On the High Seas, an Irish Odyssey, Second in a Series

By Lincoln Beals

It's the end of August, 1851. 'On the High Seas' is a fast moving and exciting story showcasing resiliency, faith, mutual support and triumph over life threatening events. After being forced from their farms, their homes and their beloved Ireland by draconian laws imposed by the English Crown, religious persecution and failure of their potato crops, these fictitious Irish families, the O'Donnell's and Brian O'Boyle (introduced in 'Take the High Road'), face one challenge after another, during the two month voyage from Derry in Ireland to Baltimore in the United States. A spy of the Crown threatens to make a bad trip even worse.
They are crowded into the filthy, disease ridden steerage of a three masted sailing ship with more than one hundred other emigrant families. They face one challenge after another during the voyage and demonstrate their resiliency, deep faith and willingness to make a new start in America.
Their heroic responses, against all odds, in the face of disease, storms at sea and near starvation set examples for all of us. Guardian angels watch over them and offer support and guidance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lincoln Beals
• Release date: Aug 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311321510

Lincoln Beals

Lincoln has been told many times; “you should write a book.” But busy in his 40 year career as a psychotherapist, time and energy were not available. He is a graduate of Wheaton College in Illinois and the UCLA School of Social Welfare. He maintains state licensure as a Clinical Social Worker and as a Marriage and Family Therapist.Lincoln taught for seven years in the California State University system and four years at two California Community Colleges where he taught courses in substance abuse prevention and Native American wellness. He was a pre-licensure candidate examiner for ten years for the California Marriage and Family Therapist Examining Board. Lincoln was in private practice for 22 years and served in state mental hospitals, prisons and a Native American community clinic. He volunteered his services on the boards of directors of several community mental health and substance abuse treatment agencies, the California Society for Clinical Social Work and the Solano Partnership Against Violence.Most recently, Lincoln provided counseling to military members and their families on military installations in Alaska, Germany and California, where he won commendations and awards for his service.Now, in retirement, time and motivation are both available and with the help of mentors, support of his soul-mate wife and the grace of God, his first book of the Irish Odyssey series is complete.Lincoln is married and lives with his wife in Fairfield, California.

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On the High Seas

An Irish Odyssey

Smashwords Edition

A Novel

Second of a Series

By Lincoln Beals

website: www.lincolnbeals.com

email: [e-mail]

Text Copyright © 2015 Lincoln Beals

Cover Art by Sister Julie Stephens, MMJC

Edited by Nancy Beals, MMJC

All Rights Reserved

This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locations are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity and are used fictitiously. All characters, incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination.

Guardian angels play an important role in On the High Seas, as they do in each of the Irish Odyssey Series books. They appear in dreams, as apparitions, and, as always, they are watching from the background.

Any errors or omissions are the sole responsibility of the author.

Note: For ease of reading, dialogue is written in modern American English.

In the first book of the series, Take the High Road, an Irish Odyssey, fictitious characters, the O’Donnell family, Liam, Sarah, Paddy, Bridgid and Brian O’Boyle, come alive on the pages as they struggle against famine, disease, cold weather and draconian laws. Despite trials and setbacks, their faith, guidance from their guardian angels and deeply rooted Irish resiliency gives them courage and wisdom to carry on. The way they live, day to day, in facing and solving their problems sets an example for all people everywhere. The setting is in County Donegal, Ireland during the unusually cold month of August, 1851.

On the High Seas picks up the story where Take the High Road ends."

For more information or to obtain a copy of Take the High Road, an Irish Odyssey, go to my website: www.lincolnbeals.com

L&N Publishing

2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Treachery

Chapter 2 All Aboard

Chapter 3 Bunk Assignments

Chapter 4 Steerage

Chapter 5 First Night Aboard

Chapter 6 Blue Water Sailing

Chapter 7 Washing Dishes

Chapter 8 At the Necessary Bucket

Chapter 9 Fury of the Sea

Chapter 10 A Child is Born

Chapter 11 Aftermath

Chapter 12 Father McFadden and Captain Cole

Chapter 13 Storm Damage

Chapter 14 A Miracle

Chapter 15 Funeral Preparations

Chapter 16 Committed to the Deep

Chapter 17 Porridge Break

Chapter 18 Brian’s Lament

Chapter 19 The Captain’s Wrath

Chapter 20 Patrick Duffy’s Dream

Chapter 21 The Daily Routine

Chapter 22 An English Spy?

