"I want all the Briganza wine that side." "Bordeaux, that goes that side." "Whatever you do, don't get them mixed up." "Aye, sir." "Aye, well..." "These old barrels, you can dump them outside." "While you're about it, you can give the walls a lick of whitewash." " James." " Yes, sir." "James, why have I been summoned here this morning?" " I've got things to do, you know." " Well, now, what you think of it, eh?" "Think of what?" "Our new warehouse for our wine trade." "Our new ware..." "You can't be serious." "I know, I know, times are bad, but that's why I've got her so cheap." "And I shall want you to sign the lease." "Is that today's?" "Uh, yes, it is, there's a notice of something." "MM-hmm." "Well, I don't expect it will be there." "I imagine they'll devote a couple of paragraphs to it somewhere." " Nothing." " Nothing?" "I was assured the speech was well received." "No mention of the Oberon." "She was sighted off the Scillies and then nothing." " What's the matter with The Oberon?" " It's overdue, that's what." "There's been two ships lost in that storm already." "What storm?" "Oh, Robert, aren't you aware of what's going on in the world around you?" "There's been a terrific storm on the west coast for the last three days." " I know, I'm quite well aware of that." "All that you're aware of, it seems to me is..." "Listen, James, what you don't realise is that I've got other things on my mind." "Matters of national importance." " Politics?" " Yes, politics." "Parliament is the pulse of this nation, the heart of it." "And kept alive by the sea and the ships that sail on it." "James, I'm quite aware that shipping is going through a bad time at the moment." "In fact, that was the content of my speech." "It must be here somewhere." "Yes, here it is." ""Mr Robert Onedin, member for Liverpool," ""made a plea for seamen's rights in the shipping debate."" "Not exactly a major speech, is it?" "Arthur!" "Arthur, tell Mr Carter I'll be up immediately." "Yes, sir." "The Oberon, you say." "She's an old ship." "Who's captain?" "Baines." "Hmm, he's not as young as he was either." "I can quite see why you're worried, James." "Poor Baines." "Oh, rubbish, it's the cargo that I'm worried about." "Land ashore!" "Frazer's have built her." "She's just completing her sea trials now." "She's all fitted out and ready for sail." " When?" " By the first of the month." "Could be earlier." " Rate?" " £2.10 a ton." "Well, that is the current rate for steel, sir." "What do you propose?" " Mr Onedin." " Mr Matthews." " Textiles to Boston!" " Oh, when?" "By May 20th." "Well, you'd better see my agent on the exchange." "I conduct my business where I choose, Onedin." "Are you interested?" " Well, sir?" " £1.50." " Say, that's sailing ship rates, sir." " What ship, Onedin?" "The Oberon." "She's just berthing." "I want it delivered on time." "Ah, well, let me have it by next week." "You can't guarantee it with a sailing ship, Mr Onedin." "Don't you have a steamer?" "I thought the Anne Onedin was due next week." "Ah, well, she's already committed." "Bound for South Africa." " Mining equipment for David Parry?" " Aye." "You'd better get some steam ships, Onedin, otherwise you'll fall behind." "My pub, Wells!" "I'm late." "But Mr Mathews!" "The order is yours, Briggs, if you can sail by the first of the month." "Get the old hatch covers off!" "Look lively!" " Mr Baines?" " Coming, sir." "Now." "We had a hard time of it off the Scillies, sir." " What other damage to the ship?" " The galley." "Cook should've had more sense, trying to make me a plum pudding in a gale like that." "I mean to the ship." "We haven't had a chance to get underneath her yet, but we was pumping all the way." "Repairs could take a bit of time." "Yeah, well, we've got plenty of that." "Outward cargos are getting hard to find." "They're all going to the steamships." "We have seen it coming, sir." "I'm giving you a ship to carry 1,000 tons of cargo at 10 knots, with a room enough for coal to see it to America and back." "Do you want her now or do you want her right?" "I want both." "I've just had an order from Matthews to take textiles to Boston, but she has to sail on the first." "I can promise nothing." "If only you'd started these sea trials earlier." "She was only launched six weeks ago, man." "And that was three months later than you promised." "How is my next ship coming on?" "They should start plating the top straight tomorrow." "Is that all?" "I came to Liverpool because I understood you were the best steamship builder in the country." "If I am, it's because I place soundness of construction before speed of delivery." "You could do both, if you stopped building sailing ships." "That barque out there on those stocks, who wants a sailing barque