15th June: It's gone

Well, that was untrue, for a start. Thompson wasn't going to call him on it, though. He'd crossed a line when he'd accepted the stripes, and that meant he was no longer to be trusted in the same way. He'd known that would happen before he'd accepted the promotion, but it still kind of hurt, that distance and separation.

Ah well. There was nothing he could do about it, not now.

"Look, if you do know what it was he was lookin' for, he might like a hand in lookin' for 'em. It. Looks like he'll need 'em next time he comes to do his duty, that's all." He looked around. "Anyone needs me, I'll be up on the foc'sle, gettin' a bit o' air."

If either of the Shepherd boys had had anything to do with the disappearance of Oxley's drumsticks, he was going to kill them. It was unlikely that they would have taken them, though, knowing themselves just how important sticks were to a drummer.

But he couldn't think who else would be likely to raid his sea-chest for them. He hadn't even found the one odd stick from months back. It was as though they had completely vanished into thin air.

"Hsst," he said, once he was close enough to whichever twin was on duty. "I need to use your sticks. Mine've disappeared."

Disappeared. What was he hearing. He paused in mid step. He leaned a bit to the side, bringing his ear closer to the source of that whispering. Nothing more was said. Darn it. But, upon looking at the two drummers it was very clear, that a secret had had to be shared. He noticed the exchange of sticks.

Nothing unusual, was it?

But did not drummers each have their own pair?

He distinctly remembered them having more than one pair and here they were confirming what he thought he'd heard. They were missing! This was one little secret he could not pass up on being the bearer of! He bolted for the companion way and then down it, calling out:" Bobby.., Buttons, Green, Tupper..Oi, you lot, get t' rest! I've jus' heard summat nobody else knows 'bout!!" He grinned. His little discovery! He looked as if he'd just discovered a big chest of gold and the softest loafs of bread in the hold.

"It's Button, just one of 'em. Or Terry," the owner of that name said huffily, before grinning. "What you got to say, then - an' is it good?" He wrapped his hands around his battered brass-bound wooden tankard, eyes shining with the hope of hearing some juicy gossip about one of the other crew-members.

"Oh, it is not good. No.." He grinned finally settling down on a seachest, folding his legs up under him. "It's great!" He looked around and waited impatiently for Green to clamber up on his chest, and for Tupper to put his second shirt away and join them.

"Here I was.. me.. goin' bout me business. Right as rain. An then... suddenly, 'fore I knew where it comes from, I hear a whisper. It's gone...I hear. It's gone!" Well, he could tell his story the way he wanted to and at the pace he liked too.

"C'mon an' stop keepin' us in the dark," Jacky Fisher said, tempted to give the other boy a poke to make him 'fess up quicker.

"What's gone?" Terry wanted to know, dropping to the deck and pulling his legs up until he was sitting cross-legged, his elbows resting on his knees as he leaned froward, looking up at the speaker.

"What do you think what's gone?" The boy grinned gazing at Terry. Good. He had their undivided attention. He was a bit of a ... he did like the attention and this was giving him plenty. " I'll give ye a hint. 's very valuable! So terribly valuable to the person that don't have it like.. um... like gold would be to a king!"

Terry looked at him blankly. "How'm I s'posed to know what's gone? 'S why I was arxing you, warn't it?" He frowned. "Not 'is drum, surely?"

That would be really bad - and wouldn't he get in really really big trouble for it?

"No. No. But almost as important." Well, it was time to say it. "He lost.. nay somebody took 'is sticks!" He averted his gaze to study each of the gathered boys individually.

"Steal's a bit much." Mused Tupper. "He probably just forgot where he put'em."

With a scowl the boy shook his head:"Any o' you heard o' a drummer ever loosing or misplacing his sticks? It's like you or me misplacing... uh. .it's like a marine not rememberin' where they left their musket or.. or crossbelts. Or their hat! It jus' dun happen!"

"Someone's took 'is sticks?" Terry said, and looked nervous suddenly at the idea that someone might decide to go through his things and take something of his. It wasn't as though he had very much, and he owned even less that was worth stealing, but someone might want even that little bit.

"Yes. 'zactly so! S' most logical 'splanation for why the're gone." And he was absolutely sure he heard right. "So firs'..." He looked about the faces again. "S' anybody 'ere who wants t' fess up?" Perhaps he could go no further than their little group to find who decided to pull such a prank, if it was a prank. But if it was not and nobody stepped forward, they could play a little game, and keep their and Oxley's secret too!

"I never touched 'em," Terry declared, folding his arms across his narrow chest. "An' I mean, I ain't never touched 'em, not just that I ain't pinched 'em." A drummer's sticks were far too important, after all - and it wasn't as though he really had much to do with the drummers when they were doing.... whatever it was they did as Marines, after all.

