MacAllister

“I killed two of the three men who killed my fiancee,” Duff said.

“I’ll be damned. Killed your fiancee, did they?”

“Yes.”

“Then they needed killin’,” Kelly said.

“Indeed they did.”

Kelly took another swallow of his coffee. “I’m glad you did it. And don’t worry none about it, because your secret is safe with me, MacCallister.”

“I appreciate that.”

Duff’s feat in grabbing and saving Kelly’s life gave him entree into the close-knit bond of the crew, and for the remaining voyage, he was treated as one of their own.

By the time they reached New York, Duff was an accomplished seaman. He went aloft with the rest of them to reef the sails on orders. He climbed down over the side to hang but inches above the water to apply pitch to the side. He holystoned the deck. He performed every task assigned cheerfully and ably. Now, as the ship sailed into New York Harbor, he was standing on the mizzen mainsail yard as the ship was met by a tugboat. With all sails furled, and forward propulsion being provided by the steam- powered tugboat, they were brought up snug against one of the piers. There, from the pier, small lines, attached to huge hawsers, as big around as a man’s arm, were thrown up to sailors fore and aft on the ship.

“Make lines secure, fore and aft!” Captain Powell called.

The sailors, fore and aft, looped the hawsers around the on deck stanchions.

“Lines secure, fore and aft, aye, sir!” Norton called back

“Drop anchor!”

The windlass let the anchor down as the crew scrambled to check watches and see who had won the pool on the exact time the anchor would drop.

The Hiawatha, its crew, and Duff MacCallister were in the United States of America.

Chapter Six

New York

The paymaster from Red Ball Shipping Lines came aboard the Hiawatha within an hour of its dropping anchor. They were also visited by merchants from the city, tradesmen who met all the arriving ships, as anxious to relieve the sailors of their pay as the sailors were anxious to spend it.

Duff welcomed the clothing merchant and bought three pairs of striped trousers. Two pairs were dark blue with black vertical stripes, and one pair was brown with blue vertical stripes. The pants were held closed at the waist with decorative buttons. The three shirts were all white, with detachable collars and cuffs. Thus supplied, he put on a pair of trousers and a shirt, then packed his other clothes in the sea bag that Kelly had given him.

“Will you be shipping over, MacCallister?” Kelly asked. “It was fine sailing with you.”

“I will confess to you, Kelly, that it was an experience I appreciated more than I thought I would,” Duff replied. “But I think I’ll stay ashore for a while.”

“MacCallister,” Norton said. “The cap’n wants a word with you before you leave. He said to send you to his cabin.”

“The cap’n’s cabin?” Kelly said. “I’ve been sailing man and boy for fifteen years, I’ve never been in the cap’n’s cabin.”

Captain Powell’s cabin took up most of the area under the quarterdeck, stretching from side to side and back to the stern where a spread of windows let in the light. There was a large bed, a desk, and a chart table. He was standing at the chart table using a compass and ruler on the chart that was before him.

Duff knocked, lightly, on the door to the cabin.

“Come in, Mr. MacCallister,” Captain Powell said. Looking up, he smiled when he saw what Duff was wearing. “Now I must say, that is more befitting a gentleman than the clothes you have been wearing for the last three weeks. Buy it from the clothing merchant, did you?”

“Aye, sir, I felt I no longer had the right to Peters’s clothes.”

“Mr. MacCallister, I kept a close eye on you during this voyage. You had an inauspicious beginning, sneaking on board as you did.” He paused, waiting for some response from Duff. “I’m glad to see that you aren’t refuting me. You did stow away, did you not?”

“Aye, sir,” Duff admitted.

“Yes, well, as I say, you had a most inauspicious beginning, but, a most commendable voyage. You did not shirk your duties. You performed them with a skill that one would expect from a much more experienced sailor, to say nothing of your saving Kelly’s life.

“I watched the men around you as well. And while it is often difficult for a new sailor to break into a crew, tight-knit as they tend to be, the men liked and respected you. I’m told that when you came aboard, you introduced yourself to Jiggs as Captain MacCallister. Are you a captain, Mr. MacCallister?”

“Aye. I am a captain—that is—I was a captain in the 42nd Foot, Third Battalion of the Royal Highland Regiment of Scotts. It is the regiment we call the Black Watch.”

Captain Powell smiled, and nodded his head. “Yes, I knew you were officer material. I think, with my recommendation, you could ship out again for Red Ball as a ship’s officer. Serve as a warrant or lieutenant for a few cruises, then you could one day command your own ship. What would you think about that?”

“I think it is very flattering, and I believe you would be most kind to make such a recommendation, Captain, but I do not think the sea is for me. I think I will stay on dry land for a while.”