Chapter 23 Man Overboard

Chapter 24 Fish Stew

Chapter 25 Finola’s Dream

Chapter 26 Begging for Mercy

Chapter 27 Mr. Crump and Sarah

Chapter 28 Relief for the Sick

Chapter 29 Conditions Improving

Chapter 30 Rumors of a Spy

Chapter 31 Sarah Intervenes

Chapter 32 Land Ho!

Chapter 33 Liam and Patrick Duffy

Chapter 34 A Spy Unmasked

Chapter 35 Conley’s Epiphany

Chapter 36 Peace of Mind

Chapter 37 The Captain’s Justice

Chapter 38 What about Conley?

Chapter 39 Caught off Guard

Chapter 40 Liam’s Offer

Chapter 41 The Mysterious Fog

Chapter 42 Almost Smooth Sailing

Acknowledgements

About the Author

On the High Seas, an Irish ODYSSEY

CHAPTER 1

Treachery

Bridgid had spotted the boy they were looking for sitting on a pyramid of barrels that awaited loading aboard MOHONGO. Now, Liam was searching for him and, sure enough, there he was, still sitting atop the barrels. As he pressed through the milling crowd, still looking up, the sun’s reflection from an upstairs window caught the corner of his eye. As he moved to change the angle of the sun’s reflection, he saw two men standing at a second floor window looking down on the wharf. The taller man was elegantly dressed, bearded and was smoking a cigar. The other man, of a more compact build, wore a suit that had seen its better days. The taller man was talking, obviously giving orders. The other man nodded in agreement. Curious, diverted momentarily from his main task, Liam watched the men in the upper window. He thought, I wish I could hear what they’re saying. As he was wondering, the shorter man looked down and spied Liam staring at him. For a few seconds they locked eyes. Uncomfortable at being caught, Liam averted his eyes and looked away. He returned to his task of looking for the boy. He soon forgot his curiosity and his disquieting eye contact with the shabby little man.

In the second floor office, the two men were conversing.

Mr. McNaughton was a wealthy Belfast linen merchant and absentee landlord. His appearance spoke volumes of self-assured arrogance and power. As a loyal agent of the Crown, he was proud of himself because he was directly responsible for the emigration of most of the passengers waiting on the wharf. His manipulations were the cause of their being forcibly relocated to America.

Imperiously, he addressed the shorter man, Now Conley, I’ll go over this one more time. You are to tell people you are from Castlebar in County Mayo. Most of the passengers are from County Donegal with a few from Derry and Sligo. OK? People on the ship won’t know Castlebar, so they won’t be suspicious. Repeat to me what you’ll say when they ask you where you’re from.

Aye, sir, I’ll tell ‘em I was a clerk for the landlord. He accused me of stealing from him and if I stayed in Castlebar, he would’ve had me thrown in jail.

They’ll ask you if you did it. And what will you say?

Oh no, I never stole a farthing.

Grand.

Pausing, Mr. McNaughton gave his last official letter of passage to Conley. It granted the right to travel aboard MOHONGO to a single male named Patrick Duffy from Castlebar, County Mayo.

Conley accepted the letter of passage, looked at it, frowned and said, Mr. McNaughton, sir, this isn’t for me. It’s for Patrick Duffy. I’m Conley.

Conley, sometimes it’s not a good idea to ask questions.

Aye, sir.

