Finding Home

Chapter Seven

This time, when Eldridge came to wake the crew, Olivia was ready for him. She climbed out of her hammock and headed for the galley. Once her belly was full, she followed the rest of the crew to the main deck. She looked around for Gibbs but was unable to locate him.

            “Aye, boy!”

            She cringed, knowing that voice anywhere. Slowly turning she came face to face with Eldridge. “I see you are still here. Well, good. Tonight, you are look out.”

She stood staring at him.

            “Well, get!” growled Eldridge as he walked away. She knew this was coming. Gibbs had warned her that the crew took turns as look out; though, the idea of the ship's safety resting in her hands made her feel sick to her stomach.

            Saying a quick prayer, she calmly climbed up the mast leading to the crow's nest. She scurried inside and held her breath as she turned completely around in a circle.

Nothing.

She signed with relief. Taking a step back, she was nearly startled by a darkened figure stepping into the nest with her.

            “Gibbs, you nearly gave me a fright. What are you doing here?”

            He smiled at her. “I heard you were look out, so I thought I would keep you company for a bit.” Olivia was glad to have him there. He handed her two pieces of rope.

            “What are these for?” she asked completely confused.

            “If we are up here, on look out, you will be learning something. I want to teach you some sailing knots.”

            Olivia was excited; she wanted to know all there was about sailing. Gibbs took one rope and placed it on the edge of the crow's nest.

            He then picked up the second rope and demonstrated as he spoke. “This is a Bowline. Make a circle. On one end, make a loop. Then put the other end through the loop. Take the end and loop it back around the rope. Put the end back through the first loop. Pull tight.”

Olivia tied the first knot and was excited when she was able to make it.

            He pulled the knot apart and looked back at her. “Now you will learn the Water Bowline. Make a circle. On one end, make two loops. Then put the other end through the two loops. Take the end and loop it back around the rope. Put the end back through the first two loops. Pull tight.”

Now she knew two knots, and even though they were practically the same, she was very proud of herself.

            She had almost forgotten she was on lookout and took a quick glimpse around the open ocean.

Good – nothing still. All was clear.

Satisfied, she peered over at Gibbs hoping he would teach her more.

            He held up the rope. “This one is called a Figure 8. Make a 'S' shape. Make a loop in the middle. Cross the ends under the first rope. Pull end through loop. Pull tight.”

Olivia held up her rope to show Gibbs, an ear-to-ear smile on her face. It helped that she prided herself in being a quick study.

            He let out a small laugh. “Great job. I will teach you one more tonight.”

            He picked up the second rope. “This is called a Square Knot. Put two ropes next to each other. Cross ropes. Cross again. Cross ends at top. Cross ends again. Pull tight.”

            She had to think about this one a bit more, but she was delighted when it all came together. Olivia took a moment to glance around and still nothing. She leaned against the railing of the crow's nest. “Gibbs, how did you come to fight under Captain Jones? If you don't mind me asking.”

            Gibbs joined her at the railing. “I usually don't talk about such things but, with you, it's all right,” he smiled.

            “I was born in the colonies as a slave. I grew up working hard. Then I met my Imma when my master bought her and brought her back to his home. We fell in love. As slaves, we are forbidden to marry, but we do in our own way,” Gibbs became lost in his memories.

He thought about his home and his family far away in the colonies. Gibbs smiled and looked at Olivia. “Soon after came our daughter, Margaret. She is about your age. A few years later came our son, Alexander. Captain Jones was friends with my master, and we would talk when he visited. He bought my family's freedom on account I join him in the fight.”

            Olivia interrupted him. “So, Captain Jones paid for you and your family’s freedom and all you had to do was sail for him?”

            “Aye. He gave me time to move my family north and bid them farewell. We write letters, and I visit them when I can. Anything for my family's freedom.”

            She looked upon Gibbs with tenderness in her eyes and a newfound respect for Captain Jones. Being a father himself, maybe that is why Olivia felt Gibbs was protective over her. She liked having him around to help her and look out for her, but mostly to talk too.

            She looked out over the sea again. It was still a calm, clear night, as the moon reflected brightly off the ripples of water.

            She turned to Gibbs. “I was wondering...what do you know of Captain Jones?”

            Gibbs thought for some time. “There is not much to tell. He was Scottish born and became a sailor at a young age. It was rumored he killed a man for mutiny and that is why he fled to the colonies. He continued sailing and eventually became a great captain.”

