Mutiny (28 page)

_{'Er,
aye, sir.'}

_{'Some in the service
would regard it more lightly than I, but I would not have it in question, sir,
other than that I would rather put my duty, as asked of me, ahead of anything I
hold dear in this world. Is that clear?' 'Aye aye, sir.'}

_{He picked up a paper. 'This
is duty! It is from the King himself.' He paused as if struck by sudden doubt,
then recovered. 'Shall I read it to you?'}

_{'If y' please, sir.' It
was probably his commission: Kydd had never seen an officer's commission, the
instrument that made them, under the King's Majesty, of almost sacred power
aboard a man-o'-war. He had heard that it contained the most aweful strictures
regarding allegiance and duty, and he was probably going to read them to Kydd
before striking his blow.}

_{'Very well.' His lips moved soundlessly
as he scanned down to the right spot:}

_{'"The
Queen's House, the 10th day of May, 1797.}

_{'"The Earl of
Spencer, to avoid any delay in my waiting . .." er, and so forth ".
.. that a fitting reception for the newly wed Princess Royal and His Serene
Highness the Prince of Wurttemburg be made ready preparatory to their
embarkation in San Fiorenzo for their honeymoon. Also attending will be Colonel
Gwynn, Lord Cathcart and the Clerk of the Green Cloth and two others. I desire
orders be given ..." more detail "... by return rider."}

_{'There! What did you think of that? From
His Majesty, Mr Kydd.'}

_{'I — er, I don' know what t' think, sir.
Er, the honour!'}

_{Clearly pleased with the effect, Hawley
unbent a little. 'Means we are required to mount an assembly of sorts for the
Princess Royal and party prior to their boarding San Fiorenzo. I've spoken to
Lieutenant Binney, who will be involved in the entertainments, and Mr Eastman
will be looking into the refreshments. Of course, Captain Dwyer will have
returned from the court martial by then.'}

_{Fighting the tide of relief, Kydd tried
to make sense of it. To be meeting royalty was not to be taken calmly and it
would be something to bring up casually at mess for years to come. 'Sir, what—'}

_{'In the nature of these things, it is
possible that the party may be delayed or San Fiorenzo is obliged to take an
earlier tide, in which case the whole occasion will have to be abandoned.'}

_{'What
is my duty, if y' please?'}

_{'Ah, yes. You will understand that a
royal retinue is accustomed to an order of civilised conduct above that
normally to be found in a ship of war. Your, er, origins make you uniquely
qualified for this duty.'}

_'Sir?'

_{'You will ensure that
the ship's company as far as possible is kept out of sight, away from the gaze
of this party, that those unavoidably on duty are strictly enjoined to abjure
curses, froward behaviour and unseemly displays, and that silence is kept
below. You may employ any expression of discipline you sec fit.'}

_{Despite his relief,
Kydd felt a dull resentment. What were his men, that they must be herded away
from the gaze of others, they with whom he had shared so many dangers by sea
and malice of the enemy? 'Aye aye, sir,' he said softly.}

_{'So we—' Hawley broke
off with a frown. From the deck above sounded the thump of many feet, ending suddenly,
just as if the cry of 'all hands on deck' had sounded.}

_{He stared at Kydd. 'Did
you—' Distantly there came the unmistakable clamour of cheers, a crescendo of
sound that echoed, then was taken up and multiplied from all around them.}

_{'Good heavens! You
don't suppose—' Seizing his cocked hat, Hawley strode out on deck, closely
followed by Kydd. It seemed the entire ship's company of Achilles was cheering
in the lower rigging, a deafening noise.}

_{Around the anchorage in
the other ships it was the same. In the flagship Sandwich the rigging was black
with frantically waving seamen, the urgent tan-tara of a trumpet sounding above
the disorder, the crack of a signal gun on her fo'c'sle adding point to the
moment.}

_{'You, sir,' Hawley
shouted, at a bemused midshipman. 'What the devil is going on?'}

_{Before he could answer, a crowd of
seamen moved purposefully towards him on the quarterdeck, ignoring the others
in the shrouds cheering hoarsely. Kydd's stomach tightened. He knew what was
afoot}

_{They didn't hesitate.
Kydd saw Farnall conspicuously in front, Boddy and Jewell, some of his own
forward gun-crews, others, all with the same expression of grim resolution.
They were not armed: they didn't need to be.}

_{'Sir,' said Eli Coxall
gravely to the first lieutenant. 'I'll trouble ye for the keys t' the
magazine.'}

_{Shocked, Hawley stared
at him. The cheering in the rigging stopped, and men dropped to the deck,
coming aft to watch. Kydd stood paralysed: a mutiny was now taking place.}

_{'Now,
sir, if you please!' Farnall's voice held a ring of authority, a quota man
turned mutineer, and it goaded Kydd into anger. He clenched his fists and
pushed towards him. 'Do ye know what ye've done, man?' he blazed. 'All y'r
shipmates, headin' for a yardarm—'}

_{The big bulk of Nelms,
a seaman Kydd knew more for his strength than judgement, shoved beside Farnall.
'Now, yer can't talk ter Mr Farnall like that, Mr Kydd.'}

_{Kydd sensed the
presence of others behind him, and looked unbelieving at Coxall, Boddy and
others he knew. They stared back at him gravely.}

_{'This is open mutiny,
you men,' Hawley began nervously, 'but should you return to your duty, then—'}

_{'We have charge o' the
ship,' Coxall said firmly. It was a well-organised coup that was all but over.}

_{Binney's
voice came from behind. 'Sir, do you—'}

_{Hawley recovered. 'No,
Mr Binney, I do not believe hasty actions will answer. These scoundrels are out
of their wits at the moment, but they do have the ship.' He turned to Coxall.
'Very well. You shall have the keys. What is it you plan to do with the vessel?
Turn it over to the French?'}

