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Prayer.
The text of the sermon concerned the verses that began,
"No man may serve two masters..."
* * * *
Monday morning, four days out of Kingston, the Valiant
was sailing through a scattering of minute, uninhabited
islands under a fair wind and temperate weather. Mr. West
and his master's mate had been excused from practice, as he
was wholly absorbed in directing their course through the
passage between the islands. The Terrier followed to
windward and a little astern, keeping their flock of
merchantmen in order. Since Valiant was the largest ship,
with the deepest draft, the rest of the convoy could follow
wherever she had clear passage.
79
Winds of Change
by Lee Rowan
But the foremast crew paid little attention to the ship's
progress. Since the Captain had announced that the entire
ship would turn out for gunnery practice, nearly everyone
aboard was focused on the upcoming event. This was not just
the ordinary practice that took up an hour or two every day,
but an exercise in firing both sides of the ship, a considerably
more demanding task. More demanding, more dangerous
and yet a favorite activity for all the men, who delighted in
the noise and force of the big ship's batteries.
Will surveyed the deck, already swabbed, scrubbed, and
cleared for action. For the first time since his transfer, he
began to feel a liking for the huge tub. He was pleased with
the way his division was shaping up the French intrusion
earlier in the week had left the Valiant's crew somewhat
dissatisfied with their own performance, and his men seemed
ready and eager to show their new Captain what they could
do when they put their minds to it. Hammocks were rolled
and stored in the netting, the gun crews stood by their
weapons with tools at the ready, and even the powder
monkeys, some of them no older than six, were bright-eyed
and alert.
"We'll have three sets of three before the end of the
morning watch," Captain Smith announced. Like all captains,
he aspired to the three rounds in five minutes that had
become a byword in a fight, the ship that could reload and
fire the most quickly and most accurately always had an
advantage. "A double ration of rum to the first crew to
achieve three in five."
80
Winds of Change
by Lee Rowan
The first three rounds shattered the morning's stillness,
but the steady breeze soon blew away the clouds of smoke
that filled the Valiant amidships. After consultation among the
midshipmen, it was revealed that none of the guns had
reached their goal. On the bright side, however, there were
no injuries the gun teams were working in careful
coordination.
The powder monkeys had already run below to fetch
cartridges for the next round, but where were they? After a
prolonged delay, a lad popped up and whispered to Barrow,
the bosun, who looked around and spotted Marshall standing
nearest the rail of the quarterdeck. "Mr. Marshall, bit of a
problem in the powder room."
Will turned to the Captain, but he was in conversation with
Mr. West; the Valiant was about to pass the narrowest part of
the strait between a tall, rocky islet and a set of reefs a little
too close to their lee for comfort. For the next few minutes,
Captain Smith's attention would be elsewhere, so Will
followed the bosun below.
* * * *
David Archer counted the seconds during the first set of
shots, and grinned when none of them did better than five
minutes and forty-five seconds. With that failure spurring
them on, he'd bet even money that somebody broke the five-
minute mark on the second round. Hopefully Acting Lt.
Hatfield, their oldest midshipman, would be up to the task of
directing Archer's division.
81
Winds of Change
by Lee Rowan
Technically on duty, David had left the key under his sea
chest, as their mole had directed. He had mustered with
divisions before practice began but then, as had been
decided in conference with the Captain late Saturday night,
he slipped away and concealed himself in Lt. Humberstone's
cabin, directly across from his own.
He knew that the key was still in his cabin, and he was
betting that the roar and thunder on deck would be the
perfect distraction. Humberstone possessed a small table that
was placed between his sea chest and the door. By sitting on
the chest and leaning well back, David was invisible unless a
man actually opened the door and looked into the cabin, and
with all hands called to quarters there should be no one in the
wardroom at all.
The silence above stretched out far too long. David could
think of no reason why Sir Paul should have stopped the
gunnery practice it was unheard of. Even if a man had been
hurt powder burns and recoil injuries were not uncommon
the rest of the guns would have kept on at their task. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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