these days?" "There are still a few owners about who prefer to put their trust in the forces of nature rather than the caprices of machines." " I am not one of them." " You could come to regret that." "So far, I've only two ships, both steamers." "On a nice, safe mail run, the Caledonia would be my third." "If she can carry textiles on her maiden voyage for a big shipper like Matthews," "I'll be well on my way." "I can only promise to do my best." " That's not enough." " That's all you'll get, lad." "Then henceforth, I shall place my orders with a shipyard that has the same faith in the future as I have." "Our own line is largely steamships nowadays." "Frazer's has always been in the forefront of steamship development." "You will not stay long in the forefront, Mr Frazer, if you deliver six months late and seek to hedge your bets by keeping half your yard on sailing ships." " Good morning, Mr Hallam." " Good morning, ma'am." "I believe a Mr Harvey has signed on the Princess Alexandra." "Yes, ma'am, Mr Harvey was working for your brother." "And for the Onedin Line." "And now he's working for us, wise man." "The Princess Alexandra sails today, of course?" "Yes, ma'am, she's already left her berth." "Oh." " What do you want, Elizabeth?" " Who was that?" "You've started coming in here at the same hour every morning." "Can't you see I've work to do." "Can't you see that whenever I come in, you tend to have less to do by the time I leave?" " Who was that pretty, young man?" " The ship owner, Henry Briggs." "He had the effrontery to suggest I should give up building sailers and devote more time to steamers, for him." "So you should." "Well, haven't I been telling you for weeks?" "Stop work on the barque and put everything you've got into steamers." "You can't turn carpenters into riveters overnight." "No, but you could make a start overnight." "The banks would finance you, with your reputation." "You could double the capacity of the iron yard." "Poke your nose into my shipping line affairs if you must, Elizabeth, but you'll kindly leave the shipyard side to me." "The two go together." "The Frazer Line could do with a new steamship." "It ought to be laid down now." "This clamour for steamships won't last, believe me." "Ask your brother." "James?" "He hasn't ordered any new steamships, has he?" "I'm sure he wishes he had now." " What do you mean?" " Something I heard." "Poor brother James is in for a shock." "Uh..." "No reply." "I've had a look at her, sir." "And she ought rightly to go into dry dock." "Aside from the gale damage, her bottom needs recoppering." "She must sail next week." "With mining equipment for Cape Town." "Using the Anne Onedin on that run, sir?" "She's laid up in Cork with a burst boiler." "His only steamship." "That'll take weeks to put right in Ireland." "Your brother was counting on the Anne Onedin for his Africa contract." " What was that?" " Mining equipment." "David Parry." " I wonder who'll get that now." " Hmm..." "Well, I'll leave you to your work." "While you still have some." "Mr Parry, you let me have that cargo early next week and she can still get there on time." "On a sailing vessel, is it?" "Well, the Oberon's fast." "With Captain Baines in command, why, she can get there with a fortnight to spare." "You are the only owner I ever met who can guarantee delivery on a given date just by relying on the wind." "Well, maybe I know more about the winds and the abilities of my masters than most." "Get yourself another steamboat, Onedin, and don't waste my time." "I'll take sixpence a ton off the price for every day that she's late." "You do want the job, don't you?" "The Onedin Line can compete with steamers any day." "And you think there might be other business I could put in your way?" "Well, you are the agent for a lot of mines." "I'll think over your offer, Mr Onedin." "Hmm, well, you have until4:00 this afternoon." "After that, I shall go looking for other cargos." "I need hardly hurry much on that account." "If I have to go by sailing ship, there are plenty lying idle." "What?" "For £1.15 a ton and a heavy demurrage charge." "You'll not too better than that, Mr Parry." "Oh, dear!" "Are you exceedingly busy, Mr Parry?" "Mrs Frazer, what a pleasant surprise." " James." " Hmm, Elizabeth." "You're wife isn't at home, Mr Parry, and she offered to help at the sale of work I'm doing on Friday." "Am I interrupting important business?" "Not at all, Mrs Frazer, your brother is just leaving." "You'll find me on the Oberon." "So sorry to hear about the Anne Onedin, James." "I do hope you weren't depending on her." "Six pence a ton off the rate for every day you're late, that should work out to..." "Let's see." "Around £25 a day." "Yeah, well, it's your business." "The