22 May, First dog Watch - later in the evening

"Foley's a'right. So's Brannin', an' Thompson, and Mallory... Can't tell Shriver, o' course. Be jus' like him to go spoilin' it. Dunno 'bout Vinin', neither," Oxley said, thinking aloud and ticking names off on his fingers as he spoke. "You'll have to get used to that there drum too, Buckles. Though it ain't so bad, not really. Just, well, you end up walkin' with a bit of a swing when you've got it on, like."

It was a totally mad idea... but it'd be really good if they could actually pull it off. Though he had no idea about how Johnson and Quinn would react to it.

"Brannin' an' Thompson are good," Tom agreed. "But 'tis better keepin' too many lads involved, y'know."

He remembered the trousers under his arm and he held them out to De Guarde. "These might fit ya, I think. An' aye, better get used to carryin' that drum now, 'fore tryin' it fer real!"

"Bit of a 'swing?" Well he could try it now, or a bit later just to see what Oxley was talking about. Since the drum was getting in the way somewhat it would sure be harder to climb any stairs with it. Speaking of that.. could try practicing going up the companion way, but how?

He looked at the trousers and extended one hand, careful of the drum and where it went 'swinging' when he did this. He grinned and mouthed a:" Thanks." Wondering how on earth did the Shepherd know to bring them with him, or better so, why did he have a pair of his trousers handy. He hadn't pulled them of, since he did wear his own. "Um,.. should I try it now?" He indicated the slops and then considered the two's suggestion he ought to get used to carrying the drum.

"Will be carryin' it as long as you let me." He grinned. "n' there's noone 'round t' see or summat." He adjusted the crossbelt just a little.

"I usu'lly carry it up the companionway, and clip it on at the top," Oxley said, helpfully. "It's sort of... swingin' your right leg a bit more... kinda like this," he said and demonstrated, feeling a little silly at doing it for no apparent reason.

"Why have you get them trousers, Tom?" he asked, coming back and looking curiously at the other drummer. He couldn't think why anyone would be andering around ship carrying a pair of trousers for no reason, which meant that there must be a reason, even if it wasn't obvious.

"An' you can carry that for as long as... well, till you next need to go on duty." Oxley himself had just come off duty and didn't need it right away, so de Guarde could borrow it for the rest of this watch and into the next, except he'd be on duty next watch.

Tom grinned. "Aye, carryin' the drum takes gettin' used to. Won't take long, though, if ya practises with it." He glanced at Oxley and didn't bother trying to keep a sly expression off his face. "I was gonna have 'em altered, like. But this lad here'll get better use out of 'em than me brother, I think."

De Guarde took a few steps, finding Oxley's odd gait rather amusing. Without the drum it did look silly, with the drum it felt that there was no other way but to walk with a slightly prolonged gait. He made a few trips back and forth and around the two drummers, making sure to avoid hitting either of them with the drum or with any other part of his body.

"Altered? what on earth did you mean to do with them?" He imagined Andrew finding out where hid slops had gone and just hoped that the other twin wouldn't go having his 'revenge' for their disappearance!

He looked frankly at Tom Shepherd. "What's he done to your stuff now?" he asked. Sticks must have done something to warrant Tom's going off with his trousers. If those were, indeed, Sticks' spare pair.

He grinned at de Guarde. "Aye, like that. You might find it helps a bit if you hold the rim of the drum, just here," he said, indicating. "It's a bit awkward, like, till you get used to it. Ain't heavy, though, which is a mercy."

"Altered," Tom repeated with a smirk. "He got somethin' sticky all over me crossbelt an' best shirt. Took half an age to get it off. So's I gotta get him back for it."

He indicated the drum with a slight nod. "Oughta have him march 'round with that, 'til he's used to it. That'll give Foley time t'get a coat knocked up for him."

"What did you want them to gain, a new set o' holes?" He adjusted his grip on the drum, made the hold just the way Oxley had shown him and went on walking about, trying to find a comfortable and not too odd looking walk with it. He tried to imagine walking up a companion way too, though he hadn't yet attempted to see how that went.

"Ain't so much trouble, this drum. Jus' a bit.. big on all things on a ship." He murmured as he yet again turned to look at the two lads.

Well, if Sticks had managed to get something all over Tom's crossbelt and his best shirt, it stood to reason that the other drummer wasn't best pleased with his brother.

He nodded as de Guarde continued walking. "Reckon you'll have it all figured out 'fore long," he said. "Don't s'pose you or Sticks have a spare coat? 'Cause I reckon one of yours'll fit him without hardly any alterin'. Although... I think I've still got an old one of mine, somewhere, that might fit him." He looked the young Tar up and down critically as he spoke, trying to work out in his mind whether his old coat would fit him, or not.

Tom just grinned. "What I were gonna do t'em's on'y fer me t'know," he said. "I think I got a spare coat, or mosta one. If I do, it'll prolly need new cuffs an' buttons."

Or maybe it was Andrew's coat? He couldn't remember now, but there was an old coat in their sea-chest. And it did need new cuffs and buttons, that was definite. He was not about to go into any detail about why it was in such disrepair, though...

