Read Online Across to America: A Tim Phillips Novel (War at Sea Book 9) by Richard Testrake - Free Book Online
Authors: Richard Testrake
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if she could be identified.
It was his second officer, Mister Darby who reported hesitantly, and announced. “Sir, we do not think this sighting to be a King’s ship. Her rig is not what we would expect to see on such. I myself have never seen her before, I am sure. Some of us are thinking she may be a Yankee privateer.”
“Well Mister Darby, you cannot say we look all that much like one of His Majesty’s ships, ourselves. However, you could very well be correct. I will be on deck shortly.”
On deck, the stranger had distinctly closed. She was now over the horizon and the details of her hull were becoming apparent. She appeared to be a rather large, ship rigged vessel, probably not new, but spacious enough to carry either a large cargo or plenty of men. From her inquisitive nature, Phillips would have wagered on her carrying more men than cargo.
It was unlikely for a timid merchantman to approach a strange sighting so boldly. It could be she was a merchantman with a letter of marque. These documents, Phillips had been informed, were being issued by the hundreds from every port on the American seaboard. Such a document would allow a trading ship carrying cargo, to take prizes, provided the ship had a few guns and enough men to take the risk.
At any rate, Andromeda could not continue sailing along fat and dumb, waiting for the stranger to close. There was every chance she would smell a rat and sheer away. Sailing in light westerly breezes under her ancient topsails, Phillips gave orders to set the fore and main courses. These were no better than the tops’ls, being old, discarded sailcloth gleaned from the dockyard scrap, of the type a parsimonious owner might choose to equip an old ship.
With the extra canvas, the ship began showing a wake, but with some judicious work at the braces, enough wind was spilled to allow the stranger to slowly continue to come up. It was coming on close to sunset when the pursuer hoisted her flag and fired a gun. It was a Yankee, and the gun she fired appeared to be a nine pounder long gun.
CHAPTER TEN
Phillips ordered all plain sail set, and the yards braced to the wind. Before the sun set, it was now certain Andromeda was holding her own, neither gaining nor falling behind. The sky was overcast and no moon was present, so for the moment, at least, they were out of sight of their pursuer. Satisfied, called his officers into the cabin along with the bosun’s mate of the watch.
“Gentlemen, I wish to set before you what I hope will happen. Of course we are all aware a Yankee privateer is close behind us with a powerful ship, likely full of men. We could come about now and engage her with a most likely positive result. We might well lose more men than I would wish by engaging in the dark though, so I propose to wait until dawn, when we shall make the attempt in the morning light with our men rested.”
“Hopefully, the enemy believes us to be a ragged merchantman, barely able to stay out of his clutches. Likely he will stay with us as best he can in hopes of getting a few shots into us. I want to assist him in keeping us in sight, but of course I will not allow him to close or fire into us.”
“Thus, now that he can no longer see us, I will take down our old canvas and hoist our good sailcloth, taking care to not fall behind. As soon as that is finished, we will begin to encourage our pursuer. Presently, we are darkened so that it is difficult for her to see us. Therefore, we will begin making some mistakes.”
“Mister Gladding”, Phillips ordered, addressing the bosun’s mate of the watch. “Occasionally, one of your men will wish to light his pipe. He may do this from the binnacle light, which is of course now shuttered, to keep it from the view of the enemy. By opening the shutter, the people behind us will get a quick glimpse of the light, enough to determine our position. This must seem accidental, so as not to invoke suspicion.”
“The deck
It was his second officer, Mister Darby who reported hesitantly, and announced. “Sir, we do not think this sighting to be a King’s ship. Her rig is not what we would expect to see on such. I myself have never seen her before, I am sure. Some of us are thinking she may be a Yankee privateer.”
“Well Mister Darby, you cannot say we look all that much like one of His Majesty’s ships, ourselves. However, you could very well be correct. I will be on deck shortly.”
On deck, the stranger had distinctly closed. She was now over the horizon and the details of her hull were becoming apparent. She appeared to be a rather large, ship rigged vessel, probably not new, but spacious enough to carry either a large cargo or plenty of men. From her inquisitive nature, Phillips would have wagered on her carrying more men than cargo.
It was unlikely for a timid merchantman to approach a strange sighting so boldly. It could be she was a merchantman with a letter of marque. These documents, Phillips had been informed, were being issued by the hundreds from every port on the American seaboard. Such a document would allow a trading ship carrying cargo, to take prizes, provided the ship had a few guns and enough men to take the risk.
At any rate, Andromeda could not continue sailing along fat and dumb, waiting for the stranger to close. There was every chance she would smell a rat and sheer away. Sailing in light westerly breezes under her ancient topsails, Phillips gave orders to set the fore and main courses. These were no better than the tops’ls, being old, discarded sailcloth gleaned from the dockyard scrap, of the type a parsimonious owner might choose to equip an old ship.
With the extra canvas, the ship began showing a wake, but with some judicious work at the braces, enough wind was spilled to allow the stranger to slowly continue to come up. It was coming on close to sunset when the pursuer hoisted her flag and fired a gun. It was a Yankee, and the gun she fired appeared to be a nine pounder long gun.
CHAPTER TEN
Phillips ordered all plain sail set, and the yards braced to the wind. Before the sun set, it was now certain Andromeda was holding her own, neither gaining nor falling behind. The sky was overcast and no moon was present, so for the moment, at least, they were out of sight of their pursuer. Satisfied, called his officers into the cabin along with the bosun’s mate of the watch.
“Gentlemen, I wish to set before you what I hope will happen. Of course we are all aware a Yankee privateer is close behind us with a powerful ship, likely full of men. We could come about now and engage her with a most likely positive result. We might well lose more men than I would wish by engaging in the dark though, so I propose to wait until dawn, when we shall make the attempt in the morning light with our men rested.”
“Hopefully, the enemy believes us to be a ragged merchantman, barely able to stay out of his clutches. Likely he will stay with us as best he can in hopes of getting a few shots into us. I want to assist him in keeping us in sight, but of course I will not allow him to close or fire into us.”
“Thus, now that he can no longer see us, I will take down our old canvas and hoist our good sailcloth, taking care to not fall behind. As soon as that is finished, we will begin to encourage our pursuer. Presently, we are darkened so that it is difficult for her to see us. Therefore, we will begin making some mistakes.”
“Mister Gladding”, Phillips ordered, addressing the bosun’s mate of the watch. “Occasionally, one of your men will wish to light his pipe. He may do this from the binnacle light, which is of course now shuttered, to keep it from the view of the enemy. By opening the shutter, the people behind us will get a quick glimpse of the light, enough to determine our position. This must seem accidental, so as not to invoke suspicion.”
“The deck
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