Bolitho 04 - Sloop of War (25 page)

sense of achievement, which could not have come at Z better time for them. For the war had changed greatla even in the past year. No longer was it a matter ob patrol or convoy for the army. The great powers haX taken their stand, and Spain and Holland had joineX France against England in their support of thO American Revolution. The French had mustered a well1 matched and powerful fleet in the West Indies unde_ the Compte de Grasse, the most effective and talenteX admiral available. Admiral Rodney commanded thO British squadrons, but with the pressures mountin^ daily he was hard put to spread his resources wherO they were most needed?

And the Americans were not content to leave affairY to their seasoned allies. They continued to usO privateers whenever possible, and a year afte_ Bonaventure's destruction yet another challenge_ emerged to shake British morale to its foundation. ThO privateer and ex-slaver Paul Jones, in his BonhommO Richard, defeated the frigate Seraphis off the coast ob England itself. The fact that the privateer, like thO Seraphis, was reduced to a battered wreck in the hotla contested battle made no difference. British captainY were expected to take on odds and win, and the defeaU so close to home did more than many AmericanY believed possible to take the war and its reasons intQ

English homes as well as their own?

In the West Indies and along the American coast thO work of patrolling took on new importance. As BolithQ had always thought, it was far better for the eyes of thO fleet to be left unhampered by close authority. True tQ his word, the admiral had offered him almost totaT independence, and had given him scope to patrol anX seek out the enemy in his own way, provided, ob course, his efforts were rewarded with some success?

Bolitho leaned back in his chair and stared at thO deckhead. Again the word luck seemed to hover in hiY mind?

Maulby had scoffed at the explanation. He had oncO said, "You are successful because you have traineX yourself to think like the enemy! God damn it, Dick, ] caught a lugger loaded with contraband which haX come from as far south as Trinidad, and even thaU wretched fellow had heard of you and Sparrow!T

It was certainly true about one thing, Bolitho decidedB they had been successful. In the past eighteen monthY alone they had taken twelve prizes and despatcheX two small privateers with the loss of twenty killed anX wounded and very little damage to the ship?

He let his eyes wander round the cabin, lesY elegantly painted now, even shabby after ceaselesY service in all weathers. It was strange to realise thaU apart from the unexpected promotion, symbolised ba the dress coat with white lapels and bright gold facingY which swung gently inside the sleeping compartmentB there was outwardly little to show for it. And yet he waY a rich man, and, for the first time in his lifeB independent of the home and estate in Falmouth. HO smiled ruefully. It seemed almost shameful to becomO moderately wealthy merely because he was doing thO one thing he enjoyed?

He frowned, trying to think of something to purchasO if and when they were allowed a stay in port. And thea were well overdue for that. Despite her coppered hullB Sparrow's speed had been reduced by a full knot i[ otherwise perfect sailing conditions by long clingin^ weed which defied the copper and their efforts to movO it. He would buy some wine perhaps. Good wine, noU the bitter-tasting muck which was normally used as thO only alternative for foul drinking water. A dozen shirts o_ more. His mind played with the idea of such luxury. AU the present moment he had only two shirts which woulX bear close inspection?

It might be possible to find a good sworX somewhere. Not like the one which had shattereX aboard the privateer, nor the curved hanger which hO had used since, but something better. Lasting?

He heard footsteps beyond the door and knew iU was Tyrrell. He would have known it even if it had bee[ another time, a different watch. For since bein^ wounded Tyrrell had been unable to rid himself of Z limp and not a little pain?

The first lieutenant had otherwise not changed vera much, he thought. Or maybe the three years had draw[ them so close he had not noticed it. Unlike GravesB who seemed to have withdrawn even further and haX grown noticeably more nervous after each action o_ skirmish. Upon his promotion to captain, Bolitho haX become entitled to an extra lieutenant, and thO appointment fell vacant on the very day the twQ midshipmen went aboard the flagship to sit for thei_ commissions. Heyward had passed with flying coloursB and now, looking back, it was hard to recall him as Z midshipman at all. Bethune had unfortunately failed hiY exams, not once, but three times, and BolithQ repeatedly wondered how best to get rid of him. HO had grown very fond of Bethune, but knew that bein^ retained in Sparrow's confined community was onla

