A Girl called Admiral Fairweather Read online

CHAPTER 3

  ASSAM TORTOISE

  Despite the urgency, Joint Admiral Assam Tortoise didn’t actually start on the Serendipity until well after midnight when the stars peppered the heavens like fireflies.

  Earlier at Town Hall, Assam had been brought before the Mayor and made to stand beside Sergeant Boar. The Mayor had blamed each for their part in Harry Possum’s and Sally Sloth’s abduction by pirates. He’d been blamed Assam for failing to free Stanley Horse who had been tied by the pirates to a stanchion that held up the roof in the boatshed in which he was hiding, even though there was a very grave risk to his person should he emerge from his hiding spot to extricate the horse; that there wasn’t, when all was said and done, was immaterial, he had acted with the only knowledge he had at the time. Nobody seemed at all interested in this entirely reasonable defence, neither did they seem to think that being of tortoise-kind excused a perfectly natural tendency towards self-preservation; neither that he had only just survived a close encounter with those horrible pirates who had left him inverted in an open barrel, until Larry Monkey found him and cast him roughly to the floor. They didn’t care a dot. Also, it seemed highly unlikely that freeing the horse so he could run for help and raise the alarm would have made any real difference anyway. By the time help arrived the pirates would have been well on their way. And Sergeant Boar, he was blamed for preventing Larry Monkey from carrying out his foolhardy plan to capture the pirates using a fishing net, a plan that would have most certainly failed. The Sergeant seemed genuinely surprised at the charge levelled against him.

  The Mayor had made it clear to tortoise and boar that their failures would be overlooked should they agree to jointly lead a second fleet to rescue the abductees. The Sergeant had puffed up with pride, as if he had been honoured not punished. Assam had retracted into his shell, the only readily accessible safe place in the vast hall. The idea of chasing pirates was foolhardy in the extreme and bound to end in pain, misery and death—or more likely, all three. Only the human’s sword poked into the gap between his shell and tender parts made him seriously reconsider the Mayor’s offer.

  The human had named her fleet the Hammer, he had named his the Ghost Fleet because with any luck it would never be seen. Hers would smash, his help tidy up or resupply the Hammer should a long pursuit be required. Both fleets were to be made ready to leave at dawn.

  It had taken hours to choose between the many volunteers. It was astounding to Assam that there were any animals who would willingly step forward for such a dangerous mission, more astounding still that most had wanted to serve on the Hammer so they could personally deliver a blow the pirates wouldn’t forget. Assam knew deep down in his shell that it was a mistake to further provoke the pirates. For every action, there would be a more terrible reaction. Harry Possum wrecked the Interloper upon Kidney Reef so they abducted him, and Sally Sloth too, for good measure. He could only imagine the terrible consequences that would follow agitating the pirates further. His one small consolation was he wouldn’t see any action himself. He was to oversee work on the Serendipity—still in drydock at Thompsons Creek, miles distant from pirate-infested waters—then meet up with the Hammer once the pirates had been caught. He would complete and captain the Serendipity; Sergeant Boar would provision and captain the Happy Trader. Theirs was purely to be a supply and support mission.

  A lonely moon was on the rise when Assam and Stanley arrived at Thompsons Creek. The high clouds were rimmed with silver and the tall trees guarding the clearing where ghost-white. The tall ship’s mast cast a long, clean shadow across the clearing and more shadows lurked behind Harry Possum’s work shed, its tall barn doors closed up tight against the night. A neatly stacked pile of unused lumber stood to one side and twinkling stars peppered the night sky between slow moving clouds.

  Stanley Horse had carried Assam to Thompsons Creek at a fast trot so he would arrive ahead of the volunteers. The horse had been cheerful and friendly on the way out; not at all what Assam had expected considering he had failed to help after the pirates had captured and tied up the farm horse. He was beginning to wonder whether everyone was right, that he should have risked untying him; that his inaction was reprehensible; that untying the horse might have made a difference. This made him feel a little ashamed. When faced with danger, inaction had once seemed prudent and sensible. Now it seemed, well, cowardly.

