Chapter 48

Captain Billy, Wolf and I, Mark, arrived in Philadelphia in the southern most Defensive Shell. It was both the most private and safest place to arrive during the day. We passed through the barrier of the shell to the street outside once the Captain had recovered, as he still wasn't used to transferring.

"Where to first, Captain?" I asked, once we were on the street.

"We need to find someone with local knowledge of the port and the ships available, Lads. Someone trustworthy," he told Wolf and me.

"Where will we find someone like that?" Wolf asked.

"In a tavern where sailors congregate. Down in the Southwark area. Most of the taverns where seafaring men gather are in that area south of the main part of the city," the Captain told us ... We continued south along the river front and soon came to an area with a number of Taverns having names associated with sailors and sailing. The Captain passed several of the rougher looking ones before entering one.

Inside it was dim with smoke, noise, and the smell of stale beer and ale plus the smell of unwashed bodies and vomit. There were a surprising number of men here for this time of the afternoon. The Captain spent a bit of time examining those present from just inside the doorway. Shortly, I saw a smile appear on his face.

"We're in luck, Lads," he told us quietly before turning back to those present and moving toward a table where a number of men were drinking.

"Mister Flynn!" the Captain called to one of the men as if he had done something wrong. All of the men at the table were startled. One man was somewhat drunk and it took him a while to respond.

"Here! Who dares to address me in a voice like that?" he demanded in anger and rose from the table to his entire 5'-6" height. He was a thin but muscular man in need of a shave and a change of clothes, as his were filthy.

"I do you scoundrel," the Captain answered in a voice full of command and authority. The man, Flynn, had to squint several times to see the Captain against the light behind him from the doorway.

"Why ... why Captain Graham! Bless me soul. I heared that you was beached!" the man said in surprise.

"Not for much longer, Mister Flynn. I'm here looking for a ship and a crew," the Captain informed him in a loud voice. "Are you willing to sign on for a Mate's share?" he asked then. The tavern had gone quiet in anticipation when the Captain first called out for Flynn. Now a murmuring began at the mention of shares and not regular pay, as they knew that this would involve either privateering or piracy.

"You was always fair with me, Captain. Count me in," Flynn told him.

"We need to talk, Mister Flynn, but not here," the Captain told him glancing around at all of those listening.

"Aye, Captain. Lead on," Flynn said, but he wasn't too steady as he moved away from the table and toward his new skipper.

"How much have you had to drink, Flynn?" the Captain demanded in a harsh voice.

"I can still navigate and work, Captain!" Flynn told him in a voice that betrayed annoyance.

"We'll take care of him, Captain," I told him from behind him.

"Who are they?" Flynn demanded in a drunken voice, noticing us for the first time.

"They are the owner and his second in command," the Captain advised him in a dark voice. Flynn flinched but remained silent.

"When will you be taking on a crew?" A large man near the back of the room asked after that.

"In a day or so," Captain Graham told him and the others before turning to leave the tavern. Flynn followed him. Wolf and I already had our wards set in case of trouble, but there was none.

Outside, we turned and went down the side of the tavern so we would be out of sight when we transferred. Flynn was still drunk and stumbling but was easily guided. We stopped when we were sufficiently concealed by the buildings around us and transferred back to the southernmost Defensive Shell. It took Flynn some time to realize where we were.

"How... ?" he started, and was then silent for a time. "You are the people that created all of these things!" he said very perceptibly, waving a hand at the shell around us.

"Yes, we are!" I answered. "We need to sober you up," I told him next, and started the spell to rid his body of alcohol. We would cure his hangover after that. Flynn was soon convulsing and throwing up everything in his stomach. I used the hangover spell after he had recovered and also a cleaning spell on his clothes.

"Are you sober now?" the Captain asked his old crew-mate after that.

"Aye, Captain. Sober but a bit under the weather," Flynn told him.

"We'll get you something to eat shortly, but first we need to know what ships are available here," the Captain told him.

"Available for what? Privateering?" he asked excitedly.

"Yes, something suitable for private ventures, but not too large nor one that draws too much water," the Captain told him with a smile.

"Smuggling, aye! Something that is fast and can be used in shallow coves, but that will have a sting if it encounters a patrol boat. Aye!" Flynn said in understanding before spending some time considering which ships would fit these requirements.

"There be few ships available that would be suitable," Flynn told us after a time. "And fewer yet that would be for sale," he added.

"And where would those few be?" the Captain asked.

"There are a couple near here, but they will require repairs before they can be ready to sail," Flynn told him.

"Let's have a look at them and see what they will require," the Captain answered. Wolf and I had remained quiet during this discussion, as we had no expertise in these things. We moved out of the Defensive Shell, which surprised our new man, and started down the road toward where those ships were located.