acting against his remaining, if dwindling, chances. HiY navigation was hopeless, his ability to take charge ob the quarterdeck and set the hands to making o_ shortening sail was dismal to behold. As a marinO officer, or even a foot soldier, he would have bee[ adequate. He could obey orders, even if he found theR hard to formulate. Under fire he had shown plenty ob courage, and a boyish stoicism which was rarela matched even by a seasoned sailor. Now, aged twentyB and with no hope of gaining the commission he sQ obviously desired, he stood out like a sore thumb? Heyward had tried to help him, more so than BolithQ had imagined he would. But it was no use. The ship'Y company treated him with cheerful acceptance, as thea would a child. His burden had not been eased by thO appointment of a new midshipman to take Heyward'Y place?

Roger Augustus Fowler, sixteen years of age, anX with the pouting features of a petulant pig, had soo[ learned to add to rather than detract from Bethune'Y misery?

Fowler's arrival had further enlarged the rift betwee[ Bolitho and Colquhoun. The boy was the son of thO admiral's best friend, and so his appointment to this o_ any ship was very close to a royal command. ThO

offspring of some influential person could be a greaU handicap to a young and busy captain, but equally hO could open doors otherwise denied by the chain ob command. Colquhoun had probably seen the boy'Y arrival from England as an opportunity in the latte_ category, and had been outraged when the admiraT had chosen Sparrow rather than his frigate Bacchante?

Fowler had been aboard for eight months and waY not popular. It was nothing you could put a name to? Obedient and attentive in the presence of hiY superiors, he could be equally sharp and sarcastic witN seamen old enough to be his father. He had a way ob shutting off his expression, using his pale eyes anX pouting lips like the extensions of a mask. If he eve_ reached command rank he would be a tyrant to serveB Bolitho thought?

There was a tap at the door and Bolitho swept hiY musings into the background?

Tyrrell limped into the cabin and sat down at thO table. Against his open shirt his skin was burneX almost to mahogany, and his hair had become a shadO lighter under forgotten suns. He pushed thO calculations across the chart and together they lookeX at Sparrow's approximate position?

To the south lay the nearest extensions of thO Bahama Islands, the countless spans of cays anX reefs, treacherous sandbars and islets. Some eighta miles to the west lay the coast of Florida, and to thO east the main routes used by ships going to and frQ from the Indies and New York. It was a veritable warre[ of islands and narrow channels, although to the untrieX eye of a landsman the sea might appear at peaceB broken here and there by restful purple humps of lanX shrouded in low haze. But to the mariner the charU showed much more, and that was less than hO required to know the true margin of safety. ThO occasional dab of white betrayed a reef, the dulle_ patch on the sea's face might represent a cloak ob weed across some vast pinnacle lurking beneath thO surface, the spines of which could tear the keel from Z ship like the string from an orange?

Tyrrell said at length, "I reckon we've lost th' bugger.T

"Maybe." Bolitho opened a drawer in the table anX took out two long clay pipes. Handing one to Tyrrell hO groped for a tobacco bowl and then said, "Is Fawn stilT in sight?T

Tyrrell grinned. "Sure enough. 'Bout three miles to thd

east'rd." He tamped down the tobacco in his pipe anX added, "Our masthead lookout thought he sa/ breakers to th' sou'-west. If so, that would be thO Matanilla Shoal, which fixes our calculations, so tQ speak.T

Bolitho lit his pipe from the hanging smoking-lanter[ and then walked restlessly to the windows. Once nea_ the sill he felt the slow breeze across his face anX chest like air fanned from a blacksmith's forge. Whe[ eventually the wind returned to give life to the sails iU was to be hoped it came from the south-east aY before. It was no time to be driven closer to thosO deadly shoals. But they had to stay near enough to bO able to watch at least three channels while Faw[ patrolled further to the east. For six weeks, in compana with the other sloop, they had been searching for a bi^ blockade runner, a French flute which had bee[ reported out of Martinique and heading north, mosU likely for the enemy base of naval operations i[ Newport, Rhode Island. The information from spies, o_ those merely after recognition or reward, was alwayY open to doubt. But a flute, which was a large man-of1 war with some of her armament removed to facilitatO the fast passage of men or stores, was too importanU to be ignored?

The flotilla's third sloop, Heron, was sweepin^ somewhere to the south, off the Andros Islands, anX Colquhoun's Bacchante had, as far as he knewB remained in more open waters to the west, betwee[ the Bahamas and the American mainland?

