Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2004 06:59:32 -0700 (PDT) From: Lance Kyle Subject: Seaward Plantation chapter fourteen This story contains graphic but completely fictional depictions of sex among men and men, and men and underage boys and/or girls, and even nekkid women have begun appearing. If this offends you, if it is illegal for you to read or download this, or if you are under 18, please go away. Seaward Plantation Chapter fourteen The Hesperus was heavily laden with stores and supplies as she bobbed up against the pier of Seaward. Appleby and Troy worked to unload the cargo while Hector went to hitch up the donkey cart and bring it to them. The men decided to simply leave the buoys on board, where they could be placed in the treacherous eastern waters of the island the next day. Building supplies, more ready made shoes and clothing, and sacks and barrels of foodstuffs were hauled up to the storage barn and put in the lofts, where they were joined by Priam and Cassius. It was becoming clear that additional lofts would be needed. Twilight shadows were growing as the men finished their work. Cassius went off to have dinner at the cabin of Priam and Cass.... and Helen. Troy, Hector, and Athena invited Appleby to sup with them, which he gladly did, holding baby Apple while she slept, surrendering her to her mother's bosom when she awoke crying. He was pleased to see that the household items, paint, curtains, and other homey things had been put to good use and had given a feeling of luxury to his hosts. Weary from the journey and the heavy work, Appleby returned across the darkened lawn to his own house for the first time since early that morning. Climbing the stairs, he looked through the open door of Cassius's room to find the sixteen year old boy and Helen, the eleven year old girl sitting cross legged on the boy's bed a foot or two apart, chatting comfortably. Appleby greeted Helen warmly; her dark face broke into a broad smile in return. Then he directed an exaggerated wink at Cassius, causing the mulatto boy to blush a dark, dusky red. His own room was empty. Moving down the hall to the sickroom he found Pan and Bacchus sitting on the bed on either side of Bundit, the three sharing stories of their very different lives. Bacchus was sitting closer to the Siamese man and had his hand on the back of Bundit's neck, his fingers exploring the different texture of the Asian's thick, bushy black hair. Pan had a friendly hand laid on Bundit's sheet-covered knee. In the chair by the bed was Portia, who flashed a smile of welcome at her master. His arrival recalled her to her nursing duties, however, for she rose, announcing "It is time for our new friend to rest." "And how has our new friend been today?" Appleby said, smiling at Bundit. The Siamese grinned back and said, "Much better, thank you. My lungs and stomach are well, my muscles are a little sore but a day of rest has done me much good. I... I had a good massage with liniment oil this morning." With this last statement he looked directly at Appleby and smiled again--in thanks? as an invitation? Pan and Bacchus scooted off to the room they shared with Appleby to prepare for the night. Appleby stepped to the bed and gently squeezed Bundit's hand, which returned the pressure, and the two smiled at one another. Then Portia took the white man by the elbow and firmly walked him to the chamber door. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then said, "I shall prepare him for the night, then I am returning to my own cabin. He can be alone tonight. But Master," and here she looked at him with authority, "He needs his rest tonight. Tomorrow is another day." She arched one eyebrow at him; were there no secrets on Seaward?! Appleby nodded meekly, then walked down the hall to his own room, noting on the way that the door to Cassius's room was now firmly closed. Appleby began disrobing to prepare for bed. The twins eagerly began assisting him. Both of them were already naked, slim brown penises bobbing as they removed their master's clothes. Naked, he kissed them both and hugged them affectionately, but suggested that they only cuddle for the night, as he was tired from the day's activities. The three climbed into bed together and, snuggling up close to each other, with gentle kissings, nuzzlings, and rubs, they tumbled down into sleep with each other. A night of dreamless sleep was broken by the twins sitting up in bed. "Wha...?" said Appleby, pushing up on one elbow. Pan and Bacchus were sitting close to him in the morning light, listening. There was the soft but carrying sound of something metallic clattering and rolling from down the hall. The naked boys were out of bed and out the door in a flash. Appleby took but a moment more to fling his legs over the side and rub the sleep from his eyes and follow them into the hallway. He padded into the room where Bundit had been sleeping to find three sets of bottoms, one cinnamon colored and two a rich caramel brown, waving in the air as the bodies attached to them searched for something under the bed. Out from under the foot of the bed Bacchus pulled the clean, empty chamber pot. Rising, Bundit smiled sheepishly at Appleby. "I reached for it and it rolled away," he said. Bacchus brought the pot around and held it down low in front of the Siamese youth-- man, really, but his small size belied his twenty years. Unashamedly, Bundit pointed his penis at the pot, grunted a little, and a stream of urine began flowing. Pan and Bacchus exchanged a quick look, then both followed Bundit's example, Pan helping to hold the pot. The boys