Southwark was right on the river front and was marked by many large wood yards for the firewood needed by the city, and for the timber used by the various ship yards and mast makers located along the river there. It was toward these ship yards that we were now headed. We soon came to an area where several ships were anchored near the shore. Captain Graham gave them appraising looks but didn't appear to be interested in them.

"Is that all of them?" he asked in a disappointed voice.

"Just about. There aren't that many ships here that would be suitable," Flynn answered. "The British authorities have been very careful about what ships were built since the end of the war."

"All right. We'll have to look further afield, perhaps in Chester or Wilmington, but let's get you some food," the Captain said in a discouraged voice.

"There is one more!" Flynn said hearing the tone of his voice.

"Where is it?"

"It's a bit farther down the road, but not too far from a tavern with good food," Flynn told him obviously hoping to take care of both things at the same time. We moved about a block further south, past a large shipbuilding and repair yard. At the far end of the yard there was a single ship anchored in the river, and a bit further was the sign for the tavern that Flynn had mentioned.

"That's Rattlesnake. She was a privateer during the last years of the war, and was captured by the Royal Navy near the end of it. They took her into the Royal Navy because of her speed. She has been assigned to various ports according to those who have served on her, but she has been assigned here for the last ten years at least. The Navy is looking to sell her off, but no one has bid on her yet. I have been told that she leaks," Flynn told us, but his words were not his main interest, as his gaze was on the tavern. The Captain noticed his distraction.

"Why don't you go eat. We'll join you after we have a look at the ship," he told Flynn.

"Aye, Captain!" Flynn answered, as I handed him some coins to pay for the meal. We transferred onto the ship when Flynn neared the tavern.

"Well now!" Captain Graham said happily, looking around at the ship. "She's built like a miniature frigate with a detached forecastle and quarter deck. She appears to be about ninety feet on the main deck and about twenty-two feet at the widest portion. You can see that she was built with twenty gun-ports, but it would appear that only twelve or fourteen of them were actually used most of the time," he told us with a smile, looking over the ship from where we had appeared on her deck.

"Let's have a look at her below deck areas, the crew's quarters and other areas, especially the hold," he insisted as he headed for the smaller of the two hatches on the main deck. The hold was dark and I used a spell for Magic Fire to give us some light.

"A bit less than nine feet of depth in the hold. That means that she will draw somewhere around ten feet of water loaded," the Captain noted with another smile, but added, "She is definitely taking on water. That's not a good sign. It will take a lot of work by the crew to keep her dry.

"I believe that we can fix that," I told him.

"It would require hauling her out of the water and going over all of the planking after removing the copper hull plates. It's a long process, and we don't have time for it," he told us.

"We would use a series of wards to seal the hull and it should be finished in less than hour," I told him, much to his surprise.

"You can do something like that?" he asked.

"Yes, and we can remove the water that's in here now also," Wolf assured him.

"And since it is the property of the Royal Navy, we'll just confiscate it," I added.

"I like the sound of that!" Captain Graham added with another smile.

"Also, it's anchored away from not only other Navy ships, but the civilian ships also, so we will be able to work on her without any trouble," Wolf added using the naval term for a ship.

"Let's join Flynn. I'm ready for a meal. We can also discuss what needs to be completed before we sail," the Captain told us enthusiastically.

The food at the tavern was rather plain, but there was plenty of it, and it was filling. The ale was passable. During the meal the Captain discussed a number of things that he wanted done on the ship with Mister Flynn, and other things that he discussed with Wolf and me. The final item of discussion was acquiring a crew. Flynn was shocked at how few crew members the Captain intended to hire.

"Twenty will be enough to sail the ship, but who will man the cannons? You will need a minimum of four men to handle and load each cannon. Even if manning only half of the cannon that would amount to twenty-four to twenty eight men alone!" Mr. Flynn observed.

"You won't be manning the cannons. Your people will only be sailing the ship. My people will be in charge of the offense and defense of the ship," I told him.

"How many of you are there?" he asked.

"There will be thirty-four of us," I told him. "We will also supply whatever stores are required from the British supplies here in Philadelphia," I added to a surprised look from Mister Flynn.

"You can do that?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes, we are the ones that quarantined them, and we can access the supplies inside the Defensive Shells at any time," Wolf told him with a grin.

"We will have some of our people here shortly to repair the hull damage and to remove the water from the inside of the ship," I told the Captain. "When will you start your work on the ship?"

"How long will the repairs take your people?" he asked again.

"No more than an hour," I told him.

"That quickly? Mister Flynn and I will go to hire some crewmen then," the Captain told us.

"Will you require any money?" I asked.

"Yes, but no more than a couple of English pounds in small coins," he told me after considering his answer for a short time.

"I'll bring the money when I return," I told him before paying for our meal and leaving the tavern. The Captain and Flynn went to see about recruiting crew members, and Wolf and I prepared to return to Kentucky.