Chapter 1                                 

I stood alone on deck, watching the moon upon the face of the water. We lay at anchor on a still sea.  I could hear the captain, and the first mate Blears arguing in the cabin below. The other men had all gone ashore. In the darkness, I could just see the white cliffs of the Sussex coast. I wondered about escape. There was nothing but misery for me on this ship. I hated the captain. I hated my life. I hated all the crew. I was the only child on board, and I didn’t have a single friend.

“You trying to cheat me?” I heard the captain roar.

“Course not,” shouted Blears, “You’ve ad too much to drink Captain.”

I crept down. The door was ajar. I could just see in.

“Empty your pockets swine!” The captain stood up. His fat fleshy face was red with anger. He had a knife in his hand.

“Calm yourself Captain.”

“Don’t you tell me to calm. I think it’s time I found another first mate!”

I looked on in horror. The captain had stuck the knife into Blears. Blears looked down at the knife. I could see the black wooden handle sticking out from Blears’ white shirt.  Around the knife a patch appeared and spread staining the white a dark purple. The captain swayed and stumbled, and looked drunkenly around to see if anyone had seen. I ducked out of sight. He pushed the door shut. I knew I had to get off that ship. I hurried back on deck, as quietly as I could. I was terrified.  A rope ladder hung over the side, waiting for the men’s return.  I slipped silently over the side, and climbed down. The rope was rough against my bare hands and feet. For a moment I looked into the still black water, and then gently let myself into the cold cold sea. I took a sharp intake of breath as the freezing water penetrated my clothes. I gathered my wits and swam towards the shore. The light of the full moon lit my way. I had never swum this far before. I hoped I could do it. The sky above was full of stars. I tried not to think of all the dread creatures swimming below me. I swam and I swam. I didn’t seem to be getting any nearer. My clothes were now full and heavy with water. I wondered if I would make it. I began to think the sea would take me. I’d go down down into the dark cold depths, to a watery grave. My thoughts made me dizzy. Slowly the shore came closer, and at last I felt sand and stone beneath my feet. I stood up, and shivering with cold waded ashore. I was exhausted. I found myself on a shingly Sussex beach, as dawn broke. My clothes clung to me wet and cold, as I looked about.

“You’re free Peter,” I said to myself, “Get away. Get inland and you’ll never have to see that ship again.” I urged myself on, “Keep walking Peter.”

Slowly the sun came up, revealing the high cliffs that surrounded the beach. I could hear the sound of running water. A little river pushed its way through the shingle and out to sea. The sun began to warm my tired body, and a comforting glow swept over me. I followed the river inland. I now know the river to have been the Cuckmere, and the place I landed Cuckmere Haven.

The river meandered in a mazy kind of motion, twisting one way and then another. I walked along its banks. The countryside around me was alive with butterflies and birdsong. It was a joyous morning; my first day of freedom.  I had been walking for about an hour, when I came upon a huge white giant carved into the chalk of a green hillside above me. I wondered what it could mean. It was a strange place, but somehow I felt safe. I decided to stop and rest.

I lay down upon the grass and watched the white clouds rolling by in the blue blue sky. The butterflies were all around me. It was paradise. I thought back to the orphanage. It seemed a world away. I was twelve years old, or so I’d been told. Eleven of those years had been spent in the Lewes Orphanage. Mrs. Bassam ruled that orphanage with a rod of iron. She was a large formidable woman. Every day her bellowing voice echoed through the huge house. I could hear her shouts still, “Come here boy! Silence you horrible ugly brat! Vermin! Miserable wretch! Unspeakable filthy child!” She was a tyrannical monster. Indeed everyone lived in holy terror of her, including her husband.

 I had no ma or pa.  I didn’t even know who they were. Once when I was six, I had plucked up the courage to ask. “Your parents were the scum of the earth. Better that you never knew them. Don’t you dare ask me again, or you’ll feel the back of my hand.” Mrs. Bassam had raised her hand, and glared at me. I shrank back. I never asked again.

Mr. Bassam was a small man – much smaller than his wife. They had made a strange couple, almost comical, but of course no one had dared laugh. It was Mr. Bassam, who had sold me to Captain Lepper for a few bottles of brandy, and a bag of tobacco. Captain Lepper was a smuggler and I was to be his cabin boy.  Lepper was a vile and vicious man, who took pleasure in beating me. His crew was all made in the same mould, and for nine months I had been a butt for their drunken jokes. I remember being tossed into the sea on my second day, with cries of, “Let’s see if an orphan floats. Sink or swim boy.” I had learned to swim. I had learned many things, but mostly I had learned to keep quiet.  My life at sea had been a misery. And now I knew Lepper was a murderer.  He would surely kill me if he found me.