risk is negligible, if I sail on Thursday." "Now Baines has got all the men he can muster doing the repairs." "She needs repairs?" "So when you re-vittle her, have someone check the inventory, will you?" "Don't want her sailing ill-equipped on this voyage." "Yeah, well, you better see my man about that." "I leave all the chandlery business to him these days." " Robert, this is important!" " Look, I've got a train to catch." "I'm off to Westminster." "Now where is my watch?" "Oh, we are supplying two of Frazer's steamships, if we can't fit in the Oberon." "You'll deal in the Onedin Line matters before Frazer's, brother Robert." "I'll do no such thing." "We're an independent business now, and if it was ever thought that we had favourites..." " Favours?" " Yes, favourites." "This is family, isn't it?" "Well, maybe it is." "But we cannot afford to offend the steamship lines." "If a chandlery business cannot give them the service that they expect, then there's plenty of others that will soon enough." "Oberon sails on Thursday." "Yes, and parliament resumes on Thursday, with all this labour unrest." "Look, just see to it that she's properly stocked and vittled for the voyage to Cape Town." "It's time you broaden your horizons, James." "Look, there'll be a general election within the next year, you mark my words." "Trade unions increase every day." "And if there's any more attempts of fomenting strikes as they did last winter..." "We stand at a watershed." "The very basis of our constitution is at stake." "Catch." " Hey, you could've broken it!" " Don't want to miss your train, do you?" "Barnaby!" "What you gan' about, man, joining that?" "Pay is good, sir." "And no Captain Baines, neither." "But you're a seaman, not a coal heaver." "Well, she's a boat, isn't she?" "For all that." "The Oberon sails next week." "If there's any seaman amongst you," "I'll have places for you." "Six pence a ton off his price for every day he's late?" "And sailing rates at that?" "It shows Onedin's confidence, doesn't it?" "Shows how desperate he is." "What rate would you be asking, then, if I wanted it to go by steamer?" "Oh, a lot more than James Onedin." "Steamships can afford to pick and choose." "Besides, I don't know if we'll have a ship yet." "Then I'd better get along to see Onedin." "I said I'd let him know by four o'clock." "After all, if he can get the cargo there on time and a deal more cheaply than you." "It'll be a small consolation to your principals in Africa if the cargo doesn't arrive on time, no matter how cheaply it's carried." "So what is your price then?" "Gold mines, diamond mines." "The more they open up, the more equipment they need." "I'll not leave it all for Frazer." "But it's steamer trade, for all that, sir." "Well, I'll not be content with the leftovers." "Coal for the bunkering stations, to feed the steamers." "There's more in it than that, sir." "I mean, there's plenty of boat cargo to bring back that there's no rush for." "Aye." "Aye, less and less outward." "Manufactured goods that customers abroad want on time." "Aye, well, it goes against the grain for an old sea dog like me to say it, sir, but..." "But what?" "I think that you ought rightly to buy yourself some steamers." "If we do it, and I don't know yet if we'll have a ship, but if we do, we'd want an option on the carriage of any further consignments." " For how long?" " Hmm, six months." "Oh, dear I do seem to be interrupting rather a lot today, don't I?" "What is it now, Elizabeth?" " The charming Mr Briggs is here again." " What does he want now?" "Did you manage to have a word with your wife, Mr Parry?" "I did, Mrs Frazer." "She'll consider it an honour" " to be of help to you on Friday." " How kind!" "Mrs Frazer called on us this morning, about a sale of work." "Did she now?" "Well, yes, she's becoming quite an expert on the selling of work." " What shall I tell Mr Briggs?" " Tell him to wait." "And while you're out there, ask Mr Hallam in the office if we have a steamer due in the next three weeks." "Well, there's the Prince Edward." "She docks on the 8th." "I asked her captain to get me some fans from Hong Kong." "So difficult to get the genuine article here." "That's how I know when she's due." "Mr Parry wants to know if we can send her to Cape Town with mining equipment." "Oh, dear, Mr Briggs wants to know if he can charter her from us." " Charter her?" " Come in, Mr Briggs." "It seems as if I've spoken out of turn again, I'm afraid." "Charter a ship from us?" "Daniel Matthews has somehow got word that you can't guarantee the Caledonia by the first." "How did he hear that?" "So, unless you can, the least you can do is let me have a ship in its place." "Well, unfortunately the Prince Edward isn't available after