The Bombay Marines Read Free Page A

his ship.
    The cocked hat still resting on his knee, he continued,‘Excuse me for saying so, sir, but if we wait for the Navy to think of raiding our prison, there’ll be no men left for us.’
    Watson began shaking his bald head. ‘Prisoners for Marines, Horne? No, it’s not possible. Not possible at all. First, what proof do you have they wouldn’t mutiny as soon as you’re to sea?’
    ‘Sir, does a captain ever have assurance against mutiny?’
    Watson did not hear him. ‘And rivalries brought from prison, Horne. What about that? Convicted men are vicious, vengeful creatures.’
    ‘Are prison rivalries different, sir, from free men arguing about religion? Politics? Blood feuds?’
    Adam Horne continued to meet each criticism Watson made, arguing how he might deal with desertion, subterfuge, mutiny, even contagious diseases brought from dank, pestilent cells.
    Finally Watson turned from the window. ‘Horne,’ he said resignedly, ‘I’ve learnt over the years that the best way to convince a man that he’s mistaken is to allow him to discover the fact for himself. That is not always possible. But in this case, it is. You can go down to the dungeons and see the men you propose to turn into Marines. Then you can come back here and say you’ve got the idea out of your head.’
    Horne detected sarcasm in Watson’s voice but he didn’t care.
    ‘Thank you, sir.’
    ‘Lieutenant Todwell can supply you with a prison list as well as an armed guard.’
    Horne rose to his feet, the cocked hat in one hand.
    ‘One further matter, Horne.’
    ‘Sir?’
    Watson fixed his small blue eyes on Horne. ‘The Governors want Lally aboard that ship bound for England in six weeks’ time. This mission is urgent to the Company. It could also be very important to you, Horne. The kind of assignment an independent, strong-minded young officerlike you dreams of. Something to get your damned teeth into. But it also could be the end of your career. So don’t make it more difficult than it already is. Do you understand what I’m saying, Horne?’
    ‘Yes, sir.’
    Watson studied Home a few moments longer as if he were trying to break the protective wall with which Home always seemed to surround himself, then he shook his head. ‘Oh, the hell you understand,’ he exclaimed, waving his hand. ‘You’re just thinking about finding an able-bodied man or two down in that cess-pit. So go on. Get out of here.’
    Home held his salute until Watson dismissed him officially.
    * * *
    After Adam Home had left for the dungeon Commodore Watson went and stood by the window. Ignoring the swarm of wharfside activity and the ships tangled with fishing boats in the harbour, he stared blankly at the hazy line of mountains far away on the Indian mainland.
    When would the three Governors allow him to tell Home the reason why General Lally had to be moved from Fort St George? But apart from being unable to disclose full details of the mission, he was also troubled by having no men to assign to Horne for a squadron. The disappearance of one vessel gave him nightmares; news that half his command might be destroyed shattered him.
    Watson turned from the window. He wished he had not promised his wife, Emma, that he would stop drinking. A gin and lemon juice would settle his nerves. But no amount of gin was worth the risk of losing the woman who had stood by him for the last forty-two years.
    Watson had come out to India after retiring from a career in His Britannic Majesty’s Royal Navy. Rising to Rear Admiral of the Blue in the West Indies, Watson had acceptedthe post of Commodore and Commander-in-Chief of the Bombay Marine rather than settle down to a dull life of raising dogs in Surrey.
    But why had a young man like Adam Horne joined the Bombay Marine? Horne was young, personable, far more gifted than most officers Watson had met throughout the years. So why did not a bright young man, starting out in life, pursue a career in the Navy or the East India