Mir Pacifica

Published: 5 Feb 2018

Thomas and Carmelo sat in the shade of the patio as they drank their second cafe of the day. Estaban and his cavalry had left the Hacienda nearly two hours previous to make their way back to his lands in Spain. The two friends sat and watched the work continue on the new storage barn and warehouse as they soaked up the early morning heat while still in the shade.

Thomas hoped they did not have much longer to wait for the three new ships to join them so they could be on their way to the south-seas and a new adventure; hopefully this time without the need to duck at every strange sound.

As they sat and listened to the distant sounds of hammers and other tools working on many of the finishing touches of the new hacienda, Thomas thought he heard a noise out in the front yard but put the thought aside as he turned back to look out over the calm bay.

A few minutes later he heard the sound of footsteps coming from inside the villa and towards where the two friends sat in companionable silence. In a few moments the sound of Fairley’s voice interrupted their reverie, “General, you have a visitor.”

“What did I tell you about the ‘general’ thing Fairly?”

“Yes General, Sorry General. Shall I show your guest out here?”

“Who is it Fairley?”

“Didn’t give his name General but seemed familiar somehow.”

A new voice broke into the discussion which immediately brought a smile to Thomas.

“No need Fairley, you’ve done well keeping him guessing. Hello Thomas, how is your new home coming along?”

“Mister Percy! What brings you way out here?”

“I had a few things to attend to in Spain and thought I would stop off to see you on my way home. Are you going to offer me one of those famous cafes? That damnedable coach has bounced me around far too much and I think my age is starting to show.”

“Of course Mister Percy. Sit here beside us and Fairley will get one for you. Fairley?”

“Yes General, right away General.”

“Fairley!”

“I see you have not broken him of his habit Thomas. Now have you been kept abreast of the latest news?”

“No, not really. England seems a long way from here and we have been kept busy preparing for our voyage and finishing off the hacienda.”

“Ah here comes my cafe.”

Fairley placed the steaming mug of cafe on the table and left to return to the house on his own business. Mister Percy took a small sip before looking up at the two friends before he continued, “I’m sure you well know that Napoleon was finally captured and imprisoned at Elba but were you aware that he escaped and managed to reform his Grand Armee?”

“No, I haven’t heard a word about that.”

“Well not too worry, the Duke managed once again to find him at a place called Waterloo in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and finally dealt to him. He is now once again on his way to an Island which he will definitely not escape from to cause more trouble.”

“Good, then we won’t have to worry about another invasion. Who’s this Duke you speak of?”

“Oh you didn’t know? Well it’s you old friend Wellesley. After his capture of Napoleon, for the first time, he was raised to a Dukedom and is now titled as the Duke of Wellington. It makes me wonder if your title is better than his, after all you lost far less men than he did and accomplished far more with what little you had. Anyway that’s all by the by. Now then how are your plans for your venture going?”

“We are just waiting for the ships to be victualled and arrive here then we are off. I hope I can fulfil all that the Brotherhood requires of me.”

“I’m sure you will do your best as always Thomas. Now I have a request of you?”

“Of course Mister Percy I will do anything you ask. After all it’s only because of you and your friends that I’m here today.”

“That’s kind of you to say Thomas but I wouldn’t jump in too quickly when asked that question. However, this time it is only a few small things I had thought on for your venture. Have your Captains told you how they plan to sail to the Pacifica?”

“Well they were talking about going around something called the Cape and then north into the Ocean. They did say something about the roaring forties but I’m not sure what they meant.”

“Ah yes, the Cap du Afrique. It is at the southern tip of what we call Africa today and it takes you into the path of the southern winds. They have been named the roaring forties and can be quite the challenge for the unwary. Now then if they go that direction it would be better for you to continue east and return via Terra Del Fuego and the passage in the Straights of Magellan on the other side of the Pacifica. Altogether I think you will be away for at least three years and I see no reason why you should hurry. Tell your Captains that I advise you to take your time and stop in any port when you are in need of supplies. For such a long voyage it is better to be late than dead.”

