Chapter 23: Back to Sea Part 3
Two," Cal said. "Or at least one and a half."
Captain Cully nodded. "Sir Shillingsworth told me you'd respond so. You've seen the engine room is no playground. It's likely the most dangerous place on the ship."
"Monky's taught me to be careful. No loose clothing, think only about what you're doing at that moment. Stay aware all the time."
"He's a good engineer. If you feel you're up to it, I'd like you to take the first half of the night, six hours, no longer than you worked last night. I will cover the second half of the night myself. As Captain, I need to know every part of my ship. If you aren't able, I'll understand and take the full shift and Henrichs will step in as Captain."
"I would like to try, Sir." Cal looked at him. "I promise if it gets to be too much, I will tell you."
"I've appointed one of the men to train with Monky starting tomorrow, so we will have another man in the engine room. This will only be a temporary measure. Thank you, Cal. See the purser about your pay."
"Pay? My father is already paying me." Cal held up her hand.
"He is paying you as artist and expedition member. I will be paying you as apprentice engineer."
"I don't need the money." Cal's stomach twisted. It didn't feel right, but the Captain had a stubborn look on his face. "All right, sign me up, but I want you to pay all my wages to the man who was hurt last night. He'll need it more than I."
"Very well." Captain Cully smiled sadly. "We'll pray he lives to spend it. Dismissed."
The Captain turned back to the wheel - the helm, Cal corrected herself. She needed to be accurate now.
She went to fetch her earplugs and climbed down to talk to Monky.
"I'm fine, Missy. You go rest."
"In a minute." Cal pointed around the engine. "You've shown me enough to play at being an engineer. I need you to teach me the rest. I'll come down an hour before my shift starts and you tell me what I need to know."
"That I will." Monky pointed to the door. "Now, as yer superior officer, I'm ordering ye to stay rested. I won't have you hurt too."
Cal saluted and left the engine room.
She went to the bow to think. If she was going to run the engine room the first night shift, she'd be best to sleep in the afternoon, rising for supper before going down to work.
"Are you crazy?" Pentam stood with his back to the rail. "An experienced engineer gets injured and you volunteer to take his place? How are you going to draw with an arm missing, or worse?"
"If I don't, it could slow down the expedition."
"So what? If we take a little longer it doesn't matter." Pentam's face turned red.
"It does. We only have so much coal, so much water. The longer we take, the more likely we are to run out. You want to row back home?"
"We could go back to Finches Harbour and hire someone."
"The Captain tried, he couldn't find anyone." Cal stepped forward until she stood nose to nose with Pentam. "You told me I didn't need to choose, but now I have to choose, at least for a while. I'm choosing this." She wiped her hand on her pants and showed him the grease.
"You're impossible."
"Yes, I am. You should have talked to my father before trying to shape me into something else." She turned to look out over the ocean. "If you'll excuse me, I've been given orders to be rested for my first shift as the Peregrine's apprentice engineer. If you ask the purser, he'll show you where I signed up."
Pentam stomped off swearing under his breath. Cal tried a couple of his more colourful curses.
"I see you're studying the role of sailor seriously." Sir Shillingsworth stepped up beside her as Cal's face burned red. "I understand Pentam's concern, but what is more to the point, I trust you. If this is what you need to do, I will not argue."
"So I'm an engineer after all."
"Apprentice engineer." He put his hand on her shoulder. "Please be careful."
"I will, Father, you can be sure of it."
She watched the ocean for a while longer until the horizon stopped blurring and she didn't have to wipe her face.
Lunch was a silent and lonely meal as the rest of the team kept on with their plans and theories. Cal was crew now, outside the group. She left as soon as she'd finished.
Back in her berth, Cal packed the photos Pentam had given her away in a journal. She updated the log with the new situation. She'd made a habit of writing in the log every night before she slept. Now it was strange to do it with light streaming in the porthole.
Knocking at the door woke her. Cal sat up groggily.
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