High Seas Series
Book One
The Stowaway
Chapter 01
Charles W Bird
[email protected]
This story is a fictional account of a period that begins immediately after the Second World War and chronicles what happens to a young teen boy who has escaped from a fiend who was sexually brutalizing him. While the story is completely fictional, actual names, characters, places and incidents that might coincide with actions, places, people or events have been changed to protect both the innocent and the guilty or are the product of my imagination and used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The actual shipboard processes, however, are based upon experiences of the author.
This story is copyrighted and may not be reproduced by any means without my express, written permission.
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A SAFE HAVEN
Tommy had been searching the waterfront for an opportunity to sneak on board one of the ships tied up to the single pier of the port. He knew it was his only hope to get far enough away from the man who called himself his “guardian” to be safe.
It had been weeks of traumatic experience that began when the welfare officer had come to the house to tell him that his parents had been killed in a tragic automobile accident.
He had been “placed” with a guardian and that was when his nightmare became a terror. Night after night the man had brutally raped him and each time, he laughed as he threw him back in an iron cage, telling him that soon, he would be sold to a new owner.
He figured that his only hope was to get away on a ship down at the harbor. He also knew he could not just walk on board a ship and ask for a job, he was only fifteen years old and looked his age.
He had washed out his clothes in a creek the night before and had gotten most of the bloodstains out of his trousers. He figured they would dry during the day, as he searched for an opportunity to sneak on board a ship.
He knew enough about ships to tell that the ship he was looking at was getting ready to leave port, he had watched as the crew fastened down the hatch covers and steam began to blow out the vent up on the smoke stack.
While the ship was old, it looked clean and he had spotted a man, who the sailors called, “Captain” The man looked fairly young and he could see that he had a good relationship with the men who were working on the deck of the ship.
While he watched, suddenly, all the men who had been working on the deck disappeared, he figured that this was his only chance. He raced from behind the building, where he had been hiding, and ran up the gangway.
He quickly looked around, there still was nobody in sight, and he spotted a doorway that had a sign on it, “FIRE GEAR LOCKER”. The door was not locked and he quickly opened it and saw stacks of rolled up fire hoses, axes and other equipment that he had no idea what they were for.
There was a space behind the rolled up fire hoses and he jumped over the hoses and hunkered down in hiding. He prayed no one would open the door until they were, at least, too far out to sea to throw him off the ship.
He did not see the grizzled old man standing in a place that he would later learn was called the forecastle or foc’sle. The old man was the Ship’s Bosun and his name was “Whitey” Barnes. Whitey had been a sailor for nearly forty years and had been Captain Joel Carson’s father’s Bosun long before Captain Joel ever went to sea.
The Carsons, father and son, owned the SS Matilda Carson and Old Cap’n Carson had recently retired, leaving his son, Joel, who had been the First Mate, in command.
All the sailors on the ship, except for two Cadets and the new Cook, had sailed on the Mattie Carson since the father/son team had purchased her as war surplus shortly after the First World War, more than twenty years earlier.
There had been stowaways before and, most of them were still on board as crew members, so “Boats” Whitey knew the boy was in no danger of being thrown off the ship. He would just wait until they got out to sea and things calmed down a bit, before he brought Cap’n Joel down and they could rescue the boy.
Tommy could hear strange sounds, banging and thumping just outside the door where he was hiding. He did not know that the deck hands were bringing in the mooring lines and coiling them up on the nearby bollards.
He felt the deck he was sitting on begin to vibrate and a rhythmic thumping began. He had no idea that the ship was an old freighter that had a huge triple expansion reciprocating steam engine that powered it.
What was happening was the Engineers down in the “Hole” were warming up the main engine in preparation of getting underway. He heard a lot of men shouting and a shrieking steam whistle as the thumping became much louder.
There was more shrieking of a steam whistle and, not too much more time passed that the deck beneath him began to sway and rock beneath him.
He was tempted to crack open the door and see what was happening, but, then he heard voices close by, so he flattened himself down as low as he could get so he would not be discovered.
Whitey had raised his fist so that Cap’n Joel would see him and he pointed to the Fire Locker. Joel understood what Boats was signaling, so he waved back and placed his open palm across his pointed fingers, indicating to Whitey to give him a few minutes to get everything settled out.
The ship passed the breakwater and began to roll a bit. As soon as they were away from the port and headed for Sasebo, Japan, Joel passed the bridge over to the First Mate, Charley Goens, telling him that he had a “stowaway” to take care of.
Charley just grinned and said, “Another member of yer herd, Cap’n?” Joel laughed and replied, “Yeah, isn’t that how Dad found you?” The Mate laughed and shouted as Joel headed down the ladder, “Yeah n’ I thank God every day that he did, too!”
Cap’n Joel met up with Whitey on the main deck and said, “Well Boats, let’s rescue this young man.” Whitey replied, “Cap’n, I thinks he be a young’n he don’t look to be more’n a teen!” Joel just grinned and thought, “Yeah, that’s how Dad found me too!”
Boats opened the door to the locker and flipped on the light. He knew there was only one place the boy could hide, over behind the fire hoses. He said to the Captain, “Well Cap’ Joel, there ain’t nobody here, guess I will lock the door and seal it so’s no water kin get in.”
The men heard a frightened voice scream, “NOOOOO, don’t lock me in here! I’ll be good an’ ya kin do anything ya’ want to me, just don’t lock me in here!” Joel brushed past Whitey and entered the small room, “Son, we ain’t gonna hurt ya, we all have been where you are now. Please, let us help you.”
He reached over the stack of fire hoses and grasped Tommy’s arm gently, drawing him out of the locker and into the sunshine on the deck. Tommy was cringing, expected to be hit by these men.
The Captain drew him into an embrace and said gently, “Son, you are scared, but none of us will hurt you, EVER! How about you come with me, I’ll bet you are hungry and I know Cookie is makin’ ham sandwiches and we got a fresh load of milk on board.”
Tommy broke down in tears and managed to reply, “Ssssssiir, I’s not ate fer near three dddays nnow, ppplease sssir, Iii will dddo anything yyya’ want tooo mmme, if’n I’sd kin eeeat ooone oof tthem haaaam sssdandwwwichesss.”
Both the Captain and the Bos’un gritted their teeth, even though they had heard this same story before, it enraged them every time they heard it again!
The two men led the frightened boy up to the Galley and set him down at a table. They saw him wince when he sat on the padded bench and Joel thought, “Oh crap, I am gonna have to play doctor again!”
As soon as Cookie had brought the boy a plate loaded with three thick ham sandwiches and some potato salad that he had just made up for the Crew’s lunch, Tommy dove into the food like a starving wolf.
It would be some time before he really would believe that he could have any food that was available at the time and as much of it as he wanted.
When he finally had gotten enough food in his stomach that the hunger pangs were easing off, Cookie brought out a plate with a slice of fresh strawberry cream pie that must have been half the pie.
Tommy’s eyes were going a bit squirrely, but he managed to eat the piece of pie before he leaned back and gave a loud “Bbbbuuurppp!” His face turned red and he quickly said, “Excuse me!” He didn’t want the men to think he had never been taught proper table manners.