shot a smile of invitation toward their master, who decided to relieve himself as well. All four penises showed a healthy morning erection. Light yellow streams crossed as they shot into the brass bowl from the multi-colored cocks: deep brown, pink and light tan, reddish gold. Bundit and Appleby gently shook the last drops from their cocks. Then.... it was Bundit's fault, really. Was he being helpful or was it desire? He reached out with both hands and gently shook the cocks of the two boys, whose hands were occupied with holding the pot. Both boys gasped in surprise, then pushed their groins forward a little to receive this service, the last drops of their urine falling into the bowl. Their morning erections shot up into full blown rigidity. Bacchus took the full pot away, covering it with a cloth and carefully placed it back under the bed. Bundit had never relinquished his grasp of Pan's organ, but was now simply holding it loosely in his hand. Bacchus resumed his stance next to the Asian youth, who grasped the black boy's penis once again. Eager to be part of the unfolding scene, Appleby pushed forward a little into the group. His motions prompted the twins to action: Pan grasped his master's cock, lightly sliding his brown hand up and down the rigid red shaft. Bacchus placed his hand around Bundit's shorter light copper colored shaft and pumped lightly, rubbing the head of the dick with his fingers as they slid over the top. Appleby draped his free hands around the shoulders of the boys and pulled the group in together. All four stood there in that way, their breaths coming faster now, lips parted, each mesmerized by the interplay of colors as brown slid over persimmon and over pink, and gold and tan slid over brown. Hips began moving back and forth ever so slightly, pelvises cocked up and down to thrust rampant cocks into waiting hands. Pan and Bacchus took turns leaning into the older males between them to offer kisses with their out-turned, trumpet shaped lips. Appleby thrust his tongue through the full flowered lips of one boy, playing tongue against tongue, creating a gentle suction, breathing a shared breath through noses, while Bundit's rosebud mouth was mashed against the trumpet flower of the other boy, pink on purple brown, kneading and sucking. Then Bundit simply stepped back and tumbled into bed, pulling the boys with him who in their turn brought their master down on top of the tangle. It was a gentle, squirming mass that could be seen on that bed--in part out of consideration for any soreness that Bundit might still feel, although he betrayed none--in part a dance of exploration as the twins explored the new colors, shapes, and textures of the Asian body while they also showed their love for the familiar contours of their master's flesh. Appleby stroked now here, now there, burying his face and lips now in crisp peppercorn curls and now in a full bush of jet black wings. Torsos became slick with spit and precum. Groins began pressing into groins and up against bottoms. A moment of crisis was nearing. "Lubrication," whispered Appleby from between slick, glistening lips. Pan leaped off the bed to run down the hall, his erection rising nearly flat up against his belly, and returned with the necessary ointment. The four took their positions in stages, with no directed plan but simply falling into place as opportunities presented themselves. Appleby lay flat on his back and pulled Bundit on top of him but facing in the other direction. The white man sucked the Asian nutsack gently into his mouth, eliciting a soft cry of pleasure, then turned to the rampant copper colored cock, swallowing it whole. Bundit was licking the white man's rigid pink cock and was about to swallow it, but Pan had other plans. Lubricating and stretching his own anus with one hand, he gently lifted Bundit's face up off the white man's penis. Smearing the slick lubricant on Appleby's cock, Pan swung into place, lowering himself onto it. He grimaced as the cockhead pressed against his anus, then his sphincter relaxed and he slid down to rest on Appleby's groin with one long motion. Now Pan's dark brown shaft instead of Appleby's reddish cock waved in front of Bundit's face. The Asian youth smiled up at the black boy and then took the organ fully into his own mouth, sucking it, nibbling around the long, hooded dickhead with his lips. Then the Asian youth gasped, but did not lose his mouth's grip on Pan. For Bacchus had slid two well greased fingers into the Siamese asshole. Bacchus moved his fingers in small circles until the wrinkled anus of the Asian youth had relaxed, then greased his own rigid brown dick and pushed it slowly, smoothly in. His mouth enveloping Bundit's stiff penis, Appleby could look up a few inches and see Bacchus's greasy brown dick sliding in and out of the Asian ass. Pan and Bacchus looked across the field of Bundit's heaving back to lock eyes, one with his dick in the Siamese youth's ass and one in his mouth, joined together through the weld of Asian flesh. Bundit's view was the tight peppercorn curls of Pan's pubic hair as he sucked and nibbled furiously on the boy's brown penis. All four were in motion, balancing the demands of desire with the logistics of not coming unplugged from the mouth or bottom into which they had plunged their dicks. The bed shook with the pulsing mass. Pan bobbed steadily up and down on his master's dick, beating a staccato rhythm against his belly and thighs. Bacchus pistoned his hips back and forth, sliding his dick in and out of the Asian's firm bottom. Bundit's hips bobbed up and down to pump his penis in and