Their Lordships Request: A Harry Heron Adventure (124 page)

             
"
Perhaps
the
best
option.
"
The
Captain
considered
a
moment.
"
But
hold
off
the
transfer
until
I
have
seen
the
Governor
and
the
Company
agent.
The
company
will
no
doubt
wish
to
discover
the
reason
their
diplomatic
agent
and
the
crew
of
the
brig
were
seized.
"

***

             
"
That
is
easily
answered,
Captain
Blackwood,
"
said
Governor
Duncan,
welcoming
the
Captain
to
the
well-appointed
and
airy
office.
"
Our
Agent
was
en
route
to
the
Sultan
of
Oman.
It
seems
our
agreement
with
His
Majesty
is
now
to
be
subjected
to
an
attempt
to
frustrate
it
by
the
French.
I
have
had
word
today
that
Bonaparte
has
broken
the
terms
of
the
Peace
and
is
amassing
the
Grande
Armee
on
the
channel
coast.
No
doubt
the
King
and
Parliament
will
be
even
now
re-arming
the
ships
laid
up
in
Portsmouth,
Chatham
and
elsewhere.
"
He
frowned.
"
It
is,
of
course,
possible
that
they
hope
to
form
an
alliance
and
revive
the
late
war
in
Mysore.
Though
with
Tipu
Sultan
dead
and
his
henchmen
scattered
and
hunted,
I
doubt
they
can
hope
to
achieve
much.
"

             
"
That
is
fortunate
for
our
case.
But
why
would
they
have
travelled
in
these
Dhows?
Unless
it
was
to
escape
notice
somewhere
along
this
coast,
"
Captain
Blackwood
replied.

             
"
As
you
say,
and
perhaps
that
is
the
intent.
"
The
Governor
was
silent
a
moment
then
he
said,
"
Captain,
I
must
ask
you
to
take
a
new
agent
to
Muscat
on
my
behalf.
I
had
wished
to
send
a
more
powerful
ship
in
the
first
place
but
none
was
then
available.
Perhaps
a
show
of
strength
will
nip
this
in
the
bud
and
arrest
the
French
efforts
to
stir
the
Arabian
princes
into
joining
their
unholy
alliance.
"

             
"
As
you
wish,
sir.
My
ship
can
be
ready
to
depart
within
two
days;
we
must
needs
obtain
some
replenishment
of
fresh
supplies
while
we
are
able.
"

             
"
Have
your
purser
supply
my
clerk
with
the
list
of
your
requirements
and
I
will
instruct
our
victuallers
to
supply
these
at
Company
rates.
"

***

             
For
Harry,
Kit
and
the
other
Midshipmen,
Bombay
was
a
fascinating
place.
A
thriving
hub
and
a
meeting
place
for
several
cultures.
Brightly
coloured
saris
rubbed
shoulders
with
sombre
robes
on
some
of
the
men,
lower
caste
men
and
women
wore
less
exotic
garb
and
here
and
there
Musim
women
went
about
their
business
in
variations
of
the
veil,
burka
or
simply
a
headscarf
covering
their
hair.
Intricately
decorated
facades
fronted
the
bay,
one
large
building
being
identified
by
the
First
as
a
palace.

             
"A
Maharajah,
I
think
the
owner
is
styled.
A
sort
of
Prince
under
the
former
Moghul
Emperors,"
he
told
the
midshipmen
as
the
stared
in
awe
at
the
crowded
quays
and
buildings
along
the
frontage.

             
As
in
Colombo,
mosques
rubbed
shoulders
with
temples
and
even
churches.
Though
these
were
decorated
in
a
manner
Harry
was
sure
old
Mister
Paisley,
the
minister
in
his
home
parish
would
not
have
approved.
Even
the
ship
'
s
own
Parson,
a
man
of
liberal
outlook
on
matters
of
faith
for
the
most
part,
was
shocked
at
the
decoration
of
one
church
he
visited.

             
"
I
saw
no
difference
between
it
and
the
heathen
temples
with
their
false
gods
and
goddesses
cavorting
in
every
niche,
"
he
exclaimed
as
he
settled
in
the
sternsheets
of
the
launch
to
be
rowed
back
to
the
ship.
"
I
am
not
sure
that
they
even
understand
the
good
book
'
s
strictures
against
idolatry.
"

             
Harry,
in
charge
of
the
boat,
held
his
tongue
and
let
Mister
Bentley
run
on.
Though
soon
the
clergyman
drifted
away
from
his
shock
at
a
church
filled
with
carved
images
all
brightly
decorated
and
painted,
some
even
dressed
with
garlands
of
flowers,
and
into
a
discourse
on
the
local
flora
and
fauna.
He
had,
it
appeared,
encountered
a
team
of
elephants
engaged
in
dragging
goods
to
a
warehouse
and
had
taken
the
opportunity
to
examine
one
of
the
beasts
at
close
quarters.