The two older men just smiled and the man who had introduced himself as the Captain, put his arm around him and, suddenly, Tommy finally felt safe and protected. He began to cry and Captain Joel just held him until he had recovered a bit.
Between hiccups, Tommy told them what his name was and what had happened to him. Joel waited until the boy had run down before he released him, keeping Tommy’s hand in his own as he said, “Son, you are kinda young to be a sailor, how about we make ya’ a helper here in the Galley, helping Cookie fix our meals.” (Author’s note: American Maritime Laws were not as strict then, as they are now.)
The Captain continued, “As soon as ya’ get yer sealegs, and get a bit older, then we kin try ya’ out in another job, maybe ya’ would like to be an engineer or maybe a mate?
Tommy sat up straight and replied, “Sir, as long as I don’t have to go back to that man, I will do any job you have for me, but, Sir, I would like to become a Ship Captain like yourself, SIR!”
So it was that young Tommy Williams became the youngest member of the crew of the SS Matilda Carson, a WW1 vintage freighter with a reciprocating steam engine for power.
A SAILOR BOY
Tommy worked hard in the galley, the mess tables shone and the coffee urn was spotless. He saw to it that there was always a fresh urn full of coffee and clean mugs were neatly stacked nearby.
His last job before heading to his bunk each night was to start a fresh urn of coffee and set out a platter of Cookie’s pastries for those on watch during the night.
It was not all galley work, he had time off each day and he spent his off duty hours roaming the ship. He explored the Engine Room and, while the huge engine fascinated him, he had no desire to work there. It was the Bridge that held his interest.
He watched Cap’n Joel take the Noon Position and mark it on the chart and he could be found each night at 2000 hours (8 pm), silently observing the Captain as he took his star sights and work up their position.
Joel spotted him watching and offered to show him how to takes a star sight and work out their position. Tommy was quick with math and he soon was taking star sights alongside Captain Joel and working out their position. Taking a “sunline” took a little more skill, but Tommy quickly learned how to take a correct sunline to determine their noon position.
One night, Joel decided to take a chance and he asked the Helmsman if the boy could take a turn on the helm and he just standby, if Tommy had any problems.
The Helmsman, Oscar Turnbull, just laughed and replied, “Sure, Cap’n, that boy be one of th’ nicest kids I’s ever saw.” Oscar motioned Tommy over to the wheel and showed him how to brace his feet and grasp the wheel so he would not break his hand if a rogue wave hit the ship’s rudder.
Tommy was on an emotional high and Oscar let him steer the ship for the entire four hour watch. Tommy hit his bunk that night, at midnight, with his eyes glowing. He KNEW what he wanted to do!
Joel had watched the boy for most of the watch and he stood beside the Third Mate, Billy Marsh. He said to Billy, does that remind you of someone?”
Billy replied, “Yeah, Cap’n. ME. Yore Daddy snatched me off’n a broken down pier in Aussieland (Australia) n’ saved me life. I weren’t no more older than that boy n’ I hadn’t ate for near a week.”
Billy had tears in his eyes and continued, “Cap’n iffin ya don’t want that boy, me n’ Tilly will take him n’ raise him right!” Joel just chuckled and said, “Thanks Billy, but that boy is gonna be a Carson just as soon as we git in ta’ Frisco. (slang for San Francisco)
The conversation went unnoticed by Tommy, he was concentrating on keeping the ship on course. He stood nearly the entire four hour watch working the helm and, despite his tired arms, his head was full of a dream about being the Captain of his own ship! (a dream of many youngsters, even today)
For the rest of the trip to Japan, Tommy would come up to the Bridge after he had completed his galley chores and stand a Helmsman Watch beside Oscar Turnbull.
He learned to take star sights and compute the ship’s location and to plot a course. Joel rarely had to correct any of his computations, and, when Tommy learned about compass declination and the fine art of using a sextant, his course plots were spot on.
The Mattie Carson was an old ship and was not originally equipped with a gyrocompass, they had to rely on only a magnetic compass, so that made the use of the sextant even more critical. The Electrician and his helper were in the process of installing a “MG” set to power a new Sperry Gyro Compass that Joel had purchased before the ship had departed San Francisco. It was a rebuilt “war surplus” unit that Joel had gotten a “good deal” on and was sitting in a crate down in the Carpenter’s Shop.
BOY’S TOWN
Tommy was not the only boy sleeping in the Bunk Room, Jeremy Townsend had been rescued from a dock gang in Seattle by Captain Joel, as he was returning to the ship.
It had been the Seattle City piers, where Tommy had been rescued. Jeremy loved the Engine Room and swore he was gonna be an Engineer. The Ship’s Chief Engineer, Angus McDuffy had taken Jeremy under his wing and was showing him how the Engine Room worked.
Jeremy worked beside Tommy in the Galley and then he would high-tail it down to the “Hole” while Tommy was climbing the ladder up to the wheel house. The two boys rapidly became friends and, except for when they were pursuing their dreams on the Bridge or the Engine Room, they were inseparable.
When the ship finally made Sasebo, Joel had the Purser, Orin Benson, fill out Crew Cards for both boys so that the Japanese Authorities could not grab them. (today, Merchant Seaman’s documents take the place of passports for American Merchant seamen)
The boys went ashore together and had the first of their many adventures, their first taste of beer, their first taste of sushi and their first look at a night club. Despite their only being fifteen, they were treated as adults when they went ashore.
Neither of them ever spotted Boats walking quietly behind them, making sure they did not get in any trouble.
They spent a week in Sasebo, Jeremy became adept at keeping the steam winches working on deck and Joel put Tommy to updating the Mariner’s Guide and annotating changes to the charts. Both young men were released at noon each day and told they had to be back on the ship by 8 O’clock that night.
They experienced many firsts in their young lives, but, the most important lesson they learned was that they were brothers! Perhaps not blood brothers, but brothers just the same.
Each had the other’s back and, by the time they got back to Frisco, they became even closer than brothers. They had begun a relationship that would last beyond their own lifetimes.
Both Angus and Joel saw the relationship beginning, but neither said anything, they both felt that, if it was meant to be then, who were they to cause waves.
As they began to load cargo for Sydney, Australia, Joel put Tommy to accounting for the cargo swung aboard. Tommy thought that included directing where it was to be stowed in the hold and Joel found Tommy down in the hold, directing the stevedores and making a graphic listing of every piece of cargo in each of the two holds. He was amazed at what Tommy had done and the neatness of the cargo hold.
At the same time, Angus had put Jeremy in charge of the deck machinery and Joel noticed that they had not a single breakdown during loading. It was something that he could not remember ever happening before!
Never before had the Mattie been loaded so quickly and with so little fuss. It seemed like they were battening down the hatches before they were ready to depart. Both Angus and Joel noticed that the two boys were definitely standing taller!
BOYS BECOME MEN
Both Angus and Joel knew by then that the two boys were more than just friends, what they did not know was that the crew also realized what was going on between the two boys.
Even the two Cadets from the Academy, who were on board for training, realized what was happening and they watched out for the two younger boys, both on board the Mattie and also when they went ashore.