            Gibbs fixed his attention on the open sea. Olivia could see from the expression on his face the he didn't mind sharing about himself, but felt he was betraying the Captain's trust by talking about him behind his back. From this, Olivia could tell he cared about Captain Jones deeply for all that he has done for his family.

            Breaking the silence, Olivia held up the rope that she had sitting on the railing. “What do you say to teaching me a couple more knots?”

            Gibbs smiled at her. “All right,” he picked up his piece of rope, “This is called a Single Half Hitch.”

            He used the railing to demonstrate how to tie the knot. “First, you loop the end through the rail. Then loop the end around itself. Last, loop the end through the two pieces of rope you created. Pull tight. If you add a second loop it is called Two Half Hitches.”

She grinned and proudly pulled tight on her own rope.

            “That is good, Mr. Oliver,” said Gibbs, “Now try this one.”

            He untied the rope and looped it around the railing again. “This one is called a Rolling Hitch. First, you loop the end around the railing twice. Cross over the first rope both times. Then, loop a third time. When coming around, push end through third loop. Last, pull tight.”

            Olivia showed him what she had learned. He seemed to enjoy teaching her all he knew about living and working on the water.

             Halfway through the shift, Olivia was relieved from the crow's nest to check the sails and swab the deck. When she was finished, she found Jennings had made his way back up to the main deck and was sitting on a crate with his leg propped up.

            “You all right, Jennings?”

            “Aye, just this leg of mine. Causing me all sorts of pain sometimes,” Jennings said, rubbing his leg with the palm of his hand.

            Westbrooke strolled over and joined them. “Aye, the leg. What has it been, a year back now?”

            Jennings smiled, “Aye, Westbrooke.”

            Westbrooke carried on. “The ship was caught in a fierce battle and Jennings, who was not the cook then, was at arms fighting. He got the best of a lubber and ran him through with his cutlass. Then there was a blast of gunpowder. He felt a terrible pain in his leg.”

            Jennings interrupted him chuckling. “Westbrooke, you old sea dog, you sound as if you were telling a lad's adventure tale.” Jennings turned his attention back to Olivia. “My leg was burning something fierce. I was shot right here,” He stated as he pointed to his upper thigh. “Aye, it took much whiskey and surgeon's tools to get the ball out of me leg. Now I am left with this limp too.”

            Westbrooke laughed hardily. “It would take more than a pistol's ball to get him off this ship, and we were minus a cook, so Captain offered the job to him.”

            Olivia, understandably, shook her head smiling. The shift bell rang, and they went down to the galley to eat some supper before going to bed. Before falling asleep, she pulled the rope out of her pocket and lay on her hammock, practicing her rope knots.

            A couple of weeks had passed, and Olivia was growing steadily into her position on the ship. She had gotten used to her sleep schedule and had even started getting up early or staying up late after her shift to enjoy the daylight on the main deck. She was also becoming fast friends with the other crewmembers, and they were beginning to accept her as one of their own.

            Every so often, her thoughts would drift to Nathaniel, his smile a bright light in her memory. She longed to see him again. To hear his laugh, feel the warmth of his arms around her, but even though her heart ached, she knew she belonged out there on the ocean. The Captain and his men depended on her.

            Coming off a shift one evening, Olivia noticed what looked like a fog rolling in over the ocean with the rising of the sun.

            “Hey, Billingsley, what is that fog over the sea off in the distance?” she asked.

            Billingsley glanced out over the ocean. “Oh, that be sea smoke.”

            “What causes that?” she questioned, curious.

            “I believe I may be able to answer that one,” stated Andrews, walking up to them, “Sea smoke, as the sailors call it, is actually vapor rising from the sea. It is caused when cold wind blows across the warm water. This vapor doesn't usually indicate anything, but over there,” Andrews pointed to what looked like an incomplete rainbow forming. “Now that is what is called a 'Wind Dog'. According to the sailors, that foretells the coming of a storm.”

            Olivia felt a chill run down her body. She had never been on a ship during a storm before and the idea frightened her.

            “Andrews, you swab, no one asked you. Go back to hiding in the Captain's Quarters!” growled Billingsley.

Andrews turned in a huff and marched away.

            Billingsley looked at her, “It is just a bit of rain. Nothing to be worried about.”

            The crew strolled down to the galley where Jennings had prepared his famous hodgepodge of a stew.

