Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2017 22:53:59 +0100 From: Vintage Speedoboy Subject: Stowaway on the Ticonderoga. Stowaway on the Ticonderoga By Vintagespeedoboy This is a work of fiction set against the backdrop of the infamous voyage of the migrant ship Ticonderoga on her voyage to Melbourne, Australia during which about 100 people died on the voyage. She departed Birkenhead on the 4th of August 1852 with 795 passengers consisting mainly of Scottish & Irish emigrants & arrived at the Port Philip heads on the First of November 1852 when the ship was finally quarantined until December with a further 80 deaths. She was built by Perrine, Patterson & Stack of Williamsburg, New York in 1849 as a 3 masted cargo clipper ship grossing 1200 tons, she was built of oak & her hull was copper sheathed measuring 165 feet by 37 feet & 6 inches with a draught of 18 feet. Her captain was Thomas Boyle & his brother William was the third mate. They had won a tender to transport emigrants to Melbourne when The ship arrived at Birkenhead in May 1852 to be refitted out for her voyage. This was the time of the Australian gold rushes. There was a searing heat wave & drought during 1850 & 1851 culminating in the Black Thursday bush fires of February 1851 when 2 bullock drivers left burning logs unattended at the Plenty Ranges which set fire to the long dry grass, the fires went on to consume almost a quarter of Victoria resulting in the deaths of 12 persons & thousands of livestock. Please enjoy the story & I respectfully ask that all readers respect any copyright & historical content contained within & make a donation to Nifty, after all we are all leaving a legacy for the future & don't forget to look in our shop window. Foreward. During the summer of 1848. The potato crop failed. This was the second wave of Scottish highland clearances. The Marquis of Lorne (Later the 8th Duke of Argyll) noted. `On our estates, I am convinced that no such relief (For poor farmers subsisting mainly on potatoes) can be given without extensive emigration and to this I am directing every effort.' He began to clear many of his estates realizing he could make more money putting sheep on the land, leases were terminated and in the words of one 1848 summons. Tenants are required to flit and remove themselves, their wives, bairns, families, cotters, dependants, goods and gear. The Highland clearances forced many people into destitution and starvation of which many took enormous risks undertaking a 3 month hazardous voyage into the unknown in overcrowded unseaworthy ships to the far side of the world. For their unscrupulous operators, it was easy money if their ship went down with all hands. Readers please note. The legal ages at this time were. Consent=13 years, male & female. Statute adult=14 years. Marriage=16 years. It was around 1870 that local byelaws specifying the wearing of bathing costumes gradually came into effect. 1, Hampstead, London, May 1851. Mr. George Mc Donald, a Scotsman in his mid 40's & a small time shipping owner sat at his desk reading his morning mail when Andrew, his shoulder length blond haired 12 year old only son knocked on the door & wheeled in a serving trolley with his morning tea, he got up to look through his book case & at the commanding view of the city from his window whilst Andrew sat waiting to be ready next to his father. There were a number of letters on his desk, none of which bore any good news. They were bills from a number of purveyors who supplied food & everyday items for their house, some of which would have to remain unpaid & a letter from his bankers stating that his funds were almost depleted, there were also letters stating that he defaulted on both his mortgage payment & the payment on the Antares, with his depleted funds & his insurers unwilling to settle immediately, ruin & the debtor's court was staring him in the face. He owned 2 barques, one which was lost over a year ago with a cargo of wool from Port Philip & his second ship, the Antares overdue from New South Wales by 8 months without any news & presumed lost. One of his letters was sent by an old school friend of his from Melbourne which took 72 days to arrive by clipper ship enclosing a page from the Melbourne Argus with an article circled in pencil. Andrew's curious mind read the article without his father noticing which stated that gold had been discovered at Ballarat in the colony of Victoria and eager gold seekers were deserting their jobs in droves. Despite his rapidly depleting finances he wanted dearly to take his son to The Great Exhibition in London's Hyde Park on a one shilling day as a final sightseeing gift thereby hopefully adding to his education before having him indentured to a Manchester cotton mill. Wearing their Scottish national dress with their red & beige Macdonald old tartan kilts, they stood in the long snaking queue leading up to the towering façade of the all glass building with mature trees inside, there was every conceivable type of exhibit on display displaying all of England's manufacturing capabilities & shipping lines were there with paintings of magnificent ships touting for trade to all parts of the world. They came to the Australian colonies section displaying magnificent paintings of impressive buildings, rural countryside scenes, the finest clothes, blankets & quilts made from cotton & wool, Andrew saw a number of curved decorated flat sticks known as boomerangs which the man at the stand describing its flight that whenever thrown, it flies in an arc returning to its thrower, here was a device which flew the Australian bush like a thoroughbred bird of prey for 40 millennia at a time when flight was purely a pipedream except for kites & balloons. An almost priceless large shiny gold rock was displayed inside a glass cabinet contained within a large steel cage. It was dug out from the ground at the small farming hamlet of Mayday Hills in the colony of Victoria as the boy's father said. "Andrew, what you are seeing there is a nugget of gold & you will probably never see another one like it in your lifetime." The large gold nugget seemed to have a hypnotic effect on Andrew; he knew that it took a fast clipper ship 3 months to reach Australia & having sneakily read the article from the Melbourne Argus, all the signs pointed to an imminent gold rush like the recent one in California. He came away enchanted by what he saw that day, he knew that Australia was not only flowing with milk & honey, it may even be flowing with gold thus fuelling his desires to be a part of this great adventure for he knew it would buy him a far better start in life than the one facing him now. Andrew began hating his parents for heaping loads of household chores on him after the servants were dismissed, having already attended 2 terms at London's University college school & despite receiving glowing reports from his principal, his father became unable to maintain his school fees & he was finally dismissed from the