"But I’ll tell you anyway and let this be a warning. I originally chose Patrick Duffy to do my bidding and go on this voyage. He was to stir up trouble among the passengers. The bloke refused me. Can you believe that? He said it wasn’t right. He even threatened me. He said he’d go to the McCorkell offices and tell them of my plot. He thought he could defy me and get away with it.

Pausing, to let his words sink in, he emphasized Duffy’s fate. Poor slime. He met a sad and untimely end.

Continuing, he said, "Oh, well, that’s all water under the bridge. I believe in you, Conley, and that’s why I’ve chosen you to take his place. You’re now the new Patrick Duffy. You have always obeyed me and I know you won’t disappoint me now.

Remember, what you must do during the voyage is to stir up distrust and confusion. Spread lies and gossip. Criticize them falsely. Make the passengers turn against the Captain and crew and, more important, against each other. Now, get down there and show your letter of passage to the McCorkell Line agent and go aboard. I’m depending on you to make the voyage miserable. Don’t forget, you’re to start them fighting among themselves.

Nervously and somewhat fearful, Conley nodded agreement and held the letter of passage between two fingers as if he feared it would catch fire.

Mr. McNaughton withdrew a sealed envelope from his inside coat pocket. When you arrive in Baltimore, show this other letter to my agent there. He’ll reward you handsomely for your service to the Crown. But let no one on the ship see it. If you lose it or show it to anyone, the jig will be up.

With that, Mr. McNaughton handed him the sealed envelope, pivoted smartly on his heel and was gone. Conley, now known as Patrick Duffy, left the upstairs office and set out, obediently, to do as he was told.

Chapter 2

All Aboard

A scolding, squawking, squealing gull sat on a piling only a few feet away from Brian while he stood, hunched over, petrified by fear, clinging for dear life to the railing at the bottom of the gangway. His face was contorted and his eyes were clenched shut. Time stood still. He tried to hold back, but his bowels and bladder let go, anyway.

Family members and well-wishers were crowded together on the wharf, waiting there for the ship to begin its voyage. They tossed kisses and flowers to their departing families and friends who were waving their tearful goodbyes from the ship’s railing. Only those nearest the gangway could see that it was Brian who was keeping the ship from moving. The rushing tide flowing under the hull urged the great ship to begin its ride down the lough and out into the North Sea.

The crew waited nervously, at the ready, for the Captain’s order to cast off. But Brian’s fears had stopped everything.

Captain Cole, at the helm of the ship’s gigantic wheel, scowled as he silently watched the scene at the bottom of the gangway, thinking, What a wretched way to begin a voyage! This fiasco predicts nothing but bad luck ahead!

Irritated by the delay, the Captain, in his shrill, high-pitched voice, screamed at the dock workers, Get that boy aboard or we’ll cast off without him. The tide is beginning to run. We need to cast off, NOW!

A dock worker shouted, Aye, sir.

Brian (pronounced Bree-en) was still frozen in place at the bottom of the gangway. He didn’t hear the scolding gull. He didn’t hear the Captain’s demands. He didn’t hear Mr. O’Donnell calling him to come aboard. He didn’t even feel his own heart thumping wildly in his chest or the dampness in his new clothes. His senses told him that the rolling motion of the gangway, first sideways, then up, and down again placed him in mortal danger. He couldn’t trust the ground beneath his feet. He was convinced that he would die right there, at the bottom of the gangway. His worst fears were coming true. The movement under his feet warned him, with certainty, that the earth was about to swallow him up. He clung to the rail with both hands holding fast with his arms locked at his elbows. He was no more able to move his body than the wood carved figurehead on the bow of the ship could leave her place.

Never mind that when he stepped onto the wharf, a few hours ago, he had left solid ground. But, unlike the gangway, the wharf didn’t move under his feet. And now, the burdens of guilt and deeply buried memories that he had carried valiantly, but kept hidden, all at once, came alive: the failure of the potato crops, the terrible fever that took his family and left him orphaned, eviction from the only home he’d ever known. Everything! But Brian still didn’t move. His body was like an ice statue, frozen in place.

