Chapter SevenNORTH SEA
FEBRUARY 1914
He that will not sail until all dangers are over will never put to sea
Thomas Fuller
As Thoms had predicted, Captain Milne snarled at us for the time we had taken, and for loading sacks rather than just shovelling the shingle directly into the boat. 'b****y longshore amateurs,' he spat over the side and thrust his cap forward over his eyes before jerking his thumb at Learmonth the bosun. 'Leerie, take two men and the whaler; bring me another load.'
'Aye, sir,' Learmonth nodded to Donaldson and Mackie, two men so inseparable they could almost have been brothers. 'You two are with me.'
'We shouldn't have taken it,' Pratt was still unhappy as he dragged the first sack on board Lady Balgay. When he released it the shingle slithered onto the deck and l