school. The month of May felt like the ides of March with spring yet to arrive despite the blossom on the trees & the new growth of vegetation all around & with the coming of the summer he looked forward to swimming in any one of Hampstead's 3 lakes. Swimming naked or skinnydipping was the norm then except in the presence of ladies for which the Hampstead lakes were segregated. Originally taught by his father to swim during his summer holidays either in Scotland & London, he started winning races which culminated with his father entering him for races in the Serpentine having won many of them, a fact not unnoticed by his school sports master as well as becoming an excellent football player, a runner of athletic standards, excelled at boxing & unbeknown to young Andrew, his excellence at sports would stand him in good stead. At 12 years of age, changes had already started taking place changing him from a boy to a man, his cock was already 6 inches when fully hard with a fat girth nesting in a thick glossy pubic bush with a large ball sack & it was whilst swimming & in communal sports changing rooms he experienced spontaneous erections & began looking at other boy's cocks until one day Alexander, a classmate of his remarked about the size of his cock when it became hugely erect & he said. "Andy, look at the size of your cock, it's a whopper," & grasped it when a clear fluid began oozing from his piss slit when his mate asked. "Andy, what's that stuff coming out of your cock?" "I don't know, it's never done that before, whatever it is, it's certainly not piss." A few days later Andrew met Alexander whilst swimming at Hampstead ponds where they played their usual boyhood activities until he asked him & both lads walked naked some distance into nearby woods & it was there he caressed young Andrew & grasped his rock hard cock saying. "Bloody hell, you've got a really big cock & just look at your hairy bush." He experienced intense feelings & sensations coursing throughout him despite his catholic upbringing as Alexander once again grasped his hugely erect cock which began leaking its almost clear fluid out the piss slit only this time there was an almost pearly white sheen to it when he began to masturbate him & within seconds he experienced highly intense sensations as his cock squirted out a few jets of pearly white fluid several feet, Andrew became astonished by what happened & asked. "What the hell was that? Whatever it was it just flew out & it felt so good." "That mate is your spunk, you've just started squirting & that stuff is what makes babies if you put your cock inside a girl's fanny." Andrew grasped his friend's smaller cock which only had a few hairs & masturbated him but all that came out was a single jet of clear fluid. They walked naked back to the lake & lay on the grass making small talk talking to each other whilst watching other swimmers of all ages who were also naked. During the coming days both Andrew & Alexander went swimming at the ponds & had the most amazing sex in the woods as Alexander's mum sometimes worked in the city as a prostitute thus giving her son an education which 12 year old boys don't normally receive teaching him those skills making her son skilled in the arts of carnal knowledge & lovemaking which would stand him in good stead in his teens when he becomes a statute adult at 14. Their sessions progressed to sleepovers during which Andrew was learning those carnal lovemaking skills & their friendship bonds were becoming sealed for life. It was during one sleepover that Alexander sucked Andrew's cock which owing to its size he barely managed to get it inside his mouth, the skills taught to him by his mum prevailed & he brought him to a highly intense shattering orgasm, so much so he was kicking, screaming, writhing on the bed & seeing stars having shot his biggest load of spunk to date which his friend swallowed. Alexander also taught him how to insert his cock into another boy's hole but that's as far as it went, Andrew's cock was just simply too big for him. The day Andrew's parents dreaded had finally arrived & it was only then his father called into the study, sat him down & tearfully spoke. "My son, I am sorry to have to tell you this but we are ruined, the bankers have foreclosed on their debt added to which are the shops bills which remain unpaid. We have to leave this house tomorrow morning when they will come & arrest your mum & I to take us to the debtor's court & finally the debtor's prison." Tears flooded the boy's eyes as he screamed. "Dear father, why, why, surely someone can do something, after all they're finding gold by the ton in Australia & besides, what about the huge nugget from Mayday Hills?" "My son, it's too late for us now, you must take this letter to this address in Manchester as Mr. Armstrong is an old friend of mine & he will take good care of you & find you employment, son, I am so very sorry to have to send you out into the world like this, here is my oilskin sailor's cape which has seen many years use at sea which will protect you from the weather. This is my watch which is wound daily with this wee key, now you promise me that you will take good care of it. This is a small notebook, inside you will see the address of Mr. Jones the local postmaster, you send your letters to him & he will deliver them to me & lastly here is your money for a third class ticket which is all I can now afford." Andrew sobbed out. "Father, I do not want to be a slave to a cotton mill, not when I am expected to uphold the good name of our family, no, no, I vow in the presence of God to escape & promise you that I will be sailing to Australia, find your gold & bring it back home." "Andrew, that's what I like about you, it satisfies me knowing I have raised you right & makes me proud of you, now your good mum will make your supper, then pack your things & straight to bed as you have a train to catch in the morning." Andrew lay in his bed which gave him countless nights of sleep, now it was giving him his final night of fitful sleep when during the final hours before dawn he had a nightmarish dream which was so horrible he woke up screaming & crying when his mum rushed to his aid to comfort him when he sobbed out. "Mum, there's this ship with hundreds of people on board & they're throwing all the dead people into the sea," she hugged, comforted & kissed him saying. "Now, now, I'm sure it's just a bad dream, just get some sleep." The following morning he washed, dressed & finally packed both his small travel case & knapsack containing his woolen blanket, at breakfast, all she could offer him was the last of the porridge & a boiled egg with a glass of milk. She packed him one sandwich & his father's canteen full of water which clearly wasn't sufficient for the journey when his father gave him a small canvas bag, a souvenir from his boyhood days containing some quarter inch diameter steel tent pins with a large roll of Jute twine with a book titled. `The night walker' he