Up before the Captain

"No, don't think it's said in the artickles.. 'nless it goes under t' one.. of any other thing that's not written in t' artickles already.. to fall under that one." He made a face. "..Wot'... I didn't listen to it that attentively, fer... a while now. N' there's plenty of them numbers!" He smiled. ".. um.. does t' captain even read them durin' service? or is it t' Bible or what not?"

"It'll prob'ly come under Article 36 - 'All other crimes not capital...' - like drunkenness does," Thompson replied. "An' most captains I've served under read 'em instead o' the Bible on a Sunday. Though I've bin in ships with a parson. Prefer the smaller ships like Terpsy, though. Much more friendly like."

"Aye, that one. Though isn't drunkness already comin' under one of them other articles?" He asked wondering if it might be a smart think to actually listen, to the articles being read. It was all nice to have his mind wander, and most of them articles ended with - death, death.. and death anyway.

"You're sayin' that big ships are not as friendly? Can't be a rule that. It's just havin' lots more space, and more people. If anything they ought to have been friendlier. After all, no arguin' for space would be made on 'em.. as opposed to Terpsy."

"Nope. There's... Lemme see." He started ticking them off on his fingers. "There's swearin', passin' information to an enemy, mutiny, plannin' a mutiny an' overhearin' folks plannin' a mutiny, bein' a coward, buggery, things like that. Drunkenness comes under Article 36. I know folks as call that one the Captain's cloak 'cause it covers everythin' else." He shrugged. "An' big ships have a lot more people on 'em - near eight hunnerd was on Temmyrare, where we've got, what, two hunnerd on Terpsy here?" He patted the rail.

"Buggery?" He arched a brow, questionably. He thought of the number of men on Terpsichore at any given time. Eight hundred would be about four times as much as Terpsy. The ship already looked crowded, and the number of men looked to be great.

Perhaps Thompson was right. The 36th Article was sort of saying - since somebody got bored of writing more than 35 rules, and perhaps lacked the imagination for more, he summed them all up in that one final one.

"Um... two men doin' what a man an' a woman do." He shrugged. "It happens, but we don't talk about it. And there might've bin eight hunnerd men an' boys in Temmyrare, but she's a second rate of ninety-eight guns, with three gun-decks. An' where we don't live an' sleep on the same deck as the guns here in Terpsy, them three gun-decks is where the men sling their hammicks. Ain't so comfy, really, not bein' able to have sea-chests, so it's just your ditty-bag hung up ag'in the ship's side. Harder to strike everythin' down into the hold with summat like four hunnerd sea-chests, after all."

"You just did." He pointed out. "Ditty bag?.. Now I wish n' hope I'll never go move to no big ship like that. Not even as a middie, if I ever get to be that." He crossed his hands. "There's prizemoney in these frigates anyway. Don't need to do no dull blockade stuff. We would've prolly killed each other sure as 'ell, if we had to do something like that. "

"Only to answer your question," the Marine pointed out. He adjusted his hat on his head. "You know the First Luff of a first rate like... like Victory gets paid more'n the First Luff of a fifth rate like Terpsy, here? Or even of a third-rate like Billy Ruff'n. All depends on the size of the ship. Though the bigger ships don't do the sort of things like frigates - they do the blockadin' and stuff like that. An' like you say, you'm more likely to get prize money in a frigate, and you share it with less other folk."

He shrugged. "Blockadin' does get dull. I do like Terpsy better'n Temmyrare - though she was a nice ship. Just a lot more crowded an' without all the chance to find a quiet spot up on the fo'c'sle."

"Well on a smaller ship you've got fewer people out there to get you. On a bigger, ye'd have ter sew year eyes t' your back." He smiled, explaining it how he saw it. Bigger ships were nice, higher pay and all, but they were crowded. In his opinion, the more people there were, the worse it could be. After all, the easier it was for them to not be discovered - by his reasoning - and the easier it was to have more men up to no good.

"You know we didn' find a Tar who'd nearly done me in.. n' Terpsy's a small one as compared to those."

"Easier to hide in a big ship, with all them folks. You can serve in a big ship an' not meet someone else for years, mebbe. With with folks livin' on three diff'rent decks. Though the M'rines was always on the upper gun-deck, so as to be nearer the Captain's cabin an' the wardroom an' all."

He shrugged. "You never saw who done it, an' it ain't the sort of thing folks are goin' to admit to doin'. I don't think they'll try it again, an' it'll be a lot harder for 'em to do with you sleepin' in the main part of the mess-deck along of all the other Tars."

"'zactly. Big ships, make people disappear, and culprits too. Though, even Terpsy seemed to have managed that." He shrugged. "If its a Tar who'd done it, I'um closer to 'im now than I was, in a middie's mess." He nearly pulled himself up on the railing again. But Thompson had said no, and the officers would've been even more upset if he did it.

"I don't know who it is though.. that'un you is right 'bout. Just that they had to be two.. couse, you can't carry someone under arms and by legs, if you're one. You'd carry them , leanin' against your chest.. or over your hsoulder like a sack o' stuff. To feel 'suspended' a bit like you would in a hammock.. that takes two. I'm right, ain't I?"

"Makes sense to me. I mean, the only way I could carry you by meself would be the way you've said - in me arms, or over me shoulder. Couldn't carry you like that without help. You didn't hear any voices or anythin', talkin' about it?"

He looked around, wondering where everyone else who was going ashore had got to. "You'm right in the middle, though and it'll be easier for you to wake someone if anyone tries that sort of thing again. An', well, they'd be more likely to wake someone else up an' all."

