The Stowaway - Chapter 5 - Jason the Cabin Boy

by Richard William Parker <BeldinMi@mikeli.freeserve.co.uk>

The Captain took the repentant boy back to his quarters where the Chief was waiting for them. Jason was rubbing his very sore bottom through the thin material of his little white sailor shorts and the back of his bare legs. He was still sniffling and pouting that he had to wear this uniform, he didn't mind the sailor top, but the shorts! They just about covered the crease of his bottom and anybody aboard would see that the Captain had soundly slippered him.

The Chief looked up from the daily paper that had been delivered that morning by helicopter; the Mare Nostrum had its own helipad for supplies to be flown in and emergency case vacs in case one of the guests became ill.

"Well, well, young man! You look very smart indeed Jason." Said the Chief seeing the boy in his little sailor suit, "Come on lad, give us a twirl"

Jason sniffed and pouted and gave a little slow twirl and the Chief noticed how short the shorts were and also that the tops of his legs and crease were once again a burning red. He shook his head wondering what the boy had done now and whether he would ever learn.

The Captain went over to his desk and sat down and told Jason to sit in the chair opposite the desk next to the Chief. Jason did so and immediately shot up again as his lower bottom came into contact with the leather upholstered chair giving out a little squeal and rubbing his bottom again and pouting and sniffing,

"Now, now Jason, no pouting! Your lip will end up staying like that" said the Captain with a grin as he handed Jason a soft cushion to sit on. Jason put the cushion on the chair and gingerly sat gown giving out a sigh of relief.

"Right young man, we are here to discuss your future, the Chief has come up with an idea which I wholeheartedly agree with and hope you accept". The Chief saw tears start to trickle down Jason cheeks.

"Hey, hey what's the matter little one?" asked the Chief as he kneeled down next to the boy wiping away his tears with his thumb.

"Your going to send me away, aren't you .. sniff"

"What did I tell you the other day Richard? Asked the Captain gently and answered the question himself, "That we will not send you away, ok?"

"But I keep getting into trouble Sir! Why would you want me to stay ....sniff" Jason looked down at his white shoes and long socks.

The Captain looked at the Chief and nodded his head in the boys direction silently indicating to the Chief that he should answer the boys question.

The Chief took hold of the boys hand and standing him up took him to his chair and sat him down on his lap, wiping away the last of the tears with a handkerchief.

"Listen Jason, do you know why you keep getting into trouble?. Jason sadly nodded that he didn't.

"Well I'll tell you why. It's because you don't know any better, that's why, and that's why we have to punish you when your naughty, so that you learn your lesson. Why did the Captain spank you this morning?"

"He slippered me Chief" said Jason in a small pouty voice ...."Cos I didn't want to wear these clothes and ....and .... threw a bit of a tantrum ....sniff."

"You see Jason, you threw a tantrum. Was that nice of you?"

Jason looked away from the two men, he couldn't look them in the eye, he was so ashamed. "No sir ....sniff"

"So the Captain had to punish you, didn't he?" Jason nodded "And what did you learn from your spanking?"

Jason looked up into the Chiefs eyes with puppy dog eyes all moist and glistening and suddenly things were starting to dawn on him. He beamed a cheeky grin at the Chief and also looked at the Captain.

"I ....I ....learnt not to throw a tantrum again and ....and .... not to stamp my foot too cos its naughty and rude and children shouldn't be naughty and rude!"

The Captain and the Chief looked at the boy with very proud expressions on their faces and wide grins knowing that at last this little scamp was finally learning.

"That's right my boy, so you were spanked, not because we wanted to spank you but because we care about you and because we want you to be a good boy. I'm very proud of you Jason, you learnt your lesson well."

Jason threw his arms around the Chief and planted a great big slobbery kiss on the Chiefs face and hugged him hard. He felt wanted and loved, for the first time he felt that there were two grown ups in his life who wanted him and who genuinely cared for him and wanted the best for his future. He knew now that he loved both of them and that he would do his best, always, to make them proud. Yes, he had no doubts in his mind that he was at last in the closest thing he had ever had to a family, and a caring no nonsense family who knew how to make him behave and be a good boy, not just treat him as though he were a disturbance best forgotten. He really wanted that.

"Well, now that that's out of the way lets get down to business shall we?"

"Yes sir" replied Jason sitting attentively on the Chiefs lap, all ears. "Do you know why you are wearing that uniform Jason, the one you don't like?"

"Cos my other clothes are dirty sir?"

"BECAUSE, not COS" said the Captain ruefully shaking his head

"Sorry sir" Jason replied quickly remembering what the Captain had told him about speaking proper ....properly.

"No boy, it's not because your other clothes are dirty." The Captain grinned, "How would you like to be the ships cabin boy?"

"Cabin boy! Me? Oh sir, very much sir, honest sir" Jason giggled nervously and then the light dawned on him "This is my crew uniform sir ?"

