Arthur stood at the bow of the ship and watched the blue sea with a telescope, while beside him were the sailors who were constantly busy.

The improved Beagle had three masts, each of which was assigned six sailors and a non-commissioned officer, whose main task was to observe the surface of the sea and discern the course and judge the presence of an enemy.

There were also a number of sailors on the deck, including gunners led by the chief of artillery, craftsmen overhauling firearms led by quartermasters, and more than twenty marines led by an assault commander and two non-commissioned officers in charge of broadside combat.

Tom and Tony looked nervously at the busy crew, and for the first time the two Scotland Yard officers, who had never been on a boat in their lives, felt nervous.

The little waiter who had been sent by Colonel Fitzroy to serve them saw their nervous expressions and hurriedly asked, "Two gentlemen, do you need any help?" ”

Tony covered his mouth and leaned against the side of the boat, his face was blue: "It's nothing, I just want to vomit a little, vomit ......"

Tom, on the other hand, reacted slightly better than Tony, glancing up and down at the waiter and asked, "How old are you?" ”

"Me? Nine years old. ”

The little waiter seemed to be afraid of being looked down upon, and he hurriedly added: "But don't look at my young age, but I've been working on the ship for two years." If I talk about the age of the ship, I am longer than those military cadets who have just boarded the ship? They were four years older than me, but if they didn't do any well, they would cause trouble for Colonel Fitzroy. I'm so much better than them! ”

When Tom heard this, he couldn't help but smile and touched the little waiter's head: "I didn't expect you to be as old as my son, you are much stronger than him." ”

"Of course." The little waiter pretended to be old: "The premise of working on the boat for a long time is to be strong, even if you are weak, you have to eat fat as soon as possible, and the sea will not feel distressed." There was not even a coffin for those who died at sea, and they all had to be thrown into the sea to feed the fish. ”

As soon as he said this, he saw Arthur waving at him, and the little waiter hurriedly ran up and stammered, "Sir, what do you command?" ”

Although he is not very old, he knows how to distinguish between people's status.

He could see at a glance Arthur's esteemed position among the three, and he could also see Captain Fitzroy's politeness to him.

At best, this ability is called knowing how to read words and colors.

At worst, that's snobbery.

But you can't blame the waiter for anything, after all, this is the skill that these little imps rely on to survive on the ship.

As the closest group of senior officers on the ship, almost every waiter has the dream of being appreciated by the captain and sent to the naval academy.

Although the probability of such a one-step ascension is very low, the few precedents still make the waiters adhere to the mission of serving senior officers well.

Arthur asked, "Help me borrow a sailor from Mr. Colonel." ”

"Huh? You...... What are you going to do? ”

Arthur didn't shy away from his thoughts, he spoke: "According to the information of the Black Thorn, that ship may have seventy to eighty militants on board, and if there is a broadside battle, I am afraid that the marines alone will not be able to handle it." So, as a police officer at Scotland Yard, I intend to join them. ”

When the waiter heard this, his hairs stood on end, "Mr. Hastings, don't make such a joke. Participating in the broadside battle is really going to be fatal! If you're worried about the lack of Marines, it's a minor problem, and if they're running out, and the sailors, you don't have to be there. ”

Arthur took out his pipe from his pocket and lit the fire: "Little brother, do you have any misunderstanding of the identity of the policeman?" What do you think the law is for? ”

"Legal?" The waiter spoke, "Isn't that just to protect people like you?" ”

When the Red Devil heard this, he immediately held his stomach and said happily: "Incisive! Arthur, look at this boy, he is more enlightened than yours. ”

Tom and Tony also laughed dumbly when they heard this.

They explained: "Little brother, it is not the law that protects us, but we have to protect you with the law." ”

"Protect me with the law?" The little waiter pouted and smiled, "If it had protected me, I wouldn't be here." All right, gentlemen, for the sake of the law, oh no, there is no law on the high seas, so for God's sake, don't embarrass me. ”

Arthur glanced back at the little waiter and patted his head: "You little ghost, you really can't eat oil and salt." But then again, you really can't be blamed. Well, I'm not going to be difficult for you, I'll go to the colonel and talk to it myself. ”

As soon as he turned around, he saw Elder walking towards them with a few navy blue sailor uniforms.