“Thank you Mister Percy, I will pass on your concerns. Is there anything else you could advise?”

“Yes, George is going with you and I would advise that once you get into the south-sea Islands you listen to his advice. He knows their ways and may save you getting into trouble. There are still cannibals throughout the Islands and you don’t want to end up as someone’s dinner. When you get into the upper Islands to search for Chou’s nephew, keep a sharp look out. Many of the Lascar’s use the night to attack ships. There is no point in trying to talk to them and an old rule is the best one to follow: if in doubt fire first and ask about their health after.”

“Thank you Mister Percy, I will keep all your advice in mind. Now you are going to stay for dinner, there is plenty of time for you to make Oporto. Besides, I am hoping the ships get here soon and you may get to see them.”

“I would like that a lot Thomas, if for no other reason than knowing they are captured Frenchmen.”

The chuckle that issued from Mister Percy’s lips brought a smile to Thomas. His dear friend still had some semblance of humour left even after the long drawn out war with France and his seemingly endless travels.

With their cafe finished the conversation turned to more inane things as they all looked out onto the calm waters of the bay. As the sun rose to its zenith and the heat grew almost intolerable, even under the shade of the patio, the boys from the kitchen began to lay the large outside table for their normal Al Fresco Luncheon. As the array of platters were placed on the table, Thomas and his two friends stepped to the edge of the patio where they were quickly joined by a slightly sweating and half naked George.

In his hands he carried his two strange weapons and had evidently been at practice. Upon sighting Mister Percy, George immediately smiled and gave a short nod of his head as he walked past and entered the villa to clean up before lunch. As George disappeared into the cool interior of the villa, the other three were suddenly brought up to alert as they heard in the distance a sound much like rolling thunder.

The sound had come from far out to sea and beyond their range of vision. Thomas looked first at his friends and then up at the clear blue sky, there was no sign of clouds and yet they had heard the distinct rumble of thunder. Before Thomas and the others could wonder further, from the high redoubts on the two headlands came the thunder of the four artillery pieces mounted up there for their safety.

At the loud sound of their guns, Fairley suddenly appeared carrying Thomas’s musket and Manton Pistols. If they were going to be under attack then he wanted his General to be armed and ready. As Fairley ran onto the patio, he looked up at the far headland and then sighed as he slowed to a walk.

What Fairley had seen was a large blue flag being waved from the headland and smiled at Thomas as he saw the concerned look on his General’s face.

“Don’t worry General, it looks as though your ships are about to arrive. It would seem the thunder was their salute. They must have fired every broadside they have to make such a sound. Your guns were replying to their salute so I guess I can take these back inside for now.”

Fairley left the three men alone as he returned to the inside of the villa to carry out the rest of the table laying for lunch. It appeared they would have to wait a little while longer so the ships could arrive and anchor, so the Captains could join their boss for lunch.

At Fairley’s words there came a distinct sigh from the three watchers. It now seemed they would only have to wait for the arrival of the long awaited ships and they could begin to make final plans for sailing off on their new adventure.

There was a sense of expectation in the air as Thomas and the others waited for the first sighting of the three ships. All the workers at the Hacienda had downed tools for their rest during the heat of the day but many were now drifting down to the water line to watch for the arrival of the ships. It seemed that only Thomas and Mister Percy did not understand the meaning of the blue flag. It would be some time before they found out that a red flag was the signal for an attack.

It was over an hour later when the ships appeared and they were far closer than Thomas would have thought. All had shortened sail to slow their approach and were barely making steerageway as they eased one by one into the passage between the headlands. In the lead was the MSC Roger Scully with the other two less than a hundred yards apart and following in line astern.

