Thomas was in town by late afternoon. After packing, he had bathed and put on his best clothes for the dinner in the Master’s cabin on board ship. His parents were to come later and he would meet them at the ship.
Some of the townspeople had already begun to gather at the dock. The band would not appear again until evening, but someone was playing a flute. The town was not a rich one, but the women and girls had donned their best dresses, with their whale-bone stiffened corsets laced tightly, wanting to look their best for the occasion. Many wore a small, white cap on their heads, as was the fashion, and some went a step further and set a wide-brimmed hat on top of the cap.
The men wore a coat over a waistcoat, breeches, buckle shoes, and three cornered hats. Some of the upper class had on powdered wigs instead of hats as a sign of their standing in the town.
Thomas pushed his way through the crowd looking for John. They had agreed to meet at the ship. After waiting for what seemed like an hour Thomas decided to go on board. He dodged the people on the gang plank and worked his way up onto the deck. Master Givens stood on deck in white breeches and garter stockings, red waistcoat, and blue coat with gold braiding. A blue cap covered his silver hair.
“Good evening, Thomas,” Givens said.
“Evening, Sir.”
“And where are your parents?”
“They are coming later.” Thomas glanced around the deck. He and John had come during the day hoping to be able to explore below decks, but they had been turned away.
“Would you like to look over the ship?” Givens asked.
“May I?” Thomas asked eagerly.
Givens nodded. “But do not touch anything.”
Down in the wardrooms he found a public reception area with tables of biscuits and cakes lining one wall. Townspeople wandered through the rooms, sampled the cakes and biscuits, and visited with the sailors.
Thomas had some cakes then headed for the stairway to the lower parts of the ship.
“Wait a minute, son,” a voice called to him. “You are not allowed down there.”
Thomas turned and recognized the sailor named Silas from the fight on the first night. “But Master Givens said I could explore the ship.”
“I am sure he did not mean down there. Now get up on deck. The boys and parents will be coming down to eat soon.”
Thomas returned to the deck in time to hear the cannon boom. Everyone looked out over the water to see the tops of sails. The other two ships had finally arrived. They would anchor out in the harbor until this ship had sailed, although the men on board would row to shore for their leave.
Thomas saw Francis and Richard Isbister and their parents coming up the plank. He walked over to the bulwark and looked down at the crowd of people on the dock. He spied his parents and waved to them, but they did not look up.
When they reached the deck, Thomas was waiting for them. Duncan Gunn was out of breath from his climb up the plank and they moved out of the way to let him recover.
“Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Gunn,” Givens doffed his cap. “I remember you from when your other son sailed with me.”
“Yes, Edward,” Mary said, softly. “That was four years ago.”
“May I show you to my cabin?” Givens held out his arm. Mary smiled and blushed and slipped her hand in the crook of his elbow. He walked slowly along the deck, pointing out some of the features of the ship. Thomas stayed beside his father, offering his arm for support.
Master Givens escorted them down the companionway to his cabin, which was off-limits to the rest of the visitors. A long table was set in the middle of the room. Plates and cutlery were arranged on it, and the few chairs on board were placed around it. Benches had been taken from the crews’ quarters, covered by blankets, and set in the empty spots.
He offered them a glass of punch and left them talking with his first mate and other parents while he went back to receive his next guests. Thomas could not sit and wait. He left the cabin and headed for the deck. Where was John? Why was he not here by now? Had Givens finally convinced his mother not to let him go? When, at last, he saw John walking with his mother, Thomas almost shouted with relief. He glanced over at Givens and saw he was as pleased to see Martha Kirke as Thomas was to see John.
After Givens had greeted John’s mother and was escorting her to his cabin, Thomas fell in step with John behind them.
“I thought you were not coming,” he whispered.
“Not on your life,” John said. “Mother had to give me some pointers on how to behave tonight.”
Thomas nodded. “Yes, I got those, too.”
They were silent, listening to the conversation ahead of them.
“There is still time to change your mind,” Givens said.
“I will not,” Martha replied.
“A tragedy is going to befall this voyage. I have had that feeling since leaving London.”
“Every sailing has its risks. I trust you will look after John for me on the crossing and once he is in the new land he will be safe.”
“I hope so.”
Thomas walked to his parent’s side while Givens cleared his throat.
“Thank you all for coming,” Givens said, when he had everyone’s attention. “There are name cards on the table, so if you will find your place, we can begin our evening. I apologize for the seats, but we have very few chairs on this ship.”
With much milling, the guests found their seating arrangements and sat down. Thomas was disappointed to find he was set between his parents instead of with John. Givens sat at the head of the table and motioned to the crewmen who were acting as servers to begin. The first course was a beef roast. It was cut in large slices and one man placed a piece to each plate. The second server went around the table with a bottle of wine filling the men’s glasses. The women and new recruits were offered more punch.