Both boys were careful not to make their new relationship obvious, but they soon got the idea they were being protected. The two Cadets, Robert Bailey and Andrew Blyth, took them aside and spoke quietly to them. Andrew said, “Guys, me n’ Bobby are like you two and I would die if something happened to him. You guys must be careful, there are people who will hate ya’ and do terrible things to ya’ so just be careful!” Robert added, “Ya’ don’t have ta’ worry here on the ship, everyone knows and nobody cares.”
Tommy and Jeremy watched carefully for the next several days, but they soon realized that Robert was right, nobody cared that they were together!
They were traversing the South China Sea and skirting the many islands of Southeast Asia. It would be a two week voyage before they would spot the north coast of Australia and another three days before they would enter Sydney Harbor.
Both young men had already been told that their duties would be helping with the cargo, just like they had done in Sasebo. Their pride in becoming a valued member of the crew showed in everything they did.
Jeremy was standing watches in the Engine Room alongside the Oiler and Tommy was seen regularly doing the duty of the Navigator and was overseen by the Captain. It became rare to see the Captain use the sextant to take a star sighting and he only checked the chart to see that Tommy had done his math correctly.
Angus Mc Duffy had written a letter to his wife, Frances, about Jeremy asking her if she would accept him as a son. They had lost their only child, Angus Junior, during the last war, he had been a fighter pilot and was shot down at Iwo Jima.
He did not know that there would be a letter for him in Sydney, when the Purser went to collect the mail, telling him, “not only yes, but HELL YES!”
Joel had already decided that he would ask Tommy to become his son, in the same manner as his father had asked him! Neither man was concerned about the boys’ relationship with each other as neither man would ever leave the Mattie Carson. Both had decided to ask their boy shortly after they departed Sydney.
AN AUSSIE DOCKIE
They sailed into Sydney Harbor and tugs assisted them in docking at their assigned Cay. (pronounced “key” and is the name the Australians use for “pier”)
The deck crew made preparations to load pallets of sacked grain for delivery to Valparaiso, Chile. They would be loaded down to the “load line” for the remainder of the voyage to South America.
Trouble began almost immediately, the Boss Dockworker was not about to take orders from a kid and Tommy was not about to back down! The two were staring, nose to nose, at each other when Boats came swinging down into the hold, riding on the cargo hook.
Both the Boss Dockworker and Tommie were nose to nose and neither looked like they were going to back down. Just as Boats started to intervene, the Boss Dockworker began to laugh, he shouted, “Kid, I gotta hand it ta’ yer, bigger men than you have backed down from me an’ ya’ stoods yer ground! We will do it yer way!”
Boats smiled and walked away before either of them spotted him. He later told Captain Joel about the incident and Joel was as proud as a peacock of his “almost” son! Joel made up his mind that he would talk to Tommy very soon about becoming his son legally!
The loading of the cargo went rapidly, all the grain bags were securely strapped to the pallets, twenty sacks per pallet. (Author’s note – This was before bulk grain carriers were common)
By the end of the second day, the hold was full. The forward hold was full of machinery belonging to the United States Army and now, the after hold was full with sacked grain. Joel planned to depart Sydney the next morning.
They had spent two days loading the Australian grain and he was anxious to get going. He had sent a wire to their attorney in San Francisco, instructing him to begin the paperwork to make one Thomas (Tommy) Francis Williams, an orphan, his adopted son.
Samuel Jeffers had been their attorney for as long as he could remember and Joel knew that he knew how to handle the matter, after all, he had done so when his own Father had adopted him. Joel planned to tell the boy after they had sailed from Sydney. He also knew that Angus had already sent almost the same wire to Sam, as he had approved the transmission.
They sailed the next morning and both boys were startled when they were asked to come up to the Captain’s Stateroom.
Each boy feared that he had done something wrong and they were both nervous as cats in a dog kennel.
They stood before the door to the Captain’s cabin for a bit, before they nervously knocked on the door. A smiling Joel opened the door and they saw Chief Angus standing there with a big smile on his face, also. That relaxed both boys somewhat and they were invited in to Joel’s Stateroom.
Joel pointed to the couch, indicating they should sit down. He actually feared they might fall down as they were told what was going on.
Joel went first, “Tommy, you know I like you and I have already told you that you have a great future with this ship.” Tommy nodded his head in a “yes” and Joel continued, “Tommy, I would consider it a great honor if you would agree to become my adopted son.”
Tommy sat there with his jaw hanging open, “Yyyyyuuuuuu wwwanttt meeee” he managed to squeak out. Joel wrapped his armed around the boy and replied, “Yes, I want you to be my son, forever!” All Tommy could do was to shake his head in a “yes”, he simply was not capable of making an intelligent sound.
Jeremy then realized what was going on and, before Angus could say a word, he jumped up and threw his arms around the old Chief Engineer’s neck, screaming, YES!” He was not about to let go any time soon!
When all four of them had calmed down and wiped their faces of the tears they all had shed, Joel told them, “You both are now sixteen and the regulations allow me to make you Maritime Cadets. You will be kinda like a junior Mate or Engineer on this ship.”
He handed them temporary certificates that named them Shipboard Cadets of the SS Matilda Carson. He told them that they would have to go down to the Coast Guard Headquarters in San Francisco and take an examination to make it all completely legal, but he and Angus would make sure they were ready by the time they got to San Francisco Bay.
Jeremy looked a bit scared and said, “Ya knows me n’ Tommy is mates?”
Angus replied for both himself and Joel, “Yes, we know that an’ we gots no problem with it. All it do is makes us’ins all family!” Tommy put an armlock around Jeremy and it would be many minutes before either boy could stop crying.
VALPARAISO
There was a new spring in both boys’ steps and the two Maritime Academy Cadets, already assigned to the ship, asked them both to come bunk in the Cadet Bunk Room.
That made it real for the two boys, but they worried that the two “real” Cadets would cause them grief over their relationship. Both Robert and Andrew assured them that was not the case and Robert said shyly, “Us too!”
It would take them almost three weeks to get to Valparaiso, the Mattie Carson was not a fast ship. Her old steam engine could push her along at about 13 knots, day in and day out.
Jeremy was learning lots now and was given new responsibilities. He was assigned to stand watch with the Third Engineer, Spencer Goodwin.
Spencer told Jeremy that he was a Mattie Carson boy himself, Angus and Joel had found him living in a cardboard box in Los Angeles just before the war. He had no idea what had happened to his parents, he remembered being let out of their car on a street corner in Anaheim and he never saw them again.
Spencer took the boy under his wing and began schooling him on the things he would have to know for his Coast Guard Ticket as a Fireman/Water Tender. The Coast Guard did not have a classification of “Cadet”, so all Maritime Engineering Cadets were also ticketed as Firemen/Water Tenders. He told Jeremy, “It’s a snap, I’ll bet ya’ know enough right now to pass the damned thing!”
Tommy was working towards a “ticket” for AB – Able Bodied Seaman and Boats was gonna make damned sure he would pass the test! Every day Boats tutored Tommy on the things he needed to know, he showed him about working the cranes and handling cargo.
