The Pirate Raiders (6 page)

  “It was my pleasure, lass,” he replied.  “Oh! I almost forgot.”

He pulled a cloth sack from a nearby crate and tossed it to Andrea. 

  “Seeing how you’re now a fugitive, it’s probably a good idea for you to change clothes,” he said.  “They’re men’s clothing and they may be a bit baggy, but they’ll do the job.”

She took the bag and hugged John graciously.

  “Thank you again, kind sir,” she said.

After the embrace, John let out a tired sigh.  He was looking more exhausted by the minute.

  “I’m afraid I must be going now,” he said wearily. “Good luck to the lot of you.”

I reached for John and hugged him tightly.  He stuck his neck out for me yet again.  I told myself that this would surely be the last time.

  “Thank you, John.  You’ve never let me down.”

  “You know I’m always here for you, boy,” he replied.

It was a tender moment, one of the few in my life.  He bid us all good luck, and then he was
gone.

Chapter 5
:

Oliver Langley wasted no time collapsing into the first hammock he happened upon in the crew’s quarters of the ship.  I’d already decided that the best place for both Gordon and Andrea would be in my quarters.  It was essential that Gordon recover from his injury as soon as possible and it seemed to me that the best place for him would be on a soft bed.  As it happened, the only soft bed found on the ship was in the captain’s quarters.

I threw Gordon upon my shoulder and quickly made my way across the deck with Andrea on my heels.  I barged through the door of the captain’s quarters and casually dropped Gordon’s limp body into bed.  It was very dark, but there was no need to light a lantern.  I found Andrea a cot and minutes after she lay down, I could hear the heavy, rhythmic breathing of her sleeping.  I stood there a moment with my hands upon my sides and reflected on the events of the day. 

It was truly miraculous that I was still alive! 

I thought of the sloop I now found myself in.  I knew very little about her and had not even seen how she looked from the outside.  I would have to get acquainted with the ship very quickly in the morning if I was going to be able to set sail by early afternoon.

Exhaustion weighed heavily on my eyelids and I considered options for my own sleeping arrangement.  Tired as I was, I simply grabbed a wooden chair from a nearby table, sat down, and leaned it carefully back against the wall.  I lowered the tricorn hat down over my eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.

The next morning I was awakened suddenly by the moaning and groaning of Gordon Littleton.  The sound startled me, and I came very close to tipping my chair over.  Gordon was still lying in the bed, but he was massaging his temples.

I took the groaning and the movement as a good sign. 

  “As soon as I get a little rum and porridge in you, you’ll be good as new,” I muttered.

  “I’m afraid it’s going to be quite a while before I’m ‘good as new’,” he groaned.

Gordon arose from the bed in a gingerly fashion, allowing both legs to swing lazily off the bed and onto the floor.  He stood for a moment and I could tell he was considering whether or not he should try and walk.  There was a glazed-over look in his eyes; he almost seemed drunk.

  “Sit down you crass fool,” I commanded.  “You’ll end up falling and cracking that skull of yours open the rest of the way.”

I walked over and gently pushed him back down on to the bed.  He scowled at me, but remained seated.  Andrea stirred on the cot in the corner; she’d apparently been listening to our exchange.

  “The captain is right,” she said.  “You should sit down Gordon.”

  “I’ll remain seated if you’ll find something for my belly,” he replied.  “It’s past time for breakfast and I’m not going to be very useful at all on an empty stomach.”

Andrea stood and stretched.

  “I think we can manage that,” she said and then looked at me.  “Right, Captain?”

I wasn’t very comfortable leaving Gordon alone.  He was a stubborn man and often disobeyed any orders regarding his personal
well-being.  It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he jumped up and started getting his navigational charts together the minute that we left the ship.

On the other hand, I needed some time alone with Andrea to discuss a few things regarding Captain Trimble and the signet ring of King Solomon.  I decided to leave him alone and if he fell and cracked his bloody skull while we were away, it would be his own cursed fault.

