THE LITTLE RED SHOES (PART TWO)

The ship bearing William Guiler’s wife and daughter sailed off to America without him. He had to wait a full week before he was able to board another ship sailing from Liverpool to New York. There was always hope that his ship might pick up some time on the ship carrying his family during the crossing. William desperately willed his ship to go faster.

William noticed that there were many young Irishmen on his ship. They were leaving home and country in the hope of starting a new and better life on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. They were not many days at sea before William’s ship was overtaken by a British man-of-war and forced to stop. Marines boarded the ship and impressed every man on board who seemed physically capable of being a seaman. (It is a known fact that due to a strong prejudice against the Irish, some English shipping firms notified the Royal Navy when a ship departed England with a large number of Irishmen aboard. Whether this happened in William’s case is unknown.)

William served aboard the man-of-war for many months. This particular ship spent most of its time waylaying ships sailing to or from the United States. Some ships were seized and taken over while others were stripped of men or cargo.

Early the following winter a rumor was passed around the ship that it were going to dock in Nova Scotia to take on cargo and supplies. Several of the Irishmen hatched a plan to jump ship if at all possible. Sure enough, the day arrived when land appeared ahead of them. One of the Irishmen lashed a rope to the stern of the ship and allowed it to slip into the water unnoticed.

Night fell early in December and the loading of cargo was still going on. In the confusion of the moving and stowing of the cargo the plotters slipped into the galley and each of them stole a loaf of bread which they tucked under their jackets. As the ship began to slip away from the dock the six young men slid down the rope and into the water where they waited silently until the ship was far enough away that they could swim to shore unnoticed.

The six stumbled ashore, soaking wet in the frigid December night. Much to their surprise, amazement, and distress, they realized they were not at a port. There was no city. There were no lights. There was no sign of any people living anywhere near where they came ashore. Their clothes began to freeze solid on their bodies and they had no idea where they were. What were they to do?