all, Mr Briggs." "It seems we've accepted an order for Mr Parry, here, to send her to Cape Town." "At £2.10 a ton freight rate?" "I would not pay that amount, Mrs Frazer, if options are required." "Oh, well, you can have it after all, Mr Briggs." "I'm so pleased for you." " Just a minute, Elizabeth." " Have I said something wrong?" "Well, perhaps my brother James has a steamer." "Oh, but the Anne Onedin is broken down and with steamers so very busy just at the moment..." "Oh, very well, £2.10 a ton with a six-month option." "Elizabeth, perhaps you'd take Mr Parry to the marine superintendent," " have him draw up the contract." " Of course." "It's so very kind of your wife to offer to help on Friday, Mr Parry." "It's an extremely good cause..." "So, where do I stand, hmm?" "I've lost a chance of getting in with the biggest textile shipper in the north just because you can't supply my new ship on time." "Have you any idea, young man, of the engineering that goes into a vessel like that?" " No." "Have you?" " Of course I have." " Then why can't you get her working?" " I shall." " In God's good time." " I wanted it in my time." "Until we can get steel at an acceptable price, there will always be problems to get sufficient pressure from iron-made boilers" " without the risk of them blowing up..." " Don't make excuses, Mr Frazer." "You've had long enough to get it right." "You're not my only customer." "But I could well turn out to be your most important." "Unless I see better progress on my next steamer, the Highlander," "I'll cut my losses and leave you with a half-finished ship on your hands" "I suppose you don't do it on purpose, do you?" "Do what?" "Hold back supplying the industry to keep the Frazer Line on top." "It's only the shortage of steamers that allowed your daughter-in-law to pull off that little coup just now." "If you do not withdraw that slanderous reflection on my integrity as a ship..." "Very well, I withdraw, but integrity won't keep you warm in your old age." "Leave my premises, Mr Briggs." "I only hope the man you're building that obsolete sailing barque for can pay for it." "I don't know many sailing ship owners with money at the moment, do you?" "That Mr Briggs looks extraordinarily handsome when he's angry." "Have you heard any gossip about George Fowey lately?" "Who's he?" "The man I'm building that sailing ship for." "Never heard of George Fowey." "Well, perhaps, yes, I have..." "George Fowey was ordering ships from me before you were born." "And how much has he paid on that one?" " First instalment." " And the ship half finished?" "George Fowey is an honest man." " He won't let me down." " I hope not." "You don't want to be left with an unfinished sailing ship on your hands, do you?" "Or a finished one, come to that." "I ought to get out more, keep my ear to the ground." "Go to the club, perhaps." "There's always the same old faces." "Same old bunch of cutthroats." "Which reminds me, where did you have lunch today, Elizabeth?" "At Mrs Moore's, to help with that dreary sale of work I'm supposed to be doing." " Why?" " Was Mrs Daniel Matthews there?" "Yes, her husband brought her." "He had sherry with us." "Well, anything I let slip in front of him was nothing but the truth." "I doubt if the Caledonia ever will be ready." "Of course, she will." "I've got skilled engineers working on that boiler problem." "Yes, and you could get better ones if you paid for them." "As for that attractive young man Mr Briggs," "I doubt if he needs any encouragement from us as a rival to the Frazer Line." "Well, don't look so reproving, you've been ruthless enough in your time." "And my time is nearly over, is that it?" "Well, you've not been in the best of health." "I'm not in the scrap yard yet, Elizabeth." "Well, then, go to the bank, get them to finance you a new yard." "A man who is still in his prime wouldn't hesitate and certainly not you." "Do you realise, there's a cargo of textiles for Boston that someone else is going to get just because we can't supply a ship." "All right, I'll visit the bank." " Expand the yard." " Good." "Meanwhile, anything the Frazer Line can't handle, well, at least let's keep it in the family." "Come." "I've had someone from Frazer's look her over, sir, and he reckons we can make her seaworthy inside a week." " What time is it?" " Just after 5:00, sir." "Ah, well, they'll not be coming then, not now." "Who's that, sir?" " Uh, a week you say, eh?" " Aye." "Well, let's hope we've got a cargo by then." "So you're here, James?" "I went to your house." "Captain Baines, put those repairs in hand, will you?" "Yes, sir." " Mr Baines." " Ma'am." "David Parry been to see you then, has he?" "Yes." "We have a contract to deliver his mining equipment to Cape