“My only consolation was that not one of them begged for mercy or took up Ragulet’s offer to join him.
They both stood in silence for several minutes while the drunken celebration continued behind them. The captain visibly fought with his emotions. Joey was uncomfortable. He felt he shouldn’t be seeing the captain’s private distress.
“You were very brave,” Joey said quietly.
“What’s that?” asked the captain.
“You were very brave,” Joey said louder. “On the plank.”
The captain thought about this and finally said, “Perhaps, but what did it matter. My bravery did not save my men.”
“It mattered to me,” Joey said. A thought occurred to him. He looked up at the captain and said, “I think seeing your courage was the reason for my visit.”
Captain Call looked down at Joey, doubt and despair on his face. Joey met his eyes. No matter the reason Captain Call had lost his ship, the man who had displayed so much courage on the plank was an honorable man. Joey could see the captain’s courage and strength even now as he looked into his sorrowful eyes. The captain’s face softened a little as he saw the way Joey looked at him.
“SHIP AHOY,” a hoarse voice cried out. “Off the port stern.”
The pirate captain came bursting out of his cabin door.
“My eyeglass!” he yelled. The first mate handed it to him. He studied the area off the port stern for some time. “She looks to be a sloop. Aye, easy pickin’s. Rich pickin’s,” he said. “What a day fer pirates! We’ll get her the same way we go the last’un. Men, you know what to do. If any of you are too drunk to fight I’ll have your guts for garters.”
Several men, already drunk, put sober looks on their faces and tried to stand straighter. The sailors cleared off the deck in an instant. Eventually a tall sailor came onto the deck dressed like the captain of a merchant ship. He was followed by two sailors dressed like women. They were younger sailors and either had no beard or were clean shaven. Even this close these sailors made passable women. One carried a parasol; the other wore a bonnet and carried a fan. They seemed to enjoy the part they played in this deception. They walked with little, mincing steps and practiced turning about gracefully.
A moment later a dwarf pirate came running onto deck. He was dressed as a boy about Joey’s age. He was clean shaven, but not as young as the sailors playing the women. Joey didn’t think he made a very good boy. When this “boy” stood next to one of the “women” at the railing and didn’t move Joey could see how the size difference and the boys clothing would easily deceive the unsuspecting eye.
There were eight barrels by the railings. Joey saw the “acting” captain lift out a grappling hook, adjust its position and place it back in. He could hear men below deck running about. From the few words he caught they were preparing the cannons for firing.
Joey looked about in sudden fear. Captain Call was nowhere to be seen. Even though he couldn’t be seen or hurt, now that he had met the captain he didn’t want to be alone on this ship. He noticed a movement above him and saw Captain Call sliding down a rigging rope at a pace that would have burned the skin off the hands of a living man. He hit the deck without a sound and turned to Joey with a desperate look on his face.
“It is my brother’s ship,” he said. “I feared so when I saw it on the map. I could tell plainly from the crow’s nest.” The captain paced anxiously back and forth. “It is his first command. He is intelligent and efficient. Still, he is a man with a heart and will surely fall for this deception as I did.”
The captain ran to the railing crying out, “I must warn him.”
He attempted to get up on the railing as if he wanted to jump over to swim or somehow travel to his brother’s ship. The captain found he could not leave the deck. Joey joined him at the railing. He could just make out the sails on the horizon.
“I am in Hell,” said Captain Call. “Why else am I trapped on this ship? I am to pay for the murder of my men by being forced to watch the murder of my brother and the men and women on his ship.” The captain groaned painfully. “I cannot bear it,” he said.
Joey’s heart nearly broke to see him like this.
“He has women on his ship?” Joey asked.
“His is a merchant ship and his cargo will undoubtedly include women and children. What they will do to them will make it all the more unbearable. Oh, God in Heaven have mercy on me; on them!” he cried.
Joey felt Captain Call’s pain. He wanted to help him; to help the people on the other ship. He couldn’t bear to watch the horror that he had just seen—and with women and children. It occurred to him that he didn’t have to watch. He had the map. He could leave. But Captain Call couldn’t leave. He would be left to suffer here by himself. Captain Call, who was so brave, didn’t deserve this punishment.
