As his tendons and nerves were torn apart by the saw blade, Planky was so overcome by the pain that he went unconscious. His limp body flinched in the remaining trauma as the doctor cauterized the wound.
These types of surgeries aboard often ended up in deadly infection, but Doctor Harvey was well skilled at his work, and though the scene was bloody and horrific, Planky would be healing safely upon his new wooden leg.
Once all the matters on deck were resolved, Captain Flynn called for Nortty and me to meet in his quarters. He handed us each a bottle of rum and requested that we help him clean up the room. Opening the stern windows, he cursed the dingy odor that Morley left behind. Nortty ran his arm along the debris on the tables and bookshelf dropping everything to the floor. Faron swept the mess out the door and ordered his new recruits to take care of it. I put the random collection of books on the shelves as I drank, and I laughed at the titles of literature and poetry that I knew Faron would never read. He smirked at me humor and claimed, “It makes me feel smarter having books on me shelf.”
Faron put the red satin sheets on his bed and pinned a drape of black fabric on the wall behind it. He asked me if he could hang one of me maps on the wall, so I went to get one.
When I came back, the room smelled like burning incense and looked like a new place. The hideous vase was set in the center of the table and the matching chairs were placed neatly around it. I hung me map of the Spanish Main on the wall above the book shelf and Captain Flynn looked around the room smiling in satisfaction. “Aye, Bentley, I feel like a king.”
Nortty had ‘bout finished his bottle of rum throughout the cleanup, so he was sloppy drunk and covered in sweat. Sitting down in one of the new chairs, he slurred, “Aye. Well King Flynn, ye best remember we ‘ave a bloody code to write.”
Belching after his comment, I thought he might vomit. I laughed but Faron slammed his hand on the table and hollered, “Ye better not be puking up yer bilgy ol’ rum on me clean wooden floor, ye beslubbering whale. I’ll be moppin’ it up with yer beard if ye do.”
Faron laughed at himself as he sat down in the red velvet chair at the head of his table.
It had been a while since I had sat at the captain’s table with an opinion outside me navigation work, and I had forgotten how much I liked helping the captain along. The ship rolled easily on the tide, and a salty breeze blew in the open stern window as we made adjustments to Morley’s code; hoping the minor changes would ‘ave a major impact over the operation of the crew.
Articles of Agreement
Captain Faron Flynn’s Crew
I. That every man shall obey his commander in all respects but also has an equal vote over what prizes we hunt, what battles we fight and who will be Captain and Quartermaster.
II.The Captain and Quartermaster to receive two shares of a prize, Navigator, Gunner and Surgeon, one share and a half, and other officers ‘one and quarter.
III.No person to game at cards or dice for money. Lights out at eight and no guns fired in the hold.
IV.To keep their piece, pistols, and cutlass clean and fit for service.
V. Any man that keeps secrets from the Company or runs treasonous with the Company’s information shall be marooned with one bottle of powder, one bottle of water, one pistol and one shot.
VI.Any man that spreads dissension or breeds mutiny will be marooned.
VII.If there is a fight between crew members it will be addressed on shore. Fighting on the ship will be punished by imprisonment until the skirmish is resolved.
VIII.Each man has equal title to the fresh provisions, or strong liquors, at any time seized, and may use them at pleasure, unless a scarcity. Any man caught stealing from the Company will be shot.
IX.He that shall be found guilty of cowardice in the time of engagements shall suffer what punishment the Captain and the majority of the Company shall think fit.
X. He that shall have the misfortune to lose a limb in time of engagement shall have the sum of six hundred pieces of eight, and remain aboard as long as he shall think fit.
XI.No woman or boy allowed on board.
As Captain Flynn posted the code to the mast with his knife, he went over the changes with his crew. “Most thing ye need to be knowing is that thar will be no keelhauling. I never liked that sort of punishment. But if’n ye stir against me operation for mutiny, I will set ye on yer course for independence with a lone island marooning. Ye think ye can run a better crew, then use yer votes. I promise ye freedom, but I demand respect. Don’t think I’ll be taking lightly to anyone that abuses me fairness.”
