7
PEARY, Lloyd and Rosseau met in Rousseau's house. In less than an hour from the time they sat down together Scott was summoned by his old commander, whose excitement was poorly concealed. "Well, lad, we're going to send the ship with you as captain."
Scott, who had not permitted himself to hope too much, looked at Rousseau almost unbelievingly. "Me? How did you come to an agreement so quickly?"
Rousseau shrugged. "Something's happened to change Phil Peary's opinion of you; I don't know what. Anyway, come into the meeting; Phil wants to talk to you."
Scott felt both elated and uncertain as he entered the room at his friend's heels. Peary regarded him seriously; but Lloyd, a smartly turned-out bean pole of a man with a friendly face, grinned and lifted a hand in salute.
"We've come to a tentative agreement to send a ship to Sumatra to trade for pepper, Captain Rogers," Peary said formally and without preamble. "We are agreed that you shall be captain, my son Clay first officer, and Mr. Hosea Fox of Essex County, Massachusetts, second officer. You will be guaranteed one hundred and twenty-five dollars a month, the first officer eighty, and the second sixty-five. Each of you shall have a share of the profits, and each may trade on his own account. Is such an arrangement agreeable to you?"
Scott nodded. "It is, sir."
"Very well. We have sent for Mr. Fox who, I may tell you, had hopes of being master. He may not agree to being second mate; and if he doesn't, the venture may get no farther than this room. As for my son Clay, I can speak for him."
"I think Fox will go along with our offer," Rousseau said coolly, "though he may be disappointed over not being given command."
"Do you have any questions, Captain Rogers?"
"When will we sail?"
"As soon as we can outfit a brig for the trade. She will be armed, of course; the voyage may be hazardous. We have been given to understand that the Malays of Sumatra's northwest coast are given to treachery and piracy. Moreover, you'll have silver specie to buy the pepper, since that seems to be the established practice. I am sure you can appreciate the dangers of trading in heathen parts when your ship is carrying a very large sum in coin. Finally, my own knowledge of the pepper trade is vague, but I do know its profits can be enormous. I'm afraid you'll be heavily dependent on Mr. Fox for knowledge of what you're about; but we all feel that you have the courage and the good sense to bring this voyage off profitably to all concerned."
"Thank you, sir. One other thing."
"Yes?"
"I must make certain my son will be cared for while I'm gone."
Peary looked at him closely. "He can remain with Mrs. Peary and me." He paused. "We'll be glad to have him, Scott."
The new friendliness in Peary's voice surprised Scott. He spoke warily. "He will not be yours to keep."
Rousseau broke in. "Mr. Peary means well by you, Scott."
"I'm sure he does," Scott said a little less cagily; "but I want the point understood."
"I understand," Peary said shortly. "He will be well cared for. Mrs. Peary is devoted to him, but she recognizes your rights as his father."
Fox's arrival was announced just then and he was ushered into the room immediately. Scott's first impression of him was favorable, despite what Rousseau had said earlier. Fox was a shade shorter than Scott, but longer-armed and wider in the shoulders; his head was balding, so that he had little more than a monk's fringe of brown hair on his pate; his eyes were green and alert, and set wide apart in a sallow, dished face in which nose and chin were destined to meet if he lived long enough. Dressed well in blue broadcloth, appearing to be a little more than thirty years old, he had the outward appearance of a man who knew what he wanted and how to go about getting it. He looked directly at Peary while listening to the proposition of the partners, and Scott watched his face closely for any sign of disappointment. There was none, and this was pleasing to Scott, who wanted no disgruntled officers. Having Clay Peary as second in command might in itself prove problem enough.
Fox turned directly to Scott after accepting the berth as second mate. "Captain Rogers, it will be pleasure to serve under you. You'll find me a man who knows his place in a ship."
The latter comment did not altogether set well with Scott, who had no use for servility; but he passed it off. On the whole, his initial impression of the second officer remained the same.
Peary got up from his chair. "Now, gentlemen, I must be going. I think it would be well for you, Captain Rogers, to give ear to Mr. Fox."
"I will serve in any way I can, sir," Fox said to Scott. "Call on me at any time."
Scott smiled. "Now's as good a time as any, Mr. Fox."
"I am at your service, sir."
Scott's first carefully controlled exuberance passed quickly. His pride and pleasure in the newest turn of his wheel of fortune were tempered by regret that Rowena could not share them. The mood induced by mingled feelings inclined him to silence as he and Fox sat down to noggins of hot buttered rum in the taproom of a good hostelry in King Street; but he felt the necessity of learning all he could from his new officer as soon as possible. Fox proved to be voluble and informed.
"Let me be fair with you, Mr. Fox," Scott said, the rum warming him. "I know next to nothing of Sumatra and the pepper trade. The owners, of course, know much more than I do."
"That's not to be wondered at, sir. There are no official charts of Sumatran waters—at least, as far as I know. Happily, I've got one of my own making."
"When were you there?"
"In 1807 and again in 1810. In between there was Mr. Jefferson's Embargo of 1808, of course, and afterward the late war with England. I was in the ship Betty Peele both times."
"As an officer?"
"Boatswain the first time. Second mate the next." He stopped talking and drank deeply. "I only presumed to offer myself as captain—I'm qualified, all right—because of my knowledge of the coast, the people and the trade. I speak the language, you know."
"I didn't know; but that'll be a help. I don't know yet when our ship'll be available and ready to sail, but when would you say we should reach the Pepper Coast."
"We should, by rights, be there now. The season usually begins in January. Weather permitting, most of the crop is harvested between the first of March and the last of May. The best pepper usually is gathered in May. I told all this to the owners, of course."
"Of course."
Scott drank again. "How long will it take us to get to Sumatra?"
"Ten weeks to four months, if all goes well, sir."
"Looks like we'll have to hurry to get there in time."
"I explained all that to Mr. Lloyd and the others, Captain Rogers. You can often get good pepper in the middle of the summer ... in July and even in August. Besides, we should be among the first ships off the coast since the war's end. We're certain to get a full ship. I know the Malays and how to dicker with them."
Scott spoke carefully. "From what Mr. Peary said to me—and he must have gotten it from you—the coast is dangerous."
"It is. The waters are treacherous and so are the people. But, as I said, I can dicker with them. We have nothing to fear. The Salem ships haven't been to Sumatra in several years, and I've no doubt that there'll be pepper in plenty at reasonable prices."
"Were Salem vessels the only ones to trade in pepper?"
Fox shook his head. "There were some others, including East India men. But they were the only ships of American registry, to the best of my knowledge and belief. The Crowinshields, Peeles, and some other families made fortunes in the trade. It's fabulous."
"Why," Scott said bluntly, "aren't you shipping out in a Salem vessel with a captain experienced in the trade, instead of coming to Charleston to find a ship?"
Fox smiled. "I thought you'd ask that, Captain Rogers. First, I'd hoped to find a place as captain, which I couldn't do in Salem—or, at least, I figured I couldn't do. Second, if I can open a new and immensely profitable field to Charleston merchants, why, it stands to reason I may benefit the more from it. That's the fairest way I know of putting it, sir."