by R. W. Hughes
‘No it’s not the Galiot that I can see, it’s a galleon!’ shouted Captain Murphy from his position on the rigging.
‘Can you see its colours, Captain?’ shouted George.
‘No! Not yet,’ came back the reply.
‘To be on the safe side, we’ll put the men back in their defensive positions and issue more powder and shot, hopefully before the light goes, the ship can be identified, if we think its hostile, we can always try and lose it in the dark.’
‘The pirates have seen our transport ship and are pulling away,’ exclaimed Douglas and passed the spyglass to George.
‘Aye! They are in no condition to continue the fight and they don’t know what kind of ship is approaching, so they’re just using their oars. Their main mast is too badly damaged to stand the strain of the sail, and they’re still low in the water.’
‘If only we had cannon we could finish the job ourselves,’ muttered Douglas gloomily.
‘The second ship is a Royal Navy frigate!’ The shout came from Peter Robinson, still positioned in the crow’s nest.
‘That man must have excellent eyes to make out the far ship from this distance and without a spyglass,’ commented Captain Mclintosh.
‘I’ll take bets he’s right; he’s an ex-Navy man,’ replied Captain Murphy. ‘I’ll get the boson to fire a distress rocket that will hurry them along, and if we’re lucky, they may well catch sight of the pirate’s Galiot before the light fails.’
The poop deck being the highest deck of the ship was now quite crowded, both George’s and Douglas’s cuts and gashes were being attended to by Fiona and Ailie, on the rigging was Ian Aberach, and close by, with his arm in a sling, was his father Paul, beside him were John MacKay and George’s cousin, Hugh Mackay. All had strips of white bed linen that had been used as bandages and showing patches of crimson where the wounds were still bleeding slightly. At the wheel by the helmsman were Captain Mclintosh and Captain Murphy. All were watching the Royal Navy frigate under full sail as it came ever closer and the drama that was unfolding in front of their eyes.
‘The light is fading, and we can hardly see the pirate ship now and we are closer than the frigate. Damn their black hearts; they could well slip the net after all,’ stormed Captain Murphy, slapping his thigh in exasperation.
‘It’s changing tack. It’s seen the Galiot, and it’s going after the pirates!’ the shout came from Peter Robinson and brought a loud cheer from those on the poop deck and from all the men and women watching along the ship’s hand rail.
Several minutes later, it was obvious to them all that the frigate had indeed changed its course and was speeding in the direction of the Galiot which was now sluggishly trying to pull away.
‘That’s the Sheernes!’ shouted George as the frigate under full sail pulled level and barely thirty feet away.
‘Captain O’Brian!’ shouted George, attracting the attention of the group of officers on the quarter deck of the naval vessel. ‘There are no slaves on board the pirate ship, they are operating the oars themselves, and I repeat there are no slaves on the pirate ship.’
There was no response from the officers at first then a message through a large speaking tube came clearly across the water from the receding bow of the boat.
‘Good day to you, George MacKay, compliments of Captain O’Brian from HMS Sheerness. Your message received and understood.’
‘See all the activity on their decks,’ shouted Captain Mclintosh.
‘Aye! They’re clearing their decks for action,’ replied Captain Murphy, ‘now they know there are no innocent slaves on board, the kid gloves are off, but if the pirates can avoid being caught, they may buy a little time in the coming darkness, but unless they can repair their ship’s ruptured hull and bail out the water and also strengthen their main mast so as to rig their sail during the night, they will not escape the frigate in the light of day tomorrow.’
The statement came from the boson who had joined the group on the poop deck. ‘The navy will criss-cross the area at first light and eventually find and finish them, and those pirates will have worked themselves into a lather on those oars all night, all to no avail.’
Captain Murphy was now shouting orders to his crew who were climbing the rigging and adjusting the sails as he swung the wheel of the tiller to follow in the wake of the Royal Navy frigate.