The Roger Scully eased herself into the dock where there were men waiting to take the lines and secure her as the last of the sails were furled and hustle and bustle of making the ship safe alongside was carried out by the small crew on each ship. Out in the bay the other two ships had dropped anchor alongside each other but with enough space so they could swing without doing any damage to each other while at anchor as the tide or wind changed.

Another half an hour saw the ships safely at rest and Thomas could plainly see the small pinnaces of the two anchored ships being put in the water to bring their captains and officers to shore for the long delayed luncheon. Roger Scully and his officers had it far easier as they only had to step onto the dock and begin the walk up to the hacienda, while his men saw to any last minute preparations before also coming ashore.

Fairley was once again in his element as he quickly saw to finding a few more trestle tables to place along the patio for the extra officers to use. The main table was now full and there would be little space for everyone once luncheon started.

As would be expected there was a lot of smiles and back slapping as old friends got reacquainted and placing’s were found at the table for the senior officers. With the junior officers being seated at the two extra trestles there was once again ample space for all, although the kitchen hands had to do some very fast work to make up more platters of food.

Thomas looked out on his small fleet as they rode silently on the waters of the bay. They all looked quite the picture in their new paint and finery. The hulls had been painted in the pale blue of Portugal but the two rows of gun ports were in black which almost disguised their intent. The prows were painted in black with the carving work highlighted in gold paint and all the masts and spars were freshly varnished with their new white sails neatly furled along the spars. For Thomas they made quite an impressive sight and he could still not believe they belonged to him.

It took a few minutes for all the introductions to be made but then they all sat for luncheon and the talk turned to the victory of the Duke of Wellington over the nepharious Napoleon at Waterloo. The luncheon went on for nearly two hours as no one seemed to want to move away or think of the more pressing things that still needed to be done for their venture.

It was the sound of working tools that brought the extended luncheon to a close. The heat of the day had waned and the men were getting back to working on the finishing touches as the celebration of the arrival of the three ships also grew to a close. There were still matters to be attended to aboard ship and final plans to be discussed. The time for departure was drawing ever closer and there was little time to be lost.

As his guests rose from the tables, Thomas looked them over once again. It was easy to pick out those who had fought with him during the peninsular campaign from those who had just joined. Those who had been with him before still wore their black boots with their horn handled knives, while the others wore the simpler black shoes of the navy. That is, all except the well dressed Captain Martime Du Maurier, who also sported a good pair of boots. Although they were a little shorter than those of his ex-troops.

Thomas did note that young Snot Morgan was now dressed in a short pale blue jacket, which had a thin silver chain pinned to his lapel which disappeared into a narrow slit pocket on his breast and that he had a single silver braid band around the cuffs. On his head had been his flat crowned black hat which had seen better days but he was obviously not going to give it up without a good fight.

On all of his old troops he could plainly see the bulge under their jackets of their double barrelled pistols. It would appear that old habits died hard. While the others went to look around the villa or turned towards the docks or boats waiting to take them back aboard, Thomas and his senior officers turned inside the villa to begin the final phase of organisation. Percy Cruikshank went along quietly with them; he still had a few things to pass on and he had been only waiting for the Captains to arrive to do so.

No one took note of the time as the final plans were more important than sleeping, therefore it was in the early hours of the morning that the last of Percy’s advice was given and taken note of by all present.

“Well gentlemen I see that you have everything now in order and it leaves me with only a few things left to say if you will pardon my forwardness. I know you are all experienced Captains and will not fail in your venture but I am behoven to tell you of a few things that you may find helpful if the occasion arises.”

Mister Percy paused to make sure he had their full attention before continuing.

“Firstly when you round the Cap du Afrique try not to venture south of the 45^th parallel or you may get into more trouble than you are prepared for. The seas down there are notoriously difficult and stormy. I would suggest, and I have it on good authority, that you turn north once rounding the Cap du Afrique and make use of the trade winds to take you to Madagascar.”