            She had just settled into her hammock when the door to the cabin flew open, “ALL HANDS ON DECK!” yelled Eldridge.

            Jumping up, the crew sprinted up to the main deck. The sky had turned to darkness once again, and the wind was blowing so hard Olivia thought she was going to be shoved down the steps to the middle deck below.

            She pulled herself up to the main deck and reached out for the nearest object to steady herself. Rain was now pouring down, and the waves were beginning to toss the ship around like a balloon in a windstorm. Gibbs reached out for her and dragged her over to the wall under the upper deck.

            “Where did this come from?” she yelled as the waves grew louder and louder.

            “It came out of nowhere. Oliver, you stay here!” he demanded.

            “Aye,” Olivia said as she held onto the railing leading to the upper deck.

            She watched as Gibbs secured the hatches with wooden battens to keep rain out. Billingsley was on the other side of the ship with Westbrooke pulling the canvas sails that were removed from the masts, into a pile and out of the way during the storm.

            Eldridge was barking out orders and occasional warnings to the men on deck, “MIND THOSE GALE WINDS, MEN!”

            Peering up and over the railing, Olivia could see Captain Jones and Quartermaster Garrett holding onto the railing on the upper deck with Barstow behind them at the helm; he was doing his best to keep the wheel straight. Andrews, of course, was nowhere in sight.

            She noticed a sailor over by the main mast struggling to attach the storm sail to the pole. Without hesitation, she carefully made her way over to him.

            “What are you doing here?” hollered the sailor.

            “Helping you. Now give me that rope,” commanded Olivia.

            The sailor handed her the rope and she tied a bowline knot tight around the mast.

            He was then able to pull the sail, but before he could thank her Eldridge cried out, “CLEAN SWEEP! BRACE YOUR SELF!”

            Seeing the wave early enough, she grabbed the spare rope hanging close to her and tied a double half hitch knot around the sailor attaching him to the pole. Just as she was pulling the rope tight, the large wave engulfed the ship, sweeping loose items from the deck overboard. She could only think to throw herself to the deck as the water flung her closer to the edge of the ship. She reached out and grabbed the railing to keep herself from going overboard.

* * * *

            A second rogue wave swept over the ship as Olivia lay curled up under the railing. The ship was hurled in the opposite direction, sending her rapidly tumbling head first into the direction of the upper deck. Captain Jones watched as she flew into the door of his Quarters knocking her unconscious. He cautiously made his way down the steps followed closely by Garrett.

            Upon seeing her laid out before him, he ordered Andrews, who had been hiding in Captain Jone's Quarters, to the upper deck and moved her into his Quarters under the care of only Quartermaster Garrett and himself.

* * * *

            The next day, as Olivia awoke she could hear voices near her.

            “This is something we will need to keep between us. We don't need the crew knowing. If they find out, there could be catastrophic consequences. Is this understood?” whispered the first voice.

            “Aye, Captain, but what about Sir Andrews? Do you think he suspects anything?” came the second voice.

            Olivia now knew the first voice was that of Captain Jones and believed the second must be Quartermaster Garrett.

            Then Captain Jones continued, “No, Sir Andrews was too frightened by the storm to even notice her lying on the deck. He nearly tripped over her.”

HER!

Alarms instantly went off in Olivia's head.

He said the word HER!

Her heart began to race.

What would become of me now?

“Captain, what are you going to do with her? You can't keep her on board for fear of what might happen,” said Garrett in hushed tones.

            “I understand this, but I also made a promise to her. I told her that she could stay. That this would be her home. I will just have to discuss it with her when she wakes up. Everything will be all right, Quartermaster Garrett, I promise, and a sea Captain never breaks his promise,” stated Captain Jones, with a tone in his voice that indicated not to question his actions.

            “All right, Captain, I trust you,” said Garrett as he walked out of the Captain's Quarters.

            Captain Jones walked over and milled around in the maps on his desk. Olivia slowly opened her eyes. She realized she was lying on the Captain's bed. She felt her head throbbing in pain as she sat up. Her long hair fell around her arms.

            She instantly reached for her cap but couldn't locate it. Looking over at Captain Jones, she saw her cap sitting on the corner of his desk. He picked it up and walked over to her. He then sat down on the bed next to her.

            “Now, how about we reintroduce ourselves and tell the truth this time, shall we?” asked Captain Jones.

