"What was that?" came a demand. I turned to find a British officer in flowing shirtsleeves behind me. He had a long pistol in his hand and his fancy w...g was slightly awry. I dropped to one knee and fired as he was bringing his weapon to bear. My ball smashed his shoulder and his shot went down into the deck planks. I pulled the writhing man out of the cabin doorway and went quickly below. Mrs. Houton had been tied to a stanchion and her daughter lay on a bunk, her dress torn open, her arm over. I competed for the town swimming club at every age group from 10 to 16 years old and I wasn’t bad, as it happens (as I say, more of that later). I must have been quite young, 11 or 12 perhaps, when Dad said ‘take a look at the opposition, work out who the real competition is, and then feel sorry for them, because you are going to win today, not them’. It didn’t always work, of course, but as a way of strengthening my resolve, not to mention my self-confidence, it became something of a mantra. . That small but important job out of the way, I rose to my feet, my legs stiff from the previous day’s sport and stood in front of the full length mirror fastened to my wardrobe door. Turning first left then right, I smoothed down my nightie and looked at the legs revealed below. They looked long – ridiculously long and skinny too – but were still slim and soft. They were in need of a shave but that would be dealt with shortly. I ran my fingers over my skin as I hoped he would soon run his.. Claire asked if it were possible to give her a ride if she could get the rest of the day off as she was traveling to this town tomorrow and would be hitch hiking her way due to cash flow problems.I pointed out that my company policy was no passengers but I would make an exception for her if she could get away in the next ten minutes.Claire dashed off and seconds later she was back with a rucksack smiling from ear to ear.Her boss had given her the rest of the day off and she was happy to travel.