Again Mister Percy paused as he looked at the faces around the table. Once satisfied his message was being heard, he went on. “While the Island is sometimes under the French and other times under self rule, both situations can be dangerous but it may be the only port where you can resupply before you turn east. Be aware that even though some may say there are no more pirates there, I would keep a close watch over your stern. After leaving Madagascar continue north until you can pick up more favourable winds to turn east. Do it too soon and you may well hit the doldrums and they can trap you for weeks if not months.”

Again a small pause before going on, “There are two options for you once past the equator; directly east you will have the newly settled lands of New Holland. It is only partially mapped so be careful, there are many dangers that are unknown as yet. Turning north you will have the lands of the Indian continent. Portugal has an outpost there at a place called Goa on the south western coast. The main port is Vasco de Gama. You should have little trouble there as you are flying the Portuguese flag. Take great care after you leave Goa, there are pirates of all types in those seas and it only gets worse once you venture into the seas of the Asean empires.”

Another pause ensued as Mister Percy made sure everyone was listening and taking note of his advice. After all, he had sailed those very seas a long time ago.

“As George will be with you I would follow his lead as to finding his homeland and many of the Island groups further to the east. Again take great care, the Islands are inhabited by cannibals and they will think nothing of taking what they want. If you have cause to venture towards New Holland then there is a settlement on the east coast called Botany Bay in the colony of New South Wales. I don’t know what you can expect there but it is a convict colony so be aware. Well gentlemen that’s all I can say except good luck on your venture and keep your powder dry.”

Mister Percy sat back to listen to what those assembled had to say but as the hour was late it was decided that any further discussion should take place after they had all had a chance to rest and think on what Mister Percy had told them. Thomas invited his three Captains to stay in the villa while the others went about returning to their ships or in the case of the men of the hacienda, to their own homes.

The next day dawned hot and dry once again. Over an extended breakfast the advice of Mister Percy was discussed and final plans were made. Mister Percy had made his farewells an hour after Breakfast. Thomas was surprised at the poignant moment it created, as George and Percy said their good-byes to each other before Mister Percy departed on his journey through to Oporto and eventually back to England.

The scene of the two old friends almost brought a tear to Thomas’s eyes as he watched them perform some sort of strange ritual. George and Percy gripped each other’s right hand and then placed their left on each other’s shoulder. Next the two men leant forward and touched both foreheads and then noses where they stayed for perhaps a minute. There were no words spoken and when both men parted their strange ritual they gave just a small nod and parted.

Thomas was not sure but he thought he saw Mister Percy reach into his coat pocket for a handkerchief as he turned away and got into his carriage. Within seconds he was on his way and disappearing north. For those left behind there was only one thing left to do and that was mark a final date for departure.

While they all sat and talked over the best time to depart, Fairley appeared at Thomas’s side and quietly spoke to him before turning and leaving to return back inside the villa. Thomas looked at the others and said, “Sorry my friends but we have a visitor that has asked to see me. Can we hold off on a final date until I can see what this is all about?”

The acknowledgement was quick in coming and Thomas stood up from the table and went back inside the villa to meet with the new arrival. Waiting for Thomas was a young officer who was dressed in what he assumed to be very courtly attire. His uniform was more braid and silk than useful wear in a fight.

When Thomas entered the new drawing room, the young officer snapped to attention and gave a rather courtly bow before saying, “Don Thomasino de Toro, His Royal Highness King Joao the 6^th of Portugal and the Agaves’, requests your presence at your earliest convenience in Lisbon. He has tasked me with accompanying you on that journey Sir.”

“I see, well I was just making plans to sail shortly. Do you know why he would ask for me at this late stage?”

“I believe Don Thomasino that it is to do with your upcoming venture but more than that I could not say.”

“Very good then, I will need to have my friend and advisor with me so if you can wait for a little while we get ready then we can leave shortly. I will ask my man Fairley to find you food and drink while you wait.”

