He'd been called Clod ever since he remembered. Clod also remembered sitting in the street begging for food. But that was years before.
For the most recent past, he slept on a wooden cot in the storeroom attic. He had work, mainly cleaning the floors, putting things on shelves, often so high he had to climb the shelves themselves.
Miller, the man who told him what to do, where to go and when to do it all in loud usually angry orders would talk to people who entered the store. Clod was not allowed to talk to them; in fact he wasn't allowed to talk to Miller either.
He just did what the man said.
"You ought to buy the boy some clothes" one woman said eyeing Clod sweeping the floor. He was barefoot, wore pants too large for him and a shirt that Miller had thrown at him. It too was large hanging from him.
"He hasn't earned it" Miller said smiling to the woman. "For the boy" she said putting coins in the man's hand.
Clod looked up expectantly. "He'll get it when he's old enough" Miller said thanking the woman.
"You clod, get back to work" the order came and Clod looked back down at the wooden floor he had to kept swept bare.
Clod was always hungry but not as hungry as he remembered being. He slept under blankets from the store, he bathed when told to. It was a better life he realized. So he did what Miller said, that is until one day.
"Why?" he asked Miller
Miller looked at him with his usual scowl. "What did you say to me you ungrateful clod?"
"Why do I have to work all the time? Can't I get time off? I see boys from other stores going places" Clod pointed out the door.
He had seen other boys through the small window in the attic.
"You do what I tell you or get the fuck out back on the street where I found you" Miller had stepped close enough to Clod that the boy knew what was bout to happen. But this time he didn't cower or step away.
The hand swung and knocked him to the floor as it had many times before teaching Clod who was his boss.
But this time Miller reacted to Clod's bracing himself rather then trying to hide from the oncoming blow.
He lay on his cot that night, feeling his body, escaping the feeling of the bruised side of his face and the feelings that he was less then other boys he had seen. He was trash, Miller had told him once.
Clod had only started to wonder what it would be like to leave the shop on his own. He'd steal food, clothes and a blanket and just leave in the middle of the night.
Then he grabbed himself and thinking of outside, running across hills he had never seen, diving into the oceans he had heard surrounded the country, he gasped and collapsed with a new found pleasure.
Clod did it often sometimes sneaking away from his chores in the shop to do it. It was a compulsion he had never felt before, sometimes demanding he abandon meals.
Every day Miller closed the shop and yelled instructions. Clod would obey of course, anxious to complete the cleaning and shelf stocking or other chores to return to his bed in the attic.
But one day, Miller yelled at him to strip naked in front of him. Clod feared his man part would harden and reveal his secret pleasure to the man. He'd surely be beaten. But he hesitantly obeyed.
"Put these on" the man threw pants and a shirt at him. They weren't new but in better condition then the now discarded rags he had worn for years.
Clod didn't know whether to thank the man for the new clothes or just be quiet. Miller didn't give him time to decide, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him out the front door.
Clod thought his fantasies were about to become real, though being thrown out wasn't quite what he hoped would happen.
Instead of tossing him to the cobblestones, Miller locked the front door and yanked his arm.
They walked down streets and through the garbage littered back streets. Clod heard the call of seagulls and knew they were going near where large sailing boats were. He remembered going there as a young kid to beg for food. The once familiar scent of the water filled his lungs.
Despite his fear, the odor invigorated him.
"Here" Miller said pulling him inside a store. It was crowded with men who talked loudly, some sang others laughed.
Large women carried mugs to tables from across the room which seemed to stimulate men laughing louder and smacking them on the asses.
"Here he is" Miller said
Clod looked at the floor. The men wore boots, some black and shiny, others dirty and obviously old.
"Look up clod" Miller yanked on his sleeve.
Clod looked up. The much older man moved his eyes up and down, examining the boy.
"You feed him at all?" the man asked.
"Enough" Miller said "too much food makes him lazy"
There was laughter when another man said something to the man in front of him.
