Gus was one of the last three to attempt the climb. ‘Now,’ the captain said, ‘you haven’t done this before. Take your time, hold on tight and don’t look down. Off you go.’

Gus grabbed the lower rungs of the ladder and hauled himself up. It was much harder than he had expected. The ladder swung and twisted, banging his knees and knuckles against the side of the ship. It seemed a very long way up and halfway up he, too, stopped, panting, and looked below him. His gut churned at the sight of the drop. Then a voice called, ‘Don’t look down, Gus. Look at me.’ He tore his gaze away from the ground and looked up. Will was leaning over the side. ‘Keep going! You’re nearly there. Come on!’

Somehow he struggled on until he reached the ship’s rails and Will grabbed his arm and pulled him aboard. Captain Thomas swung himself over the rail a moment later and clapped Gus on the shoulder.

‘You’ll do, young ’un. We’ll make a seaman of you yet.’

Gus was out of breath and all his muscles ached, but he felt triumphant. Then he noticed Will. He had sunk down onto his haunches, leaning against the side. He was pale and he seemed to be struggling to breathe. Gus bent over him.

‘You all right, Will?’

Will nodded and wheezed. ‘I’ll be fine in a minute. Just a bit out of breath.’

‘Gather round,’ the captain ordered, and Will dragged himself to his feet. Gus turned to join the others.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. There was so much to learn. While the rest practised complicated knots in bits of rope, Captain Thomas began teaching him the correct names for different parts of the ship. There were two others who were also fairly new and he had them running backwards and forwards to commands of ‘Aft! For’ard! Port! Starboard!’ until they were dizzy and breathless with laughter. When eventually he was able to rejoin the others, Gus was relieved to find that Will was surrounded by a heap of knotted rope and apparently breathing normally.

By the end of the day Gus was so weary that he felt his legs might give way under him. Will put a hand on his shoulder.

‘Come on, I’ll show you where we sleep.’

He led the way down a passage and opened a door. The smell hit Gus like a solid wall, a sharp ammonia reek that caught at the back of his throat.

‘Stinks, don’t it?’ Will said.

‘What is it?’

‘Some of the lads wet the bed, and it never gets a chance to dry out.’