said to him. "My son, I am bequeathing you this book which you must read & study well, it is a very comprehensive book which will teach you how to live off the land, with it is this bag containing my tent pins & some cordage to enable you to erect a shelter either from the cape or a Thomas Edgington tarpaulin which the book illustrates several methods of erecting your shelter & how to make your bedroll. The man who wrote this is a very skilful poacher who's never been caught & with his book he is teaching you those necessary skills to survive, take good care my son & write soon." He kissed & hugged his parents for the final time & walked out to his father's carriage in the pouring rain for its last journey taking him to London's Euston station before delivering it for sale to a carriage dealer. (2) A train journey. Euston station hustled & bustled with people from all walks of life either boarding or leaving trains, loved ones either greeted each other or bade farewell to their departing friends or relatives. Prominent notices were displayed warning of the presence of pickpockets and uniformed constables provided a deterring presence which did little to deter the pickpockets. The air was heavy with the smells of burning coal, hot oil & polish from the mighty steam engines when Andrew's gaze fell on the Crampton class 4-2-0 locomotive with its 8 foot & 6 inch driving wheels of the London & North Western Railway bearing number 12 & named `200 London' on its solid brass nameplate which had built up a full head of steam when suddenly an ear splitting blast of steam issued from the safety valve forcing Andrew to shield his ears with his hands. He took his place in the open box rail carriage after presenting his third class railway ticket & beckoned on board. He heard the sound of a whistle blast as a railway man waved his green flag, huge clouds of steam engulfed the locomotive as the driver moved the regulator lever feeding steam into the cylinders with a jolt felt throughout the train as a loud puff boomed out followed by another with a staccato series of loud puffs as the train moved gracefully out of the station. Once clear of the station, there was nothing to protect the third class passengers from the weather as the forward motion of the train only served to enhance the almost gale force blast of the wind with driving rain despite wearing his father's sailors cape. He huddled up into the corner of the carriage on its solid wooden seat which gave him little comfort & in a few hours he would eat his sandwich leaving him without food for the rest of the journey. Night had fallen & with it the biting cold tore right through the shivering crying boy, other passengers vocally comforted him when a man in his 40's spotted the signs of exposure setting in, something which he saw a lot of as a soldier with young men being overcome by the weather, he knew if he didn't act now the boy would be dead by the morning when his voice boomed out startling other passengers in the carriages in front. "In God's name, stop this bloody train now!" The guard certainly heard him & applied the brake; the driver cursed under his beard as the train slowed when he shut off the regulator & applied the brakes bringing the train to a halt. The man lifted the boy like a limp rag doll onto his shoulders, climbed down off the carriage & carried the boy accompanied by the guard to the locomotive knowing the heat from the open firebox would warm him up halting the progress of exposure; he stepped up onto the footplate telling the driver. "This boy needs warmth right now otherwise he is going to die!" Those very words brought looks of horror to both the driver & fireman who quickly sat him down in front of the firebox as the man said after passing his card. "I will return to check on him in the morning," & returned to his place in the carriage. Andrew felt the warming glow from the fire reminding him of the homely fireplace from the house which was once his home & now his loving parents were forced by circumstance to cast their lovely boy aside into the world when he watched the fireman place an old military D shaped mess tin holding 2 pints of water inside the firebox with a wooden handled hook to boil. Within just fleeting moments, the water boiled when the fireman took out the mess tin, he made 3 mugs of strong sweet tea & passed one to Andrew who stuttered out the polite thank you for the kindness shown to him when the train started moving. Using a steam hose, the fireman washed down the shovel, spread some butter to fry an egg with 2 slices of bacon them placed the shovel into the firebox for the food to cook, the aroma of frying bacon assaulted Andrew's nostrils fuelling his already voracious hunger pangs having last eaten several hours ago. Those few minutes whilst the food cooked felt like eternity to him when the fireman removed the shovel & made him a bacon & egg sandwich. Andrew's strong desires to wolf down the food had to be curtailed out of politeness to his kind hosts as he thanked the men & recited. "For what I am about to receive, may the lord make me truly thankful," then slowly ate the sandwich & finished off his tea when shortly afterwards fatigue overcame him as he fell asleep on the locomotive's footplate when the driver said to his fireman. "He's such a nice well brought up boy; I wonder what change of fortune has put him on this train." The large 3 masted sailing clipper ship was under full sail in a river estuary bearing an American flag: Andrew saw there must be hundreds of people on board this vessel when he heard the ship's timbers creaking under the load of a salty strong breeze on the sails taking a slight list with a formidable bow wave coming off the ship's cutwater, he watched a crewman throw the odometer cable over the stern to start recording the miles when suddenly the ship's guns were fired with thunderous loud booms startling Andrew who awoke suddenly from his dream to the sounds of the locomotive as it slowed & stopped at a siding to take on water & build up steam on a fine sunny morning with just a few wisps of cloud & birdsong all around. He stood up, stretched & yawned then asked. "Where's the toilet?" The driver replied. "It's in the shed beside the water tower," he stepped down off the locomotive, walked to the shed & became disgusted at the sight of a toilet which had probably never been cleaned & stank, he dropped his trousers & drawers, sat on the toilet, released a long stream of piss, had a shit & when he finished all he found to wipe his bottom was a pile of old newspapers. Having returned to the locomotive, the man who carried him there asked. "How's Master Andrew this fine morning?" "I'm fine thank you," The driver said. "Young Master Andrew will be joining us for breakfast whilst we're getting up steam," "You are so kind to be taking care of and feeding this lovely young man, I just wish I had some way to repay you," The driver said. "You needn't concern yourself about that; I have to