Voyage of Slaves

Mamma persisted. “Then let me speak with your master!”

The guard squatted down against the doorpost, resting his brow against the muzzle of his rifle. “You have no say in this, woman. My master will speak with you when he is ready. Shouting and banging will do you no good. Now be silent!”

Serafina put her arms around the older woman. “Do as he says, Mamma, come and sit down, you’ll only get splinters in your hands if you keep banging the door.”

Signora Rizzoli allowed herself to be seated on some bales of carpet. She shook her head despairingly. “Why are they doing this to us, what has Misurata got to gain by locking us down here?”

La Lindi took things more calmly, lying on the bales, with her head against the timbered wall. “We’re probably hostages against the men’s good behaviour. Maybe they’ve got wind that we might try to escape. I wonder if they’ve found Otto’s old gun. Useless thing, we should have thrown it into the sea. . . .”

The snake charmer paused and sat up straight. “Serafina, listen, I think I heard a horse whinny, it sounded like our Poppea. Right here, in the cabin next to this one!”

Serafina climbed up alongside her friend. She smacked on the bulkhead, calling softly, “Poppea, is it you, old girl? Poppea!”

A snort and neighing came through from the adjoining cabin. The pretty girl laughed happily.

“It is! That’s our Poppea, I’d know her sound anywhere!”

Mamma climbed up to Serafina’s side. She listened to the mare’s whinnies. “Oh, you poor old lady, have they kept you down here all this time?”

La Lindi crawled along the top of the bales to the rear of the cabin. “Here, Mamma, pass me the lantern!”

Mamma unhooked the lantern from a ceiling beam.

La Lindi held the light up, dispersing the shadows at the back of the bales. “There’s a door here, like a stable door. Wait!” Serafina heard a bolt being withdrawn. La Lindi sounded excited. “It’s one of those half-doors, like we have on our cart. I can see Poppea, come and look. The door’s jammed by these bales, but I can see her. Hello, my beauty, and how are you, eh?”

Poppea thrust her muzzle into the opening and Serafina planted a kiss on it.

“You’ve put on weight, lady. My, but you do look well, all brushed and groomed. They must have been taking good care of you!”

The presence of the troupe’s mare cheered them up. Mamma began trying to move the bales. “Let’s get the door open, then we can be all girls together!”

Between them, the three got to work. It took quite awhile, but they managed to roll the bales forward. There were three tiers of them, and it was not possible to clear a space large enough for a horse to come through. However, they did the next best thing. Clearing six bales from the rear, they dropped down and released the lock on the bottom half of the door. It opened enough so that the trio could go through.

Serafina was first into the stable cabin. She laid her cheek on the mare’s arched neck, whispering, “You couldn’t come into our cabin, so we’ve come to visit you!”

La Lindi sat down on a heap of dry straw. “This is better than the place they put us in. They must clean it regularly. We’ll probably get into trouble for being in here.”

Mamma folded her arms decisively. “Trouble, aren’t we in enough trouble as it is? We never asked to come down here. I’ll give them trouble if they want it, you’ll see!”

It was Ghigno who finally came. They heard the guard opening the cabin on the other side, and heard him call out in astonishment.

“They’re not here, sir, where can they have gone?”

Mamma smiled as she listened to Ghigno beating and kicking the guard soundly.

“Where do you think they’ve gone, misbegotten donkey? Can’t you see the rear hatch door open back there!”

La Lindi chuckled. “We should have closed it behind us, that would have had them really puzzled!”

There was no time for further comment, as Ghigno booted the door to the stable cabin open and strode angrily in. His scarred face was livid with rage. He looked as though he was about to strike someone.

Mamma placed herself boldly in front of Serafina and La Lindi. “I demand that you send us back to the men’s cabin!”

Ghigno took a step toward her, his fist upraised. “You demand? Who are you to demand, you old she-goat! Get back into your cabin while you can still walk!”

Fearing he was about to strike Mamma, La Lindi’s shout rang out, loud and abrupt. “Don’t you dare harm her, get back!”

Poppea knew the term “back.” It was always used by the troupe members whenever they reversed her into the shafts of the cart. The mare whinnied and backed up two paces, her stamping left rear hoof pounding down onto Ghigno’s right foot.

The Corsair roared in agony. “Yaaarrgh! Get the horse off my foot!”

Serafina clicked her tongue at the mare, who obliged by taking a step forward, releasing the man.

The guard supported Ghigno as he hopped about on one leg, uttering agonised sounds.