Michael Aye - HMS Seawolf

"Where's Lancaster?"

"She's on station with the convoy but has requested to give chase."

"Signal stay on station, then signal convoy to heave to.

Signal Wild Goose to take station to leeward."

"Aye, cap'n."

"Mr. Lavery, put up a flag of truce but have the larboard guns manned and ready. Dagan get my gig ready. Mr. Graf, prepare a boarding party, please."

"Aye, cap'n."

"Mr. Lavery, I intend to board the schooner alone under a flag of truce but if you smell a rat, let loose with a broadside. I'll not endanger any more of our people."

The schooner struck her colors without another shot being fired which was the sensible thing to do. After a thorough search of the prize, Graf said, "Cap'n, she 'ain't got enough powder to blow fleas ’offen a cat's arse and very few bal s left."

"That's the answer," Gabe replied. "That's why we didn't take much of a beating from the corvette. She didn't have enough powder and bal to take the convoy."

"Then why attack it," Lavery asked.

"A ruse, sir, something to keep us occupied while that damn Patrick got away with the thing they needed most, powder and shot. I'm sure it was only by accident the schooner was disabled. However, she's a small price to pay if we don't get the Turtle back with al she carries."

Gabe then cal ed Captain Bruce and being prudent, had the master come along as well as Estes and his first lieutenant for a conference on board SeaWolf. He had set Dover to work repairing the schooner.

"We'll divide the prisoners up between our three ships," Gabe told his audience. "Captain Estes, since your lieutenant is the most experienced we'll put him in temporary command of the Swan, as nice a prize as we could hope for. He should make do with thirty men and we'll divide those from among each of us. Once the Swan is ready to sail I want you, Captain Estes, to take the convoy into Charlestown and unless otherwise ordered wait on me then we'll proceed on as ordered."

"Oh…ah…Captain Estes, unless it's put directly to you, say as little as possible about the Swan. Have her anchor as close to seaward as possible. Use her boats to unload prisoners if need be."

"Is there a reason for this?" Estes asked.

"Yes, to be quite frank with you. We need her and I'd rather Lord Anthony have first dibs on her before some other admiral snares her."

"I see," Estes said, "But where are you heading that makes it necessary for me to go on with the convoy?"

"I'm going after the Turtle, sir. We need that gunpowder and I aim to see we get it back or destroy it and if possible make her captain pay for his treachery."

After Gabe bid his fellow captains farewell, Dagan asked, "Is the schooner, Swan, for his lordship or Markham?"

"Are they not one and the same," Gabe replied raising his eyebrows and giving a hint of a smile.

"Mr. Blake, Mr. Lavery."

"Aye, cap'n."

"Attend me in my cabin if you will."

"Aye, sir."

As they entered the cabin, Dawkins asked, "A glass of wine, sir?"

"Yes, Dawkins, I believe we owe ourselves a bit of refreshment."

"Would you like the wine before or after you tea, sir?"

"Damn you, Dawkins, don't you forget anything? I should have left you ashore. Why don't you take that damnable stuff?"

"Cause, sir, the doctor said it was for you and who am I, poor sailor that I be, to argue with the good doctor?"

"You're a damned old rich skin flint, that's what you are. You got more prize money than you know what to do with. Poor – huh."

"Before or after, sir?"

"After, after, damn your eyes, after.

Maybe the wine will help wash away the bitterness."

"That's possible, sir, aye, that's possible."

After Gabe took his tea and chased it with half a glass of wine he said, "Not a word from either of you or you'll have it daily instead of your rum ration, now let's get to business. I want to catch the Turtle and she's already got a good hour on us. Now, we last saw her

heading in a southerly direction. What are your recommendations, Mr. Blake?"

By two bel s in the first dog watch repairs had been made to the prize, and the convoy was away on a northerly heading for Charlestown. SeaWolf had sailed west-sou-west. The light was going fast and visibility was low when Dagan came down from the masthead lookout. He'd been perched there for an hour now scanning the horizon, occasional y putting the glass to his eye for a clearer picture. The regular lookout had tried to engage Dagan in conversation for the first several minutes they shared the platform. These attempts stopped suddenly when Dagan gave the man a stern look and said, "I'm looking for a ship, not conversation, now put your glass to work."

Gabe had just about given up on sighting his quarry when Dagan approached him. "I found her." Gabe had the master, Blake, and Lieutenant Hazard meet with him in his cabin to go over Dagan's finding on the chart.

"There're some small islands here with a small inlet between them. The Turtle is about here."

"That's Hunting Islands," the master offered.

"There're about five little islands that make up the Huntings. The Turtle, if it's between this northern most small island and larger one, the main Hunting Island, then she's in the Warsaw Sound."

"The Hunting Islands down to Jenkins Island,"

Blake pointed to a small island just off the entrance to

Port Royal Harbour, "along with the sound are greatly affected by the tide. When the tide is out there's mud flats and saw grass al the way to Port Royal. There're a few channels that can be made with a shallow draft barge or ship's boat and I expect that's how they unload such vessels."

"Just how far could a body make it overland?"

Hazard asked the master as he peered at the charts.

"At low tide?"

"Aye," Hazard replied, "At low tide."

"If you didn't stick up to arse-hole and elbows in the mud you could walk from the beach at Hunting al the way to Port Royal. Course there are gators and moccasins and varmints that if they don't eat ya or ’pison ya they'll sting you to death. No, don't be thinking of no land action. It's a boat action or naught," the master stated definitely.

"What do we know about location and depths of the channels?" Gabe asked the master.

"Next to nothing, sir. I know they exist and that's about it."

"Well," Gabe responded, "We don't want to go to Port Royal, just to the inlet here."

"My recommendation," Blake said, "is to wait til it's dark and send a couple boats and cut her out if need be but I'd rather just go within cannon bal range and blast her."

"The master's got a point," Dagan volunteered.

"But we need that powder, don't we, sir," Hazard interjected.

This brought looks from both Dagan and the master. Seeing the looks, Gabe came to the young lieutenant's aid, "We do need the powder so here's what we'll do."

The boats were put over the side. Mr. Davy with the marine sergeant and a squad of his marines, Lieutenant Lavery with his party; then Gabe and Dagan with a group in his gig. Before leaving, Gabe talked with his first lieutenant.

"I know you feel it's your place to go, Everette, but with your arm the way it is that's an impossibility.

Besides I need someone here who can handle SeaWolf if something goes amiss. I'm not going to sacrifice al those men for one renegade. If I can cut Turtle out, I will. If not I'll make an attempt to blow her up. If that's not feasible, I'll send up a flare. That's your cue to come in and pick us up. Then we'll let Mr. Druett and his bunch have some target practice."

"Aye, sir. I'll be ready with SeaWolf regardless which plans unfolds."

Then Gabe was quite serious. "There's a letter in my desk drawer for my brother and my mother should I fail to return. Give them both to my brother."