An intuition grew in Joey’s mind. This coming horror didn’t have to happen. He knew as certainly as the sun was in the sky that there was something he could do. But what was it?
“Captain!” he yelled. “Maybe you can’t warn them, but I know that somehow I can.”
The captain knelt in front of Joey with a desperate hope in his eyes. He tried to grab Joey’s shoulders, but could not. “How, Joey?”
Joey didn’t know how. He felt sheepish then and looked down at his map thinking hard.
“Is it your magic map, Joey? Can you travel to that other ship as you travelled here and warn them somehow?”
Maybe that was it. Joey touched the other ship, which was much closer now. Nothing happened. The look of disappointment in the captain’s face was heartbreaking.
“What’s going to happen if I can’t warn them,” Joey asked.
“They will lure them in with the distress flag that is already flying. The ship looks like it is in distress, so it will fool them into thinking there is nothing to fear. When they get close the pirates will open all their gun doors and shoot grapeshot and cannon. It will shred the sails and destroy the masts. Then they will use the grappling hooks to board the vessel and overwhelm the crew. They are quite vicious.” The captain said all this with eyes closed and in a steady voice that betrayed all hope. He was recounting what happened to him.
Joey looked up at the flag flying in the wind. He noticed at the bottom of the mast lay the black flag with the skull and crossbones. It was attached to the rope already so that when the distress flag was lowered it would be raised.
“Captain, look,” he said. “If we raised that it would warn them of danger, wouldn’t it?”
“If they saw it in time it would, certainly,” said Captain Call.
“If we waited until they got close enough to see it could they still get away?” Joey asked.
“They are in a sloop. With good sailors sloops are very fast. Faster than this ship. Yes, I believe they could get away easily. If they got away they could get the warning out about the deception.” The captain had forgotten his hopelessness for a moment. It returned in an instant. “But neither you nor I can raise that flag,” he said despondently.
“I can,” Joey said, quietly.
“What do you mean?” asked the captain. “You are like me.”
“Except that I’m not dead, yet. Beezer said I could interfere if I chose to. It’s just that my protections would be gone.”
“You mean if you wanted to you could touch the rope and raise that flag?”
“Yes,” said Joey. He didn’t know how this worked, but he believed what Beezer had told him.
“What do you mean your protection will be gone?”
“I think it means the pirates will be able to see me. I will actually be on the ship.”
“If this is true the pirates will kill you.” The captain stated the fact bluntly. A look of hope and fear came into his eyes. “Would you give your life for those on that ship?”
The captain asked this question as if it were really possible that Joey might do this. A panic rose inside Joey at what he had started. Captain Call would sacrifice his
life in a heartbeat if he could. He actually believed Joey would be willing, too.
The thought of facing death by these pirates made Joey feel sick. He couldn’t face death, not even to save all those people. He felt the feeling of defeat rise within him. It was the same feeling he had while watching Glory drown. Captain Call saw the look in his eyes and knew what it meant.
“It’s okay. It is too much to ask. Why should you die for my mistake?” Captain Call resigned himself to his personal hell.
Joey’s heart broke as he saw defeat register on the captain’s face. The impression that there was something he could do remained. Glory’s rescue required him to risk his life. His life hadn’t been taken as a result. A flame of hope flared up in him now that gave him courage. Joey had an idea. He might not have to die while helping the captain.
“Captain!” Hearing hope in Joey’s voice Captain Call gave Joey his full attention. “If I can raise the flag and then use my map in time, I could escape,” Joey said.
Hope brightened Captain Call’s eyes for an instant before it left. “But it didn’t work when you touched it,” said Captain Call.
“I’m pretty sure that’s because I am already here,” said Joey. I would have to touch one of the other lands.”
The captain stared into Joey’s eyes for a long moment. Joey saw the captain was conflicted.
“A man cannot honorably ask a boy to risk his life like this.”
“You are not asking. I am offering.” When Joey spoke these words tingles ran up his spine. He had never felt the meaning of words strike so deeply in his life.
