Free Their Lordships Request: A Harry Heron Adventure by Patrick G. Cox

Admiral ' s flag at her fore and there are frigates beyond her too. Let us hope they are content to make for their home and leave us be. " He hurried away to make a further report to the Captain.
     
                  With the growing daylight, the great ship ' s royals could now be seen from the deck by those with sharp eyes, the snowy canvas golden in the early light. Harry wished he could see the ship herself; it would make a fine picture he was sure for his parents. He watched with envy as Tom Bowles once more scrambled aloft, this time climbing to the crosstrees from where he could see and report the full strength of the Spanish squadron. Instead he remained at his post, tasked with recording the rough notes for the Master ' s log on the slate beside the great double wheel.
     
                  He heard his name called and responded, " Sir? "
     
                  " Fetch your drawing materials Mister Heron, " Captain Blackwood ordered, " and get aloft. I want you to draw and record each of those ships; the Admiral at Gibraltar will wish to know what he has on his doorstep. Quickly now! "
     
                  Harry raced below, grabbed the satchel in which he kept his drawing papers and charcoal, inks and brushes, and raced back on deck. As he swung into the ratlines the Third Lieutenant thrust a telescope at him and said, " Take this, you ' ll need it to get the detail. "
     
                  " Aye, aye, sir, thank you, " Harry grasped the telescope and slipped the strap over his head, then began the long ascent to join Tom Bowles on the crosstrees. This platform was small, almost too small, but there was sufficient space for him to sit and, with his legs dangling over the sea or the deck as the ship rolled, began to study the huge three decker . Carefully he noted the arrangement of her gunports, the cut of her sails and the gilding and painting of her massive hull. Then he began to sketch, pausing occasionally to use the glass to study the details afresh. Tom Bowles watched in envy as the image in Harry ' s eye was transferred to the page, tiny details being annotated where they could not be drawn in detail in the main picture. Other ships began to join the flagship on the page as Harry sketched their details as well.
     
                  " Damn it, Harry, " Tom Bowles remarked, " You almost bring her to life – my efforts to draw or paint as you do always look childish by comparison. How the devil do you do it? "
     
                  " A gift I think, " said Harry, his concentration on the picture making him sound a little absentminded. He glanced at the older midshipman and smiled, " I have always enjoyed drawing, and it is simple really, perspective and light can be used to create a depth of field to the picture if you need it. "
     
                  " To you perhaps, " Tom laughed. " But for those of us with no talent for it – well, our efforts do not even approach yours. "
     
                  " To each his own gift I suppose, " said Harry. " Would that I could make the music as Ferghal does. Though I can dance as he does I have no talent for the making of music nor the singing of it. "
     
                  " True, but you have this gift and the ability to follow the parson and his mathematics. That surely is more than enough for any man. "
     
                  " If you say so, Tom, " Harry laughed. He studied the seven ships of the Spanish Squadron again and said, " There, I think I have them all now. Do you think the Captain will want this coloured? "
     
                  Tom Bowles laughed, " Of a certainty. In a gilt frame too no doubt if it is to your usual standard. " He raised his glass again, then called down, " Deck there, Spaniards are bearing away – setting course for the Cadiz Roads by the look of it. "
     
    -
     

Chapter 8 — 2202AD: Interference or