"Dun' know which could fit me, unless I try. You boys.. were different sized before... that's for sure but.. that's all I'd know, wouldn't I?" He looked at the two, and had turned again, thinking the drum somewhat heavier now, that he'd worn it so long, but not keen to admit that.

'Wot' did you do to the cuffs?.. eaten 'em trough?" He asked curiously as he imagined the poor state of the coat. "N' buttons.. you didn't jus' sell em eh?"

"Dif'rent sized? Not by much. No sense in lettin' anybody be able to tell us apart!" Tom shook his head. "Don't matter what's happened t'that coat, netiher. Now c'mon. Might's well get the coat an' see how it fits ya."

He frowned suddenly and added, "Better take that drum off, too. No sense in givin' the game away!"

"You'll get used to 'em pretendin' to be the other'n. I think these days Sar'nt Quinn ends up thinkin' twice before sayin' their names, an' even then he don't get it right." He grinned. "C'mon, then, let's go see what we can get together for you. And like Tom says, ain't no point lettin' folks see what we's plannin' on doing. I'd best have that drum back. Just for a bit, anyhow."

"Here you are.. er, better you unclip it firs'.. Ain't no point I drop it or wreck somethin' down there." He grinned and waited for the drum to be removed first, before he could be going with the two. "..Hm, It mus' be a swell thing to have a twin brother that looks 'zactly like you. All t' ..well, Who's the highest in rank that ye've fooled?" He asked and adjusted his shirt a bit.

Oxley shrugged and stepped closer. "Here, you look at how I do it. It ain't so hard as all that, just slide it off the hook on the belt, like this." He lifted the drum up and off the crossbelt hook, then put it down. "Just slip the crossbelt off, then, or folks'll smell a rat. You'll have to know how to put the kit on and off prop'ly if you's goin' to pull this off, y'know." He looked curiously at Tom Shepherd. "I know you bluffed Brandeson, once, but that warn't so hard as all that, him bein' the drunk sot he was. You managed to fool any other officers?"

"He does, at that," Tom said cheerfully. "Highest rankin' fella we got? That was a major, I think. Visitin' on our last ship or somethin'. It was all luck that he was aboard long 'nuff for the watches to change."

"You was in luck fer not getting in trouble either!" He watched Oxley carefully, so that next time he needed to unclip or clip the round thing , he would not be looking for help. The lad had a point. If he was to present himself as a drummer, there was no way he'd pass for one, not even knowing how to clip his drum. Pulling the crossbelt over his head he held it to Oxley and grinned. "No good if anybody'd be smellin' that. .. erm I mean figurin' it out sooner than it bein' done."

With his hands now free, and his shoulders no longer weighed down by anything he made the step forward. "Best we be going, before it gets crowded!" He grinned glancing at the .. other Tom. "You didn' get in trouble for confusing the poor man?"

"Nope. He was never wiser fer it," Tom replied with a grin. " 'Cept fer him sayin' somethin' 'bout not makin' drummer boys stand two watches runnin'."

"When it was on'y one watch each - I know," Oxley said. "It's more funnier if you can fool 'em into thinkin' you's in two places at once, though. You should see some of 'em tryin' to work that out."

"Aye. Havin' someone look 'zactly like you has its perks. Though as long as yer not at odd bad ends with the other one. Wouldn't be good getting in real trouble without even knowing it." He smiled and looked between the two boys, waiting for either to take lead to where they could possibly obtain their coat and see how it fit and whether it fit at all.

Tom shrugged. "Oh I knows, but the major never troubled hisself to go belowdeck. Anyways, lessgo. Won't take a second to get that coat fished out."

With that, he scampered up the ladder to the Marines' messdeck.

"Oi.. which one of the two of you is the younger one anyway?" He asked as he climbed up the ladder, he followed quickly after Tom, glancing back just to make sure that Oxley was still with them. It was a silly thought that the lad would not be. He couldn't get lost on the way to his own mess, even less since he has been on Terpsy long enough to know his way around, with his eyes closed, hands tied behind his back, and hopping on one foot.

Well, maybe that was a bit much, but it would be interesting to try it once. He grinned as he entered the all too familiar deck - which really, it shouldn't have been - and looked about, then looked to spy where Tom has gone. Seeing the lad across further to the left, he walked up to him.

"That I ain't tellin'," Tom answered as he went to work digging in his sea-chest for that old spare coat. Ah, there it was. It only needed one cuff, apparently, and some new buttons. Good.

"That'll do for you, Oxley, won't it?" He asked, knowing that the other men on the messdeck were likely to wonder what three boys were doing with such a worn-looking coat.

"I'm comin', don't you worry yourself about that, Buckles, mate," Oxley said, grinning as he brought up the rear. "You jus' get yourself up there, why don't you?"

He crossed the mess-deck to where Tom Shepherd was rooting around his sea-chest. "Aye, Tom, that looks like it'll do jus' grand, that. Reckon I've got enough buttons somewhere to go on it, and all."

It was even better than he could have hoped for, really. Foley would be able to mend it up good without any real problem. Well, he hoped so, anyway.