Watery Grave (34 page)

Thus had I been thinking of him when my knock was answered and he opened the heavy door.

“Hullo, pal,” said he, “enter and welcome.”

He threw open the door, and I stepped over the threshold.

“How’re you keeping. Master Bunkins?” I asked of him, entering somewhat into his free and easy style of speech.

“Well and good, Master Proctor. You’ve come to return a barking iron, I’ll wager.”

“So I have, so I have. Is the cove of the ken up and about?”

“That man snoozes less than any I’ve knowed, he does. Tom—your brother or cuz or chum, whatever he may be to you —he has been by to see him on the very same errand as you. The fact is, you just missed him by a bit.”

“A pity and a shame,” said I.

“Tom said ‘twas you found the joe you two was nosin’ for.”

“Found him dead,” said I.

“He was sure someone snitched him over. Went off to Fleet Prison to talk to that someone, he did.” Jimmie Bunkins gave a great shiver of disgust.” Brrrr,” said he, “that strikes me as right queer —to step a foot inside a jail without bein’ pushed.”

“Well, he has his suspicions, ” said I, “and welcome to them.”

He gestured me to follow, and just as we started on our way down the long central hall, the door to what had once been Lady Goodhope’s sitting room flew open and a woman popped her head out —and quite a pretty head it was, with curls piled upon it and rouge applied upon cheeks and lips most artfully.

”Ah, Monsieur Jimmie,”,said she, wagging a finger at him, “vous partez! Mais non, non! Revenez pour la lecon”

Bunkins sighed and pulled a face.” This here is Madame Bertrand,” said he by way of introduction.” She’s a right rum blowen, but I’ll never learn her Frenchie talk.”

She opened the door a bit wider and offered a most charming smile to me. She had won me altogether. I bowed waist deep, hand upon heart.

“Enchante,” said I, knowing it to be the proper thing.

Wherewith she loosed a torrent of French upon me, the like of which I had not before heard and the sense of which eluded me completely. Very sweetly it was said and very musical it sounded, however, to my untrained ear; yet I could do naught but bow once more and step away down the hall.

“That’s right, chum,” said Bunkins to me. “Take yourself down to the cove. He’s where he always is —in that room with all the boats on the wall. You know it from before, ain’t I right? I got to continuer avec la lecon.”

So saying, he surrendered himself to Madame Bertrand. She took him in hand and, with a pleasant nod to me, swept inside her classroom. I believe I envied him.

I gave a stout knock upon Bilbo’s door but waited to enter until an invitation was called to me from inside. He seemed happy enough to see me and urged me to a chair opposite him. Before seating myself I drew his pistol from my pocket and laid it carefully upon the desk whereat he sat.

“I understand that it has been fired,” said Mr. Bilbo.

“Yes, it has, sir.”

“It was an unavoidable circumstance, was it?”

I sighed.” Yes, sir. I called, Stop or I’ll shoot!’ And the constable I was with ordered me to shoot ahead. ‘

“Who was the constable?”

“Mr. Perkins. ‘

“The one-armed fellow? He’s a sensible man. And did you hit your target?”

“I think not, sir. I aimed low so as to wound. Constable Perkins also shot from the light of my muzzle flash. It was his opinion that neither of us had hit our mark. It was very dark.”

“Just as well you missed. You can do terrible damage at short range with this thing.”

“Constable Perkins thought it a most fearsome weapon.”

“Did y’tell him whence it came?”

“No, sir.”

“Good boy,” said he. Then, picking it up from his desk, he hefted it, examined it, tugged back the hammer, and, pointing it down at the floor, pulled the trigger; the hammer snapped sharply forward.” Always best to be sure. Now, since it has been fired, it must be cleaned and reloaded. Stay and we shall talk a bit whilst I attend to it.”

He then rolled up the sleeves of his handsome shirt and took from a drawer in his desk tools and materials he would need for the task and spread them out before him. He went at it with a practiced hand, working swift and efficient. Breaking the pistol down into its parts, he went at them one by one.

“It is not the usual to clean a pistol so thorough as I clean this,” said he, “but it needs a good going over.”

I nodded and merely continued to watch, most fascinated.

