Fingers Smith

Fingers Smith is a Boy Third Class aboard HMS Terpsichore. He is a PC belonging to Keiju. His PB is an unknown extra from Master & Commander.

Family
Fingers has no known family.

Life before the Navy
Fingers' first clear memory is of the sight of the Thames. He grew up close to the river and lived under the strict care of a woman he nominally remembers as being called his mother. She was a cold, demanding presence in his life. At a young age, Fingers was sent out onto the streets to earn his keep, he was told. His small size and quick hands made him an ideal dipper and an older boy who also lived in the overcrowded house taught Fingers the broader points of that trade.

This was the manner in which the lad passed three years. During that time, his former mentor was caught in the act of slashing the straps that held several valises to the back of a post-coach and was sent directly to Newgate Prison, while the unyielding woman he knew as Mother simply vanished. Fingers discovered her absence upon returning to the slum-house with his day's haul, ready to hand it over in payment for a meagre dinner of old bread and gristle-meat. Awaiting him instead was a leather-voiced man who took Fingers away at once, without an explanation. There was no sign of the other boys who lived in the house.

The man directed Fingers to a waiting hansom cab, into which the lad climbed with considerable trepidation. He had never actually been inside one of these enormous vehicles before. They seemed too noisy and expensive for the likes of him. The cab set off on a long journey across London, eventually arriving outside a large building where several other boys, similar to his own age, were living. This place was, he was later told, the Marine Society and all the boys present were soon to be sent to the Navy. What this meant was a mystery, for Fingers had heard of the Navy only in snippets of overheard conversation between sailors in various taverns and on the streets.

Going to Sea
A very brief education in the sea-going life was given to him, followed by a canvas bag heavy with clothes and essentials. Fingers was told he was soon to join a fine profession. He did not know then what this meant. Within a month, he joined a group of other boys bound for Chatham, where several ships were fitting out for sea. If he had thought the trip to the Marine Society was long, the journey by coach to Chatham was endless. Upon arriving, the boys were immediately dispersed to their respective ships. Fingers was sent to join HMS Brunswick, 74, which was part of the Channel Fleet. In the books of that ship, his age was given as eleven, though this is probably an overestimate. By his own reckoning, Fingers was not quite yet nine when he went to sea for the first time. This is when he bothers to consider the matter, anyway.

It was when Brunswick returned to Chatham for careening that Fingers came to join HMS Terpsichore, 32. The frigate was in dock for repairs but was soon to go to receive sailing orders. After perhaps a year of service in his first ship, Fingers was sent to join the frigate as she fitted out. It is a setting he finds much more enjoyable, owing in no small part to the affable nature of the crew - a marked improvement over the often sulking mood that pervaded his previous ship.

Appearance
Fingers is naturally small and skinny, despite his penchant for eating nearly everything that isn't nailed down. On more than one occasion he has been caned for sneaking food from the gunroom tray before the steward takes it in to serve the officers. His size is something he uses to his fullest advantage in his constant efforts to sneak out of work. Quick-footed and nimble, the boy can move around the deck and rigging with nearly as much competence as a topman.

Personality
In the watchbills, Fingers is listed as being under the supervision of the ship's gunner. Such employment is, by nature, dirty and the boy's general state readily reflects this. His clothes are stained liberally with powder, blacklead, and tallow, as are his hands, face, and feet. His wild curly mess of blond hair tends to attract sticky messes like tallow and there is a semi-permanent dusting of dry powder on his scalp, which makes his head constantly itchy. To bathe, however, is an utterly repulsive idea to him and he balks even at washing his heart-shaped face or his slim fingers.

Above all else, Fingers loves a good skylark. He will do almost anything to be part of one and thinks nothing of skiving out of work to join in a good bit of fun on deck. In the way of young boys, he considers life not enjoyable unless there is fun to be had. Everything is a game to him and serious thought is as foreign to his mind as is French.