Slacking off in the Sun

And de Guarde was after him again. "Hoi. You ain't It, you!" Terry said ducking away, even as the other lad passed him and scampered back up the companionway to the weather deck. It was much nicer up here than down in the permanent semi-darkness of belowdecks.

"Ain't." And he was seated now. He leaned back, listening in to hear who was it and when the said boy might be coming his way. He adjusted his shirt then peered at the Tars on deck.

He noticed a few of the marines, amongst them a pair of the bigger marines he recognised, one by name and one mostly by sight. Thompson was nowhere in sight, but he wondered if the man was on watch. Chase too was out of sight, but at least he knew that the man was not on watch else he would be in dear trouble too, for not being where he ought to be!

"So don't try gettin' me, then." Terry grinned, relaxing a bit and catching his breath. Tag was always fun.

"I ain't. I jus' came up fer some fresh air... n' couse they'll be chasin' each other around fer a while down below." He pulled his legs up to his chest. " s' this.. wot' you do a lot of?"

"Yeah. Skylarkin', tag... the men don't mind it much, so long as we stay outta the way mostly," Terry replied. He looked at de Guarde curiously. "You ain't done much stuff like this afore comin' 'ere, 'ave you? You didn't seem like you knew 'alf of what we was doin', that time we 'ad that race up an' down the foremast the other week."

"No. We's never done that back on me other ship." He shook his head leaning back. "Not middies, especially. It wouldn't be right fer t' future officers ter behave like children an'... t' ship boys didn' do it either. They'd get in trouble an'....t' captain wouldn't have liked ter see them runnin' n' wreckin' chaos an' all that. Like children. He'd not have liked it at all. It didn't cast a good light on a ship, if sumbody saw it. Havin' little chaps runnin' up n' down.. like they owned the place."

He scowled. "....you don' have t' middies included with ye.. do ye. Even here."

"I am a kid," Terry pointed out. "I'm twelve. Well, I fink I am, any'ow." He couldn't be certain - nobody at the foundling home knew when his birthday was, and if they did know, they hadn't seen fit to tell him. And they hadn't told him at the Society what date they'd put down for his birthday, either. "Don't own the place, though." He indicated aft with a thumb. "Them officers do - an' don't we know it."

"You jus' didn't make no sense right now Button. What's with ownin' that place?" He arched a brow and indicated aft just as Button had done. "..I jus' said you don' play with t' middies even here. O' what I've seen." Given he did not see all that much.

"No, we don't... the middies is goin' to be officers, ain't they? Why would the young gennelmen want to play with the likes of me an' Fingers any'ow?" He shrugged, and poked de Guarde, though not hard. "An' you said it yourself. Your old captain didn't want boys runnin' up an' down like they owned the place. I jus' said we don't own it, is all."

"Because they'd want to play?" Well, if he had been a middie he would have certainly agreed with Button. To play around with the ship's boys? Did ever the officers play with the Tars? No. Although that was not the same, it was reasonable to believe it the same with the boys.

He blinked when poked, made a face and then rather than say anything, returned the favour. "...Oh, right. You jus' don't own that part. Eh?" He smiled and then chuckled.

"Wiv us?" Terry was completely disbelieving that any such thing could ever happen. "As if any o' the young gennelmen'd want to 'ave anyfing to do wiv the likes of me, an' Fingers an'... an' Jacky Fisher." He grinned as de Guarde poked him back. "Reckon there ain't anyone knows this ship better'n us - 'cludin' the pusser an' the master an' them what's stored things in the 'old."

"..Well.. then. How do you feel about me hangin' about with you. I's as close to a gennlemen.. one of them middies as yer can get without.. .actually 'aving one." He smiled ruefully. He was itching for a game, but did not know how to instigate one, nor how Button might still react to it. He still had that reserve and it would take a while till it was fully done away with.

"You do know it well. I reckon. Well 'nuff you'd know where t' go, if you had a Tar goin' after ya. Or a marine, couse you took his hat." He looked amused. "You know it better n' t' drummers?"

