Owned by the Ocean Read Online Free PDF Page B

past to myself. Do you know of any place
for me?”
    “ Aye I might. I take it you have no experience on a
ship?”
    “ None, but I'm a fast learner and a hard worker.”
    “ Our cabin boy just left us, perhaps I can convince the Cap'n
to take ya on. What be yer name?”
    “ Brant Foxton.”
    “ Aye, Brant. I'm Karl. You just sit tight 'ere for a few
minutes and I'll let’ya know.”
    Karl was only
gone a few minutes before he came back with another man.
    “ Brant, I'm Captain LaFleur of the BlackFox . Karl tells me you are in
search of a ship.” He spoke with a heavy French accent but he
seemed friendly enough.
    “ Yes sir. Anything you got I'll do. I'm just looking to make a
life on my own.”
    “ We sail tomorrow. Will you be ready?”
    “ I'm ready to leave now.”
    “ Good. Report for duty at first light. We'll put you to work.
I'll have Karl waiting for you on dock twelve with a rowboat. He
leaves at six... Don't be late.”
    “ Yes sir. I'll be there, sir.”
     
    * * *
     
    Brant had
nowhere to sleep, and no money to pay for a room, so he left the
tavern and made his way to dock twelve. There, he found himself a
corner beside a building that emanated some heat to chase away the
winter cold, and curled up as tightly as he could, hoping sleep
would find him. It wasn't comfortable by any means, but at least it
was quiet. Dock twelve was far away from most of the traffic and
abandoned aside from the rats that slunk around barrels and crates
looking for food.
    Brant huddled
closer to the thin walls of the building, wishing the slight warmth
would chase away the chill that was creeping into his limbs. It
took hours, but eventually the cold and exhaustion allowed him to
drift off.
    Brant probably
managed to get two or three hours of sleep before a hubbub of
working men roused him. His joints were stiff from the cold but he
slowly sat up and stretched, working the blood down into his
extremities as they tingled painfully to life. When he stood up he
spotted Karl almost immediately, barking orders at a few men who
seemed to be loading a row boat with supplies.
    Karl looked up
as Brant approached and gave a little wave.
    “ What ya doing 'ere already, boy?”
    “ Figured it’s better to show up early than late.”
    Karl studied
the boy carefully, his eyebrows furrowing, as if deep in thought,
then, once he’d come to a conclusion, his face broke into one of
the warmest smiles Brant had ever seen, crooked and stained teeth
adding a comedic sense to the picture. “Well, I dare say we ain’t
gonna stop ya from working. You can help Joseph over there. He’ll
tell ya what to do.”
    Brant nodded
and walked towards the middle aged man who was helping steady the
load in the row boat.
    “ Hello, Joseph?”
    “ Aye. What do ya want?”
    “ Karl sent me to help you.”
    “ Well don’t just stand there like a nancy, get in ‘ere and
help me stabilize this here stuff.”
    Brant jumped
in, causing the row boat to rock precariously. Joseph only threw
his hands up in disgust. “You don’t know what yer doing, do ya,
boy?”
    “ Not really,” he admitted, heat rising in his face. “But I’ll
learn fast. I’ve done a lot of reading and—”
    “ All the readin’ and learnin’ ain’t gonna help ya out here.
You gotta work hard and learn hard and you’ll either die tryin’ or
become a man. Can ya handle that, boy?”
    “ Sure can. I’m not afraid of hard work. The name is Brant, by
the way.”
    Joseph
chuckled. “Yer lucky I like you, Brant, cause I got a mind ta throw
ya overboard. Now, enough jabberin’.”
    Joseph pushed Brant hard but in an hour the row boat, which
Brant learned was actually called a long boat, was full to the brim
with supplies. The men working on the dock climbed in, positioning
themselves amongst the crates and barrels, and rowed the large boat
towards their ship; the BlackFox, where they tied her up and worked at hoisting box
by box up onto the ship and into the hold. It was slow,