_{'Oh, no, sir.' Only
Farnall showed an expression of triumph; Coxall's voice continued level and
controlled. 'We're with our brethren in Spithead, sir, in their just actions.
I'd be obliged were ye to conform t' our directions.'}

_{Kydd held his breath.
It was as if the heavens had collapsed on them all, and he dreaded what was to
come.}

_{'And
these are?' Hawley hissed.}

_{'Well, sir, we has the
good conduct o' the fleet well at heart, so if we gets y'r word you'll not move
against us, why, y' has the freedom o' the ship, you an' y' officers. We're not
goin't' sail, we're stayin' at moorin's till we've bin a-righted.' Kydd was
struck by Coxall's dignity in the appalling danger he stood in: he was now
undeniably marked out, in public, as a ringleader. 'My word?'}

_{'Aye,
sir, the word of a king's officer.'}

_{Hawley was clearly
troubled. It was deadly certain that the gravest consequences would follow,
whatever happened, and his every act - or omission — would be mercilessly
scrutinised. What was not at question was that if word was given, it would be
kept.}

_{The
crowd grew quiet, all eyes on the first lieutenant.}

_{'I,
er, give my word.'}

_{There was a rustle of
feeling, muttered words and feet shuffling.}

_{'Thank ye, sir,' Coxall
said. 'Then ye also have the word o' the delegates at the Nore that y' shan't
be touched.' Hawley began to speak, but Coxall cut him off. 'Sir, the business
o' the ship goes on, but we do not stir one inch t' sea.'}

_{'Very well.' Hawley had little choice —
in barely three minutes he had gone from command of a ship-of-the-line to an
irrelevancy.}

_{A scuffle of
movement and raised voices came from the fore-hatchway. A knot of men appeared,
propelling the boatswain aft, his hands roughly tied.}

_{'We gives 'im medicine as’ll cure his
gripin'!' crowed Cantlie, dancing from foot to foot in front of the detested
Welby. 'Go reeve a yard rope, mates!'}

_{From the main hatch the
boatswain jerked into view, hatless and with blood trickling from his nose, a
jeering crowd of seamen frogmarching him aft. 'Here's one t' do a littie dance
fer us!'}

_{It was met by a
willing roar, but Coxall cut in forcefully: 'Hold hard, y' clinkin' fools!
Remember, we got rules, we worked it out.'}

_{'Rules be buggered!' an
older fo'c'sle hand slurred. 'I gotta argyment wi' first luff needs settlin'
now!' Hawley, pale-faced, tensed.}

_{Coxall spoke quietly,
over his shoulder: 'Podger?' Nelms's beefy arm caught the troublemaker across
the face, throwing him to the deck. 'I said, mates, we got rules,' Coxall said
heavily. He turned to Boddy. 'Will, these two are t' be turned out o' the ship now.
C'n yer clear away the larb'd cutter?'}

_{A seaman with drawn
cutlass came on deck and reported to him. It seemed that the marines were
powerless, their arms under control and all resistance impossible.}

_{Coxall raised his voice to a practised
roar and addressed the confused and silent mass of men. 'Committee meets in
the st'b'd bay now. Anyone wants t' lay a complaint agin an officer c'n do it
there.' He glanced around briefly, then led his party out of sight below.}

_{Chapter 7}

_{Mutiny!
A word to chill the bowels. Achilles was now in the hands of mutineers, every
one of whom would probably swing for it, condemned by their own actions. Kydd
paced forward cautiously; men gave way to him as a master's mate just as they
had before. There were sailors in the waist at work clearing the waterways at
the ship's side, others sat on the main hatch, picking oakum. Forward a group
was seeing to the loosing and drying of headsails. A few stood about forlornly,
confused, rudderless.}

_{It was hardly credible:
here was a great ship in open insurrection and shipboard routines went on
largely as they did every day. Binney paced by on the opposite side of the
deck; seamen touched their hats and continued, neither abashed nor aggressive.}

_{Impulsively Kydd
clattered down the hatchway to the main deck and made his way to the ship's
bay, the clear area in the bluff bow forward of the riding bitts. There was a
canvas screen rigged across, with one corner laced up, a seaman wearing a
cutlass at ease there, on watch. 'I have a question f'r the delegates,' Kydd
told the man.}

_{He smiled briefly.
'Aye, an' I'm sure ye have,' he said, and peered inside. He straightened and
held back the corner flap. 'Ask yer questions, then,' he said, looking directly
at Kydd.}

_{Farnall sat at a table,
Boddy on his right. Others were on benches and sea-chests, about a dozen in
all. They were discussing something in low, urgent tones, while Farnall
shuffled a clutch of papers. Boddy wore a frown and looked uneasy.}

_{'What cheer, Tom?' This
came from Jewell, who was standing to one side. Boddy looked up and nodded.
Others stopped their talk and looked at him.}

_{'Nunky,
Will,' Kydd acknowledged.}

_{'And
to what do we owe this honour?' Farnall said.}

_{Kydd folded his arms.
'I came t' see if there's anyone c'n explain t' me this ragabash caper.'}

_{There were growls from
some, but one called, 'Tell 'im, Mr Farnall.'}

_{Farnall rose to his
feet. Gripping the lapels of his waistcoat he turned to Kydd, but before he
could speak, Kydd interrupted forcefully: 'No, I want t' hear it from a
reg'lar-built sailorman, not a land-toggie who doesn't know his arse from his
elbow about sailoring.'}

_{Farnall's face grew
tight, but he sat down. Boddy stood up and hurried over to Kydd, taking him by
the elbow and leaving the bay. 'Tom, it'll do yez no good to get up Farnall's
nose. He's a delegate now, an' he's got friends.'}