  ‘I’m… sorry I didn’t untie you,’ Assam said as he climbed down from Stanley’s back. These were the first words he had spoken since asking Stanley to slow down lest he fall. He had been churning and fretting about how he had acted all the way from Town Hall. It was impossible not to think about a person when you were being carried by them. ‘If I had my chance again I would have …and I…,’ he said.

  ‘That’s, that’s alright, sir,’ Stanley replied politely, his breath misting in the still, cool air. ‘I have no hard feelings, Mr Tortoise. I’m sure… sure we’ll get them back soon.’

  As Assam walked the perimeter of the clearing he worked over in his mind the problem of how to make the Serendipity seaworthy by dawn. The first thing would be to mount the second of the ship’s two masts; the foremast. Harry Possum had laid it beside the ship at the top of the drydock wall along with the booms, gaffs and a yard that would be used to suspend the sails. Ropes and pulleys were already in place to raise the mast. It just needed lifting and placement then rigging could commence.

  ‘I’ll go back and bring, bring some of the others,’ Stanley said, turning.

  The moon dipped behind a cloud causing the shadows in the clearing to deepen. It was so quiet Assam could near a mosquito buzzing nearby. ‘No! P-P-Please stay,’ Assam said quickly, betraying his fear of the dark, and of being alone. He had a flashback to the moment just after he emerged from the egg, his first terrifying memory of abandonment. ‘We’ll need light, and lots of it. See if you can open Harry’s shed and find some t-t-torches and lanterns.’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ said Stanley. He turned and trotted towards the shed.

  The silver moon appeared again and the shadows retreated to the bramble of mangroves on the other side of the creek. Soon, Stanley had the first torches lit so that the clearing flickered reassuringly with warm orange light.

  Assam looked over the Serendipity with a shipwright’s eye. The narrow hull appeared to be solidly built and had already been painted cream below the waterline. He guessed she was ninety feet long and twenty-five at the beam, her width when seen from above. The Serendipity’s mainmast swept back at fifteen degrees, as would her foremast when emplaced. Her keel ran deep and her bowsprit was long—Harry obviously had a flying jib in mind. She looked like she would be light on the water, say, two hundred tons. Give her a good wind and he could imagine she’d make forty knots, easily enough to outrun pirates. The Serendipity would be the fastest ship on the Gulf.

  The drydock was deep and only a little water had pooled beneath. Harry had used hardwood logs calked with clay to stabilise the earthen walls and tightly fitted logs to build the gate that held back the creek’s brackish water. Assam waddled over to inspect the gate and the creek beyond. The gate could easily be dismantled when the time came. The creek was wide enough to allow for safe manoeuvring and appeared deep enough, though this would have to be tested with poles. There were mangroves lining the far bank and moonlight rippled the water into a thousand silver bands. He looked back at the keel, squinting. The channel would need to be at least fifteen feet deep to allow for clear passage of the Serendipity’s keel but he thought it safe to assume Harry had allowed for this. He seemed to have seen to every detail and, judging by the quality of work he had so far seen, was surely a very capable shipwright.

  When the first volunteers arrived, Assam was ready and the clearing was ablaze with light. He began by appointing work crew managers from the volunteers experienced at working on ships. The first task he gave them was to make the worksite as safe as possible. Careful management and planning was essential if work was to progress efficient
ly and accidents were to be avoided. Though all the volunteers were keen to help, Assam knew that those without experience could easily become a hindrance to those that knew their way around.

  While the crew managers made the worksite safe and identified risks and hazards, Assam drew up rosters and task lists. Only when each crew manager understood their tasks did he allow them to select a team to help. This took time but a badly chosen work crew would work slowly, taking more time still. Finally, he sent the largest animals, along with those who had not been chosen by the crew managers, back to town with instructions to return with needed tools and materials. Hours after arriving, work on the Serendipity finally began.