Town and an option on any further voyages for the next six months." " Come to gloat, have you?" " Not at all." "Come to tell you to comb your hair, put on a clean shirt" " and go round to the shipping club." " Mmm." "Daniel Matthews is there." "Made me trot beside his carriage, he did." "I'll see him in hell." "You'll see him at his club, if you want to take his textiles to Boston." "Well, he's given it to that..." "That..." "What's his name?" "Briggs." "But Briggs hasn't got a ship." "The Caledonia won't be ready for weeks." "Well, I'm sure Frazer's will always oblige." "Not at present." "I shall always see to it that the Frazer Line is kept busy, James, but if there's ever anything left over..." " You'll offer it to me?" " Keep it in the family." "Go on, James." "I'll not run round after Dan Matthews!" "You will if it means business, or someone like George Fowey will." "James." " What?" " I mean it kindly." "As you say, business is business." "Well done, Jock." "We've done it!" "And I want this window enlarged so we can see right over the new yard." " A big bay window." " Yes, madam." " And this wall must be taken out." " That's a load-bearing wall." "Well, that's for you to see, Mr Debenham," "I want this office enlarged." "And when the structural alterations are made," "I want completely new decorations." "These are so old fashioned." "Who's this?" "Mr Debenham from Marriot's, the builders." "He's just taking a few measurements." "Well, I've got two yard foremen I'm waiting to interview." "Can't he take his measurements somewhere else?" "What is all this?" "I really don't think this wall can be removed, Mrs Frazer." "Well, I should think not." "You'll have the whole place down!" "I shall enlarge this office somehow." "The devil, you will." "Look, if you are to have one of the largest steam shipyards on Merseyside, you must have an office that befits your position." "We're mortgaged up to the hilt as it is, woman." "So a little more expenditure will go unnoticed." "Elizabeth, I've not borrowed £12,000 from the bank to have you squandering it on fripperies." "Will you please leave us, Mr Debenham?" "Thank you so much for the moment, Mr Debenham." "Elizabeth, this office has been the way it is since my grandfather's day" " and I'm not changing it now!" " Now, you know what Dr Wilson said." "If you let yourself get too excited..." " Mr Briggs." " I just heard that Onedin's ship, the Oberon, has docked at Boston with those textiles." " She made good time then." " Record time for a sailing ship." "But the Caledonia would have been back by now." "A cargo that should have been mine carried all the way across the Atlantic by a sailing vessel, while the ship that is meant to take it is still not in my possession." "You can have the Caledonia anytime you choose, Mr Briggs." "She's waiting for you on the Frazer Line berth now." "No more boiler trouble?" "That new engineer I took on solved that problem." "You see, I took your advice, Mr Briggs, brought myself up to date, gone over entirely to steamers." "Have you got a master for her?" "I'll engage Donaldson." "Since you employed him for the trials, he must know the ship." "The sooner you sign on a crew, the better." "You'll need at least a dozen firemen for those boilers of hers and coal to match." "There's only a bucketful in her at the moment." "Here." "Perhaps you'd care to dine with me at the club tomorrow evening." " Peace offering?" " You can give me your final payment." "You've got one of the fastest ships on the ocean, Mr Briggs." "All you need now is a cargo for her." "There'll be no difficulty about that." "She made Boston in record time, Mr Matthews." "So if the Oberon can do it, so can the Osiris." "And Captain Baines had favourable winds, you can't count on that again." "Well, all right then, let me have your cargo by tomorrow and there'll be even more time to get her there." "So the voyages get longer, do they?" "All right then, the Anne Onedin will be back in service by the end of the month, eh?" "Mr Matthews, I've just had delivery of the Caledonia." "Tomorrow morning we take on bunkers and we've already advertised for freight." "And what will it cost?" "A great deal more than Mr Onedin will charge for his sailing ships, I think." "Get in, Briggs." "I was coming to see you anyway." "Wells." "Yes." "Of course, sir." " Morning, Mr Fowey." " Good morning." " Plenty of coal freight around." " Oh, indeed." "Oh." "No, no, Whittle." "I'll not take it at that price." "It could go lower yet." "I've spent my life in the trap business." "I've never carried coalat those rates." "There's not much else the sailing ships can carry at the moment, Mr Fowey." "And with everyone wanting the trade..." "How can I recover my losses like this?" "You