King's Ransom. William Speir

sir,” Pemberton said.

      A moment later, Harry heard the guards outside challenge another person approaching the warehouse, and soon another naval officer stood in the doorway.

      “Captain Hastings? Lieutenant Andrew Hamilton reporting as ordered.”

      Harry returned the lieutenant’s salute. “Mr. Hamilton, welcome. This is Mr. Pemberton, my second-in-command.”

      “Lieutenant,” Hamilton said to Pemberton with a quick salute. Pemberton returned the greeting.

      Harry motioned for them to place their gear next to his own. “Gentlemen, I need to brief you on the details of our mission before the rest of the crew arrives. However, I need to warn you that you’re not going to believe me the first time you hear it. I also need to warn you that you’re not to discuss this with anyone unless and until I give you leave to do so. The Marines guarding the door aren’t just to make sure only the right people enter this building. They’re there to make sure that, once inside, no one leaves until we’re ready to board the ship. That’s how secret our mission is and how vital it is that no word of it leaks to anyone.”

      Harry motioned for the two officers to follow him to the other side of the warehouse so the Marine guards wouldn’t be able to hear their conversation.

      As Harry briefed the two officers, he noticed that both men had very similar features. Both were slightly taller than Harry, both had the same weathered look in their faces, and both had very dark hair. Hamilton, however, had hazel eyes while Pemberton had brown eyes and a hawkish nose that made him look like a predator.

      It took about an hour for Harry to finish giving the details of the mission to his two lieutenants. They reacted the same way he had, and Harry learned a great deal about the two men who had been chosen to support him on the mission by watching how the conversation went.

      “I still can’t believe that the Admiralty would order us on a mission like this,” Hamilton said finally.

      “They were following the king’s orders, Mr. Hamilton,” Harry responded. “And so are we.”

      “Yes, sir,” Hamilton replied.

      “Are there any more questions?” Harry asked.

      When the two officers shook their heads, he handed them the lists that he had received from Admiral Leicester. “Study these lists carefully and commit as much of it as you can to memory. Those lists must be destroyed as soon as possible.”

      Over the next several hours, the officers and crew continued arriving. Each had been ordered to report based on his rank, with the officers first and the seamen last. Harry greeted them and motioned for them to find places to sit on the floor. Shortly after the last of the seamen and cabin boys had reported, Harry saw a company of 25 Marines march in smartly, led by a stern-looking lieutenant. The lieutenant ordered his men to halt and then stepped forward to present himself to Harry.

      “St. John Scarborough, Lieutenant, Royal Marines, reporting for duty, sir!” he said with a flourish.

      Harry hid his amusement with the lieutenant’s entrance. “Welcome, lieutenant. I’m Captain Hastings. Please post your men along the back and join my other officers over there,” he said, pointing to Pemberton and Hamilton, who were standing with the midshipmen and the surgeons.

      Scarborough nodded, gestured to his sergeant, and walked over to the other officers as the Marines took their positions.

      Harry nodded to Pemberton and Hamilton, and then he turned to address the crew.

      “Gentlemen, we are all here now, and I need to give you a few of the details of our mission. The remaining details will be given at sea. First and foremost, this is a secret mission, and much will depend on our ability to keep it a secret. Second, the way the mission is going to start will be a bit unorthodox, and that should give you a fairly good idea of how the rest of the mission is going to be carried out.”

      Harry paused a moment and then continued. “Here’s what I can tell you now. We’ve been assigned to a brand new Runner Class frigate – the first one ever built. She’s supposed to be faster and more maneuverable than any frigate built so far. She’s armed with twenty 9-pounder and two 6-pounder guns, and she has ‘Old Leo’ as the figurehead.”

      Harry noticed several members of the crew nodding their approval when they heard about the figurehead, and he knew that superstitious sailors believed it was a good omen to have Old Leo onboard the ship.

      `“Because she’s a brand new kind of ship, we don’t want the French or the Spanish finding out about what she can do. They have spies everywhere, and they’ve undoubtedly seen her sail into the harbor and drop anchor. They’re probably lining the wharf already to watch her sea trials and report back about her capabilities. We’re not going to let them succeed in this.”

      “Tonight,” he continued, “we’re going to board her after nightfall and pretend to steal her. We’ll toss the Marine deck watch, and only the deck watch, over the side and be at sea before anyone can report her missing.” Turning to Scarborough, he added, “Sorry about that, lieutenant, but it’s necessary.” Turning back to the crew, he added, “It’s important that the French and the Spanish think the English lost their new ship. I’ll explain that more once we’re at sea, but believe me when I say it’s an integral part of the plan. There are rowboats waiting for us at the far end of the wharf. We’ll wait until one hour after sunset, head for the boats, and then we’ll take the ship.”

      Harry looked around the room and watched the expressions on the faces of his crew. Several looked confused while others looked amused at the deception they were about to be a part of. Looking at his officers, he knew they shared the same emotions as the crew.

      “Everyone get some rest. It’s going to be a long night, and we have to be far from here before the squadron is dispatched after us in the morning.” He heard sounds of surprise and added, “Gentlemen, we’re trying to convince the French and the Spanish that the ship was stolen. If the Admiralty doesn’t send someone after us, it’ll just look like we left the harbor at night to escape notice. The enemy spies watching the harbor will tell their governments to keep a close watch out for us, and that’s the last thing we want to have happen!”

      He saw his crew nodding in agreement. Rather than separating himself with his officers, he walked around the room, talking with the crew and the Marines. He had already learned their names and service records from the notes Admiral Leicester had given him, but now he wanted to connect faces and voices to those names. After he had finished talking with everyone still awake, he walked across the room toward his officers.

      One aspect of the composition of the crew was unique. Most ships only carried one surgeon and one assistant surgeon. This crew had two trained surgeons, and both were experienced at their craft. The senior surgeon, Warrant Officer Robert Tonkin, had served with Harry before, and Harry was glad to have him on the mission.

      All in all, Harry knew and had served with almost 20 members of the crew, including two of the four cabin boys. John and Joseph Ward were twin 12-year-olds and had been cabin boys on Harry’s previous ship. They knew their basic seamanship and would be trained on various duties onboard the ship throughout the mission. They also helped the gunners during battles by bringing powder and shot up the stairs to the gun deck from the powder magazine in the holds of the ship. He had been teaching them the basics of seamanship, hoping that they’d become midshipmen one day and then perhaps Navy officers. He ruffled John Ward’s hair as he passed the two of them, and he flashed Joseph a quick smile before walking back to his officers.

      “Gentlemen,” he said as he approached, “see to your men and then get some rest. We have about two more hours before we take the ship.”

      “Yes, sir,” they all said before dispersing to meet with their non-commissioned officers and key personnel.

      Two hours later, the officers and crew made their way in the darkness to the boats that would take them to their new ship. The Marines covered the rear, making sure no one was watching or following. The