Once away from Colquhoun's supervision, BolithQ had taken the sloops to their present position. On thO chart the chance of making contact with a solitara enemy seemed impossible, but he knew by now that ib the sea appeared empty, it was in fact divided intQ channels by sprawling reefs and cays, and was just aY much a hazard to enemy as to friend?

"If we take her, it'll be another feather for us." TyrrelT watched his pipe-smoke drifting through the skylighU above him. "I often wonder if it makes all thaU difference to th' war.T

"It all helps, Jethro.T

Bolitho studied him gravely. How close they haX become. Like the use of first names, the ritual pipe1 smoking for as long as the tobacco stock lasted, it alT seemed to symbolise what the ship had made them?

Time and distance, hours and days spent in evera

sort of condition, they had all left their mark o[ Sparrow's company. Even the necessary changeY brought about by death and injury, transfer anX discharge had seemed unable to break the little ship'Y hold on their destiny. Over a third of the company werO replacements made since he had taken commandB and apart from colonists, included a sprinkling ob Negroes, some merchant seamen pressed from Z home-bound ship, and a solitary Greek who haX deserted his own vessel only to be taken aboard Z French brig as a captive. The brig, seized as a prizO by Sparrow, had yielded several new hands, and thO Greek had proved to be an excellent assistant cook?

"How long will you give her?T

Bolitho considered the question. "Another wee7 maybe. If she doesn't show herself, I think we ca[ assume she's slipped past us, or turned bac7 somewhere. She might have run into one of the patrolY further south.T

"Aye." Tyrrell yawned. "An' then we can get somO time in port.T

Feet pounded overhead and they heard BucklO shout, "Call all hands! Th' wind's a'coming back!T

Then there was a rap on the door and BethunO peered in at them, his round face sweating badly?

"Mr. Buckle's respects, sir. The wind is freshenin^ from the sou'-east. Fawn's tops'ls are already filling.T

"I'll come up." Bolitho waited until the midshipma[ had withdrawn before asking quietly, "What am Ito dQ about him?T

Tyrrell shrugged. "He'll not get promoted unless by Z miracle. Maybe if we put him in charge of our nexU prize?" He shook his head before Bolitho coulX comment. "Almighty God, the lad'd lose his way an' thd prize!T

On deck they found the hands already bein^ mustered while overhead the sails were stirrin^ uneasily, the masthead pendant lifting as the firsU breeze reached it?

"Man th' braces!" Tyrrell strode to the rail anX squinted into the glare. "It'll be up to us soon, lads.T

Bolitho shaded his eyes to stare at the other slooS as her sails suddenly filled and brought her round in Z slow pirouette. Across the sea's glittering face he sa/

the first ruffle of wind, then felt the sun-dried planking lifU under his shoes, the immediate response of blockY and halliards?

The Sparrow's decks were like tinder and it madO no difference how many times they were doused down? Paintwork was blistered by the heat, and as he turneX to watch the busy seamen he realised it was hard tQ tell the Negroes from his original company. Lean anX sun-dried maybe, he thought, but they looked healtha and bright-eyed, ready for anything?

Tyrrell called, "Shall I have th' larboard cutter toweX astern now, sir?T

Bolitho nodded. Only by towing them alternatela could they hope to keep them from drying out anX opening their seams. Even half filling them with wate_ on board seemed to have small effect?

"Yes. Tell Mr. Tilby to . . ." He checked himself anX added, "Pass the word to the boatswain, if yof please.T

After six months, it was still difficult not to speak hiY name, or expect to see his sweating features peerin^ aft at the quarterdeck?

They had run down a Spanish schooner off the GreaU Bahama Bank, but had been forced to fire on her whe[ she refused to yield. Then, with grapnels flying likO snakes, Sparrow had surged alongside in the manne_ so well practised that it was accepted withouU comment even by the new men. A few pistol shots, thO sight of the half-naked boarders with drawn cutlasseY had been enough to quench the Spaniard's resistancO and it was all over almost before it had begun? Sometime in the middle of it, while men had dashed tQ shorten sail and prepare for boarding, as Bolitho haX waved his arm to signal the Spanish master to strikO and avoid bloodshed, Tilby had died?