Blown Off Course by David Donachie

Author:David Donachie [Donachie, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780749040321
Publisher: Allison & Busby
Published: 2011-12-25T13:00:00+00:00

When it came to travelling overland Michael O’Hagan was much better equipped to cope: he had not only done it previously, but he was country bred, having been raised on an Irish farm, albeit one wracked by debt and too many children. Having walked from there, crossing both his own island and much of England in search of work, while needing many times to sleep under the stars, he knew what to keep an eye out for in terms of where north lay as a constant: the russet colour of tree bark, the leafing on trees, which tended to the south and the sun, even on a path, where the cold side would be muddier. There was also the matter of shelter and getting fed, which depended on the skill to snare and cook small creatures like birds and rabbits, but also to spot where there might be a chance of some labour in exchange for a meal.

He also knew they must find some kind of watercourse to follow: to have something to drink was essential, and common wells were used by too many people, while around such streams wildlife and vegetation were abundant, cover was easy to find, for there were always bushes and trees, which in turn meant wood for a fire as well as a modicum of shelter should rain threaten. What he found first was hardly more than a brook, with little in the way of flow, but it served to provide the means to assuage their thirst and allow them to shave, each man taking it in turn to employ their guard razors to scrape off the beginnings of another’s beard, eased with the lye soap they had dunned out of Fury’s purser, though in the case of Rufus that tended towards fluff – something he had been much ribbed about aboard ship, where a clean chin and upper lip was an absolute requirement of the service.

‘It never does to appear like a beggar when you’re looking for a bit of work or wishing to avoid the eye of a watchman.’

‘Careful with that blade,’ Rufus replied, as Michael worked on his neck.

‘Be better plucking that than wasting a well-stropped edge,’ joked Charlie.

‘Where do we go from here, Michael?’ Rufus asked, his chin still in the air.

‘As long as the sun comes up to our right hand we are on the true path. Brooks lead to bigger streams and rivers, rivers is where towns are …’

‘And the law,’ Charlie insisted.

‘So we skirt round them.’

‘How far did that master say we had to travel?’

‘Some sixty-plus miles to London, land miles, but we will need to work a longer route to stay away from trouble and most of all, if we can, bridges. Do you not recall our shipmates saying to stay away from them?’

How to avoid being taken up when on the run was a constant topic below decks and there were those who boasted they could travel from one end of the country to the other

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