“Thank you Don Thomasino. I am sure the King will appreciate your quick response to his request.”

Thomas nodded his head as he went in search of Fairley and then returned to ask Carmelo to go with him. Thomas knew that when dealing with the likes of Royalty a request was more like an order and as he had just started to put down roots in his new home, he did not want to start by having to leave it due to some perceived slight he may cause the men in power.

It took a further hour before Thomas and Carmelo were ready to leave. Their horses were carrying two panniers with their spare dress uniforms and a little food. They had planned on stopping for the night in Vimeiro before continuing on to Lisbon and their meeting with the new King.

The three Captains would now spend the time arranging their new crews as the three ships had sailed with only a bare skeleton crew from Oporto, which was mainly made up of Craven Morgan’s gunners and the few extra crew they had selected from those available in Oporto and England. It was common knowledge that gunners always made good sailors but sailors did not always make good gunners.

There was also the need to select the one hundred and twenty young men to be hired as Marines so the ships would have a compliment of forty Marines per ship if the need arose for boarding parties or defence of the ship when in the far away and dangerous seas.

The ride to Vimeiro was done at a good steady pace and they arrived just before dark. Thomas was once again received by the entire village as their own home town hero. Dinner that evening was one of informality and the welcoming of old friends and familiar faces and the night was relaxed and entertaining. However the need to be on the road early meant the small trio would have to be away just after dawn so they could make Lisbon by the end of the next day.

Their arrival in Lisbon was a little later than predicted, which meant they would not have their audience with the King until the next day. Carmelo and Thomas were led to a small villa on the outskirts of Lisbon where they were to spend the night. The young officer left them in the capable hands of the servants and departed for the Palace to make the arrangements for the next day.

On awakening the next morning, the two friends felt the sultry air of a coming summer storm. It did not give them much confidence as they dressed in their best uniforms for the audience later that morning. The servants seemed to also feel that their visitors would prefer not to be disturbed and went about their tasks almost in silence.

The morning cafe was good but not as good as that served to them by Carlito or Sergio; there seemed to be a lacking of French brandy which left the cafe with a slightly bitter taste but it was enough to bring the life back into both of them.

The young officer arrived within the hour and waited for them to mount their horses for the ride to the Palace for their audience. On arrival, the two friends dismounted and were escorted into the interior of the Palace. Thomas was almost overawed at the opulence of the Palace considering that the country was just in the throes of trying to recover from the predations of the French. Thomas was given little time to more than glace about him as he was quickly ushered into the presence of the King where the young officer performed the introductions.

“Your Highness, may I present Don Thomasino de Toro and Don Carmelo Grey whom are here at your request.”

After giving the obligatory bow, Thomas looked at the man who was now King of Portugal and had held the throne for only a few months. He was a man of some stature although not as tall or broad as perhaps Thomas’s own father but he did emit a certain image of power and authority. The King’s voice was firm and decisive as he spoke to the two young men standing before him.

“Don Thomasino…Don Carmelo we are pleased you were able to answer my request for an audience and we are, as are all our subjects; eternally grateful for what you did to free us from the French scourge. It is at times like these that we are a little hesitant to make more requests of you but there are developments that leave us with very few other options.”

As the king paused to await an expected reply, Thomas spoke softly as he did not think his voice would sound very respectful if it was to echo throughout the great hall and batter the ears of His Highness.

“Thank you Your Highness but we only did what we thought was right and the help of His Highnesses people went far to aid us.”

“We thank you for your candour Don Thomasino but it does not make it any easier for us to make this request of your time. As yet you may not be aware that our possessions in the south-seas are under pressure from certain French and Dutch aspirations. But added to those worries we now also have a problem arising with Asean Pirates which are causing many problems with our trade routes.”

