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Chapter Fifteen

Ace awoke with a throbbing headache. He was in some enclosed area. His hands were still bound behind his back, but his legs were free and his mouth was no longer gagged. The sun shone through cracks in the wooden walls.

The room seemed to sway back and forth. Was it the blow to his head that made him feel that way, or was he in some sort of coach or carriage?

Three other men sat in the pen with him. They, too, had their hands bound, but were otherwise free. “Why is the room rocking back and forth? Is it my aching head, or is this some sort of moving vehicle?”

This question was met with uproarious laughter among the other three prisoners.

“‘—some sort of moving vee-hicle—’!” one would quote, and then the laughter would begin again.

Ace started to wonder if he had been locked up with madmen, and if they were all in an enclosed cart on the way to the asylum.

When the laughter finally died down, the oldest of the three toughs said, “Tell me, son, have you ever been on board a ship?”

Ace admitted he had not.

“Well, that’s where you are now. Imprisoned in the brig of the good shipH.M.S. Valiant.And congratulations, me boyo, you’re now a proud member of His Majesty’s Navy. As, I might add, we also are. As of last night.”

“The Navy? But—”

“No buts about it, lad. Haven’t you ever heard of impressment? The Navy’s short on men, particularly since it looks like we’ll have a few sea battles with Napoleon coming up soon. So they send press gangs around the port towns.

“If a man’s drunk in a tavern, or sleeping rough, they’ll take him by force and make a sailor out of him.”

Another of the men, who had flaming red hair and a wild beard, said, “It’s rumored they’ll go into men’s houses and take them away, if that’s what they need to do to meet their quota.”

The youngest man, who was about Ace’s age and bearing scars all over his face, said, “They even board merchant ships and capture the men—English or foreigner, makes no difference.”

“So...what is to be done?” Ace asked. “I did not agree to join the Navy. It’s a mistake.”

The men started laughing hysterically again. “‘A mistake,’ he says,” said the old fellow. “And ‘what’s to be done?’ he wants to know.”

The red-haired fellow spoke more seriously. “Laddie, you’re missing the point. The Royal Navy doesn’t make mistakes. This is all perfectly legal—approved by an Act of Par-lee-ment. They caught you. You’re now in the Navy. They’ll have signed your name for you, or made an X for you if you can’t read and write.”

“I can read and write,” said Ace in a surly tone.

“Let them know that then. You might get some lighter duties from the Captain or the Lieutenant if they know you can do things. Otherwise, it’s going to be a long five years, hauling cargo below deck.”

“Five years!!!” hollered Ace.

“That’s the typical tour of duty. Five years. You might see England again during that time, but it’s not likely. You may see the West Indies or even Fiji—excellent watering holes, both places.”

By the time I return, Josie will be married. That bastard won’t set her free. He’d rather keep her around and make her life miserable. She’ll probably have several children by then.

She’ll be lost to me. She islost to me. The Earl has won.

Funny, I had completely forgotten that he’s an admiral in the Royal Navy.

* * *

They were kept in the brig for another two days. The rations were plentiful, if unvaried—salted beef, hard tack biscuits, sour cabbage and what seemed like unlimited beer. There was even a tot of rum for each prisoner after the evening meal. The sailors who brought them food and drink were, by and large, friendly lads. They knew that the men impressed into the Navy now would be their comrades for the next five years—so why make enemies?

“How long will they keep us here?” Ace asked his new companions. “For the length of the journey?”

“No, not for that long,” said the man with the scars. “Remember we told you they impress men as sailors because they need the extra hands for work. As soon as we pull up anchor and head into the deeper water, they’ll let us out and assign us chores.

“See, they don’t want to run the risk of our escaping when we’re so close to land, swimming or stealing a longboat to get to shore.”

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