High Seas Series
Book One
The Stowaway
Chapter 02
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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EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER ONE
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.
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SETTLING IN
Tommy sat beside his new father just as close as he could get and held onto his arm. His eyes grew bigger and bigger as they passed through neighborhoods of houses that looked as big as schools.
The cabbie drove into a huge circular drive and stopped the cab. He jumped out and opened the door for The Captain and Tommy followed him, still holding onto his hand.
While Joel was paying the man, Tommy’s eyes roamed the huge house and spotted an older man standing in the open doorway.
As Joel finished paying the cab driver, Tommy turned and began walking up the sidewalk to a wide set of stone stairs. Tommy saw the man start to come down the stairs, as the man got closer, Tommy saw an older version of his new Dad. The older man crushed the two of them together and Tommy saw tears flowing down the old man’s face. He looked up at Joel and saw that he was crying too.
Tommy would learn later that “Old” Captain Carson had adopted “His” Captain Carson just like he was now adopted.
Suddenly, the old man bent over so that he was face to face with Tommy, he had a huge smile on his face as he said to Tommy, “Welcome home, Grandson, this is your home now.” Tommy was having a hard time keeping from crying himself and he could only manage, “Tttthhhannnnyooou, SSSSIR!”, then he lost it completely.
It took both of the men to get him up the front stairs. Tommy’s eyes were clouded and he could not see where the two men were taking him, when he could finally see again, they were in a huge room with shelves of books everywhere.
Joel had him sit down on a couch and a nice lady brought him a large glass of cold milk. He thought at first that she was his new Grandmother, but he learned shortly that she was the housekeeper, Miss Anna and that she was the only lady in the house.
His Father and his Grandfather each sat on one side of him and they both held his hands until he managed to shut down the waterworks. He learned that his new Grandfather was Joel Carson, Sr., but he insisted Tommy call him either Joel, Captain or just plain Grandpop.
Tommy decided right there that he would call this imposing man, Grandpop in private and Captain Carson in front of others.
Tommy sat in open mouthed wonder as Grandpop told Joel that he had hired a tutor to school Tommy while they were in port and that Tommy had full use of the library they were sitting in.
He then turned to Tommy and said, “It won’t be all school work, there will be time for Tommy too!” He winked and said, “And for Jeremy, also!”
Tommy had been fearful that this imposing old man would disapprove of his relationship with Jeremy and that they were going to have to hide. The old Captain made it plain to Tommy that there was no need to hide and sneak around, Jeremy was welcome any time and Tommy had better make time to go next door to see Jeremy!”
It was then that Tommy discovered that Jeremy and his new family lived right next door!
Joel spoke up and told Tommy they would be in port for three weeks. It was time for the Mattie Carson to go into dry dock for a hull inspection and to be painted. He wanted Tommy to get settled in and get as much studying done as he could, but, under no circumstances was he to neglect Jeremy!
Tommy was having a hard time keeping from bawling like a baby and he completely lost it when Joel took him upstairs and showed him his room. Joel opened the clothes closet that was full of clothes in his size, shoes of all descriptions were lined up on the floor.
When Joel took a wrapped set of clothes off the rod, Tommy saw a uniform with a single narrow gold braid around the cuff, with an anchor above it. Joel smiled and said, “Jeremy has one just like it, except his has a gold propeller above the stripe.”
All Tommy was able to do is hug Joel and repeat, “Papa, Papa, Papa…..”
Sometime later, Miss Anna called up the stairs and told them that it was lunch time and she needed to feed that growing boy. Joel answered her, “How about us old men, too?” Anna replied, “You all need to wash your hands before you come to my table!”
Joel showed Tommy his own private bathroom and toilet through a door right there in his bedroom. He whispered, “Better wash your hands and face and comb your hair, Miss Anna WILL check!”
Joel went to his own room to spruce up a bit and he was waiting in the hallway when Tommy came out the door. His hair was combed and Joel saw that he needed a haircut and that he had best get him a safety razor and show him how to use it. His “peach fuzz” was darkening, telling Joel that his son was fast becoming a man.
Joel proudly led Tommy back down the stairs and into the dining room, where Miss Anna had lunch set up. She took hold of Tommy’s hands and looked at them on both sides before she pointed to a chair that he was to sit in.
As Joel passed her, she looked at his hands briefly and whispered, “That young man needs a shave, see to it!” Joel grinned and replied, “Yes, Ma’am.”
Tommy copied what Joel did, what spoons he used and how he cut the rare roast beef. He hoped he was not shaming his Papa already. In his old family, everyone just grabbed whatever they could and shoved it in their mouth.
Joel was watching Tommy and he smiled to himself as he made careful movements so that Tommy could see just what to do.
For dessert, Miss Anna served something that completely baffled Tommy, she called it a Banana Split. He finally figured out how to eat it and, when he finished, he kinda’ wished there was more of it. Almost like magic, the dish was whisked out from in front of him and a whole new Banana Split appeared in front of him.
After lunch, Joel took Tommy down to the barber shop and got his hair cut. He introduced Tommy to Mr. Giles as his son and the man shook the Tommy’s hand.
While he was sitting in the chair, getting his haircut, Angus walked in with Jeremy, bound on the same destination. Tommy waved at Jeremy and Mr. Giles growled, so Tommy figured he had best sit perfectly still.
When Mr. Giles told him he was done, Tommy hopped off the chair and gave Jeremy a big hug. Mr. Giles raised his eyebrows and Joel said, “Yup, they are a couple!”
Tommy and Jeremy cringed, but all Mr. Giles said was, “That’s good!” and he proceeded to cut Jeremy’s hair.
Tommy had blonde hair with a strawberry tinge to it, but Jeremey had flaming red hair that defied all combing. When Mr. Giles was finished, Jeremy’s hair almost behaved!
While Joel and then Angus got their own hair cut, Tommy and Jeremy were busy whispering about their adventures in their new homes. Jeremy was overwhelmed like Tommy, neither boy could believe their good fortune.
SCHOOL DAYS – WORK DAYS
Between Angus and Joel, the boys had a schedule that they were expected to keep up with. Neither would do anything to disappoint their Papas and, most mornings would find the two of them in the library of Tommy’s new home, furiously studying the books their Papas had gotten for them.
The books had been printed in New London, Connecticut at The Federal Merchant Marine College. Neither boy had finished high school, but they set into those books like they were possessed!