‘I need to know the outcome of this action; it will be a spectacle that we can all tell our grandchildren,’ he shouted to George’s enquiring glance.
The frigate powered ahead after the pirates’ damaged Galiot eating into the distance that separated the two ships, as the merchant ship under full sail and creaking at every joint continued to follow in its wake.
‘The pirates are rigging their sail,’ the shout came from the crow’s nest.
‘The action of desperate men,’ muttered Captain Mclintosh more to himself than the rest of the group. ‘Without the water in the hold, they may have managed to keep their distance until dark with just their oars. And they will not surrender, because they know there is only the hangman’s noose awaiting them.’
The boson’s statement was cut short by a shout from Douglas.
‘Their sails rigged and taking the wind, and it’s moving their boat faster now.’ No sooner had Douglas finished his sentence than the sail and mast collapsed along the deck.
‘They’re done for now,’ yelled George, as their sail and mast fell along the length of the boat.
‘They’re pulling broadside to the frigate,’ shouted Conan Fraser, as just one set of oars started to pull the Galiot around to face the oncoming frigate.
‘They’re making a fight of it,’ said Captain Murphy.
‘The frigate is keeping its course,’ the shout came from the crow’s nest.
‘Will the frigate not veer away?’ enquired George of the nearby boson.
‘No! With the use of the oars, the Galiot can turn in a tighter circle than the frigate. It can always keep all one side of its cannon facing the Royal Navy vessel, your friend Captain O’Brian knows he has cannons with a greater range than the pirate ship, so he will stand off just out of range, and if they refuse to surrender, he will open fire on them.’
In a brazen act of defiance, the four cannons on the pirate ship facing the advancing frigate fired a ragged volley, the shot creating plumes of water as they fell well short of their intended target.
George, his arms around Fiona and she in turn holding tight on to his forearms relieved that he had survived with only minor injuries, had joined with all the other men and women including the wounded and the slaves, who were watching the action that was now taking place before them between the two ships now silhouetted against the setting sun.
A puff of black smoke, followed by a crack from the frigate’s bow chaser which caused a plume of water ten feet from the pirate boat’s stern, drenched the pirates at that end of their boat and signalled to them that the HMS Sheerness meant business.
‘That’s just a test shot to get the range,’ shouted down the ex-naval gunner Peter excitedly from the crow’s nest.
‘They have no intention of surrendering or they would have lowered their flag by now,’ exclaimed the boson, and he had no sooner finished speaking than there was a second crack of the cannon followed quickly by another puff of smoke from the bow of the navy ship and the sound of splintering wood carried across the water as the cannon ball penetrated the stern end of the Galiot.
‘Captain O’Brian certainly means business,’ said Douglas, his badly slashed arm now stitched and resting in a sling.
Only three of the pirates’ cannons on that side of the ship now fired in reply, the forth being knocked from its stillage by the Sheerness’s cannon, all of their shots falling short.
‘The Sheerness is tacking; she’s getting in position to give them a broadside,’ shouted Peter from his vantage poi
nt.
As the Sheerness came port side on to the Galiot, the pirates on one side of their ship used their oars to bring their ship around to leave just the stern facing the broadside that was about to head their way.
‘They are attempting to make themselves as small a target as possible,’ shouted the boson to those around him.
As the fourteen cannons on the port side of the Sheerness came to bear, they were fired in turn, encasing the frigate in a cloud of black smoke, which drifted across the sea obscuring the view of the bystanders watching from the merchant ship.
As it cleared the devastation caused could be clearly seen by all those cramming the handrails, the stern of the Galiot was just a mass of broken timbers smashed oars and gaping holes left in the rear of the ship’s superstructure.
‘It starting to keel over,’ shouted Captain Mclintosh standing on the wide handrail and steadying himself by holding onto the rigging, with his spyglass to his eye.
And as the onlookers watched the large boat rolled on its side, forcing the pirates on the deck to try and jump clear, so as not to be dragged under the waves by the sinking ship’s rigging.
