Tommo & Hawk by Bryce Courtenay Read Free Book Online Page B

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    'The Christ within us lives in you all, because something of God exists in every man,' O'Hara begins in a most reasonable voice. Then he says to Billy, 'Even in thee, an ignorant savage.' He turns to us and goes on, 'In thee also, in every man here, there is the inward light if he should take it into himself and illuminate his heart in Christ Jesus' name.' He brings his attention back to Billy. 'This inward light is a guide to us of good and evil, in thee and me. In thy case, Billy Lanney, I have sought to discover the Will of God by deliberation and by the illumination of that same light in me.' The captain pauses and stares towards the topmast in a sort o' holy-looking way. Then he fixes his eyes on Billy again. 'It has been made clear to me by divine revelation that thou art to be most severely punished. Evil exists in all of us and we have witnessed it now in thee. In bringing strong drink aboard we have seen clearly the spirit of Satan confronting the spirit of the Lord Jesus Himself. It is written that thou shalt take no strong drink and thou hast disobeyed, and so this evil must be punished. Billy Lanney, whaleman on the good vessel Nankin Maiden, in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, I pronounce sentence of one hundred lashes.'

    There is a gasp from the crew, for a hundred lashes with the knotted rope be severe punishment. The captain then picks up a book what he explains to us is the articles of the ship. I can't remember the exact words, but it more or less says that the Nankin Maiden be under the tender and loving care of the Lord Jesus and be therefore, according to the Holy Scriptures, 'an empty vessel, to be filled with the Spirit of the Lord'. The Captain is responsible for interpreting the word of God in all matters requiring discipline and for delivering punishments with his own hand in the name of Christ Jesus, Amen.

    This means he can punish Billy any way he likes. When they strips Billy naked and ties him to the mizzen mast, his back be so scarred from past floggings that the rope at first can't cut through the flesh beneath. Billy don't take no leather strap to bite down upon, and all the way through the terrible beating he don't make no sound except a grunt as the wicked whip strikes him deep to flay the meat from his ribs and backbone.

    When all's done, the captain stands bent over with his hands clasped upon his knees, sweat pouring off and him panting like a bitch on heat. O'Hara wears a gold signet ring on his right hand with a flat top the size of a shilling. Now a piece of Lanney's flesh is stuck upon it, so that it looks like it's set with a large ruby.

    There is smiles of wonderment among the crew at the way Billy's taken his flogging. Some says that even if Billy be a black, never a braver man has put to sea, and all vows they would man a whaleboat with him any day o' the week. This is rare praise on board a vessel where it's every man for himself. The many languages the men gibber away in keeps 'em apart, and English is spoke only to give instructions, organise the whale hunt or give out punishment. But when the hunt is on, the six men who crew together in each of the four open whaleboats share a common destiny. They knows their lives to be in mortal danger and they stays close the better to survive. A crew member what's shown his mettle is not forgotten and Billy Lanney's courage under the captain's lash will hold him in good stead. This be even more true after what happens when he is cut loose from the mast.

    When they cuts Billy down he stands unsteady, with the blood running down his open back to his scrawny bum and forming puddles o' crimson at his heels. Then he straightens, and faces out to sea, sniffing the air in great draughts. We watches silent, thinking that perhaps he's about to jump, when from deep within him comes the howl of the wild Tasman tiger dog, a long, mournful sound that I've heard a thousand times at night in the wilderness. Two Irishmen