Pirate

My mind was working, trying to calculate the odds. We had half their manpower if Rhames had judged correctly, and I suspected he had. A pitched fight would surely result in casualties to our side, which we could not afford. “We’re gonna have to sneak up on them.”

“Aye.” He looked at Blue, who grinned. “While you were sleeping, we made some of those devil tubes like he’s got. With the poison from the cat’s claws and you three taking shots, we should be able to knock out at least half and make it a fair fight.”

I nodded acceptance, upset about being relegated to light duty, but with my leg as it was, I had little choice. I couldn’t help but notice the tide, slack on our way out, was now starting to ebb. We would have to act. The group gathered around as Rhames outlined his plan. Lucy, Blue, Rory, and I would take a canoe and go back to the spot where we had just landed, make our way across the island, and wait for the men to approach. In typical pirate treachery, Rhames and the other men would load themselves into one canoe and approach the boat as if they were being chased by Indians. The men on the merchant ship would hardly expect an attack from inland and they would go to the rail, more out of curiosity than suspect, to see what was going on. From that point, we would have a clear view of their backs.

The men began loading the chests in the two remaining boats and secured them to the mangrove branches. We left before them, retracing the route we had just used. As I rowed, I couldn’t help but notice the look on Rory’s face.

“What is it?”

“I thought you were going to scout it out and offer them pay?” she said.

I hesitated.

“Pirates is what it is,” she hissed. “I want no part of this. You swore to drop me off at the first sign of civilization, and I’m calling you on it now. Leave these men be and let me go.”

I continued rowing, wanting to respect my oath, but I had to consider the others as well. Fortunately, I was saved from the decision by Lucy, who withdrew a dart and went for Rory’s neck.

The boat swayed and almost capsized as I lunged to stop her, forcing the dart to land in her arm instead. Rory fell over instantly.

“You killed her.” I tried to keep my voice down.

“No, Mr. Nick. You saved her. If it would’ve gone into her neck, yes, I would have killed her, but in that part of the arm, she’ll sleep for a bit.” She smiled, as if this had been her plan all along.

Blue took over and focused our attention on the task at hand.

My heart was pounding in my chest when we reached the shore, and the adrenaline coursing through my blood, which one feels before battle, dimmed the pain in my leg to the point where I hardly noticed it when I got out of the boat. I looked behind at Rory, head down on her chest and slumped against a gunwale, and decided that she wouldn’t have to worry about being a pirate after all if she slept through the whole pirating thing. We left her there and crept through the mangroves.

The canoe was in sight when we reached the beach on the seaward side of the island and waited behind the last copse of mangroves. The men on the merchant ship were gathering at the rail as the men in the approaching canoe yelled and waved for help. As they approached, I watched Lucy and Blue swing the tubes from their backs and stick several darts in the sand. I followed their lead and readied myself.

The men were distracted by the approaching canoe and I reached down, stuck a dart in the tube, and put it to my mouth. Before I could aim and blow, I noticed the two Africans in a blur of activity besides me. As I looked up to aim, I saw two men drop. Before I had blown once, they had already fired two darts each. With a third about to follow, I inhaled through my nose and blew as hard as I could. I don’t know if it was my shot, or if they had gotten off two more, but two more men dropped to the deck of the boat. As we reloaded and fired again, I heard the sound of several rifles’ fire. Smoke enveloped the ship and canoe, and I couldn’t tell who had fired or what the result was.

27

I waited impatiently, knowing there was nothing to be done until the smoke cleared. Once it did, I was relieved to see it was our men who had fired. It looked like two more men were down, and we had yet to lose anyone. Lucy fired another dart while I reloaded. Blue was in the open now, calculating that the men onboard the boat were focused on the attack from the canoe and had not yet realized the danger at their backs.

He fired again and another man fell. Lucy and I came out next to him and watched the fight as our men fired another round. I realized they were stuck with no means to board the ship. It was up to us to create a diversion to allow them time.