Their Lordships Request: A Harry Heron Adventure (63 page)

             
On
deck
Harry
found
the
First
Lieutenant
engaged
in
conferring
with
one
of
the
Dutch
ship
'
s
officers.
The
wind
had
increased
in
strength
and
the
topmen
were
piped
aloft
even
as
he
reported
his
actions.
Glancing
aft
he
saw
a
huge
bird
soaring
along
the
crest
of
a
swell.
Fascinated
he
followed
its
flight.

             
"
Beautiful
aren
'
t
they?
"
said
the
Third
Lieutenant.
"
The
great
wandering
albatross.
Do
you
know
that
they
are
said
never
to
land?
"

             
"
Aye,
sir,
though
Mister
Bentley
says
it
is
not
true,
"
he
replied.
Adding,
"
Though
no
man
knows
where
they
do
land.
"
Watching
the
majestic
bird,
he
marvelled
at
its
seeming
mastery
of
its
element.

             
The
storm,
when
it
broke
upon
them,
was
a
fierce
one
and
the
topmen
struggled
aloft
again
and
again
to
re-secure
sails,
replace
fraying
halliards
or
to
further
shorten
sail.
Little
bar
the
occasional
glimpse
could
be
seen
of
the
other
ships,
and
the
hardship
of
their
human
cargo
only
imagined.
Day
followed
day
until
a
weak
sun
broke
through
the
storm
wrack
and
the
winds
subsided.

             
Once
the
ship
was
restored
to
her
usual
state
of
order,
Captain
Blackwood
gave
permission
for
a
"
make
and
mend
"
.

             
From
his
favourite
perch
in
the
fore
top
Harry
listened
to
the
strains
of
Ferghal
'
s
fiddle,
another,
a
fife
and
then
a
sound
he
had
last
heard
in
Chatham.
He
looked
down
at
the
fo
'
c
'
s
'
le
and
saw
the
small
figure
of
the
Dutch
boy,
Pieterzoon,
plying
a
bellows-like
device
he
did
not
recognise,
but
realised
that
it
must
be
the
accordion
Ferghal
had
once
spoken
of.
He
watched,
fascinated,
as
the
boy
pumped
the
square
boxlike
instrument
and
coaxed
from
it
a
medley
of
sound
to
accompany
the
fiddlers.

             
'
Truly,
'
Harry
thought
as
he
watched
and
listened.
'
Music
is
the
one
language
all
can
understand
–
a
language
of
mariners.
'
He
glanced
at
the
blaze
of
stars.
'
And
perhaps
of
the
very
stars
themselves.
'

-

             
Captain
Heron
looked
around
the
Control
Centre
as
he
took
his
seat
in
the
Command
Chair.
The
Centre
seemed
crowded
with
all
the
Command
Stations
manned
and
the
additional
'
passengers
'
–
all
the
Dockyard
Heads
of
Department
and
representatives
of
Fleet
–
along
for
the
ride.
Of
course
it
ran
far
deeper
than
just
a
joy
ride,
in
reality
every
representative
had
some
function
to
observe
or
was
simply
there
to
advise
on
any
troubleshooting
that
may
be
needed.
Still,
it
was
a
pity
they
couldn
'
t
all
have
been
consigned
to
the
Flag
Command
Centre
further
aft,
but
unfortunately,
as
yet,
not
operational.

             
He
keyed
his
link.
"
Engineering
to
stand-by.
"

             
"
Engineering
standing
by.
"
Mary
Allison
'
s
voice
sounded
quietly
confident.

             
"
Docking
Party,
release
all
but
the
lateral
tethers
and
confirm.
"

             
"
Releasing
bow
and
fin
tethers;
bow
and
fin
tethers
released,
lateral
tethers
still
engaged.
"

             
"
All
tugs
–
confirm
your
lines
are
engaged.
"

             
"
Tug
Powerful
here,
Captain,
"
reported
the
senior
tug
commander.
"
We
'
re
ready
to
draw
you
out.
"

             
"
Very
good,
Powerful
,
"
the
Captain
made
one
more
check
of
his
readouts
and
glanced
at
his
Executive
Commander.
A
smile
flashed
between
them
as
he
said,
"
Release
the
lateral
tethers
–
Powerful
and
consorts;
take
us
off
the
dock
if
you
please.
"

             
The
order
'
s
acknowledgement
went
almost
unheard
as
the
group
seemed
to
hold
its
breath.
At
first
nothing
appeared
to
be
happening,
then,
slowly,
almost
painfully,
the
spherical
display
began
to
change.
Imperceptibly
at
first
the
Dock
arms
began
to
move
slowly
past,
the
view
of
the
planet
below
began
to
change
and
the
light
brightened
as
it
did
so.
And
then
the
ship
was
clear
of
the
Dock
and
turning
slowly,
majestically,
until
the
Building
Dock
filled
the
Port
side
of
the
display.