“Joey, you are courageous.”
The captain’s words thrilled Joey. As he looked up into the dark brown eyes of the captain, he knew the captain could see the fear in his eyes. Still, the captain had said those wonderful words.
“I am proud to know you, Joey,” said the captain. He raised his arm in a salute. “I cannot be in Hell, because Hell cannot hold people like you.”
These words filled Joey with strength and warmth. Joey wanted to throw his arms around the captain’s neck, but knew better than to try.
“You will have to work quickly. As soon as the pirates notice they will be upon you. I will do everything I can to help you, Joey.” The captain said the words with determination, but without much hope. They both knew there was little he could do.
Joey and the captain went to the flag mast. Joey studied the loops that held the rope fast. He hoped they weren’t as tight as they looked. The dressed-up pirates were on the main deck down a set of steps. The steps partially obscured Joey.
Fear swarmed like angry bees in Joey’s stomach. “It’s okay to be afraid,” Joey said, repeating Beezer’s words, “as long as you do what you have to do anyway.”
Joey looked over at the captain who was standing by the railing watching the approach of the sloop. He found comfort in the sight of that tall, brave man. Then he focused on the rope and pictured in his mind what he was going to do. He had stuck the map in the top of his pants so that most of it hung out and he could grab it quickly. He wondered if he could do it quickly enough.
“Okay, Joey,” said the captain, coming over. “The Rebecca is close enough.” He gave Joey a tender smile and nodded his head. He then positioned himself at the top of the steps between Joey and the pirates as if on guard.
Joey reached out to the rope and felt nothing. His fear was replaced by despair. If he couldn’t touch the ropes, all those people would die! How was he supposed to be able to interfere in this world?
Filled with determination Joey said out loud, “I will touch these ropes!” In an instant Joey felt his weight on the deck, the wind on his face, and the rope in his hands. His protection was gone. His fear came flooding back. Ignoring it, Joey began undoing the looped rope from its stanchion. His hands shook. The rope was heavier than it looked and was looped many times. It felt like minutes before he got it unwound although it was only a few seconds.
“‘Ay, ‘oo’s that”? said the dwarf pirate.
Joey’s hair stood on end. He had been seen. Swallowing panic he pulled on the rope to raise the pirate flag. Tug as he would, the rope wouldn’t move.
“Stop ’im!” yelled the fake captain. The dwarf pulled a knife from behind his back and ran to the stairs.
“No, no, no,” thought Joey. “This has to work!” In that moment Joey was more worried about failing than dying.
Panicked tears stung his eyes when he realized he was pulling the wrong way. He was trying to raise the distress flag higher when he needed to lower it to raise the pirate flag. He switched directions, but knew it was too late. The pirate was at the top of the stairs and only a few steps away. Joey wouldn’t get the flag high enough to be seen.
Captain Call, who still stood guard between Joey and the Dwarf pirate, cried out, “You shall not touch him!” and made as if to push the dwarf pirate in the chest.
The pirate, stopped in his tracks, raised his arms as if to protect himself and then tumbled backwards down the steps. The pirate had seen the captain. Joey stopped pulling in amazement.
“Pull, Joey. PULL!” yelled Captain Call.
“What in the blazes . . .” yelled the fake captain, and he came running for the stairs.
Joey pulled as hard as he could. The Skull and Crossbones ascended the mast and unfurled in all its grim glory.
“Run, Joey. RUN!” yelled Captain Call. The fake captain leapt onto the deck. He couldn’t see Captain Call. The pirate came at Joey with sword drawn.
Joey didn’t have time to use his map. He ran to the rigging that went up the mast and started climbing. The pirate stopped to lower the skull and crossbones before continuing the chase. Joey discovered that climbing the rigging was not as easy as the pirates made it look. His feet slipped through the ropes and his legs became tangled. He was still in easy striking distance of the pirate’s sword. He struggled frantically to free himself.