"Yes Jason, you are now crew and that is your uniform"

Jason stood up, his mouth and eyes wide open. His hand came up to his chest and he smoothed over the material of his sailor suit a tear of joy and pride trickling down his face. Then he jumped up on the spot and gave out a loud yell of joy, "YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" and giggled and giggled and giggled as he ran around the Captains cabin and threw himself into the Captains arms.

"I'll be the bestist cabin boy in the whole wide world Captain, I promise, you'll be proud of me sir, I promise, I promise, I promise!"

"There, there, calm down young man"

Jason stood up and went and sat in his chair again looking at the two men's grinning face. Jason was in awe.

"I'm sorry I was so rude about the uniform sir, I love it, I do, I do" Jason now felt pride in his uniform, he never wanted to take it off he told himself.

"Good boy, now then, as a cabin boy, you will have a job to do aboard the Mare Nostrum, we don't want idle hands aboard. You will run errands for me and the Chief and generally follow orders promptly and WITHOUT argument. You will also be presented to your fellow crew members and you will help them out in anything they need, understood?"

"Aye, aye sir!" replied Jason having heard the Chief use that expression earlier, the Captain smiled warmly at the boy and the Chief looked like the cat who had swallowed the proverbial bird.

"You will be polite to all crew members, they are adults after all, and your elders. They are good seamen and will teach you the ropes. You will obey them understood?" Jason nodded. "They will not be allowed to punish you, only I and the Chief will have that privilege. But let's get this straight now, if I get the slightest bad report about you, you will be spanked and spanked hard. The spanking you received this morning will seem trivial compared to what you'll get, and don't think I wont spank you in front of the crew if I have to!"

Jason gulped "I understand sir"

"Good, A ship can be a dangerous place and working aboard her hazardous, you will obey, that I guarantee you." The Captain straightened some papers he had on his desk.

"Now, we come to the matter of your schooling, shall we say. Don't think that you will not have lessons to do just because you are aboard my ship. Every day, starting next Monday, you will have a classical education and one day you will go to university and study a career, is that clear?"

Jason frowned ever so slightly but quickly nodded. "What's a classical education sir?"

"It means that you will do maths, English, science and other lessons including Latin and other languages. By the time we are finished with you young man, you will be able to speak at least five languages."

"Me? But I didn't do very well at school sir, I'm a bit thick I think when it comes to school stuff."

"No you are not! Your problem is the same as other children these days; too much play time and fancy physiological nonsense from so called child rearing experts, too much of let them express themselves freely and not enough discipline. Well young man, I will not see you taught that way, you will have a tutor and you will perform your studies diligently, anything lower than a B and you will be punished. We will go over your homework together and anything you don't understand will be explained and you will understand, I don't want to hear none of this 'I don't get it nonsense'. If you apply yourself there is nothing in this world you cant do. One thing lad, your tutor will have permission to slipper you in class. Corporal punishment should never have been abolished in schools, that's why boys your age are such scruffs and tearaways."

Jason nodded to all this, the part about if he applied himself there was nothing he couldn't do sticking in his mind. The Captain didn't think he was thick and thought he could do anything and by God he was going to try he told himself. Though he didn't like the idea about corporal punishment in class, the Captain had mentioned the slipper and he also wondered if his tutor would use a cane too.

"We are expecting a package to be flown aboard later this morning Jason. In it you will find a complete wardrobe of clothing. You will have three crew uniforms and another school uniform to wear in class. You will also notice when you open the package that there will be no long trousers for you, you are a boy and you will dress and behave like one. Every boy should have a happy childhood and look back on his childhood when he is a man with nostalgia and longing and you will not be any different. You will have six pairs of long grey school socks, four pairs of short grey school shorts, four grey school shirts, three school jumpers and a new blazer and cap."

This didn't worry Jason in the slightest, he liked wearing school shorts and long socks and thought back on how smart he looked in his own school uniform.

"Right, that is it for the moment young man. You will now go with the Chief, he will be giving you lessons, daily, in seamanship skills, the law of the sea, navigation and the such. One day you will be an expert sailor."

Jason beamed, sailing lessons, that's going to be fun he told himself and got up and left with the Chief.

Jason spent a very happy first day with the Chief. He was presented to the Crew and they all shook his hand and treated him like one of their own. He noticed how they all grinned when they first met him and saw the red tops of his legs showing below the hem of his shorts, he didn't mind and grinned back at them, They were all really nice to him and one in particular, a young 17 year old mate showed him how to do the most amazing knots. The Chief saw how well the two got on together and left Jason in the 17 year olds hands while he went down below to the engine room to discuss some problem with the bearings with the Chief engineer.

"I bet that hurt Jason" said Christopher the mate to Jason touching the back of the boys legs.

"It did, the Captain did it, though it doesn't hurt now" replied Jason, not looking up from the bowline he was trying to do, one handed, like Chris had shown him.

"What did you get?"

"Two dozen with the Captains slipper. He gave me a hair brushing too yesterday, I was really naughty" Jason felt no embarrassment talking about his spankings to Chris. Chris on the other was all ears and he had a raging hard on thinking about this boy over the Captains or the Chiefs knee getting soundly spanked. He really wanted to see that.