He showed both boys about the life boats and what they needed to know for an endorsement as Life Boatman.
Tommy continued his studying Navigation and, under Joel’s supervision, he was now doing all the course plotting and celestial readings.
Joel also taught him how to use the radar. It was a newfangled thing that he had purchased as war surplus the last time they had been in San Francisco. The old generator down in the Engine room was not stable enough to run the radar, so they had installed a MG set in the compass room that could supply both the gyrocompass and the radar. It made the compass more reliable, too.
Every time he thought about it, Joel patted himself on the back over that purchase. Even his Dad thought it had been a good idea!
He taught Tommy how to do running plots and navigation maneuvering plots. Freighters did not do much of that, but he knew there would be some questions about them when Tommy took the Third Mate’s test in a couple of years.
They finally pulled into Valparaiso, it was a drab, dirty port. The bay water stank like a rancid barnyard and the dock hands who received their mooring lines were both filthy and slovenly.
Joel was concerned about any of the dock workers getting on board the ship, so he posted two ABs and Tommy at the gangway. He gave a pistol to Tommy to put in his pocket and the ABs were armed with shotguns.
The port authorities did not like that, they frowned on firearms, but Joel pointed out that, even tied up at the pier, the SS Matilda Carson was a US Flagged vessel and therefore was sovereign American Territory. The officials went away, shaking their fists at him.
The cargo handling went poorly and Tommy was not down in the hold managing the cargo as he usually did. Boats went down to try and help, but he did not know Tommy’s “system”, so it was taking forever.
Joel debated sending Tommy down in the hold, but decided it was more important that he man the gangway. As it turned out, that was a wise decision.
The dock workers did not work after 4 PM and they had knocked off for the day. Something just didn’t feel right to Tommy, so he persuaded the two ABs to stay with him, guarding the gangway.
Just as it was getting dark, they heard a noise. There were no lights on the pier, so they could only make out shadowy shapes of figures moving around the pier.
As the shapes came closer to the gangway, Tommy pulled out his pistol and told both ABs to take the “safeties” off on their shotguns. All of a sudden, the shadowy figures rushed up that gangway, screaming like wild Indians.
Tommy fired his pistol over their heads and told the two ABs to point their shotguns at “body level”! He flipped on the flood light and they saw a gang of men, all armed with long knives and clubs.
He raised his pistol and pointed it directly at their faces and the two ABs were pointing their 10 gauge shotguns at the invaders’ bellies! The invaders took a couple of steps more and Tommie again fired over their heads.
The ABs moved their hands to fire their shotguns and suddenly, all the men on the gangway jumped over the side into the filthy bay water.
That was the last they saw of the invaders that night.
The next morning, Joel complained to the port authorities, but they only grinned and muttered, “Stupid Gringos, if you had paid the bribes, you would not have this trouble.”
AWAY FROM VALPARAISO!
After two more days, the forward hold was finally empty. Joel didn’t waste any time in making preparations for getting underway. Angus and his crew had the boiler up to pressure and were busy rocking the main engine to warm it up.
The dock workers refused to come to assist bringing in the mooring lines, so Tommy took a crew of ABs down the gangway and flipped the mooring lines off the dock bollards. They ran back up the gangway at a dead run and Boats immediately pulled it up with the line handling boom.
As soon as all the lines were brought in, Joel began backing the Mattie away from the pier and out into the harbor pool. He then swung the ship and headed out the breakwater. It would be a long time before he would agree to serve Valparaiso again!
They chugged their way north, along the South American coast as far as Callao, Peru. There, they loaded sixteen iron boxes that were welded shut. Rumor had it that the boxes were filled with gold from the mines high up in the Andes Mountains.
Joel confided in Tommy that the rumors were true, so Tommy had the iron boxes laid out along the very bottom of the hold. Joel had told him their next stop would be Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and that they would load copper ingots. He figured that several layers of the huge copper ingots would protect any gold they had on board.
The rumor about the gold must have never reached the sleazy characters who were hanging around the pier at Puerto Vallerta, because there was no trouble. They had departed Callao on schedule and saw only a few ships off in the distance as they made their way North to Puerto Vallarta.
There was only a rickety fishermen’s pier at Puerto Vallarta, so the copper was ferried out to them on barges. The copper ingots had “ears” cast into them that they used to attach a sling to in order to hoist them aboard. Tommy insisted that one of his own men fasten the slings on the ingots, they weighed about a ton apiece!
It was slow work and it took them three days to take on the entire consignment. Boats reported that they were down to the Summer Load Limit when they finished loading all the copper. The hold, however, was not completely filled, so Tommy had the ABs build cribbing to prevent the load from shifting if they ran into a storm.
Tommy did not see Joel standing on the deck above the hold, beaming in pride that Tommy had done the entire job all on his own. Tommy also did not know, that Boats had told the Captain what he had done to secure the load of gold already in the hold. Each of those copper ingot weighed a ton, nobody was gonna find the gold, let alone haul it off.
TIME TO HEAD FOR HOME
The voyage up the West Coast of Mexico and California was slow, the Mattie fought storms the entire way. While on watch, Tommy had to assist Oscar Turnbull on the helm, just keeping the Mattie on course was a two man job. They had to rely on the Gyro Compass and “dead reckoning” to know where they were, it was so stormy they could not even see the stars OR the sun to get a position check.
Joel ordered the ship slowed down, he was worried about the cargo shifting. He had not counted on Tommy’s cribbing that was bracing the heavy copper ingots from shifting. When the finally got to San Francisco Bay and headed upbay to the ASARCO smelter, did they discover that not a single ingot had moved.
Had it been possible, Joel’s esteem and love for his “almost son” went even higher!
After they had delivered the gold to the officials from the US Treasury Department for delivery to the San Francisco Mint, they swung the Mattie over to the Oakland Army Terminal to offload the Army equipment they had taken on in Sasebo, before heading to their home pier in Richmond. When they arrived at their home pier, there were two people waiting for them on the pier. Angus’ wife, Frances, and Mr. Samuel Jeffers.
Frances did not realize that Mr. Jeffers, the lawyer, had the paperwork already signed and sealed making Jeremy her’s and Angus’ legal son. Joel, however, knew from long experience that Sam Jeffers was a man of his word and he had promised Joel that he would meet him with both boy’s adoption papers.
When all the sobs and tears were over, Angus and Frances took their new son home to get acquainted and Joel hailed a cab to take him and Tommy home to meet his new Grandfather. Even though the two families lived on the same block in Berkeley, it would be two days before the young boy couple could get together to compare notes.
Nothing was said about the two boys being together and it was even agreed that they could spend their nights together in one or the other house. They would be in port for two weeks, before they were to sail to Seattle to pick up two holds worth lumber for delivery to Los Angeles.
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TBC
Coming Soon: It looks like the two boys are settled, as much as any sailor can be settled, and their futures are assured. As soon as they are both eighteen, they will begin their climb through their respective careers on board the surprise that Old Captain Carson is to spring on his son, Joel. The SS Thomas Carson is presently undergoing a hull cleaning and minor repairs at Kaiser Shipyards.
