Andrew Wareham - End to Illusion

The bow lookout, changed every thirty minutes as he had to stand in the sun, peered from under the wide-brimmed hat he wore.

“Sail inshore, sir. Two lateen-rigged boats, sir.”

They turned a telescope on the pair, saw them to be of at least fifty tons, bigger than any fisherman on that coast. They could well be legitimate traders. There was a busy traffic in grains and various products of the coastal areas and some ingot metal from inland. There was a source of silver somewhere towards the highlands of Ethiopia and a trickle of copper and zinc and semi-precious stones as well, all going across the Red Sea to the whitesmiths in the Arab states.

“Signal the flotilla to maintain station on us. Close that pair. Lookout! Watch for the reef!”

The two lateeners were probably outside the reef but there was a great mass of coral along these shores.

An hour brought the five trawlers within hail of the dhows, which had made no attempt to escape and had thrown nothing overboard. If they had been carrying slaves they would probably have tried to slip them over the side for the sharks to dispose of the evidence.

“Board them, Adams. Normal stuff – take a quick look and let them pass the word that the Navy is rummaging every dhow they see.”

“Prevention, sir?”

“It might work. If nothing else, it will annoy them. Half a chance we might catch one.”

The little boats were empty of slaves and displayed no collection of chains and shackles for future use. Both carried bundles of a lime green leaf which they said was khat, a known stimulant chewed by the bulk of the population. The sole English speaker, an Egyptian carried presumably for that skill, said that it was harmless and good for hungry people, making their bellies happy.

“No law against carrying khat on the high seas. Where are you bound?”

“Jeddah. Many will buy khat during the haj.”

“Off you go. Have you heard of slavers onshore?”

No, he was assured not. Slavers were wicked people and he knew nothing of them. They were often pirates as well and honest merchants kept far from them.

“And that might well be true, sir. He was carrying turquoise in the rock, quite an amount of it. Saw some of that in the shops in Alex, made up into beads and ring stones and such. Nothing unlawful.”

The pattern remained the same all the way to Mombasa – a few dhows, all legitimate and the only steamers troopers in convoy going north.

They reported to the Senior Naval Officer and he was not surprised.

“Chasing the moon, gentlemen. Right of you to pursue information and come south of your station. Almost no chance of catching anything. Fast steamers out of Bombay doing the bulk of the slaving these days. They will outrun your trawlers. Coal up and take water and give your men a shore run before you turn round. There are supposed to be two at least of Ottoman gunboats along the southern Arabian coast, tucked away in the harbours of the emirates there. Keep an eye out for them, not that they should be anything to worry about.”

“Could do with a few days off, Colonel. Ought to go up to Kettering and speak to my father, sir.”

Colonel Braithwaite smiled knowingly, chuckled almost.

“Need to discuss family arrangements, Baker? Saw you with Elkthorn’s daughter again, at the ball, did I not?”

Richard laughed reluctantly.

“You did, sir… I need to ensure that the Old Chap is willing for me to get spliced so young. Not so worried about the financial side of things, of course. Might be he has his own plans and I am not twenty-one yet.”

“Nobody would know that to look at you, Baker. You could be five years older, ten in fact!”

“This war, sir…”

“Exactly. Giving us all grey hairs – well, would be except I think I’m going bald first!”

They laughed together, Richard wondering just how much of a joke it was. He was sure he had seen the odd silver whisker on his razor lately; his moustache certainly had one or two suspiciously fair hairs in it.

“Delay a few days, will you, Baker? I saw Fotherby yesterday, had a talk with him. Things in the making, it seems, might affect us. Should hear tomorrow or the day after – if there is anything going on at all. Go up to Kettering on Friday, say?”

The Colonel’s suggestion was effectively an order.

“Of course, sir.”

“Good. Take the following week, I expect – should work out. Talking of which, how’s that damned fool Wincanton working out?”

“Poorly. He’s trying hard now – and succeeding only in demonstrating that he’s hopeless. The more effort he puts into anything, the more likely he is to make a cock of it. Can we promote him and transfer him out, sir? Send him off to the trenches and he may stop a bullet that would otherwise have hit a better man. Likely enough – every other man will be better than him!”

“Doubt we could work it, Baker. No call out for volunteers for dangerous postings at the moment, can’t get rid of him that way. Does his family have any contacts in Africa, do you think? If they were in the trade, it might be possible to get him sent out to the East African campaign to use his local knowledge. He wouldn’t come back from that.”

“I’ll check, sir, but I doubt it.”

“Ireland, sir, that’s the furthest afield their interests extend.”

“Pity! Not to worry! Put up with him while you must. Fotherby is coming across to see me in an hour. Be ready to come at my call. Best bib and tucker but working – all very smart and keen, you know.”

Richard walked into the Mess, called for Paisley to come to him.

“Best working dress, Paisley. Brigadier is turning up and I am to see him, or so it seems.”

“Brigadier Fotherby, is that, sir?”

Richard nodded.

“Word is that he made major general yesterday, sir. Nothing said about why he would come here though.”

“Thank you, Paisley. The Colonel is a favourite of his, I believe.”

“Well in with the seniors as well, sir. At Division and Corps both.”

“Worth thinking about. Don’t know what it might mean.”

“Let me just put an extra shine on them shoes, sir. Means you had best be smart, sir. Tie straight, hat on square. That looks right, sir. Out you go now.”

Richard sat in his office, perusing the reports from the company captains, trying to penetrate the official optimism to find out the reality of each company’s readiness.

Their musketry was still not good enough. None of them were up to the old standard.

‘Twenty rounds rapid fire in one minute at three hundred yards. Fifty per cent on a man-sized target expected. Not good enough, none of them up to par’, he mused

They had all improved over the month. If they continued at the same rate, they would be acceptable by the end of July, just in time to go back to France for the autumn.

There was a noise of arrival, fuss and bother at the colonel’s door. A messenger called Richard to join the fun and saluting.

Fotherby was present resplendent in his new persona, crossed baton and star on the shoulder replacing the Colonel Commandant’s crown and three stars. The rank of Brigadier had not existed for some years but the Colonel Commandants, the men doing the job, were still unofficially and universally called by the title.

Richard made his best salute, the one reserved for generals, stiff backed and alert.

“Good to see you, Baker. Come on into the office.”

They sat and tea was provided, as was necessary before any meeting could commence.

“Got my own division now, gentlemen. Two brigades of infantry – six battalions; there will be artillery of some sort but no cavalry. All of them new units but predating Kitchener’s New Army. Volunteers from October and November who have been worked up to reasonable efficiency already and shouldn’t hang about in England for another year. Colonel Braithwaite, you have been promoted to take one of the brigades. Baker will go with you as a colonel – the two of you work well together. We are under Atkinson, who has been given his corps. All the old club together, you might say. We are based on Salisbury Plain for the next month, will be in France by the end of June, or so the current plan is. You are to join your commands as of the First of June – eleven days from now. I would suggest you take some leave and get down to Devizes for the last day of May. Details will be sent through channels, of course. You can put up your badges as of today. Congratulations, both!”