out of the white man's mouth, while his head kept a symmetrical rhythm as it sucked on Pan's organ. They did not come at the same time--their entanglement was so complicated they could not have told you who went first and who went last. Mindful of the need to keep physical connection, there was no thrashing or rolling. First one and then another heaved a groin forward, or up, or down, thrusting into the waiting orifice that held it. Those who could, cried out softly, those whose mouths were full moaned and breathed noisily through noses. Pan and Bacchus held eye contact the whole time, each seeing deeply into the ecstasy of his double. So tight did the four hold each other as one and then another came that not a drop of semen was spilled. White juice was passed from one body to another, the electricity of sexual passion jolted from white to black to golden bodies. As the round of ecstasy cycled through flesh, ragged breathing slowed. Bundit broke the chain, sliding off of Appleby to the side, pulling away from Pan's penis in his mouth and Bacchus's cock in his ass. Appleby gasped in the fresh air as the twin black boys rolled forward, flopping their sweaty bodies down onto his and Bundit's. But... did Appleby see a flash of dark chocolate brown skin move away from the open door? And... was it his imagination or did he hear a girlish giggle going down the hall and the sound of Cassius's bedroom door being closed once again? He might have, but he was so caught up in the loving mass of bodies around him that he merely wished Helen well and hoped that the sight of their coupling might inspire her again in Cassius's bed. The four lay there pleasantly floating in the aftershocks of passion, touching and caressing. Rising up on an arm, Appleby found Bundit's face in the tangles of flesh and asked, "How do you feel this morning?" The Asian's face crinkled up in a smile: "Wonderful" was all he said. Eventually the black twins rose up first, followed by the older males, and all four went running naked down the hallway, past the closed door to Cassius room--and what were the sounds coming from within?--down to the bath room where they cleaned themselves and tenderly ministered to one another. Trooping back upstairs past the now silent door of Cassius's bedroom, they returned to their own chambers and dressed for the day. The four went over to the kitchen building for breakfast, which Mama Juno was preparing. Munching companionably around a rough wooden table, Appleby broached a subject that Bundit needed to consider. "Bundit--it appears as if you are recovering, for which we are grateful. If you wish to be taken into Charleston, we would be happy to do so. I will give you some money to tide you over until you can find work on another ship. But"--and here he glanced at his companions, who smiled their encouragement as he went along--"if you wish to stay here at Seaward, I think we could find room for you, and your experience as a seaman might be useful to us. It is very isolated here, though, you see how we live. I just want you to know," and here he reached over and squeezed the youth's hand, "that you are welcome to stay." A serious look came over Bundit's face. "I. I have never really belonged anyplace," he said, slowly. "My parents died early, my sisters and brothers have scattered. I have mainly known the sea." He looked away, into his memories, into scenes that only he could see. "But I think I see what you have here at Seaward. And I," and his voice suddenly became fierce with intensity, "I would give anything to have that, too. Would I be useful to you?! Seaward would be useful to me--oh, you cannot know! Thank you, Mark. Or, may I call you--Master Mark?" Appleby raised a hand and shook his head, but Bundit continued, "Oh yes, I think I will. We all know that 'master' is a term of respect here, not a term of slavery. Yes, I think I will call you that. And thank you again." He and Appleby joined hands again, squeezing tightly. The circle of Seaward rolled outward once more and added one more ring. Suddenly, the sound of a ship's bell and then a steam whistle sounded over the island from the western side. All who could dropped what they were doing to go down and meet it--whether friend or threat they would soon find out, although increasingly they were coming to think about all strangers as threats to the island. Appleby, the twins, and Bundit found Priam already on the pier when they arrived, with others close behind them. Half a mile off the pier rode a squat steam vessel, sort of a tug and sort of a barge, of very shallow draft with stern paddles. It was pushing a large wooden raft, on which was piled high an assortment of lumber. "Ahoy ashore!" cried a man from the vessel as it came nearer to the pier, "it's your order of lumber from Hoffmann's." The wooden boards for building that Appleby had ordered when last in Charleston had at last arrived. The vessel pushed the raft with skill alongside the pier. Troy and Hector leaped aboard it and seizing some long planks from the pile they poled the raft up against the pier, where it was secured by others. Appleby hailed the vessel by waving his hat and called out a thanks. Returning the greeting, it reversed its paddles and pulled away, to the relief of everyone ashore. Much of that day was spent in unloading the raft and carrying the lumber up to store it in a dry barn. It was quite a large pile, weighing the raft heavily, and many of the planks near the bottom were wet with sea water, but they would dry out in time. The raft itself would also be dismantled and the timbers saved for building. Many hands