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This story is a fictional account of a period that begins immediately after the Second World War and chronicles what happens to a young teen boy who has escaped from a fiend who was sexually brutalizing him. While the story is completely fictional, actual names, characters, places and incidents that might coincide with actions, places, people or events have been changed to protect both the innocent and the guilty or are the product of my imagination and used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The actual shipboard processes, however, are based upon experiences of the author.
This story is copyrighted and may not be reproduced by any means without my express, written permission.
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A SAFE HAVEN
Tommy had been searching the waterfront for an opportunity to sneak on board one of the ships tied up to the single pier of the port. He knew it was his only hope to get far enough away from the man who called himself his “guardian” to be safe.
It had been weeks of traumatic experience that began when the welfare officer had come to the house to tell him that his parents had been killed in a tragic automobile accident.
He had been “placed” with a guardian and that was when his nightmare became a terror. Night after night the man had brutally raped him and each time, he laughed as he threw him back in an iron cage, telling him that soon, he would be sold to a new owner.
He figured that his only hope was to get away on a ship down at the harbor. He also knew he could not just walk on board a ship and ask for a job, he was only fifteen years old and looked his age.
He had washed out his clothes in a creek the night before and had gotten most of the bloodstains out of his trousers. He figured they would dry during the day, as he searched for an opportunity to sneak on board a ship.
He knew enough about ships to tell that the ship he was looking at was getting ready to leave port, he had watched as the crew fastened down the hatch covers and steam began to blow out the vent up on the smoke stack.
While the ship was old, it looked clean and he had spotted a man, who the sailors called, “Captain” The man looked fairly young and he could see that he had a good relationship with the men who were working on the deck of the ship.
While he watched, suddenly, all the men who had been working on the deck disappeared, he figured that this was his only chance. He raced from behind the building, where he had been hiding, and ran up the gangway.
He quickly looked around, there still was nobody in sight, and he spotted a doorway that had a sign on it, “FIRE GEAR LOCKER”. The door was not locked and he quickly opened it and saw stacks of rolled up fire hoses, axes and other equipment that he had no idea what they were for.
There was a space behind the rolled up fire hoses and he jumped over the hoses and hunkered down in hiding. He prayed no one would open the door until they were, at least, too far out to sea to throw him off the ship.
He did not see the grizzled old man standing in a place that he would later learn was called the forecastle or foc’sle. The old man was the Ship’s Bosun and his name was “Whitey” Barnes. Whitey had been a sailor for nearly forty years and had been Captain Joel Carson’s father’s Bosun long before Captain Joel ever went to sea.
The Carsons, father and son, owned the SS Matilda Carson and Old Cap’n Carson had recently retired, leaving his son, Joel, who had been the First Mate, in command.
All the sailors on the ship, except for two Cadets and the new Cook, had sailed on the Mattie Carson since the father/son team had purchased her as war surplus shortly after the First World War, more than twenty years earlier.
There had been stowaways before and, most of them were still on board as crew members, so “Boats” Whitey knew the boy was in no danger of being thrown off the ship. He would just wait until they got out to sea and things calmed down a bit, before he brought Cap’n Joel down and they could rescue the boy.
Tommy could hear strange sounds, banging and thumping just outside the door where he was hiding. He did not know that the deck hands were bringing in the mooring lines and coiling them up on the nearby bollards.
He felt the deck he was sitting on begin to vibrate and a rhythmic thumping began. He had no idea that the ship was an old freighter that had a huge triple expansion reciprocating steam engine that powered it.
What was happening was the Engineers down in the “Hole” were warming up the main engine in preparation of getting underway. He heard a lot of men shouting and a shrieking steam whistle as the thumping became much louder.
There was more shrieking of a steam whistle and, not too much more time passed that the deck beneath him began to sway and rock beneath him.
He was tempted to crack open the door and see what was happening, but, then he heard voices close by, so he flattened himself down as low as he could get so he would not be discovered.
Whitey had raised his fist so that Cap’n Joel would see him and he pointed to the Fire Locker. Joel understood what Boats was signaling, so he waved back and placed his open palm across his pointed fingers, indicating to Whitey to give him a few minutes to get everything settled out.
The ship passed the breakwater and began to roll a bit. As soon as they were away from the port and headed for Sasebo, Japan, Joel passed the bridge over to the First Mate, Charley Goens, telling him that he had a “stowaway” to take care of.
Charley just grinned and said, “Another member of yer herd, Cap’n?” Joel laughed and replied, “Yeah, isn’t that how Dad found you?” The Mate laughed and shouted as Joel headed down the ladder, “Yeah n’ I thank God every day that he did, too!”
Cap’n Joel met up with Whitey on the main deck and said, “Well Boats, let’s rescue this young man.” Whitey replied, “Cap’n, I thinks he be a young’n he don’t look to be more’n a teen!” Joel just grinned and thought, “Yeah, that’s how Dad found me too!”
Boats opened the door to the locker and flipped on the light. He knew there was only one place the boy could hide, over behind the fire hoses. He said to the Captain, “Well Cap’ Joel, there ain’t nobody here, guess I will lock the door and seal it so’s no water kin get in.”
The men heard a frightened voice scream, “NOOOOO, don’t lock me in here! I’ll be good an’ ya kin do anything ya’ want to me, just don’t lock me in here!” Joel brushed past Whitey and entered the small room, “Son, we ain’t gonna hurt ya, we all have been where you are now. Please, let us help you.”
He reached over the stack of fire hoses and grasped Tommy’s arm gently, drawing him out of the locker and into the sunshine on the deck. Tommy was cringing, expected to be hit by these men.
The Captain drew him into an embrace and said gently, “Son, you are scared, but none of us will hurt you, EVER! How about you come with me, I’ll bet you are hungry and I know Cookie is makin’ ham sandwiches and we got a fresh load of milk on board.”
Tommy broke down in tears and managed to reply, “Ssssssiir, I’s not ate fer near three dddays nnow, ppplease sssir, Iii will dddo anything yyya’ want tooo mmme, if’n I’sd kin eeeat ooone oof tthem haaaam sssdandwwwichesss.”
Both the Captain and the Bos’un gritted their teeth, even though they had heard this same story before, it enraged them every time they heard it again!
The two men led the frightened boy up to the Galley and set him down at a table. They saw him wince when he sat on the padded bench and Joel thought, “Oh crap, I am gonna have to play doctor again!”
As soon as Cookie had brought the boy a plate loaded with three thick ham sandwiches and some potato salad that he had just made up for the Crew’s lunch, Tommy dove into the food like a starving wolf.
It would be some time before he really would believe that he could have any food that was available at the time and as much of it as he wanted.
When he finally had gotten enough food in his stomach that the hunger pangs were easing off, Cookie brought out a plate with a slice of fresh strawberry cream pie that must have been half the pie.
Tommy’s eyes were going a bit squirrely, but he managed to eat the piece of pie before he leaned back and gave a loud “Bbbbuuurppp!” His face turned red and he quickly said, “Excuse me!” He didn’t want the men to think he had never been taught proper table manners.
