and women of just about every color. Mooney and his mates were busy trying to fend them off good-naturedly and to stop any furtive trading for rum or other liquors. ’Not yet,' Mooney shouted down to a piratical black entrepreneur. ''N' keep yer cussed rum fer other ships, ya hear?’
‘De boh-sohn, he wan' no rum, Lord,' the man grinned back. 'Dis be de King's Navy oooo?’
‘Sheer off, ya shark. We might be outa Discipline later, but not now.'. ’Then I see you later, Mistah Boh-sohn,' the woman in the trader's boat promised, sliding her dress up to her waist. ’Gawd.' Mooney gawped, staring at what was offered.
Lewrie was standing at his side, and marvelling right along with him. Mooney licked his lips in anticipation and dug into his slop trousers to see what silver he had to offer the woman if she was let aboard. Kenyon returned about two hours later after his visit to the flag, looking happy and sated from a good lunch and a bottle of wine. He was in a very good mood, beaming at everyone. 'Mister Lewrie, summon 'Chips,''' he said. 'I shall need him.’
’Aye aye, sir. Pass the word for Mister Bee.’
Within moments the elderly carpenter was there. ’Mister Bee, we shall be carrying passengers to Antiqua, a lord and his lady, and two servants,' Kenyon informed him. 'Arrange me some sleeping accommodations in the dining space. We shall shift all the furnishings to the day cabin, and I shall need a larger bed box in the cabin as well. There will be a maid berthing in the chart room, and a servant in the wardroom. Mister Lewrie, since your ears have grown long enough to hear, perhaps you could give up your cabin for the duration of the voyage?’
‘Aye, sir,' Lewrie replied sadly. 'I shall fetch a hammock from the bosun. ’
‘Have everything ready by Wednesday sundown, Mister Bee.’
’Aye aye, sir.’
’Mister Purnell,' Kenyon shouted. 'Take the cutter ashore with Mister Leonard to collect fresh supplies. We'll get a bullock for the men, plus some fresh meat for our passengers. Mister Claghome?’
‘Aye, sir.’
’As soon as stores are aboard, we shall take the ship Out of Discipline for a day. We cannot depart until Thursday.’
The hands standing closest by grinned happily and spread the word through the rest of the crew within seconds. They had all lately been given pay-certificates, and even though they would get cheated badly in transactions for perhaps a quarter of their certificates' worth, they would have money to spend for their pleasure. So they turned to with a lusty will. The boat fairly flew across the harbor to the stores dock and returned laden in short order. A bawling lean steer was slung aboard and slaughtered on the spot. A coop full of chickens appeared, several tender piglets and lambs, a boar for the hands later in the voyage, fresh cabin stores for Kenyon and the wardroom, and several crates of wine. Hammering sounds could be heard aft as Kenyon's request was fulfilled. George the servant and several of the West Indian ship's boys busied themselves polishing and scouring the guest quarters so
By the end of the Forenoon watch, the crew's major work was done, and at a signal from Kenyon the pendant for easy discipline was hoisted, which brought the bumboats swarming back.
Mooney and Leonard stood by the entry port, along with the surgeon's mate, to witness the exchange of certificates for cash, so that the men were not too badly cheated. They also made sure that drink did not make its way below decks in major quantities, though some smuggling of small bottles was inevitable. Lastly, the surgeon's mate performed his duty of checking the boarding polls for the more obvious signs of the pox. He rejected several, turning away the oldest and most raddled whores. The crew did a good job of sorting as well, booing down the arrival of some women that Boggs could find no fault with. ’Wot a monkey-face, throw 'er back, somebody… ’
‘00 shall 'ave this'n, then?' Mooney asked. ’Nobody,' several men sneered loudly. ’On yer way, twickle- bum.’
’Yair, go fook a Marine!' someone laughed.