helped in this task, and everyone was happy to see that Bundit had recovered much of his strength. Those who had not visited yet with him took the opportunity of that day's work to do so, and by the end of the day he felt that he could call "friend" everyone on the island. After some discussion the people of Seaward agreed to expand the storage capacity of the barns first, then to build another cabin. Appleby repeated his offer for people to move into rooms in his house, but in truth that was happening anyway and some felt the need for more separate spaces. With plans in place and a common resolve, the community set to work. Weeks of hard work in the sun and air passed. Bundit fully recovered from his misadventure, and his resolve to remain on the island grew stronger. Appleby's body grew stronger, more muscled as he joined in every sort of labor. Good health blossomed as everyone plunged into a wider variety of tasks than they had been used to. Even Athena, largely recovered from her delivery, began venturing out to help with more of the projects on the island, and the whole community shared in the care of baby Apple. Appleby also brought his friends into the nature of his plans for protecting Seaward. It was clear from the newspapers that came to the island in the mail boat, although they may have been days or weeks old by the time they arrived, that storms were gathering over the nation at large, storms having to do with issues that went to the heart of Seaward: slavery, race, and military power. Appleby explained his plan to keep the mainland at bay by pretending as much as possible to be allied with them, a strategy that depending on keeping observers away from Seaward. It also depended on preparations for defense of the island, as much as possible. So on stormy days and nights, when the crack of gunfire would not be noticed by passing ships or by observers ashore, Appleby mustered his few troops for practice with the few firearms they had, to accustom the people to their use if nothing else. The project of self defense had been greatly assisted by a new arrival on the island during this building period. About two weeks after Bundit's arrival, as the group was working hard at constructing new lofts in the storage barn, they were startled to hear the sound of a cannon shot from the western side of the island. Conflicting fears were shared among them as they ran down to the pier on that side: surely it could not be another shipwreck in this good weather? could it be an attack on the island? some unexpected visitor? Arriving at the pier, they could see a large merchantman standing off the island to the west, unloading a large, bulky object from its side with a crane. Appleby instantly knew what it was, and asked for the Hesperus to be prepared immediately to sail out to the vessel. Taking Priam, Troy, Hector, Cassius, and Bundit with him, Appleby directed the boat toward the waiting merchantman. Upon approaching her, it became clearer what the large object, now bobbing alongside the merchantman, was: a small steam powered launch, specially ordered to be brought down from shipyards in the North. It appeared to have two or three times the cargo space of the Hesperus, but was of very shallow draft so as to be able to negotiate the approach to Seaward. Three sailors from the merchantman were firing up the boilers of the launch from a supply of coal on board. Appleby hailed the master of the vessel and concluded the necessary negotiations to take delivery of the launch. Even before he finished, Bundit was tugging excitedly on his arm. "I know this kind of boat, this kind of boiler," he said. "Like the Duchess of Kent, only smaller." The sailor in him had returned, and his eyes shone as he looked at the craft in anticipation. He was the first to leap from the Hesperus to the boat, where he began going over the fine points of the mechanism with the seamen from the ship. "Yes, yes, yes," he kept repeating, familiar with the basic operation of the steam boilers. An innovation with which he was unfamiliar was explained to him: the craft was propelled by screws, like fans, underwater in the rear--not by paddles. He quickly mastered the principle, and surveyed the craft with anticipation. Appleby left Priam and Hector to take the Hesperus back to the pier. He and the rest of the group boarded the steam launch, casting off from the merchantman which pulled away in the direction of Charleston, sailors waving hats in farewell from her railings. Bundit assumed a natural command of the vessel and gave a quick primer to the group on her workings. She was designed to run on coal or wood; a small supply of coal was on board, but wood might end up being the more natural fuel on the island. On board were also large crates and canvas-covered piles of other, mysterious cargo. Bringing the boilers up to a moderate pressure, Bundit engaged the screws and the craft began to move through the water, slowly and with a sort of plodding gait. It was clear it would not have the graceful dancer's legs of the Hesperus, but as Appleby explained to everyone, the group would need a second craft in case some misadventure came to the Hesperus, and at any rate he had another surprise waiting amidst the covered cargo. The group made their plodding way back to the dock, but everyone on shore and on the launch cheered and waved as if some mighty titan of the sea were arriving. Securing the launch to the pier, Appleby leaped onto a crate and announced that the first order of business was to name her. Many names were suggested, many discarded, but in the end they could agree on one name that