The two older men just smiled and the man who had introduced himself as the Captain, put his arm around him and, suddenly, Tommy finally felt safe and protected. He began to cry and Captain Joel just held him until he had recovered a bit.
Between hiccups, Tommy told them what his name was and what had happened to him. Joel waited until the boy had run down before he released him, keeping Tommy’s hand in his own as he said, “Son, you are kinda young to be a sailor, how about we make ya’ a helper here in the Galley, helping Cookie fix our meals.” (Author’s note: American Maritime Laws were not as strict then, as they are now.)
The Captain continued, “As soon as ya’ get yer sealegs, and get a bit older, then we kin try ya’ out in another job, maybe ya’ would like to be an engineer or maybe a mate?
Tommy sat up straight and replied, “Sir, as long as I don’t have to go back to that man, I will do any job you have for me, but, Sir, I would like to become a Ship Captain like yourself, SIR!”
So it was that young Tommy Williams became the youngest member of the crew of the SS Matilda Carson, a WW1 vintage freighter with a reciprocating steam engine for power.
A SAILOR BOY
Tommy worked hard in the galley, the mess tables shone and the coffee urn was spotless. He saw to it that there was always a fresh urn full of coffee and clean mugs were neatly stacked nearby.
His last job before heading to his bunk each night was to start a fresh urn of coffee and set out a platter of Cookie’s pastries for those on watch during the night.
It was not all galley work, he had time off each day and he spent his off duty hours roaming the ship. He explored the Engine Room and, while the huge engine fascinated him, he had no desire to work there. It was the Bridge that held his interest.
He watched Cap’n Joel take the Noon Position and mark it on the chart and he could be found each night at 2000 hours (8 pm), silently observing the Captain as he took his star sights and work up their position.
Joel spotted him watching and offered to show him how to takes a star sight and work out their position. Tommy was quick with math and he soon was taking star sights alongside Captain Joel and working out their position. Taking a “sunline” took a little more skill, but Tommy quickly learned how to take a correct sunline to determine their noon position.
One night, Joel decided to take a chance and he asked the Helmsman if the boy could take a turn on the helm and he just standby, if Tommy had any problems.
The Helmsman, Oscar Turnbull, just laughed and replied, “Sure, Cap’n, that boy be one of th’ nicest kids I’s ever saw.” Oscar motioned Tommy over to the wheel and showed him how to brace his feet and grasp the wheel so he would not break his hand if a rogue wave hit the ship’s rudder.
Tommy was on an emotional high and Oscar let him steer the ship for the entire four hour watch. Tommy hit his bunk that night, at midnight, with his eyes glowing. He KNEW what he wanted to do!
Joel had watched the boy for most of the watch and he stood beside the Third Mate, Billy Marsh. He said to Billy, does that remind you of someone?”
Billy replied, “Yeah, Cap’n. ME. Yore Daddy snatched me off’n a broken down pier in Aussieland (Australia) n’ saved me life. I weren’t no more older than that boy n’ I hadn’t ate for near a week.”
Billy had tears in his eyes and continued, “Cap’n iffin ya don’t want that boy, me n’ Tilly will take him n’ raise him right!” Joel just chuckled and said, “Thanks Billy, but that boy is gonna be a Carson just as soon as we git in ta’ Frisco. (slang for San Francisco)
The conversation went unnoticed by Tommy, he was concentrating on keeping the ship on course. He stood nearly the entire four hour watch working the helm and, despite his tired arms, his head was full of a dream about being the Captain of his own ship! (a dream of many youngsters, even today)
For the rest of the trip to Japan, Tommy would come up to the Bridge after he had completed his galley chores and stand a Helmsman Watch beside Oscar Turnbull.
He learned to take star sights and compute the ship’s location and to plot a course. Joel rarely had to correct any of his computations, and, when Tommy learned about compass declination and the fine art of using a sextant, his course plots were spot on.
The Mattie Carson was an old ship and was not originally equipped with a gyrocompass, they had to rely on only a magnetic compass, so that made the use of the sextant even more critical. The Electrician and his helper were in the process of installing a “MG” set to power a new Sperry Gyro Compass that Joel had purchased before the ship had departed San Francisco. It was a rebuilt “war surplus” unit that Joel had gotten a “good deal” on and was sitting in a crate down in the Carpenter’s Shop.
BOY’S TOWN
Tommy was not the only boy sleeping in the Bunk Room, Jeremy Townsend had been rescued from a dock gang in Seattle by Captain Joel, as he was returning to the ship.
It had been the Seattle City piers, where Tommy had been rescued. Jeremy loved the Engine Room and swore he was gonna be an Engineer. The Ship’s Chief Engineer, Angus McDuffy had taken Jeremy under his wing and was showing him how the Engine Room worked.
Jeremy worked beside Tommy in the Galley and then he would high-tail it down to the “Hole” while Tommy was climbing the ladder up to the wheel house. The two boys rapidly became friends and, except for when they were pursuing their dreams on the Bridge or the Engine Room, they were inseparable.
When the ship finally made Sasebo, Joel had the Purser, Orin Benson, fill out Crew Cards for both boys so that the Japanese Authorities could not grab them. (today, Merchant Seaman’s documents take the place of passports for American Merchant seamen)
The boys went ashore together and had the first of their many adventures, their first taste of beer, their first taste of sushi and their first look at a night club. Despite their only being fifteen, they were treated as adults when they went ashore.
Neither of them ever spotted Boats walking quietly behind them, making sure they did not get in any trouble.
They spent a week in Sasebo, Jeremy became adept at keeping the steam winches working on deck and Joel put Tommy to updating the Mariner’s Guide and annotating changes to the charts. Both young men were released at noon each day and told they had to be back on the ship by 8 O’clock that night.
They experienced many firsts in their young lives, but, the most important lesson they learned was that they were brothers! Perhaps not blood brothers, but brothers just the same.
Each had the other’s back and, by the time they got back to Frisco, they became even closer than brothers. They had begun a relationship that would last beyond their own lifetimes.
Both Angus and Joel saw the relationship beginning, but neither said anything, they both felt that, if it was meant to be then, who were they to cause waves.
As they began to load cargo for Sydney, Australia, Joel put Tommy to accounting for the cargo swung aboard. Tommy thought that included directing where it was to be stowed in the hold and Joel found Tommy down in the hold, directing the stevedores and making a graphic listing of every piece of cargo in each of the two holds. He was amazed at what Tommy had done and the neatness of the cargo hold.
At the same time, Angus had put Jeremy in charge of the deck machinery and Joel noticed that they had not a single breakdown during loading. It was something that he could not remember ever happening before!
Never before had the Mattie been loaded so quickly and with so little fuss. It seemed like they were battening down the hatches before they were ready to depart. Both Angus and Joel noticed that the two boys were definitely standing taller!
BOYS BECOME MEN
Both Angus and Joel knew by then that the two boys were more than just friends, what they did not know was that the crew also realized what was going on between the two boys.
Even the two Cadets from the Academy, who were on board for training, realized what was happening and they watched out for the two younger boys, both on board the Mattie and also when they went ashore.
