14 The Seeds of War (The Fighting Sail Series Book 14) by Alaric Bond

Author:Alaric Bond [Bond, Alaric]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Old Salt Press LLC
Published: 2021-05-13T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

By the time darkness fell the wind had risen considerably. Even standing on deck required two hands and a strong grip so King had long since allowed himself to be strapped to the mizzen fife rail. But there was good news to balance this mild indignity, for the storm itself was continuing to head south.

The thought that it might change course once more had been haunting him for several hours yet, even though Tenacious was heading for the American coast and at a speed out of all proportion to her meagre canvas, she should not be gobbled up by the tempest. There ought to be time aplenty to change course before they grounded; by his estimation at least twenty miles lay between them and the nearest danger which in this case was not land in the conventional manner.

“Diamond Shoals’ll be dead ahead.”

It was no surprise that Cooper’s words directly followed his train of thought, for the motley group of men that crowded about the frigate’s mizzen had only one subject in mind. The Diamond Shoals was a line of sandbanks that lay eight miles off Cape Hatteras. For centuries they had been a hazard to mariners, their constant shifting defying all forms of survey while the number of ships they had caused to founder had earned them the nickname of Graveyard of the Atlantic.

“We can hold this course for another hour, no longer,” King roared back. “Before then it should be possible to make a more northerly heading.”

Cooper nodded briefly; both knew the circumstances well enough. Providing the heart of the storm continued south, what King suggested should certainly be possible. And if not, if it stayed firm and there was no chance of turning to starboard, they would simply have to bear away in the opposite direction. Then it would be a race and no mistaking, with land to one side and a tempest the other, even if the frigate didn’t take the ground she might still be battered to pieces.

But that should not be the case, as King hurriedly assured himself. Even in the last few minutes the storm had moved noticeably and was continuing on its southerly heading. Before long they might try a point to starboard, then another after that, with each minor deviation buying them further time. The only danger lay in the storm suddenly deciding to stop or, perish the thought, head west once more, in which case they would simply have to take their chances with the sandbanks.

The wind continued with a constant howl that soon became tiresome on the ears and drove the rain nearly horizontal. And then, finally, King began to feel his luck was starting to return. After a further ten perilous minutes Manton was able to give the necessary order and Tenacious’ bow shifted slightly to starboard. King glanced at the elderly quartermaster who, with three men to assist, had been holding them steady for the past few hours. It was clear the man had been born to

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