bespoke the spirit of Seaward: Harmony, and so she was named. Now came the task of unloading her, and Appleby could no longer conceal the surprise. The donkey cart was called for, and the first of the crates were carried off by many hands and opened up. It contained gunpowder and round, twelve pound metal balls. The group wondered at it, but Appleby smiled and asked that these stores be taken to the stone armory nearest the pier. More crates revealed similar supplies, which were likewise stored, although the powder and ball in one crate were stored on board. A few of the other crates contained more domestic supplies, which were gleefully received and carted off to the cabins. They were down to the last of the cargo, shrouded in canvas on the deck. Removing it, they beheld something they had not seen at Seaward before, and faces became serious as they understood the need for it. "I---I know this!" said Bundit. "There have been some just like this on some ships I have sailed on. I know how to use this!" What was revealed was a cannon, or carronade, not terribly large but clearly designed to shoot the twelve pound balls that came with the launch. It sat on a wooden carriage mounted on a carousel, or rotating disk, set into the deck of the Harmony. Seaward now had a navy. Although it would be laughably inadequate to repel a determined force from the mainland, should such a catastrophe arrive, it might give pause to unfriendly neighbors or even to local police forces trying to effect a landing. Over the next week, the people of Seaward waited for just the right weather. It eventually came: thunder but with reasonably calm seas, during daylight. Bundit was in his glory. Although they had taken the Harmony out to sea several times so that the men might learn how to operate her, this was the first time to fire the cannon. The Harmony chugged away slowly to the eastern side of the island, away from the mainland. Bundit coached his charges carefully in the operations of the cannon. He handed out long cloth strips which he bade them tie around their ears and heads so as not to damage their hearing from the deafening noise. First loading half charges of powder and no ball, then working his way up to a full charge, Bundit trained his crew in a first session of using the cannon. Her thunderous booms were interspersed with the thunder itself, and at every discharge a small knot of women on the cemetery outlook at Seaward waved their hats and bonnets. It would not be the last of regular practice sessions. Nor the last of deliveries of powder and shot, for every few months the Harmony would steam out to a passing merchantman and receive new crates of those supplies. If the people of Seaward worked hard during this period, they did not work too hard to take find joy and pleasure at night and throughout the day. Helen could increasingly be found in Cassius's room on the second floor, but that arrangement was no more exclusive than any other on Seaward; one evening Appleby even heard cries of ecstasy coming from the twins as well as Cassius and Helen behind the closed door to that room. Bundit began exploring the many joys of Seaward as well, moving on to Cassius (and naturally, Helen), but even enjoying bouts with Troy, Hector and Portia as well. Appleby of course sampled widely, enjoying the feast that was both physical and spiritual laid out for him at Seaward. A few weeks after Bundit's recovery, as the community worked on their many new projects, Appleby consulted the calendar and realized that he must go to Charleston for the next meeting of the South Carolina Militia, at which he was to receive his commission as lieutenant. Discussing the matter with Troy and Bundit, it was decided to keep the Harmony stationed around the island as much as possible (and to disguise her cannon at all times it was not in use). On the morning of the meeting, Troy and Priam prepared the Hesperus for the voyage into town, one on which Appleby was now able to help with the sailing, having learned some useful skills in that way. They made the trip uneventfully, securing the Hesperus at the usual pier. Troy and Priam were assigned to several errands, bearing notes from Appleby, for the purchase of staple goods and building supplies. Appleby first walked with them to a nearby gunsmith to supervise the ordering of half a dozen muskets with rifled barrels, powder and shot-- such an order coming from two slaves alone would have raised local alarms. As Troy and Priam brought that delivery to the Hesperus, Appleby bade them farewell and walked down two piers to see if the Swan could be seen at its berth, thinking that the Ashley father and son would likely be in town for the meeting. It was, secured to its usual place at the pier. As Appleby approached the vessel, he could see no sign of Carter and Robert, but there were three male slaves lounging on the deck. As Appleby walked up to the boat's railing, the three rose up, bowing their heads. It appeared to be the same three who had manned the boat before, and one of them was, again, Rodney. "Are your masters here?" Appleby asked. "Naw, suh, dey is in town fo' shoppin' and de meetin'," said Rodney. He and Appleby exchanged covert smiles; each thought it was good to see the other again, and recent memories began to stir in each. "Won' be back 'till aftah the meetin', masta," said Rodney. He appeared to calculate for a moment, then said, "Jes' a moment, masta," and turned to his two fellows. After some hushed discussion, the two stepped off the boat, nodding respectfully to Appleby but careful to avoid any eye contact. "Yes suh, mastas