The next course was a platter of fish, baked with parsley and onions and sprinkled with lemon juice. After the fish, came a bowl of cabbage, cooked in vinegar and sugar. A basket of bread and a dish of butter were passed from person to person. The guests kept up a congenial conversation discussing the weather, the ship, and the night’s dances. Cheese and fruit were dessert.
With the serving of dessert, Givens stood to make a speech. “This is the time for me to relieve any of your fears, to describe what your sons will be doing, and how they would be living. As most of you know, since the turn of the century the Hudson’s Bay Company has been recruiting boys from these islands for their posts in Rupert’s Land. And all of you believe sending your boys to the New World is the only way they will make a living for themselves.
“Some of you have heard this speech before, but most of you are probably wondering what your sons will be doing at the bay and what life is like there. First, let me say the Indians are not savages who are out to kill the men at the posts. There have been a couple of unfortunate incidents on both sides, but they have been long forgotten. The Indians are businessmen just like the fur traders. They bring the furs to the post to be traded for items they need to live their daily lives, such as guns and powder for hunting, pots for cooking, and beads for decorating their clothing. They usually come once a year in the summer because they have such a long distance to travel in their canoes. The furs they trade at the fort will be loaded onto my ship and I will take them back to London on my return voyage.
“In spite of promises, many of the boys will not write, so do not expect any letters. One day they will just return home with enough money in their pockets to buy some land, and that is when they will tell you about their experiences.”
Thomas noticed some heads nodding and he knew they were still waiting for letters from sons, just as his parents were waiting for a letter from Edward.
“Because of our delay in getting here, we are behind schedule so we will be sailing tomorrow at high tide.” Givens looked pointedly at the boys. “Anyone who is not on the ship will be left.”
He waited a few moments to let this sink in, and then he smiled. “If you would like to join me for a stroll around the deck to settle our meal, we will return for tea and biscuits later.”
Thomas again supported his father as they walked behind the master. They stopped to watch the band playing and the people dancing on the dock. When they returned to the cabin, they drank their tea and ate their biscuits.
“And now, if everyone is ready, let us go out and partake of a little dancing,” Givens grinned. “That band seems to be getting louder.”
They all smiled and laughed as they left his room and went up on deck.
* * *
Thomas stood in the cool morning air and hugged his family goodbye. He was aware of how much he was going to miss them and he did not attempt to hide the tears in his eyes. He noticed the same in his mother and sisters’ eyes. His father and brothers did not cry, but their voices were gruff. Even Harry seemed subdued.
“Make sure you write,” his mother said, as she wrapped her arms around him.
“I will.”
“And let us know of Edward.”
“I will.”
Thomas climbed up on Nellie and took his bag from Stuart’s hand. “I will leave Nellie at John’s place.”
“We will collect her when we come in to wave goodbye.”
Thomas and John were the first boys on board. They stowed their bags on the bunks assigned to them and quickly returned to the deck where the last of the sailors straggled aboard. One, still drunk from his visit to the pub, was supported by two of his fellow crew mates. He had neither a shirt nor boots.
“He is that Ben from the fight,” Thomas said to John.
“Where are this man’s boots?” Givens demanded.
“He hawked them for more rum,” one of the other men answered.
“What did he do that for?”
“He is used to sailing the South Seas where most men work in just their breeches because of the heat of the sun.”
“A sailor crossing the cold North Atlantic cannot work without boots.”
“I have an extra pair he can use,” the second man said. “And he has another shirt in his chest.”
“Take him below.”
The dock was crowded with townspeople out to say goodbye to their own. Last minute farewells were yelled as the other boys climbed on board. Thomas could see his parents sitting in their wagon. They looked up at the boys leaning over the bulwark and when they saw Thomas, they waved. The Company flag, with its insignia of four beavers and a red cross, was hoisted on the harbor tower.
Thomas turned and watched as Givens sent the sailors to the sail yards to begin loosening the canvas. Eight members of the crew turned the capstan to bring in the anchor cable. Givens gave the signal and the lines to the dock were let go. The square sails unfurled and filled with wind. The anchor was raised and quickly hoisted to the cathead. As the ship moved away from the dock on the ebb tide that would take them past Hoy Sound, the island’s cannon was fired. The roar vibrated off the low hills behind the town. The crowd waved handkerchiefs and cheered.
Thomas stood on deck waving to his parents. His last glimpse of his home for the past fifteen years was the dock, the crowd, and the houses behind. He suddenly felt a pang of fear. He was really leaving home, the only life he had ever known, and was on a ship bound for a land across the wide Atlantic Ocean where few white people lived, and where natives traded furs for guns.
Thomas waved until his parents were just a small blur amongst the larger blur of the townspeople. He watched as the town slowly disappeared, then the hills behind and then the land. A great sorrow engulfed him as he realized he might never see his family, or his home, again.