HMS Aurora: A Charles Mullins Novel (Sea Command Book 3) (8 page)

Mullins nodded his understanding. “Then you will all be attending one. The gibbets on shore will be crowded with all of your bodies on display.”

“Sir, with all respect, that will not happen. We will take the ship to a port where we will be safe.”

The captain replied. “I wonder where that might be? You could go to France, but I doubt their leaders will want a batch of mutineers in their midst. At best, you’ll find yourselves conscripted into the French army.”

“Sir, we can go to America. The Navy will never get their hands on us there. In the meantime, we need you to leave the quarterdeck. You can go to the wardroom or your own cabin, Captain.

Mullins retorted, “It may be a struggle for you to remove us, Harris. We do have weapons, as you can see, and blood will be spilled if you try to force us below.”

“Captain, if you fire on us, we will do the same to you. There are many more of us and we have more weapons. You will all die for nothing.”

Mullins tried a different approach. “This mutiny began because you found you were not returning to home port but were staying in the Mediterranean. If this continues, how will you ever see your homes and families again? Harris, consider this. From what I know, I believe only a few men actually used violence to gain their end. I killed one of those in my quarters only a few minutes ago. I believe many hands, previously loyal, have not yet decided which way they are to jump. I can assure you, the Navy will do whatever it can to avoid hanging an entire ship’s crew. If I can tell the court many hands, after initially refusing to follow orders, returned back to duty upon my request, I am certain those hands will be given the benefit of a doubt.”

Harris answered, “Sir, if we changed course now, we would have to testify against our mates. That is something I will not do. You mentioned our homes and families. If we give it up now, we will never see them again, anyway. We will all be dragged off to cells and tried on charges of mutiny. The last thing any of us would see would be the hood being placed over our heads before we are run up to the main yardarm. Now Captain, I fear the men are becoming impatient. Will you go peacefully, or must we force you?”

At a word from Mullins, all their arms were laid on the deck and the men filed below into the wardroom. Amidst some muttering among the mutineers, the men who had been standing at the helm filed below with the others. Some tried to force these men back up on deck but Harris intervened. “We are none of us going to force a man to put his neck in a noose. If these men want to side with the officers, that is their right.”

Harris had explained to Captain Mullins that he was free to return to his own cabin, but for the time being he felt he should remain with the loyal men. Several were very uncomfortable in the officer’s wardroom. The helmsmen, Jacobs and Porter were seamen who had remained loyal and refused to take part in the mutiny. Hudson too was present, but as captain’s clerk, he was more used to these surroundings. These men feared returning to the mess deck, so it was agreed they would live with the officers here.

The next few days passed with monotony as the ship-sloop left the Med and made its way out into the Atlantic. Mullins had hoped to encounter members of the fleet on their way out, but nothing was seen immediately. The men kept a close watch from the wardroom’s stern windows as well as the open gun ports.

Apparently the mutineers were also keeping watch, since on the third day, they heard the hail from the masthead. The sightings were identified as a third rate and an accompanying frigate. The mutineers did not have the ship’s signal book and could not read their numbers, but some of the men on deck were overheard identifying them as Triumphant, 74 and Stag, 28.

The imprisoned officers could not immediately see the oncoming ships, but the mutineers, apparently alarmed at not being able to answer the signals of the pair, turned away and presented the ship’s stern to the newcomers.

The loyal men in the wardroom were now able to see the oncoming warships through the stern window, the third rate was seen signaling, punctuating her signals by firing a gun. Mister Adolphus, often serving as signal officer, knew many of them by heart, and was able to read them off for the others.

Adolphus reported, “HMS Triumphant wants us to identify ourselves and to send our captain. She is now signaling to HMS Stag to pursue.”

Mullins knew Stag to be an especially fast ship and thought she might be able to overtake Aurora, especially while she was in the hands of this inexperienced crew.

“Mister Adolphus, did you not say you had a few signal flags you recovered?”

“Yes sir, I can signal, ‘Engage the enemy more closely’, but that would be meaningless to our pursuers.”

“Not so, Mister Adolphus. By now, with no reply from us, Triumphant’s captain must be considering that we are now in French hands and may be considered an enemy. We will hang our flags from the stern window and hope they are seen.”

No evidence of their pursuers seeing the signal flags was seen, and it seemed this would develop into a long chase. Wishing to give their pursuers something to encourage them, Mullins eyes fell on the two big carronades bowsed up against their wardroom gun ports. Mullins always kept his guns aboard ship loaded, although their flintlock firing mechanisms were locked up in the magazine.