She wanted to curl up and hide in a corner somewhere.

            “I...am…so sorry, Captain Jones,” stammered Olivia as she began to cry, “Please, don't send me away.”

            He comforted her. “That is quite all right. I am not sending you away. I wanted to thank you for what you did for that sailor yesterday during the storm.” He paused and then continued, “You also must understand if the crew found out you were a young girl, they would want you off the ship immediately.”

            “I don't plan on telling anyone. I never did. I just wanted to go to the colonies,” cried Olivia.

            “I understand,” Captain Jones handed her the cap. “Now why not start by telling me who you really are,” he continued.

            She nervously played with a thread that hung from the seam of the cap. “I was telling the truth about coming from Portsmouth. I did run away from an orphanage. My parents died in a fire when I was four. I was sent to live there. My real name is Olivia.”

            “Why did you leave? Were you not treated well there?” he asked.

            “Oh no, Captain, I was treated very well. Ms. Rebecca was very kind to all of us. It is just…I knew that if I stayed, my countdown would begin soon.”

            “What countdown?” interrupted Captain Jones, confused.

            “When a child at the orphanage turns fifteen, the countdown to the rest of their life begins. Ms. Rebecca starts her search to find jobs or apprenticing positions for the boys; and the girls – suitable husbands. That way, when we turn sixteen, we are ready to move out of the orphanage and on our own.” She pushed a little dirt around on the floor with her foot. “That is why I left. I wanted adventure, not to be cooped up in a house somewhere.”

            He stood and began slowly pacing in front of her, arms folded behind his back. He stopped and looked down at her appearance. “It is quite obvious the clothes you are wearing were not made for you. You didn't steal them, correct?”

            “No, Captain. A very close friend gave me these clothes to hide myself in,” she said looking up at him.

            “This must have been a very dear friend for him to give up his clothing and just let you walk out the door to an unknown world,” hinted Captain Jones.

            Olivia felt her pulse race and cheeks burn as she realized what Captain Jones was really saying to her. As if a bomb exploded inside her, she realized Nathaniel did truly care for her. She became angry with herself for not seeing it before.

            She shook her head, knowing it was too late now. Nathaniel was already fifteen and if she were to ever make it back to Portsmouth, he would be long gone. He had probably already given up the thought of her ever returning. She just really hoped he didn't marry Emily. She was all wrong for him.

            “Captain Jones, there is nothing in England for me now. I would very much like to stay with you and the crew, if this is all right?” Olivia said gloomily.

            Captain Jones sat on the bed once again. “Yes, Olivia, that would be quite all right, but you must understand that not even one of the crewmembers must know our secret or you will be asked to leave the ship. No matter where we are.”

Olivia understood and nodded.

            He stretched his hand out towards her. “May I?”

She nodded in approval.

            He touched her hair. “We will need to keep your hair cut short and find something more suitable to your size.”

            Captain Jones led her over to a chair, moved it away from the wall, and she sat down. He walked over to his dresser where he retrieved sharp cutting sheers and a piece of twine. He cut her hair to shoulder length and tied it into a ponytail with the twine.

            “There, to play the part you must look the part,” Captain Jones said as he finished tying the twine.

She picked up her cap and placed it on her head. “Perfect.”

            He walked her over to the door. “I must finish sorting these maps now, but remember, no one must know.”

            “Yes, Captain. Thank you again,” said Olivia as she walked out the door.

            Back on deck, the sun was shining at midday. Olivia heard someone yell, “Aye, there be the boy that saved Higgins!”

The other men came over and crowded around her, praising her.  

            The sailor she recognized as Higgins walked over to her. “Thank you! If it not be for you, I would be living in Davey Jones' Locker right now.” He hardily patted her on the back.

            A booming voice came from behind the gathered men, “All right, you dogs let the boy breath.”

Olivia smiled when she saw Gibbs make his way through the crowd.

            “Aye, Gibbs, we hear you!” came another sailor and soon the group dispersed.

            “Where you been, Oliver? We were worried you were swept over during the storm,” Gibbs said.

            “I was held up in the Captain's Quarters. From what I was told, when the wave swept over the deck, I was pushed against the railing. Then, when the ship jerked the other way, I was flung across the deck and hit my head on the Captain's door. He saw that I was knocked out and brought me into his Quarters. I just woke up.”

Gibbs smiled, relieved to see Olivia and happy that she was all right.