Each had a dictionary beside him and, in a very short time, the pages of those dictionaries were well used!
Usually, they were allowed to go down to the ship after lunch and see the progress the workmen and the crew were making on the hull.
They had drawn the stern tube gland and repacked it, all the anodes were replaced on the hull and antifouling paint had been applied in two coats. There had been missing a couple of plates on the rudder and those had been replaced and new bearings had been installed on the rudder pintles.
Tommy was on board when the man from Sperry Gyroscope came to service the Gyro Compass. The man showed him all the parts, where the fuses were and how the Bridge Repeater worked. It was information Tommy “tucked away” and in the not too distant future, that knowledge was going to be vital!
The overhaul had slipped into three weeks when Angus discovered that the line shaft to the propeller was out of alignment. He had suspected it because, every time they exceeded forty RPM on the shaft, it vibrated. The job did not require that they be in dry dock, but the ship not moving around made the job much easier and quicker.
The morning before the Mattie was to be refloated, Joel and Angus stepped into the library and told the boys to get their working clothes on. Joel also said, “Don’t think that going back to sea is gonna get ya’ out of studying, you men are gonna have a full schedule so that, as soon as ya’ turn eighteen, ya’ can sit for yer tickets.
Tommy knew he was slated to sit for his AB exam and Jeremy was working for his Fireman/Water Tender rating. They both would sit for their Life Boatmen qualification first.
Both Tommy and Jeremy were amazed. Their working clothes were “highwater” and tight across their shoulders. Joel and Angus both groaned and wondered what all parents of growing boys wondered, when were their sons were going to stop growing!
Joel’s father just snickered loudly! Joel got the message, they would need to stop at the Marine Outfitters shop on the way home.
As they headed out the door, Miss Anna whispered to both boys, “Ya bring yer new clothes to me and I will put yer names on them, right over the left pocket.”
There was a lot of work that needed doing and Tommy found himself in charge of a gang of Deckhands painting the Mattie’s topsides.
Jeremy was in the bilges with a crew of the Black Gang chipping and scraping rust so the bilges could be painted.
They both were a little nervous, wondering how the men assigned to them would take to two youngsters organizing their work. It didn’t seem to matter, especially when both Tommy and Jeremy started chipping old paint and rust themselves.
After the Mattie had been towed out of the dry dock, she was towed to their pier for another three weeks of topside painting and maintenance.
They didn’t get much book learning done during that period, but both Jeremy and Tommy learned just about every nut, bolt and weld that held the Matilda Carson together.
Perhaps more important, the crew learned that Tommy and Jeremy were not afraid to get their hands dirty, nor were they afraid to crawl in some tank or space to make sure there was nothing wrong with their ship.
By the end of the maintenance period, both young men knew up close and personal just how their ship was built and where everything was and how it worked. There wasn’t much that they had not personally taken apart, inspected, painted and put back together with their own hands.
They were both surprised that they had actually gained weight rather than lost it during that period and that their work clothes were stretched across their shoulders, again! Worse, their trousers were “high water” yet again! They found that “other parts” of them were growing too and they found comfort as well as pleasure in that, in short, they were earning the title of men.
They both walked down the street with their head held high and a stance that warned would be bullies that they were not to be “messed” with. The waterfront had more than its share of such bullies and, after one head smashing session after work, they were left alone.
Both Joel and Angus spotted the bruises on their sons’ cheeks, but, after seeing the smiles on their faces, they no longer worried about them being able to take care of themselves. The crew brought back dockside rumors that they told to both the Captain and the Chief that their sons had put the “fear of God” into the area bullies!
SAILORS GO TO SEA
A ship earns no money tied up at the pier, so it was time for the Mattie Carson to go back to earning her keep. Both Jeremy and Tommy insisted on going alone to board the ship, they walked on board, along with the crew, with their duffels carried high on their shoulders.
In the few weeks they had been ashore, they had made noticeable changes in themselves. Their shoulders were broader and their feet no longer looked like they were too big for their bodies and that they had taken up daily shaving.
The crew saw a certain swagger in them that shouted, “I am me and I know what I am doing!” The crew had always treated both young men with respect, but now the crew saw that the two of them deserved that respect! They were both CARSON SAILORS!
As the Mattie Carson began to come to life, both Tommy and Jeremy led their crews in making that life become a working ship.
By the time Joel and Angus came aboard, there was a lazy curl of smoke coming from the stack, the galley was in business and the deckhands had all the mooring lines singled up.
It was a chilly fall day on San Francisco Bay and the steam heating system was crackling and jumping. Cookie had coffee and sweet rolls, hot from the oven, on trays for anyone who wanted a little sweet “pick me up”.
Joel saw Tommy out on deck, leading the crew in limbering up the deck machinery and getting the hatch covers ready to be opened so cargo could be lowered into the holds.
By the time the first semi came rumbling down the pier, the steam was up and the winches were ready to roll. The last Joel saw of Tommy was him riding the hook down into the forward hold, ready to receive cargo.
Down below in the Engine Room, Jeremy had assisted the firemen in lighting off the boilers and getting the steam to the winches. The evaporator was making boiler feed water and the steam heat was taking the chill off the living spaces.
The fireman were amazed at the powerful young man who was handing them the “in port burners” and was standing by to start the auxiliary fuel oil pumps for light-off. They could not believe it was “their Jeremy”, they had to look twice to be sure!
It took them three days of hard work to get the Mattie ready for sea, they had a full cargo in both holds and Tommy had worked hard to prevent having to contend with “deck cargo”. He even had a “map” of where in each hold every crate was stowed.
The last night home, Miss Anna put on a feed for both “her” boys and their families. Everyone ate until they thought they were going to burst.
Jeremy and Tommy had made plans to spend their last night ashore in the same bedroom. Their plans went a bit astray when they were allowed to have a glass of sherry wine with their meal. A little later, all they could do was to hug each other before they fell asleep.
The next morning they were a little late coming down for breakfast, Papa Joel looked over the rim of his glasses at them and they both went beet red in the face. He just smiled and said nothing, their faces went even redder!
They all had their last minute things packed up and Joel handed both boys a bag of books. When they peeked into the bag, the top book was entitled, “Qualifications for Life Boatman” From the weight of the bags, they both know how their spare time was going to be spent.
When they got on board, the discovered that someone had painted their names on their stateroom and under their names was the title, “SHIP CADET”.
