HMS Aurora: A Charles Mullins Novel (Sea Command Book 3) (18 page)

Jones retorted, “We must also consider, Captain, that we are at peace with France, and have been so for the past year.”

Mullins interjected, “When I called at the Verdes’ recently, there was talk about the possibility of the war resuming. Captain Revere, I would be glad if you could signal Aurora to pass within hail. I believe I must leave your delightful entertainment and return to my ship to investigate these strangers.”

As Mullins stood by the entry port awaiting his boat, Doris came to him. “Charles, I am most sorry that I have been so dreadful with you. Will you take me back to Aurora with you?”

Mullins, suddenly touched with remorse, replied, “Doris, I in turn apologize for being inattentive. Perhaps we can make our amends later. At this moment, we are faced with two ships, that may well wish us harm which could be unfriendly and may wish to do us harm. You must forgive me while I tend to them. For now, I think it best if you and Alfred remain on this ship.”

As Aurora closed with the Indiaman, Mullins climbed down into Captain Revere’s launch and was pulled over to his own ship. A few minutes later, Captain Jones left for the ‘Lord Sandwich’. The three Indiamen were all armed, and some of their officers had served in the Navy, at one time or another. If all the ships worked together, they could make any enemy work and suffer for any rewards.

The difficulty was, the Indiamen had sailed in a time of peace, where the only possibility of action would seem to be pirates. The crews of the big merchants had few trained gunners. It would be Aurora’s task to identify these strange ships, and see them off if they were unfriendly.

Aboard Aurora now, Mullins met with Mister Hardinger on the quarterdeck. The strangers were approaching from ahead and were now much closer than when last observed from Calcutta. Mister Archer, the mid with the best eyes, had just returned from the main cross-trees, where he had seen the tri-color flying from both of the visitors.

Mister Hardinger wondered if there had been any news of war on the Calcutta, but Mullins assured him they knew nothing more recent that what they had heard at the Cape Verde Islands. He gave his first officer instructions to put Aurora out ahead of the merchantmen, while giving Mister Adolphus, acting signals officer, the task of politely requesting the three Indiamen to alter course to starboard.

The big merchants obediently veered to the suggested course, but the oncoming corvettes altered to meet them and Aurora followed suit. At this time, the ship-sloop went to quarters, with all un-necessary furnishings struck below. The load on every gun was checked, and fresh charges readied on deck. Mullins intercepted Mister Evans as he went about his duty, instructing the Master Gunner to inform the gun captains of their duties before going below to his lair in the ship’s magazine. He wanted his gunners to open fire, if ordered, with ball loads, while being prepared to shift to grape or case loads at closer range.

As Aurora approached the leading corvette, she was slightly to windward of the enemy ship. By altering slightly to port, he could fire his forward guns on the starboard beam. Of course, at this moment, no one aboard ship knew for certain whether they were in a state of war yet. Only the French, having presumably sailed recently, would know that.

The leading French corvette, apparently pierced for twenty-two guns, was able to get off the first shots. Her two forward guns on the port beam belched smoke and fire simultaneously, followed by the staccato firing from her broadside guns. A half dozen balls impacted Aurora, without doing extensive harm. As was often the case, her guns had been aimed at Aurora’s tops, where little damage was done save for puncturing some canvas and the severing of a few lines. They were indeed at war!

A heartbeat later, Aurora’s guns discharged. The effects were somewhat different. Aurora’s nine-pounder guns threw much the same size of ball as did the Frenchmen’s eight-pounders, but the thirty-two pounder carronades mounted on forecastle and quarterdeck completely outclassed the French six-pounders in the same positons.

The carronades threw out a thirty-two pound iron ball, propelled by the same charge of powder that would normally be fired in a twenty-four pounder British long gun. The ball would leave the muzzle at somewhat slower speed than one fired from the long gun, but that made little difference at the target. The slower ball would send oaken splinters flying to cause serious wounds among the crew of the targeted ship.

The large ball would also cause extensive damage to the hull of the enemy, a fact of which the British gun crews had been made well aware. Many of the gunners tried with some success to direct their balls right at the water-line of the enemy.

As the battered corvette drifted down on Aurora, it could be seen that her sides were manned with hundreds of boarders, shouting and waving their weapons. A quick look around showed Captain Mullins the other corvette, this one smaller, pierced for sixteen guns, heading for the Calcutta.

Mullins knew Calcutta’s captain had once served as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy and had some experience dealing with enemy raiders. He decided he could ignore this second corvette for a few minutes, while he dealt with this one.

Ordering his midshipman messengers to run down the guns, informing all gunners to load half charges of powder with a ball and grape loaded on top. After that, case or grape would be loaded. As they came up alongside the corvette, a long musket shot away, both broadsides roared out. The French guns were directed at Aurora’s midships where they caused serious mayhem, as did Aurora’s own attempt. The difference was the French had fired solid ball, while the British ship used both ball and grape. The grape-shot, plum-sized iron balls, spread out like a load of duck shot and decimated the packed mass of boarders along the enemy’s sides, while the large balls accomplished their own task of destruction

The French captain had misjudged badly. He had intended to bring his ship alongside Aurora, to send massed boarders aboard his target. To obtain the necessary men, he had stripped his gun crews of most of their men, leaving sufficient to fire their last broadside, but not enough to reload in a timely fashion.