Clod understood the joke and smiled. The man was indeed larger then others. The joke was about his size.
"Shut it or we'll go back to the ship and see how funny you can be under the lash" the man growled.
He sounded angry but he winked at Clod. It was pleasant.
"You boy, what's your name?"
"Answer him you clod" Miller ordered loud enough for others in the area to hear.
Clod didn't know his name so he just answered "Clod"
There was laughter again.
"Clod is it? Then that is what I'll call you too" The man said. "How much?" he asked.
"I was thinking a twenty" Miller said quickly responding to the man's scowl "Been feeding and clothing him for years"
"Looks like you've fed him little and those clothes are from some trash heap" The man said "you'll take ten and that's all or forget it"
The man again winked at Clod and his mouth made a slight smile.
"He's worth more" Miller said "but ok, you may have to whip him a bit, he's been acting pushy lately, you know he's at that age"
"Good, they're better at that age" The man said "You know how to take orders Clod?"
Clod felt Miller's hand leave him and saw it take the money another man offered. Somehow he knew he was free of Miller. No more sweeping, cleaning, yelling or hitting.
"Yes Sir" Clod answered the way he had been taught.
"Good, you'll be my cabin boy, take care of the room, take care of me, you understand?" the man said.
Miller interrupted "I don't think he does, a hit on the head will get him to understand."
Clod saw Miller raise his hand as if to hit him as he had before.
The man stood and grabbed Miller's hand.
"He's not your property anymore." The man said "I run a tight ship, I know how to train my crew" he grabbed Clod by the shirt front "You belong to the Captain of the Bogger now boy, understand?"
"Yes Sir" Clod wanted to add a "thank you" but decided to remain quiet.
Then the wink again told him it was ok.
"Do with him what you want, he's no concern of mine anymore" Miller said "Good sailing Captain" he added in departure.
Miller was gone, out of Clod's life now. He stood among the drinking and laughing men now, not sure what to do.
"Sit here boy" Captain McKyle said and Clod moved to a nearby chair quickly emptied by another man.
"Give him a pint" the man said.
Clod gagged at the taste and that made everyone near them laugh too.
The ship was larger then ones Clod remembered. He followed the Captain carrying a cloth bag the man had pointed to in the pub where he had been sold.
"My cabin is down there, that's where you'll stay" the man pointed. A clean faced man in uniform guided him.
"Just do whatever the Captain says and you'll get along" the man said holding out his hand, "I'm midshipman Taylor, I was his cabin boy a long time ago"
Clod had seen men shake hands though he never did it before. He placed his hand against Taylors and engaged in the greeting.
"Thank you Sir" Clod said.
"No don't call me Sir. Only the Captain and First Mate get called that. Call me Taylor"
Clod nodded.
"You just do everything he says. When the Captain is here, it's private. Nobody is allowed in here unless he orders it. So just you know, don't hesitate. The Captain can be gruff sometimes, and uh very nice other times. Just make him happy. If you do that, he'll keep you around and frankly the entire crew will be happy." Taylor said
"Enough Taylor get to your duties" Captain McKyle appeared in the room.
"So boy this is your new home. You'll be in here most of the time. Keep it clean and as Taylor said, keep me happy, understand? Now get out of those rags."
Clod looked around. The room was large, furnished with a large table at one side, an open wardrobe with uniforms hanging and a bed against the wall.
"Now boy" The Captain looked at him.
Clod had stripped naked in front of Miller that very morning. Now he was being told to do it again. He looked at the floor, feeling embarrassed as he discarded the new-to-him clothing Miller had tossed at him.
"Not bad, skinny." The Captain walked around him "You get hard allot boy?"
Clod muttered `yes Sir, sorry" he added.
The man laughed "Don't apologize. A boy at your age does that. I expect it, never hide it, it means you're a man, a young man but still ..." the man said "besides I suspect you have fun with it, don't you lad?"
