Gallagher’s Prize by Joseph O'Loughlin

Author:Joseph O'Loughlin [O'Loughlin, Joseph]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781973406976
Amazon: 1973406977
Goodreads: 25374035
Publisher: Pintle Publishing
Published: 2015-04-16T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Aside from the ship’s bell and the regular turning of the half-hour glass, the only thing marking the passage of time as they cruised the trackless ocean were thrice daily meals and the daily rotation of the menu. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to keep track of the day of the week. Their Sunday quotidian was salt pork and peas. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays or Fridays they got oatmeal, butter and cheese instead of meat. When they looked down at dinner and saw salt beef in their kids, they knew it was Tuesday or Saturday. Then there was the welcome addition of peas to their fare on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Jack marveled at how well they adapted to their diet. Even new landmen seemed to relish it, because for most common folk on land it would seem a feast.

Surprisingly, the discovery of four casks of ancient rotting salt pork that Mr. Paltrow had entered on the books as new did not create resentment among the men. There was little discussion about it because they seemed to expect a certain degree of venal peculation: the navy had always allowed its pursers to make this kind of righteous impost against the ship as compensation for their meager wages.

And never had Jack drunk so much beer, rum and wine as he did aboard the Fawn, because within a few weeks from shore their water casks had turned. This did not mean the water was poisonous as such; it was only foul-tasting and bacteria-ridden. Mixing it with a third part rum—up to a pint per man each day—killed the smell and germs, and pleased the men. This was in addition to their daily ration of eight pints of beer.

After weeks at sea, Jack longed to set foot ashore again. Although his previous day-sailing experience had helped, the numbing routine of watch-on-watch—day after day, week after week—was quite another thing. To assuage his tedium, he sought out those who had been to the coast of Brazil before and extracted everything they knew about the wonders of the place. His anticipation soon became almost insufferable, and even more so because of the Fawn’s recent lack of progress. As they neared the equator they had lost the Trade Winds.

However, the master reckoned they would cross the equator the next day, which presented a hallowed naval opportunity to mark their progress. Jack noticed smiles and snickers from the men as he passed them at work and wondered what was afoot. He finally asked Simpson about it, who adopted an uncharacteristically taciturn manner and replied simply, “You will see, my friend. You will see.” He knew the navy observed a tradition when they crossed, but not much else. Secrecy and conspiracy suddenly changed the atmosphere of the ship. Even Lieutenant Flaxson behaved differently. Regardless of rank, people now acted as if they were either predator or prey. Simpson fit the first category. Flaxson—and unfortunately also Jack—were in the second because neither had crossed the equator before.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.