Time for another comment. Originally my plan was for twenty-one chapters - that has increased to twenty-five. I'd like to continue to thank LadyBrit and BroncoMap for their excellent work as beta readers, and also add LadyofDodge whose grasp of grammar, commas, and ability to pick out a zeugma are without peer. All errors are, of course, mine. Thanks for reading.
Chapter Eighteen: Sydney
Nine months on a ship didn't even phase the reflexes of a lifetime spent with horses. Matt had learned early on in the Union cavalry that horses will do almost anything to avoid running into a human. He held out his arms across the narrow street and made a lunge at the rope trailing from the animal's halter as it moved to one side to avoid the man. Then, hand over hand, he pulled himself closer to the horse, talking quietly, until he had his fingers on the halter itself. Matt was surprised to find Luiz right at his side. The boy had his shirt off and was handing it to Matt. "His eyes, chefe." Luiz said, almost whispering. Matt wrapped the shirt around the horse's eyes, and watched as the animal stilled - twitching and stamping but no longer trying to get away.
"Lift me up, chefe," Luiz said. "It is better he feel the weight."
Matt didn't let his astonishment show, just grabbed the boy by the seat of his pants and swung him up on the horse's back. Luiz was right. The horse calmed noticeably as the boy gripped with his knees and leaned over the animal's neck stroking and talking softly in Portuguese.
"Where did you learn about horses, Luiz?" Matt asked, rubbing the nose of the now steady horse.
"In Portugal, padrinho. My grandfather was a cavaleiro. Horses, I know horses since I was little, little." Luiz said, his voice still soft and singsong. "I can talk to horses."
Matt shook his head and took a closer look at the animal. He was small compared to the horses Matt knew, maybe fifteen hands, barely more than a pony, but beautifully formed with sturdy legs and a curved neck. The form looked familiar, and he quickly realized the horse looked just like the metal statue on the back of Doc's desk. His coat was not just dark brown but a true black, and the only marking Matt could see was a small white streak on his face.
"Thank you," a voice said loudly beside him, in English, "I thought we were going to have to shoot that beast, and he cost me an arm and a leg."
"Keep your voice down, mister." Matt replied. "Nothing wrong with this fella. He just got excited."
"No." the man said, and Matt turned to look at him. The man was tall, only two or three inches shorter than he was himself, and clearly didn't like looking up at anyone. He was dressed neatly in what might be a uniform, dark blue pants and long blue coat with a double row of buttons and braid on the sleeves.
"No?" Matt repeated.
"No," the man said again. "He tried to attack one of the other horses. Got vicious. Bit and reared, then ran when we pulled him off."
Matt smiled broadly and noticed that Luiz did as well. "Betcha anything the horse he attacked was a mare."
The man's brow clouded, "How did you know that?"
"Pretty clear you don't know horses, mister. You've got an uncut stud here, and he was sure ready for some action when he came runnin' down that street. If you'd let him have his way with her, he would have calmed down pretty quick." Matt told him.
"You seem to know your way around horses, man. You willing to lead him back to the ship for us? I'll pay you."
"You don't need to pay me, mister. Just pick up that bag. I can't carry it and take care of this horse at the same time." Matt said.
The gentleman in blue looked taken aback at the request, but reached down to heft the seabag and led the way back down the street towards the docks. Matt followed, leading the black with Luiz still aboard. They found a large, nea,t three-masted ship docked at the end of a wharf. Two mares, one grey, one brown and black, were being held by several very nervous seamen. The grey carried her tail high, and shifted it from side to side. Even blindfolded, the black began snorting and raising his nose to sniff the air as they approached. Matt stopped some thirty feet away. "What do you want me to do with him?" he asked.
"I want you to lead him down to the other horses and then help us board them," the uniformed man replied as if stating the obvious.
"Can't do it, friend." Matt said. "We get any closer and he's going to go crazy on you again."
"Why?" the man asked, "You have him calmed down. He was fine here on the dock with those other horses all day yesterday and all night while we finished getting everything set onboard."
Matt grinned and pointed under the black's belly. The officer condescended to look where Matt was pointing and drew back in genuine horror. Matt laughed aloud. "Better let him have her if you've got any plan of loading them today – or keeping them together on board."
"We can't do that!" the man exclaimed.
"Well, he certainly can. What's your objection?" Matt asked.
