The HMS Swift Adventures by Derek Gunn

Author:Derek Gunn [Gunn, Derek]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: vampire, Horror, adventure, historical, supernatural, zombie, revolution, alternative history, napoleonic wars, historical horror, napoleon, ocean fantasy, historical supernatural
Publisher: Permuted Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Captain Thomas Butler sat at his newly installed desk in the map room and gazed out through the small port window. Doctor Sinclair had just left with his report and, for once, the news had been good. Lieutenant Fowler was already up and back on duty, despite Sinclair’s, albeit mild, protestations. Captain Mason was comfortable and out of immediate danger, however if gangrene set in then there would be nothing anyone could do. It was, as the doctor had said, in God’s hands now.

There was little room in the much smaller area of these quarters compared to his own cabin, but Butler was happier to devote the space he did have to his desk and all his beloved books than to any living room he might have had without them. He had called a meeting for ten and he still had a quarter of an hour before the watch was called. It would be a tight squeeze once his officers arrived. There must be some comforts, he mused, even if they are considered eccentric by others.

It had been a busy morning. They questioned their former jailors, but each one professed ignorance. Butler was fairly certain that most of them were telling the truth, but the bosun suspected that some of the prisoners knew more than they were telling and had pleaded with him to release the men into his charge for the morning. Maguire promised to return the men after he questioned them further. Butler had been reticent at first, but he considered that he knew the bosun well enough to be confident that he would not inflict cruelty for its own sake on the men; however, he was not so naïve as to think that the bosun was merely going to talk to the men either. Butler did not want to know the details of what the bosun had planned, and he noted that more than a few of the prisoners turned quite pale when they’d been given into his care.

Butler didn’t condone mistreatment, but he had to balance that against the carnage he’d seen on the merchant ship. He had agreed to the bosun’s request with a condition that they be treated humanely to salve his own conscience, although he had left that stipulation purposely vague to allow the bosun leeway. It was a close call and one which he was uncomfortable with, but the scenes of slaughter imprinted on his mind helped to convince him that his decision had been warranted.

They also had to prepare for the Falcon. They expected the damaged ship about mid-morning and already preparations were in place for a deception that would, hopefully, see its liberation with as little bloodshed as possible. Lieutenant Hackett had come up with an ingenious plan that appealed to all of them; the one part of the plan that was not so popular was that someone had to appear on deck dressed as a woman. They would use clothing left by the women some men visited in port.

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