lef' somethin' fo' you, if you wants to come abo'd, suh," said Rodney, in the hearing of his two companions who were walking away towards the shore end of the pier. What plausible lie had Rodney told them to move them on their way?! Appleby stepped on board. Looking left and right, he whispered "Aaron?" Rodney whispered back, "Lef' back at Ashley, suh, dis time." Appleby and Rodney looked around, finding no spies or onlookers, then at each other again. Broad smiles broke out, and an understanding was wordlessly achieved. Ushering the white man ahead of him into the cabin beneath the deck, Rodney followed, pulling the hatch behind him. Appleby could think of no story to give the Ashley's if they returned, but his mind was caught up in the moment and he gave it no further thought. Coming down the stairs, Rodney smiled at the white man, then lowered his head and stood, waiting. Appleby stepped up to the tall man and held the lean, hourglass-shaped face in his hand, running his hair through the short forest of tufts, whorls, and knots that covered his scalp. Rodney's full, pillowed lips parted and he lifted his dark eyes to look into Appleby's light brown ones. Their lips came together in a kiss that was no less passionate for being slow and deliberate, tongues slipping alongside each other on their way to the other mouth, lips kneading lips, sucking gently. The men grasped each other around the shoulders and embraced with a bone crunching passion. Then breaking apart each began tearing his own clothes off and casting them on the cabin floor. For a moment Appleby drank in the beauty of the coal black man's shield shaped chest, the prune nipples, smooth shiny skin, the ridges of the hips following the slim, rippled abdomen down into the groin where a thick bush of kinky hair surrounded an enormous penis above ponderous balls. And Rodney saw a tanned body with muscles developed by recent hard work outside, smooth skin except for a small nest of hair in the center of the chest and a line running down to the groin. He ran his long, strong black fingers through the long, light brown hair of the white man, then brought his head forward to be kissed again. Their rigid penises crossed swords between the two men, pointing down to the floor this time, long, thin strings of shiny precum dribbling from each to the deck. Four hands reached around to grasp four butt cheeks, kneading, pulling inward, fingers scratching and probing black and brown assholes. Appleby broke off and led Rodney by the hand to the bed at the end of the cabin. He swooped by the cabinet where Robert kept the lubricant, finding it still there. Appleby wanted to have Rodney, to give himself to Rodney, to take Rodney for himself, in a new combination of ways. Throwing himself on his back, he drew his legs up and, reaching down between them, began lubricating his own asshole, working his fingers in to relax the sphincter with one hand while with his other hand he beckoned Rodney forward. His eyes wide, not daring to imagine what was being offered, the black slave knelt on the bed in front of the white man's upraised bottom and observed the preparations with lips parted, breathing heavily. His breathing increased when Appleby rocked forward to slick up his heavy, purple black snake. It was when Appleby rocked back, legs up and parted, and beckoned him forward that Rodney's training broke loose. "Naw, suh, naw, it ain't right... I can't do dat to a white man, suh!" "Rodney--- Rodney, don't do it to a 'white man.' Do it to me," said Appleby, and smiled at Rodney with such a look of acceptance and naked desire that the black man let himself be led on. Placing the head of his rigid penis at Appleby's anus, he pushed ever so slightly, not wanting to hurt his new friend while taking this liberty. Appleby gasped, and pushed out with his anus as Rodney pushed in. The head of the massive dick popped in. Rodney waited until Appleby beckoned again, then pushed in a couple of inches, waited, then a couple of inches more, and was soon completely inside the white man's love canal. Rodney was poised over Appleby, his greater height allowing their eyes to be almost on a level. They looked deep into each other, into the depths of each other's soul. "O! masta!" whispered Rodney hoarsely, with tremendous longing. Then slowly he began swinging, back and forth, in and out, while Appleby crossed his legs behind the man's muscular back. Appleby likewise clasped his hands loosely around the neck of the black man, lightly rubbing the mat of kinky hair. Faster and stronger, faster and stronger, Rodney picked up speed and power like a locomotive heading for a cliff. He began keeping time to his rhythm with incoherent utterances: "unh, unh, unh, oh masta, oh masta, aw! law!, oh yeah, oh masta" and then a animal grunting took over. Rodney lowered himself onto the white man, his face buried in Appleby's neck and shoulder, moving his hands to grasp the master's shoulders, holding that position while his rhythm increased in speed and power--and when he came he simply slammed forward once and held himself there, clutching the shoulders hard, quivering, pushing, clenching his ass muscles, squeezing shot after shot of white come out of his throbbing penis. The crisis passed but Rodney kept that position, shuddering, his shoulders shaking softly. Then a soft, high pitched keening coming from deep in his chest gave Appleby to know that the black slave was weeping, treasuring a moment of acceptance and equality he was not likely to find elsewhere. Appleby held him tight with legs and arms, lightly rubbing and patting his back, whispering "alright, alright" into the black ear as Rodney recovered himself. When he had, the black man briefly raised his head from Appleby's shoulder to look into his eyes, his shiny black cheeks streaked with tears; it was a look beyond thanks, beyond words. Then Rodney slipped down toward the end of the bed, his penis sliding out of Appleby's rear, down until his head was over the white man's groin. Wrapping his black fingers around the purple tinged organ, Rodney pumped it a few times, bringing moans of pleasure from Appleby. Then he took it entirely into his mouth. Rodney was not having sex with the white man's penis, he was making love to it. Each suck, each slide up and down, was a caress. When he nibbled on the thick, unhooded glans with his full, pillowed lips, it was an embrace. Appleby put his hands down to caress the kinky head of his lover, and when he came it was not with wild flailing passion but with a smooth, powerful upflowing of love in return, calling out "Rodney!" over and over. The black man climbed back up alongside the white man, and the two embraced, breathing heavily. Rodney pulled away then, Appleby unwilling and tugging at him to come back, but the black man said, "Suh, don' miss yo' meetin'." Appleby sighed, nodded agreement, and rose. The two cleaned themselves and dressed. Rodney took extra care with Appleby's appearance, making sure he looked suitable for the event to which he was headed. Appleby put his hand to the side of the slave's face and reminded him: "Rodney, remember: if you want out of Ashley, get word to me." Then the two embraced once more, kissing lightly. "Next time," said Appleby, smiling. "Yas, suh," returned Rodney, and then the white man was up the steps, through the hatch, and onto the pier. Appleby found he still had plenty of time for his meeting. He arrived at the meeting hall to find Robert and Carter Ashley already there. He shook hands warmly with Carter. Turning to Robert, he found a shy smile peeking through the formal facade, and his handshake was held for a bit longer than civility dictated. He sat down next to Robert for the meeting, and again found a slight pressure against his leg from the boy's own thigh. As Carter Ashley was speaking to someone on his other side, Appleby leaned over and whispered into Robert's pink ear, "Is Aaron at the boat?" knowing well the answer. Robert stiffened a little bit, and his tone was carefully neutral when he answered. "No, not this time. I thought it best that he not come this time." Then he looked Appleby square in the eye. Was it a look of reproach? Accusation? Yet, unmistakably, a look of yearning as well. The meeting was gaveled to order, distracting Appleby's musings on the matter. The usual drone of business and committee reports led to introductions of guests and visitors. Appleby was beginning to see that there would always be a few new men to introduce. It was also becoming clear that these meetings brought together the elite of Charleston society as a sort of officers' corps, preparing to command thousands of ordinary soldiers who would be drawn from lower, working classes. The time came for Appleby's induction into the group. He was called to come forward. Appleby found it interesting that he was asked to swear allegiance to both the national flag and to the South Carolina flag, but after that the ritual focused on the state. He was asked to recite various principles of states' rights, local sovereignty, nullification, and of course, the sanctity of slavery and slave ownership. To every proposition he gave his firm assent, even if it meant lying to protect the interests of Seaward. At the end, the group rose and with one voice agreed, in response to Colonel Gillam's question, to accept Appleby into the South Carolina Militia, with the rank of lieutenant. Gillam promptly assigned Appleby to his command: the island of Seaward Plantation! Appleby accepted, a serious military air on his features but smiling inwardly as his plans continued to develop apace. One more item of business was to announce a weekend of field exercises in a month's time, to be held on a large section of wilderness farther up the Charleston peninsula. Directing his remarks to Appleby, Colonel Gillam explained what his role would be. "Now, sir, as commander of Seaward you will have no troops under you at this exercise, but it would be well to come meet the men of the militia, to learn of our military procedures and orders, and of course to contribute any ideas of marshall tactics that you yourself may have." Appleby could think of nothing he'd hate doing more than camping out for two nights in a mosquito infested field, but he readily agreed to come. Gillam added, "Oh, you will need to bring your own tenting accommodations, field kits and so forth-- and any servants you may wish to bring to attend to your needs, of course." Appleby agreed again, a glimmer of hope arising with the prospect that he might at least have someone from Seaward there with him. The meeting adjourned and the group arose, talking in clusters and knots. Turning to Robert, Appleby asked, "Now, Master Robert, when will you be joining the militia?" with a smile on his face. Refusing the condescension, Robert drew himself up and said, "When I am eighteen, sir. I shall join the militia as a naval commander--we need more of them in the South, sir." Appleby was about to steer the conversation into more personal topics when other men began coming up to him to welcome and congratulate him. By the time he was through with these civilities, there were but a few left in the room. Robert was standing alone nearby, and Carter