⛵ ⛵ ⛵ ⛵
"Powerful sootherly winds tadays pushed th' Silverton thee miles north! Uir position noo fower an' a half miles north ay th' Admiral! An' swatch at Commander Yoong, wa he's tacked north anither half mile, comin' alongside th' Admiral's starboard rail! (What th' heel is he thinkin'?!)
In th' sooth, we see's Keptin Stubborn finally levellin' aff. Blye me if thes doesnae swatch like th' fleit is positionin' fur a future Sell Cycle?! It will tak' some time tae organize... Steady as she goes mates!"- Keptin
⛵ ⛵ ⛵ ⛵. . . "Tour of the Gulf of Aden". . . (cont.)
[Last time...]
“Balduino, what have you found there mate?!” His fellow fisherman yelled out in curiosity behind him.
Balduino quickly shoved the doll inside of his shirt and spun around towards his crewmates, “Get away from me! Get back! She’s mine!”
In a moment of silent confusion the other sailors all stared at him. He looked somehow different. His eyes were wide and wild, his forehead wrinkled…
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[On the main deck of the Silverton...]
The new day brought fair, southerly winds and the Silverton tacked north-northwest through fresh waters. It was a busy day as Commander Galligan ran the crew through gun practice all day long, dropping empty barrels and firing port and then starboard gun rows with each swing of the boom. The noise was deafening and many of the young boys ended up in Warrant Officer- Surgeon Hack’s sickbay where he poured warm olive oil into their ear canals and then blew into each ear with a forcefull effort, then finally packing them with cotton gobs.
In other activities, the Captain began running boat launching practice at the same time as the opposite side of the ship was firing guns. It was a topsy-turvy, dangerous afair and more than one sailor was tossed into the sea by accident and longboats had to be sent out to fetch them. By sunset the Captain was satisfied that the crew was spent and he called for an all hands on deck assembly…
“Tar hail!” Warrant Officer- Purser Ickied yelled out as the men scrambled into five rows on the main deck.
The Captain walked the line as all stood at attention under his hard eye.
“Yoo've aw done weel tadays men. Yoo've worked stoaner an' yoo've sweat, an' some ay ye hav given a wee bit ay bluid!" He began as he walked with his arms folded behind him, “They'll be nae mair gun practice efter tadays. We cannae risk it bein' heard by th' enemy. But… we will nae rest! In th’' moorn we will practice uir blade-work, uir dagger strikin' an' fist-a-cuffs!”
The Captain stopped his slow walk as if in preparation for what he was about to say next…
“Some ay ye ur gonnae git hurt…some ay ye might e'en git burnt... an' some ay ye... will git killed! But... wi' aw thes said, we will accomplish uir mission...we will attack th’ Jinn ay Aden an' we will defeat heem!!"
”Jolly Eh! Jolly Oh! Jolly Binny-eh-dee-fo!” The crewman chanted and roared as the Captain nodded in defiant style.
“An' we will take back th' City ay Aden wi' fire an' heel!!”
”Jolly-eh! Jolly-ho!!!”
“An' we will giv 'er back tae 'er rightful rulers!" The Captain’s voice boomed as he held his head high and nodded along with the chanting, “An' when it's aw ower...yoo'll be prood ay yoorselves! An' yoo'll hav stories tae teel… an' silvers tae stack when yer auld an' feeble!"
”Jolly-eh! Jolly-ho! Jolly-binny! Eh-dae-fo!!!” The crewman chanted even louder, now working themselves up into a proper fighting mood!
“ Ahh knows yoo won't lit me doon!" The Captain finished as he then roamed through the ranks of the common men, putting his hand on their shoulders and rubbing the heads of the youngest boys and every man that he caught eye to eye, felt a rush of confidence and reassurement.
"’Att’s aw’! At yur ease!”
With that, the Captain walked off the main deck and down the galley stairs, not to be seen or heard of for the next two days…
[Jinn’s Palace, City of Aden…]
The Lord Jinn paced back and forth in his reception chamber. His nerves were frayed and his composure was beginning to appear erratic as he addressed his commanding officer…
“Are the guns all primed and loaded?! Are they well supplied?!”
“Yes my Lord…”
“What have the look-outs reported?” The Jinn asked impatiently.
“There is nothing on the sea my lord.”
“Damn this Scottish demon! Where is he?! I know he is coming!!”
“I do not know my Lord. But our defenses are strong all along the southern and eastern borders of the city.”
“What of the west?! What of the north?!” The Jinn screamed at the man with a heated rage!
“My Lord, he will have to come from the east or the south. He has a warship. He has no army. He has no cavalry…”
“Do not tell me how to fight this enemy! I want more men moved to the walls of the palace!”
“But my Lord Jinn, we need all the men we can muster to defend the guns and coastal shore…”
“Silence you fool!” The Jinn screamed as he slapped the commander across the face with a leather glove, “You will do as I say or you will not live to see the battle!”
“Yes...my Lord.” The Commander replied quietly as he turned and left the chamber.
⛵ ⛵ ⛵ ⛵
🗝 Vocabulary fur 'lain lovers':
Ahh (I), aiblins (perhaps), 'att (that), aw (all), ay (of),
bark (news), baur (bare), bevvy (drink), brine (ocean),
caller (fresh), cannie (careful), ceilidh (party), cheil (man), clootie (cloth),
dae (do), dunnae (do not), dug (dog),
enaw (enough),
gang (go), gart (made), gezz (gives), glaikit (stupid), gob (mouth)
heem (him), haur (here),
mah (my), mair (more), min' (mind), mingin (filthy), mirk (dark), moggie (cat),
nae (no),
onie (any), oot (out),
poke (bag), pure (really),
quine (lady),
radge (mad, dangerous),
Sassenach (Highland English), scran (food), shair (shore), spick (speak), strang (strong), stoaner (hard, tough), swatch (look)
thes (this), toon (town),
ur (are, or),
wa' (why), wabbit (tired), waesucks (horror, pity, or sorrow), wee jimmy (young boy), whieest (quiet), wooldnae (wouldn't),
yak (eye)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Confused? Ascared? Seasick? Need a private chat with the Captain?" - joshua.slane@aol.com
References
Pictures from: www.freeimages.com, www.pexels.com, pixabay.com, steemit.com an’ www.google.com/maps. Data loosely interpretted froms: www.wikipedia.org an' sometimes finely crafted reit from th' author's extensiff personal experience an' such.