All of the men agreed to the commands and signed the agreement with their blood, including the prisoners from the Poseidon. I put yet another slash along the side of me palm, but this time I was glad to be signing.
The next two days at sea went sweetly. The weather was warm, the sky was clear and the breeze was at our lee. We even got to raid a Spanish galleon called Incendio.
With Captain Flynn’s fierce battle tactics, we quickly overthrew her. Boarding the Incendio to plunder the gold, we found the ship well stocked with galley slaves to row their sweeps. Spanish crews were notorious for this type of slavery and the men they abused were of all different races, even English. The men were thin and sullen, beaten and exhausted, but Captain Flynn freed them; allowing them to join our crew. He was against slavery, and though the men would be rather worthless in their battered state, he assured them that their freedom was more important to him than the services they could offer.
Stickin’ all the surrendered Spanish sailors in their longboats, we sent them out to sea while we plundered the best of their loot and continued to set fire to the remains of their battered Incendio for the sheer enjoyment of conquering and destruction.
During the raid, I had taken one of the Spanish sailor’s hefty coats. I didn’t like the obviously Spanish look of the coat or the way its gold fasteners pinned all the way up to me neck, but after two days at sea with no shirt at all, me skin was tanned near the point of burning. Now I would be protected from the sun and the weather, but I laughed to meself, figuring it wouldn’t be lasting long.
The next night we decided it was time to eat that bloody Sheldon. Insisting on the matter, we came to find that John the Cook had been feeding and caring for the turtle as his pet and he nearly cried at the thought of slaying him. Majority ruled that vote and to our cook’s disdain we had a tasty round of Sheldon meat for dinner.
After we ate we stayed out on the deck drinking and enjoying the night, and for the first time since we left Port Royal, I was actually glad to be where I was. The stars surrounded the drifting ship and a warm breeze blew calmly over the darkened sea. Everything was right in me world.
Faron asked me to paint him a new Jolly Roger to express the power our crew possessed, but while talking over our ideas, Marin the Marooner called a warning from the crow’s nest. Thar was a mysterious ship headed straight for us with threatening speed. It was incredible that Marin saw the ship in that degree of darkness, but he cursed himself for noticing it too late. Thar was no time to flee.
Captain Flynn commanded orders for battle. We made quick to ready the sails, clear the deck, and check the condition of our own guns, while also spreading ash and sand across the floor for traction, and filling barrels with sea water in case a fire were to strike.
The men sang and chanted with calls of war, prepping their nerves for battle, but the blaggard ol’ musicians began to stir with panic. While they squeaked their feeble concerns Faron pointed his cutlass at them and demanded, “Quit yer blimey whining and play us something fierce, ye squiggly crybabies!” Then he hollered across the deck, “Hoist the colors and turn this bitch around.” Faron shouted with confidence, but as he checked his own weapons, he mumbled his irritations over having to use Morley’s flag.
Shark raised the Jolly Roger while Faron continued to dash his rowdy commands, and I kept to the tiller. The crew made slack all the braces on the squares, and she bit tight
against the wind turning to lee tack. The hull groaned in anguish while the canvas billowed against the stress, and a fan of mist sprayed off the stern before she straightened on her course. The gunners readied the guns on the lee side so we could greet that sneaky whore with our own rumble of thunder. Wind of Glory sliced swiftly through the tide, ready as Captain Flynn’s crew was confident in our avail over this mysterious antagonist.
PART IV
Wind of Glory
Chapter 10
Hellish Blaze
As told by Charlotte Wetherby
I love sailing! The sound of the keel slicing the waves and the wind slapping at the sails is like music to my ears. The smell of the salty sea makes for a mystic perfume, and the dome of blue sky surrounding the neverending expanse of ocean seems to be one of God’s greatest masterpieces. No walls and no roads, only wide open freedom, and standing at the bow I feel as if my heart may flutter away in the breeze. I have never yet felt so alive.
