“Give it a pull and see if the knot twists free?”
“Don’t tell the Captain,” the Bos’n snarled.
“Tell him what?” she asked.
“That he assigned a certified genius to my deck crew.”
Jam spun and stormed off. The Bos’n leaned closer to her and said, “He’s a good boy, just careless and has a chip on his shoulder. Come on, let’s get this cargo checked, and I’ll show you to the crew’s quarters, which is a fancy name for the place where you’ll sleep.”
They worked their way down the crates on deck, and when she came to another knot tied wrong, she fumbled to correct it before the Bos’n noticed, but when she looked up, his eyes were watching. They moved to the next and the next. She found two more and corrected them.
He took her to a door on the main deck and showed her how to open it, and refasten it to keep water out, rain or water splashing over the side. Inside the door was a small room with coats and hats hung. The next door opened into a larger room with two tables and chairs, all fastened to the floor, so they remained in one place in rough weather. A narrow set of stairs went up to the deck above.
“The galley is up there. The other girl will work for the cook.” He motioned with his chin to a set of stairs under those going up. “We’re going down there.”
She went down first. Inside the room that went from hull to hull, massive beams stood upright, and iron rings were attached between them and the ribs of the ship. Two people were in hammocks attached to the rings. The Bos’n reached on a shelf and pulled out a hammock. He connected the two ends and reached for a thick wool blanket.
He strung the hammock, then, holding his finger to his lips to keep her quiet, he reached for her waist and lifted her into the hammock and tossed the blanket over her. He grabbed another hammock and strung it at the far end of the room and climbed in. She lay awake listening to the snores of men she didn’t know, the hissing of water passing by the hull, and the creaks and groans of a ship at under sail.
She woke when the others tried leaving the berth without waking her. They released one end of their hammocks and attached them to the other. The blankets were folded and placed on the shelf, but she noticed each man put his things in different spots. Clearly, they each had hammocks and blankets they preferred.
At the top of the ladder, men were already eating. An older man glanced at her and motioned to an empty seat near him. She introduced herself quietly, “Prin.”
“Scotty, or Captain.”
“Oh, I didn’t know. Happy to meet you.”
“I hear you’re doing a good job on deck.”
Sara came down the other ladder while balancing a large bowl. She placed it on the serving counter built along one wall and flashed a smile at Prin before disappearing up the ladder again. The captain looked to the counter and said, “Small bowls and scoops over there. Gruel and bread beside it. Apples and grapes, too. We serve ourselves.”
As he continued eating, Prin filled a bowl and looked for another seat. The captain had been friendly, but she didn’t wish to impose by sitting at his side. The only other empty seat in the small room was beside Jam. After the glare he flashed at her, she sat near the captain and lifted her spoon, which they called a scoop.
A new voice called, “You going to ignore us?”
The man was looking at her. “No. What should I do?”
“Tell us about yourself.”
Prin didn’t know which lie to tell. The one about her father being a spice merchant didn’t hold up since she had come aboard hidden in a crate. But working in the morning kitchen with the witches there had also taught her that you didn’t allow others to belittle you or that’s what you’d live with your whole life. She noticed the sly smile on Jam’s lips.
She stood.
Jam said, too loudly, “Where you going? Running away from us?”
“Where I come from respect is given and earned. Standing to answer a question shows my respect. Now, about me. I am here to learn the ways of seamen, ships, and of other lands. I intend to work hard enough that by our return voyage most of you in this room will be working for me, so you had better be kind to me while you can—or I’ll remember.”
The room erupted in laughter, all but Jam. Even the captain seemed to enjoy her words, and he said, “Sit and eat.”
She spooned the dark gruel and chewed tough bread, enjoying it as much as any meal she’d ever eaten. When the others climbed to their feet, she did too. Out on the deck, she found a chilly breeze and the banks of the river seemed farther away than near Indore. Here the river seemed to move slower, too. Each man appeared to have a duty assigned to him.
“Bos’n? What do you want me to do?”
“Well, I guess since you’re going to be taking my place when we head back this way, you better learn a little about the ship. I can’t spare anybody to escort you, so just start looking around and ask anybody about what you’re curious about, just don’t hold them up. After mid-day meal, we’ll find you something to do.”
“Where do I need to stay away from?”
“A good question. If’n I was you, I’d not fall over the side. Other than that, we have no secrets or places you can’t go.”
He returned to his inspection of the ship, the rigging, cargo, sails, and later below decks. He pulled, pushed, scraped, kicked, and eyed the entire ship to determine what might wear out, need fixing or replacement, and what needing cleaning.
Despite the ship being a cargo ship and showing signs of age, she found all iron painted or greased heavily, the decks remarkably clean and free of obstacles that might prevent free movement or trip a sailor in a storm. The ropes were worn, but in fair shape, the wood in good repair, and the men seemed happy. She had seen six of them, including the cook, captain, and bos’n.
The bos’n said, “Change my mind, there is one place to stay out of. Sammy was at the helm all night, so he’s sleeping today. Stay out of the crew’s quarters till dinner. He needs his rest for standing watch tonight.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, starting to walk forward.
“I ain’t no sir. I work for a living,” the bos’n muttered. “Call me Bos’n.”
She didn’t answer. The deck was sloped from the center to the sides. That made any water they took on slide off. Once she figured that out, she started to identify other details. The ship was far smaller than many that had been in Indore, and as she looked at the vast grasslands on either side of the river, she spotted another ship approaching from their front.
She noticed two things right away. First, was the white water at the waterline. The ship was moving quick enough to cause that. Then she noticed that the ship had three masts, all equal height. She glanced at the small mast ahead of her, then the large one in the center of the ship.
Well before the mid-day meal she had toured the ship, asked a hundred questions, and met all the crew but Sammy, the man who worked nights. When she came to Jam, he was on his knees scrubbing the wood deck with a large coarse brush.
She said, “I was looking around the ship, but I’m done. Got another brush? I’ll give you a hand.”
He slid the brush in her direction. “Trying to kiss ass? This is work for the whipping boy, anyhow.”
Prin watched as he stood and strode off to the stern of the ship, leaving the brush at her feet. Her offer had been to help him, not take over the task, but with a sigh, she knelt and dipped the brush into the soapy water and began scrubbing. Someone on the bow was singing, and the melody was familiar. She picked up the words and sang as she cleaned.
“What’r you doing?”
She lifted her head to find the bos’n standing behind. “Scrubbing the decks.”