Clod felt his face filling with blood. The man somehow knew what he had been doing in private.
"Uh yes Sir" he admitted.
"Well from now on, you do it only when I tell you, understand boy?" the man's hands were on his bare body now.
"We'll fatten you up, build up your muscles with some hard work on deck too. I'll tell Taylor to give you some things to do. You swim boy?"
Clod never thought about it until that moment. "Uh never have sir"
"What?" The Captain grabbed his arm "come with me"
Still naked, Clod felt himself almost tripping as the man dragged him back up the stairs and onto the deck.
"Taylor teach this boy to swim" The man said as he lifted Clod and threw him into the air.
Clod was too scared to realize what was happening. He saw Taylor removing his coat at the edge of the ship, then his shoes before he climbed onto the edge. But then Clod only saw the side of the ship and faces looking down at him. They were laughing.
Then the water enveloped him. Down below the surface Clod sank, feeling like he had been thrown away.
He couldn't breathe, somehow he knew to hold his breath and then just as his body sank lower and lower among the debris and fish his open eyes saw, Clod's body stopped sinking.
Before he realized it, Clod was waving his arms and kicking and that made him rise faster and faster until his head rose above the water.
He heard himself gasping for air.
"He knows how to swim" Taylor yelled. Clod saw him nearby, his bare chest bobbing in the water nearby.
"Teach him anyway" The Captain yelled and again Clod heard laughter.
"Just keep kicking that will keep you floating" Taylor moved closer. Clod noted the older boy seemed to do it easily. He wanted to do that too.
The climb back up the ropes was harder. His arms weren't strong enough and Taylor grabbed his wrist.
"Don't worry, you'll get stronger" Taylor said back on the deck. Clod had never seen another naked man before. Unlike him, Taylor had hair around his man thing. His chest was smooth and muscled. He liked Taylor and it showed.
"Don't worry about it" Taylor said seeing Clod embarrassed. "Come on"
"He learns quickly Sir" Taylor said. Clod wondered how Taylor could enter the Captain's room without being told to, since Taylor said nobody could do that.
"Good. If he's as good a cabin boy as you were, he'll be the beast bargain I ever made" The Captain had moved close and patted Taylor on his bare chest then moved his hand below to the man part.
"I'll try Sir" Clod said.
The Captain looked at him suddenly and both he and Taylor laughed.
Clod was standing, dripping, naked and hard.
"Looks like you are already" the man said "Dismissed" Taylor, also naked, turned and left the cabin.
The ship sailed. Clod learned where the man wanted things put in the cabin, how to brush his uniform and boots and thanks to Taylor little things that made the man happy.
When he first touched the Captain's shoulders, the man braced then felt Clod begin to rub. "Nice boy, Taylor must have told you" the man enjoyed the shoulder massages.
Clod wore the white shirt and knee length pants. They fit him tighter then anything he had worn before, but Taylor said they fit right. Clod's arms had recovered from the pain of climbing the ropes after only a week at sea.
"So you like the ship?" Taylor asked one night. Clod had gone on deck once the Captain slept.
"Yes it's all new to me but like I'm meant to be here" Clod said
"I know the feeling. When my father brought me here.." Taylor
"Did he sell you to the Captain too?" Clod interrupted.
Taylorlooked at him `Uh no, he got me this ship. I always wanted to be a sailor" Taylor replied "Sell you? Did your father sell you to the Captain?"
Clod replied telling his brief story.
"So have you slept in the Captain's bed yet?" Taylor changed the subject.
"No, I sleep on the blankets" Clod said
"Oh, hm, well when you get tired of that, ask him if you can share the bed. If he hasn't invited you by that time. That's what he did for me. It was weird at first, but - - " Taylor looked at Clod.
"He's very nice"
There was something in Taylor's face and words that told Clod he would discover the same feeling.