‘Well, gentlemen, I think a drink is in order, that’s if my good lady wife has not thrown it all away over those pirates,’ said George hugging Fiona affectionately.
‘So that’s what was in those bottles you threw at the pirates! I thought it smelt familiar; what a waste of good whisky,’ said Douglas in mock despair, to accompanying laughs from the rest of the group.
‘And I think we can also spare a small dram for the rest of our men. I think they all performed exceptionally well against an experienced and ruthless enemy, do you not think so, Captain Mclintosh?’ said George as they all made their way down towards the captain’s cabin.
‘I can’a in all honesty fault the men, and the new recruits stood their ground loaded and fired their muskets like seasoned infantry. And they also held their own when called upon to repel borders as the pirates attempted to overrun us on the main deck; they will be an excellent asset when they join the Highland Regiment of Foot in Georgia. But there is one point I wish to make, one of the new recruits, a David Stuart of Bute from the prison ship, deserted his post on the quarter deck.’
‘That is sad news,’ answered George, a grim look taking over his face knowing the outcome would be that the man would be returned to Scotland.
‘Aye, but it was not to run away,’ continued Captain Mclintosh. ‘It was to join the men in repelling borders on the main deck, and I observed him from my position. He was always in the thick of the fighting and also encouraging the men around him, it is your decision, of course, but that man is corporal material, and no doubt in the fullness of time will make an excellent sergeant.’
‘What was the charge brought against this Highlander David Stuart to find himself in the prison ship in the first place?’ queried George.
‘He was wearing the Stuart tartan kilt,’ replied his friend.
‘A severe sentence for such a minor offence,’ answered George
‘The English Army are rigidly enforcing the laws passed by their parliament in London, supported by the foreign troops of their King George, even against clans that supported the English throne, to them they look on all Scotsmen as potential rebels.’
George was silent for a while, he knew what his friend had said was true, and he was glad in his own heart for his future family, that he had made the decision he had.
‘Then I will take your advice, John, and announce the promotion of David Stuart of Bute to a corporal tomorrow morning at parade. And Douglas I think you have a chore to carry out,’ said George, with a laugh to his friend who had been standing quietly, listening to the conversation of the two men.
‘I’ll see to their distribution at once,’ volunteered Douglas. ‘I know what those Highlanders can be like when they’ve had a dram or two—they don’t know when to stop and that whisky as got to last us until we reach Georgia.’ Douglas moved off quickly to complete his task followed by more light-hearted laughter from the group.
As the men settled down in the captain’s cabin, at George’s insistence Ailie took Fiona for her to rest in their own quarters, and Captain Mclintosh came over and joined his friend.
‘It was a very close run thing, George, the turning point in our favour was when your wife Fiona organised the ladies who had been loading the muskets, to fire a volley into the pirates that had you cornered, and then used the bottles of whisky as fire bombs, so good health to you and to the marvellous women, your wife,’ he said, as he clinked George’s glass with his own.
It was at this point that the boson tapped on the cabin door and entered followed by Captain O’Brian from the frigate, Sheerness and Hannah Snell, dressed as an officer of the marine detachment on board his ship, still impersonating her dead brother-in-law James Grey.
‘Captain Murphy sent the Naval Captain and his Marine officer down as they wanted to offer their compliments, being as they know you gentlemen,’ said the boson as he moved to one side and allowed the two officers to enter the cabin.
‘Welcome aboard, Captain,’ said George. ‘You are just in time to join us and share a dram; it was a fine action on your part to dispose of the pirates and their ship.’
At the same time he was desperately thinking of how he could stop Douglas from returning, and if he would be recognised by Fiona’s ex-maid now playing the part of an officer in the English Marines.