They had previously stowed all their clothes in the locker, but, on each bed was a set of coveralls with their names embroidered over the left pocket. Jeremy’s name was done in red thread and Tommy’s was done in blue thread, indicating their departments. That was Miss Anna’s contribution and going away gift.
They both hurried and got their new coveralls on and headed out to work.
When Jeremy got down to the operating level in the Engine Room, Angus pointed to the main engine throttle lever and told him to start warming up the main engine.
The electricians had already put the generators on-line and had taken in the shore power cable.
Up on the Bridge, Joel told Tommy that he was gonna “Take her out!” Tommy gulped and replied, “eer Aye, Aye, sir”
He knew his Papa would be nearby, but he was determined to put into practice all the things Joel had instructed him on and what he had studied in the text books.
Peter Condon, the AB on watch stood bye with a grin on his face. Peter would “standby” just in case Tommy got in trouble, but he had watched the young man from the first time he came on board and he had no doubts Tommy would get the Mattie out to sea with no problems.
At 8 am (0800), Joel pulled on the whistle chain and gave three long blasts on the ships horn. He said, “Cadet, take her out.”
Peter had the wheel as Tommy ordered, “Hard Left Rudder, Astern one third, let go lines three and four aft, hold on lines one and two forward”.
The Engine Room answered the bell for Astern One Third and as the Mattie’s stern began to hinge out into the bay, Tommy ordered, “Rudder Amidships, all Stop”
As soon as the stern had cleared the pier, Tommy ordered, “Right Full Rudder, Astern Slow”. Slowly, the Mattie’s bow began to twist out onto the bay and, as soon as it cleared the pier, he Ordered, “Rudder Amidships, All Stop.”
As soon as there was room, Tommy ordered, “Ten Degrees Left Rudder, Slow Ahead, Make signal for I AM GOING AHEAD”
The Mattie slowly came out to midstream and Tommy ordered course corrections that took them across San Francisco Bay, headed for the Golden Gate.
As they passed slowly under the fabled bridge, he took a quick look at the chart and saw the course his Papa had penciled in. He ordered, “Steer Course two seven zero degrees, increase engine to Ahead Half.”
He then turned to his Father and said, “Sir, we are steering course two seven zero degrees, speed forty-five turns on the shaft. Do you wish me to continue or pass the Bridge to the Third Mate, SIR?”
Joel was so damned proud of his son, he could hardly speak. He finally managed to say, “Set the regular sea watch, Cadet Carson.”
Jim Alton, the Third Mate stepped forward and said to Tommy, “I relieve you” and Peter Condon just smiled at Tommy and whispered, “Ya’ done good Tommy!”
After it was all over, Tommy was shaking like a sapling in a high wind. Joel winked at him and patted his shoulder, no words were needed.
HEADED FOR SINGAPORE
It was a long, boring trip all the way across the Pacific Ocean. Singapore was struggling to emerge from the ravages of the recent war, its country and businesses were shattered and had nothing with which to rebuild their country, except a starving population.
Much of the Mattie’s cargo was machinery to help rebuild a shattered nation.
The Mattie chugged along at her usual thirteen knots, day in and day out. Joel had slipped Tommy into the watch schedule, he did not insist that Tommy stand a night watch yet, but he stood alongside the Third Mate on each morning watch. Jim Alton let Tommy run the “show” and he just stood by to make sure the young man did not get into any trouble.
Down in “the hole” Angus had Jeremy doing much the same.
In the Engine Room, unless you were firing the boilers, the watch standers could move around quite a bit and the Engineer did not need to stand at the throttle all the time. The only requirement was that they be in ear-shot of the Engine Order Telegraph.
Ralph Bromely had just recently signed on as Third Assistant Engineer and, after he got to know Jeremy, he found that the young man was completely trustworthy. In fact, Jeremy scared him a little bit, the young Cadet knew more about the Engine Room than he did!
It took Ralph a while to understand just who Jeremy was and what his relationship with Chief Angus was.
Ralph was relieved when he learned that Jeremy was in a “relationship” with the Deck Cadet. He was a bit lonely, his own partner had dumped him just before they sailed. He found out about Jeremy when he had made a tentative advance to the young man and Jeremy had firmly told him that his partner was Tommy and that weren’t EVER going to change!
It seemed like the ocean was devoid of life, as they slipped out of the Philippine Sea and headed into the South China Sea, they began to see fishing boats.
Some of those fishing boats were the size of young ships and Tommy was becoming proficient plotting their course. A fishing boat with its nets out has the right of way and it is the responsibility of other ships to steer clear of them and their nets.
Several days later, they entered the Singapore Straits and the shipping began to pick up.
Tommy was kept busy plotting the various contacts on the radar screen. He wondered why the number of ships became dramatically less after dark, until Jim Alton told him that most of the local ships did not have radar. Suddenly, it made sense to Tommy.
As they got closer to Singapore, the ship traffic became worse and Joel came up on the bridge to find Tommy frantically plotting courses for Jim Alton.
Joel said nothing, this was something that Tommy was doing on his own and he had not assigned that duty to Tommy.
They met the pilot boat at the entrance to the outer harbor and Tommy was fascinated by the interaction between the pilot and Jim Alton.
Joel was standing by in case of any problems, but the pilot seemed very capable and he guided them into the inner harbor, where they were to tie up at Tanjiong Rhu.
There was a lot of wreckage still around from the recent war and many of the cargo cranes lay toppled where Allied Bombs had rained down on them.
As soon as they reach their destination, the Pilot left the ship, it was up to Jim and the Captain to tie up to the pier. Joel let Jim get the Mattie into position and tied up.
Tommy watched everything Jim did and said, knowing his Papa would quiz him on it that same evening.
It was getting dark and it was obvious that there were no working lights on the pier and there was to electrical hookups either. That meant they would be able to work cargo during daylight hours only and they would have to keep one of the boilers and a generator running all the while they were in port.
Joel let Tommy organize the off-loading and Tommy was out on deck as soon as it got light. He helped the ABs open the holds and lift the covers before he signaled the sailor on the winch to lower him down into the hold.
He had the Singapore cargo all marked on his “maps” and he set the sailors to “loosening up” the cargo. That meant undoing the ropes that help it in place and knocking out the timbers that were shoring up the heavy items.
