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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4460854" data-attributes="member: 3285">Belly of the Beast: Part 7 – Hard LaborThe rowers held their oars raised in the air, as the brown line of men flowed rapidly into the cutter below. Some seated themselves in the stem, but the large majority stood in a dense mass in the bottom of the long low craft, dotted here and there by the dark dress of the officers planted in the midst of them. In fine weather no less than one hundred prisoners were landed in each of the boats.The long boats glided slowly to the pier, their dense human freight painted brown on the stream. And scarcely had one boat landed its felon crew before another was filled, and making for the shipyards and the shore. “We’re building ships?”“Aye.”  Scarbelly continued to row in sync with Kham.  Because they were chained together, they were learning to do a lot of things together. “Freeport’s lookin' t' build itself a fleet.”“For what?” asked Kham.“For war,” said Scarbelly.The prisoners clambered up to the parade ground and fell in line there with military precision; separated according to the chief officer's directions into working parties (each working party being in charge of a warder).  They moved off to the scene of their day's labor, in long brown strings. The prisoner crew stood drawn up in lines, headed by their respective officers. “Now what?”“Searches,” said Scarbelly. “Sometimes t' men try t' make a run for it while they’re on land.”“Any of them make it?”Scarbelly squinted up at the sun.  Shadowy bat figures circled overhead.  “Not a one.”The officers proceeded to search under the prisoner’s waistcoats and to examine their neckcloths. The searching and arrangement of the working parties or gangs effected, the officer gave the word of command, "Cover!" then, "Face-forward!" and each gang wheeled off to the direction of its work, the men walking two abreast, and the rear brought up by the officer in charge.As the several gangs left the parade ground, the officer in charge gave the number of his gang, and that of his men. The gangs were numbered from one to thirty. Kham’s work gang officer called, "Two-eight!" That was gang number two, containing eight men.For the first time in a long time, Kham worked very, very hard.</blockquote>

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