might prevent them getting worse." "Jack Frazer was building me a barque." "He made one of the biggest men in Liverpool." "A fine ship, Whittle." "But he's gone over to nothing but the steam kettles." "But he must still honour your contract for the barque." "If I could pay for it, yes." "Oh, Mr Onedin, there's a telegraph boy looking for you somewhere." "A telegram from London." "I also owe the second instalment on the Highlander." "That can wait." "Don't forget you've to buy coal for the Caledonia." "And that'll cost quite a sum." "So, £5,000 then?" "To complete your purchase, yes." "How's the Highlander coming along, by the way?" "Oh, you'll get that ship early." "That'll make a change." "I hear your health hasn't been too good of late." "Oh, I shouldn't listen to my daughter-in-law, you know what women are." "Now who do I make this out to, I forget, Jack Frazer or Frazer Line?" " Good evening." " Evening, Onedin." "Well, when do you sail with that splendid new ship of yours, Mr Biggs?" " Briggs." " Yeah." "I hope you got a good rate from Dan Matthews for those textiles." "The best." "And we start taking on coal tomorrow," " loading cargo the next day." " Congratulations." "Well, James..." "Well, now, I was wondering if either of you two gentlemen might be in the market for a steamship?" "Here, Charles." "These glasses are empty, and get me one, will you." "You're not selling the Anne Onedin?" "Aye, well, her boiler will be finished by Friday." "Lloyd's man's looked her over, classified her A1." "And I am willing to part with her for just about that much." "£5,000?" "This is no time for parting with steamers, everybody's going into steam." "Which is just why it is the time to part with her." "Now, I know the Frazer Line could use another steamship." " We've just had a new one laid down." " Aye." "Well, it'd take some time before she's launched." "How about you, Mr Briggs?" "If you want to stay in business with Dan Matthews, you cannot wait, wait for the new ship." "£5,000 is a lot of money." "Very well." "Frazer Line might be interested." "So might I, as it happens." "Oh." " Good." " I'll think about it, James." "What about you, Mr Briggs?" "Yes, I'll think about it." "Well?" "Well, I'm just waiting while you think about it." "I'm not gonna decide now." "There's a lot of other owners here tonight." "I need the cash." " Done." " £5,000?" "The only difficulty is untill can get payment from Matthews for the textile cargo, and with the coal to buy for the Caledonia..." "Oh, I'm sure Mr Frazer won't mind waiting, not considering how long you had to wait for him, eh?" "You can pay me later." "Your credit will be even better, now you've acquired yet another steamer." " Thank you." " Oh, eh." " Make it out cash, will you?" " Cash." "Thank you." "Well, here's to the Briggs Line, eh?" "Jack." "What the devil is Onedin up to now?" ""Up to"?" "Well, now, where were we, gentlemen?" "Will you take that coal, Onedin?" "I have no alternative." " If you'd refuse..." " Because you did?" "Where did your principles get you, eh?" "Three idle schooners and a couple of brigs." "And a barquentine." "Don't you forget her." " Hmm." " A fine lady." " What do you want for them?" " "Want"?" "£5,000 to buy you out." "Five thousand?" "For three of the finest schooners that ever sailed the seven seas?" "Not to mention a couple of brigs and a barquentine." "Each of them's worth almost that much." "George, things are only worth what people are willing to pay for them." "Nobody wants sailing ships at the moment." "Oh, so why do you?" "£5,000." "Robbery." " Briggs, is it?" " Mmm-hmm." " Who's he?" " He's a coming man." "Arrogant, conceited, ambitious and young." "Very young." "Oh, his credit's good." "I owe Frazer almost this much for that barque he was building me." "Now look, forget about the barque." "Buy yourself a farm." "You're always telling me you have an urge to be a farmer." "That barque would have set me up again." "George, you've had a long run." "Get out while you can." "You must be mad to want more sailing ships." "Now look, do you want the cheque or not?" "I'll send all the papers round to you tomorrow." "I'd rather come round with you tonight, if it's all the same with you, George." " Don't you trust me, Onedin?" " Gentlemen!" " Gentlemen, I have the gravest news." " What happened?" "The Welsh miners are on strike." "All the South Wales pits have come out." "Do none of you read the papers?" "Is it only the shipping news that interests any of you?" "Anyone with a hap' orth of a concern for the state of the country could have foreseen this." "There's been unrest in the pits for the past three months." "It doesn't usually lead to a strike." "Only last week, the member for Swansea made it plain enough to