"What if the other horse… what if she… "
Matt sighed, but admitted it felt good to be, again, the person who knew what was happening rather than the one who had everything to learn. "Look, we can either take the black somewhere else and discuss this, or we can let him mount her, and then have a talk, but we can't stay here. He smells her, and he's already excited. Where's your horseman?"
"Gone." The officer stated baldly.
"And you're going to try to ship three head of breeding stock without anyone to take care of them?" Matt inquired sharply. "You may as well shoot them all right now, and it might save them from breaking up your ship."
"You… know what to do?"
Matt found himself smiling yet again. He hadn't had this much enjoyment out of a situation in longer than he could remember. "Not much for me to do, mister. This fella will take care of the hard work."
The man looked sternly at him, refusing to recognize the word play, and finally nodded his consent.
"Down, Luiz." Matt said, and the boy slipped over the side of the horse onto the ground. "Go lead the grey one out and hold her head tight. Get one of the other men to help you if you need it." The boy ran down to the wharf and did so, letting one of the sailors hold the other side of the mare's halter. Matt removed the blindfold and walked the black down to the mare, let him sniff and nip a bit and then pulled him forward. The black, clearly experienced, mounted her and less than two minutes later was down and done. Matt handed the lead of the now placid stud to Luiz and turned back to the officer standing rigid with astonishment next to the gangplank. "He should be fine for a while now, but I'd advise you not to ship him without an experienced groom or horseman on board."
"What's your name, man?" the officer asked.
Matt walked over to him and extended a hand, which seemed to surprise the uniformed man. "My name's Matt Dillon, an American from Kansas. Just got off the Rainha Negra out of Rio. That's my boy Luiz."
The other man relaxed and took the offered hand. An American, well that explained the offhand manners and lack of proper respect. "Captain Thomas MacIntyre of the Annie Laurie. We're a British ship out of Sydney heading for San Francisco."
Matt's head came up in interest, and the Captain asked him, "You looking for a berth?"
"I am." Matt replied, "I have my papers from the Rainha Negra and she's in port until Monday if you want to talk to the first mate."
"Ever handled horses on board a ship, Dillon?"
"No, sir, I haven't. Never worked on a ship until nine months ago, but I've handled horses all my life."
"You want to come on as my horsemaster? Pay's ten pounds a month and you sign on all the way to San Francisco." MacIntyre said.
Tempted as he was, Matt asked, "What happened to your last man?"
"Fired him for being drunk and leaving the horses."
"I'd need to see the arrangements on board before I sign. Be sure you have the right kind of feed and bedding and enough of it. I won't be responsible for the horses if you haven't made proper provision." Matt said.
"That's fair," the captain said.
"I get double rations," Matt continued, "And you can pay the boy five a month as a groom. He's been raised with horses and you can see he knows what to do."
MacIntyre shook his head. "Rations aren't a problem, but I will not have a boy on my ship, especially one that young. It causes trouble. You'll have to do without until you get to shore, Dillon."
It took Matt a minute to figure out what the man was saying, and then his eyes sparked. "Luiz is fourteen, and he's my son. I brought him all the way from Rio with me and I'm not about to leave him in Macau."
"I won't allow it on my ship." MacIntyre said firmly.
"Well, I won't allow it with my son. I've already proved that on the last two ships we sailed. You keep your men off my boy, and we'll be fine."
"If he's your son, why doesn't he speak English to you?" the captain asked suspiciously.
"His mother was Portugee. I got him out of Rio after she died. His English isn't bad. It will get better on an English ship. But we go together. If you don't want him, we'll find another ship."
"Not at ten pounds a month you won't."
Matt looked the man in the eye. "You married, Captain?"
"I am."
"Would you leave a son of yours on shore in a foreign port for any amount a man could pay you?" Dillon asked.
MacIntyre took a while to think on that. Matt simply stood silent and waited. "Alright, man. I'll take you both. Five pounds a month for the boy, ten for you, and double rations. And," he emphasized, "You train two of my men to work with the horses."
"Agreed," Matt told him, "But I still have to see the feed and the stalls, and I get to choose the men – or at least I get to dismiss them if they can't handle the job."
MacIntyre stared at him intently. He wasn't used to this air of authority from a seaman, and he wasn't used to bargaining with a man for a berth. Eventually he nodded his head but said, low and intent, "I catch you buggering that boy, Dillon, and I'll put both of you over the side, and the horses as well."
"It's not a problem, Captain. Never was." Matt stated solidly. "Let's go see what you have for the horses."
