by Peter Roop
“Mr. Hands, bring out the quakers,” Captain Black ordered.
“Step lively, lads,” Mr. Hands yelled. He snapped his starter to back up his words.
Samantha remained near Captain Black, watching the activity. The sailors brought eight logs up from the hold. They rolled them into the places where the railings had been cut. When the logs were fastened, the sailors painted them black.
All at once Samantha understood. The “quakers” were fake cannons, made to fool an enemy ship into thinking they were real. Since most merchant ships carried only one or two cannons at the most, the Cardinal would appear heavily armed. Any ship they chased might surrender rather than fight.
“Fine work, men,” Captain Black said when they had finished. “Now we carry 10 cannons. And paint over the name Cardinal. We are the Liberty of the Navy of the Colony of Virginia!”
“Three cheers for the Liberty!” yelled Mr. Hands.
“Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!” shouted the crew. Samantha cheered the loudest.
Chapter 27
As the crew settled into a routine, the days passed quickly. The Liberty slipped past Newport without problems. Now she cruised the open waters of the Chesapeake Bay. James got his sea legs and could eat. He shared the cabin boy duties with Samantha. They told the other sailors that she was his twin brother Sam.
Matthew warned Samantha and James that sailors were superstitious about having a woman aboard, for she would bring bad luck.
One sailor was always on lookout high up the mast. When not on duty, Samantha and Matthew often climbed up to join him. The swaying of the mast was too much for James, so he kept to the deck.
Samantha especially enjoyed the view from the mast. She felt as if she could reach up and touch the flocks of white clouds sailing over them. Like everyone aboard, she watched for sails on the horizon.
A week passed without sighting even one. When she asked Mr. Hands about this, he told her that most merchant ships were huddled near Newport under the protection of Lord Dunmore. However, there were supply ships coming from England, hoping to reach America before the fall storms came in full force. Having been caught in that hurricane, Samantha understood their worry.
Tory ships from Maryland and Virginia were also still trading. Mr. Hands explained that some merchant ships were being used to house Tories until they could sail home to England. She wished that Thomas Wormley was on one. How would they ever find Henry if they never saw any ships?
As each day ended Samantha grew more discouraged about rescuing Henry. She talked with Matthew about it. But like everyone else, he had no idea when they might meet a ship—or even if they could capture a ship, much less the one with Henry aboard.
“Even if we do capture a ship,” Samantha said. “What will we do with it?”
“The sailors on my watch told me that the captain plans to capture a small ship and use the cannons from it to add to ours. When we have enough real guns, we will attack a larger ship. He will take command of the captured ship and place Mr. Hands in command of the Liberty. The ships we capture will be sold as prizes in Yorktown.”
Ten days after they had sailed from Burleigh’s Landing, the lookout called, “Sail ho!” Everyone rushed to the deck, gazing in the direction that the sailor was pointing. Samantha could just make out a small dot of sail on the horizon.
“Run up the British flag,” Captain Black ordered. “Maybe she’ll give in without a fight.”
“Not fight!” Samantha said to Matthew.
Matthew looked at her in surprise. “You are the one who preaches ‘thou shalt not kill,’” he said.
Samantha blushed, her skin matching her red hair. In her excitement she had forgotten that when they went into battle, people would be hurt—even killed.
“Captain Black is as wily as fox,” she said. “Maybe we can take that ship without wasting a shot.”
“Especially as we have only enough gunpowder for 10 rounds for each cannon,” Matthew informed her.
How will we ever win a war with England with so few supplies? Samantha wondered. Then she answered her own question: By capturing supplies from the British bulldog!
The sailor aloft called down, “She’s seen us, sir, and is showing us her heels.”
“Mr. Hands,” said Captain Black, “order hands aloft. Let loose all the sail we can carry. We are in the chase.”
Men scurried up the ratlines and unfurled every sail. With the wind at her stern, the Liberty’s sails bulged, and she pushed her after her quarry. Before long, Samantha saw more of the other ship’s sails as the Liberty closed the distance between them.
Samantha was feeling the same thrill of excitement that she felt when she trailed a deer. The other ship was trying to reach the safety of Newport just as a deer seeks shelter in the forest. But if the Liberty were fast enough, they would catch the British ship before it reached safety.
