Nick was following his master to the harbor. A few months ago, Father Smeets had found the boy a position with master Hildebrand van der Kuijp, a merchant well-known for trading with the German states. The merchant had been looking for bright apprentice who would be of help with the German clients and their correspondence. Nick had been learning to read Dutch, German and Latin from the priest for the past five years and by now was well-versed in both Dutch and German, although his Latin was still very limited.
They walked from the master’s house on the Keizersgracht to the harbor in the middle of town. Called “On the Water”, the broad quay was lined with warehouses where the rich Amsterdam merchants temporarily stored their wares before shipping them on. The smaller merchants, who couldn’t afford the prime warehouses, rented space in wooden shacks that had been erected on the quay to keep their wares dry and somewhat safe from theft.
As they emerged from the narrow side street, the broad quay of On the Water was spreading out in front of them. Thirty or more ships were moored here, loading and unloading, and another two dozen ships were seen on the other side of the broad canal, where still more warehouses directly backed up to the water.
And these were only the smaller ships that were coming to Amsterdam. The large, ocean-going vessels were moored on the IJ in front of the town, from where their cargo was taken by tenders to the shore.
Coming to the harbor made Nick realize that he was fundamentally a country boy. Amsterdam’s importance as one of the major metropoles in the civilized world was nowhere more evident than here with the continuous activity, the hundreds and hundreds of people purposefully going about their business, the seemingly never ending chaos. It felt oppressive to the young man, but also made him feel proud to be part of this.
The air smelled of fish, as it did in any harbor, but also of many different spices. The merchants and officers and sailors passing by spoke a variety of languages, many more than Nicholas could recognize. Many of them had dark hair and dark skins, contrasting brightly with the Viking-like Nordic sailors. The stevedores were busy loading and unloading the ships.
Nick almost lost track of his master as he gawked at all the activity around him. He just saw him entering one of the shacks before a group of more than a dozen sailors on shore leave blocked his view. They seemed to be arguing about which whorehouse to visit and Nick was careful to keep his distance from them. He slowly followed his master, continuing to take in at all the activity around him.
Not five minutes could have passed when he noticed smoke rising up behind the building master Hildebrand had gone into. The smoke quickly grew thicker and people started to scream.
Several men came running out of the building but Nick’s master wasn’t among them. As the smoke grew thicker and flames became visible at the roof of the building, Nick fretted. His master still hadn’t come out.
Fire was the biggest enemy for everyone, both for towns and for the wooden ships. Even though plenty of water was close by, there was no guarantee that any fire could be contained.
Sailors on nearby ships quickly formed a bucket brigade and started throwing water on the building from which smoke was rising. Stevedores and other laborers from the nearby warehouses formed a second brigade.
“Master Hildebrand,” Nick called. “Master Hildebrand, where are you?”
No answer, and nobody was leaving the building anymore. Nick ran towards it, realizing his employer must still be inside. People yelled at him to stay away, but he ignored them.
“Master Hildebrand, are you there?” he kept on calling as he got to the door. He couldn’t see much at all through the smoke but thought he could hear faint coughing through the crackle of the flames.
Without thinking about the risk, Nick ran into the building towards the back. He kept calling out, and a strangled “here” answered him. Following the sound, he found his master pinned down by a large beam that had fallen from the ceiling.
Nick grabbed the man’s shoulders and pulled, until he was able to free him. The merchant’s left leg was clearly broken and Nick had to half drag, half carry him to safety. He coughed from the smoke and the strain but managed to get them both out of the burning building. They collapsed on the quay while the building behind him imploded, sending sparks flying all around.
⁂
Doctors were able to save Hildebrand van der Kuijp’s leg, and Nick’s coughing went away after a few days. A week after the fire, Nick was summoned into the office.
Nick had been in the office only once before, when he was offered his job. He looked around in awe. There were large windows through which the sun streamed in, illuminating the book cases along the walls. The main desk was large, carved with intricate patterns. The work area on the top of the desk had a soft cloth stretched over it, making it comfortable to the touch.
The man behind the desk gazed at him thoughtfully.
“You realize that you saved my life?” the merchant, sitting behind a large desk, asked.
“Eh... it’s nothing, sir. Anyone would have done it.”
The older man nodded.
“And modest too, that’s good. You will go far, boy. But you did save my life, and you deserve a reward for this.”
“Really, sir, it is nothing.”
“Nonsense, my life is definitely not nothing. So tell me, what would you want as a reward?”
“Sir, you already gave me a job, that is reward enough.”
“Stop talking back to me, son. Now name your reward already!”
Nick thought for a moment.
“There is nothing for myself I want,” he answered finally, “but there are a lot of poor people in the city. If you really want to do something, can you give some food to the poorest of them?”
“Food for those lazy bums, without them having to work for it? Why on Earth would I do that?”
“You asked me what I wanted as a reward, sir. That is what I would want my reward to be.”
Van der Kuijp considered this strange request.
“You are truly a remarkable young man,” he decided in the end, “and you will have it. I will be setting up a food distribution as your reward.”