OoOoO
Matt saw little more of Macau, although he did manage a few more dockside meals. His respect for the captain increased when he saw the narrow, well-built stalls, the provision of slings to keep the animals steady in rough weather, and the amount of hay and feed provided. MacIntyre presented him with a small pamphlet about horse care on shipboard and told him he had increased all the requirements in it by twenty percent. Still, to think you could learn to handle horses from a book - that left Matt shaking his head.
One of the two men assigned to him, Roddy, seemed competent enough. He even had some experience with horses, at least driving, feeding, and grooming them. "Why didn't you tell the Captain what was wrong with that black?" Matt asked.
"He didn't want to hear, Mr. Dillon." Roddy replied. "Men don't talk back to our Captain."
Matt snorted at that. "A man who wants to run things needs to be aware of what he doesn't know just as much as what he does."
"Well he knows he's got more money tied up in these three horses than all the rest of the cargo combined," replied his other man, Stoner.
"All the more reason for him to leave them to someone who knows how to take care of them." Matt said.
He sent Luiz out with Roddy and part of their pay from the Black Queen, to find better clothes and boots, and then left Luiz in charge while he did the same for himself the next day. He learned that he'd have to have clothes made but got a promise they would be finished before the Annie Laurie sailed.
Luiz loved his boots, and was both proud of his new navy blue pants, leather belt, and pale blue shirts and at the same time disparaging of the amount of money they spent. "Three shirts, chefe, it is too much! Why do I need three shirts? Never have I needed so many clothes."
"Because you are more important now, boy. You're a groom, and before you were just a ship's boy. You have a more important job, and people have to know it." Matt told him and watched the information sink into his brain.
"I am important, chefe?" Luiz asked.
"You, Luiz, are a little important. I am the horsemaster, I am very important." Matt said, "And you remember it."
"Sim, chefe." Luiz replied.
"English, Luiz."
"Yes, sir."
OoOoO
They left port within the week, and Matt found himself busier than he'd expected. Feeding, cleaning, grooming, accustoming the horses to the slings that would be used in rough weather, teaching them to walk back and forth on lead in the tiny space outside the stalls; there was little time for anything else, and both he and Luiz, along with Roddy and Stoner, hung their hammocks in the corridor by the stalls – never leaving the animals alone.
With good weather, they left the hatches open for light and air, and Matt listened to the work songs of the men on deck. The words and tunes were different from those he'd learned hauling lines on the Portugee ships, but the rhythm was the same.
The food was better on the big ship, but still monotonous. Matt received his double helpings from the cook without comment, and, for the first time since his voyaging began, he didn't spend his days in continual hunger. There was an actual mess for the crew. It held a long table with benches and food was served with spoons and forks – every man carried his own knife. The first time Matt and Luiz came to breakfast, Luiz started to dig into his porridge with his fingers as he always had before, but Matt kicked him under the table and carefully demonstrated eating his meal with a spoon. Luiz took a quick look around, tried to believe his action had gone un-noticed, and used the spoon in front of him to scoop the cereal out of his bowl. The men's manners weren't necessarily good, but they were different from the Portugee ships that Luiz had sailed on for four years. Matt noticed with satisfaction that one hint had been enough. The boy watched the others carefully and mimicked their behavior.
By the time they'd been travelling two weeks, things had settled down, and the new men knew the basics of their jobs. Matt felt free, finally, to walk the deck again at night, and when he did he realized from the stars that the ship was sailing south and not east. He asked his grooms about it the next morning and his stomach sank as he heard their answer. Yes, the ship was headed for San Francisco, but first they would stop in Sydney – where the horses were consigned – and then on to New Zealand and Hawaii before taking the last leg across the Pacific to California. Matt felt suddenly as helpless as he had when Luiz had first walked him up the ladder to the deck of the Lupinho. He went on deck and leaned against the rail, staring at nothing.
"Padrinho?" Luiz was standing next to him, his small hand on the big man's arm. "Padrinho, you are sick?"
Matt shook his head, not answering, but the boy continued, "Your heart is sick, padrinho?"
Matt smiled at that and ruffled the boy's hair. "Yes, Luiz, my heart is sick. I thought we would be home in two or three months, but it will be more than twice that."
"Your dama, she will wait for you, padrinho. You know that this is so." Luiz comforted him.
But that just made it worse. "No, Luiz. Kitty's for sure married to someone else by now. Likely my best friend. I can go back, I can see her, see my baby, but she won't be mine anymore."