‘I have made out a report for my superiors on the information given me by Captain Murphy, and without your involvement and your action immobilising the vessel, it would be have not been possible for us to engage such a swift ship like the Galiot. With regards to the prisoners of the pirates which they used as slaves, if you so wish, they can be taken aboard my ship, and returned to the next Scottish port that we dock, being as your destination is Georgia.’
George was watching the boson, who was still stood behind the two English officers. He was looking at George and vigorously shaking his head.
‘In the meantime,’ continued Captain O’Brian. ‘My surgeon is on board to check on your injured and offer whatever assistance he can.’
‘I thank you, Captain O’Brian, you are most kind, and I will leave you for a few moments while I enquire of the wishes of the former pirates’ prisoners.’
Good, he thought, my opportunity to tell Douglas to keep out of sight until these officers return to their own ship.
As he made towards the entrance of the captain’s quarters, the large frame of Douglas appeared and entered the room unaware of the two officers amongst the large group of men in the cabin.
‘The men have been suitably rewarded,’ he said with a laugh that stopped short as he saw the uniform of the Captain and Hannah Snell. The conversation in the room stopped as all the men involved in the prisoners’ escape from the prison ship, were now in the room with the one person who could possibly identify Douglas, and send them all to the gallows.
It was Hanna Snell herself who broke the silence by walking over to stand in front of Douglas.
‘Aye! I am Sergeant Grey of the Marines. I thought at first I might have known you, but I must have been mistaken as I realise know we have never met, but I have heard of your involvement in the recent action against the pirates and wish to congratulate you.’
George took a deep sigh of relief as his ex-wife’s maid now impersonating James Grey shook hands with Douglas.
‘Captain O’Brian has offered passage for the pirates’ prisoners to a Scottish port if they so wish, Douglas, so we need to obtain their answer at once before we part company.’
He led a relieved but confused Douglas from the cabin, ‘I don’a understand, George! That Marine officer does know me! He was in charge of the escort from the castle dungeons to the prison ship; he gave me clean cloths to bandage my raw ankles bleeding from the shackles.’
&
nbsp; The question caused massive problems for George, as he could not risk disclosing to Douglas that the Marine officer known as “James Grey” was in fact his wife’s ex- maid Hannah Snell, and that the reason that Douglas had not been exposed was that Hannah would also be exposed as a female masquerading as a male!
His predicament was saved by the arrival of the boson who had followed them from the cabin.
‘Lieutenant MacKay!’ He shouted after them, when they were out of earshot from the group left in the cabin, giving George his full title.
‘That’s a sign of respect,’ whispered Douglas to George before the boson reached them.
‘Lieutenant MacKay you need to be aware that Captain O’Brian may have an ulterior motive for his generous offer.’
Both George and Douglas looked at one another in surprise.
‘Explain yourself, boson. I have always found Captain O’Brian to be a most honourable officer.’
‘That may be the case, but the English Navy are desperately short of sailors, and are under orders to forcibly enlist men for their ships, experienced or not! And they have been known to Shanghaie them if needs be. The pirates’ ex-slaves are prime targets for any ship’s captain, as they would never be allowed off his ship once they were on board!’
‘I thank you for your advice, boson. These men have suffered enough in captivity, and if it were not for them and the sacrifice of their fellows we might not be here discussing this situation.’
‘Aye! That is true,’ joined in Douglas.
‘The men will be given the choice, either stay with us and sign recruitment forms with the regiment or take their chances with the English Navy’s promise of transport to Scotland,’ said George.
‘Well in their position I know which choice I would make,’ replied the boson.
As George and Douglas made their way down the passage to the hold that was been used as a hospital for the wounded men, they encountered the Sheerness’s surgeon who was just leaving.
‘Good evening, gentlemen,’ he greeted them. ‘I have just inspected your wounded, and I cannot fault the treatment and attention they have received from your womenfolk. Most of the injuries are deep cuts which could well turn poisonous, and then there would be a danger of gangrene. I have explained to the two ladies in charge for the symptoms they should look for if that is the case.’