Seaflower Read Free Page A

suffered as they.
    The
court-martial flag remained at the masthead, but Kydd was not called. Neither
was he the next day, and when the flag was hauled down on the third day he
shrugged and made ready to leave for home.
    It
was also the day that Earl Howe and his victorious fleet arrived at Spithead.
The town erupted for the second time, and enviously the Artemis seamen watched as the liberty boats swarmed ashore
at Portsmouth Point. Incredibly, they were still being kept aboard.
    Renzi's
disquiet turned to unease. This was neither humane nor sensible treatment for
shipwrecked souls, and did not make sense. The loss of Artemis would be overlooked in the delirium of the victory
of the Glorious First of June, so there was no point in keeping the men from
their families.
    A
boatswain's mate appeared at the hatchway and pealed a call. ‘Artemis hands! Haaaaands
to muster! Aaaaaall the Artemis haaaands — muster in th' waist with yer dunnage!'
    'Well,
bugger me days!' said Stirk. 'An' the bastards 'ave remembered we're 'ere!'
There was a scramble for their pitifully few possessions, Kydd's own fitting
into one small bundle. With lifting heart he tugged on his hat, and hastened on
deck into the evening sun. Hooked on below was a big launch, manned by a
subdued set of seamen he did not recognise. An older-looking lieutenant was
standing at the tiller, his mouth a thin line.
    'Hey-ho,
mates — and it's bad luck t' any who ain't chirpin' merry in one hour!' said
one Artemis, his eyes shining.
    'Got
th' gormy ruddles sittin' in this hooker!' said another, hefting his bag, 'an'
the only thing'll cure it 's me comin' alongside some willin' piece who'll show
a sailor the way home!'
    Kydd
grinned, and after their names were marked off in the muster book, he went down
with the others into the boat, Renzi close behind. They settled all along the
centre, between the rowers. But there was no answer to their jocular barbs. The
crew of the launch were mute and serious and they kept their eyes in the boat
facing aft. Slowly the happy chatter of the Artemis hands died away under a
sense of apprehension. The boat shoved off, the men at the oars pulling slowly
but economically, as if they had a long stretch ahead.
    Kydd
looked at Renzi in appeal — he only shook his head. Suddenly a cutter shot out
from the other side of the ship. With a shock Kydd saw that it carried a party
of marines, complete with muskets and accoutrements. It curved toward them and
fell in close astern, the officer not glancing at it as the launch shaped
course to parallel the shore.
    'The
poxy shabs!' roared Stirk in disbelief. 'We're bein' turned over!' He stood up
and grasped the gunwale.
    'Try
it, 'n' you'll get a ball in the guts!' growled the lieutenant. Stirk stood
rigid as a storm of protest broke around him. It was not uncommon for ships
returning from a distant commission for docking and refit to transfer their
company bodily to another ship, without the chance of liberty ashore. But
survivors of a shipwreck?
    'Silence!'
bellowed the officer. 'You're under discipline, you damned rascals, and I'll
see the backbone of any who doesn't agree!'
     
     

Chapter 2
     
    The
boat, borne away at speed by an ebbing tide through the harbour entrance, passed
scenes and sounds of merriment ashore as the seamen of the victorious Fleet
gave vent to their feelings. In the launch there was a grim silence, just the
creak of oars in their rowlocks and a regular, hypnotic splash as they dipped
into the sea.
    Kydd
felt bleakness take hold. A lump grew in his throat as his eyes took in the
land. So far! And so much had happened on the voyage! His sorrow left no room
for rage.
    Altering
to starboard after making the open sea, the boat made for the gaunt shapes in
the dusky light of men-o'-war at anchor at Spithead, but not before they had
passed close to the raucous revellers in the rickety old buildings of
Portsmouth Point, close enough to hear individual cheers and oaths.
    Kydd's
eyes