He had not been able to bring his ship alongside, there being a distance of a musket shot between the ships as they passed. Those massed boarders had not been able to rush onto Auroras’ deck, instead many died at their posts.

Aurora passed behind the French corvette, and came across her stern. Mullins had screamed orders to reload with ball, which some of the gunners had actually heard, then he fired the salvo into the enemy’s stern. A devastating barrage of ball and grape took out a large percentage of the people remaining, as well as damaging the enemy’s sternpost. She could no longer steer.

Leaving her shattered enemy, Aurora set after the second corvette. This one, knowing now she had no chance against the British warship, went right at Calcutta, hoping to take that Indiaman before Aurora could rescue her.

Captain Revere, instead of fleeing, turned to await his enemy, in the meantime fleshing out his gun crews with those passengers who had gained experience during the years in India. A dozen twelve-pounders, as well as numerous swivel guns brought from storage, waited for the enemy. In addition, almost every family returning from the sub-continent had at least one serious weapon available, some had many more than that.

The enemy captain was not about to take any chances. At the risk of damaging timbers, he sent his corvette slamming against the towering Indiaman. The twelve-pounders started their thunder, then the swivel guns made their ontribution. When the ships collided and the boarders began their climb up the ship’s side, the individual weapons of the passengers joined the chorus. Weapons designed for killing tigers began delivering their deadly loads at point blank range into the boarders.

Not only men, but women also took their place, firing at the enemy coming up the sides. One gaunt woman of fifty or so, who had spent much of her adult life on the Indian frontier, fired off both loads from her bird gun, then dropped that and went to work with a carving knife, slashing at any arm or hand that appeared on her section of the bulwark.

The action had almost been decided when Aurora crashed into the corvette. It had been a hard fight across the Indiaman’s deck, but meantime some few members of the French boarding party had gained access to Calcutta’s fore-deck, where they were holding forth. Doris was there with Mrs. Cooper. The women had left Alfred in the care of Amala, down in the ship’s depths.

The women were not familiar with this area of the ship, but knew, in order to penetrate to the compartment where Alfred was hidden, any of the French boarding party would need to come though this hatch and climb down a series of ladders.

Of course, by this time, the thoughts on this group of Frenchmen did not concern harming passengers or children. They well knew their messmates were being slaughtered left, right and center by the passengers they had come to loot. They merely wished to find a compartment where they could find a hiding place until the blood-lust aboard this ship was quenched. There were only four of them and they all knew none of their party would survive longer than a heartbeat on the ship’s deck.

Of course, Doris and Mrs. Cooper did not realize this. They were sure these French boarders were ravening beasts who would spit their infant on their bayonets.

Doris had seen her husband’s ship dealing death and destruction to the other French warship and decided she must do the same to these ravishers if they were to save the baby.

From the deck, Doris recovered a musket, dropped by one of the slain servants, who had been detailed to defend the passengers. The peaceful man had not known how to fire the piece, and had dropped it unfired as he fell from a sword slash to his neck.

Doris did know how most firelocks worked, although she had never fired a weapon as heavy as this one. Beside the body was a strange looking blade, deadly looking, with a large ruby imbedded in the bloody hilt. Knowing she would have only one shot with the musket, she took the knife too.

Mrs. Cooper did not wish to fool with any heavy musket, but she did take up a seaman’s cutlass. When the desperate band of Frenchmen encountered the women, all would have surrendered immediately had they had the chance. They did not receive one. Doris leveled her musket and fired it blindly at the men, who were but a pace or two away. The massive ball penetrated the body of one man, killing him instantly, then passed into the body of another behind him. This man was not killed immediately, but his body was ruined and he would die of shock and blood loss before nightfall.

Doris dropped her musket and went after the third man with her dagger. He tried to defend himself with his cutlass, but Mrs. Cooper was there with her own and slashed his neck as Doris imbedded her blade in his chest. The fourth man stood there paralyzed by fear. Mrs. Cooper brought out her little pistol and fired it into his chest.

The women were still there when Mullins dropped through the hatch. Doris had worried the dagger from the bony chest of the man she had stabbed and Mrs. Cooper had recovered her cutlass. Both were ready to resume combat at any minute and nearly attacked Mullins when he came upon them. Fortunately, the blood lust had gone from Doris’ mind and she recognized her husband.

Mullins had his sword in his hand and he withdrew a step and raised his blade inn salute to the women. Doris did not quite know how to reply with her little dagger, but Mrs. Cooper answered the salute adequately with her cutlass. Then, they went below to find Alfred Charles, who was being entertained by Amala, a lovely young woman from the subcontinent.

The young woman gasped at the sight of all the blood but Alfred was unaffected, laughing with delight when he saw his father, and held up his arms hoping to be flung into the air.

To Be Continued

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His Majesty’s Brig Alert, print version available

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Thunder on the Sea (print version available)

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