"I dunno," Terry said, honestly. "I 'member what 'appened when you come aboard... but that was ages back, now. Well. Seems ages back." He shrugged. "You wanna 'ang about wiv the likes of me an' Fingers an' Jacky and the others? 'Cause that ain't... ain't... Well, it don't seem like we's the sort of folks you'd want to be 'roun', that's about what."

He grinned. "Seen Fingers wiv that 'at. I din't nick it, though. An', well, them drummers knows it pretty well - but they spend time up on deck on duty, which us folk don't, see."

"I mean now. ..do ye mind hangin' out? ..I ain't a middie anymore. .. so it is different. But I'm more a Tar n' a boy." He smiled proudly. " Older than you of course." He shrugged listening in for any pairs of running feet, laughter or yells.

"True, but below decks.. if you was hunted by any of them, you'd be able ter hide good enough n' they'd not know where you is?"

"I don' mind. Don' get to talk wiv many midshipmen. Or folks who've bin midshipmen. Not usu'lly." He poked his tongue out at de Guarde. "How'd you know you's older'n me? I fink I'm twelve, but I dunno I am. Might be older."

He considered the other boy's second question. "Reckon I know places they don't, yeah. I don't... don't go using 'em too much or folks'll figure where they are. Can't go skivin' off alla time, y'know."

"Well if you's twelve.. then i'm certainly older n' you. If you're not twelve... well only if you's been fifteen or older would ye be older n' me. But you don't look ter be that old. So there." He stuck his tongue at Button, mimicking him some. When he realised it he dropped his gaze quickly, embarrassed.

"..Any'ow....I think you won't be tellin' me o' any o' those hidin' places, would ye."

Terry looked down at his bare feet, thinking, then looked back up and grinned, tugging at de Guarde's sleeve. "On'y... don' go tellin' anyone, will you?" he said, leading the other boy towards the companionway.

De Guarde looked stunned so he could not answer that first few moments then he grinned and nodded quickly. He hurried his step so that Button would not need to make such an effort to tug him along. "Won't tell anyone, I promise." He said and meant it. "'s on me honour that I won't!"

"You won't... You won't go usin' it too often, will you?" Terry asked anxiously. "On'y, well, you disappear alla time an' they'll pull the place to bits lookin' for you." Which they probably wouldn't, but de Guarde would get in trouble and might get Terry in trouble too.

He headed down to the gundeck, swung around the stout upright post and carried on down to the messdeck. "There's places on the orlop," he said, speaking quietly now because he didn't want to be overheard. "But the best places is in the hold."

"I won't. S' no good place t' hide if yer us it too often. " He agreed and dropped his voice as well, though he was not telling Button the sort of secrets that the boy was telling him. He leaned closer and listened, while keeping the pace well with the other lad.

He felt thrilled and excited that he would be in on a secret and he would see the place now. "I see. I reckon... I reckon couse it's dark?"

"That. And there's less folks around down there," Terry replied, and plunged unhesitatingly down the next ladder to the orlop. "I works down here, mostly," he said once de Guarde had joined him, still keeping his voice low.

De Guarde moved after the lad, though somewhat less quick. "Wot' d' ye do?" He asked. He had just then realised he had not asked before, and Button did not tell nor boast about it. He should have known it of course, but if he had heard it, it must have escaped his mind. He did whisper now, keeping the two harder to hear or notice.

"Works for Mister Foxley. The pusser," he said. "Y'know, fetchin' and carryin' an' seein' to his cabin. Stuff like that. An' I'm a nipper when raisin' anchor, an' a powder monkey in battle. That can be awful scary, that can," he said, and glanced around, in case Mister Foxley was nearby to grab him.

"I know that las' one." The lad nodded and glanced about, but saw that Button was actually just making sure that they were alone. For a moment he thought that he may have crawled into a trap, but then realised that Button did not plan for them to go here and so could not have organised his friends to wait on him as well.

"So..you say t' hold's t' bes' place ter hide in?"

"Yep. Down 'ere - watch your footin' though." He led the way down the last ladder to the thick inky blackness of the hold. "Gimme your 'and. It'll be easier."