ask why a well dressed boy is traveling third class with hardly any money or food with a letter addressed to a cotton mill." The man asked. "Sonny, I want you to tell me what took place for you to be traveling on this train." Andrew recounted his story detailing the events of the previous few weeks which he wrote in shorthand into a reporter's note book wishing he had reached a far better station in life whereby he could take care of him as he reasoned that out of all the poor children, a well brought up boy from a good family would be honest & trustworthy, well suited to being educated & may even become a prime asset to a business but all he could do is to escort him for the rest of his journey. After almost another day, the train finally arrived at Manchester at dusk, like Euston station, it too was a grand building, the man escorted him to a nearby pub & bought him a sandwich with a small glass of porter. Although his father instilled into him never to talk to strangers yet this man may have saved his life & showed him kindness throughout. After leaving the pub he escorted him through the streets till they came to the canal & followed the towpath to a huge red brick building when he knocked on the door's heavy iron knocker which was answered by a portly woman in her 40's who said. "Yes." "I have escorted young Andrew from the London train to here as I understand you are expecting him." She replied in a saw mill like voice saying. "You had better come inside young man," & no sooner had he entered, she closed the door firmly on the man who walked away muttering. "That's gratitude for you." She led him to a dormitory, showed him a bed & a wooden foot locker box then said. "Light's out in 10 minutes boys." (3) Arrival at the cotton mill. Andrew now had to make his own bed which was a task normally performed by either the servants or his mother who only showed him during his final days at Hampstead. As he stripped off his clothes to don his nightshirt & silk calecons (shortened drawers) the other boys in the dormitory stared hard at him with both jealousy & hostile gazes having spotted his well groomed appearance with his high quality clothes & long flowing blond hair past his shoulders almost giving him the appearance of a girl when he finally locked his footlocker & slid into his bed. Minutes later the woman entered the room to extinguish the candles with a candle snuffer leaving one lit as a night light so boys could find their way to their chamber pots at night. As he lay in his bed, his thoughts dwelled on his sudden change of fortunes & reminiscing on his past life now fast becoming a distant memory with no loving home to return to when his emotions overwhelmed him & he started crying into his pillow. This upset the other boys who whispered for him to be quiet, as he continued crying, the calls to be quiet became louder until 13 year old John Williams got out from his bed, tore the bed covers off him & hit him hard with his fist shouting in his Liverpool accent. "You were told to be bloody quiet." Andrew sprang out of bed like a cat & now his training in the sport stood him in good stead as he took a boxer's stance punching the boy with his full force squarely on the nose when he screamed in pain with blood pouring out of his nose plastering his nightshirt when 2 monitors aged around 16 stormed in grabbing hold of a boy each with Bill Hodgkin's grabbing Andrew shouting. "Break it up right now!" Robert Hargis, a bulldog jawed strongly built evil tempered Scottish teenager held the boy in a crushing hug making him scream out in pain as he forcefully said. "Yous know that fighting is never tolerated in here, Williams, your coming with me to the nurse to have your nose looked at & first thing tomorrow morning both of you will be escorted to the boss & yous better take it from me, the boss hates having boys brought before him during the night & you, you're the new bairn, what's your name?" "McDonald, Andrew McDonald." "Andrew, look what you've done to Master Williams, there's no excuse laddie & you've a thorough birching to look forward to in the morning, now get to bed & if I ever hear another sound from you, you're going straight to the boss," then he took the William's boy to the nurse. Bill spoke in a kind voice quietly to Andrew. "Look, I guess you're not a bad lad, the boss will take a dim view of what you've done to Williams especially on your first day & he will have you birched for this, now try & get some sleep if you can, it's easy for me to say this but please try as you have a long day tomorrow." Andrew slept very fitfully that night & another nightmarish dream came to him which saw him standing on the main deck of the same ship with torn sails flapping in the howling gale force winds with mountainous seas watching corpses being sewn up into sailcloth with a cannonball & a corpulent priest reading out aloud the funeral rites above the noise of the howling wind. Everyone on board was staring at him & not one of them blinked their eyes, a few feet from him stood the demonic ship's battle scarred grey tom cat hissing wildly at him with its dagger like fangs uttering demonic growling screams & gazing hard at him with bright yellow eyes slashing a paw through the air ready to attack him at any second when Williams walked up to him saying. "You must leave this place as there's nothing for you here," when the dream faded into oblivion as both monitors stood menacingly over him & Bill shook him awake. As soon as both boys were dressed, they were escorted to Mr. Armstrong's office & once inside they were both told to stand smartly to attention. Mr. Armstrong was in his 50's with long flowing brown & grey hair with bushy sideboards wearing round spectacles for reading, he looked at his pocket watch showing 10 minutes past 6 in the morning & in front of him was Andrew's father's letter, he looked up asking each boy's account of the fight then questioned both monitors asking them if they were telling the truth which they both answered yes when he delivered his verdict. "Masters Williams & McDonald, fighting amongst boys will never be tolerated here, therefore Master Williams, you will receive 9 strokes of the birch rod as you have previously been caught fighting and struck the first blow, as for you Master McDonald, you will receive 12 strokes of the birch rod as you have caused physical injury to Master Williams & drew blood which soiled his nightshirt for which you will meet the costs of laundering. Both of you will have your pay docked for the time you are treated by the nurse & spent in sick bay, do I make myself clear?" both boys replied "Yes sir," then Mr. Armstrong said. "Right, take these 2 scallywags straight to the foreman for their punishments to be carried out immediately." Both boys walked with melancholy looks with the monitors who told them not to talk otherwise they would face further punishment when they arrived at a room with an apparatus resembling a vaulting horse with 2 birch rods