He wanted to get some of the really heavy items out of the hold so they had some room to work. There were several heavy duty trucks and a number of Caterpillar Tractors that had to come out first, so that they could get to the smaller items.
Tommy had planned on it being a two day job to off-load the Singapore cargo and he began to wonder as those thrice damned tractors fought them every inch of the way out of the hold. Fortunately, the several large trucks came out like obedient puppies!
The rest of the cargo went smoothly and, by the end of the second day, all the Singapore cargo was offloaded. Some of the heavier items had to be off loaded onto lighters as the pier was too badly damaged to carry the load.
Tommy had rigged some lights so that they could secure the remaining cargo in the hold against shifting at sea. They were completed by midnight of the second day and they sailed the next morning for Jakarta.
They sailed the next morning and headed for the Java Sea. Joel had warned Tommy that there was only one pier remaining in service at Jakarta and there were no cargo facilities remaining in operation. They were going to have to swing the cargo over the pier and place it directly on trucks.
Tommy looked at his cargo map and saw that the two remaining tractors were destined for Jakarta as well as the last two heavy trucks. There were fifty pallets of miscellaneous cargo in Number Two hold, he suspected most of it was dry foodstuffs.
Having no cargo facilities meant that he would have to station a crew on the pier to receive the cargo. His first thought was, “Hey, I’m just a kid, but he knew Joel was depending on him and he would rather die than disappoint his Papa.
Joel did not want to arrive in Jakarta after dark, so the Mattie just “loafed” her way south at nine knots and they arrive a little after 8 AM. There was no Harbor Pilot, but Joel and the Mattie had been there before, so Joel guided the ship up to the only pier that had not been bombed to splinters.
There were some idlers on the pier who agreed to receive the mooring lines, after Joel promised them a carton of American cigarettes.
As soon as they were tied up. Tommy sent his own men down to the pier to double check the mooring lines. They found them satisfactory, if a little loose.
The ABs knew that Tommy would make them do the lines over, if they did not meet his satisfaction, so they reworked all the mooring lines before “the Boss” saw them. That was not lost on his Papa, it only reinforced his pride in his son.
About noon, a parade of trucks arrived and Tommy wanted to be rid of the last two tractors and the couple of trucks first. It took them the rest of the day to off-load the heavy equipment, then they had to stop as there were no lights of the pier. In fact, when Tommy looked over at the surrounding town, he didn’t see any lights at all!
The next morning, they began all over again. The local cargo trucks were not over large and all they could get on the trucks was four pallets at a time. Tommy groaned, there were fifty large pallets to offload!
It was another day and a half before they saw the last of the Jakarta freight.
Tommy had an eyeball to eyeball confrontation with the government freight agent, but the man must have been afraid of the wild eyed boy confronting him, he decided to sign the documents while he still had all his parts. He was pretty sure the westerner boy was steaming smoke out his nostrils!
Joel was up on the bridge taking it all in and, while he was too far away to hear the actual words, his son’s gestures said it all.
Angus was up on the bridge standing beside Joel and he said, “Them two boys is one helluva pair, theys makin a reputation that will be hard to beat!” He had been telling Joel how Jeremy had the entire Black Gang convinced that he walked on water!
Joel replied, “God was lookin’ out fer us that day, weren’t He?”
Angus turned solemn and said, “Cap’n them boys is the goodest thing what ever happened to you n’ me, I’s so damned proud o’ the two of em, I could bust my britches.”
He continued, “If’n I let someth’n happen to Jeremy, Frances would skin me alive before she tossed me out!”
Joel replied, “Yeah, I know the feeling, that boy, Tommy, is the best thing to ever happen to me and my Dad and that he an’ Jeremy be life partners is the best thing that could happen to The Mattie Carson an’ that be no lie!”
RIDING LIGHT TO AUSSIELAND
They spent the night tied up to the pier. Tommie had the Deck Crew batten down the empty hatches in preparation for their trip to Perth, Australia.
They were scheduled to take on 700 tons of limestone blocks, all on pallets and were ticketed for some big building project in Los Angeles. From there, they were headed to Melbourne, where they were to take on the remaining cargo space with kiln dried tropical hardwoods.
Joel had never been to Port Phillip Bay and he was looking forward to it. Tommy was going to be eighteen while they were there and he planned a celebration that the boy would never forget. He had some papers in the safe that he would give to Tommy on that day. He had another set that he had passed to Angus as Jeremy’s birthday was only one day after Tommy’s and Angus planned to give them to Jeremy at the same time.
They arrived at Perth right on time. It was a small port, but Joel could see a line of trucks waiting for them. There was one boom crane on the pier and he could see the crane operator test swinging the boom.
Tommy had had a confrontation with an Aussie Docky the last time he had been in Australia, he hoped there would not be a repeat. He rode the hook down to the pier and went to see the Boss Docky. The man was polite and agreeable and Tommy sighed in relief.
Tommy stepped on the hook and signaled the AB to bring him home. He thought about that and, suddenly realized, IT WAS HOME!
The first truck pulled up and an Aussie came on board to operate the boom, that was usual and, after he had spoken to the Boss Docky, Tommy felt good about the arrangement.
The dock crew put straps around the first pallet of limestone blocks and signaled the winch operator to “Haul Away”.
The man lifted the blocks smoothly and lowered them in the hold with hardly a “thump” as they hit the deck down in the hold. By the end of the day, all 700 tons had been neatly stowed in the forward hold.
The Mattie was a little bit humped, but Joel figured that would be corrected with the weight of the lumber scheduled for Number 2 hold. Tropical hardwoods were so dense, most would not float in water and the furniture people would need to use metal working tools to make the furniture. It was high value stuff, however, as it took a high polish and the grain was very dense.
It would be noon of the next day before they were ready to head for Melbourne for the remainder of the lumber cargo. The lumber in Melbourne was already kiln dried and would be somewhat lighter that what they loaded in Perth. They would find that the kiln dried lumber was already wrapped in tarred paper to keep it dry and it was bundled on the pallets for easy handling.
After they finished loading in Melbourne, Joel told everyone that they would not depart until the next day. He had invited all the Licensed Crew to a dinner shoreside and he had Cookie prepare a dinner with all the “fixings” for the crew.
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TBC
Coming Soon: What can be so important that Captain Joel Carson is willing to delay sailing and provide food for everyone? The mystery will deepen when he instructs Tommy and Jeremy to wear their new uniforms to the dinner.