Being the youngest and smallest man of the crew, I was ordered to swab and sand the decks. Swishing the mop in the murky tar bucket, I thought about how Sterling despised this type of work, and though there was nothing to enjoy about it, I was happy to be assigned a job that didn’t require much talking. Pretending to be a man was easy enough, as long as I didn’t have to say much, and being raised as I was, it was easy for me to silently watch the world moving around me.
Blue Tide sailed into the harbor of Tortuga just after sunset, and with the faint hint of sunlight defining the darkened shape of the island, I noticed it did look like a turtle. Just like Sterling said. As the men worked to lower the anchor and douse the sails, I heard Captain Willard Smith grumbling to his first mate, Oliver Langston. “If those dirty rats hit this heathen port in the night they’ll return in a worthless state of drunken stumbles, if they return at all. I cannot afford the distracting detours of the vile temptations that await them on the shore.”
After grumbling to Oliver about the lack of trust he had in his crewmen, Captain Smith announced that we would be waiting aboard while he and Oliver tended their business.
Naturally the crewmen grumbled in distaste, and though I was also disappointed, I had no mind to complain about the matter. Rather, I made my way to the bow, gazed across the darkened ocean, and stared at the lights of the town. Tortuga certainly appeared to be the shoddy paradise that Sterling had explained. While I was imagining what was going on under the lights of town and in the small windows of the shacks, I heard a few of the crewmen talking about the multitude of willing women on the shore. The prospect caused me to fret about what Sterling may have done during his visit.
Instead of stressing over the worrisome possibilities, I inhaled the scent of sandalwood oil I wore on my collar, and the reminiscent aroma easily calmed my bustling nerves. I knew I could trust in his promise to be true.
Captain Smith and Oliver Langston returned much quicker than I had expected them to. Arriving with a doctor to join our crew, and a consort ship to follow us, Captain Smith seemed quite proud of his prompt accomplishments.
Captain Handlin’s Liberty Anne was apparently quite equipped for such a feat, but Doctor Davis Reedy hardly seemed to be much for assistance. He was hardly taller than me, with dark hair contrasting the pale shade of his sullen skin, and he was constantly wincing as if there was a foul stench taunting the large nostrils on his pointy nose.
I quickly learned that he hated buccaneers.
Two years ago, he was kidnapped by a crew of buccaneers and was forced to serve their wounds on the deck of a filthy ship. Having hardly survived a battle that ended in a complete shipwreck, he barely rowed to the shores of Tortuga with only his life; making his meager living working as the assistant of Doctor William Harvey. Doctor Harvey was obsessed with treasure and was greedy for wealth, so he gladly mended the wounds of battered buccaneers since they paid without reserve. Doctor Reedy, on the other hand, would assume to let them all die in the doom they wished upon themselves.
Being my usual quiet self, I took the time to eavesdrop on the many conversations that sounded around the deck, and I believe Doctor Reedy told his story five times before we even cleared the harbor. Growing tired of his nasally complaints, I found much greater value in listening to Oliver Langston tell Paul Redding about his trip to shore.
“We sat down in the tavern and scouted the scene for a reliable source of information. As expected, the surrounding men were vile as could be, and the women were risking their very souls with their promiscuous services. When the bar wench delivered us a round of ale, Captain Smith pulled her down on his lap and whispered in her ear. Of course that hypocritical dog got up to follow her to her room, and when I attempted to remind him of our pressing deadline, he huffed as if I were a senseless child. I am searching for answers. To find a pirate, one must play his games. I believe she has a lead for me.”
Though Captain Smith treated Oliver as a fool, I was already well aware he was the farthest thing from foolish. Tall, but lean, with his jaw tucked in an underbite, Oliver wore his thin brown hair braided over his boney shoulder. There wasn’t an inkling of threat in his look, but the battle stories told by his crew assured me that his appearance was quite misleading. It seemed his greatest strength loomed in his sharp-minded wit, and his strategic planning led him fearless in the face of danger. He was also a master of archery. His crewmen claimed that he had once taken down a band of pirates with his handmade arrows before they even came close enough to board his ship. The men esteemed him as an honorable leader, and everyone but the captain himself seemed to respect Oliver Langston and his balanced sense of justice.
