Courtenay and the Mercenaries

by Brian Withecombe

  “What about the schooner sir?” asked Priestly.

  “Mr Harvey has carried out a full inspection and is of the opinion that if she can be warped ashore at low tide, some of the shot holes in the hull can be repaired sufficiently to enable Dolphin to be towed further up the river to where there are some facilities we can make use of to effect better repairs. I understand that efforts are going to be made today to plug some of the holes and pump her out so she can be warped ashore. There is a good beach nearby which will be perfect.”

  “She will need a new Captain and some new crew members sir.” pointed out Harry Coles.

  “Yes, I know Harry. I will deal with that when we know she is seaworthy again.”

  “May I ask sir, what you wish of my ship?” said Commander Pountney, clearly disappointed at the thought of being left out.

  Courtenay smiled. “Do not fret Commander. I have a job for you and your fine brig. You are going to survey the river beyond where the diamond mines are situated. I am told the river is navigable without any problems, at least for small craft, but after that, well our schooner would have been able to get further up. I wish you to see how far up the river we could get a frigate, just in case. You never know, and it is best to be prepared for every eventuality, would you not agree?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “In any event, I shall be with you, at least for part of your voyage, because I wish to visit the mines. I am concerned for their safety.”

  “You sir? On my ship sir?” said Pountney, almost aghast. The other Captains grinned then Stevens burst into laughter, followed by the others. He looked around, almost in horror.

  “Why ever not Commander? Mind you tell your Lieutenant to be on his best behaviour!” said Courtenay.

  “I shall indeed do so sir.” said Pountney soberly.

  Courtenay had found from Minter that the information he had been given about the river and how the diamond mines were reached was not entirely accurate. The main river, the Bamira, did indeed stretch into Balathia as the charts showed, but what was not shown was a fairly narrow river which branched off the Bamira just after the first mine was reached. This led further north into the country, and into the jungle to where the other mine was located. Minter had told Courtenay that the King’s own vessels plied this river and were small enough to navigate it as far as the second mine with no problems. The mine just off the Bamira was the open cast one. The other, deeper inland, was the underground one.

  The following day, the company of the brig Justify were treated to the sight of their Admiral again boarding their ship, but this time in company with Flag-lieutenant, personal cox’n, cabin servant and a squad of Royal Marines under the flagship’s junior officer, a Lieutenant Price. This time, they knew it was not merely a visit, and that the Admiral was going to be aboard for their trip up-river. Although Courtenay would have liked to have been on deck as the brig weighed anchor and the company shook out the sails to get her under way towards the river’s broad mouth, he stayed below so that Commander Pountney would not feel under any pressure by being watched by a very senior officer. He therefore restrained his natural desire to watch the workings of the ship, which was a type he had never actually served in, and stayed below, much to the amusement of Alex Trafford and Kingston.

  Once the brig was under way and heading for the entrance to the Bamira however, he could restrain himself no longer and went on deck, which gave the ship’s company another surprise because he had, as usual, discarded his uniform coat and hat. He stood by the starboard nettings, appreciating the breeze coming in over the quarter and only watched the workings of the ship out of the corner of his eye.

  Down on the main deck, there were a number of whispered comments about the way he was dressed, which Lieutenant the Hon. Edward Courtenay overheard and ignored with a smile. They had not seen anything yet!

  H.M. brig Justify took some five hours to navigate the river to the point where Minter told Courtenay the first mine workings were to be found. They had collected the Colonial Officer from the jetty near the Government Post, with a surly Spencer-White looking on, and the commander of the soldiers at the post, Captain Horrocks. He had said it was about time he paid a visit to see how his men were. He was a little surprised to see some Marines on board, but Courtenay said that his flagship’s Major of Marines had insisted on sending at least a squad of his men ‘for protection.” As a result the small brig was rather crowded!

  Courtenay was surprised when they reached the first mine workings because he had imagined for some reason that the country was mostly jungle. Here, however, he could see an open plain stretching for many miles into the distance, and further still, he could make out a small range of mountains.

  The brig dropped anchor and Minter and Horrocks went ashore. They were back within an hour and Horrocks reported there had been no problems.

  “I really did not expect that there would have been sir.” he explained. “The area on the other side of the mine is, as you can see, open plain. My men, and some of the King’s small army, as he calls it, have a good view of anyone trying to attack the mine from across the plain, and in any event, even if anyone was foolish enough to try it, the people here are fiercely loyal to the King and Queen and would soon let my men know if there was any sign of a possible attack. They have a good defensive position, and with the river at their backs, reinforcements could be brought up. You would be amazed at how fast some of the local lads can run, and how far. Damn sight faster than by boat, I can tell you!”

  “Very well Captain, thank you. The other mine is further inland and you mentioned something about the King having some boats which can navigate the other river Mr Minter?”

  “Yes Admiral. If you look over there, against the bank, those are two of the craft the King uses to transport the ore from the mine to here. It is then loaded onto the larger ships and taken down river.”

  “Can you arrange to have us transported up the other river to the mine?”