[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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EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER ONE
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.
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SETTLING IN
Tommy sat beside his new father just as close as he could get and held onto his arm. His eyes grew bigger and bigger as they passed through neighborhoods of houses that looked as big as schools.
The cabbie drove into a huge circular drive and stopped the cab. He jumped out and opened the door for The Captain and Tommy followed him, still holding onto his hand.
While Joel was paying the man, Tommy’s eyes roamed the huge house and spotted an older man standing in the open doorway.
As Joel finished paying the cab driver, Tommy turned and began walking up the sidewalk to a wide set of stone stairs. Tommy saw the man start to come down the stairs, as the man got closer, Tommy saw an older version of his new Dad. The older man crushed the two of them together and Tommy saw tears flowing down the old man’s face. He looked up at Joel and saw that he was crying too.
Tommy would learn later that “Old” Captain Carson had adopted “His” Captain Carson just like he was now adopted.
Suddenly, the old man bent over so that he was face to face with Tommy, he had a huge smile on his face as he said to Tommy, “Welcome home, Grandson, this is your home now.” Tommy was having a hard time keeping from crying himself and he could only manage, “Tttthhhannnnyooou, SSSSIR!”, then he lost it completely.
It took both of the men to get him up the front stairs. Tommy’s eyes were clouded and he could not see where the two men were taking him, when he could finally see again, they were in a huge room with shelves of books everywhere.
Joel had him sit down on a couch and a nice lady brought him a large glass of cold milk. He thought at first that she was his new Grandmother, but he learned shortly that she was the housekeeper, Miss Anna and that she was the only lady in the house.
His Father and his Grandfather each sat on one side of him and they both held his hands until he managed to shut down the waterworks. He learned that his new Grandfather was Joel Carson, Sr., but he insisted Tommy call him either Joel, Captain or just plain Grandpop.
Tommy decided right there that he would call this imposing man, Grandpop in private and Captain Carson in front of others.
Tommy sat in open mouthed wonder as Grandpop told Joel that he had hired a tutor to school Tommy while they were in port and that Tommy had full use of the library they were sitting in.
He then turned to Tommy and said, “It won’t be all school work, there will be time for Tommy too!” He winked and said, “And for Jeremy, also!”
Tommy had been fearful that this imposing old man would disapprove of his relationship with Jeremy and that they were going to have to hide. The old Captain made it plain to Tommy that there was no need to hide and sneak around, Jeremy was welcome any time and Tommy had better make time to go next door to see Jeremy!”
It was then that Tommy discovered that Jeremy and his new family lived right next door!
Joel spoke up and told Tommy they would be in port for three weeks. It was time for the Mattie Carson to go into dry dock for a hull inspection and to be painted. He wanted Tommy to get settled in and get as much studying done as he could, but, under no circumstances was he to neglect Jeremy!
Tommy was having a hard time keeping from bawling like a baby and he completely lost it when Joel took him upstairs and showed him his room. Joel opened the clothes closet that was full of clothes in his size, shoes of all descriptions were lined up on the floor.
When Joel took a wrapped set of clothes off the rod, Tommy saw a uniform with a single narrow gold braid around the cuff, with an anchor above it. Joel smiled and said, “Jeremy has one just like it, except his has a gold propeller above the stripe.”
All Tommy was able to do is hug Joel and repeat, “Papa, Papa, Papa…..”
Sometime later, Miss Anna called up the stairs and told them that it was lunch time and she needed to feed that growing boy. Joel answered her, “How about us old men, too?” Anna replied, “You all need to wash your hands before you come to my table!”
Joel showed Tommy his own private bathroom and toilet through a door right there in his bedroom. He whispered, “Better wash your hands and face and comb your hair, Miss Anna WILL check!”
Joel went to his own room to spruce up a bit and he was waiting in the hallway when Tommy came out the door. His hair was combed and Joel saw that he needed a haircut and that he had best get him a safety razor and show him how to use it. His “peach fuzz” was darkening, telling Joel that his son was fast becoming a man.
Joel proudly led Tommy back down the stairs and into the dining room, where Miss Anna had lunch set up. She took hold of Tommy’s hands and looked at them on both sides before she pointed to a chair that he was to sit in.
As Joel passed her, she looked at his hands briefly and whispered, “That young man needs a shave, see to it!” Joel grinned and replied, “Yes, Ma’am.”
Tommy copied what Joel did, what spoons he used and how he cut the rare roast beef. He hoped he was not shaming his Papa already. In his old family, everyone just grabbed whatever they could and shoved it in their mouth.
Joel was watching Tommy and he smiled to himself as he made careful movements so that Tommy could see just what to do.
For dessert, Miss Anna served something that completely baffled Tommy, she called it a Banana Split. He finally figured out how to eat it and, when he finished, he kinda’ wished there was more of it. Almost like magic, the dish was whisked out from in front of him and a whole new Banana Split appeared in front of him.
After lunch, Joel took Tommy down to the barber shop and got his hair cut. He introduced Tommy to Mr. Giles as his son and the man shook the Tommy’s hand.
While he was sitting in the chair, getting his haircut, Angus walked in with Jeremy, bound on the same destination. Tommy waved at Jeremy and Mr. Giles growled, so Tommy figured he had best sit perfectly still.
When Mr. Giles told him he was done, Tommy hopped off the chair and gave Jeremy a big hug. Mr. Giles raised his eyebrows and Joel said, “Yup, they are a couple!”
Tommy and Jeremy cringed, but all Mr. Giles said was, “That’s good!” and he proceeded to cut Jeremy’s hair.
Tommy had blonde hair with a strawberry tinge to it, but Jeremey had flaming red hair that defied all combing. When Mr. Giles was finished, Jeremy’s hair almost behaved!
While Joel and then Angus got their own hair cut, Tommy and Jeremy were busy whispering about their adventures in their new homes. Jeremy was overwhelmed like Tommy, neither boy could believe their good fortune.
SCHOOL DAYS – WORK DAYS
Between Angus and Joel, the boys had a schedule that they were expected to keep up with. Neither would do anything to disappoint their Papas and, most mornings would find the two of them in the library of Tommy’s new home, furiously studying the books their Papas had gotten for them.
The books had been printed in New London, Connecticut at The Federal Merchant Marine College. Neither boy had finished high school, but they set into those books like they were possessed!