The night was chilly offering fresh air that Clod had loved the first night on board. He watched Taylor walk the deck on duty. Clod knew that someday he would want to wear the blue tunic and white pants, the shiny shoes and tall hat. He'd want to be strolled the deck on the look out for whatever Taylor was looking.
For the first time in his life, Clod felt like he was where he should be, where he wanted to be.
He walked towards the bridge, climbing the steps. He had stood behind the Captain the first week on ship as the man barked out orders. Though the surroundings were all new to him then, something swelled through his mind. A feeling of freedom, power and wonder. Even then he began to feel at home.
And the man in front of him had changed his life. He watched the man he called Sir. There was something casual yet assertive about him. The way the Captain moved, talked, laughed and gave orders. Clod wondered if he could ever by like that.
He moved from the wheel with a crewman joked with another and back down the ladder to the deck on the way to the cabin he now called home.
The Captain had bought him like property, but Clod felt it was more like the man bought his freedom, gave him a new life, a purpose, a place where he belonged. He would do anything for Sir.
Each chore, each instruction, even each time the man sounded angry, he gladly obeyed and replied "Yes Sir".
He wasn't ashamed when his man part hardened when he massaged the man's shoulders or other times when his tented trousers could be easily seen by the man. He didn't blush anymore when the Captain laughed seeing his excitement.
"You're quite a man there Clod" the man would say and Clod took it as a compliment.
The cabin door creaked open as he entered. Only he could come and go without the man's permission. He was treated with respect by the crew too. Taylor had said they all knew what his job was...and they wanted him to keep the Captain happy in every way.
"When the Captain's happy, the crew is happy" Taylor said.
"So boy, you keeping our Captain happy?" The cook asked one day.
Clod realized he wanted the man happy. He undressed putting his clothing on the stack of blankets where he usually slept.
Walking quietly, he let his hardened man thing lead him to the port side where the man slept, snoring quietly.
"Should he ask first?" Clod wondered but he didn't want to wake him.
Instead he crawled onto the bed and lifted the man's blanket. He slid his bare body under the blanket feeling the man's body with his bare back.
Then nuzzling onto the straw mattress, he found a way to bend and fit in front of him. The Captain's arm lifted and surrounded him pulling him tighter against him.
Clod sighed knowing he was going to make the man happy that night. He felt the Captain's man part moving and he winced as it entered him. Inside it moved and Clod felt it seem to get larger.
He was where Taylor had once been and doing what Taylor had done. The man didn't make him be there maybe expected it eventually, but Clod felt content giving himself the way.
"You ok boy?" The whispered voice in his ear asked.
Clod "thank you Sir" he said "never did it before" he volunteered.
"Good" The man said as his man thing began to move faster inside Clod.
"So how's the kid doing?" Taylor asked the Captain during dinner a week or so later.
"He's ok, I suspect someone gave him some special instructions" The Captain said. Other officers at the table laughed as did Taylor.
Clod moved about pouring rum into the Captain's and officers' mugs. He knew to ignore the men talking even when they were talking about him.
"Think he'll become a midshipman before you retire Sir?" The first mate asked "or will he be my cabin boy then?"
Again the man laughed.
"He'll be more then a cabin boy at that age" The Captain laughed at his first mate "but I suspect even if he's a midshipmen then, you'll enjoy him.
Again laughter.
Clod knelt to remove the man's boots and trousers.
"So you know the men were talking about you" the man said "you mind?"
"No Sir, I'm your boy, even if you retire, I hope you keep me with you" Clod said realizing what he was saying.
The Captain looked at the boy and smiled.
"For now, you're here and my boy" the man didn't say "cabin". But you'll grow up and want to be like Taylor or Jackfor or whatever you want to be.
Clod moved between the man's legs nuzzling the man's undergarment feeling the man part beneath. His fingers unbuttoned it and held the Captain's penis against his lips.
"I don't want to grow up" Clod said taking the man's penis in his mouth. He was content. He was owned. He was serving. And most importantly he was happy keeping the Captain happy.