he’d left specific instructions to cover such an eventuality, seemed to be still on board. Neither had he signalled to say he was coming off.
‘Dreaver. Man the barge. And put a party ready to cut the cable, just in case the tow sinks suddenly.’
The moon was up, a thin sliver low in the cloudy night sky. Uncovered, it barely illuminated the seascape. But once behind a cloud total darkness descended, leaving the ship a ghostly shape lit only by the faint lanterns still on the yards. It was at such a moment that they approached the side. His calls to the party on board went unanswered, which caused him to wonder and the barge crew to suddenly cease to row.
‘Pender!’ he shouted again.
‘They’ve been got to,’ cried a voice behind him, as the clouds cleared to reveal the silhouette of the bowsprit dipping towards the warm blue water.
‘Belay that nonsense and head for the side,’ barked Harry.
‘Don’t, your honour, or we’ll be taken.’
He tried a more soothing tone of voice. ‘There’s nothing there to be afraid of.’
‘Then where’s Pender?’ said another oarsman.
Harry snapped then. ‘He’s probably below, damn you, carrying out my instructions. Now stop behaving like a bunch of old women and put the barge alongside.’
No one moved. Looking back at them Harry could see the terror in their eyes. To him it was absurd. If the merchantman had been manned by a hundred wild-eyed pirates he could have called upon them to advance and they’d obey. Right now he wasn’t sure. But he knew he had to try, and opened his mouth. Just then an ethereal voice, which seemed to come from the lower decks of the ship, started singing a strange and haunting refrain. This was followed by hideous screaming.
Cries of ‘Oh my God!’ mingled with more blasphemous oaths as the barge crew reacted. Some grabbed their oars and tried to row. Others threw themselves into the bottom of the boat, cowering in terror.
‘Get us outta here, Captain.’
Harry, whose own certainty was shaken, and who’d nearly fallen back as the boat jibbed, couldn’t respond with his normal commanding voice. So when he called them to order he sounded as nervous as the crew, which did nothing for their morale.
‘It’s Old Nick hisself, your honour.’
That set off a bout of wailing in the barge, which only increased the noise coming from the ship.
‘Ho! ho! ho! ho!’ boomed the voice. ‘You’re all for the chop now, you fornicatin’, loose-livin’, pox-ridden buggers. I’ll suck the blood out of you afore this night is out, just like the lot that I saw to this very afternoon.’
‘Pender!’ Harry yelled, this loud enough to carry over the screams of his crew. ‘Belay that this second, or half these idiots will jump overboard.’
Pender stood up, probably quite forgetting that he’d covered himself in a white sheet. The cries of terrified seamen rose in a new crescendo and the barge tilted as some indeed sought the dubious safety of the surrounding sea. Only the loud laughter of the rest of Pender’s party averted what could have been a disaster.
‘Got you there, daft sods.’
Terror turned quickly to anger and the whole night was full of foul-mouthed insults, as those aboard the Gauchos jeered at the barge crew, who responded with dire threats. It was quite some time before Harry could make himself heard above the din, and a good deal longer before he could issue any orders that would be obeyed.
‘Cutter’s loaded, your honour,’ replied a breathless Pender to his Captain’s shouted enquiry. ‘Just as you ordered. Had to cut that big painting out of its frame to get it out the cabin door.’
‘Have you looked below?’
‘I have. She’s a goner, I reckon. Water’s up above the forward hatches. I’d say there was a rate of tobacco in the hold to begin with, an’ that’s what kept her up. Now some of it’s near the top of the hatches.’
‘Then cast off the tow, for God’s sake.’
The humour was
‘Dreaver. Man the barge. And put a party ready to cut the cable, just in case the tow sinks suddenly.’
The moon was up, a thin sliver low in the cloudy night sky. Uncovered, it barely illuminated the seascape. But once behind a cloud total darkness descended, leaving the ship a ghostly shape lit only by the faint lanterns still on the yards. It was at such a moment that they approached the side. His calls to the party on board went unanswered, which caused him to wonder and the barge crew to suddenly cease to row.
‘Pender!’ he shouted again.
‘They’ve been got to,’ cried a voice behind him, as the clouds cleared to reveal the silhouette of the bowsprit dipping towards the warm blue water.
‘Belay that nonsense and head for the side,’ barked Harry.
‘Don’t, your honour, or we’ll be taken.’
He tried a more soothing tone of voice. ‘There’s nothing there to be afraid of.’
‘Then where’s Pender?’ said another oarsman.
Harry snapped then. ‘He’s probably below, damn you, carrying out my instructions. Now stop behaving like a bunch of old women and put the barge alongside.’
No one moved. Looking back at them Harry could see the terror in their eyes. To him it was absurd. If the merchantman had been manned by a hundred wild-eyed pirates he could have called upon them to advance and they’d obey. Right now he wasn’t sure. But he knew he had to try, and opened his mouth. Just then an ethereal voice, which seemed to come from the lower decks of the ship, started singing a strange and haunting refrain. This was followed by hideous screaming.
Cries of ‘Oh my God!’ mingled with more blasphemous oaths as the barge crew reacted. Some grabbed their oars and tried to row. Others threw themselves into the bottom of the boat, cowering in terror.
‘Get us outta here, Captain.’
Harry, whose own certainty was shaken, and who’d nearly fallen back as the boat jibbed, couldn’t respond with his normal commanding voice. So when he called them to order he sounded as nervous as the crew, which did nothing for their morale.
‘It’s Old Nick hisself, your honour.’
That set off a bout of wailing in the barge, which only increased the noise coming from the ship.
‘Ho! ho! ho! ho!’ boomed the voice. ‘You’re all for the chop now, you fornicatin’, loose-livin’, pox-ridden buggers. I’ll suck the blood out of you afore this night is out, just like the lot that I saw to this very afternoon.’
‘Pender!’ Harry yelled, this loud enough to carry over the screams of his crew. ‘Belay that this second, or half these idiots will jump overboard.’
Pender stood up, probably quite forgetting that he’d covered himself in a white sheet. The cries of terrified seamen rose in a new crescendo and the barge tilted as some indeed sought the dubious safety of the surrounding sea. Only the loud laughter of the rest of Pender’s party averted what could have been a disaster.
‘Got you there, daft sods.’
Terror turned quickly to anger and the whole night was full of foul-mouthed insults, as those aboard the Gauchos jeered at the barge crew, who responded with dire threats. It was quite some time before Harry could make himself heard above the din, and a good deal longer before he could issue any orders that would be obeyed.
‘Cutter’s loaded, your honour,’ replied a breathless Pender to his Captain’s shouted enquiry. ‘Just as you ordered. Had to cut that big painting out of its frame to get it out the cabin door.’
‘Have you looked below?’
‘I have. She’s a goner, I reckon. Water’s up above the forward hatches. I’d say there was a rate of tobacco in the hold to begin with, an’ that’s what kept her up. Now some of it’s near the top of the hatches.’
‘Then cast off the tow, for God’s sake.’
The humour was
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