Innocent on the run. Part 44

The Bosun hadn't changed though, he was still a hard task master and he rarely had a good word to say about anything. Ricky was his usual clumsy self, knocking over trays of paint and managing to get the Bosun's wrath down on his head on numerous occasions. He laughed it off nowadays, determined not to let the Bosun spoil his exhilaration at going home. Not only was he going home, but he was taking enough money with him to set his folks up for life, if they would accept it. Every night he turned in after an exhausting day, dreaming of his homecoming, one day closer. Mac said to him one day, 'If you've got anything you don't want the Customs to find when we get to London, you'd better hide it somewhere safe. If they send the Black Gang down to search the ship, they'll rip everything apart, including the wall panelling, deckheads, lighting, everything.' Ricky was taken aback. He hadn't thought about the Customs. If they found the money he had, he would probably end up in jail. It would be hard to explain where all that money came from. If it was legally his, they'd want to know why he hadn't flown home with a replacement passport from the consul. He'd have to find a safe hiding place on board. For days he wracked his brains, trying to think where he could put it. He asked people in a round about way, where the best hiding places were. He was working in the engine room one day and he said to the Fourth engineer, 'Have the Customs ever caught you with anything?' 'No,' he said. ` I've got a great hiding place. Forget about under the plates in the bilges, or down the stern under the prop shaft, this is somewhere they'll never find.' He beckoned Ricky to follow him, and they went into the generator room. One of the huge generators was stripped down for maintenance work. 'This is what I do,' he said. 'Put smallish things like cartons of cigarettes on top of the pistons. There's a hollow in the cylinder head, and they fit in perfectly. Bolt the cylinder head back down and connect all the pipework up. The Customs are not going to strip all the machinery down, it would take them forever. But, you've got to make sure first that the generator won't be used, cos if someone fires it up, all your fags go up the funnel.' Ricky asked him if they would be reassembling the generator before getting in to port, and the Fourth grinned at him. `Want to smuggle some fags in for your old man do you ?' `Yes,' Ricky answered. `O.K. I'll be putting the cylinder head on just before we get to the English Channel, so I'll give you a shout and you can hide them in there.' 'Great, thanks.' Ricky went to bed that night happy that he would be able to get the money stowed away safely. The Fourth would know of his hiding place, and would help him take the cylinder head off again once they'd cleared Customs. The ship ploughed on, making heavy weather in the Bay of Biscay and slowing down to everyone's frustration. They were willing the weather to change, for the wind to stop blowing the seas into mountainous waves, and to get behind the ship and blow it into British waters. Ricky felt quite sick again as the ship heaved and rolled in the swells. It had been a long time since he'd experienced bad weather. The smell of the oil in the engine room was nauseating in itself, without the ship's movement adding to it. He didn't eat anything for twenty-four hours, until suddenly the wind died away and the swells lessened. The sun came out and everyone was cheerful again. People were deliriously happy when the ship turned into the English Channel, and the Fourth Engineer had them in stitches down on the plates, doing a tap dance in his engine room boots, and singing at the top of his voice. He had reassembled the generator and Ricky had stowed his bundles of money in cigarette cartons, in the cylinder head as planned. Ricky now underwent the strange malady that effects all seamen when they enter the Channel after being away for months, Channel fever. Commonly called the channels, it makes people so restless that they can't eat or sleep properly. They pace up and down the decks, dreaming of home and the wonderful reception they'll get from their loved ones. The excitement spreads throughout the crew and the problems of yesterday disappear. People who have been sick get well. Others who have fallen out with each other, forget their differences. Tasks become easier and everyone works with a will. The crew cheered loud and long when they saw the white cliffs of Dover, and everyone came out on deck to see them. Even the Bosun was seen to smile. They picked up the pilot and entered the River Thames, everyone in a party mood. It was the happiest they'd been in months. Ricky was leaning over the rails as the ship slowed in the river and the Fourth came out to join him. He leaned over the rail. 'Great to be home again,' he said. 'Oh, by the way,' he added. The Second's down below taking her in to port, and I forgot to tell him about your stuff in the generator. Better nip down and tell him.' 'Right,' Ricky answered and went inside. He climbed down to the plates but the Second wasn't there. The Fireman pointed at the generator room and Ricky went in, just in time to see the Second Engineer about to start up the generator where Ricky's money was hidden. Ricky shouted, but his voice was drowned by the noise of the compressed air starter bursting into life. The generator faltered for a second, then fired up and raced away for a minute before settling down to a steady rhythm. Outside on deck, the crew looked up in amazement as a shower of green confetti burst from the funnel, danced around their heads and was swept away in the breeze. Copyright Deric Barry 2005 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright owner.