Libertymen Ashore, 23rd May, Oporto

"Aye, that's it," Preddie said.

Chase reached for the tankard of wine. "Us lads are, but dunno if... prolly ain't wise if you was t'come along. Same fer you, Shepherd."

"Oi!" The drummer frowned. "I din't come ashore t'get left be'ind!"

"You two lads should go an' find a nice quiet tavern or some'ers an' have a drink or two together," Thompson said. "Reckon your parents'd kill us if you came with us an' they got to find out about it, Mathew." He was still holding the wine-bottle, and passed it to Shepherd.

"Nu'uh! I Agree with Sh'ppard here. We's not to be left behind! ..Jus' think in wot' trouble we could get.. all alone, in a strange tavern we'd never seen." He looked innocent as he said that, but persistent and confident that he did not want to stay behind even if Thompson spoke of reason.

"So's.. we have to come with you!"

"Either'a you ever been in a cat-house afore?" Taylor asked. "It ain't no place fer boys."

"Aye. Bit more dangerous than a cuttin' out party, that's sure," Chase agreed, passing the tankard to Preddie.

"Could leave 'em with Chicken," Preddie offered.

"Nobba shants!" Dyer protested.

Shepherd took a swig from the wine bottle, made a face, and declared, "Won't look right if I don't go, dressed all like's a Tar an' all!"

"You are both too young to go wanderin' around a cat-house," Thompson declared. "'Sides, reckon the Captain'd have our heads if we took you. When you'm older, mebbe, but not now." He folded his arms and assumed a look of complete implacability.

"Ey! we's both Tars n' Tars go there. N'... if'um t' Captain don't know we went, it won't hurt him anyhow! S' we can both keep that secret, can't we ?" He looked at the marine trying to remember which of the twins he was seeing. Anyway, it didn't exactly matter.

"Come 'on.. we have ter go. Really do." He nodded and put on his face the most pleading a look he could manage in his somewhat drunk state. "Geooorge! It ain't fair otherwise!"

"Oh the cap'n won't know, 'til yer lyin' in sick-berth with the pox," Taylor said. "Allays happens to boys what don't know no better."

"Ain't gonna be fair," Chase told him. "Yer gonna stay with Dyer, 'til one of us gets back, then it'll be Dyer's turn t'go."

Dyer looked annoyed.

Thompson shrugged. "Life ain't fair, lad. You oughta know that be now, after ever'thin that's happened in the past coupla weeks or so."

He glanced at Dyer with a wry grin. "Don't reckon you'll be waitin' long, the way Chase is all eager to get goin', mate."

"Dyer, yer want ter go don't ye?.. You wouldn't want ter wait with us.. but if we go.. then you can go right'a'way too." he scowled and crossed his hands over his chest.

"We won't get this pox.. we won't! Ain't stupid, either of us." He looked even more stubborn and set to go to this forbidden place which only gaind appeal just as it was more forbidden. "George... 'Cob.. come'on.. we's not babes!"

"You ain't goin' to get the pox 'cause you ain't a-goin'," Thompson said, speaking firmly. "You'm only fourteen, the both of yous, an' I ain't riskin' gettin' me head bit off just 'cause you wanted to see what all the fuss is about."

"But.. neither o' us are meant ter be here at all. So... even if we was gettin' it.. which we WON'T! ..Even then t' captain couldn't say it's either of ye lots' fault. ..." Though how they could explain such a problem then, was something of a mystery. "Please let us go, we...well if you show us how ter avoid this.. pox, then we's going to be safe as if we was here, makin' poor Chicken 'ere wait!"

Dyer didn't want to wait with the two boys, but that torment was preferable to having to explain to Captain Bolitho just how it was that two lads who were not supposed to be ashore had gotten poxed.

"Pedder day heer," he said. "Naow bittown. Bant goo'n noblase."

Chase grinned at Thompson. "Us foremast lads don't take long, but I dunno 'bout you Marines!"

"You couldn't last more'n five minutes, you foremast jacks. That's the only reason you'm so quick!" Thompson gave Chase a completely guileless look. "Well, c'mon, if you'm a-comin'," he said, opening the door. "An' you are stayin' here, Mathew, 'cause I ain't tryin' to explain to anyone how you managed to get the pox if you never left Terpsy!"