  “Gordon, you stay right there until we get back.  Agreed?”

His response was exactly as I expected.

  “Sure Captain, I’ll be right here when you return.  I like my eggs scrambled if you please,” he said.

I rolled my eyes and motioned for Andrea to follow me.  When we were outside and on deck, I was surprised to already see several members of my crew on board.  They were sprawled all about the deck, their bellies no doubt full of rum.  Many of them were still sleeping off the wild night before.  I figured this was as good a time as any to get things back to normalcy.

  “Up with you!” I shouted.  “Set to work, all of you!  We’ve got a ship to ready if we’re to shove off by midafternoon.”

The men scrambled to their feet, some cursing as they went.  I didn’t mind the cursing or the scowls, for as long as they did their duties it made no difference to me.  One man in particular, Robert Lynch, immediately went aloft to see about the rigging.  He was a young man, mid-twenties; a mop of brown shaggy hair adorned his large head and a long neck extended beneath his chin.  He was a scrawny fellow, but strong and a natural leader.  When the Royal Navy defeated me and my crew on board the
Rebecca,
I was saddened to find one of the casualties was the ships boatswain, Isaac Norington.  Norington had been a trusted member of my crew for two years and his stern demeanor was respected by every man on the ship.  He would be a difficult man to replace, but I truly felt young Robert Lynch would be up for the job. 

I strolled over to the rail nearest where the young man was working.

  “Good morning, Robert,” I said jovially.

He stopped fumbling with the rope in his hands and gazed down upon me. 

  “Good morning, Captain.  Beautiful weather for sailing,” he replied with a smile.

  “Aye, it is.  Robert I was wondering if I may ask a favor of you.”

The smile he’d been wearing vanished and his face turned serious.  His brown eyes widened.

  “Of course, sir.  What do you need?”

  “As you know, Isaac Norington was cut down by the redcoats when our ship was taken five days ago,” I began.

Robert’s serious expression turned somber as he thought of Norington.  He nodded in acknowledgement.

  “His death puts me in an unfortunate predicament here and now, a mere few hours away from setting sail,” I said.  “It’s hard to replace a man like Norington, and well, I just feel you’d be perfect for the job if you’re interested.”

  “Are you asking me to be boatswain, Captain Redd?” the young man asked, in somewhat disbelief.

  “What say you?  Are you up for the task?”

Robert opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off suddenly by the shrill voice of “Jolly” Jack Porter, the ship’s cook who had apparently been eavesdropping on the conversation from nearby.  He was a wise old bloke with lots of stories.  When he spoke, the other pirates listened.  He only had three fingers on his right hand (the other two were cut off during a raid of a Spanish fort over ten years ago), but he pointed the remaining ragged digits straight up at Robert. 

  “Robert is a fine choice, Cap’n,” he said.  “It’s for certain he is…and you better accept the offer laddie or I’ll give you a swift kick in the arse.”

Robert smiled, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

  “You heard Jolly Jack,” I said.  “I think the matter is settled.”

Robert shook his head and gazed out to sea, way beyond the harbor.  I could tell he was still mulling it over.  I leaned closer to him in an effort to keep the rest of our conversation more private.

  “Robert, I haven’t forgotten your reason for turning to piracy six years ago,” I said softly. 

He whipped his head in my direction, his eyes narrowed and a flicker of fury burned there a moment.

  “What are you saying, Captain?”

  “I’m saying that the
prize
you seek is within reach now,” I replied slyly.

  “If what you say is true, then I’d be honored to be your boatswain, sir,” he agreed quickly.  “I swear upon my life that I will do my duties to the absolute best of my ability.” 

   “I do not doubt you,” I replied.  “Now, are you ready for your first task?”

Robert stared at me; a somewhat surprised look appeared on his face.  He seemed taken off guard with his first order as boatswain coming so soon.  He hurriedly climbed down from the rigging and stood tall before me.

  “Yes, of course, Captain.  What do you need?”