The King paused as he waited for Thomas to take in what had just been said before continuing. “To this end Don Thomasino we would like to ask you and your ships to take up our cause and help to rid the seas and trade routes of this scourge. Now of course we would not want you to think we are taking advantage of your well known generous nature, so in return I have written out a Royal Warrant to the effect that all and any colonies, ports or towns held by us, are to give you unfettered access to anything you may feel is needed to carry out our request.

“There is also one last favour we would like to ask of you. For the past year we have been unable to get our missives to Goa and our other colonies and would ask that you also take up this task on our behalf as it seems the French have a number of war ships in those seas and have been intercepting our fast packets. Don Thomasino should you take up this most urgent task for us we will without hesitation place a warrant in the Royal Court to the effect that you and Don Carmelo and any heirs that you both may have will be exempt from all taxes and levies in perpetuity as payment for your loyal and also dangerous task.”

Thomas looked at Carmelo and could only give the faintest of nods in acknowledgement of what was being offered, Thomas looked back at the waiting King. “Your Highness we both thank you for your generosity and as the Kingdom of Portugal and its people have given both of us a home unlike any other, we would of course accept the task you have given us, even without reward. I can promise Your Highness that we will do our utmost to accomplish the task set for us and to bring some justice to your colonies.”

“Thank you Don Thomasino, we can only accept your generous offer of assistance and your warrants are already prepared for you. Now then Don Thomasino if you will forgive our abruptness, as there are many items that are demanding our attention, we will leave you in the capable hands of our young adjutant. Once again our thanks for your acceptance of what we know will be a difficult and dangerous task.”

Thomas and Carmelo bowed to the King as the man stood from his large chair and left the room and the two young men to the attention of the officer that had brought them into the King’s presence.

“Don Thomasino if you would be so kind as to follow me we can obtain your Royal Warrant and leave you to return to your hacienda so you can depart on your voyage at your earliest convenience. This way please gentlemen.”

Thomas and Carmelo followed the young officer from the large hall and only minutes later were presented with a large scroll wrapped in a tooled leather cylinder; on the two thongs that held the cylinder closed were two red seals with gold edgings; it would be immediately obvious to any who saw them that the scroll was from the hands of the King.

The return ride back to Toro Bay was done as quickly as possible and with as few stops as they could make. Four days after leaving the hacienda, Thomas and Carmelo rode into the new villa grounds and quickly went inside to find something to eat and drink. The last leg of their journey had been fast and without stop and they were in need of rest before looking to their impending departure on their adventure.

It had been five days since their return from the audience with the King, and it was now time to make the final date of their departure. For Thomas and his friends it could not be coming faster. While he and Carmelo had been away, the others had formed up their new crews. The skeleton crews that had sailed the ships from Oporto were now bulked up with those waiting for a place at the hacienda.

Each ship would be crewed by experienced sailors, or as they were now called Able Seamen; there were also other Ratings which would also include Landsmen, who were those with little or no experience as well as those with only limited experience whom were called Ordinary Seamen. All would come under the instruction of those with far more experience, as well as the expertly trained such as the gunners. There were also the twelve newly trained Midshipmen of the burgeoning signalman section. There would be a contingent of forty marines on each ship who had all once been members of Thomas’s guerrilla army. Everything was ready and it was time to sail, the long summer days would give every man a chance to get familiar with sailing the three large ships before they came to any trouble.

The 10th of July was the day they had decided on to set sail. It dawned bright and clear with just a light 5 knot off shore breeze blowing, which fortunately made it easier for the new crew members to raise the few sails need to leave the bay. The hard work of setting full sail would come once they were far enough off shore to get the best advantage of a rising breeze.

Thomas, along with Carmelo and a number of the ships new officers, stood on the quarterdeck as the ship rose into the first sea swell. It gave Thomas time to look around the refurbished ship and to take note of what was happening on such a large vessel. Thomas’s previous experience aboard ship had always been on smaller ships and this was the first time he had been able to look over a real fighting ship.

