“Silver Adventures”- Captain Joshua Slane – 17AP19 – ‘We’re going to war!’

⛵ ⛵ ⛵ ⛵. . . "Tour of the Gulf of Aden". . . (cont.)

[Last time...]

And so it was all morning long. Barrel after empty barrel was dumped into the sea and the gun crews labored over the hot guns, firing and firing and firing. Finally after two hours of fire and smoke the guns fell silent and the captain satisfied that it had been a good practice for the boys. By the end of it, fifty percent of the crew could hit their targets at a good run. One boy suffered broken ankle, two broken wrists and five suffered burns. Warrant Officer- Surgeon Hack busily mended them as quick as they were carried into sick bay. An offer to ‘remove’ the broken foot of the worst injured was declined in a heated passion by the terrified young lad!

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[Fifty miles south of the Gulf of Aden…]

A stiff northerly breeze pushed the Jinn’s Dhow fleet south at a swift pace. Nine war Dhows in all, led by the largest vessel, a black Dhow of forty feet and a crew of thirty men.

“Tighten the running lines on that sail! I want to get to Seychelles before the week is out!” The man with the white turban and short-cropped black beard yelled out in Arabic.

“Aye Husam Sir!” A wiry sailor replied as he barked orders at the crew.

The Captain stood on the bridge next to his First Mate, who was also his tiller-man.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this!” He said to his companion, “We’ll meet up with Asif in the Bay of Victoria when we arrive.”
“Asif is a good man, but what will we do when he asks for the rest of his silver?”
“The Jinn is done with Asif! Good man or not, he didn’t arrange the best treaty with the King of Seychelles, and now we will have to re-negotiate the agreement when we drop anchor in Victoria.” Captain Husam said with aggravation.
“But Captain, Asif will not accept a broken promise?”
“No he won’t. But it doesn’t matter. Asif is a dead man…”

The first mate looked away in surprise a moment. The revelation didn’t sit well with him and the Captain sensed it…

“You have to understand…Asif failed in his mission, and then delayed our plan by weeks by allowing that Scottish warship to follow him. The Lord Jinn is very displeased with him.”
“But that warship is gone now Captain…? Why does the Lord Jinn want us to kill Asif?”
“Because he knows too much…he knows the whole plan. Did you think the Jinn would let a lowly trader sail away with a hundred ounces of silver and the secrets of the Kingdom of Aden as well?!”
The First Mate swallowed hard. This was betrayal! His stomach churned at the thought of what they must do…

[On the Silverton…]

Standing Officer- Carpenter Ickied stood next to Cockpit Mate- Midshipman's Mate Fisky as the ship tacked north-east against a northerly wind…

“Ahh’m kinda likin' thes Asif character…” Ickied said as he leaned against the starboard rail, watching Asif on the forecastle, winding a rope coil, “Apart froms th' fact 'att he was willin' tae make a disgraceful treaty ay coorse. An' wark fur th' Jinn. An' hee’s loyalties seem tae lie wi' th' highest bidder... awe rite, sae mebbe there’s less tae like efter aw. He is bold though.”
“Ahh think thaur’s mair ta’ heem than we knows mate.” Fisky replied as he glanced across the bow of the ship.
“Mair guid? Or mair bad?”
“Ahh dorn’t knows mucker…Ahh dorn’t knows.”

Meanwhile, Seaman- Gunsmith Ilipino was busy swabbing the barrel of sixteen pounder with Seaman- Gunsmith Errislravenhill when Seaman- Able Seamen Ergino, Andofzara and Tokjockey walked up.

“Either ay ye mates ever bin in a brine battle?" Andofzara asked as he rested one foot on the gun carriage and leaned on his knee.
“A wee one…” Errislravenhill replied, tipping her hat back.
“No…” Ilipino replied as he swallowed hard.
“Dae yoo think ‘att’s whaur aw this is headed?” Tokjockey added with concern.
“Ahh think it is. Black smoke an’ death is on th’ horizon!” Ergino said with a wrinkled brow.

Junior Petty Officer- Gunner's Mate Spinny walked up to check their progress, “Wa’ aw th’ lang faces muckers?!”

“Wee’s finally figured oot ‘att wee’s goin’ ta war!” Andofzara answered with an anxious expression.
“Ah, sae that's it is it? Mates, yoo're borrowin' troubles froms anither days! An' dornt ever underestimate th’ Keptin! Wa’ he's th' best battle-hardened officer in aw th' Scottish Navy! Ahh dornt caur who ye pit heem up against! He knows whit hee’s doin!"
“Aye Sairr.” “Aye, aye.” “Aye.” They all agreed, but despite the encouragement, they couldn’t get rid of the knawing feeling in the pit of their stomachs...

⛵ ⛵ ⛵ ⛵

"Ahh might mention th' power ay an instant promotion...why it coods pit an unknoon cheil in th' top ten, ur, if a cheil is in th' top ten, it coods enable heem tae steal awa' a prize ay silvers...in an instant! Mebbe thes week's question is jist tay toogh fur mah crew?? Dae Ahh hav tae giv-oot panty-waisted hints an' sae forth?!" 😉- Keptin

Captain's 'Fun-Fact Bonus Question': "Sometimes durin' 1718, Ahh hud a guid fight wi' Pirate Keptin Callum. In 'att fight, Ahh sunk his ship (the first time) an' Ahh marooned heem oan an islain. Whit was th' nam ay 'att islain?!"

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"Confused? Ascared? Seasick? Need a private chat with the Captain?" - joshua.slane@aol.com

References: Pictures froms: www.freeimages.com, www.pexels.com, pixabay.com, steemit.com an’ www.google.com/maps. Data loosely interpretted froms: www.wikipedia.org an' sometimes reit from th' author's extensiff personal experience an' such.