“So you found your witness a dead man? That is what Tom told me. He had a tale of betrayal he recited to me — dark suspicions it was — how one fella had sold Sir John’s witness to another.”

“Tom is more certain of that than I. This is, in truth, a most troubling case. I … I would say that it is not going well.”

“What troubles you about it, Jeremy?”

“Well,” said I, “for one thing, I do not understand it wholly.”

“Continue.” All the while he went on with his task.

“Sir John and others involved in it refer again and again to what they call ‘unnatural practices’ and ‘unnatural propensities.’ It looms large in the case. I asked Sir John to explain to me what was meant, and he put me off. In truth, he seemed somewhat embarrassed by my question. ‘

Black Jack Bilbo nodded. He rubbed his beard as he considered the matter for a moment.

‘Tis a matter that may cause embarrassment to some, ” said he, “and reasonably so, I allow. No blame to Sir John in that. Yet before we delve into this matter of unnatural practices, tell me, Jeremy, what do you know of natural ones?”

“Sir?”

“What do y’know of what takes place between a man and a woman, of what makes babies and so on?”

He put it to me so calm and direct that I felt no need to lie or exaggerate my knowledge.

“I know some, ” said I, “but not all. I know there are diseases may come of it —the pox and the like —and I know that babies come of it, too. But I don’t know what it is.”

He nodded.” Well and good, ” said he.” You are of an age when you should know these things, so I shall tell you. And perhaps Sir John will tell you later. But if he does, do not stop him, saying, ‘I have heard it all from John Bilbo.’ This will be between us. Is that agreed?”

“Agreed, sir.”

“Have you ever looked upon a woman naked?”

“Uh, once, sir.”

“Then you must have noticed that there was something missing on her body that you have and I have and all men have.”

“Yes, sir,” said I.

“Well, here,” said Mr. Bilbo.

And quicker than I could tell it, he had the pistol reassembled, but still unloaded, and had pulled a holster from another drawer. He held both up, one in each hand. Then, with a swift, sure motion, he plunged the pistol into the holster. The barrel disappeared right up to the trigger guard.

“Doy’see how neat this pistol fits into the holster?”

Thus with that demonstration began my instruction in that information which all men and women must gain by whatever means. I had questions. He answered them. At last, having satisfied me and said all he had to say on the matter oi natural practices, he went on to the unnatural and quite astounded me.

“Now, in my experience,” said he, concluding that part of his lecture, “a man will not turn to what is called unnatural acts so long as there is a woman available to him — though some say different. Some say it is in the nature of certain ones. But where it’s known most common is when men and only men are close together for long stretches of time — such as in prison or on shipboard. It is better known on shipboard than most would know or care to admit.”

There seemed to be an opening there for me to put a question to him. But how might I put it without telling too much? Perhaps in the form of a supposition.

“Mr. Bilbo,” said I, “let us suppose —only suppose —that one in high authority, the highest authority say, upon a ship, were to force others in … unnatural practices, and that these others were much younger, boys only, uh, midshipmen. What then?”

I realized I had phrased it so clumsily and plain that he would see through my “supposition” with no difficulty. But just as he trusted me, I trusted him. He made no deeper inquiry into the matter but answered my question forthwith.

“That would be a very grave offense for two reasons.” Mr. Bilbo did not usually make use of such terms, nor did he often talk so solemn.” First of all, if forced or not, boys the age of midshipmen have not the age and experience to say yea or nay, so any sort of act done with them would be forced in that way. And second, it would be a terrible use of authority on the part of the captain — let us call him the captain — a
misuse
, it would be. For boys of that age are given to the captain in trust. They are his responsibility. It would be for him like the breaking of a most solemn vow.”

“Would such be a hanging offense?” I asked.

“Why, that I couldn’t say, Jeremy. I am as ignorant of the law as the next man, perhaps more ignorant than most. I know only that I would not care to die with such an offense upon my conscience.”

He gave a wink of his eye to me then and a sad sort of smile and a shrug of his great shoulders.

