Setting: A Pub SCENE 1 NARRATORS 1 Hello good chaps. Welcome to the story of HMS Biggles. NARRATOR 2 A 50 gun strong ship of the line. NARRATOR 3 Here we go! NARRATOR 1 […]
Setting: A Pub
SCENE 1
NARRATORS 1
Hello good chaps. Welcome to the story of HMS Biggles.
NARRATOR 2
A 50 gun strong ship of the line.
NARRATOR 3
Here we go!
NARRATOR 1
By the way we are the narrators.
THOMAS
Another drink please sir.
BARTENDER
Two shillings.
THOMAS
Here you go.
BARTENDER
Thank you and here is your drink.
THOMAS
You’re welcome.
(Takes sip of his drink)
Thanks for the drink by the way.
BARTENDER
You’re welcome.
LUCAS
How you doing chaps? Could I have a drink too?
BARTENDER
Sure thing mate.
LUCAS
(Breathing in, smelling brandy, scotch, and other drinks all over the place.
Sees a group of strong naval officers.)
Blech.
Evening chaps. Best I be leaving now.
(Starts running. Group of seamen chase)
SCENE 2
NARRATOR 1
We don’t have time to show the rest let’s just say he got caught and that is how he became a captain in the navy.
NARRATOR 2
His ship was H.M.S. Biggles, Lucas is the captain of H.M.S. Biggles.
NARRATOR 3
A 50 gun ship of the line.
NARRATOR 1
We already said that.
NARRATOR 3
I don’t care.
NARRATOR 2
We need to get on with the story.
NARRATOR 1
I agree.
NARRATOR 3
Me too.
NARRATOR 2
His ship was HMS Biggles, Lucas was the captain.
LUCAS
Welcome to the ship. Now, basically, you need to know this. You’re just a normal sailor. You’re on the HMS Biggles, a 200-man, 50-gun strong ship of the line. You see this?
(pointing to one of the cannons.)
This is a 20 pounder. You will see these a lot. Now, for the grand tour.
Scene 3
NARRATOR 1
I volunteered into the navy to fight, thought James, not to hear some old coop rambling about how to run a ship. Besides, I already know this. My father is a sea captain and my mother’s a nurse on a ship. . still I can’t believe it. Me, James Flynn, a sailor on HMS Biggles, possibly the best ship in Her Majesty’s navy.
He stopped thinking and started paying attention to what Lucas was saying.
LUCAS
I assume you came to the navy to fight our enemy, the Americans.
JAMES
I am an American, sir. I was born in America, but raised in England, sir.
LUCAS
I see. Aren’t you a bit young to be in the navy? Let me guess, you’re ten.
JAMES
Fifteen, sir.
LUCAS
Doesn’t your mother think you’re a bit young?
JAMES
No sir, my mother doesn’t think I’m too young.
LUCAS
And what of your father? Does he think you’re too young to be at sea?
JAMES
My father’s a sea captain, sir.
Narrator 1
And that was that.
James (posing as lookout)
She’s an American privateer–four guns, fifteen pounder cannons. From the looks of it, around a hundred men. Probably an easy capture.
James (To himself)
Our three hundred and seventy-five-manned and fifty-gun Indiaman could easily destroy a small privateer. Still, though, Lucas apparently wanted to capture it. Strange man. Of course, being as it was a privateer, it probably had lots of loot aboard. Maybe that’s why he chose to capture it. The gunners led the attack with shrapnel rounds, violently shaking the ship everywhere. I nearly fell off. Suddenly, the American ship displayed its royals (it put out its fastest sails) and sped towards us. They might be trying to board. Eventually they got to the side of our ship, cutlesses and pistols ready. Marines on our side rushed to the top of the deck and the captain gave the order to repel boarders.
Narrator 1
They tried to board, and within minutes, what seemed like billions of American corpses were lining the decks of our ships, killed by the barrage fired from the marines.
Narrator 2
The remaining ones on their ship surrendered and the British took it very easily. In total, the British took 12 prisoners and gained a lot of gold found in the hoard of the enemy’s ship and brought the ship back to a British port. The trip back to the port took a couple days, with our men on board the enemy’s ship driving it.
Narrator 3
They were split in half and there was about a hundred fifty men on each ship. Most of the marines stayed on the enemy ship. At port, we restocked. I took leave. We were at at a British territorial island that had many sailors and marines and houses there, but it wasn’t really much like London, where I grew up. For some of my life.
CHAPTER 6
SHORE LEAVE
Narrator 1
James went to his aunt’s house (apparently she lives there, never knew that), had some lunch, slept there for a night, had breakfast, then went back to the ship. They’d finally finished restocking everything, trading in the gold, and delivering the prisoners to the jail. It was almost time to set sail. James climbed aboard and learned that, due to my helping the captain so much, he was being promoted. Now he was just a rank below midshipman. James felt a sudden tinge of joy. He couldn’t wait to tell Lucas, but Lucas seemed sad when James saw him. He said that it was because the bank there wasn’t able to accept most of the gold and that they`d have to transport it back to Britain.
James
Well, there’s another adventure. Here we go again.
Scene 7
Narrator 1
James woke up with a start.
Narrator 2
He was on his way to England.
Narrator 3
But the door to his room had been slammed open.
Narrator 1
It was Lucas.
Lucas
James! Wake up, wake up! Come and see this.
Narrator 2
There was a small American ship that looked like a tugboat, slowly steaming towards them.
Lucas
Help me wake up everyone on the ship.
James
I’ll climb up and ring the bell that’ll wake up everybody.
Narrator 3
Indeed it did.
Narrator 1
Soon the American tug boat was captured.
Narrator 2
They gained six prisoners.
Narrator 3
They arrived at England shortly after.
Narrator 1
They had a jolly good time. And James became a rich man from his pay from the navy.
Narrator 2
Years later he became the captain of HMS Biggles after Lucas died in battle.
Narrator 3
But that is a tale for a different time.
Narrator 1
See you next time.
all
The End.
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