“The map, Joey. Use the map!” Captain Call was standing near him now looking afraid. The pirate, having lowered the flag, took two leaps and raised his sword. Joey grabbed his map and desperately tried to unfold it. As the blade came down Joey’s fingers slipped inside the open end of the map. The sword passed right through him. Instead of a blow from the sword Joey felt the squishing pressure of the map at work. Everything began to blur. As the ship faded away Joey faintly heard Captain Call’s voice, “They saw, Joey . . .”
Chapter 13
The heavy scent of green vegetation met Joey’s nose; a horrible screeching filled his ears. Joey was lying on his back. He opened his eyes to see a thick canopy of leaves above him. It was so thick he could scarcely catch a glimpse of the sky. The canopy glowed green, lit from bright sunlight on the other side. Waves of little yellow birds with black beaks moved from tree to tree eating tiny berries that grew among the leaves. The small birds made a big noise as they cried out ownership of the berries.
In spite of the new scene in front of him Joey still saw the pirate’s blade arcing down towards his head. His heart still beat wildly and he struggled to catch his breath.
“Beezer, why didn’t you tell me how it would be?” he thought. Mrs. Johanaby would be furious at Beezer if she knew the danger he had put Joey in.
With thoughts of the danger Captain Call’s last words drifted in.
“They saw, Joey!”
The memory of these words calmed his heart and filled him with joy. He had saved the captain’s brother and all the people on the ship. He had been afraid to do what he did, yet he did it anyway. That was courage, wasn’t it? The captain had said it was.
He remembered Captain Call standing wounded and disfigured on the plank. Captain Call stood there in great pain facing a horrible death. Even so he stood straight and proud betraying no fear. Joey realized that the captain had been afraid; he had just chosen not to show it.
Joey knew he had looked afraid when he was struggling to raise the flag, but that didn’t matter. He had done what he had to do
anyway. He was just a little bit like Captain Call. He wondered if Beezer had seen him in one of those colored bubbles. He hoped so.
Joey would have laid there longer enjoying the realization of his courage if birds above hadn’t gone crazy. Where they had been flying in a pattern of waves from tree to tree and making a constant din, suddenly they were flying in all directions at once and their calls increased in volume. The panic he sensed among them was so overwhelming that he had to fight the urge to run.
The noise was so loud—the birds’ movement so erratic—that Joey covered his ears with his hands. He wanted to scream. A large shadow passed ominously over the canopy above him. It was gone in an instant. With its passing the birds quieted. Eventually they returned to their patterned waves and regular raucous din.
Joey stared up at the canopy wondering what it was that had passed overhead. He vaguely remembered Beezer saying something about big birds when he was looking at the map. But that shadow was too big for any bird. Still, he was glad the canopy had been between him and whatever it was.
Joey sat up to take a look around. He was sitting in ferny undergrowth that rose higher than his head. He couldn’t see much at all, so he got to his feet. There was an explosion of flapping wings just behind him. A covey of quail-like birds, startled by something, took to flight. In his fright Joey felt the map slip from his fingers. He had forgotten about the map until that moment. He dived down after it fearing something might steal it from him.
Clutching the map, Joey stood trying to catch his breath as he waited for the next surprise. When nothing else unexpected happened he looked around. The trees weren’t overly dense. Still, he couldn’t see very far in any direction. The tree trunks were slender, the bark smooth. The feathery leaves of the undergrowth came to his waist. Joey moved through the plants as if they were nothing more than a green ground fog.
When Joey felt safe enough he made sure his shirt was tucked in, then folded the map and put it back in his shirt. He meandered through the undergrowth dragging his fingers through the soft leaves. The forest was anything but quiet and tranquil. Different kinds of birds operated at every level of the forest. There were those high up in the canopy that did more leaping and running from branch to branch than flying. Then there were robin-sized birds that flew among the thinning branches below the canopy. Joey watched other birds, with pointy crests on top of their heads. They clutched the tree trunks with their feet and searched for food among the little flowers that grew on the bark. A wave of tiny, little black birds with white wings swept over Joey as they flew down among the undergrowth searching for seeds. This cloud of birds swarmed around him momentarily and then quickly disappeared.
Joey and the Magic Map Page 17