Sail With Me (A Discovery Series Book) Read Online Free PDF

was out.  
    “What skills do you have, son?”
    “Clean, cook, fish, trim, and repair sails. I’m a hard worker, and I know
how to take orders, sir.” Was I trying too hard? Had I said too much? I glanced
up to Captain Finley’s face once then returned my gaze to the ground between
us.
    “You sound like a real catch with all those skills, if you indeed have
them.” He grabbed my chin in his rough hand, angling it to get a better look at
me. His calloused thumb pressed into the bruise on my jaw, and I swallowed the
pain. “What happened to your face there?”
    “Accident, Captain. Somebody bumped into me.”
    He pursed his lips. “You’re not the fighting type, are you?”
    “No, sir.”
    “Good. Don’t need any hotheads on my crew.” He grabbed my shoulder and
gave me a good jostling. “Only one final question then.”
    “Aye, sir?” So close .
    “What do you do if a man goes overboard?”
    Was this one of the trick questions Edward Scarsdale had mentioned
outside The Copper Pot? Did Captain Finley want a serious answer or was this a
test?
    I cleared my throat and said, “If he’s too foolish not to sure his
footing, then he’s extra weight we didn’t need.”
    Captain Finley barked out a laugh and slapped a hand down onto my
shoulder. I swear I sank at least to my ankle into the sand.
    “You’ll do, son. That’s my ship yonder, the Rose .” He gestured
toward the careened vessel. “What’s your name?”
    “Charlie, sir. Charlie Hamden.” Did he notice the waver in my voice?  
    “Well, Charlie Hamden, it’s good to meet you.” He extended a filthy hand
to me.
    I took his massive hand in mine and shook it. He held onto it for longer
than I expected, and the quaking in my stomach nearly had me running away.
    “We’re headed to the Americas, and I am looking for more hands.
How old are you?”
    “Sixteen.” The truth would be easiest to remember later on.
    “Where are your parents?”
    “Dead, sir.” The one who had noticed my existence anyway.
    “I see. You healthy?”
    “Yes, sir. Never get sick.”
    No lie there. When I was about seven years old, my entire family except
me had gotten ill with the fever. When they had recovered, my mother kept
hovering about me, waiting for me to fall ill.
    “You are a mystery,” my mother said. “Someone’s looking out for you,
Charlotte.” Cripes, I hoped that was true.
    “Never get sick, huh?” Captain Finley said, bringing me back to the
present moment.
    I shook my head, afraid to talk more than I had to.
    “Well, then, I cannot pass on a deckhand who promises he never gets sick,
now can I?” He smiled, but his eyes still studied me, sized me up. “See that
trail of crew filling buckets with water and passing them back to the ship?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “You think you’re smart enough to handle something like that?” 
    “Yes, Captain,” I shouted, nearly hugging the man, which was what a girl
would do, so I stopped myself. I walked toward the line of crew.
    “Wait a minute,” Captain Finley said.
    My heart almost stopped beating. He had figured me out. He smelled a
girl. Another chance lost.
    “Aren’t you curious about wages, son?”
    Wages? I hadn’t been thinking about getting paid to sail. I’d have done
it for free.
    “I trust your wages are fair.”
    Captain Finley laughed again. “Well, then, the Americas are waiting for
us, boy. We set sail at the end of the week if you can last that long. We’ve
set up camp on the other side of the Rose there while the ship’s on her
side. A few more tasks to be done, and we are off to cross the mighty
Atlantic.”
    He opened his hands to the ocean lapping at the sandy shore. A genuine
smile stretched across his face as he breathed in a lungful of sea air. He
shook his head as if looking at the sea had overwhelmed him.
    I knew the feeling.  
    “Why are you still standing here? Run along now. See that tall kid there
standing next to the line of crew? That’s my nephew,