  `No, miss,' the captain said at once. `He should not be punished for bringing you home, if what you say is true. Furthermore, if it is true, I would document his title to the Faithful here and now, and he could be on his way. And I would be obliged to report the matter of your treatment by the Stonehouse Shipping Company to the Queensland Colonial Government, when the Superior arrives in Brisbane later in the year.' The captain rubbed his jaw for a moment and stared down at the deck. When he looked up he said, `Now tell me... I am trying to help you young lady. Have you ever spoken to anyone in authority about all this before?.' Kiri shook her head. `No, sir.'ﾁ

  A voice called out from the ship's rail.

  `May I speak, sir?' It was the dark haired oarsman from the ship-boat.

  `What is it seaman?' Lieutenant Heath snapped.

  `I know this woman, sir.'

  The lieutenant looked to his captain.

  The captain nodded his head. `You may speak.'

  `Three years ago, sir,' the seaman said in a shrill Welsh voice, `I served aboard HMS Nelson with Lieutenant Lord Waverley. I was with him when he visited the property on the Brisbane River this lady just spoke of. At one time it was owned by Lord Waverley's brother. I saw this woman there. Lord Waverley told the owner of the property, a man named Ben Luk, that the Nelson had just been in Port Moresby to proclaim the new Protectorate. Ben Luk told the lieutenant that was good, because this woman had been kidnapped from these islands by a labor-ship. And later, the housekeeper told me the household lived in fear of reprisal by the Stonehouse Shipping Company. Lord Waverley spent the night on that property as a guest of Ben Luk. As he slept, someone burnt the brickyard to the ground, and an old Chinese servant was hung from a gum tree down beside the river.'

  The captain rubbed his jaw for a few moments, weighing up what he had heard. Then he said:

  `Captain Blue. You are free to go. Before you the leave I shall draw a document giving you undisputed title to the Faithful. I shall also take this man Bates off your hands and hold him in custody.' He turned his attention to Kiri. `When you are ready, miss, Lieutenant Heath will take you and your son ashore. And when the Superior reaches Brisbane, I will personally visit Ben Luk and tell him of your whereabouts. I will also hand my report on all this to the Governor of the colony.'

  `Thank you Captain,' Kiri said, drying her eyes. `That is a great comfort to me.' She ran her hands over her stomach. `And would you also tell Ben Luk that I am certain no harm has come to our unborn child.'

  Later in a soft moon-glow, Lieutenant Heath and half a dozen seamen took Kiri and Sky ashore. The ship-boat headed in the direction of a group of natives who had gathered on the beach, their bodies starkly silhouetted against the night by the glow of a small fire.

  When the boat reached the shore it stayed just long enough to let
Kiri and Sky out. As it drew away, Kiri took off Sky's clothes, then her own, and dropped them into the water at the edge of the sand.

  Then they ran naked, hand in hand, across the beach to the group of islanders gathered around the flickering fire.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  The voyage of SS Lady Diamantina ended at the very spot where Charles' voyage to Australia aboard the English Rose had begun nearly five years earlier—at a grey and dirty wharf at St Katherine's Dock, just a stone's throw from the Tower of London.

  It was a cold morning in March and a light drizzle fell from a dull, overcast sky. During the last few weeks at sea, Charles had been eagerly looking forward to seeing England again, just as he remembered it in his mind. But as the tugs maneuvering the Lady Diamantina alongside the wharf belched out choking black smoke, and their screws churned up the murky litter strewn waters of the Thames, he realized his pleasant memories of England bore little resemblance to the bleak reality of London in late winter.

  A representative of Fairweather & Fox, the Stonehouse Shipping Company's London agent, made himself known to Charles as soon as the passengers disembarked from the ship. When the official landing formalities had been complied with, the representative led the way through the crowds of passengers to a waiting carriage, while a porter struggled along behind them carrying Charles' luggage.

  It was about a mile through busy, bustling streets and crowded back lanes to the offices of Fairweather & Fox, which were located in a small, but austere building, near the Bank Of England in the financial district.

  Percival Augustus Fairweather was a tall, distinguished looking, grey-haired man of about sixty. He wore an immaculately cut dark suit, with a light-grey stylish waistcoat and a soft unstarched white shirt. When the representative ushered Charles into his office, the senior partner rose quickly from his chair behind a huge oak desk and held out his hand.