Off To See The Wild West Show Part 1, Chapter 14 (4/5) By Frank Beill 1886: Hull, Yorkshire

(1/5), (2/5), (3/5), (4/5), (5/5), Part 1 Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Part 2 Prologue, Chapter 1, 2, 3.

That night I lay on my bunk with mixed feelings: simultaneously happy and sad. I was free and living with a proud people who accepted me as an equal but I missed George and Sal terribly. I drifted off to sleep but it wasn't going to last for long. The rhythm of the ship's engines changed and I was awake. I'd have gone back to sleep but I could hear men's voices calling out in the darkness. After a time the shriek of the ship's steam whistle split the night and kept repeating at regular intervals.

I scrambled up to the porthole to see what was going on. Was the thick glass steamed up with condensation from the breathing of all the sleeping bodies in the cabin? A rub with my sleeve made no difference. Laughing Waters climbed up beside me. Two smaller persons joined us but they'd need several years of extra growth to reach the porthole. 'Fog,' I said, realising this was the reason for all the commotion outside. 'Much fog in London. Much smoke there. Many campfires,' Laughing Waters said.

My new family had been with the show for many months, visiting not only London but Birmingham and Manchester and other places too. I'd never been outside the town where I was born, except in my imagination. 'Are there many ships making smoke?' She squinted trying to focus through the thick sea mist. 'I hope not!' I refrained from saying more. Living by the River Humber, fog was part of my way of life. Many stories were told by my orphanage companions of their fathers' ships being lost in collisions in fog. 'Nothing to worry about. Let's get back to sleep.' We went back to our beds but sleep wouldn't return to me. Despite what I'd said, I was worried. An over fertile imagination was working overtime. The throb of the ship's engines died away. All movement came to a halt and the ship's anchor chain rattled dropping into the sea.

My fears were aroused even more when I heard a voice calling for two lifeboats to be swung out. The clinking of boat chains being loosened made me shiver. The steam whistle continued blowing at regular intervals but, eventually, sleep overcame me again. When I awoke it was daylight but only just. The fog was beginning to thin at last. The voices of the sailors on deck cut through the eerie silence. The anchor was weighed and the sound from deep in the bowels of the ship changed once more. The steam engines throbbed and were allowed to take us forward. Everything vibrated. However, the captain wasn't taking chances. The steam whistle continued to blast but there were no replies from other vessels. We were alone in the ocean or so I hoped.

Fog at sea can return as quickly as it can disappear and it did. The Persian Monarch slowed to a halt again. I needed to escape the cabin's claustrophobia, not to mention the smell. It must have been breakfast time. I wrapped my blanket around myself and nodded to Laughing Waters to follow me. 'Let's go on deck before we eat and see what's going on.' My troupe obediently followed but I sensed something was wrong.

I was first on the deck, eager to see what was happening. The two lifeboats were still swinging out from the side of the ship ready to be dropped into the sea. Sailors were positioned all around the deck and up in the rigging to keep a lookout for other vessels. Out in the open the steam whistle was even more deafening than down below.

Continued... Next Page (5/5)

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