Slave Of Destiny (3 page)

Jack dragged
Michael off the bench and over to a locker.

“Start swabbing the
top decks and make sure you apply plenty of water this time, otherwise I’ll
make you do it again tonight” he advised him sternly, before walking away.

Jack was restless
and bored from spending too much time overseeing the repairs to
The Teresa,
an
emotion he very rarely showed. He was the Second Mate and he had been sailing
with Captain Thomas for ten years, ever since he had been a twelve years old
cabin boy. He had run away from orphanage, sick of the abuse he received from
the church nuns. It all began when he stowed away on
The Teresa
all
those years ago. Thirty years old, Constance Kane, held his interest now, so he
returned to the galley to pass a few minutes with his love. Her brown hair and
pale blue eyes never failed to excite him and somehow she had tamed the wild
man inside him.

* * *

Michael spent an
hour swabbing the decks, before a heavily bearded tall man came over to him and
said “That’s not how you do it lad, so I’ll show you how it’s done.”

The man proceeded
to show Michael how to use the equipment to make the job easier for him, before
he placed the mop handle back in his hands.

“Thanks…eh…”

“I’m Albert, but
everyone calls me Alby” he mentioned before turning around and walking away.

“Thanks Alby”
Michael said, returning to his chore.

Michael completed
the task in four hours, but he noticed the watchful eye of Jack Colburn
approving his work.

After lunch Jack
came over to him and whispered, “That was a job well done this morning, but I
want you to report to Miss Constance in the galley, to help her prepare for
tonight’s dinner.”

As the afternoon
progressed Michael occasionally had glimpses of Sally, who popped in and out,
for a cool drink. By mid-afternoon and half way through peeling the second
bucket of potatoes, he suddenly realized who she was.

“Is that really
you, Sally, the beautiful girl from the river?” Michael asked curiously when he
saw her again.

“You know it is,
but we’ll talk later. We’ll have some time after dinner to talk” she whispered
before she walked away.

“
How is she
mixed up in this madness?
” he thought.

 “Give me a kiss,
Sally my girl” asked a towering bear of a man; grabbing her arm to pull her
close.

“No, Please
don’t…ah” she cried.

“Leave her alone!”
Michael shouted from his little corner.

“Shut your mouth
you stinkin’ little brat. Come here sweetheart” he sneered, roughly pulling her
towards him.

He got no further, because
Michael rushed over to where Sally was struggling; his arm stabbing at the big
man with the tiny paring knife he had been using.

“You little shit.
There wasn’t any call for you to try and stab me. I’m gonna kill ya now!” he
shouted, pushing the frightened girl away.

“Leave him alone
Wayne, because you’ve had that coming to you. I warned you before to leave the
girl alone on several other occasions. If you hurt either one of them I’ll
force you walk the plank. Now get up on deck and return to your job” suggested
Jack forcefully.

“We haven’t finished
this” he said glaring at Michael.

“You better watch
your back. He’s as mean as they come. Are you alright missy?” he asked as Wayne
left the galley.

“Yes, thanks Jack”
she responded.

“Get back to your
work now” he mentioned, before he walked away.

“Yes, you better
watch your back because he is a nasty piece of work. Thank you for coming to my
aid” she whispered, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll see you
tonight.”

Michael returned to
his chore, still shocked with what had transpired. He’d never done that before,
but he had the overwhelming desire to protect Sally. The rest of the afternoon
and evening was uneventful, but Michael was looking forwards to chatting with
her.

* * *

“Where are we
Sally?” Michael asked when they were alone.

She had brought him
to a spot on the rear starboard side’s second deck of
The Teresa
, well
away from the crew who were drinking rum and smoking on the top deck.

“We’re here on
The
Teresa
, dummy” she laughed.

Her Laugh made him
feel warm inside, but Michael had to ask her again. “What I mean to say is what
year is this and what part of the world are we in?”

“Well the year is
1871 and we’re in the Arafura Sea, just off the coast of Indonesia. You know
all this, Michael” she whispered, kissing him full on the lips.

“It can’t be 1871,
because it’s 1971” he whispered, pushing her away.

“You must be still
suffering from the fall you had two days ago. Believe me; it is 1871. Come over
here and give me a kiss so that I can help you get your memory back” she
purred, holding his head in her hands.

They kissed and
then cuddled for a while; Sally realizing that Michael was still confused, but
knowing he would soon remember everything. The stars sparkled like diamonds in
the cloudless night sky and the rushing of the water past the ship helped to
ease his concerns.

“
What can I do
if it’s 1871. I’ll have to make the most of it if I’ve been transported back in
time”
he thought miserably.

“How old are we?”
Michael asked curiously.

“We’re both
seventeen, silly” she whispered as she kissed him again.

This time Michael
responded to her kiss and he felt her soften to his caresses.

“Wow, that was
better than the Michael I remember” she said happily when they temporarily
parted.

Eventually it was
time to bunk down; Sally sleeping in the women’s quarters and Michael with the
crew.

