Under Enemy Colors by Sean Thomas Russell, Sean Russell, S. Thomas Russell Page B

special casting, keeping all the best features of the Blomefield gun but shorter, as you say. Even so, it has most of the range of a standard eighteen, and far more than a carronade.” He patted the strange carriage. “But herein lies the real difference—like a carronade carriage but of iron and with many small advancements, as you will see.”
    The second lieutenant appeared, and the bosun sent the men to their stations.
    “Mr Landry,” Hayden said, “which gun would the captain have us replace with Mr Muhlhauser’s invention?”
    “I cannot say, Mr Hayden.”
    “Well, could you inquire of him?”
    “I could, sir, but he would just damn my eyes for not being able to make a decision on my own. Though were you to make a decision without consulting him he would berate you for overstepping your authority. You will be damned either way.”
    “Then let us be damned for independence rather than being poltroons.” Hayden turned away from Landry. “Mr Muhlhauser, it is common to mount carronades on the quarterdeck and the heavier long guns below. As your gun is neither of these I am unsure where it should be placed.”
    “On the gun-deck, if it is possible, Mr Hayden. It is meant to replace long guns, not carronades.”
    “Then we shall mount it on the gun-deck, sir.”
     
    The Themis did not sail on the tide that afternoon, for the wind dropped away to a sigh and then the tide turned against them. As the captain did not invite any of his officers to dine with him, even though one was new to the ship, Hayden messed in the gunroom. Had he dined with the captain, Hayden might have been tempted to mention the cartoon he had found in his pocket, but it was scant evidence. The captain would likely think it nothing more than a prank on a new officer, and certainly Hayden had no more evidence than that to show Hart, so resolved to say nothing.
    Mr Muhlhauser was invited to join them, which he happily accepted. With the town of Plymouth almost within a pistol shot, they dined well that night, and would continue to do so until their fresh victuals were exhausted.
    After their earlier gathering in this very cabin, when Hayden had presented the officers with the sketch discovered in his pocket, there was a general air of discomfiture, which the men did much to disguise with heightened spirits and false good-will. All were especially solicitous and respectful of the first lieutenant, perhaps to take the sting out of his upbraiding at the hands of the captain, or out of guilt at having lied to him earlier in the day, which Hayden remained convinced they had done. It mollified his doubly bruised feelings somewhat, though he wished they would not laugh so heartily at his attempts at wit, as it embarrassed him more than a little—the hilarity being far more than his small jests deserved. In truth, he was still out of harmony with his messmates and had not yet recovered from the great humiliation he had received at the hands of the notorious captain.
    “Naval gunnery has shown little advancement over the years,” their guest said. “The Army has made better progress in the use of artillery.”
    “It is uncommon for the Army,” Hawthorne suggested, “to use their guns upon ground which is heeled, rolling, pitching, and occasionally yawing, all at once. Claret, Mr Hayden?”
    “And they don’t have to work their guns crouched like monkeys,” Mr Barthe added, his eyes involuntarily following the progress of the decanter as the marine raised it toward the first lieutenant.
    “What Mr Hawthorne says is true,” Hayden said, holding out his glass so that it might be refilled, “but here I must agree with Mr Muhlhauser—thank you, Mr Hawthorne—our accuracy at a distance is poor. Most actions are fought at less than a cable-length—often considerably less—where rate of fire and weight of broadside are decisive.”
    “That is my thinking almost exactly, Mr Hayden!” Muhlhauser enjoined with considerable passion. “The