Command Read Online Free PDF Page A

speech . . .”
    “There may be . . . but he is now retired,” Ellicott said. “A few guineas by way of earnest-money should gain his interest.
    Was captain’s clerk in Meleaguer thirty-two at Toulon in ’ninety-three, as I remember. Shall I . . . ?”
    “Desire him t’ present himself this day or sooner and I shall look very favourably on his findin’ a berth in Teazer. ” There were a number of Admiralty placements by warrant to which a captain was obliged to accede: the boatswain, gunner, carpenter and others. For the rest, Kydd was free to appoint whom he chose.
    “Shall we find a stick or two f’r a table and begin?”
    The prospective captain’s clerk, Mr Peck, arrived with commendable promptness, a dry, shrewd-eyed man of years who had clearly seen much. Together, he and the purser fussed away and came up with a list of essentials—which began with opening the muster book, in which the details for victualling and wages of every seaman of Teazer ’s company would be entered.
    Then it was the establishment of ship’s documents, letter-books, vouchers, lists of allowances—it seemed impossible that any man could comprehend their number, let alone their purpose, and Kydd was happy to leave them to it.
    Shortly, another of his standing officers puffed aboard. “Purchet, boatswain, sir,” he said. The man had a lazy eye, which made it appear that he was squinting.
    “I’d hoped t’ see you aboard before now, Mr Purchet,” Kydd said mildly. “We’ve much t’ do afore we put to sea.”
    “Aye, sir,” Purchet said heavily, glancing up at the bare masts.
    “An’ I hope you ain’t thinkin’ o’ them false-hearted set o’ rascals in the dockyard.”

    26
    Julian Stockwin
    “They’ll bear a hand, I’m sure, but we’ll be setting the ship up ourselves. It’s a small dockyard I’ll grant, but I’ll have fifty prime seamen for ye directly.”
    Purchet’s eyebrows shot up.
    The carpenter arrived and was soon complaining of his lack of stores. Time was slipping by: Kydd needed to prime the dockyard to begin releasing Teazer ’s stores and equipment forthwith.
    If he failed, the men could not be accommodated on board or entered on the ship’s books and he would quickly lose them to other ships. “Mr Ellicott, be s’ good as to accompany me to th’
    dockyard and advise.”
    It transpired that the senior naval officer of the dockyard was neither a sea officer nor very senior. Owing allegiance directly to the Navy Board, Burdock’s immediate superior was no closer than Gibraltar, which gave him a certain room for manoeuvre in his dealings. However, even with veiled threats, it still cost Kydd a dismaying pile of silver, all from his own pocket, to generate any sense of urgency in the case. That, and the promise to set the son of a “good friend” on his quarterdeck as midshipman.
    It had been a day of furious activity and Kydd found himself dog tired. They had made a good start, but in the absence of proper accommodation and with no ship’s cook he could not in all conscience require anyone to remain on board for the night.
    Reluctantly he told them all to go ashore and return early the next morning.
    The calm evening spread out its peace, the impressive stone ramparts speckled with light. Nearby vessels showed soft gold light in their stern windows; some had deck lights strung.
    Teazer was in darkness and he was left alone on board—but, then, nothing could have been more congenial. Kydd paced slowly along the deserted decks, seeing, in his mind’s eye, cannon run out through gun-ports where now there were empty

    Command
    27
    spaces, a satisfying lacing of rigging against the bare spars standing black against the stars, men on the foredeck enjoying the dog-watches.
    He stumbled in the gloom, his fatigue returning in waves, and, just as it had been for him on his very first night in a man-o’-war, there was no place to lay his head. A caulker’s ground-cloth and his own unopened valise