Each had a dictionary beside him and, in a very short time, the pages of those dictionaries were well used!
Usually, they were allowed to go down to the ship after lunch and see the progress the workmen and the crew were making on the hull.
They had drawn the stern tube gland and repacked it, all the anodes were replaced on the hull and antifouling paint had been applied in two coats. There had been missing a couple of plates on the rudder and those had been replaced and new bearings had been installed on the rudder pintles.
Tommy was on board when the man from Sperry Gyroscope came to service the Gyro Compass. The man showed him all the parts, where the fuses were and how the Bridge Repeater worked. It was information Tommy “tucked away” and in the not too distant future, that knowledge was going to be vital!
The overhaul had slipped into three weeks when Angus discovered that the line shaft to the propeller was out of alignment. He had suspected it because, every time they exceeded forty RPM on the shaft, it vibrated. The job did not require that they be in dry dock, but the ship not moving around made the job much easier and quicker.
The morning before the Mattie was to be refloated, Joel and Angus stepped into the library and told the boys to get their working clothes on. Joel also said, “Don’t think that going back to sea is gonna get ya’ out of studying, you men are gonna have a full schedule so that, as soon as ya’ turn eighteen, ya’ can sit for yer tickets.
Tommy knew he was slated to sit for his AB exam and Jeremy was working for his Fireman/Water Tender rating. They both would sit for their Life Boatmen qualification first.
Both Tommy and Jeremy were amazed. Their working clothes were “highwater” and tight across their shoulders. Joel and Angus both groaned and wondered what all parents of growing boys wondered, when were their sons were going to stop growing!
Joel’s father just snickered loudly! Joel got the message, they would need to stop at the Marine Outfitters shop on the way home.
As they headed out the door, Miss Anna whispered to both boys, “Ya bring yer new clothes to me and I will put yer names on them, right over the left pocket.”
There was a lot of work that needed doing and Tommy found himself in charge of a gang of Deckhands painting the Mattie’s topsides.
Jeremy was in the bilges with a crew of the Black Gang chipping and scraping rust so the bilges could be painted.
They both were a little nervous, wondering how the men assigned to them would take to two youngsters organizing their work. It didn’t seem to matter, especially when both Tommy and Jeremy started chipping old paint and rust themselves.
After the Mattie had been towed out of the dry dock, she was towed to their pier for another three weeks of topside painting and maintenance.
They didn’t get much book learning done during that period, but both Jeremy and Tommy learned just about every nut, bolt and weld that held the Matilda Carson together.
Perhaps more important, the crew learned that Tommy and Jeremy were not afraid to get their hands dirty, nor were they afraid to crawl in some tank or space to make sure there was nothing wrong with their ship.
By the end of the maintenance period, both young men knew up close and personal just how their ship was built and where everything was and how it worked. There wasn’t much that they had not personally taken apart, inspected, painted and put back together with their own hands.
They were both surprised that they had actually gained weight rather than lost it during that period and that their work clothes were stretched across their shoulders, again! Worse, their trousers were “high water” yet again! They found that “other parts” of them were growing too and they found comfort as well as pleasure in that, in short, they were earning the title of men.
They both walked down the street with their head held high and a stance that warned would be bullies that they were not to be “messed” with. The waterfront had more than its share of such bullies and, after one head smashing session after work, they were left alone.
Both Joel and Angus spotted the bruises on their sons’ cheeks, but, after seeing the smiles on their faces, they no longer worried about them being able to take care of themselves. The crew brought back dockside rumors that they told to both the Captain and the Chief that their sons had put the “fear of God” into the area bullies!
SAILORS GO TO SEA
A ship earns no money tied up at the pier, so it was time for the Mattie Carson to go back to earning her keep. Both Jeremy and Tommy insisted on going alone to board the ship, they walked on board, along with the crew, with their duffels carried high on their shoulders.
In the few weeks they had been ashore, they had made noticeable changes in themselves. Their shoulders were broader and their feet no longer looked like they were too big for their bodies and that they had taken up daily shaving.
The crew saw a certain swagger in them that shouted, “I am me and I know what I am doing!” The crew had always treated both young men with respect, but now the crew saw that the two of them deserved that respect! They were both CARSON SAILORS!
As the Mattie Carson began to come to life, both Tommy and Jeremy led their crews in making that life become a working ship.
By the time Joel and Angus came aboard, there was a lazy curl of smoke coming from the stack, the galley was in business and the deckhands had all the mooring lines singled up.
It was a chilly fall day on San Francisco Bay and the steam heating system was crackling and jumping. Cookie had coffee and sweet rolls, hot from the oven, on trays for anyone who wanted a little sweet “pick me up”.
Joel saw Tommy out on deck, leading the crew in limbering up the deck machinery and getting the hatch covers ready to be opened so cargo could be lowered into the holds.
By the time the first semi came rumbling down the pier, the steam was up and the winches were ready to roll. The last Joel saw of Tommy was him riding the hook down into the forward hold, ready to receive cargo.
Down below in the Engine Room, Jeremy had assisted the firemen in lighting off the boilers and getting the steam to the winches. The evaporator was making boiler feed water and the steam heat was taking the chill off the living spaces.
The fireman were amazed at the powerful young man who was handing them the “in port burners” and was standing by to start the auxiliary fuel oil pumps for light-off. They could not believe it was “their Jeremy”, they had to look twice to be sure!
It took them three days of hard work to get the Mattie ready for sea, they had a full cargo in both holds and Tommy had worked hard to prevent having to contend with “deck cargo”. He even had a “map” of where in each hold every crate was stowed.
The last night home, Miss Anna put on a feed for both “her” boys and their families. Everyone ate until they thought they were going to burst.
Jeremy and Tommy had made plans to spend their last night ashore in the same bedroom. Their plans went a bit astray when they were allowed to have a glass of sherry wine with their meal. A little later, all they could do was to hug each other before they fell asleep.
The next morning they were a little late coming down for breakfast, Papa Joel looked over the rim of his glasses at them and they both went beet red in the face. He just smiled and said nothing, their faces went even redder!
They all had their last minute things packed up and Joel handed both boys a bag of books. When they peeked into the bag, the top book was entitled, “Qualifications for Life Boatman” From the weight of the bags, they both know how their spare time was going to be spent.
When they got on board, the discovered that someone had painted their names on their stateroom and under their names was the title, “SHIP CADET”.
