Mir Pacifica

Published: 8 Jan 2018

As it had been assumed by Captain Samson, the headland leading into the port of Oporto came into sight through the dawn light. There was the faintest of sea mists lying on the water but it could not hide the quaint white washed houses with their red tiled roofs that abounded in Oporto. Close to the distant docks were the first signs of the local fishermen setting the small triangular sails in preparation for heading out to sea for another day’s toil.

Within an hour the Cutter was easing its way into the harbour; ahead of them they could see two of Thomas’s ships sitting at anchor, their new paint shining bright in the early morning sun. Just behind Thomas there was a sudden intake of breath as Martime Du Maurier saw them for the first time; it was only a moment when Thomas and Roger heard him exclaim in his accented English.

“They are French ships but have been altered in some ways. Monsieur Marking, how did you come by them?”

“The fortunes of war Monsieur Du Maurier. They had been captured by the Royal Navy and then put up for purchase, I was fortunate enough to be able to meet their price and so purchased all three. The third one I presume is still in dry dock but before you is the MSC Roger Scully and beside her is the MSC Diego.”

“And which is to be the flag ship Monsieur Marking?”

“The Roger Scully will be the flag ship and we will all be sailing together as a small squadron when we go to the east. Captain Scully is as you know named as Commodore and yourself and Captain Samson will take command of one of the other ships. We were going to have Captain Samson take command of the Roger Scully but I don’t think we will have the time to find a third Captain so at this stage Captain Scully will take command of the MSC Roger Scully with yourself and Captain Samson taking command of the Diego and the Marcello, you may decide for yourselves which you would like.”

“I am then in your debt Monsieur Marking; I had never thought I would be given the chance at commanding my own ship. I am not sure if you are aware of the state of French politics but my family would have been way down Napoleon’s list of favourites. Again I give you my thanks and would like to assure you that I will stand with you whenever there is a need.”

As the small Cutter sailed further into the harbour; Captain Samson had the sails shortened until they just had steerageway. The first of Thomas’s ships at anchor in the harbour was the Diego and as they passed in front of the higher bow which was freshly painted in gold and black; up on the foredeck appeared ten black clad men.

Thomas looked to Roger and received a smile in return with the comment.

“The deck watch Thomas; not a good idea to leave any ship unattended in a time of war.”

Thomas watched the men on the foredeck as they passed by; he was soon surprised to see them line up along the gunnel and throw up a smart salute as one of their number pulled hard on a lanyard he held in his hand. The resounding boom of the cannon echoed in the early morning air of the harbour as the bright flash of powder and the cloud of dark smoke showed where the shot had come from; the last thing Thomas had expected was to be saluted in such a way.

It was no longer a surprise for Thomas when the Roger Scully followed suit and the second salute echoed in the port. If Thomas thought that this was the last surprise he would have that day he was soon to be further taken aback by what awaited him on the dockside.

It appeared that the Cutter had been given right of way by the Portuguese Harbour Master and a large area of the dock had been kept clear for their arrival. Standing on the dock was the final surprise for Thomas. There were nearly five hundred black clad troops standing in formal ranks with muskets at the salute while the long drum roll of the opening stanza of the De La Guerra was begun by the forty or so drummers lined along the edge of the dock. Thomas was further startled to see Estaban and his cousins sitting with pride on their horses with nearly two thirds of the old cavalry units also present.

As the Cutter slowly drew closer to the dock Thomas felt his throat constrict but was unaware of the tear that began to slowly fall down his cheek at the sight of all his old friends standing at attention while the drums played. Even the dock workers and those civilians present were standing in silence which showed the respect they all had for their Don Thomasino De Toro as the Cutter was finally hauled into the dockside by the stevedores running the heavy ropes through the cast iron bollards that sat along the dock.

With the Cutter secure alongside they all waited for the gangplank to be put in place; even this act, which was normally one of hustle and bustle was in fact done in silence as the drums played on and filled the docks with their cacophony of sound.

To the left of Thomas came the small sound of a sniffle. Turning his eyes to the left, Thomas was just in time to see Fairley wipe his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket; it seemed that Fairley also felt as though he was coming home to old friends and safe places. Spaced evenly along the length of the waiting ranks but a few paces ahead were nearly all of his senior Officers.

Carmelo stood out in front with the three flags of the old Regiment although both the English and Spanish flag were not in appearance but the old bulls head battle flag was at the centre and was bordered on one side by the Portuguese flag and on the other by the new Marking Shipping Company flag; it gave Thomas a sudden feeling of wonder to see how far he had come from the small drummer boy from Limehouse.

As the last beat of the drums fell silent the assembled crowd that had come to see the arrival of their young hero broke out into loud and raucous cheers as they saw Thomas, or as they all knew him; Don Thomasino De Toro arrive back onto the soil of his adopted homeland.

Thomas was persuaded to lead the way down the gangplank and onto Portuguese soil where the crowd continued to cheer and call loudly for El Toro. It was quite emotional for Thomas to be seen as some sort of saviour by the people in Portugal and it was a heady feeling to be welcomed the way he was. Thomas stopped in front of Carmelo and, after returning the impeccable salute from his first friend he smiled and could not resist reaching out to hug his best and closest friend; it was a heart warming sight which only went to raise more cheers from the watching crowd.

Carmelo was the first to speak once there was a moment when the noise of the crowd was lessened.

“Patron we are all glad you have returned. I have taken rooms in a nearby tavern for you to rest and so we can hold talks about what is to be done. Tonight there is to be a fiesta for you and the men who have come from all over and; as you can see even from Spain. Don Estaban said he could not stay home while you arrived without your cavalry.”