"..Can't we... jus' come n'..we'd do nuthin' but.. but come there?..You can't get no pox from jus' standin' there is it?" He saw how the opportunity to head for such a cat-house was slipping through his fingers and if any curiosity would have killed a man, his would have done so ten times over.

He had little idea as to what Dyer had said, that injured nose of his, probably broken, was making his speech sound rather hard to understand.

The Tars grinned and made to follow Thompson out. "We'll see 'bout that!" Taylor declared.

"Siddown an' wait fer one of us t'get back, all of ya," Chase said to the two boys, with a pointed glance at Dyer as well. "Ain't gonna be long anyway!"

De Guarde looked at Dyer as he saw the men leaving. "..so, we're going now too? Jus' after they'um gone good?" He looked pleading at the poor man with a bloody and probably broken nose.

Dyer shook his head, sensibly giving up on attempting to speak for the moemnt.

"Aw c'mon," Shepherd protested. "Ain't like we're gonna have any good fun sittin' 'round here!"

"We's two and he's jus' one.. Shepherd. If we go n' start running, there ain't no way he can stop us.. either of us." He whispered as he leaned closer to the other lad. "..that is.. if we ain't managing to convince him he's letting us go!"

Dyer frowned. "B'ain't goo'n no blase," he gurgled. Shepherd ignored him.

"Aye. No point in stayin' holed up in such a grand place!" The drummer cast a brief glance at Dyer and grinned. "Ready? Go!" He hopped up from where he'd been sitting and flicked the unfortunate topman on the nose, then ran for it.

De Guarde stiffled a laugh as he bolted right at the moment that Shepherd had shouted to go. There was no way Dyer could stop both of them, nor either, running as they did. Poor thing, he thought, his nose still did probably hurt like a proper hell. Diving to the left, and then back in a half circle to the right, he burst through the door just after the other lad, trying to hold himself from laughing as he knew that that could just o' slowed him down." Go, go! run' affore he gets t' running!"

Thompson sighed as the boys ran past. It seemed there was no way to keep them from tagging along. Well, if they had no money to pay for anything, they weren't going to get anything, poxed or otherwise.

"You are a right idiot, Mathew de Guarde. You'll tag along an' wish you hadn't bothered, i know you will."

De Guarde laughed as he slowed his pace and turned to look at Thompson. So the big boys decided - or one of them - that it was better to take the 'kids' along. Excellent! He waved to the Shepherd before turning about. Still out of range, to be safe, he called back. "If we hadn't tagged along we would'of regretted it terribly! But this?.. T' only one regretting will be you, couse we'll get all t' attention!" It was a cocky thing to say. He was grinning, ear to ear, and clearly having fun and nothing in the world could stop him.

"So you're lettin' us?" Still out of range, if Thompson or any of the men had decided to shepherd them back to Dyer.

"Mathew de Guarde!" Thompson rolled his eyes. "Tag along if you like but don't go blamin' me if you end up goin' as red as me coat over what you see. An' no I ain't payin' for you to go with any of the women there, neither. We don't want you gettin' back to Terpsy and findin' out you've got the pox."

That rascal de Guarde was getting far too used to having his own way, even as a Tar.

De Guarde skipped merrily towards Thompson, all till he was walking alongside of him. He grinned, his hands at his back, crossed and his chest puffed out, with pride and a sense of victory that the two achieved. "I ain't goin' red! I've seen it all before!" Well, it wasn't that he hasn't been in a pub with the sort of girls, a tavern where they might've come and gone, but to say it like that, as if he was experienced, was saying something very far from the truth.

"Awww. come on." He looked at Thompson pleadingly. "Can't you let me borrow summat money. I promise not ter get this pox! N' i'll get your money back when we's on ship, truth n' all!" Getting his own way was always great, even better now.

"Have you now." It wasn't said as a question but as a flat statement. "You seen what goes on in a cat-house, have you? An' no, you can't, not this time. Can't get the pox if you don't get up to anythin', an' we ain't lettin' you get up to anythin', not when you ain't s'posed to be off the ship. In fact, you might as well stay here with Dyer and then I'll know you won't be gettin' up to any monkey business."