I turn to the girls, who, though stunned and astounded by Sin-Kay's heartless responses, are naturally curious as to what we three have been talking about.
I don't speak out right away. Instead I take Wilhelmina by the arm and say to her in a low voice, "Willa, have the girls crowd about the doorway and then have them turn and face me. That way Nettles won't be able to see who's talking." She nods and then sets about quietly herding the girls to the door.
When the view from the doorway is blocked and the girls are looking at me expectantly, I put on my American accent voice and say, "Listen to me, my sisters. You are standing there confused, wondering why that man treats us so cruelly, so heartlessly, for no reason at all. Well, the truth of it is that he does have a reason: By denying us even the most basic things of life, he means to break us down, girl by girl, till we have not a shred of self-respect left. He seeks to mold us, to make us pliable, to bend us to his will, so that when we mount the auction block, we will be as docile as a herd of cows. Are we going to let him do that? Oh, my sisters, are we going to let him break us?"
There is a low mutter of nos and no-we-won'ts that is truly not very bold, but it's a start.
"Good for you. Now, we have come up with a plan of action and here it is: First we present Sin-Kay with a list of demands. They will be for more water, better food, and shutters up till dark. Then we refuse to eat until those demands are met. It is as simple as that. We will be messing with the one thing about us he holds dear: our healthy bodies and the price they will bring. It is the only thing we can do right now, as our bodies are the only thing we have power over. What do you think?"
There is an instant buzz of chatter. Let's do it and the food is awful anyway and I'm for it. I let them talk on for a bit and then I call the vote.
"We must have you all with us on this, every one of you. If you are not wholeheartedly with us on this, say so now, for we must have everyone committed to this or the plan will not work." No one says anything. "All right, all those who say we go on a hunger strike, raise your right hand."
The right hands of about half the girls shoot into the air. A few seconds later some more, who are somewhat less enthusiastic, raise their hands. Then the rest haltingly come up.
"All right. Lower your hands. Now, all opposed." There is silence and no hand goes up.
"We are officially on strike. Let's have a cheer, now; sisterhood forever!"
Sisterhood forever! comes back the roar from the girls of the Lawson Peabody. Hooray! Hooray!
When they quiet down some, I call out in a voice I make lower than my usual, so as to disguise it: "Nettles! Go tell Sin-Kay that we are all on a hunger strike and that we'll eat no more of your slop till we get more water, better food, and have the flaps open till dark!"
"You all are really gonna git it and I'm gonna git to watch. Oh boy, oh boy! Hee-hee." Nettles exits, giggling, to go to Sin-Kay with his news.
When he is gone, I say urgently, "Quick! We got to get our chant down so Sin-Kay can't single out any one of us as a leader. Now, when you hear me clap my hands three times, we'll all chant 'More water, better food, flaps open till dark!' Each time you hear the three claps, you'll repeat the refrain five times—count them off on the fingers of one hand—and then stop. That way we'll start together and stop together. Let's try it now. I think you'll find that it's got a nice bit of a rhythm to it. Here we go..." Clap-clap-clap.
More water!
Better food!
Flaps open till dark!
Good. I think they've got it. Nice clean start. I nod my approval.
More water!
Better food!
Flaps open till dark...
...and so on till the five refrains are done and end neatly and together.
"Well done, ladies! For today, we will chant that any time Sin-Kay tries to talk to us. If I'm being watched by him, either Dolley or Clarissa will do the claps. Tomorrow, we'll up the ante. As for now, here's a bit of a treat. I have here a comb."
I reach up my sleeve and pull out my large tortoiseshell comb, one that Higgins had picked up for me in London, and I hold it up. There is a general gasp. A comb! We can comb our hair! Oh, joy! Ah, the small comforts and pleasures of life.
"I had it stuck up my sleeve when we were taken," I say, lying. Actually, I had it in my seabag, but I don't want them all to know about that yet. Let's first see how they all do in this strike. "Use it to comb each other's hair. Keep an eye out for lice—we'll have to keep close watch on that—put your hair up in pigtails, braids, or buns, something that will stay neat, for it will be a long time till you will be able to wash it."
I hand the comb to Cloris. "Don't let that slimy Nettles see it—he'd peach on us for sure and we'd lose it. Now let's get our water and get on with our day."
Cups are retrieved from kips and held through the bars for Hughie to fill. When I step up with mine, I see him sitting there, looking befuddled. I reach in and give his curly head a pet. "No food for us today, Hughie, luv. You can take the pot back out after everyone's got their water."
He looks even more confused, but he nods and ladles out the water.
I go up on the Balcony and sit next to Katy, who is on watch. "Notice anything, Katy?"
"Nope, nobody around." Katy keeps mostly to herself, sitting alone up in the Balcony, whether on watch or not. Annie and Sylvie have each other, and they've gotten tight with Rose. All three also have started watching out for Rebecca now that I'm so busy all the time.
"I mean, notice anything in general, like."
She ponders this a bit, then says, "Only men on this ship who've got weapons is the Captain, the Mate, and Chub-buck. That black man might have sumthin' in the way of pistols under his coat. Don't know. Prolly does. Ain't got no friends, though ... never see no one talkin' to him when he comes out on deck."