I wasn’t the least bit surprised when Oliver told Paul that he took on the job as his own. “While the captain ran his hypocritical muck, I took the pressing matter into my own hands, starting off by pushing aside the mug of ale he had ordered me. You might think that man would know by now that I do not indulge in the heathen drink.
“Stepping out to the street front to observe the passing crowd, I watched carefully as reckless buccaneers staggered about, sassy wenches toiled in mirth, and tattooed convicts and runaway slaves all mingled in cahoots. There were also a few citizens and ragtag merchants bustling in the flow of business, but before long, I saw Doctor Reedy. The rigid little man had no mind to converse with me, but once I asked if he had heard of the Wind of Glory, his impatient posture loosened, and his face chimed with a hint of curiosity.
“Though he admitted to have heard of the ship, he seemed reluctant to elaborate on the details until I rolled out a copy of the Wanted poster. He raised a wicked eyebrow and told me those mangy dogs were in his office this very afternoon and he would tell me more than what I needed to know if I agreed to get him off of the God forsaken island.
“It truly is an awful place, Mister Redding. I was quite honored to get him out of the mess he had been living in. Anyhow, I went back to the table to meet the captain and he strolled out of the brothel hall with a smirk of satisfaction. I resisted my urge to scowl at the blundering man when he laughed, Glad to see ye right where I left ye, boy. She didn’t have anything of use. We will need to carry on.
“Just then Doctor Reedy entered the tavern and informed us of the mutiny those vile pirates had recently ran against their captain. Apparently they had entered the doctor’s office beaten and bloody from the feat. The tattooed navigator was part of the group and he allured Doctor Harvey with his key to that treasure we seek. Doctor Reedy told me Harvey had a roll of old fabric with a sketch of the very key that the navigator had in his duffle, and it was his own interest in The Lovers’ Treasure that caused him to join the pirates on their mission.
“It was quite a fortunate encounter meeting Doctor Reedy, and now with our gathered consort, we should be able to take those pirates down without much of a fuss.”
Though thrilled to hear that Sterling was alive and well, I spent the next two days stressing over the very power that gave Oliver his confidence. Between my nattering curiosit
y about the mentioned mutiny and my spiraling concerns over the upcoming attack, my joy for the sail seemed tainted, and what little sleep I found in my hammock was haunted and restless.
My fears only intensified when we came upon the burning wreckage of a sinking Spanish galleon called Incendio. The bowsprit was standing vertically amongst the charred and smoking remains of the once beautiful ship, and including the few floating bodies of Spanish dressed sailors, the scene appeared to be a total loss. The bustling men gawked over the scene, insisting such demolition could only have been committed by pirates.
The daunting sight was as mesmerizing as it was terrifying. I wasn’t sure if it gave me hope for the strength and power that would defend Sterling against my captain’s attack, or if it devastated my courage for the horrifying feat I had ventured to endure.
X
There she was. I could see Wind of Glory in the distant night. Wanting nothing more than to enjoy the closeness of my lover’s breath, the chaos swarming around me only made absurdities of my ridiculous hopes. This was not about romance. It was about war, and I had stuck myself right in the middle of it.
Though Captain Smith had intended to have the stealth of night on his side, Wind of Glory turned to face us and was soaring in our direction with the wind of conquer filling her sails. Naturally, I was terrified. But I hadn’t expected the men on board to panic with the same fear that was engulfing my heart. Up until now, they had sounded so eager to take on the filthy pirates they were after, yet as Wind of Glory barreled towards us with her black flag flapping in the night breeze, it seemed they wished to turn and run.
Captain Smith looked just as terrified standing speechless on the quarterdeck as his men called for command. The void of silence surrounding the captain was quickly filled by the growls of civil war. Some men wanted to run, some men wanted to fight, but just as their arguments began to flare into a flame of violence, Oliver Langston took command.
Justified Treason (Endless Horizon Pirate Stories, Book 1) Page 18