"You mean, since I was disrated? .. No. Nobody's been talkin' in t' mess. Close or far from me. There's one man who don't want to see me in t' mess at the very least, but Cob got him quiet. The guy jus' dun like anyone though. Hated when that groom came to eat with us...so I dunno, he's too open 'bout his dislike to be.. plottin' in secret, don't you think?" The former midshipman not outright accusing someone? That was something new.

"You've got a point. ..if something happened now, it would mean that there were quite a few of them takin' part or knowing about it. Though, I don't think they could pull it off. Not if they woke up Cob Chase." He shook his head. The others weren't there yet. He wondered if he could ask to join the crew, taking these men to land. Even with the prospect of being exhausted, and doing hard work, it still sounded like a nice idea.

"I had my doubts about him but right now, I couldn't point m' finger on him and say he's to blame for that before.. or that he'd take part in it now. He's jus' looking out for me, while we're in t' mess. That's all."

"Don't fret over it - I don't think anyone's likely to try that sort of thing again. 'Sides which, you ain't the same lad who come aboard. You'm much nicer'n he was." Thompson pulled his shirt straight. "You wearin' yours these days, or are you goin' to keep it for best?" he asked. He didn't need to specify which shirt he meant; de Guarde would know.

"True. If they did it 'couse of how i was, they ..hopefully have no reason to think of doing it now. Jus' hope it wasn't done couse of.. some other reason." Which he could not know, atleast not anything that was not related to his previous ship, and surely none of the Tars were from there.

He smiled. " I wear it when it's special time, n' when I know I won't get to do dirty things." He said smiling. "Don't want it ter get dirty, n'.. you know it's special, so..." He didn't finish that thought and grinned.

"Well, you ain't the same stuck-up, bullyin' brat you was, so I don't see any reason anyone'd want to do that sort of thing again." He stretched and grinned. "Dunno when you'm likely to get to wear it, then, if it's as special to you as all that. You'll likley grow out of it afore you end up wearin' it out - an' it ain't new to start with."

"Oh no!.. I wore it when I went on shore.. n' I wear it.. when I'm off duty, sometimes. I will wear it more often , won't grow out of it no!" He scowled. ".. i just don't want to make it ruined... new or not, it's your gift ter me." He frowned and looked at the floor. "N' I wear it on Sundays... but anyway, I won't grow taller ever more." He said it so serious that it looked as if he believed it. "...'s a sad, sad, fact!"

"Well, now you are bein' daft. You wouldn't want to be that same height all your life, that's for sure." He wasn't quite sure how to take the revelation that de Guarde would keep his simple gift for best, to be worn during Divisions, and possibly as part of his shore-going rig. "I'm, well, I'm real pleased you like it," he said, knowing he was repeating something he'd already told the lad, but not knowing quite what else to say.

"Wouldn't , but I don't 'spect to be taller, not by much." He shrugged thinking that it would've probably been quite nice to be taller, but if his body didn't want to have a spurt, he wouldn't push it. On some ships he'd benefit from being small anyway. Though if ever he saw Hollow again, that was the time in which he would wish to be as tall and as strong as ever possible. He sighed.

The sour expression was chased from his face soon after, at Thompson's words. He smiled at the man. "I like hearin' that, you know. " He said with a short laugh.

"You'm only young yet, you'll grow. Mebbe this year, mebbe next. Oxley ain't reached his full height yet, an' he's a couple year older than you are. Don't fret about it."

He smiled. "I ain't minded to keep sayin' it, 'cause we'll both get tired of that and quicker'n you think, too."

"Hm, I don't know if I'll like it when it happens. Not t' height bit, but I hear that your voice starts changing and then you sound real awful. Wonder if we'll see it happen with the middies. Would be funny." He looked innocent as he said that, knowing it could've been taken both ways. And one of those two ways would've been not too nice.

His grin broadened at the last said and he shook his head. "Oh's.. wouldn't get bored, me. Or tired of it. Not if it might have me earnin' something with it too." He chuckled. "Mind, I'm quite happy n' satisfied with only the thing. So don't think I'um.... tryin' ter demand more. Couse I ain't."

"It doesn't happen the same way to every lad, you know. Oxley's just got it one way - it might be real nice an' easy an' quick with yourn, you know."

And de Guarde was right, it was pretty funny when the mids' voices started breaking and they couldn't stay in the same octave two words running, when giving orders.

"Glad you ain't tryin' to get more stuff out of me, or I'd end up with an empty sea-chest, an' that just wouldn't be right, would it?"

"Well.... wouldn't mind filling me own chest with fine treasures." The lad had changed a great deal. A few weeks ago he would not have imagined to joke about something like that, to speak about midshipmen with a private marine, nor that he would have so happily accepted a shirt as he did. But now, he was getting used to being a Tar and no longer being bitter about it. He had even drunk much less, for the past few days than usual, though this he wished to remedy at some point. He just had to make sure to avoid getting caught when he did.

"n'... wouldn't want ter embarrass meself with summat like a squeak , a squeak and an attempt to say a word right." He shook his head, while his speach had become no better than that of a common Tar, atleast one thing had remained the same. He had his pride.

"Fine treasures? Ain't got anythin' of the sort in me sea-chest - just bits o' kit, me hussif, an' the like. An' Vinin's stuff as well, o' course, the messy beggar." He grinned. "Oxley don't squeak, that I've heared, I know that much."

"Wait, till he will. You'll see how embarrasin' that is." The lad smirked. "Your kit can be a treasure, 's jus' like a shirt. It ain't what it is.. but how yer.. 'sell' it. So to say." He looked about them thoughtfully. "You sure, you didn't miss them?"