  “Go into town and fetch the rest of the crew.  There’s no need to tell them of your new position just yet.  I’ll do that honor once we set sail.”

Robert’s eager mood suddenly became more subdued and his shoulders slumped.

  “Is s
omething wrong?” I asked.

  “No sir—well …it’s just…what if they won’t listen to me Captain?”

  “Then we’ll bloody leave the worthless scugs behind, Robert,” I snapped.  “However, I don’t expect many of them to give you a lot of resistance.  After so narrowly escaping the gallows, they’ll probably be eager to pull up anchor.  I plan to be at sea just before dusk.”

  “Aye, sir.  I’ll be back on board in time,” he replied. 

I watched Robert jog down the gangplank until he disappeared in the vast crowds hurrying about on the streets.  I turned back to the men that remained.  They continued to do their duties and I trusted them to do so in my absence. 

I turned away and set off for the gangplank.  Andrea began to follow and no sooner had I set foot onto the plank, I noticed a trio of red coats walking up the other end.  I took a step back to let them board.

Andrea looked at me uneasily and pulled her wide brimmed hat down over her eyes.  I was suddenly very grateful for the change of clothes John had given her the night before.  She wisely took a moment to change before settling in for the night. 
The soldiers immediately looked her way and watched her curiously for a moment.  Next, they scanned over the rest of my crew.  They looked upon the men as if they were nothing more than cockroaches.

   “Captain, I’m sure by now you’ve heard about the incident that occurred last night,” one of the soldiers said.  I immediately recognized his voice; he was the soldier that conducted the search on John’s wagon the night before.  His appearance was pretty much as I pictured.  His straight blonde hair was brought up into a ponytail upon the back of his head.  He had a thinly trimmed mustache and blue eyes that seemed to be set slightly too far apart.  He seemed to point his stubby nose and cleft chin upward as he spoke to me.  The other two soldiers flanked him on both sides, stone-faced.  I guessed that he outranked both of them.

  “I’m afraid I haven’t heard about any
incident
,” I replied coolly.  “What the devil happened?”

The two soldiers on either side of him suddenly peered at me with smug expressions.  I heard one of them stifle a laugh.  Their leader, blondie, flashed his white teeth at me and shook his head.

  “Mr. Reeves, I think I should tell you immediately that I do not appreciate liars.  In fact I despise them.  Pirates, such as you, are notorious liars.”  His eyes narrowed and his blue eyes seemed to grow darker.  “
Don’t
lie to me, Mr. Reeves.  I’m going to ask you again, do you know anything about last night’s incident?”

I wasn’t very surprised by the soldier’s attitude since I’d become acquainted with it during the night.  He seemed to be pushing me rather quickly.  I probably should have refrained from pushing back, but I just didn’t want to.

  “Do you have a name, soldier?” I asked.

  “Flynn…Augustus Flynn,” he answered proudly.

  “Right.  Mr. Flynn, first of all when you address me, you shall call me Captain Reeves.”  I watched his eyes widen in disbelief.  “Secondly, I answered your question once and if you accuse me of lying once again I’m going to make you eat those bloody words.”

Flynn’s face turned so red I feared his bloody eyes would pop out.  The other soldier’s faces were white in contrast.  Clearly, this Mr. Flynn wasn’t used to being talked to in this fashion.  Flynn reached down and drew his sword.  I took a step back and reached for my cutlass and suddenly realized I’d left it in the cabin.  Flynn stepped toward me and held the tip of his sword to my chin.  I heard Andrea gasp and I caught sight of two of my men watching the scene intensely.  They seemed ready and willing to pounce if and when I needed them.  I gave them a look that they were familiar with. 
Stand down.
  I backed up until my legs touched the railing.  Flynn moved his face inches from mine.

  “The only reason I will not slice your throat down to the neck bone is because Governor Winter’s gave me explicit instructions to bid you no physical harm,” he snarled, moisture spraying from his lips.