all what was in the air." ""We stand at a watershed."" "You're not at Westminster now, Robert." "The unions grow stronger daily." "And who knows who'll be the next to come out." "Labour is finding a voice and it's a foolhardy man who'll turn a deaf ear." " The miners will be back within a week." " I wouldn't count on it." "Well, even they have to eat." "As if we'll let ourselves be held to ransom by a lot of miners." "What I want to know is how James Onedin was the first to hear of it." "I sent him a telegram so that you'd all be warned." "You see, I was in the lobby engaged in conversation with the minister himself." "It was a League of Purity matter, as it happens." "But that's neither here nor there." "His principal secretary comes up to him and tells him." "So I got word off to James before the before news had even reached the chamber." "You can't say that I don't put family first this time." "Family?" "He just put James Onedin first." "He surely told you, didn't he?" "He just sold his steamship at the top of the market and bought six sailers at the bottom." "Before anyone in Liverpool had heard a word." "Well, I'll be..." "Do you think we ought to send to the wharf and buy coal while we can still get it?" " I've already done that." " At what price?" "At any price." "Back up." "I'm sorry, Mr Briggs, but first come, first served." "I am the first, you got my order last night." "I think you'll find that's way down on the list now, sir." "Who paid you to do that?" "Frazer?" "Are you saying I've taken a bribe, sir?" "Well, he's getting all the coal he wants." "Look at it going into those Frazer wagons." "Mr Frazer's been running ships in Merseyside long before you ever got here, sir, that's what I mean." "First come, first served." " Morning, gentlemen." " Good morning." "So what's the price of coal, Whittle?" " Uh, well, sir..." " I don't mean for freight." " I mean steam coal, for fuel." " Fifty shillings a ton, sir." "Nonsense." "We don't need Welsh coal that much." "No, sir." "But this morning, the Lancashire and Cumberland pits have come out, too." "Mr Frazer." "I can't even get near the coal wharf, they're giving all the coal there is to your ships." "Well, we are their oldest customers." "And their biggest." "I have Matthews' contract in my pocket." "My new ship, the Caledonia, full of cargo and no coal to fuel her." "At least you've still got the contract, sir." "Mr Frazer!" "Matthews won't honour my contract if I can't even sail, will he?" " You have to let me have coal." " We need it ourselves." "Have you forgotten that I owe you over £5,000 on the Caledonia, not to mention what's due on the Highlander." "Do you think I'll be able to pay if I have to keep the Caledonia at her moorings?" "One of my other ships is due tomorrow and she'll be bunkering, too." "If I have to lay her up, I'll be finished." "And what would you do with the Caledonia then?" "Mr Briggs." "Can the Caledonia sail?" "Yes, sir." "We'll manage it somehow if you can get me some coal." " How much do you need?" " A thousand tons." "I'm sorry, Mr Parry, but with the price of coal as it is," "I'm afraid we've had to raise the freight rate." "But it was a fixed-price contract, was it not?" "I think not, if you read it carefully." ""Subject to renegotiation" ""if coal and costs rise above the level prevailing at time of signature."" "Or some such words." "I never can master the proper legal language." "Renegotiation will do, Mrs Frazer." "So, what will it cost me now then?" " £4 a ton." " Indeed." "Well, you'll get the same service, guaranteed delivery on time." "The Frazer's are still getting coal, but at a price." "Yes." "Oh, dear." "Am I interrupting important business?" "Not at all, Mr Onedin." "Your sister is just leaving." "Am I?" "I'll let you know, Mrs Frazer." "Sorry to hear about the coal." "Hope you weren't dependant on it." "Sit yourself down, Mr Onedin." "Very good of you it is to come." "Would you perhaps like a little refreshment?" "Yeah." "Now, the Osiris left Falmouth three days ago." "I'm expecting her tomorrow." "So she can sail for Cape Town the moment that she's loaded." "Excellent." "Now, I think you told me your rate for conveying this mining equipment was... £2.10 a ton." " Oh, less than that, I think." " Not now." "Can I be sure of delivery by the 15th?" "Well, can an owner of a sailing ship ever guarantee a delivery date just by relying on the winds?" "At £1.15 a ton and with the demurrage charge for late delivery," " the terms you quoted before..." " Aye, and the terms you turned down." "There was a bit of compensation to be had." "But at this price, and if it gets there late..." "Well, then, it'll just be late, won't it?" "£2.10 a ton, no penalty clause." "Look, if I'm wasting your