The men prepared the guns for firing, and ran out the gun most visible to the Triumphant. With no firing mechanism or priming quill, it would be more difficult to fire, although Mister Daley solved the problem by producing a cased set of dueling pistols from his little cabin. In the elaborate case was a flask of powder.

One of the pistols was charged with priming powder and a generous supply of powder poured down the carronade’s touchhole.

At the last minute, someone realized the mutineers would be calling on them once they fired the big gun, so furniture was piled against the wardroom door. Once the preparations were complete, Daley stood by the gun and held his pistol upside down over the gun’s vent. Pulling the trigger sent a shower of sparks into the pistol’s pan, and the resulting flash also ignited the powder in the big gun’s vent. The gun fired with a deafening roar in the confines of the wardroom and produced a cloud of smoke even the blindest of lookouts could not ignore.

A moment later, both Triumphant and Stag set every sail that would stand and the pair of ships began slowly overtaking them. A commotion erupted on Aurora’s deck, with some hands wishing to surrender while others insisted on fighting. A crowd of men came to the wardroom door, but Daley and Mullins were waiting with the pair of dueling pistols, both now fully charged with powder and ball.

The door was thin and easily defeated, but before the crowd attacking it could make any headway, Mullins fired his single shot, chest high into the closed door. A shout of pain resulted and Mullins immediately began recharging the weapon. Dumping an unmeasured charge down the bore, he dropped in an unpatched ball and dropped a pinch of powder in the pan.

Before he was finished, Daley fired his own weapon, resulting in more cries of pain. After the captain fired again, the men on the other side of the door seemingly departed. The occupants of the wardroom, left alone for a time, attempted to reinforce their position. The long table was turned on its side and placed diagonally across the room. This might impede any rush, should the mutineers break down the door.

Only a tiny amount of powder remained in the flask, so the port-side gun was drawn in and the ball extracted. The powder cartridge in the gun was removed and some of the powder used to make up small cartridges that would fit in the pistols. The powder from the gun was large grained, and more difficult to ignite, so the tiny portion of the remaining powder would be used to prime the pistols.

Engrossed in their work, the men were surprised when a pair of Aurora’s guns fired. Stag had come up off Aurora’s quarter, and now was within range. The frigate replied by veering to port and firing a broadside. The sound of the heavy balls smashing into the ship-sloop was most alarming to the men confined in the wardroom.

The sounds of panicked men echoed through the ship as many sought refuge below decks. Without officers, many of the more untrained individuals had no idea of what they were to do. In addition, the long-service men were reluctant to fire upon men on the opposing ships who they may well have served with before.

Triumphant was not visible from their viewpoint in the wardroom, but she too was within range as evidenced by the terrible broadside she loosed. Unwilling to face this fire, the ship came to and awaited boarding.

Apparently, some of the mutineers were not ready to give up their freedom, as there was the occasional snapping of small arms as the ship was boarded.

Moments later, a voice at the wardroom door announced himself to be Lieutenant Raynor of HMS Stag. With some effort, the obstructions were cleared away and the door opened. Raynor proved to be a former midshipman on a previous command of Mullins, now a junior lieutenant.

Raynor was all smiles to see his former captain alive and well but had to inform Captain Mullins he was under orders to deliver him, as well as any other loyal crewmembers to Triumphant. Mullins assured the officer that as far as he knew, all of the loyal hands were in this wardroom.

On board Triumphant, Mullin s met with Captain Harding, where he produced his log of the recent events. Mister Evans had already delivered his own log as had Lieutenant Daley. Harding had, as yet, not had the time to examine these logs closely, but in any case, that might be better left to the court.

It was a matter of weeks before the trials were over and those convicted had been hauled by the nooses around their necks up to Aurora’s main yardarm. There, they twisted until death relieved them of their agony.

At this point, Mullins was about ready to give up the sea. He had trusted these men and they had betrayed not only him, but themselves and their own families. Harris was one he hated to see meet his end.

A good seaman, he died attempting to prove to his mates they could depend on him. Heartily disgusted, Mullins accepted half pay and returned to London. HMS Aurora had been extensively damaged by gunfire and it was not certain whether she would be repaired. Leaving his London address with the Port Admiral’s secretary, he caught the first available coach, taking with him both Hudson and Archer. Not wishing to incur Mrs. Cooper’s ire by bringing home two uninvited guests, he engaged rooms in London for the pair and gave them money to subsist. Archer was told to come around the house weekly to learn any news. He requested Hudson continue Archer’s education, on the off chance the midshipman might return to the navy.