They had previously stowed all their clothes in the locker, but, on each bed was a set of coveralls with their names embroidered over the left pocket. Jeremy’s name was done in red thread and Tommy’s was done in blue thread, indicating their departments. That was Miss Anna’s contribution and going away gift.
They both hurried and got their new coveralls on and headed out to work.
When Jeremy got down to the operating level in the Engine Room, Angus pointed to the main engine throttle lever and told him to start warming up the main engine.
The electricians had already put the generators on-line and had taken in the shore power cable.
Up on the Bridge, Joel told Tommy that he was gonna “Take her out!” Tommy gulped and replied, “eer Aye, Aye, sir”
He knew his Papa would be nearby, but he was determined to put into practice all the things Joel had instructed him on and what he had studied in the text books.
Peter Condon, the AB on watch stood bye with a grin on his face. Peter would “standby” just in case Tommy got in trouble, but he had watched the young man from the first time he came on board and he had no doubts Tommy would get the Mattie out to sea with no problems.
At 8 am (0800), Joel pulled on the whistle chain and gave three long blasts on the ships horn. He said, “Cadet, take her out.”
Peter had the wheel as Tommy ordered, “Hard Left Rudder, Astern one third, let go lines three and four aft, hold on lines one and two forward”.
The Engine Room answered the bell for Astern One Third and as the Mattie’s stern began to hinge out into the bay, Tommy ordered, “Rudder Amidships, all Stop”
As soon as the stern had cleared the pier, Tommy ordered, “Right Full Rudder, Astern Slow”. Slowly, the Mattie’s bow began to twist out onto the bay and, as soon as it cleared the pier, he Ordered, “Rudder Amidships, All Stop.”
As soon as there was room, Tommy ordered, “Ten Degrees Left Rudder, Slow Ahead, Make signal for I AM GOING AHEAD”
The Mattie slowly came out to midstream and Tommy ordered course corrections that took them across San Francisco Bay, headed for the Golden Gate.
As they passed slowly under the fabled bridge, he took a quick look at the chart and saw the course his Papa had penciled in. He ordered, “Steer Course two seven zero degrees, increase engine to Ahead Half.”
He then turned to his Father and said, “Sir, we are steering course two seven zero degrees, speed forty-five turns on the shaft. Do you wish me to continue or pass the Bridge to the Third Mate, SIR?”
Joel was so damned proud of his son, he could hardly speak. He finally managed to say, “Set the regular sea watch, Cadet Carson.”
Jim Alton, the Third Mate stepped forward and said to Tommy, “I relieve you” and Peter Condon just smiled at Tommy and whispered, “Ya’ done good Tommy!”
After it was all over, Tommy was shaking like a sapling in a high wind. Joel winked at him and patted his shoulder, no words were needed.
HEADED FOR SINGAPORE
It was a long, boring trip all the way across the Pacific Ocean. Singapore was struggling to emerge from the ravages of the recent war, its country and businesses were shattered and had nothing with which to rebuild their country, except a starving population.
Much of the Mattie’s cargo was machinery to help rebuild a shattered nation.
The Mattie chugged along at her usual thirteen knots, day in and day out. Joel had slipped Tommy into the watch schedule, he did not insist that Tommy stand a night watch yet, but he stood alongside the Third Mate on each morning watch. Jim Alton let Tommy run the “show” and he just stood by to make sure the young man did not get into any trouble.
Down in “the hole” Angus had Jeremy doing much the same.
In the Engine Room, unless you were firing the boilers, the watch standers could move around quite a bit and the Engineer did not need to stand at the throttle all the time. The only requirement was that they be in ear-shot of the Engine Order Telegraph.
Ralph Bromely had just recently signed on as Third Assistant Engineer and, after he got to know Jeremy, he found that the young man was completely trustworthy. In fact, Jeremy scared him a little bit, the young Cadet knew more about the Engine Room than he did!
It took Ralph a while to understand just who Jeremy was and what his relationship with Chief Angus was.
Ralph was relieved when he learned that Jeremy was in a “relationship” with the Deck Cadet. He was a bit lonely, his own partner had dumped him just before they sailed. He found out about Jeremy when he had made a tentative advance to the young man and Jeremy had firmly told him that his partner was Tommy and that weren’t EVER going to change!
It seemed like the ocean was devoid of life, as they slipped out of the Philippine Sea and headed into the South China Sea, they began to see fishing boats.
Some of those fishing boats were the size of young ships and Tommy was becoming proficient plotting their course. A fishing boat with its nets out has the right of way and it is the responsibility of other ships to steer clear of them and their nets.
Several days later, they entered the Singapore Straits and the shipping began to pick up.
Tommy was kept busy plotting the various contacts on the radar screen. He wondered why the number of ships became dramatically less after dark, until Jim Alton told him that most of the local ships did not have radar. Suddenly, it made sense to Tommy.
As they got closer to Singapore, the ship traffic became worse and Joel came up on the bridge to find Tommy frantically plotting courses for Jim Alton.
Joel said nothing, this was something that Tommy was doing on his own and he had not assigned that duty to Tommy.
They met the pilot boat at the entrance to the outer harbor and Tommy was fascinated by the interaction between the pilot and Jim Alton.
Joel was standing by in case of any problems, but the pilot seemed very capable and he guided them into the inner harbor, where they were to tie up at Tanjiong Rhu.
There was a lot of wreckage still around from the recent war and many of the cargo cranes lay toppled where Allied Bombs had rained down on them.
As soon as they reach their destination, the Pilot left the ship, it was up to Jim and the Captain to tie up to the pier. Joel let Jim get the Mattie into position and tied up.
Tommy watched everything Jim did and said, knowing his Papa would quiz him on it that same evening.
It was getting dark and it was obvious that there were no working lights on the pier and there was to electrical hookups either. That meant they would be able to work cargo during daylight hours only and they would have to keep one of the boilers and a generator running all the while they were in port.
Joel let Tommy organize the off-loading and Tommy was out on deck as soon as it got light. He helped the ABs open the holds and lift the covers before he signaled the sailor on the winch to lower him down into the hold.
He had the Singapore cargo all marked on his “maps” and he set the sailors to “loosening up” the cargo. That meant undoing the ropes that help it in place and knocking out the timbers that were shoring up the heavy items.
