The Dead Men Stood Together Read Online Free Page B

grabbed hold of my uncle’s arm as I walked out of the barn and headed towards the house.
    ‘I told you – leave him be,’ she said.
    ‘What sort of life is this for a boy with the sea in his veins?’ said my uncle.
    ‘It’s none of your concern,’ said my mother quietly, but with more anger than I think I’d ever heard in her voice.
    We ate our porridge in silence and my mother ate very little at all. When he’d finished his bowl, my uncle said that he would sleep aboard the ship that night.
    ‘There’s no need for that,’ said my mother with a sigh.
    ‘I wouldn’t want to stay where I’m not wanted,’ he said, winking at me.
    My mother saw him and slapped his arm with the back of her hand.
    ‘I’ll not be here long,’ said my uncle. ‘Once you have a crew it’s best to get them to sea before they start to wander. Leave them ashore for a couple of days and half of them will be married or in the town jail.’
    ‘When will you be back?’ asked my mother.
    My uncle shrugged and stood up.
    ‘Who can say?’ he said with a grin. ‘Maybe some far-off tribe will make me a king.’
    Mother smiled and shook her head.
    ‘You’ll never change, will you?’
    ‘No,’ said my uncle. ‘Probably not.’
    He leaned forward, resting his hands on the table.
    ‘I promise you,’ he went on with great seriousness, ‘when I make my fortune, I’ll come back here and you shall want for nothing. You shall never do another day’s work and you shall be the finest lady in this town.’
    My mother laughed.
    ‘You promised me that when you were ten and I was eight,’ she said. ‘Do you remember?’
    ‘Aye,’ he said. ‘I remember. I meant it then and I mean it now. But you chose my brother.’
    My mother blushed and opened her mouth to speak.
    ‘You made the right choice,’ said my uncle. ‘He was a better man than me. We both knew it.’
    They stood looking at each other for a moment in silence, seeming to have forgotten all about me until my uncle turned and smiled.
    ‘I’m sorry if I frightened you back there,’ he said.
    My mother cast me a worried glance.
    ‘No,’ I said, trying my best to sound as though I had a dagger put to my throat every week. ‘I wasn’t frightened.’
    My uncle laughed, seeing my bravado for what it was. But it wasn’t an unkind laugh.
    ‘That’s the spirit,’ he said, playfully punching me in the chest.

VI
    I spent the day with my mother and I’m sorry to say I was not good company, making it very plain that I would rather have been elsewhere. But she either did not notice or did not rise to the bait. My mother was so good-hearted she could easily ride such a timid storm.
    The shadows were long by the time my uncle returned. He walked up the lane singing a song to himself. It was in a foreign tongue and had a mournful sound to it.
    ‘Hello!’ he said, hailing me with a broad grin. ‘And how are you, my friend?’
    ‘I’m well, Uncle,’ I said.
    He put his arm round my shoulder and we walked together towards the cottage.
    ‘You look like a man with something on his mind,’ said my uncle. ‘If you don’t mind me saying.’
    It was true.
    ‘You promised that you would teach me how to shoot your crossbow.’
    He rested his hand on my shoulder and smiled.
    ‘I did not promise,’ he said. ‘I’d be happy to, but we must ask your mother what she thinks about it.’
    I twisted my face and groaned.
    ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘But that’s how it must be. I have given your mother enough cause to be angry with me over the years and I’d like us to part on good terms when I sail.’
    I saw that there was no point in resisting. I saw too that my mother would never allow such a thing. My uncle read all this in my face and smiled a cock-eyed grin.
    ‘I’ll have a word with your mother,’ he said. ‘She’s not as obstinate as she seems.’
    I nodded and let him go ahead of me into the cottage. After a few moments, I could hear the sound of voices from within,