Liam left his place on board with Sarah and Bridgid and descended to the foot of the gangway. He reached out and ever so gently touched Brian’s left sleeve, just below the elbow. Brian sensed that he was being touched, rather than actually feeling it. But Liam’s soft touch broke the spell. For an instant, Brian thought he had died and was being touched by his guardian angel. He relaxed his death grip on the railing.

Though only a few inches away from his ear, Liam’s voice seemed to come from somewhere far, far away. Softly coaxing him, Mr. O’Donnell said, It’s OK, you’ll be OK now. Take hold of my hand.

With eyes still shut, he allowed Mr.O’Donnell’s hand to move down his forearm and grasp his left hand. Mr. O’Donnell’s hand in his felt reassuring, comforting, so he loosened his other hand from the rail and felt safe enough to allow him to lead him up the gangway. Protected by Mr.O’Donnell’s strong presence, he was able to disregard the gangway’s movement under his feet and after only a few steps they were on the level surface of the deck. The ship rocked lightly on the ebbing current flowing under the hull, but not as much as the gangway.

The Captain, seeing that Brian was safely aboard, gave the order to cast off. As soon as the ship was free of the heavy restraining lines, MOHONGO settled a bit and began riding the outgoing tide that moved her smoothly along, past the town of Derry and toward the open sea.

Remnants of terror still wracked Brian’s body. He trembled uncontrollably. When he opened his eyes and looked up he saw Mr. O’Donnell smiling. He hadn’t regained his ability to speak, but his eyes said, Thank you!

Quietly, Mr.O’Donnell said, We all must face our fears at one time or another, my boy. Better sooner than later. Don’t you agree?

Brian nodded in agreement, but he only partly heard and didn’t comprehend at all what Mr.O’Donnell said.

Mr.O’Donnell noticed Brian’s hesitation and understood. He thought, He doesn’t understand a word I said. He doesn’t know any English. He rephrased his words into Irish Gaelic. Relieved and with a weak smile of understanding, Brian nodded again.

His knees were wobbling so much that they barely held him up. Mr.O’Donnell maintained a firm grip on his hand and they joined Sarah and Bridgid at the front of the crowd of passengers gathered around the main mast looking up at the quarter deck where Captain Cole stood at the helm. Sarah felt his distress and put her arm around Brian’s shoulder offering him what comfort she could, but he barely felt her touch. His head was still spinning. Brian’s reality was shattered. First the wharf, with the teeming crowd and flurries of activity. More people than he ever imagined. Then, the great ship with her tall masts piercing the sky, taller than any trees and, finally, the movement of the gangway. The very thought of it made him dizzy. There were no experiences in his memory to which he could attach any of this. Even in his wildest dreams or vivid imagination he couldn’t have concocted any of this. All of his ‘reference points’ for what was real were left back at the little potato farm on a Donegal hillside. Nothing about this new world made any sense. His natural curiosity failed him. Too much was flooding his exhausted brain. Everything happening around him was strange, foreign, unpredictable. He retreated into himself again and, for a few seconds, regretted ever agreeing to join the O’Donnell’s. Nothing made any sense and he just shut down. Intense shaking wracked his whole body, making things worse.

His overworked brain gave up. He was having a meltdown. He was fainting and his legs began to give way. Sarah kept him from falling and helped him to gently lie down onto the deck. She thought, He’s much lighter than Paddy.

She closed her eyes and a picture flashed across her mind. She saw herself crouching at the edge of a country high road cradling her dying son, Paddy, in her arms. A tremor of grief swept through her body. So much had happened. She could hardly believe that only a day and a half had passed since Paddy was thrown from their cart and landed head first on a rock that smashed his skull. So suddenly, his young life was snuffed out. And then, another picture materialized. She saw him laid out in his coffin at the Long Tower Church. It had been this very morning that he was buried. The graveside service in the Long Tower Churchyard seemed so long ago. She felt a vast emptiness in her chest. Part of her would forever be buried there with Paddy in that churchyard cemetery. She thought as she cradled Brian down onto the deck, I miss Paddy so much. I wish he were here with us, not Brian.

