As he continued walking, he caught a glimpse of the figurehead on the bow. The wooden figure, mounted just below the bowsprit, was a roaring lion mounted on a fiddlehead design on the prow of the ship that supported the bowsprit. Many sailors called the roaring lion design the “Old Leo,” and Harry thought it was a good choice for a ship being renamed the King’s Ransom.
He continued looking at the ship for quite a while, and then he turned to walk back toward the town and the inn where he was staying that night. He’d be meeting with his crew the next morning in a warehouse that the Admiralty had set aside as a staging area for materials that had already left for Cat Island, and he wanted to be well-rested before committing his first act of piracy – stealing his own ship.
Harry spent most of the night tossing and turning in his bed – unable to go to sleep. The conversation with Admirals Shovell and Leicester kept playing over and over in his mind. His mission would unquestionably help England prepare for the coming war, but his orders included committing acts of piracy for king and country!
Harry wrestled with this thought for hours. He saw the logic of what the king wanted, and Harry felt confident in his ability to carry out the Admiralty’s orders. But he felt deeply concerned about committing acts of war against French and Spanish shipping. Harry knew the Navy occasionally skirmished with French and Spanish warships, but it was done openly with the English flags plainly visible. Disguising the ship as a pirate ship to attack the ships of other nations during peacetime was something else altogether.
He was also bothered by the risk to his crew if any were captured, and the ruthless was he’d have to treat the crews of any ships that he captured.
Every sailor in the Navy knew the risks of being captured by the enemy. The Spanish sold prisoners as slaves in the American colonies, or sometimes kept them to serve onboard ships of the Spanish Navy. However, if any of Harry’s crew were captured, they wouldn’t face the same fate as captured English sailors. Pirate crews were hung, and Harry knew this was a prospect no captured English sailor had contended with before. He wasn’t sure how his crewmembers would react once they realized the personal risk they were facing by being part of the mission.
Harry knew that he couldn’t take prisoners from the enemy ships; he couldn’t spare men to guard prisoners, and he couldn’t risk one escaping and telling the French or Spanish who committed the acts of piracy or the location of Harry’s base. I can’t order the enemy sailors butchered, though. I may have to become a pirate and employ ruthless tactics to defeat the enemy, but I don’t have to act without mercy.
Harry thought about this for a while. I guess the most humane thing would be to throw the enemy sailors over the side and set them adrift with at least one of the rowboats or some timbers to cling to as they swim for land or wait to be rescued. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but it didn’t bother Harry’s conscience as badly as the alternatives.
Even though England wasn’t at war yet, Harry had no doubts about the French and Spanish ships being the enemy. If my king tells me that someone is the enemy of England, then I’ll treat him as my enemy and do everything I can to defeat him. The French and Spanish will be trying just as hard to destroy me as I’ll be trying to destroy them.
Harry firmly believed that his crew would obey his orders. English sailors were obedient to their officers, and to be otherwise was an act of mutiny, but they’d look to him to help them rationalize that they were doing the right thing. If he had doubts about the orders he gave to the crew, the crew would have the same doubts. He knew he had to carry out the Admiralty orders in a way that accomplished what the king needed while allowing himself and the crew to have no doubts about the methods they were employing. He made a mental note to make sure his new officers understood this point clearly.
Harry then rolled over and tried to get a little sleep before sunrise.
Harry woke up just before dawn, feeling somewhat rested yet anxious for the day to begin. He rose, washed himself with the water in the basin next to the window, and began shaving. This might be the last time I shave for quite a while. He had already decided that a beard might help him look more like a real pirate.
He finished shaving, put on his uniform, and went downstairs to eat a quick breakfast before setting off for the warehouse. He wanted to be the first one there so he could greet each member of the crew as he arrived. Harry hadn’t sailed with so many men unfamiliar to him since his first cruise as a cabin boy, and he wanted to get a sense of the measure of each man selected for this mission.
The proprietor set a platter of cheese, butter, and preserves in front of Harry after he sat down. Then the proprietor disappeared to get Harry a loaf of fresh bread and a pot of tea. Steam rose from the bread when the proprietor returned with it, and Harry wasted no time in filling it with butter and preserves. He tore off a piece and found it was delicious. I wonder if this is the last decent breakfast I’ll have for a long time. He tore off another piece of bread.
As captain of a warship, he’d have the privileges of any senior naval officer – a private clerk, an orderly, and a cook. He remembered looking at the name of the cook being assigned to him on this mission, but he didn’t recognize it. I hope the man is a good cook and not just a good sailor. He finished the bread and started eating the cheese.
A few minutes later, he finished his breakfast, settled up with the proprietor, and went back upstairs to get his things. He knew his sea trunk had been moved from his previous ship to his new cabin onboard the King’s Ransom already, so all he had to get were the packages and the two packets that he had received from Admiral Leicester the previous day.
He walked briskly to the Navy Yard, breathing in the smell of the sea. It was a cloudless morning, which was unusual for early April. He paid little attention to the rhythmic swaying of the masts along the wharf or the sounds of bells lightly ringing as the ships rocked gently in the rising tide. He returned the salutes of the subordinate officers and seamen he passed along the way, but his mind remained focused on his ship, his crew, and his mission.
When he arrived at the warehouse, two Marine guards snapped to attention and politely asked to see copies of Harry’s orders. He showed them the piece of paper given to him by Admiral Shovell, and the guards allowed him to enter.
The warehouse was quite large and nearly empty. Harry had succeeded in being the first to arrive. He placed his packages against the wall to the right of the door and sat down on a small crate while he waited for others of his crew to arrive. Pulling out the list of crewmembers and the inventory that had already sailed for Cat Island, Harry went over the details once again.
Thirty minutes later, he heard the guards outside challenge someone approaching the warehouse. As Harry stood up, someone in the uniform of a first lieutenant appeared in the doorway. Seeing Harry, he immediately snapped to attention.
“Captain Hastings? I’m Lieutenant Charles Pemberton. I’ve been ordered to report here as your second-in-command.”
“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Pemberton,” Harry replied, walking forward to shake the officer’s hand. “I understand you served onboard the Defiance before being transferred to the Bedford under Captain Haughton.”
“Yes, sir,” Pemberton said, surprised and pleased that his new captain knew this information already.
“I served with Haughton as a midshipman. I was happy when he was given the Bedford.”
“We all were, sir,” Pemberton acknowledged. “Sir, if you don’t mind my asking, can you tell me what this mission’s all about?”
“Were you told anything at all about it?” Harry asked.
“No, sir.”
Harry looked around for a moment before saying, “I’d like to wait until Lieutenant Hamilton arrives and then brief both of you at the same time. You two will be my second- and third-in-command on this mission, and there are aspects of the mission that I want