Both boys were careful not to make their new relationship obvious, but they soon got the idea they were being protected. The two Cadets, Robert Bailey and Andrew Blyth, took them aside and spoke quietly to them. Andrew said, “Guys, me n’ Bobby are like you two and I would die if something happened to him. You guys must be careful, there are people who will hate ya’ and do terrible things to ya’ so just be careful!” Robert added, “Ya’ don’t have ta’ worry here on the ship, everyone knows and nobody cares.”
Tommy and Jeremy watched carefully for the next several days, but they soon realized that Robert was right, nobody cared that they were together!
They were traversing the South China Sea and skirting the many islands of Southeast Asia. It would be a two week voyage before they would spot the north coast of Australia and another three days before they would enter Sydney Harbor.
Both young men had already been told that their duties would be helping with the cargo, just like they had done in Sasebo. Their pride in becoming a valued member of the crew showed in everything they did.
Jeremy was standing watches in the Engine Room alongside the Oiler and Tommy was seen regularly doing the duty of the Navigator and was overseen by the Captain. It became rare to see the Captain use the sextant to take a star sighting and he only checked the chart to see that Tommy had done his math correctly.
Angus Mc Duffy had written a letter to his wife, Frances, about Jeremy asking her if she would accept him as a son. They had lost their only child, Angus Junior, during the last war, he had been a fighter pilot and was shot down at Iwo Jima.
He did not know that there would be a letter for him in Sydney, when the Purser went to collect the mail, telling him, “not only yes, but HELL YES!”
Joel had already decided that he would ask Tommy to become his son, in the same manner as his father had asked him! Neither man was concerned about the boys’ relationship with each other as neither man would ever leave the Mattie Carson. Both had decided to ask their boy shortly after they departed Sydney.
AN AUSSIE DOCKIE
They sailed into Sydney Harbor and tugs assisted them in docking at their assigned Cay. (pronounced “key” and is the name the Australians use for “pier”)
The deck crew made preparations to load pallets of sacked grain for delivery to Valparaiso, Chile. They would be loaded down to the “load line” for the remainder of the voyage to South America.
Trouble began almost immediately, the Boss Dockworker was not about to take orders from a kid and Tommy was not about to back down! The two were staring, nose to nose, at each other when Boats came swinging down into the hold, riding on the cargo hook.
Both the Boss Dockworker and Tommie were nose to nose and neither looked like they were going to back down. Just as Boats started to intervene, the Boss Dockworker began to laugh, he shouted, “Kid, I gotta hand it ta’ yer, bigger men than you have backed down from me an’ ya’ stoods yer ground! We will do it yer way!”
Boats smiled and walked away before either of them spotted him. He later told Captain Joel about the incident and Joel was as proud as a peacock of his “almost” son! Joel made up his mind that he would talk to Tommy very soon about becoming his son legally!
The loading of the cargo went rapidly, all the grain bags were securely strapped to the pallets, twenty sacks per pallet. (Author’s note – This was before bulk grain carriers were common)
By the end of the second day, the hold was full. The forward hold was full of machinery belonging to the United States Army and now, the after hold was full with sacked grain. Joel planned to depart Sydney the next morning.
They had spent two days loading the Australian grain and he was anxious to get going. He had sent a wire to their attorney in San Francisco, instructing him to begin the paperwork to make one Thomas (Tommy) Francis Williams, an orphan, his adopted son.
Samuel Jeffers had been their attorney for as long as he could remember and Joel knew that he knew how to handle the matter, after all, he had done so when his own Father had adopted him. Joel planned to tell the boy after they had sailed from Sydney. He also knew that Angus had already sent almost the same wire to Sam, as he had approved the transmission.
They sailed the next morning and both boys were startled when they were asked to come up to the Captain’s Stateroom.
Each boy feared that he had done something wrong and they were both nervous as cats in a dog kennel.
They stood before the door to the Captain’s cabin for a bit, before they nervously knocked on the door. A smiling Joel opened the door and they saw Chief Angus standing there with a big smile on his face, also. That relaxed both boys somewhat and they were invited in to Joel’s Stateroom.
Joel pointed to the couch, indicating they should sit down. He actually feared they might fall down as they were told what was going on.
Joel went first, “Tommy, you know I like you and I have already told you that you have a great future with this ship.” Tommy nodded his head in a “yes” and Joel continued, “Tommy, I would consider it a great honor if you would agree to become my adopted son.”
Tommy sat there with his jaw hanging open, “Yyyyyuuuuuu wwwanttt meeee” he managed to squeak out. Joel wrapped his armed around the boy and replied, “Yes, I want you to be my son, forever!” All Tommy could do was to shake his head in a “yes”, he simply was not capable of making an intelligent sound.
Jeremy then realized what was going on and, before Angus could say a word, he jumped up and threw his arms around the old Chief Engineer’s neck, screaming, YES!” He was not about to let go any time soon!
When all four of them had calmed down and wiped their faces of the tears they all had shed, Joel told them, “You both are now sixteen and the regulations allow me to make you Maritime Cadets. You will be kinda like a junior Mate or Engineer on this ship.”
He handed them temporary certificates that named them Shipboard Cadets of the SS Matilda Carson. He told them that they would have to go down to the Coast Guard Headquarters in San Francisco and take an examination to make it all completely legal, but he and Angus would make sure they were ready by the time they got to San Francisco Bay.
Jeremy looked a bit scared and said, “Ya knows me n’ Tommy is mates?”
Angus replied for both himself and Joel, “Yes, we know that an’ we gots no problem with it. All it do is makes us’ins all family!” Tommy put an armlock around Jeremy and it would be many minutes before either boy could stop crying.
VALPARAISO
There was a new spring in both boys’ steps and the two Maritime Academy Cadets, already assigned to the ship, asked them both to come bunk in the Cadet Bunk Room.
That made it real for the two boys, but they worried that the two “real” Cadets would cause them grief over their relationship. Both Robert and Andrew assured them that was not the case and Robert said shyly, “Us too!”
It would take them almost three weeks to get to Valparaiso, the Mattie Carson was not a fast ship. Her old steam engine could push her along at about 13 knots, day in and day out.
Jeremy was learning lots now and was given new responsibilities. He was assigned to stand watch with the Third Engineer, Spencer Goodwin.
Spencer told Jeremy that he was a Mattie Carson boy himself, Angus and Joel had found him living in a cardboard box in Los Angeles just before the war. He had no idea what had happened to his parents, he remembered being let out of their car on a street corner in Anaheim and he never saw them again.
Spencer took the boy under his wing and began schooling him on the things he would have to know for his Coast Guard Ticket as a Fireman/Water Tender. The Coast Guard did not have a classification of “Cadet”, so all Maritime Engineering Cadets were also ticketed as Firemen/Water Tenders. He told Jeremy, “It’s a snap, I’ll bet ya’ know enough right now to pass the damned thing!”
Tommy was working towards a “ticket” for AB – Able Bodied Seaman and Boats was gonna make damned sure he would pass the test! Every day Boats tutored Tommy on the things he needed to know, he showed him about working the cranes and handling cargo.