resembling small witches brooms in a bucket of strong salt water & waiting for them was Tom Hardwick the foreman, a well built strong man in his 40's sporting a moustache standing at 6 foot 2 inches tipping the scales at over 20 stones when he asked. "Who struck the first blow?" "It was Williams," replied Bill. "Right, strap him in." He was stripped naked then strapped securely to the apparatus with a piece of stout leather below his buttocks to protect his genitals from the rod's switches whilst the foreman took a rod, swished it menacingly through the air & said firmly. "I want to hear you count out each stroke aloud, do you understand me?" Fear racked through the boy as tears flooded his eyes as he weakly replied when he took up his stance & brought the rod hard down on the boy's buttocks as he counted out. "One." After 3 strokes he was screaming as pain racked through him, bawling & crying loudly when the foreman ordered Robert to count aloud his strokes for him & ordering `Failed to complete count' to be recorded into the punishment book, throughout the rest of the punishment the boy kept screaming in pain as the rod's switches tore bleeding welts into his buttocks whilst uttering deathly loud screams when Robert sponged down his buttocks with strong brine to minimize infections, placed his clothes into a cloth bag, tied a towel around his waist & led the loudly crying boy to the nurse. Andrew became fearful of his punishment having witnessed Williams being birched & bravely tried to face his punishment as he stripped naked & placed himself onto the apparatus ready to be strapped in & the stout leather tied below his buttocks, his bravery certainly impressed the foreman having seen numerous boys forcibly taken & tied to the apparatus, but little else. Like William's punishment, Andrew too screamed loudly in pain whilst bawling & crying yet he managed to speak out the count, by 8 strokes Andrew's buttocks were severely torn by the rod's switches with lots of blood pouring out profusely when Bill shouted out. "Stop!" The foreman gazed wild eyed at Bill shouting. "Who the devil do you think you are telling me to stop you insolent boy?" "Sir, you must stop this barbaric act right away, if you carry on this boy may even die on you, this has to stop right now, come on Andrew, I'm taking you to the nurse," As he stood guard over him to prevent any further strikes then asked Andrew. "Brace yourself as I have to sponge your bottom," he uttered a loud piercing deathly scream as Bill sponged him down & unfastened him, put his clothes into another cloth bag, tied a towel around his waist & was about to lead him away when the foreman spoke loudly. "I have to report this to the boss." "You do that & record it into the punishment book, I will also sign it," & led him away to the nurse. Although his monitor had broken the rules in stopping a punishment & knew he would be ignominiously dismissed out of hand, he now had a healthy respect for Bill & bore no malice against him. Bill entered the nurse's surgery with a distressed Andrew crying his eyes out & no sooner had Nurse Molly Black removed his towel, the sight of his injuries totally abhorred her & she immediately gave him a dose of laudanum from her illicit supply as Williams looked on through his drug induced stupor. Bill said. "I stopped his punishment after 8 strokes because his bottom was cut to pieces," "You do realize that you will have your indentures terminated for this, where will you go?" "As far from this place as possible, I'm 16 & old enough to sign on a ship & work my passage to Australia, they've found gold out there which gives me the chance of a far better life." Andrew said. "I can tell you where to go if you want to find gold." Bill said forcefully. "I have put my position on the line for you & you had better start by telling me where to find gold." Andrew replied. "I went with my father to the Great Exhibition where there was a huge nugget on display which came from a place called Mayday Hills, I also read an article from the Melbourne Argus saying that gold has been discovered at Ballarat, both places are in Victoria," Bill became stunned by Andrew's revelations & he was almost jumping for joy when Molly said. "You have to get there first & the only way is by ship, I'll give you my address & you must promise to write me a letter if & when you arrive," when the foreman entered the surgery asking. "Master Hodgkin's, the boss wants to see you right away," he knew immediately he would be making an ignominious exit from the building. A few weeks later, the record breaking American clipper ship `Sea Witch' released her mooring ropes from Liverpool's Albert dock & was towed out by the steam tug Constitution to a rapturous applause from the crowds onto the Mersey with her passengers waving & calling out their farewells. Once released from the tug, she hoisted part sails to loud cheering from the crowd when thunderous loud booms with huge clouds of sulphurous smoke erupted from the vessel as she fired her departure guns in salute. Her destination was Melbourne & on board was Bill who would be working his passage; he gazed back at the city from the main deck knowing his eyes were seeing England for the final time. Andrew quickly settled into the routines at the cotton mill, his working days were 10 hours long, now reduced owing to recent legislation regarding child labour. Meals were, Breakfast was mainly porridge, Lunch was either gruel or broth & the evening meal was a stew. Saturdays was schooling in the three R's & Sundays was religious instruction & church service. With Bill gone, he felt an emptiness as though he lost a friend but in many ways he knew he was going to a far better place in good time for he knew the Sea Witch was a very fast record breaking ship at the cutting edge of clipper design, designed by John W Griffiths & built by Smith & Dimon of New York in 1846. Meanwhile the Sea Witch was sailing towards the tropics & the searing heat of the sun heated up the sea often resulting in violent thunderstorms most evenings & the ship could become becalmed in the doldrums for days if not weeks, Andrew was fully aware of this having traveled with his family from India on his father's ship the Antares. Every person working on the shop floor had to be barefoot at all times as a single spark from a shoe would ignite the cotton dust starting a disastrous fire & everyone required frequent eye washings owing to the cotton dust in the air. Steam engines powered the machinery making for a noisy working environment & the whole building was driven ruthlessly at all times to achieve maximum production output, machinery breakdowns were common as were chastisements whenever they occurred & accidents could result in appalling injuries & even deaths. The canal ran alongside the building where bales were brought from Liverpool by barge through a pair of huge wooden doors into a large bale storage area. Andrew's vows to escape remained strong throughout this time & he studied the Night Walker book, his mind already formulating an escape plan but what he needed was a contact which meant trusting someone, but who could he trust, there was only one way to find out. He painstakingly sketched out the Napoleonic war era D shaped mess kit he saw on the locomotive & it was during one of his frequent visits to the nurse for his eye washing he took his drawing to her & asked. "Nurse, have you by any chance come across one of these?" She studied the drawing thoughtfully then replied. "Andrew my lad, that is a lunch pail which the army uses, why are you asking me this?" he became frozen to the spot as fear racked through him when he stuttered out. "Nurse, please can you get one for me?" She shot him a piercing look which frightened him & after a few moments of thoughtful silence she said. "Andrew, I know you're up to something & it is not my business to know, I will keep your secret & bring your lunch pail in a few days, now you better be careful from now on." He knew that whilst she was quite prepared to get him a mess kit, she also gave him a stern warning, but she also said that she would keep his secret. It amazed her how well he recovered from his birching although she administered small doses of laudanum daily so he could sit down without pain for a few days despite the bandages on his bottom. It was the one thing which brought them together as she was abhorred by what they've done to him resulting in her wanting to help him out from now on. She knew what a mess kit was having been an army nurse who married a soldier, his old mess kit graced amongst the other cooking pots at her home & she also knew he would want one for one purpose only & that is to cook food & boil water over open fires outdoors & a common find in secondhand shops having been made in their thousands. Andrew missed having sex with any boys in the cotton mill but it was just a matter of time when he would pal up with one & not having had a good wank for days, one night the inevitable happened when his mind entered the world of dreams which took him to a beautiful swimming hole like a large pond dammed at one end by a wall where youngsters swam naked & he saw many boys with large cocks & some of them had pointed breast buds with huge nipples almost like a young girl. It was one boy who bade him to drink his milk from his ample leaking breasts & found his elixir to be sweet similar to a milk shake which made his already huge cock grow even larger spewing out his pre-cum & dripping onto the ground before begging him to plunge it straight into his rear hole which despite its size went straight in. He experienced highly intense sensations & now he was humping inside his bedclothes, his huge cock being gently caressed as it slid inside his silk calecons shortened drawers spewing & wetting the front of his undergarment & permeating through to the sheet. There was no stopping the course of his dream as his intense feelings built up along with the euphoria of his dream which built up to a climax where he was almost tossing & turning uttering animalistic grunts when several huge jets of spunk flooded his calecons & soaking them when the aroma of fresh warm spunk permeated from his bed as he finally relaxed in his sleep. When the monitors awoke the boys in the dormitory he got out of bed & to his horror he thought he pissed into his calecons, it was when he smelled them in the wash room he realized it wasn't piss & his pubic area was plastered with his spunk. The older boys often joked about this & Andrew now became the butt of their jokes when they saw him washing his genitals & his silk calecons, thankfully his parents had packed a few into his travel case so at least he wouldn't have to wear wet calecons that day. It had taken weeks before John Williams finally made friends with Andrew, he was a big lad for 14 compared to Andrew who was 12 & of smaller build although he certainly noticed his huge bulge inside his calecons just before bed & in the morning fuelling his lust for his larger cock when one night after lights out he quietly crept up to his bed & gently slid inside feeling his already hard almost man sized cock which his hand couldn't encircle & knew immediately he was holding a monster. Andrew just quietly uttered low sighs & hums whilst his friend slowly wanked off his cock after skillfully moving his calecons leg exposing his cock. John had wanked off a few other boys in the dormitory but this was his first time with Andrew & he knew he had to be ready whenever a boy shot his spunk & quickly plant the boy's cock inside his mouth, catch all the spunk & swallow it, only this time it was Andrew's cock delivering his spunk & not being used to huge loads, he gagged at his huge load coughing & spluttering his spunk all over both his nightshirt & calecons rapidly exiting the bed & making straight to the washroom. During one of his visits to the surgery room, the nurse presented Andrew with his British army 1813 pattern mess kit consisting of a 2 pint D shaped pail with a flat lid fitted with a ring pull handle & an insert dish with a folding handle. These items were made of steel dipped in tin. (Aluminium & stainless steel had yet to be invented) She had bought this with its bag which fits onto a soldier's knapsack from a secondhand shop & scoured it clean; the pans almost shone brightly giving it an almost new appearance which pleased him greatly as to him it was the first hurdle when she said to him. "I have to keep this at my house otherwise they will find it whenever they conduct a search, now, if there's anything you want, you let me know, my husband has drawn up a list of items you will need as you will probably be camping out & there are some items he will let you have, I must tell you that everything must be stored at my house for safe keeping until its time." Her words lifted his spirits for he knew if kit was accumulated, it would be found. All he had from the list was his father's cape, tent pins, jute twine & canteen which he filled with water daily & took to his workstation which became a sight others got used to. It was whilst studying her list he checked it against his book when he spotted the advertisement for the Thomas Edgington tarpaulin which he would have to save up for unless one could be found in a secondhand shop. It was this item which would protect him from the weather; it would become his bedroll cover, his cape, his sun shield, his ground cloth or his bivouac/ hoochie or basha shelter which was erected by a number of methods the most popular shelter type as a pup tent. This was a large item made from proofed cotton duck canvas measuring 6 foot & 6 inches square with 2 inch hems & triangles at each corner with 12 equally spaced buttonhole stitched holes reinforced with stout leather washers on both sides to withstand the use of tent pins or poles with a reinforced central portion with a loop of stout canvas as a central suspension point or he could either cut 2 saplings to make an