"A'right.." And so several other boys swore that they haven't pinched the sticks and would swear on their life that they knew not who took them. "So... cos' we's all sayin' t' truth we know t' culprit ain't among us.. now, any o' you saw any of them others snooping around t' marine's mess, who don't belong there?" He arched a brow, looking at the gathered lot.

" 'Bout time you turned up," the Shepherd on duty muttered. "An' me sticks? Gone an' lost yours, have you?"

It figured, really. There was little else for it but to offer up his own, so he could be relieved. He had an important meeting with the heads up forrard to keep.

(Stupid computer's being slow tonight!!)

"Ain't my fault," Oxley retorted. "I turned me sea-chest over lookin' for 'em - and I knows they was on top earlier an' all." He gave an apologetic shrug. "I ain't gone lookin' for your brother's, neither. Didn't want anyone to think I was nickin' anythin'."

That would lead to a whole lot of trouble, and probably the cane, which wasn't something Oxley was at all keen to be on the receiving end of.

Shepherd rolled his eyes. "Shoulda done anyway, if you was short a pair. Go on then. Take 'em for this watch but have 'em back later."

He would be having a chat with his brother as soon as he made it back below, it seemed like.

"'Course you'll get 'em back. Don't you think I know how 'portant they is?" Oxley replied taking the offered sticks and sliding them into place on his own crossbelt. "You'll let me know if you see mine, won't you?"

"Aye." Shepherd nodded. That was it, then. He shifted his drum a bit and headed forrard, more eager to relieve himself than anything else at that moment.

"Isn' it better we check that there's third pair o' sticks, that t' Shepherds got. If there's one, then we know someone had it in for Oxley!" Came a squeak from one of the youngest boys.

"... If we ain't careful we could end up t' accused if t' sticks aren't there.. or even if they are. We need someone ter stand as an...um.. t' person who'll vouch for us we was just looking!" mused Tupper.

"..s' an idea! Wot' if we take that big one.. wot' can't talk English too well. Uh.. Gun!" Came a third suggestion from the little crowd. "An' then we'll solve this mystery n' t' seamen will sees how good we is!"

"Won't there be two pairs? After all, there's one pair up on deck wiv the duty drummer," Terry pointed out. "Could ask 'im, sure. For sure, I don't want nobody to fink I nicked anyfin'." Though quite what use a Marine who couldn't speak English too well would be, he wasn't sure.

"Well we knows one pair is certainly on deck, silly. Because if there wasn't .. we'd already know it was missing before Tom's 'ere had gone missing. " Which,according to the lad, made sense.

"..if wen' have a marine seein' us or assistin' us, he can vouch fer us later. Either if we's right and t' sticks had been gone f'ore we came.. or that they were there, when we went lookin'! An' we did not nick them. So... come on, les' get ter t' marine's mess. Jus' not all of us.. couse that's gonna get it terribly crowded and strange at this time o'... . Who's volunteerin' to go?"

"Well, if you knows a M'rine, you can arst 'im," Terry said. "I ain't gonna." He found the Marines intimidating, in their bright red jackets. Mostly.

"Hey - what about the twins? Mebbe they knows where 'is sticks've gone," he said, brightening a little. It'd be much easier talking to the Shepherds than to any of the adult Marines, after all.

"Do I looke like I've am bes' buddies wit' em. Fer that we oughta ask that 'un.Who's got disrated. He's more time with 'em an' in their mess than he is workin'." He averted his gaze from Button, but at his suggestion his expression cleared and he grinned.

"S' a smart idea! You know'em better don't you Terry? Wot' if you go an' fetch t' one who's got o' duty. Ask him ter see into 'is chest! If his sticks are missin'. What say you?"

"Buckles. Could ask 'im, I s'pose." Whether the other boy would want to help was anyone's guess, though.

"I don't know 'em so well as to tell 'em apart, y'know," he pointed out. And it wasn't as though he knew which one had just come off duty and which one was going on duty next watch, either.

"What's there to be telling appart 'bout? We only need one ter show us whether their seachest's empty or not. I don't think t' other would be disallowed ter rummage through the things of 'is brother." He grinned and thought of the second option that they had. Buckles could not exactly give them permission to look into the sea-chests, could he? Well, if he was such good friends with the drummers he might.

"Say wot'.. if we don't find t' Shepherds anywhere's we go for our boy." That was not saying, he accepted him as one of them, just that he was also a boy Tar. "Agreed?" The other boys did not appear to have much of an opinion about the matter. It was all the same to most of them. What they were, was eager to finally solve the mystery and find where the sticks had gone off to. It raised many theories in their minds. Some of which were quite far fetched. One of the boys even thought the mermaids took em and were now playing on their sea shells!