I sat thinking of happier times in the orphanage. Life had been hard, but I had had friends. I remembered Mary with her blonde hair, her white face, and pale blue eyes, her wonderful smile, and gentle voice. I remembered the way her golden curls shook when she laughed. She was the only one of us who could read, and write. The little children loved her. I wished I could hear her voice again. I remembered Tom and Bill and Edith. We’d all worked together in the laundry, scrubbing and scrubbing from dawn to dusk. We’d tell each other stories about the people, whose clothes we washed. That is until Mrs. Bassam came in and told us to keep our traps shut, and get on with our work.  And we’d shut up, and wait for her to go, and then start up again. How I missed them all. I remembered Smokie the cat. He’d often come and rub around my legs. I’d pick him up, stroke him, and look into his round amber eyes.

I wondered if I could find my way to Lewes.  I was sure if I could, I would be able to sneak into the orphanage after dark. I would find Mary, when all were asleep. She would know what I should do next. Hunger began to gnaw at my stomach. I had to find something to eat. I got up, and continued my journey along the river bank.

By and by I saw a small town in the distance. I decided I would try and beg a meal there. In fading light I tramped across the fields. The grass was damp against my feet. Eventually I came upon a path. A sign pointed the way in. The town’s name began with an A, and that is all I can tell you.  By the time I arrived it was dark. The only light seemed to emanate from a large wooden building, with two big leaded windows on either side of the door. I approached. The woodwork of the building was covered in grotesque carvings. By the door was a carved lion; two wooden apes flew above him holding a crown. Suspended over the door an ironwork star blew gently in the breeze.

I moved slowly to a window, and looked in. The room was full of men eating and drinking. I longed to eat. I thought about going in; then I saw something that made my heart stop. There inside was the captain. I recognized his large white curly haired head. I stood transfixed, and frozen with fear. I watched in terror, as ale trickled from his fat fleshy lips. He drank from a tankard, while he listened to his companion, a thin balding man with wispy hair. Suddenly, Lepper’s large head turned towards the window, and our eyes met.

He staggered to his feet, beer sloshed from the tankard, as he rose. He pointed straight at me. “That’s him that done for Blears – quick seize him!”

All around the room heads turned towards me. I came to my senses and bolted into the darkness. There was no light of any kind in the streets. It was a black black night. This was both a help and a hindrance.  I ran into walls and tripped over stones. But any problems I had were many times worse for my drunken pursuers. I could hear them shouting and cursing, as they crashed about. I heard the captain swearing as he called for lanterns to be brought.

I was soon out in the fields. I was running uphill. I stopped to catch my breath, and then knelt down and felt the bumps and bruises on my shins. I caught sight of a small thicket and reckoned it would do for a hiding place. I crawled over and squeezed myself underneath its thorny branches. For several hours I kept to my hiding place. I don’t know what hour it was, but finally all was quiet. I crawled carefully out. I now had a great number of scratches to go with the bruises, but at least I was safe, and had evaded capture. I made my way up and away from the town. I guessed I was climbing onto the Downs. We had often seen them from the orphanage. What fun we’d thought to be able to run up and down the hump backed hills,  but we were never allowed out, save on delivery day, when we took the clean laundry around town. And now here I was in the dead of night on those same hills. I wished my friends were with me now.

I had been walking for about an hour, when I saw a far off light. It was very dim and faint. It did not move, so could not be the search party. In any event I was pretty sure that my pursuers had all returned to their beds. They’d had too much to drink to stay on their feet this late.  I walked cautiously towards the light. Soon I heard a strange munching sound. I could smell animals. Then all at once I was in amongst a herd of sheep. They bleated and scattered as I walked through them. A voice shouted, “Who be there?” A lantern came towards me.

The lantern bearer turned out to be a small man, not much bigger than me. He held the light up, and I saw his face was covered in a great mass of gingery brown whiskers, behind which was a simple kind country face. Two watery blue eyes peered at me, “What you doing here?”

“Please sir, I’m lost,” said I, trying to think of a reason I might be out in the middle of the night.

“You look like you been dragged through a hedge backward,” said he, the Sussex lilt strong in his voice. “Where you been trying to get to?”