He showed both boys about the life boats and what they needed to know for an endorsement as Life Boatman.
Tommy continued his studying Navigation and, under Joel’s supervision, he was now doing all the course plotting and celestial readings.
Joel also taught him how to use the radar. It was a newfangled thing that he had purchased as war surplus the last time they had been in San Francisco. The old generator down in the Engine room was not stable enough to run the radar, so they had installed a MG set in the compass room that could supply both the gyrocompass and the radar. It made the compass more reliable, too.
Every time he thought about it, Joel patted himself on the back over that purchase. Even his Dad thought it had been a good idea!
He taught Tommy how to do running plots and navigation maneuvering plots. Freighters did not do much of that, but he knew there would be some questions about them when Tommy took the Third Mate’s test in a couple of years.
They finally pulled into Valparaiso, it was a drab, dirty port. The bay water stank like a rancid barnyard and the dock hands who received their mooring lines were both filthy and slovenly.
Joel was concerned about any of the dock workers getting on board the ship, so he posted two ABs and Tommy at the gangway. He gave a pistol to Tommy to put in his pocket and the ABs were armed with shotguns.
The port authorities did not like that, they frowned on firearms, but Joel pointed out that, even tied up at the pier, the SS Matilda Carson was a US Flagged vessel and therefore was sovereign American Territory. The officials went away, shaking their fists at him.
The cargo handling went poorly and Tommy was not down in the hold managing the cargo as he usually did. Boats went down to try and help, but he did not know Tommy’s “system”, so it was taking forever.
Joel debated sending Tommy down in the hold, but decided it was more important that he man the gangway. As it turned out, that was a wise decision.
The dock workers did not work after 4 PM and they had knocked off for the day. Something just didn’t feel right to Tommy, so he persuaded the two ABs to stay with him, guarding the gangway.
Just as it was getting dark, they heard a noise. There were no lights on the pier, so they could only make out shadowy shapes of figures moving around the pier.
As the shapes came closer to the gangway, Tommy pulled out his pistol and told both ABs to take the “safeties” off on their shotguns. All of a sudden, the shadowy figures rushed up that gangway, screaming like wild Indians.
Tommy fired his pistol over their heads and told the two ABs to point their shotguns at “body level”! He flipped on the flood light and they saw a gang of men, all armed with long knives and clubs.
He raised his pistol and pointed it directly at their faces and the two ABs were pointing their 10 gauge shotguns at the invaders’ bellies! The invaders took a couple of steps more and Tommie again fired over their heads.
The ABs moved their hands to fire their shotguns and suddenly, all the men on the gangway jumped over the side into the filthy bay water.
That was the last they saw of the invaders that night.
The next morning, Joel complained to the port authorities, but they only grinned and muttered, “Stupid Gringos, if you had paid the bribes, you would not have this trouble.”
AWAY FROM VALPARAISO!
After two more days, the forward hold was finally empty. Joel didn’t waste any time in making preparations for getting underway. Angus and his crew had the boiler up to pressure and were busy rocking the main engine to warm it up.
The dock workers refused to come to assist bringing in the mooring lines, so Tommy took a crew of ABs down the gangway and flipped the mooring lines off the dock bollards. They ran back up the gangway at a dead run and Boats immediately pulled it up with the line handling boom.
As soon as all the lines were brought in, Joel began backing the Mattie away from the pier and out into the harbor pool. He then swung the ship and headed out the breakwater. It would be a long time before he would agree to serve Valparaiso again!
They chugged their way north, along the South American coast as far as Callao, Peru. There, they loaded sixteen iron boxes that were welded shut. Rumor had it that the boxes were filled with gold from the mines high up in the Andes Mountains.
Joel confided in Tommy that the rumors were true, so Tommy had the iron boxes laid out along the very bottom of the hold. Joel had told him their next stop would be Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and that they would load copper ingots. He figured that several layers of the huge copper ingots would protect any gold they had on board.
The rumor about the gold must have never reached the sleazy characters who were hanging around the pier at Puerto Vallerta, because there was no trouble. They had departed Callao on schedule and saw only a few ships off in the distance as they made their way North to Puerto Vallarta.
There was only a rickety fishermen’s pier at Puerto Vallarta, so the copper was ferried out to them on barges. The copper ingots had “ears” cast into them that they used to attach a sling to in order to hoist them aboard. Tommy insisted that one of his own men fasten the slings on the ingots, they weighed about a ton apiece!
It was slow work and it took them three days to take on the entire consignment. Boats reported that they were down to the Summer Load Limit when they finished loading all the copper. The hold, however, was not completely filled, so Tommy had the ABs build cribbing to prevent the load from shifting if they ran into a storm.
Tommy did not see Joel standing on the deck above the hold, beaming in pride that Tommy had done the entire job all on his own. Tommy also did not know, that Boats had told the Captain what he had done to secure the load of gold already in the hold. Each of those copper ingot weighed a ton, nobody was gonna find the gold, let alone haul it off.
TIME TO HEAD FOR HOME
The voyage up the West Coast of Mexico and California was slow, the Mattie fought storms the entire way. While on watch, Tommy had to assist Oscar Turnbull on the helm, just keeping the Mattie on course was a two man job. They had to rely on the Gyro Compass and “dead reckoning” to know where they were, it was so stormy they could not even see the stars OR the sun to get a position check.
Joel ordered the ship slowed down, he was worried about the cargo shifting. He had not counted on Tommy’s cribbing that was bracing the heavy copper ingots from shifting. When the finally got to San Francisco Bay and headed upbay to the ASARCO smelter, did they discover that not a single ingot had moved.
Had it been possible, Joel’s esteem and love for his “almost son” went even higher!
After they had delivered the gold to the officials from the US Treasury Department for delivery to the San Francisco Mint, they swung the Mattie over to the Oakland Army Terminal to offload the Army equipment they had taken on in Sasebo, before heading to their home pier in Richmond. When they arrived at their home pier, there were two people waiting for them on the pier. Angus’ wife, Frances, and Mr. Samuel Jeffers.
Frances did not realize that Mr. Jeffers, the lawyer, had the paperwork already signed and sealed making Jeremy her’s and Angus’ legal son. Joel, however, knew from long experience that Sam Jeffers was a man of his word and he had promised Joel that he would meet him with both boy’s adoption papers.
When all the sobs and tears were over, Angus and Frances took their new son home to get acquainted and Joel hailed a cab to take him and Tommy home to meet his new Grandfather. Even though the two families lived on the same block in Berkeley, it would be two days before the young boy couple could get together to compare notes.
Nothing was said about the two boys being together and it was even agreed that they could spend their nights together in one or the other house. They would be in port for two weeks, before they were to sail to Seattle to pick up two holds worth lumber for delivery to Los Angeles.
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TBC
Coming Soon: It looks like the two boys are settled, as much as any sailor can be settled, and their futures are assured. As soon as they are both eighteen, they will begin their climb through their respective careers on board the surprise that Old Captain Carson is to spring on his son, Joel. The SS Thomas Carson is presently undergoing a hull cleaning and minor repairs at Kaiser Shipyards.