As for himself, he had the gravest doubts the Royal Navy would ever trust him with another command.

Mrs. Cooper, as always, was happy to see him again. She had cared for him since he was an infant and regarded him as she would a son. Doris Walker was the maid who had earlier became very attached to her exciting employer and had sobbed privately when he went back to his ship.

A few months before. a young blade taking residence next door had shown interest in her, and her thoughts were awhirl. Mrs. Cooper was well aware of the direction young women’s thoughts led them, and spent much time advising her. Mrs. Cooper regarded the young man as an adventurer who had but one object in mind.

The housekeeper, fearing how matters could develop, wished heartily for the return of Master Charles, who she judged to be a steadying influence on the young woman. Doris, beginning to learn the ways of the world now, decided she was most displeased at the precipitous way Mullins had left the house.

She responded by becoming passionately involved with the young stranger. Mrs. Cooper was at her wits end. She almost wished she could influence young Mullins to call this man out, but she well knew the outcome of these affairs could not be accurately predicted.

The couple had a seemingly insurmountable problem. The lad’s father was a strict Calvinist who had a very strict attitude toward these modern attitudes of premarital activities. The father kept his son on a very strict rein in regards to his purse, and the couple had no place to go to practice the delights the young blade promised the young woman. The youth’s own housekeeper was charged to inform the father of any inappropriate activity, so any improper behavior in that house was out of the question.

Doris was able to solve the quandary. One of the other members of the household staff showed her, in secret, the hidden staircase leading to Master Charles room. While the young naval officer was away at sea, the room was disused. Mrs. Cooper had assigned Doris the task of keeping the room dusted and ready for Master Charles return.

Doris’ beau was allowed to visit her in the servant’s common room to socialize. On one of these occasions, she showed him the door to the staircase, and the exploring pair went to the room above, where Doris received her first instructions in the arts of love.

The staircase was frequently used during the coming weeks, until the lad found another young woman, more socially acceptable to his parent than a mere house maid. While the new young woman lacked the charms of Doris, she came with a private fortune to which her husband would have free access.

The timing of this was somewhat fortunate, since Mullins might have had reservations about sharing his room with a rutting couple. Upon his return home. on one of his early excursions about town, he encountered Jane Harris, an actress he had come to know very well when he had been in town before. Jane had apparently fallen upon hard times in the months he had been gone, as her clothing was worn and in need of repair. There were lines in her face and neck that had not been there before, and it was possible she was not eating regularly.

Mullins, with much on his mind, was at a point where he desperately needed someone to talk with, so on an impulse, he pulled the mare up beside her and asked if he could offer her a ride. Jane was caught aback herself. Her most recent affair was over, she was destitute and had no idea where she might obtain her next meal.

Once a strikingly beautiful woman who could command the attention of every man in sight, she now found it difficult to attract any but lower class types. Never careful with money, she had always been able to acquire needed funds from the men she was able to casually entrance. Men now seemed to guard their purses more carefully and alluring smiles and gentle hints were rarely effective in obtaining funds these days.

For all that, she was a proud woman, who disliked showing off her deteriorating fortunes to a former lover. She almost ordered him away, but her stomach took that moment to remind her she had had no food all day. Mullins helped her into the chaise and off they went. After making small talk for some time, he asked her if she would like to stop in a little place he knew, where they could obtain a decent glass of wine and perhaps some light refreshments.

As it happened, Jane was well known at the establishment, having visited it frequently on the arm of a previous lover. Fortunately, nothing was said as she entered on the arm of this young officer and she was able to satisfy her hunger and thirst, at the cost of listening to Mullin’s troubles.

Having been at sea for a lengthy period, Mullins ability to understand feminine wiles were at a very low ebb and he paid little attention to her deteriorating appearance. As far as he was concerned, she was still the most attractive human being he had seen in a very long time. When Mullins realized he was late for an appointment, he apologized and offered to take her to her rooms.

Jane’s problem was, she had only hours before been evicted from the rooms Mullins had taken for her previously and at this moment had no place where she could go. It was with extreme embarrassment that Jane could explain her difficulty to Mullins.

Almost overburdened with problems himself, it was a pleasure for him to solve such a simple problem for an exciting woman. Accepting that he would necessarily be late for his appointment, he drove Jane to a likely street and took the first rooms they found. After getting her installed, he paid the landlady for three months, gave Jane a good portion of the contents of his purse and went to his appointment, assuring her he would be back later on that evening.