Awnings were spread over the deck, and canvas chutes for ventilation, while hammocks were slung below in the crew's mess area, and crude blanket partitions were hung for some semblance of privacy for their rutting. The women would work hard to earn their few shillings, paired off for a day or night to a lustful seaman who would feed her and ply her with drink out of his earnings like a temporary wife. Her man had duties to attend to, still, but she would be waiting below for him once he was released.
Once the sun had lost most of its heat, the awnings were taken in and stowed and supper was served along with the second rum ration. Lewrie made a quick tour of the lower deck to see if all was in order, then attended to his own meal.
He lounged at the mess table in the wardroom, half his uniform removed for comfort and sipping at a very decent hock just brought from shore. Their Creole cook had come up with roast chicken, fresh bread and butter, boiled onions, carrots and peas. There had been some new Stilton, and a smail apple apiece, too. Had it not been for the occasional squeal of delight or a husky grunt of transport coming from the crew's quarters he could have fallen asleep, pleasantly stuffed. ’A bumper with ya, lad,' Boggs said, happily cup-shot, and his scruffy white bag- wig askew on his head. 'Give us heel taps on the last of yer hock and have port with me.’
He accepted a full measure after draining his glass, and clinked glasses with Boggs. 'Goddamn me, we're close to losing British Florida,' Leonard told them as he read a newspaper nearly three months old but new to them. 'Good riddance,' Claghome said. 'Whole lot of colonies south of the Chesapeake is nothin' but swamp and bugs and sweat.’
’But, I mean, the Rebels'll never hold' em against the Spanish. They'll take 'em right back, and then we're in a pickle,' Leonard went on, waving the paper at them. ’But if the Spaniards lost their fleet in that stonn last year,' Tad Purnell asked, 'what have we to worry about?’
‘Hark the younker,' Claghome said.
Purnell and Lewrie shared a look between them. If one were a midshipman, every one of your questions was greeted with ridicule, and every one of your answers was usually wrong, according to the older men. Samuel Johnson as a midshipman would have been caned for even opening his mouth. ’DeGuichen has a Frog fleet back in the Windwards,' Leonard said. 'Rodney and Parker tangled with him all summer but couldn't finish him off. They provide the ships, the Dons pr0vide the troops, we could have trouble somewhere. Then the closest American port open to us would be Charleston, and you know they'd try to take that back. Cornwallis has enough on his plate as it is.’
’Let the French come out,' Boggs said loudly. 'Let them come, I say, and the King's Navy will square their yards for 'em.’
’Gentlemen, the Navy,' Claghorne shouted, raising his glass, and they all had to knock their wine back and refill.
Claghorne dipped a taper into the lamp hung over the mess table to get a light for a long clay pipe, and was soon happy to lean back with a wreath of tobacco fumes about his head. Leonard, crossed in his opinions by the others, withdrew from the fray and put aside the paper to peruse his account books, making clucking sounds now and then as he either found some expense he deplored, or didn't think he could get the Admiralty to believe. Boggs began to rock and sing, but the exact tune was hard to make out, and the words slurred together, until his wig fell off. As he bent to retrieve it he slipped to the deck and stayed there in a heap, beginning to snore loudly. ’Thank God,' Purnell said. When most men considered it a gentlemanly accomplishment to be a three-bottle man, Boggs was more like a half-dozen man, and that on top of his rum or Black Strap issue. The suspicion was strong that drink had run him to sea. and God help the hand who really needed a surgeon if only Boggs was available…
Claghome got to his feet and dragged their surgeon's mate to bed, and Alan and Tad slipped out on deck for some fresh air. There was none to be had. The harbor was as smooth as a millpond and not a capful of wind stirred.
’Think enough to put up half a crown on it?' Tad pressed. ’Done. But you should know better. Pity to take your money so easy. Your brothers would know.' Purnell's family were from Bristol, shipowners, traders, importers, and his older brothers were already merchant captains. Their clan was so absolutely stiff with the chink that Purnell clanked when he did a turn about the decks, but for all his money, he was all right as a mate. He did not compete