She pauses and thinks some more. "That crazy boy Nettles goes in the Captain's room anytime the man calls for him. When that happens, the men out on deck wiggle their hands and h*ps and snicker, but they don't do that if the Mate or Chubbuck is there to see 'em do it."
Another pause, but I am patient.
"At night, I think the boy goes in the Captain's room and don't come out till mornin'. Course, can't see at night, but I can in the mornin'."
I put my hand on her shoulder and give it a squeeze. "You're a good soldier, Katy, and we..."
"He's a-comin' back," says Katy. She is looking out and nodding. I don't have to turn to look to know who she means.
I hop back down to the Stage and join the crowd of girls just as the lock rattles and Sin-Kay comes back into the Hold. He looks amused.
"So. A hunger strike, is it? Well, I can tell you this..."
I put my hands behind me and clap palm of left hand against back of right hand three times and we all burst out:
More water!
Better food!
Flaps open till dark!
We don't pause after the first refrain but swing right into the next.
More water!
Better food!
Flaps open till dark!
Sin-Kay puts his hands behind his back and leaves them clasped there as he wanders about our midst, watching our mouths move with the chant.
More water!
Better food!
Flaps open till dark!
Sin-Kay stops in front of our nervous Abigail Pierce, and he glares down at her. She stops chanting and trembles before him, but we all keep chanting all the louder and Abby starts chanting again when he moves on. Good girl.
More water!
Better food!
Flaps open till dark!
Knowing it's the last refrain, we raise our voices loud and really lay into it.
More water!
Better food!
Flaps open till dark!
Then we snap our jaws shut, ending perfectly together.
Sin-Kay nods in appreciation. "Very well, conduct your hunger strike. It will avail you nothing, you will see. Dinner will be served at the usual time," he says, as he turns and goes to the door where the leering Nettles waits. "It's a pity, though. Tonight you were going to be given a nice hot biscuit with your burgoo." He lets that sink in and then adds, "I want you to think about that biscuit. Good day to—"
Clap-clap-clap.
More water!
Better food!
Flaps open till dark...
And we chant him out of the place. We complete the five and then erupt in a cheer of self-congratulation for our bravery. Sisterhood forever! Hooray! Hooray! Hooray!
"We've got to keep them busy, keep their minds off their bellies," I say to Clarissa and Dolley after things have calmed down. We're sitting cross-legged in conference at the edge of the Stage. "For one thing, I want to start teaching everybody how to step dance—"
"That Irish stuff?" Clarissa sniffs, ever the snob.
"You can call it that. I'll do them by divisions. You'll see that it will give them some good exercise, as we get none down here and that is not good for us. It will—"
"Captain's going below," reports the lookout above.
"It will give them cheer when they get good at it. And the sound of their hooves rattling on the Stage will hide the sound of whatever we are doing below, when we start the Plan."
Dolley nods, and then so does Clarissa.
"So with that and Lissette's French class and Hepzibah's choral practice," says Dolley, "and your storytelling in the evening, we have the days somewhat planned out. Good."
"Yes. There's nothing like a good routine to soothe the troubled soul. I think I'll get started on the dancing now and—"
"Here comes the hooks again!" comes the call from a lookout. We get to our feet.
Hmm ... I'm thinking there's more than one way to get some water.
I reach back my hand and unbutton my dress. I step out of it and hand it to Hyacinth, who is standing nearby. "Will you fold this and put it up in my kip? Thanks."
All of us wear the same sort of undershirt—it is a soft cotton chemise with a scooped neck tied at the front with a bit of string, and it has short sleeves that go down just over the upper arms. I take the sleeves on my shirt and slide each of them just a bit over my shoulders.
The small hatch cover is pulled back and a shaft of light shines down to a spot on the lower deck next to the tubs.
"Connie, will you help me this time?" I ask and head down toward the spotlight. Constance Howell follows. I swear I hear her mumbling prayers behind me. Does she ever stop badgering God with her constant prayers?
I step into the shaft of light and look up as the hooks are being lowered.
"Ahoy, Jocko! Good to see you again, mate!" I call out.
"Shaddap, you. I ain't yer mate and me name's not Jocko—it's Mick"
"Well, 'ello, Mick!" I says, flashing him one of my brightest smiles. I can see his face in the light up there—he's got a bit of a pug nose, hair low on his forehead, a wide mouth, and lips that are rather large for a man. "I'm Jacky, and who's yer friend?"
"His name's Keefe, if it was any of your business, which it ain't." Keefe has a long, thin face so deeply tanned and grooved from being out in the elements that it's like a slab of old, weathered wood.
"I like you, Mick, I really do. I think it's your sunny nature that's made me take a shine to you," I say as I reach out and catch the hooks and pass one over to Constance. "Now, Mick, about what we was talkin' about the last time I 'ad the pleasure of your company—all us girls would be mighty grateful if you'd give this tub a rinse after you empty it, and that other tub a double rinse and fill it with salt water 'fore you drop it back down here. You'll do that, won't you, luv?" I put my hands behind my back and bounce up and down on my toes.