Meanwhile, in the Captains cabin, it was now 1600, the Captain was going through the papers and letters and parcel he had received by special delivery on the helicopter, they were only 2 days out from Miami now. He saw that there was a letter from the Es_s_e_x_ Social Services and quickly opened it and scanned the letter. As he read the letter his face frowned and he was becoming angrier and angrier. He put the letter down and went in search of his charge. He found him with the Chief and Christopher the young seaman's mate, he was glad that Jason seemed to be friends with Chris as he thought of Chris as a very good and eager sailor and was also the youngest of the crew, he could keep him under his wing as it were.

The Captain strode forcefully over to Jason and glared at the boy,

"You and I young man need to have a long talk." With that he grabbed Jason by the ear and took him all the way to his cabin holding onto the ear. Jason was letting out little yelps of pain all the way and suddenly he heard a boy laughing uproariously, he managed to see out the corner of his eye a boy in swimming costume by the pool pointing at him. It was the 13 year old son of a guest. The Chief also followed.

In the cabin, the Captain stood Jason in front of his desk and sat himself behind his desk. He gave the letter to the Chief and saw that the Chief also had a disappointed look on his face, though there was good news too in the letter. He handed the letter back to the Captain and also looked sadly at the boy.

Jason was frightened, he didn't know what he had done wrong, but serious it must be.

"Well, congratulations boy, I understand it was your birthday yesterday" he handed the letter to Jason. "READ!"

Jason took the letter in his little trembling hand and began to read it:

'To: Captain Robert N. Havelock. SS Mare Nostrum

Ref: Jason William Hood (real surname not known.)

Regarding the boy Jason William Hood, we can clarify for your information that he is indeed a ward of the County, placed in foster care to Mr and Mrs. Jonathan Hood.

We understand that the boy was found aboard your ship and thank you for your interest in becoming the boys legal guardian.

We are happy to say that your request has been studied and grant you full guardianship of said Jason William, ....'

Jason beamed, he was now legally being looked after by the Captain, he wouldn't have to go back.

"Keep on reading boy!"

'of said Jason William, DOB 16th June, 1987, aged, 12 years of age

We are afraid to say that his current foster parents have refused to take him back stating that he was too much trouble.

We will be getting in contact with yourself whenever you are scheduled back to the United Kingdom.

Yours Sincerely

....'

Jason put the letter down on the Captains desk. He had been found out, 12 years old not 9 like he had told the Captain.

"Why Jason, why?" said the Captain sadly "why lie to me and the Chief"

"I ....I ....don't know sir, I thought if you knew I was older you might not let me stay ....sniff."

"so you lied to us?"

Jason nodded

"So be it, you will be treated like a little boy then, I can guarantee you that. You will not see a pair of long trousers until you are twenty, do you hear me?"

"Chief, please deal with this matter, I'm too angry to deal with it myself, NINE YEARS OLD, I never! Lied too, I am very, very disappointed with you Jason. Chief, take him to your quarters and make sure that he gets what a naughty little lying nine year old deserves. Please bring him back when you are finished."

The Chief sighed and led Jason, now crying, by the hand to his quarters like a little boy.

In his quarters he placed Jason in the corner and sat down at his desk. How to punish him he thought, I'm certainly going to make sure he cant sit for a few days. He got up and went to his bathroom and got the big wooden bath brush. It was 14" long and the head was an oval of 5" by 2.5" he had no doubt that this spanking was going to sting like mad, the length allowing him to bring down stingingly hard and the head was just big enough to cover one cheek.

"Jason, come here please"

Jason turned and walked over to the Chief noticing the huge, to him it appeared so, wooden bath brush, He began to sniffle as the Chief sat him on his lap.

"Do you understand why I must punish you Jason?"

"Sniff ....because I lied to you and the Captain sir ....sniff" Jason voice was very low.

"That's right Jason, that is a very serious offence, lying is despicable behaviour, especially when you lie to someone who cares about you ....UNDERSTOOD?"

Jason jumped and cried.

"Yes sir ....sob ....I'm sorry ... really I am ....sniff"

"You will be Jason, you will be, I have known the Captain for years boy, and I have never, ever, seen him look so hurt. Yes the letter has wonderful news in it, you could say we are a family now, and you don't lie to your family. I'm sorry Jason but I'm going to punish you now, very severely, I can guarantee you will not lie to us again in the future. I'm not going to give you a set number of spanks, I'm going to spank you until I think you have learnt your lesson very well indeed.

He stood Jason up, and stood himself, placing his left foot on his chair and picking Jason up and bending him over his raised left knee.

"Open your legs wider boy" said the Chief and Jason opened his feet until they were about two feet apart. The Chief pushed down on the back of his head ensuring that Jason's lower bottom was in a perfect spanking position; this was how he was spanked as a child. He looked down at the tightness of his little white shorts which had risen up even further exposing a good portion of his lower cheeks; he could see Jason's briefs showing below the hem. He raised up the bath brush and brought it down hard with a flick of the wrist knowing that the smarting sting would be almost unbearable from the first spank onwards; no warm up spanks here.