time, Mr Parry," "I don't have too much to spare myself." "Very well, £2.10 a ton." "Perhaps I can finish that barque of George Fowey's after all." "We could with a sailing ship just at the moment." "We can find a use for some of the men." "The bank won't even guarantee my wages bill now." "Well, then lay the men off." "If there's no work for them, what else." "Finish George Fowey's barque?" "The miners will have crawled back to work by then." "It could be foundry men next, perhaps even shipyard workers." "Nobody's going to go on strike once the miners have been taught a sharp lesson." "The sharper the lesson, the more resentful and defiant they'll all become." "Robert's right, there's a cold wind blowing." "If I had not listened to you, it would never have touched us," " my shipyard full of unfinished ships." " When the strike is over..." "Some won't be finished, even then." "The Highlander, for one." "Oh, good morning." "Briggs owes me £5,000 altogether." "The cost he's bearing on laying off his steamers." "He's one that'll never bounce back." "So we'll get the Caledonia." "Good." "Meanwhile, let's see if there's any sailing ships for charter." "We'd do better to buy them outright." "Hold off the day when the whole shipping world makes an ass of itself." "What do you mean?" "By coming to depend for its very lifeblood on men who never even see the grass, let alone the sea." "A sharp lesson." "It's us that have learnt it." "But you only bought them last week." "Oh, well, so now I'm selling them again." "A barquentine, two brigs and three schooners." "For how much?" "Well, I've been offered £4,500 for the brigs, but I'll get more." "That's almost as much as you paid for the lot of them." "So?" "I made a bit of profit." "I think the three schooners will go for about £1,800 each." "And I've already disposed of the barquentine for £2,600." "So altogether, you've made, let's see..." "Well, about £8,000 profit." " Huh." "In one week?" " Aye." "Question is, what shall I do with the money?" "Go into steamers." "The strike will be over one day, and steamers are going cheap at the moment, I dare say." "Well, the Anne Onedin was." " You bought it back?" " Aye, for £2,000." "You sold it for more than twice that." "Well, young Briggs was a little short of cash." "Oh." "Huh." "So you've all your fleet intact and almost £6,000 into the bargain." "Hmm." "What shall I do with the £6,000?" "Do you know, James, I can't rightly remember when you last came to me for advice." "But you can surely remember when I last came to you for money." " Money?" " Aye." "I need another £2,000." " To build this." " Aye." "I want two of them." "It's only a sketch." "Aye, and rough." "I have no pretensions to being a draughtsman." "Well, I doubt if you'd see much change out of £20,000 for one of these." "You'll see even less from £16,000 'cause that all I'm willing to pay you." "Can't be done." "Well, you can trim her down within reason." "But with the other yards idle, too," "I wouldn't go looking for too much profit." "Not until the strike's over, and I'm not waiting that long." "£16,000." "Aye, usual quarter payment in advance." "Now that's on two ships." "That's £8,000 I can let you have now." "Look, if it gets you back in business, you can afford to cut your profit to the bone." " James?" " Elizabeth." "Your brother's just placed an order for two ships." "So, he's gone to steamers in the end, has he?" "Sixteen hundred tons." "Do you hope to win just by making them bigger?" "I shall win for long enough." "That's near twice the size of any sailing ship I've ever built." "Aye." "So she'll carry some cargo, eh?" "That Caledonia of yours, she carries mostly coal, when she can get it." "It won't be long before we've halved the rate of fuel consumption in steamers." "Aye." "And double the engine power, too, no doubt." "But until then, with that spread of canvass, why, she'll lick any steamer that you want to put against her." "But in time, James..." " Well, 10 years?" " Not more." "Well, by then I'll have cornered enough of the market to go into steamers myself." "When the others have burnt their fingers getting them right for me." "Get some fresh air in your lungs on this voyage, Barnaby." "A sailing man deserves more than £3 a month, Mr Onedin." "Maybe." "But you're not getting it." "Or would you rather be a fireman again, eh, with the rest of them down here?" "Mr Onedin!" "Mr Onedin!" "Get that cart out of the way." "Mr Onedin?" "I'm looking for a ship." "The strike's going on for a while." "When does Captain Baines come home on the Oberon?" "There's a warehouse full of textiles which has got to get to Boston." "What are your rates?" "I need a ship, Onedin." "Mr Onedin!" "Oh, God." "Topsail sheets!" "Hoist the mainsail!"