“The toilet’s on
the bow, in case you’ve forgotten, but I’d advise you to pee over the leeward
side now. Remember to keep away from Wayne. And, by the way, your hammock is
over against the hull, near Alby” she said, before they parted.

Michael decided to
pee over the side as she had suggested before he went to the bunk. Most of the
crew was still drinking rum, but Michael found Alby asleep in his hammock.

“
What a crazy mixed-up
twenty-four hours this has been. I’m sure everything will be back to normal
tomorrow, because this is becoming really weird
” he thought as he found his
hammock and piled in. “
It will be back to normal tomorrow!
”

The morning started
at the first light of dawn, but as Michael fell out of the hammock Alby passed
him something.

“I heard about your
tussle with Wayne. He’s a bad one and I think you might need this” he said
quietly, passing Michael something wrapped in an oily rag.

As he opened the
gift he found a small knife in a sheath.

“It’s a dagger” he
said. “You’ll need it to protect yourself and your sweetheart.”

Michael drew the
blade and looked over at the elaborately decorated handle.

“It looks like a small
sword and it’s beautiful” he said.

“It’s very sharp
and the blade is made of the finest steel, so you need to be extremely careful.
This is a lethal weapon” Alby mentioned.

“I can’t take this,
Alby, because it must have cost you a small fortune” Michael said, placing it
back in the sheath and wrapping it back up.

“I want you to have
it, because I have another one and you’re going to need it. You’re the first
person who’s man enough to stand up to mad Wayne” he advised.

“Thanks Alby. I’ll
take good care of it” Michael added as he placed the weapon deep in his pocket.

Michael sipped a
steaming hot coffee while he waited for the two women to bring out the food.

“Where are we
sailing to, Alby?” he asked curiously.

“An island to the
north of Australia; a place called Diamond Island. The captain spoke of an
island surrounded by treacherous reefs with only a single entry into a small
bay” Alby said softly.

“What are we going
to find there?” he asked.

“The captain talked
about untold wealth in gold and jewels. It’s time to eat, because it’s going to
be a long day” he said as the steaming food arrived.

* * *

That afternoon
Michael listened to some sailors swapping stories while smoking long clay
pipes. He noticed other crew scrambling up masts to fix ropes, pulleys and
sails. Jack shouted commands to some men amongst the laughter and screeching
gulls. Captain Thomas shuffled over to him and said “I see that you’re
beginning to enjoy yourself listening to their stories.”

“I am enjoying
myself now I’ve heard of strange lands, untold wealth and beautiful women. I
also heard the men mentioning the beautiful mermaids which live on the rocks
around some of the islands.” he said.

The captain threw
his head back and roared with laughter. “I think you need to keep away from the
mermaids.”

“Those mermaids will
capture your heart as quick as a flash, especially a lad as young as you.”
suggested a tattooed man named Slippery Sam.

They both erupted
into laughter again while a few other sailors walked over, curious to hear what
they were laughing about.

“We got us a brand
new cabin boy?” one of them asked.

“Oh yes, young and
naive” he said. “We warned him not to fall in love with a mermaid, but we
forgot to mention the sea monsters.”

Michael glared at
him furiously, because he had tried to appear mature.

“Come with me m’lad
and I’ll lay out you some of my charts and I’ll show you where all the perils
are” he added before walking away and climbing up to the aft ships, Captain’s
cabin, on the second rear deck.

The men returned to
work, but Michael followed Captain Thomas up the ladder.

“I’ll tell you a
little bit about
The Teresa
first. This sloop isn’t large by any means,
but it’s still 87 feet long. As you probably have already discovered, the small
officer’s quarters are on the forward second deck. The middle or lower top deck
is called the poop deck, while on the bow there is the bow spirit and anchor.
The galley is directly under us in the hull, the ladies quarters are aft near
the storage hold and the men sleep forward of the galley. There are two other
storage holds lower in the hull. My wife and I, of course, live up here. There
are a total of fourteen people on this sloop, so that’s why we have to work
together harmoniously” he mentioned. “Now I’ll show you my charts and Diamond
Island.”

Michael spent about
forty minutes pouring over the detailed charts while listening to Captain
Thomas comments, before he had to return to his chores.

 Michael noticed
that he was beginning to smell from the lack of a bath, so when he had a half
hour to spare, he crawled through the rear hatch with a bucket, rope and a rag.
On the secluded second rear deck he washed himself with sea water as best as he
could. Michael didn’t want Sally to become distant, just after they had become
reacquainted. After he removed the dirt and some dried blood, he felt alive and
back to normal, so Michael returned to the locker to store his swabbing bucket.

“You look more
presentable now” noticed Constance when he returned to the galley. “I need some
more fresh water from the hold, so can you get me a bucketful, please Michael.”

“I’ll get it
straight away” he said, rushing off.

Constance Kane was
a kind and gentle person and Michael had grown to respect her in the short time
he had been on
The Teresa
. Even though she didn’t have much time to
spare she had nurtured him like a seedling, just waiting to grow up.

“By the way we’re
anchoring in Forlorn Bay tomorrow. Most of the crew can go ashore for some rest
and recreation. There should be some fresh water there where we can replenish
our supplies. You could have a swim with Sally and really have a good wash with
the soap I gave her” she mentioned, before returning to her task.

