that he was violating sacred laws. But the foreigner had continued to ignore Jingee’s warning and Jingee had driven a dagger through the man’s sacrilegious heart. For thatcrime Jingee had been condemned to Bombay Castle.
Kiro, however, was a different kind of murderer. He was stealthy, quiet, his eyes like water at night. Seldom talking, never divulging secrets. Yes, Jingee had to admit to himself that if he were to fear any of the Bombay Marines, it would be Kiro.
He stood wringing water from Horne’s laundry over the blue-grey waves lapping below, thinking of the way the Captain sahib held together this unusual assortment of men. Without Horne, the Marines would not talk to each other, not see each other, not even know each other. They were united by Horne and, of course, by their criminal backgrounds. But the important link was the Captain sahib.
Pulling out a length of string from the side of his dhoti, Jingee knotted it across the heads, letting the wind off the sea begin drying the wet laundry. The morning was hot. The clothes would dry quickly. Jingee was not on watch duty, so he could stand here waiting until it was time for the morning meeting. If somebody wanted to use the heads, Jingee did not care. They could go somewhere else. His work came first. The Captain sahib reigned supreme.
* * *
The six Marines came to Horne’s cabin for the meeting. Seeing them gathered so casually inside the small space reminded Horne of the old days aboard the Eclipse.
Pressing on with business at hand, he addressed them standing at his desk. ‘I haven’t informed you about the purpose of our new assignment for the simple reason that we’ve had more important things to occupy our minds. But now that the Huma’ sat sea, I can tell you the bad news—we’ve been deputed to find a needle in a haystack.’
Glancing from Babcock with his monkey by the door, toMustafa cross-legged on the deck, to the other four men lounging or squatting around the cabin, he continued, ‘We’re here to find a French ship, the Royaume. She sailed from Le Havre six months ago carrying a shipment of gold. She’s bound for Mauritius. Our orders are to commandeer her.’
Babcock whistled.
‘Apart from the gold‚’ elaborated Horne, ‘the Royaume is supposedly carrying heavy cargo. Disguising her true mission, I suppose. Whatever the reason, the cargo’s in our favour as it slows down her progress.’
Groot, sitting cross-legged to Horne’s right, raised his hand.
Horne nodded permission to speak.
‘ Schipper ‚’he began, using the Dutch word for captain. ‘How is the French ship armed?’
‘We don’t know, Groot. Incidentally, how do our guns stand?’ He looked at Kiro.
Kiro had been a gunner aboard a Japanese pirate boat out of Nagasaki, learning English from a Lascar sailor before being captured in an attack on an East India Company merchantman and jailed in Bombay Castle. Because of his experience Horne had appointed him gunner aboard the Huma.
Sitting on deck in front of Horne’s berth, Kiro answered, ‘Larboard guns are stronger than starboard, sir.’
Horne said, ‘We must try for perfect balance, Kiro. Also, I want swivel guns ready on the forecastle.’
‘Aye, aye, sir.’
Horne’s hazel eyes moved from Kiro to Jud squatting next to him, and then to Jingee, the only Marine able to stand up straight without brushing his head on the cabin’s low beams.
‘If any of you men have questions, ask them. We can always work out some kind of plan. The orders are difficult but not impossible. We’ve had a tougher command.’
Babcock laughed. ‘That’s the trouble. We shouldn’t have done so well.’
‘Are you afraid, Babcock?’
Babcock answered honestly, one hand stroking the monkey cradled on his arm. ‘Not of having to find a needle in a haystack. But set against a treasure ship better armed than us, hell, yes, I’m … afraid!’
‘We know nothing of its munitions,’ Horne reminded Babcock.
Jud
Kiro, however, was a different kind of murderer. He was stealthy, quiet, his eyes like water at night. Seldom talking, never divulging secrets. Yes, Jingee had to admit to himself that if he were to fear any of the Bombay Marines, it would be Kiro.
He stood wringing water from Horne’s laundry over the blue-grey waves lapping below, thinking of the way the Captain sahib held together this unusual assortment of men. Without Horne, the Marines would not talk to each other, not see each other, not even know each other. They were united by Horne and, of course, by their criminal backgrounds. But the important link was the Captain sahib.
Pulling out a length of string from the side of his dhoti, Jingee knotted it across the heads, letting the wind off the sea begin drying the wet laundry. The morning was hot. The clothes would dry quickly. Jingee was not on watch duty, so he could stand here waiting until it was time for the morning meeting. If somebody wanted to use the heads, Jingee did not care. They could go somewhere else. His work came first. The Captain sahib reigned supreme.
* * *
The six Marines came to Horne’s cabin for the meeting. Seeing them gathered so casually inside the small space reminded Horne of the old days aboard the Eclipse.
Pressing on with business at hand, he addressed them standing at his desk. ‘I haven’t informed you about the purpose of our new assignment for the simple reason that we’ve had more important things to occupy our minds. But now that the Huma’ sat sea, I can tell you the bad news—we’ve been deputed to find a needle in a haystack.’
Glancing from Babcock with his monkey by the door, toMustafa cross-legged on the deck, to the other four men lounging or squatting around the cabin, he continued, ‘We’re here to find a French ship, the Royaume. She sailed from Le Havre six months ago carrying a shipment of gold. She’s bound for Mauritius. Our orders are to commandeer her.’
Babcock whistled.
‘Apart from the gold‚’ elaborated Horne, ‘the Royaume is supposedly carrying heavy cargo. Disguising her true mission, I suppose. Whatever the reason, the cargo’s in our favour as it slows down her progress.’
Groot, sitting cross-legged to Horne’s right, raised his hand.
Horne nodded permission to speak.
‘ Schipper ‚’he began, using the Dutch word for captain. ‘How is the French ship armed?’
‘We don’t know, Groot. Incidentally, how do our guns stand?’ He looked at Kiro.
Kiro had been a gunner aboard a Japanese pirate boat out of Nagasaki, learning English from a Lascar sailor before being captured in an attack on an East India Company merchantman and jailed in Bombay Castle. Because of his experience Horne had appointed him gunner aboard the Huma.
Sitting on deck in front of Horne’s berth, Kiro answered, ‘Larboard guns are stronger than starboard, sir.’
Horne said, ‘We must try for perfect balance, Kiro. Also, I want swivel guns ready on the forecastle.’
‘Aye, aye, sir.’
Horne’s hazel eyes moved from Kiro to Jud squatting next to him, and then to Jingee, the only Marine able to stand up straight without brushing his head on the cabin’s low beams.
‘If any of you men have questions, ask them. We can always work out some kind of plan. The orders are difficult but not impossible. We’ve had a tougher command.’
Babcock laughed. ‘That’s the trouble. We shouldn’t have done so well.’
‘Are you afraid, Babcock?’
Babcock answered honestly, one hand stroking the monkey cradled on his arm. ‘Not of having to find a needle in a haystack. But set against a treasure ship better armed than us, hell, yes, I’m … afraid!’
‘We know nothing of its munitions,’ Horne reminded Babcock.
Jud
Similar Books