I thought quickly, and invented an aunt, “To Lewes sir, to see my aunt, my ma’s took ill.”

“Ah. Lewes be four of five miles yonder,” he said pointing into the darkness.

I could smell cooking. “Please sir, I’m hungry.”

“Come you can share my stew.” He waved over to a little fire with a big metal pot suspended over it. Near the fire was a kind of cave dug into the bank. He led the way inside, and hung the lantern on a hook. Inside three large stones served as furniture. In one corner was a bed of straw, in another his crook and other tools. He sat on one of his stones, telling me to sit too. He picked up an earthenware jug and poured into an old tankard, which he passed to me. “Drink boy.”

I drank greedily. It was weak ale. I’d had it before, but it had never tasted so good. He got up and went outside returning with a plate of stew.

 “It’s good,” he said giving me a plate and a spoon.

“Very good,” said I through a mouthful. I shovelled it in as quick as I could. Orphans always eat fast.

He looked at me with an amused smile, “More?”

“Yes please.” Never in my life had I been offered more. He took my plate from me, and went out and ladled on some more stew. This time I took my time, rolling the fat delicious morsels of meat around my mouth. How good it was to have a full stomach.

I asked him his name. It was John Beard. I asked him if he got lonely. He said not. He had his sheep to look after. He had no need of company. I asked him if anyone ever came out here. He said he sometimes saw smugglers. He thought for a bit. “ Sometimes I seen as many as a hundred men on horseback, with led horses all loaded with tubs of spirit and bags of baccy – they keeps their contraband hidden up on Black Cap…”, as he spoke, I became more and more  drowsy. My eyelids closed and a blissful sleep slid over me. I awoke briefly as he picked me up and put me on his straw bed. “Sleep well youngun,” he said, “Tomorrow we’ll find out who you are, and get you home.”

          I awoke with a start. It was light outside. I heard voices. One was horribly familiar. Before I had time to rouse myself, two men came in and dragged me out, and flung me on the ground. Standing outside was captain Lepper, together with the shepherd, and a uniformed officer.

“Ay that’s him,” said Lepper. “That’s the thanks you get when you help an orphan. He is a murderer.”

“I’ve done nothing. He’s a smuggler. Search his ship…,” before I could continue the officer hit me hard across the face.

“There’s no smuggling in these parts. I make sure of that,” he said winking at Lepper.

I knew then I was lost. I tried to hold back my tears. I looked at the shepherd. He wouldn’t meet my eyes. He looked down at the ground. In his hand I could see a bottle of brandy. Sobbing, I pointed at Lepper, “He is the murderer. I saw him stick the knife in.”

“Oho, I’m the murderer am I? Kill my best friend would I? It’s the judge and gallows for you my boy!” He rubbed his hands together. “You’ll swing for what you done. We have a witness saw you do it. South saw you stick the knife in. He saw you jump over the side. Poor Mrs. Blears. At least her husband’s killer’s caught now. That will be a comfort to her.” A smug smile played on his fleshy face.

“Take him,” the officer ordered. “Tie his hands.”

His two men picked me up, and roughly bound my hands behind my back.

“We’ll take him to Lewes prison. He can wait trial there.”

“When will that be?” asked Lepper still smiling. “My crew will want to be there to see justice done.”

“It’ll be months before the case can be heard. Judge Adams is a busy man. We’ve got a hundred men or more waiting to be tried, and one’s the pirate Greybeard. That’s going to be a show and no mistake. Let’s get the boy locked up.” He signaled to his men.

They shoved me to start walking. I stumbled forwards. We marched into Lewes. I cannot remember much of the journey. I kept my eyes lowered. If ever I stopped, I got a push in the back. When we got into the town, I looked around to see if I might recognize anyone.

“What’s he done officer?” someone shouted.

“He killed Captain Lepper’s first mate,” one of the soldiers shouted back.

“God save us,” I heard a woman in the crowd say, “He don’t look old enough. What is the world coming too?”

A crowd began to gather, and follow, jeering at me, as we proceeded up the high street.  We came at last to the gates of the prison. They were opened, and we went inside. I was handed over to a gaoler. He pulled me by the scruff of my neck through dark dirty damp corridors. My feet dragged along the cold flagstones, as we passed cell after cell. I was too tired to struggle. In truth I was past caring.  We came to a halt. He unbolted a huge iron door, and flung me inside .