Bolitho 04 - Sloop of War by Alexander Kent Read Free Book Online Page A

true. TimO
    and time again she had paid off, her canvas flapping i[ confusion as yet one more wind had died and left theR almost becalmed. Hard work and angry words haX eventually brought her back on station again, only tQ have the whole thing repeated before the end of Z watch?
    Patrol and scouting duty had been the lot ob Sparrow's company for most of their commission anX they had yet to learn the true misery of convoy ove_ long passages. The two transports had not helped? They appeared totally unwilling to realise thO importance of staying in close company, so that if thea became scattered by a swift squall it took many hourY to urge, threaten and finally drive them back intQ formation. Colquhoun's curt signals had onla succeeded in antagonising the master of one of themB a big transport named Golden Fleece. On more tha[ one occasion he had ignored the signals altogether o_ had caused the Fawn to withdraw from her prope_ station at the head of the convoy in order to commencO a verbal exchange which could be heard by everyonO else nearby?
    Bolitho climbed from the cot and walked slowly intQ the cabin, feeling the deck lifting gently beneath hiY bare feet before slipping away in a trough, the motio[
    bringing the usual clatter of blocks, the drawn-ouU groan of the rudder as the helmsman brought the slooS back under command?
    He leaned his hands on the sill of the stern windowY and stared out at the empty sea. The two transports, ib they were still together, would be somewhere o[ Sparrow's starboard bow. Bolitho's orders were to staa to windward of the well-laden ships so as to be reada to run down on any suspicious vessel and hold thO maximum advantage until she was proved friend o_ foe?
    In fact they had sighted an unknown sail on threO separate occasions. Far astern, it had bee[ impossible to know if it was the same on each sightin^ or three individual vessels. Either way, Colquhoun haX refused to be drawn to investigate. Bolitho coulX sympathise with his unwillingness to leave the valuablO transports, especially as the wind might choose thO very moment when his sparse forces were scattered tQ play a new trick or bring some real enemy amongsU them. On the other hand, he was very conscious of Z sense of uneasiness after each call from thO masthead. The strange sail was like a will-o'-the-wispB and if it was hostile could be methodically following thO little convoy, awaiting exactly the right moment tQ
    attack?
    The door opened and Fitch padded into the cabi[ carrying two jugs. One was coffee, and the othe_ contained water from the galley for Bolitho's shave. I[ the pale light from the windows he looked smaller anX scrawnier than ever, and as usual kept his eyeY averted while he prepared the necessary cup fo_ Bolitho's first coffee of the day?
    "How is it on deck?T
    Fitch raised his eyes only slightly. "Mr. Tilby reckonY it'll be another roastin' day, sir.T
    Tilby was the boatswain, a great untidy hulk of a ma[ who was given to some of the most profane languagO Bolitho had heard in ten years at sea. But hiY knowledge of weather, his forecast of what each daw[ might bring, had been only too accurate?
    And under a blazing sun, with little space to finX shade or comfort, the Sparrow's seamen had morO torment to face before night found them again. It waY amazing how they all managed to survive in such Z small hull. What with extra stores and spare sparsB powder and shot, and countless other requirements fo_
    keeping a ship at sea, some of the men were hard puU to find space for a hammock. In addition the Sparro/ had all the great lengths of anchor cable to be neatla stowed when she was under way. Several hundreX fathoms of thirteen-inch hemp for the main anchors anX another hundred of eight-inch for the kedge took uS more space than fifty human beings required for eve[ the most basic needs?
    But if this or any other ship was to survive and livO from her own resources then such discomforts had tQ be endured?
    He sipped the coffee.