“Here,” said he, “we have talked a long while of these great matters— and they are great, have no doubt of it. More foolishness, meanness, and plain nastiness have been done in the service of natural and unnatural practices than anyone but God will ever know. Yet, or so I’ve been told, love comes of it too. And even such an old sinner as I am looks for that and hopes one day to find it. As you grow to be a man, Jeremy, I hope it does not escape you altogether, as it has me.”

This bold, fierce-looking man whose dark history had inspired so many rumors and so much conjecture could not have said anything that would have surprised me more than this, had he told me that he wished to grow -wings so that he might fly. (In a sense, I suppose, that is what he did tell me.)

“But you must go now. I’ve kept you far too long as it is. Sir John will have things for you to do, I’m sure. But do not stay away, Jeremy. You’re a good lad to talk to, and Jimmie Bunkins needs you more than you know.”

The next day was a busy one for Sir John Fielding. There was much going and coming. Visits were made to him. An air of secrecy hung over these proceedings that I was unable to penetrate. He left early in the morning with Constable Perkins and did not return until shortly before his court session began. Waiting for him then was the petty officer who served as footman to Vice-Admiral Sir Robert Redmond; he had a letter in hand which I thought surely to be from the admiral. Yet Sir John did not ask me to read it to him. He simply tucked it away and sent the fellow off empty-handed.

Then, later in the afternoon, Mr. Marsden entered his chambers, stayed for some time, and upon leaving, directed me inside. They had prepared a letter between them which I was to deliver.

“Will there be an answer? ‘ I asked Sir John.

“None that I expect,” said he, as he offered it to me.

I looked at the letter and saw it was addressed to the admiral.

“Take it there by foot,” said he.” Return at your leisure. But give it to no one but Bobbie, certainly not to Lieutenant Byner. If you must wait for the admiral, then wait, but put the letter in his hand only. If you cannot do that, then return with it.”

He was seldom so explicit. Naturally, I wondered at the letter’s contents. Yet asking no question, I said my goodbje and turned for the door.

“Jeremy, there is one more thing you probably should know.”

“What is that, sir?”

“The admiral who came up from Portsmouth to serve upon the court-martial board brought with him promotion papers for Lieutenant Hartsell. He is hereafter to be known as Captain Hartsell.”

“But what does that mean, sir? That is, coming at such a time as this?”

“Indeed, what does it mean? Why, among much else it means that throughout tomorrow’s proceedings he will be referred to and addressed as ‘Captain.’ Any reminder that during the action covered by the court-martial the accuser and the accused were of the same rank will be erased. It means that all of Hartsell’s decisions are certified as justifiable and right in retrospect. It means that by the means of this promotion the proceedings have been weighted hopelessly in favor of the prosecution. It means that Lieutenant Landon has not a chance in this world. It means they intend to hang him. That has been foreordained. ‘

All this was said in a quiet voice, as if explaining to me one of his rules of court. Tears welled in my eyes. I dabbed at them, glad that Sir John could not see.

“How can they do that, sir? That is not justice.”

“He’ll get no justice from the Navy.” He sighed deeply, then gestured toward the door.” But on your way, Jeremy. We’ll talk of all this sometime in the future.”

And indeed I went on my way, though my heart felt quite as heavy as my feet on that long walk to Tower Hill. As must surely be evident to you, reader. Sir John Fielding was to me at the age I was then something more than a hero and little less than a god. To see him despair so, to see him defeated, made me near as sad as to contemplate the fate of Lieutenant William Landon. That he be distressed and angry as he had been yesterday seemed far better than to see him in this state. Surely something could be done, would be done, by him.

To arrive at the Navy Board thus in such a sad and listless state in no wise prepared me for the reception I received there. I found, first of all, that without so great a personage as Sir John by my side I was made to feel not near so welcome as before. When the boatswain at the door heard I had a letter for the admiral, he demanded it from me. Yet I would not give it. It seemed so likely that he, a large man, would grab me by the scruff of the neck and take the letter from me that I retreated quickly some steps away from the door.

“Here, you, boy, come back here with that letter. Give it me.”

“I was instructed by him who sent it to put it in the hands of Admiral Redmond, and in his hands only.”

“And who is that who sent it?”

“Sir John Fielding, Magistrate of the Bow Street Court.”