A twinge of guilt passed through her body. She opened her eyes and gathered herself together, dismissed that thought and prayed. As had been her habit since childhood, when she became sad or confused, she would always say a prayer. This time, she offered a short prayer thanking God for the years Paddy had been with her and Liam and that Paddy was now safe in heaven. She added a prayer for Brian, thankful for being able to help him. She looked down at him, lying at her feet and noticed that he had stopped trembling.

Lying there, on the deck, momentarily unconscious, he was mercifully relieved from his panic. He was relaxed and no longer afraid of the strangeness of everything and the pitching and rolling of the ship. As he lay there, oblivious to the world around him he dreamed and thought, Where’s Augie when I need him?

I’m right here, my friend, I’m always here. While you’re resting, we can have a little talk. It’ll be like a dream that you will vividly remember. OK?

Brian dreamed. He and Augie were standing at the bow of the ship. The day was clear, crisp and bright. The wind blew in from the northeast filling the sails and driving the ship forward at a good clip.

Without any spoken words, Augie communicated with him in his Irish language: "Brian, with Liam’s help, you faced and defeated your worst fears. You came aboard and as you’ve noticed, everything’s different. Potato farming is gone forever. You’re leaving Ireland, very likely, never to return. You have a new name and a new family. You are now on a voyage to a new life. I was with you at the cottage and I am with you now. I’ll never leave your side. You’ve been tested and tried and your God-given strength has allowed you to triumph. I know that you are overwhelmed by all that’s new. But, you don’t need to be afraid. God is with you. I am with you and the O’Donnell’s will love you as a son and see to it that you are fed and clothed.

When you awaken, your fears and panic will have disappeared. While aboard MOHONGO, I urge you to use your time wisely. You will not have to search for physical food like you did during the ‘Great Hunger.’ There will be plenty to eat. The time it takes to cross the ocean will give you an opportunity to learn many things and thereby gain knowledge that will be very useful in America. Mental and spiritual food will be offered to you in abundance. During the voyage, people will approach you and offer to teach you new things. My advice is to take advantage of every offer and absorb every bit of knowledge and wisdom offered to you. Some things may seem irrelevant or even useless. But, take my word, everything will be useful, somewhere and at some time in your future.

A final word: the voyage will be full of distractions from your goal. Some distractions will be so appealing that they will be almost impossible to resist. If you stay focused and open to new learning, you will succeed.

Then Augie was gone. The dream ended.

Sarah noticed Brian’s eyes fluttering and opening. As he looked up, he saw Sarah’s look of concern. He smiled, and said, Oh, Mrs. O’Donnell, I had the most beautiful vision.

I’m so glad. Do you feel better now?

He nodded, Yes. I do. Mr. O’Donnell reached down and helped him to his feet and steadied him with a comforting arm around his shoulder.

CHAPTER 3

Bunk Assignments

Liam O’Donnell, taller than most, looked over the heads of the other passengers who would be sharing the steerage with him and his family for, perhaps, the next two months. The passengers, on the deck of MOHONGO, were crowded between the main mast and the steps leading up to the quarter deck. They had divided themselves into two distinct groups, loosely formed and obviously dependent on their manner of dress which reflected their station in life. The better dressed passengers, in one group, were speaking English and the raggedy peasant farmer families spoke in Irish Gaelic, with only a few words of English scattered here and there. Liam and his family stood alone, front and center, not identifying with either group. He estimated that about 125 passengers were aboard, plenty for MOHONGO, but not crowded together like the ‘coffin ships’ that packed 500 passengers into an area designed for no more than 150.

In the crowd, Liam saw the familiar faces of six families from their parish in Letterkenny, all Catholics. They were middle class craftsmen and merchants, like himself. Silently, he mused, "I suspect that Mr. Hodgen, at the bank, told them, like he told me that, as Catholics, they would be shunned and no longer be able to do