“How far do we sail
during a twenty-four hour period?” Michael asked Alby during dinner.

“The trade winds
have only been light over the last few days, but I suppose we sail about 80 nautical
miles a day. The captain is watching the barometer and the pressure is falling,
so we’ll be in for some rain, strong winds and rough seas soon. That’s why
The
Teresa
will be anchoring in Forlorn Bay about mid-morning” he replied.
“We’ll be there for a few days until the conditions improve.”

Alby left Michael
to go up on deck and smoke his pipe, so Michael decided to join the smokers on
the deck until Sally finished her shift in the galley. The silvery moon cast
its weak light across the sea as if trying to display a path to a land of
enchantment. The wind and waves were already beginning to strengthen, but
The
Teresa
sliced through the water, whipping a chilling spray across the deck.
Michael descended the companionway and back into the galley to find Sally
finishing her last chore. She greeted him with a smile and a knowing nod, as if
she was anticipating their kisses. Hand in hand they crawled through the rear
hatch and out to the rear second deck, but Michael failed to notice mad Wayne
staring at them with murder in his eyes.

* * *

The sparkling sea
of yesterday had been replaced with an angry sea of white.
The Teresa
had rolled and thrashed around all night and all the crew had to eat for breakfast
was stale bread and mouldy blue cheese. Michael had never felt so seasick in
all his life and he was looking forward to walking on dry land again.

“You’ll feel better
if you come up on deck and get some fresh air” mentioned Alby. “We’re not too
far from our destination, Matukus Island.”

He struggled up the
companionway and stood up, feeling the salt spray and cool wind on his face.
Sally had been his nursemaid; emptying the bucket during the night and making
sure he didn’t dehydrate. The sails had already been reefed in case the winds
became so strong they dismasted the ship.

“Land-ho!” shouted
the lookout from the crow’s nest, high up on the mast.

Michael strained
his eyes and he could make out a small strip of dark-purple on the horizon, so
he assumed they were less than twenty miles away from a relatively calm harbour. 
Michael vaguely remembered, from his history lessons, was that Matukus Island
was controlled by the Dutch. Most of Indonesia was controlled by the Dutch
after signing a treaty with Britain, hence the name, Dutch East Indies.

* * *

“This part of East
Indies is sparsely populated, but there could be some natives around. I
recommend going ashore in groups of two or more, but you need to be back aboard
before dark. My wife and I will be staying aboard, but Jack and four oarsmen
will row to the nearest village for supplies. Are there any questions?” he
asked when all the crew had assembled on deck.

It was about
mid-day when the anchor was finally lowered into the crystal clear waters of the
bay and Michael had been so thankful for small mercies.

“Well it’s all
settled then. Alby will be in charge of the landing party which will depart in
forty minutes, so those other five people need to have lunch and get ready if
they want to go ashore” the captain advised. “Martha and Constance will remain
aboard to tidy up, so the other crew members are free to go.”

* 
*  *

Wayne cautiously walked up to the unadorned dark wooden
building where he had been instructed to meet his contact. He'd only received
word of the possible rendezvous just before
The Teresa
sailed from
Bengal, and he had to hurry just to arrive on time.
He was in his early thirties, still a young man, big,
strong and able, and skilled at his trade. He was considered by women to be a fine
looking man, his head covered with unruly curly black locks of hair and dark
eyes that seemed to pierce right into the heart when he looked at you. He was
well muscled with narrow hips and thin waist leading upward to broad shoulders.
Working on
The Teresa
resulted in a
deeply tanned, wind-blown skin, but the only thing that marred his face was his
eyes which were downright evil.
He was
anxious to bring down The East India Company and receive his reward. He looked
forward to living a luxurious life in a big city. What he faced ahead this
evening was uncertain, but he had no choice but to forge onward.
Though
the East India Company was becoming increasingly bold and ambitious in ignoring
the government, it was getting clearer that the Company was incapable of
resisting the British Empire and Queen Victoria. The gold and riches the
captain of ships received for importing tea and cocaine, while exporting all
the wheat supplies, appeared to be making India poorer and something had to
give.

As he turned a corner of the structure and approached the
front door, he saw a man. Wayne knew him by sight, but that was all he knew.

“Wayne?” he asked solemnly.

“Yes” he replied. “And yours?”

They stood looking at each other for a time before he replied.
“Marcus! Do you think she will show up?” he asked.

Wayne looked thoughtful for a moment, before he replied.
“Yeah, I think so because I overheard her planning to go ashore for a swim and
they will be there all afternoon. You know it took us quite a while to find her
and then I had to make sure it was her – the princess. I don't think she wanted
to be found because she’s working as a chambermaid.”

“Is that my payment?” he inquired politely.

“Oh. Sure. Here” he said, handing the package to Marcus.
“I’ll
be back here tonight.”

He knew
he could only slip away from Jack’s entourage for a brief time. The rest of the
crew was busy whoring after months at sea, but he was looking more to his
future.