  “I think we will need both those boats, but leave it with me and I will see what can be done.”

  “Excellent. How far up this other river is the mine?”

  “About ten miles. It runs through the plain for a few miles, then the jungle closes in again. A large area has been cleared for working the mine.”

  “I have been there a few times Admiral,” broke in Horrocks, “and there is also a good killing area. I do confess however that I am more worried about that mine than the one over there. Again, the King has men there, but…”

  “They are not of the calibre that your men are?” Courtenay finished for him.

  “Unfortunately Admiral, I just do not have the men to cover everywhere properly. I have done what I can to train some of the King’s soldiers and some of them are quite good and very reliable.”

  “I understand Captain. I gather a message has been sent to the Cape for some seasoned soldiers to be sent here to assist you, but obviously that is all going to take time, and time is the one thing we may not have much of. Very well Mr Minter, if you could make arrangements for us to use those craft, I would be grateful.” The boats he was looking at reminded him of the Arab Dowhs he had seen on many occasions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

  It took a few more hours for the arrangements to be made for the King’s boats to be made available and for everyone to be transferred. Pountney insisted that Courtenay take a few of his men as well, for added protection, and assigned Edward to be in charge of them. “After all sir, all I have to do is to sail carefully further up the river here and take soundings, so I will have it rather easy. I shall not miss a few of my lads for a little while.”

  “Very well Commander, I appreciate the thought. Let us say we will meet here again in four days? That should give you time and plenty to see if the river is deep enough for at least your ship for a further distance.”

  “Aye aye sir.”

  The men working the other boats were obviously used to working up and down the smaller river and once everyo
ne was inboard, they hoisted their sails and soon, the two boats were tacking out of the Bamira into the smaller river that would take them to the other mine. With the time it had taken, it was not long before darkness fell, and for some of the men from the brig, it was still a new sensation. One moment it was daylight, the next it was dark. The boats pressed on for a short while, then the man in charge, named Habib, said it was too dangerous to continue and rather than pull into the bank, because they had left the plain behind, they anchored in midstream. Lieutenant Price arranged the Marines into watches, and Edward Courtenay followed with the ten men he had with him from the brig. Rations were passed around and Courtenay, his son, and Trafford sat down leaning against the side of the boat and ate slowly.

  “Are you worried about what you will find at this mine father?” Edward asked quietly, sinking his teeth into a piece of bread.

  “Well, first of all, I did wish to see the workings and ensure they could be defended, but in view of what was said to the King, it is now of even more importance that we see how they can be defended if attacked.”

  “Do you think they will be?” asked his son.

  “Possibly, but the secret is not to be taken by surprise! These people, the ones who are clearly threatening the King and his people, have made it clear they will do whatever it takes to get what they want and it would be disastrous to the country’s finances if they laid their hands on one of the mines.”

  “Yes, and I am sure that HMG would not like it either father!”

  “So cynical for one so young, would you not say Alex?”

  “I have no idea where he gets that from sir!”

  “If you will excuse me father, I have to do a round of the watch.”

  “Of course Edward.” He watched as his son, who had also discarded uniform coat and hat, made his way along the boat, speaking quietly to some of his men as he came across them. It was still hard not to see him as his young first-born son. Now he was a commissioned King’s officer, issuing his orders and instructions in a calm manner, but with the steel of authority that had come with having to live in the gunroom and order around men old enough to be his father, and in some cases, his grandfather! Trafford followed his gaze.

  “Turnin’ out right fine, ain’t he sir? Always knew he would.” He laid back against the side and closed his eyes, although he was only pretending he was falling asleep. Now he had two of the family to look out for!

  “Yes Alex,” said Courtenay almost to himself, “he certainly is.”

  Morning came and with it a quick breakfast and then the man called Habib called all his men and the two boats got under way again. It seemed to Courtenay they were going through the water at quite a pace for a small river, but he reasoned that Habib and his men were well used to what they were doing and where they were going. Habib had just said the mine was around the next bend in the small river when there was a faint sound that had every man-jack in blue or red immediately turn their heads and look in the direction of where the mine was. It was a popping noise that clearly Habib did not understand, because he turned to Minter with an enquiring look on his face. Courtenay beat him to it.

  “That is musket fire. The mine is under attack. Habib, can you get your boats to go any faster? We must get there as quickly as possible.” The man nodded and fired off a torrent of words in his local dialect to his men.

  Horrocks was already checking his pistols as was Minter and the Marines Officer called Price was signalling to the other boat to come alongside for instructions. As he did so, he was fumbling with a pistol, which his orderly somewhat disdainfully took from him and with practised hands, started to load. The sergeant in the other boat saw the officer’s hesitation in issuing his orders and spoke quietly to him, then turned to the rest of the squad and started rapping out his orders. Courtenay and Trafford looked at other. “Probably his first action sir.” grinned the cox’n. Courtenay smiled back. He could still remember his first action, the first time he had killed someone, and his reaction afterwards. Edward was looking at them, saw their glance at the Marines Officer and knew what was going through their minds. This was far from his first action, but his fights had been aboard ship, not ashore in some jungle covered place where the fighting might be even more confusing than boarding another ship.

