The Voyage of the Sea Wolf Read Online Free Page B

for them together. Did I not make myself clear?”
    â€œAye, Captain.” Mr. Forthinggale’s face turned an unbecoming shade of red.
    I thought how strange it was that this bullying, unpleasant man should be cowed by her. It was an indication to me of her strength that she could so easily intimidate him and the rest of the crew. Perhaps not Sebastian. With him she had been even respectful.
    I straddled the cold metal of the cannon. My tattered trousers left my legs almost bare, torn as they were from waist to ankle. I saw the looks and nudges of the men who had gathered to listen and I tried to arrange the tattered trousers like a long skirt to better cover me.
    I smiled reassurance at William who stood to the side.
    Mr. Forthinggale cleared his throat and began.
    The Code of Conduct was almost the same as the one I had taken on my father’s ship.
    I was not to gamble at cards or dice. The crew of the
Reprisal
had been bound by the same order but they had gambled ferociously, even on the rats that they brought up from the bilges.
    I was not to have a candle lighted after eight at night for fear of fire.
    I was not to strike another member of the crew whileaboard the
Sea Wolf
.
    â€œHear that, Skull?” someone shouted. “Ye should be put in irons for what ye did to me.”
    â€œShut yer mouth! Ye started it.”
    There was a small scuffle, quickly subdued.
    My mind wandered back to the way it had been on the
Reprisal
when it had been my father’s voice reading the conditions of the Code. There had been the one provision in his that was not included here. The one that stated that the musicians were on duty every day except for Sundays. Captain Moriarity had no time for music.
    As Mr. Forthinggale continued, telling how the shares of plunder would be divided, I found myself wondering why the captain herself did not administer the oath. As captain, I thought, it should be her business, not the quartermaster’s. And then I thought, she considers herself Medb, who was born daughter to the High King of Ireland and who herself became Queen of Connacht. She had peasants to do her bidding. Captain Medb had peasants to do
her
bidding. Their names were pirates.
    I listened as the quartermaster’s voice droned on.
    The day was lovely, filled with sunshine and sea. Small clouds bubbled in the sky. The sails were bursting with wind and, even though I was in danger, I felt in that moment happy to be alive, to be here, to be able tolook across and see my love, my William.
    When the ceremony came to an end I climbed carefully off the cannon, mindful of some modesty, and signed my name to the papers. Catherine DeVault. For better or worse I was now a crewmember on the
Sea Wolf
.
    William took the same oath after me. I had wondered if the captain would let me stay to see him and I tried to make myself small as I stood a little apart, hoping she would not notice me.
    I watched as he signed the Code. There would be only William written on the paper. No last name. He had never had one.
    â€œMen! All is over.” The captain made a dismissal signal with her arms. “William, you go with them. Ye’ll do what’s needed, scrub decks, empty the bilges, check the cannons. Ye’ll sleep wi’ the crew. Get a hammock if there is one or find a place for yerself on the fo’c’s’le though the men are stuck together there like salt fish in a barrel.”
    â€œPork can squeeze hisself a bit,” someone yelled. “He’s such’n a fat pig he takes up two places.”
    There was much laughter and punching. Like the pirates on the
Reprisal
this was a companionship of ruffians and if you didn’t know better you would think them all jolly and fun loving. They were, when it suited them. But underneath they were thieves and murderers and scum.
    William was following them but he stopped and turned when the captain addressed me.
    â€œCate,” the captain