Author's note: An updated edition of this book has been republished in three books UNDERCOVER - DARK FIRE DATA, CURIOUSERS and STEAM POWER.
It's Christmas and the school's time machine malfunctions, sending us to 1778 CE where we are press-gan...
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We were still talking when the ship's bell rang eight times. Alfie told us that meant it was eight o'clock and time for burgoo. We followed as he raced down to the gun deck, pulled down a narrow table and two benches from the deck beams overhead. He fitted one end of the table into the side of the ship above a gun, the other end hung from the beam by two ropes. He pulled out a box from a niche in the side of the ship, gave us each a wooden plate, tin cup and a wooden spoon and raced off to the galley as the rest of the crew arrived and prepared for breakfast. Denny arrived, cursing his sore knees and the bruises on his head from hitting against the deck beams, just as Alfie returned with a pot balanced on piece of wood which served as a tray. The burgoo looked like a watery soup with a few crushed seeds floating in it. Alfie made Denny turn his back while he slopped the burgoo into the tin bowls. Denny had to call out our name so that everyone got a fair, if not equal, share.
Denny tasted it first and pulled a face. 'I wouldn't recommend eating this. It's oatmeal gruel boiled in unspeakable ships water. The old hands call it abominable burgoo.'
Licia, Miguel and I refused to drink it after the first sip but Alfie finished his bowl and swallowed ours as if he hadn't eaten for a week.
'I don't understand,' Licia said. 'We just left port. Surely the food and water should be fresh.'
'Nah,' Alfie laughed around his spoon. 'Admiralty regulations. The oldest food 'as to be used first and the water casks were taken out of a wreck and filled from the river so it still smells. A few months in the barrels and it will smell sweeter.'
We all must have looked glum because Denny said, 'Never mind,' and then he started to sing. 'I joined the navy to see the world. And what did I see? I saw the sea.'
Then Miguel told Denny about the rot and Licia showed him the mushroom. Denny decided to take a look. 'Who knows, they might be the only edible thing on this ship.'
We all followed Licia down to the hold. On the way we passed a group of sailors holding the man with the mop hat down on a bench. One of them was pouring a liquid into his mouth while another prepare to extract a tooth with a large pair of pliers. Denny explained that the carpenter's mate was the ship's dentist because only he had the pincers, and the only anaesthetic available was rum.
In the hold, Denny pushed his knife into the wood. It went in easily so he tried again in several other places. 'Dry rot!' He exclaimed. 'This ship is going to disintegrate in the first bit of rough weather. I think we'd better tell Lieutenant Shovelle.'
'What the devil are you doing with my firkins!' Mr Bright's sharp voice demanded. We looked around to see his head peering at us upside down from the hatchway. He slithered down the stairs and squinted at us through a pair of pince-nez eye glasses clipped precariously to the end of his nose.
'Nothing, Mr Bright,' Licia said. 'Mr Vernier is checking for leaks. He thinks we have dry rot.'
'Dry rot?' Mr Bright exclaimed. 'I've been saving it for supper. Heh, heh, heh. But, don't let Harpetzoon Tromp hear you say that. '