  “Captain, where is the mine now?” asked Courtenay.

  “Just round the next bend.” Horrocks looked at Habib, as if for confirmation, and the man nodded.

  “Very well, pull into the bank before we get there. There is little point in advertising our arrival, is there?” said Courtenay. Habib turned to the man steering the other boat and said something quickly, and the boats headed for the left hand bank where the jungle came right down to it. “Mr Price? Two men ashore if you please and ensure we are alone.”

  “Aye aye sir.” The sergeant had overheard and as the boats nudged against the bank, two Marines jumped ashore and disappeared into the treeline. Habib spoke curtly to one of his men, and he followed, unsheathing a long and very sharp-looking knife.

  “He good man your Excellency. No worry.”

  The men were soon back reporting they had the area to themselves, and Courtenay ordered everyone out of the boats and with Habib leading they pushed through the jungle. It was hard going for a short while, during which time they could still hear the popping of musket fire, then the undergrowth thinned a little and they stepped onto a narrow path which obviously led towards the mine workings. “How far to the mine Habib?” asked Courtenay.

  “Not far your Excellency.”

  Courtenay, for ever cautious about very convenient paths, was concerned that since, judging by the fact the firing was now louder, whoever was attacking the mine might have placed a guard on the path, so split his small force into two and each line moved slowly on each side. When the firing was quite loud, he signalled the advance to stop. He turned to Edward, who had been following behind Trafford. “Two of your lads, Edward, to have a look up front and see what is happening? Do you know them well enough yet to know who to trust?”

  “Yes sir.” He turned to the men following. “Hawkins, Bradshaw, come with me. No noise now.” Without waiting for a response from his father, Edward slipped past with the two seamen following. Trafford smiled and shook his head. Like father, like son!

  “Do you want me to go with ‘im sir?” he asked quietly.

  “No, he has to let his men know he can be trusted without us with him all the time. All the same, I think we will move up a little.” He made a hand signal and the two small groups edged further forward. Horrocks was with the other line of men and he could see how nervous the young Marines Lieutenant was getting. He sighed to himself. Was I like that? He found he just could not remember!

  The two lines stopped and a few moments later one of the men Edward Courtenay had taken with him returned. “Not far away now sir. Mr Courtenay said to tell you that we found the mine workings and the guards seem to be barricaded in the mine entrance. There are about twenty or thirty buggers firing at ‘em, but they can’t charge because there is a lot of open ground in front of them.”

  “Show me.” said Courtenay, beckoning to Horrocks to follow. Trafford drew his cutlass and crept along behind the others. They came to another small bend, and it was obvious that would take the path into the workings. The man went off to the left and they crawled the last few yards to where Edward and the other man were lying completely hidden, but with what turned out to be a grandstand view of what was happening.

  Ahead of them, and about two hundred yards away, was the mine portal. In it, as the man called Hawkings had described, the guards, who were partly Horrocks’ men and partly the King’s soldiers, had erected a barricade, from which they kept up a steady fire against the attackers, who were about one hundred yards from the mine. In between was open ground, a good ‘killing zone’ and although the attackers were firing regularly at the soldiers, none of them seemed anxious to step out into the open and charge the barricade. Even as they watched, one
of them rose from behind a boulder to fire at the barricade and was caught by return fire, being thrown to the ground where he was still, blood dripping on the hard ground. None of his friends even spared the man a glance.

  Courtenay noted they were a mixed bag. Some looked Spanish, others were lighter skinned, and there were even one or two men who were clearly from the African continent. Courtenay turned as there was a noise behind them and Habib appeared, taking in the scene. When he saw the attackers, he made a hissing sound and spoke quietly to Horrocks, who then whispered to Courtenay.

  “He knows one of those men sir. His name is Roja, and he is, in Habib’s words, a bad man. It seems he has raped a number of women, and stolen from them and their families. King Khalfani banished him from the Kingdom.”

  “I see. Thank you Habib.” The man nodded and smiled, showing a perfect set of brilliantly white teeth. “Very well. Your men and the other soldiers seem to be holding their own, at least for the time being.”

  “Oddly enough sir, we deliberately cleared the area in front of the mine workings just in case. There is food and water kept inside the entrance. The King was expecting trouble you see….”

  “So you took steps to try to deal with it.”

  “Well sir, me and Peter Minter. I cannot take all the praise.”

  “Not Spencer-White?” Horrocks said nothing but the expression on his face spoke volumes. “Very well Captain, this is what we do. There is a good spot on the other side of the enemy’s position which could hide a number of men, and we have a good position here.” He turned to Edward. “Go back to your men and bring them here, with Mr Minter. Tell Lieutenant Price that my orders are he is to follow Habib here, and take his squad round to the other side. When he is in position, he has my permission to open fire on the enemy. We will be ready this side and when the Marines fire, so will we. He is then to give the enemy another volley because he will have time to reload whilst the attackers are wondering where the hell the firing is coming from, then he is to charge and use cold steel. We will do likewise. Understood Edward?”