Their Lordships Request: A Harry Heron Adventure (40 page)

             
Recklessly
he
jumped
from
the
gangway
to
land
heavily,
but
without
injury,
on
a
corpse
below
him.
He
picked
himself
up
and
scrambled
to
where
the
Master
'
s
Mate,
one
sleeve
torn
and
bloodied
from
a
slash
wound,
was
trying
to
muster
his
remaining
men.
"
Quick,
Mister
Bates,
we
must
fire
on
them
as
they
pull
away.
He
surely
cannot
avoid
our
guns
now.
"

             
"
Aye,
Mister
Heron,
and
so
we
will
if
we
can
but
get
these
grinning
idiots
of
our
'
n
to
jump
to
it.
Get
moving
you
idlers,
"
he
bawled.
"
Get
them
guns
loaded
–
and
no
skimping
on
the
charge.
I
want
full
charge
and
double
shot.
Move!
"

***

             
Ferghal
recovered
his
fallen
cutlass
and,
more
carefully
now,
gave
his
support
to
the
older
man
who
had
saved
him.
His
head
hurt,
and
the
blood
from
the
cut
he
had
received
ran
down
his
face,
but
his
fighting
temper
was
now
up
and
he
locked
blades
with
a
corsair
and
drove
at
him
with
a
skill
born
of
cold,
calculating
fury.
If
they
wanted
to
take
him
for
a
slave
they
'
d
best
be
prepared
to
have
a
hard
fight.
The
thunder
of
the
broadside
distracted
him
briefly,
just
long
enough
to
see
Harry
leap
to
the
maindeck
and
then
he
was
once
more
slashing
and
cutting
at
any
who
crossed
his
path.

***

             
Harry
found
himself
dancing
a
little
jig
as
he
waited
on
the
loading
and
watched
the
xebec
slowly
opening
the
gap
between
herself
and
the
Maid
of
Selsey
.
He
realised
it
was
her
oars
which
made
it
possible
for
these
ships
to
escape
so
rapidly
and
he
shouted
to
the
Master
'
s
Mate
as
that
worthy
indicated
the
guns
were
ready,
"
Aim
for
the
oars.
If
we
can
cripple
those
she
will
be
easy
meat
for
the
Spartan
!
"

             
The
Master
'
s
Mate
gave
him
a
strange
look,
then
nodded,
"
Very
good,
sir.
You
heard
him
lads
–
make
sure
of
them,
take
the
outriggers
as
your
mark
and
wait
for
my
signal.
"
He
paused
until
all
the
captains
indicated
readiness
then
bawled,
"
Fire!
"

             
The
four
guns
leapt
backwards
in
a
ragged
broadside.
The
men
sprang
to
reload
and
Harry
dived
for
a
port
to
see
what
happened.
The
smoke
eddied
clear
and
he
saw
to
his
initial
delight
more
than
half
the
oars
on
the
xebecs
port
side
were
a
tangled,
shattered
mass.
Then
he
felt
the
cold
clutch
of
horror
as
he
saw
the
oarsmen
attached
to
them
were
now
broken
shattered
rags.
As
he
watched
some
of
the
survivors
began
to
struggle
to
free
themselves,
hindered
by
the
chains
he
could
now
see
held
them
to
their
benches.
His
horror
turned
to
rage
as
he
saw
the
corsairs
attack
these
wretched
scarecrows
with
whips,
forcing
them
back
to
the
effort
of
rowing.
He
leapt
back
from
the
port
and
said,
"
Master
'
s
Mate,
I
want
each
gun
aimed
and
fired
at
the
gangways
and
the
quarterdeck
of
that
ship,
"
not
noticing
his
voice
was
suddenly
deeper
and
firmer.
"
I
want
as
many
of
those
fiends
destroyed
as
possible
–
see
to
it,
Mister
Bates.
"

             
"
Aye,
aye,
sir!
"
The
Master
'
s
Mate
looked
at
the
child
suddenly
a
man
and
ordered,
"
Dudley,
stand
aside
there,
stand
by
the
training
spikes,
this
bastard
isn
'
t
going
to
escape.
"

             
Harry
watched
dispassionately
as
the
Master
'
s
Mate
pointed
each
gun
as
carefully
as
he
could
and
fired.
The
first
struck
on
the
decorated
transom
raising
a
great
shower
of
splinters,
the
second
struck
nearby,
but
obviously
caused
more
damage
for
the
ship
slewed
round,
exposing
her
side
to
the
next
shot
which
struck
a
mast
and
sent
a
shower
of
splinters
scything
through
the
corsairs
clustered
near
it.
The
fourth
shot,
by
lucky
chance,
struck
near
the
xebecs
bowchasers,
overturning
one
gun
and
careening
off
it
to
scythe
through
another
cluster
of
men
gathered
at
the
fore
end
of
the
ship.
Further
firing
was
rendered
unnecessary
as
the
sky
darkened
under
the
shadow
cast
by
the
towering
canvas
of
HMS
Spartan
as
she
tacked
across
the
Maid
of
Selsey
'
s
stern,
her
ports
open
and
her
great
batteries
run
up
and
ready
to
fire.
On
the
corsair,
panic
ensued
as
the
pirates
scrambled
to
throw
themselves
into
the
sea
even
as
Spartan
'
s
broadside
began
to
thunder
across
the
intervening
space.
Harry
turned
away
as
the
lightly
framed
xebec
disintegrated,
torn
apart
by
the
smashing
power
of
the
great
thirty-two
pounders
of
the
lower
battery
and
the
lighter
twenty
fours
of
her
upper
tier.