On the quarterdeck along with Roger Scully were the five lieutenants and four more young midshipmen that would take their station on the gun decks if the need arose. They would also be helping the Lieutenants to maintain order below deck. Snot Morgan and his four signalmen were apart from the other midshipmen and had their own duties. While Craven Morgan was the Gunnery Officer he also had duties as a Watch Officer.

During the voyage the crews would be relentlessly training on their selected positions and duties. Roger wanted all his ships and crews to be as good as he could train them to be. If they ran into trouble, he wanted them to be able to fight as well as any sailor the Royal Navy would have put to sea.

Thomas watched carefully as the ship began to set to work and the crews prepared to raise all sails and begin the real journey to the far eastern lands and seas. The quarterdeck was quite full and yet everyone except Thomas and Carmelo seemed to know where they should be, even young Snot had his own place on the deck. The single large spoked wheel of the French ships had been replaced with two wheels with the sprocket between them which ran the cables to the rudder.

At the front of the quarterdeck and looking out over the main-deck below sat a large covered cupboard. On top was laid out the current chart of which a number of others were stored in three drawers underneath. Below the drawers were two small doors that held the partitioned shelves for the small signal flags that were in use by other ships but with the new advent of Snot Morgan and his signallers, Roger hoped to be able to do away with the long and sometimes tedious work of making signals and running them up the shrouds so that the other ships could see and read them.

Roger had explained to Thomas that it would make for easier control should they hit rough water and they could place two Bosuns’ on the wheel for steerageway. Roger’s 1^st Officer was a man called Williams and had come from the Royal Navy when he had been put ashore due the lack of ships or positions available for the younger officers of the service.

Roger became busy with the orders needed to get the ships underway and Thomas tried his best to watch what was happening all over the ship at the same time.

“Mister Williams call all hands to ready for making full sail; Midshipman Morgan prepare to make signals to the fleet.”

The double “Aye Sir” rang out clearly as the two mentioned went to their places. Mister Williams called loudly down into the main-deck space.

“Bosun call all hands to the yards and prepare to make full sail.”

From the main-deck came the quick reply.

“All Hands to the yards, Aye Sir.”

The sound of bare feet running on the bare wooden decking soon had Thomas watching the men climb into the rigging and with unbelievable skill almost run up the swaying rigging and begin to take their places out on the ratlines below the spars. In the mean time Snot Morgan had taken a small silver whistle from his breast pocket and gave one long and one short blast while looking upwards towards the high tops of the mast.

Thomas followed his eyes and saw that far up in the top most mast stood another midshipman standing on a small platform that surrounded the thin looking mast. From above came the distinct sound of another whistle in reply. Thomas turned his eyes back down to watch Snot as the teen pulled two small flags from a slot on the side of the desk and placed them crossed over in front of the legs.

“Signalmen ready Sir.”

“Thank you midshipman. Make the signal, “All ships to make full sail. Ships will form line abreast at half a cable.”

“All ships to make full sail. Ships will form line abreast at half a cable. Aye Sir.”

Thomas watched as Snot began to move the two coloured flags in patterns around his body and finally ending with them both crossed over each other in front of his legs once again. Thomas looked up and saw the distant figure on the small top platform just below the topgallants but above the Royals raise his own flags above his head as he looked at the two ships sailing in line astern. Having spied the following ships the small figure began to wave them in what Thomas assumed was the same pattern he had seen Snot use and then finish in the same way.

Thomas quickly turned around so he could see the ship that was about five hundred yards behind them and was just in time to see what appeared to be two small coloured flags waving from the same type of platform near the top of the main mast. The movements of the flags held Thomas enthralled as no more than a few minutes later he watched the two trailing ships increase their sails and begin to turn and advance so they would could form a line abreast.

The loud snapping of the heavy canvas sails as they filled with the freshening wind soon had the added sound of rushing water as the ship rode through the incoming swell and increased her speed. They were off on their journey of discovery and there was a feeling in the air of renewed hope and expectation.

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