"But, padrinho, she loves you. I know this from your eyes. She loves you and you love her. She will still be your woman."
"No, Luiz. She will not. All I can ask is that she'll still be my friend, that both of them will still be my friends. That they'll let me be with my child some. My baby won't even have my name." Matt sighed. He'd had these thoughts for months, but saying them aloud somehow made them more real.
"I do not believe this, padrinho. No woman would want another man, when she could have you. This is not so." Luiz said firmly.
"It is so, Luiz. I could have married her. I planned to marry her, but I didn't do it, not in time. I should have, but I didn't." Matt said, "And now I'll never have the chance."
"I do not understand, padrinho." Luiz's voice was sad.
"I know you don't, boy. Maybe we'll talk about it later. Not now. Let me be for a while, Luiz."
"Promise me, padrinho, and I will go." Luiz insisted.
"Promise you what, son?" Matt asked, hearing the distress in the boy's voice.
"Promise me you will not…" Luiz gestured to the ocean moving below them.
Matt took a deep breath and put an arm tight around Luiz's shoulders. "No, son. I won't jump. You can trust me. Things will never be the same, but I will go home, and you're goin' with me."
"Yes, sir."
Standing on the upper deck and watching the boy walk away from the tall man at the rail, the captain nodded to himself. Perhaps the boy really was his son. In any case, he didn't think he needed to worry. About the horses maybe, but not about the boy.
OoOoO
The Annie Laurie was halfway to Australia, sailing south among the green islands of the Pacific when Dillon approached the Captain during one night watch as he stood at the wheel. The sky was clear and strewn with stars.
"May I speak with you, sir?" Matt asked.
"Yes. There something wrong with the horses, Dillon?" MacIntyre replied.
"No, sir. They've settled in well. They'd be healthier if we could stop for a day or two now and then and let them get some exercise on solid ground."
The captain considered that. "Perhaps. If we stop for supplies, if there's a sturdy enough dock, I could let you walk them out, one at a time. Have you had any more problems with the… stallion?"
"Not since the first week, it's too dark for the mares down in the hold." Matt answered.
"Dark? What does that matter?" the captain asked.
"Mares go in season based on the time of year – spring and summer when it's light longer. Down there in the dark they think it's winter."
MacIntyre shook his head. "I'll admit, Dillon, I never thought there could possibly be so much to know about horses."
"Why did you take them on, Captain, if you don't mind my asking." Matt asked.
"A friend of mine, a good friend, breeds horses on a station outside of Sydney. I owed him a favor, and he knew a man in China. I thought it would be an easy way to pay back a favor and make a profit at the same time." MacIntyre said.
"No way to tell for sure, but if things keep on as they are, and the weather doesn't change, you'll have your horses safe in Sydney. And whoever gets the grey mare will get a bonus." Matt told him.
"Oh?"
Matt smiled, "Never yet met a horseman who didn't appreciate a mare in foal, Captain MacIntyre," he said.
"You don't think he'll mind?"
"I can't imagine it." Matt said. The two men stood silent for a while. "I wanted to ask a favor myself, sir."
"Yes?"
"Wondered if you had any books on board that I could borrow. I want to teach the boy to read English, it will help when we get home." Matt said.
"I have a Bible or two, would that do?" MacIntyre replied.
"That's how I learned, Captain." Matt told him, "Wouldn't be a bad thing for Luiz."
"You learned to read from the Bible, Mr. Dillon?"
"You think Americans are all heathens, Captain? I assure you that's not true." Matt replied.
"Perhaps not all Americans, but, well, the men have seen your scars and commented on them. Horses, bullet scars, a home in the wild west – most of the men think you're an outlaw, Dillon. Not sure how you got where you are, but most of the men give you a wide berth." MacIntyre said.
Dillon's mouth twisted. "They've got the wrong side of the law, Captain. I spent fifteen years as a US Marshal and more time as a lawman before that."
"Care to tell me how you came to Macau?"
"I was shanghaied in Galveston by an outlaw I was trying to bring to justice." Matt said. "The last thing I remember before I woke up on the ship was him threatening my… family."
"And Luiz is not really part of that family, is he?" the Captain stated.
"He wasn't before. He is now." Matt told him simply.
"I'll see that you get a Bible, Dillon." MacIntyre said.
"Thank you, sir." Matt said, and walked away to continue pacing the lower deck.