He distributed the clothes to the three of them, and said as he sent them: "The most taboo thing about fighting at sea is that the clothes look different, and many senior officers of the Royal Navy have been shot out because they are reluctant to take off their epaulettes and uniforms." That's why Colonel Fitzroy sent me to change your clothes. By the way, if you start fighting in a while, you should remember to put it back, or you will be shot in the head, but don't blame me for not reminding you. ”

Arthur, however, was unimpressed, and he pulled Eldra in front of him and asked, "Go and get me a sailor and get me some more bandages along the way." ”

"What are you going to do?" Elder said with a wary face: "Arthur, don't come nonsense! I know you know a little bit about swordsmanship, but actual combat and practice are two different things. You can put the gun in the back later. ”

Arthur didn't refute either, he just asked, "I didn't plan to rush to the opponent's ship, but what if they did?" ”

"This ......" Elder pondered for a moment, and he took a deep breath, "It's still your thoughtfulness!" How did I forget about this stubble! No, not only do I have to get one for you, but I have to go to the armory and get one myself! ”

Elder hurried to the deck to chat with the quartermaster, and then saw him take a bunch of keys from the other man's hand, and it wasn't long before he ran back with Darwin with a pile of weapons.

"Charles, you're scared of a fart! Haven't you ever been a doctor? If he dares to rush over, you will amputate him, amputate all four limbs! ”

"You're light! Can he lie on the operating table as obediently as a patient? Moreover, even if it is a patient, if the alcohol is not drunk properly, it will struggle to the death. Pressing him on the operating table is no easier than knocking down a donkey! ”

Elder couldn't talk to him, so he had to change the subject: "Arthur, I brought you the knife." ”

However, Arthur did not take the weapon from Elder first, but instead picked up the bandage that Elder had caught under his armpit.

He took off the leather gloves on his left hand, revealing the calloused palm from practicing swordsmanship, and then wrapped the bandage tightly around the palm of his hand.

"What are you doing here?" Elder was puzzled when he saw Arthur's movements: "Bandage in advance?" Save a little bit of effort? ”

However, at this time, the Marine Corps commander, who happened to be passing by, pinched his chin and looked at Arthur with interest.

He asked, "Do you know half-swordsmanship?" ”

"Half-swordsmanship?" Elder knew that the commander was a man obsessed with swordsmanship, and he hurriedly asked, "Wrapping a bandage is half-swordsmanship?" What kind of swordsmanship is this half-swordsmanship? ”

The commander of the Marine Corps didn't answer Elder either, but just smiled and raised his eyebrows: "Young man, if you don't practice half swordsmanship well, you will be a fancy shelf, and you will be easily injured." Don't lose your life for being handsome, it's not worth it. ”

When Arthur heard this, he looked up at him and smiled.

"Although my practice is average, it should be enough to deal with a few slave traders."

"Oh...... It seems that he really has some ability! The commander laughed, he took off the officer's sword at his waist and threw it at Arthur: "In that case, this sword is for you to use, you use half swordsmanship, and you can't use your full strength to play with the sword." ”

Arthur was not polite, he took the officer's sword, and drew it out of its sheath with a choked sound, and the shredded stubble on his chin was clearly illuminated by the shiny blade.

"It's a good sword."

The commander grinned, "All that's left is to see if it's worthy of a good guy." ”

Just as the two were greeting, the foremast observer above their heads suddenly shrank their pupils, and he carefully observed with a telescope for a long time, and then he shouted behind him with certainty: "Attention everyone!" Two unidentified ships were found in the sea in the direction of 15 degrees south-east! ”

Colonel Fitzroy yelled, "Two ships? Did you sail in a group? ”

The observer hand checked it again with the binocular, and after holding it for a long time, he said, "It's not like it!" They're too close to each other, aren't they afraid of colliding into each other? And...... Wait, damn it! What the hell is going on between the two ships? It looks like they have a shipboard between each other. ”

(End of chapter)