A frame or use a 2 & a half foot central pole cushioned with a tennis ball at the upper end if there were no trees around. This became his single most important item, especially during foul weather which when erected as a pyramid shaped low shelter with all 4 sides on the ground, the shelter would protect him from a torrential cloudburst or high winds & with this in mind he set about copying the drawing from his book to pass to the nurse which she passed to a trusted street urchin boy starting a hunt for this item. Trevor Wood was a 14 year old street urchin who was also Molly's errand boy, he was a hard working youngster who delivered newspapers to houses, he also collected scrap metal to sell to scrap yards & performed gardening tasks at wealthy person's houses who's knowledge of the city rivaled that of a Hansom cab driver. He sometimes worked on a canal barge to the Mersey ports & whenever he did this, other boys would cover for him. Molly handed Trevor the drawing the next morning of which several copies were made & handed out to his minions & by the day's end every secondhand shop in Manchester was on the lookout for one. He walked to Castlefield Junction with his knapsack & boarded a decorately painted steam powered barge named Hand of Glory. This vessel was owned by Ted Daniels & powered by a high pressure steam engine fed from a small locomotive type boiler driving 2 Ericsson screw propellers. This vessel could easily reach 10 knots which if caught not only resulted in speeding fines owing to the 4 knots speed limit on the canal, at that speed the vessel created a considerable wash. Trevor released the mooring ropes & re-boarded the vessel bound for Runcorn on the Bridgewater canal, with Ted at the helm whilst the heavily laden vessel gently cruised along with a slight plume of smoke & steam towing a second heavily laden barge with another boy at the tiller; he entered the cabin to make their teas. The days turned to weeks & into months with the passing of the seasons & the spring of 1852 had arrived late. Andrew's age was now 13; he had grown taller as well as becoming stronger in his growth spurt, packed inside his silk calecons was the largest cock in his dormitory sporting a huge with his fully hard 8 inch cock with a 2 inch wide head larger than a lot of adult men or teenagers which shot out huge ropes of spunk several feet as well as developing huge bullet like nipples with penny sized areolas on large pointed breast buds with the appearance of girl's breasts which even his shirts could no longer hide & sometimes leaked whenever he shot his load, fortunately for him if it wasn't for all the sex with the other boys, he would have become the butt of all their jokes. It was around this time Bill's letter had arrived from Australia to Molly's address just as he had promised with both Mayday Hills & Melbourne postmarks. The Sea Witch had arrived in Melbourne after 79 days at sea on a good passage apart from the last month through the southern oceans; Bill was warned about the horrendous conditions likened to sailing in the seas of hell. Smith & Dimon had fortunately built a very strong ship whose masts towered 150 feet above the waves which was also built for speed. After working there as a brewery dray driver's assistant (known as jockeys) he saved up his money before starting out to Mayday Hills where he started prospecting for gold at a place called Reid's creek with a beautiful swimming hole below a natural dam with a waterfall of several feet which made an ideal diving platform into about 10 feet of water. Having learned how to pan for gold he found many tiny nuggets & a few the size of peas. Bill also asked for his letter to be shown to Andrew & after being summoned to the surgery, he read Bill's letter which brought happiness to him & fuelling his dogged determination to fulfill his vows to his parents becoming a part of the colony & carrying his family's flag & their good name to the next generation. He sat at Molly's desk & began writing his letter in reply thus sealing his bonds of friendship across the seas. Molly asked him to remove his shirt having already noticed his mounds, as soon as she looked at them her pussy began moistening & leaking into her shift, she fondled each breast gently sending lovely feelings coursing through him when his huge cock became erect tenting out his lightweight cotton work trousers wetting both his calecons & trousers with his pre-cum forming a very noticeable wet spot when she said. "My oh my, that thing of yours is huge for a boy," she locked the surgery door & resumed fondling him, whenever she sucked on a nipple, he moaned loudly as highly sensual feelings coursed through him straight to his balls & as she continued sucking he built up rapidly to an explosive climax flooding both his calecons & trousers with spunk when she tasted a lovely sweet warm liquid from his nipple & saw a white liquid had came out from his other nipple & ran down his chest which she scooped up with a finger & tasted. She knew this had to remain a secret & fortunately she previously saw this on the son of an officer whilst an army nurse & was sworn to secrecy. The boy stopped lactating after about a year or so & his breasts became normal again, she also knew from medical literature that this was a rare event & explained this to him but deep down she lusted after him like a voracious sexual temptress. The following day she sent for him for another eye wash & once inside the surgery she locked the door & started fondling him before gently stripping him naked, she slinked behind the curtain screening the bed & came out naked, sensually hugged him & sucked on a nipple, she lay on the bed & guided him onto her guiding his huge cock inside her already wet pussy. Thanks to Alexander & his mum he already had the skills to rival Casanova & pistoned in & out of her gently knowing he could shoot off his load in seconds. By now the aroma of pussy scents & boy smells filled the room & it was her who came first with a gushing orgasm plastering his junk with her juices when suddenly his orgasm started to overwhelm him as at least a dozen huge ropes of spunk blasted inside her pussy leaving him lying sleepily on top which became the start of many such sessions with nurse Molly & within just a few months he could satisfy any male or female in their beds. (4) Time to leave. By July 1852, Molly together with Trevor had sourced all the items required on Andrew's list which were safely stored at her house, the Thomas Edgington tarpaulin had to be ordered from the factory & thanks to her husband she specified it dyed in a light brown colour otherwise she would have received it in white. Trevor spent time cycling amongst the ships both at Liverpool & Birkenhead on a bike he bought from a scrap yard & repaired. Having reconnoitered the shipping docks at both cities, he discovered it was easier to board a ship at Birkenhead although a wooden possessions box would be required which entailed either