Before Thomas could reply he was again wrapped in a strong pair of arms as Estaban had quickly dismounted and arrived to add his own welcome hug to his smaller friend. The crowd once again broke into loud cheering as they saw this warm gesture from Estaban, if there had ever been any doubt about the closeness of the three main characters of their release from Napoleons heavy boot it was this small show of friendship by the three younger men.

It took another half hour before Thomas and his friends were able to break away from the raucous welcome of the people of Portugal and, with the men of the Regimento De Toro also breaking lines, they began to make their way to the tavern Carmelo had selected for their stay. In the end it was the men of the old Regiment that had to finally make a cordon around Thomas, Carmelo and Estaban so they could make their way off the docks and proceed to the Tavern. The crowd seemed to not want their hero to leave them wanting but the men of the Regiment soon but gently made a passage for Thomas and his friends.

It took Thomas and the others nearly a half hour to make it to the doors of the tavern; a long time considering it was less than four hundred yards from the docks but the well wishers seemed not to want him to leave them. Once at the Tavern, things began to settle down as the tavern owner had one of his pot boys show his exulted guests to their rooms above the main room of the tavern.

Thomas was not surprised to see Fairley immediately get to work in sorting out the many trunks and cases he had somehow managed to keep track of during the hectic walk through the throngs of people.

Carmelo and Estaban took a chair with Thomas around a table that had been set with food and drink for them by the thoughtful tavern owner. Outside the crowds were beginning to disperse and the docks and streets returned to the normal state for a trading day.

Before they could begin eating there came a knock on the door. Fairley left his job of sorting the luggage and went to the door where he found Roger Scully standing waiting to be allowed to enter. With a call from Thomas to come and join them for a meal, Roger entered and sat in the only other vacant chair.

Roger Scully had been held up on the Cutter with answering a few questions from Captain Samson and had not been trapped in the bustling crowds that had wanted to see Thomas. Now that the four were once again together, it was Carmelo that began the talks of what had happened and what they may need to do for the immediate future.

“Well my friend, your hacienda is partially complete; well enough for you to move into and the adjacent land on the other side of the road is now fenced and holds your horses and cattle. The docks in the bay are being extended as we speak and the Marcelo will be free of the dry dock in one month or so. There are many of the men who want to follow you to sea so we will have little trouble getting full crews to man the ships. There have been ninety six of the men who wanted to return to Vimeiro and make their own way in the valley and with the people of the town; some of who have taken some of the younger boys without family and taken them as their own. That said Thomas, what are your plans for now?”

“First I want to sleep; I don’t know why but that voyage back here has made me feel more tired than it should have. Tomorrow we will start to see who will sail with us and what experience they have although I think our three Captains will know how to get them in shape for such a long voyage. From what our new friend Martime tells me we will be away for almost three years and I also have orders from the Council to attend to some business in the south-seas for them. For now all I want to do is sleep and stop the ground from moving every time I take a step.”

Thomas saw the smile on Roger’s face and looked at him with a raised eyebrow for an answer.

“Don’t worry Thomas it happens to everyone, it’s the movement of the ship but it will go away in an hour or so. Of course it will not be so easy once you have been aboard ship for months; you will then start to walk like all Jack Tars by the time we reach the Pacifica.” Roger’s smile had not waned as he saw the surprise on Thomas’s face.

Later that evening, as Carmelo, Estaban and Thomas sat waiting for the dinner in the main tavern; they were soon joined by Martime Du Maurier who had stayed with Captain Samson for the day to work out which of the other two ships the two Captains would have preferred.

It had finally been decided that Du Maurier would take the Diego as it was finished and Captain Samson would not be free of the Royal navy for another month which was the time he needed to tender his resignation and it was hoped that by then the third ship MSC Marcelo would be out of dry dock.

Martime passed on this information as he sat with the other three; all that needed doing now was to see the eldest son of Senior Forsca and begin the long work of victualling the ships in preparation for their long voyage. During the evening meal the men discussed every facet of crewing and readying supplies for the ships and much to Thomas’s ever expanding knowledge there was so much more than he had at first thought.

It was towards the end of the meal that Roger Scully once again brought up the subject of his desired signalmen and what he wanted to do to that end. Once again the discussion about the forming of a new and untried section was discussed late into the night before there was finally an agreement and plans made.

The next day the main talk of the town was about the return of Don Thomasino and his men; there were also rumours which were rife in the town that he was going out on an expedition soon and was in need of good crews for his ships. While the rumours were partly true, the full extent of them was still unknown except by those directly involved.

As the morning drew on, Thomas and the others began to call their old friends in to see who wanted to go to the south-seas with them on their endeavour. It was no real surprise for them to find that nearly every man who had been a part of the Regiment stepped forward to sign on either as seamen, gunners or ship-board marines; a position they would have to be trained in by the new Captains.

By mid afternoon it was clear to Thomas that it was time to leave the city and make for his new home at Toro Bay and see what had so far been accomplished by the engineers and builders. With the gathering of his Officers that evening, Thomas informed them he was ready to move to his hacienda until all the plans had been put into effect and to await for Captain Samson to receive his discharge and join them for the voyage.

The next morning Thomas watched from horse back as Fairley took care of the baggage being stored into a newly purchased cart for the trip to Toro Bay. Carmelo and Estaban along with a number of the men from the Regiment were to make the journey while Martime Du Maurier and Roger Scully stayed to see to their ships. Snot Morgan had not yet arrived with the rest of the men from England but the Avante was expected within the next day or so and they would join with the two Captains to set about the training that would be needed by the other members of the Regiment that were to stay behind until the ships sailed.

TBC

You are reading Book 3 of Thomas Markings incredible journey. Let Arthur know what you think of this latest chapter. Arthur at CastleRoland dot Net