Ashley was speaking to a small cluster of gentlemen. "Oh Robert," he said, turning to his son, "don't run off. We return to the boat when I am finished here." Robert returned a courteous acknowledgment, then looked directly at Appleby. His eyes flicked to his left, his head gave a barely perceptible beckon, and the boy walked off down a nearby corridor. Looking around to see that they were not closely watched, Appleby followed a moment later. Halfway down the corridor a door stood ajar. Entering it, Appleby found a small study with a curtained window that opened out onto the street and comfortable chairs placed here and there. Robert stood just inside the door. Sliding behind the older man, the boy pushed the door shut and placed a chair in front of it. "We have very little time," he said in a low voice--then hesitated--then moved quickly into Appleby, his thin, boyish frame slamming up against the older man. The boy's arms went around Appleby's back and the hard lump of his groin ground up against the man's own growing erection. Appleby grasped the boy by the shoulders to return the embrace, then caressed his golden haired head and, tipping it up, kissed the boy's bee-stung lips. Robert returned the kiss, the lack of time available to them contributing to a sense of urgency, of compressing pleasure into the fleeting present. Appleby spun around and sat down in the chair. Pulling Robert up to him, he began undoing the boy's trousers and then his undergarment which simply fell and remained bunched around his booted ankles. Robert undid his own cravat, tossed away his jacket, and pulled his shirt off unbuttoned in one long motion. The boy's strawberries and cream complexion on flawless, nearly hairless skin was powerfully moving once again to Appleby. Leaning forward he tongued the pink nipples in the boy's thin, muscular chest, biting them until Robert winced and whispered, "Don't!" Tonguing quickly down the lean, muscled abdomen, pushing his tongue briefly into the navel, Appleby came to the blonde brown patch of pubic hair and the now-rigid pink and red penis. Pulling back the foreskin Appleby revealed a glistening, pale dickhead with a flow of precum oozing out and down the underside of the penis. Appleby cupped the boy's balls, now drawn up tight in a hairless ballsack, gently rolling the testicles and pinching the skin. His mouth enveloped the boy's penis, bringing a gasp of delight to the boy. With his other hand he reached around to grasp and then crush the boy's muscular buttocks, working the firm globes of flesh with his strong fingers, pressing the first knuckle of his middle finger into the boy's anus. Robert squirmed with delight, and began slowly rocking back and forth, sliding his penis in and out of Appleby's mouth. The man timed his own head movements to Robert's hips, bobbing his head up and down in rhythm as his tongue slid around the head and shaft of the engorged dick. A surge of pleasure and sexual energy washed over Robert, and he shifted into a double-time staccato beat, drumming his hips in and out, in and out, in and out until an orgasm snuck up on him and walloped him in the belly. The boy heaved and bucked, clutching at Appleby's long hair with his fingers, strangling a cry, his breath heavy and ragged. He pushed his groin forward into Appleby's face and held it there while the man sucked the boy dry, pulling off of the penis to squeeze out the last of his cum with his hand, then licking that off, repeating the procedure as Robert shuddered and gasped in the aftershocks of ecstasy. The two held that position for one long moment, and then the spell was broken. "Robert! Robert?!" came a distant cry. A look of fear washed over the boy's face as he sprang into action, clothing himself quickly with as much help as Appleby could give. Carter Ashley's voice came nearer and it sounded as if he had turned down the hallway to the room. Robert, now hastily clothed, sprang to the window. Appleby whisked the chair out of the way and hastened to stand next to Robert, as he checked to make sure that no leakage showed on his trousers and that his own face was clean. Appleby just reached the window when the door opened and Carter entered. "Ah, there you are! With Lieutenant Appleby, I see!" he cried, beaming at the two. "Yes, father, we were--I was showing Mr. Appleby the view from this window. Don't you think it is appealing, sir?" he asked Appleby. Looking out at an alleyway behind a butcher's shop in which stood a fly-infested slopwagon, Appleby said, "Yes, a wonderful prospect; Charleston is a beautiful city, sir." Then the two moved away and toward the door, each taking Carter by an arm to lead him down the hall and into the street. Reaching the pier, the Ashley's and Appleby made their formal goodbyes to one another and went their separate ways, but Robert looked back as he and his father walked away to smile at Appleby--who waved in response. Appleby walked back up the pier to find Troy and Priam in the Hesperus, supplies secured to the deck, and waiting for the return trip home. The boat was pushed away from the pier and caught a breeze which moved it gently into the harbor. "Well, Master Mark, any news?" asked Priam. "Yes, some news. First, I am now not only your master but your general!" he replied, laughing. Troy and Priam looked at him in good natured consternation. "And second--I believe I have to go camping in a few weeks!" Now the black men looked at their master and each other with genuine puzzlement and amusement. "I'll explain it all to you on the way," Appleby said, settling down in the stern beside Troy. "Let's go home."