stealing one from the Birkenhead Emigration depot's stores or measuring one & making a copy, Trevor originally chose the latter asking this of the store man who was kind enough to let him take one away believing his excuse to make a Billy cart. This became another problem for Trevor which he solved by taking a pram from a local scrap yard, removing the baby box & using the chassis to transport both his bicycle & box to the Mersey ferry, cadging a lift on a barge to Runcorn & another barge back to Manchester. His enquiries also revealed the name of the ship, having asked a seaman he gleaned she would be ready on the 20th of July & probably sailing on the 4th of August. The almanac revealed it would be the new moon on the night of the 17th which became the chosen night for Andrew's escape whereupon Trevor would meet him & guide him to Castlefield Junction & onto the waiting barge. Once again Andrew was summoned to the surgery only this time was his last visit when she gave him a final blow job cleaning off any after leakages & handed him a large ball of jute twine, she gave him loads of hugs & kisses & almost became tearful when she said. "Be ready tonight at midnight when someone will be below your window & for God's sake listen for the church clock, use the twine to pull up the rope then use the rope to lower any luggage you may have, then fasten the rope to somewhere solid & use the rope to climb down from the window, god speed & bon voyage my lad & please write." The hours seemed to pass by interminably slowly during which he packed his travel case ready & quietly crept into bed fully clothed keeping his ears open for the sound of the church clock. Meanwhile Ted lay in wait some distance from Castlefield Junction & during this time he draped black Hessian sheets over the vessel's wooden coverings & tied on a blackened cardboard tube as a second smoke stack. At 11.30 he lit the vessel's boiler & built up steam when the vessel crept out towards Castlefield Junction. Andrew remained awake in his bed & on the stroke of midnight he crept out of bed & opened a window to see Trevor waiting for him with the rope, he fed him the twine, pulled up the rope & tied it to another boy's bed with a slip knot & lowered the twine to Trevor, using the rope he lowered his travel case then scaled out through the window down to the ground & Trevor gave several hard pulls on the twine freeing the rope from the bed then pulled the rope out & coiled it over his shoulder. They walked almost a mile till they arrived at the vessel; Trevor had already collected Andrew's kit from Molly & placed it on board earlier. Andrew boarded the vessel whilst Trevor released the mooring ropes, pushed the vessel away from the bank with the heavy boat hook whilst Ted drained the cylinders, engaged the propellers & slowly opened the regulator. Like a black ghost ship on the canal without navigation lights, the ghostly looking vessel crept away from the bank at a snail's pace whilst Trevor stood at the bow giving hand signal's to Ted to steer his ghostly looking vessel in the pitch darkness with a slight bow wave & slight disturbance of water from the propellers. It took the vessel 3 hours to reach Stretford Junction when they saw the first lightening of the sky to the east when Trevor removed the Hessian & stowed it in a cargo hatch then lit the navigation lights & cut away the cardboard tube to be fed into the firebox. As the day dawned. Ted slowly opened the regulator gradually increasing the vessel's speed with the lightening of the daylight when fatigue overcame Andrew & he was led to a bunk. The vessel came to a stop around lunchtime & moored by a pub when Ted finally vented the boiler & let the fire burn out, Ted woke Andrew up & walked to the pub to buy 3 lunches with Trevor cooking Andrew's very late breakfast, it was here a tramp boarded the vessel joining Ted for lunch. The vessel took on water & Trevor relit the fire whilst everyone waited to build up steam for the gentle cruise to the overnight stop near Lymm where Jock, a tramp in his 50's would lead both Andrew & Trevor to a safe overnight camp in woods a half mile from the canal. He knew the country intimately like his own back yard & the escape plan called for this overnight stop in the event of the peelers raiding the vessel in the early morning. Having arrived & entered some distance into the woods, Jock erected their shelter by tying both his & Andrew's tarpaulin's together & erected it as a low pyramid shelter with all sides off the ground amongst the young trees & shrubs using Andrew's sailor's cape as a windbreak on one side then camouflaged it with vegetation & grass before finally laying out their blankets on the carpet of leaves. Trevor filled the water canteens from the nearby stream whilst Jock dug a fire pit & lit the fire as both Trevor & Andrew prepared the rabbit meat & vegetable stew for cooking in Jock's mess tin whilst Andrew's contained water for the tea. Jock cooked a lovely well seasoned stew washed down with tea leaving both lads to wash & scour the mess kits in the stream & sat around the fire on a beautiful summer's evening with trees gently rustling in the slight breeze with birdsong all around in an idyllic woodland. Their natural wishes were to explore the woods but Jock wanted them staying beside the fire to avoid anyone seeing them as well as their journey exhausting the boys who retired early. Once night fell, it became pitch black inside the shelter so Jock lit his small night light candle lantern providing a pleasing light inside the shelter for the few moments they were awake until they fell fast asleep within minutes whilst Jock read a book by candlelight before he finally retired & the candle finally burnt out. After breakfast & finally striking camp, they re-boarded the vessel for the journey to Runcorn where they would have to navigate the vessel through the 10 Hulme locks to descend about 90 feet into the Runcorn basin where they finally left the vessel & cadged a ride on a large sailing barge going to Liverpool. From where they watched a departing ship being towed out by tugs with both the passengers & crowds cheering as the ship hoisted part sails & fired her departure guns startling both lads as they uttered loud gasps. After crossing on the Mersey ferry with the buggy, they arrived at a street vendor selling oven cooked baked potatoes with peas & ordered a portion each. From there, Trevor led him to the Emigration depot until they arrived at the large 3 masted ship being loaded with provisions when Trevor said. "There she is, The Ticonderoga, she's your ship, now all we have to do is get you on board." Andrew gazed silently at the ship sensing that the ship was doomed, his nightmarish visions flashed before his eyes as fear overcame him, tears started flooding his eyes when he said. "I can't go on that ship, she's a ship of death I'm telling you, she's doomed & a lot of people are going to die, take me away from here please." To be continued.