He wanted to get some of the really heavy items out of the hold so they had some room to work. There were several heavy duty trucks and a number of Caterpillar Tractors that had to come out first, so that they could get to the smaller items.
Tommy had planned on it being a two day job to off-load the Singapore cargo and he began to wonder as those thrice damned tractors fought them every inch of the way out of the hold. Fortunately, the several large trucks came out like obedient puppies!
The rest of the cargo went smoothly and, by the end of the second day, all the Singapore cargo was offloaded. Some of the heavier items had to be off loaded onto lighters as the pier was too badly damaged to carry the load.
Tommy had rigged some lights so that they could secure the remaining cargo in the hold against shifting at sea. They were completed by midnight of the second day and they sailed the next morning for Jakarta.
They sailed the next morning and headed for the Java Sea. Joel had warned Tommy that there was only one pier remaining in service at Jakarta and there were no cargo facilities remaining in operation. They were going to have to swing the cargo over the pier and place it directly on trucks.
Tommy looked at his cargo map and saw that the two remaining tractors were destined for Jakarta as well as the last two heavy trucks. There were fifty pallets of miscellaneous cargo in Number Two hold, he suspected most of it was dry foodstuffs.
Having no cargo facilities meant that he would have to station a crew on the pier to receive the cargo. His first thought was, “Hey, I’m just a kid, but he knew Joel was depending on him and he would rather die than disappoint his Papa.
Joel did not want to arrive in Jakarta after dark, so the Mattie just “loafed” her way south at nine knots and they arrive a little after 8 AM. There was no Harbor Pilot, but Joel and the Mattie had been there before, so Joel guided the ship up to the only pier that had not been bombed to splinters.
There were some idlers on the pier who agreed to receive the mooring lines, after Joel promised them a carton of American cigarettes.
As soon as they were tied up. Tommy sent his own men down to the pier to double check the mooring lines. They found them satisfactory, if a little loose.
The ABs knew that Tommy would make them do the lines over, if they did not meet his satisfaction, so they reworked all the mooring lines before “the Boss” saw them. That was not lost on his Papa, it only reinforced his pride in his son.
About noon, a parade of trucks arrived and Tommy wanted to be rid of the last two tractors and the couple of trucks first. It took them the rest of the day to off-load the heavy equipment, then they had to stop as there were no lights of the pier. In fact, when Tommy looked over at the surrounding town, he didn’t see any lights at all!
The next morning, they began all over again. The local cargo trucks were not over large and all they could get on the trucks was four pallets at a time. Tommy groaned, there were fifty large pallets to offload!
It was another day and a half before they saw the last of the Jakarta freight.
Tommy had an eyeball to eyeball confrontation with the government freight agent, but the man must have been afraid of the wild eyed boy confronting him, he decided to sign the documents while he still had all his parts. He was pretty sure the westerner boy was steaming smoke out his nostrils!
Joel was up on the bridge taking it all in and, while he was too far away to hear the actual words, his son’s gestures said it all.
Angus was up on the bridge standing beside Joel and he said, “Them two boys is one helluva pair, theys makin a reputation that will be hard to beat!” He had been telling Joel how Jeremy had the entire Black Gang convinced that he walked on water!
Joel replied, “God was lookin’ out fer us that day, weren’t He?”
Angus turned solemn and said, “Cap’n them boys is the goodest thing what ever happened to you n’ me, I’s so damned proud o’ the two of em, I could bust my britches.”
He continued, “If’n I let someth’n happen to Jeremy, Frances would skin me alive before she tossed me out!”
Joel replied, “Yeah, I know the feeling, that boy, Tommy, is the best thing to ever happen to me and my Dad and that he an’ Jeremy be life partners is the best thing that could happen to The Mattie Carson an’ that be no lie!”
RIDING LIGHT TO AUSSIELAND
They spent the night tied up to the pier. Tommie had the Deck Crew batten down the empty hatches in preparation for their trip to Perth, Australia.
They were scheduled to take on 700 tons of limestone blocks, all on pallets and were ticketed for some big building project in Los Angeles. From there, they were headed to Melbourne, where they were to take on the remaining cargo space with kiln dried tropical hardwoods.
Joel had never been to Port Phillip Bay and he was looking forward to it. Tommy was going to be eighteen while they were there and he planned a celebration that the boy would never forget. He had some papers in the safe that he would give to Tommy on that day. He had another set that he had passed to Angus as Jeremy’s birthday was only one day after Tommy’s and Angus planned to give them to Jeremy at the same time.
They arrived at Perth right on time. It was a small port, but Joel could see a line of trucks waiting for them. There was one boom crane on the pier and he could see the crane operator test swinging the boom.
Tommy had had a confrontation with an Aussie Docky the last time he had been in Australia, he hoped there would not be a repeat. He rode the hook down to the pier and went to see the Boss Docky. The man was polite and agreeable and Tommy sighed in relief.
Tommy stepped on the hook and signaled the AB to bring him home. He thought about that and, suddenly realized, IT WAS HOME!
The first truck pulled up and an Aussie came on board to operate the boom, that was usual and, after he had spoken to the Boss Docky, Tommy felt good about the arrangement.
The dock crew put straps around the first pallet of limestone blocks and signaled the winch operator to “Haul Away”.
The man lifted the blocks smoothly and lowered them in the hold with hardly a “thump” as they hit the deck down in the hold. By the end of the day, all 700 tons had been neatly stowed in the forward hold.
The Mattie was a little bit humped, but Joel figured that would be corrected with the weight of the lumber scheduled for Number 2 hold. Tropical hardwoods were so dense, most would not float in water and the furniture people would need to use metal working tools to make the furniture. It was high value stuff, however, as it took a high polish and the grain was very dense.
It would be noon of the next day before they were ready to head for Melbourne for the remainder of the lumber cargo. The lumber in Melbourne was already kiln dried and would be somewhat lighter that what they loaded in Perth. They would find that the kiln dried lumber was already wrapped in tarred paper to keep it dry and it was bundled on the pallets for easy handling.
After they finished loading in Melbourne, Joel told everyone that they would not depart until the next day. He had invited all the Licensed Crew to a dinner shoreside and he had Cookie prepare a dinner with all the “fixings” for the crew.
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TBC
Coming Soon: What can be so important that Captain Joel Carson is willing to delay sailing and provide food for everyone? The mystery will deepen when he instructs Tommy and Jeremy to wear their new uniforms to the dinner.