The wind held, and the Liberty gained rapidly on the foe. Soon Samantha could see the crew of the ship standing by its two cannons. She could read the ship’s name: Falcon.
“She’s heavy with goods,” Matthew said. “She can’t fly like a falcon. She wallows like a pig in mud.”
“Fire a warning shot, Mr. Hands,” ordered Captain Black.
The gun crew stepped back as Mr. Hands applied his match to the cannon’s wick. The powder flashed. The cannon roared. The wind cleared the smoke and Samantha saw the shot fall just off the other ship’s bow.
The rest of the crew stood by the quakers and pretended to load them.
The Falcon dropped her sails and hove to. She struck her colors, lowering her British flag.
“Mr. Hands, prepare a boarding party. She is ours.”
Mr. Hands’s eyes roamed the crew. “O’Dell, Woods, Hancock, Byrd. Come with me.”
Samantha stood stock-still. Which Byrd?
Mr. Hands glared at her. “Step lively, Sam Byrd, or I’ll choose another.”
Samantha dashed across the deck and joined the others in lowering the gig. She scrambled down the side of the Liberty and into the small boat. She looked up to see Matthew hauling down the Liberty’s false British flag and raising Virginia’s rattlesnake flag in its place.
“Pull hearty, me lads,” Mr. Hands ordered. “We just plucked a plump goose.”
Samantha grabbed an oar and dug it into the water. The crew found its rhythm, and the gig skimmed across to the other ship. Samantha was glad she knew how to row.
The Falcon was twice the size of the Liberty. Samantha imagined what could be in her hold. James’s share of the prize money might be enough for him to go to William and Mary. If only she had a share too. Then Papa could buy the land he wanted. If only.
She didn’t even dare hope that Henry was aboard.
Samantha was the last to board the Falcon. She scanned the deck for Henry. He wasn’t there.
With a pistol in each hand, Mr. Hands took command of the Falcon while her crew stood at the railings. Most of the men wore expressions of gloomy hostility. Three, however, grinned from ear to ear.
“Are any of you men Americans?” Mr. Hands called out.
“Aye, sir,” one of the smiling men announced. “We three were pressed off the Hornet last spring.”
“Where might you hail from?” asked Mr. Hands.
“Boston,” he said.
“Step forward, men,” Mr. Hands ordered.
They moved quickly to join the crew from the Cardinal.
“The Falcon now belongs to the Colony of Virginia,” Mr. Hands said. “Any of you who wish to join us, step this way. The rest will be confined below deck until we can put you ashore.”
“You thieving American dog,” growled one the Falcon’s crew. “I’ll see you in Hades before I join you.”
“Byrd, place him in irons,” Mr. Hands ordered. He thrust a set of handcuffs at Samantha. She took the cuffs and walked toward the man. He glared at her as if she might be a tidbit for breakfast. What if he doesn’t let me cuff him? she wondered. Then she heard
the click of the triggers on Mr. Hands’s pistols.
With a look that would have melted steel, the man held out his wrists to her. She snapped the cuffs on him and stepped quickly out of his reach.
“Anyone else?” Mr. Hands asked. Without a word, the Falcon’s crew climbed down the ladder. Mr. Hands dropped the cover over the hatch and padlocked it.
“Byrd. Woods. Row the Falcon’s captain to the Liberty, where he will be Captain Black’s guest.”
The captured captain slammed his hat down on his head. He climbed into the gig and glowered as they rowed him to the Liberty. His outrage erupted fully when he saw that all but two of the Liberty’s cannons were wood. “You will hang for this,” he snarled. His gaze fell on the members of the Liberty’s crew as if he were memorizing their faces.
Samantha rubbed her neck. A rope would be ever so much tighter than her corset.
Chapter 28
Captain Black sent three of the Liberty’s crew to join Mr. Hands on the Falcon. He ordered them to sail to Yorktown and sell the Falcon as a prize. The Liberty, in need of supplies, would join her in a week.
Before the Falcon departed, her two cannons were swung aboard the Liberty. They replaced two of the quakers. Five barrels of powder and one hundred cannonballs were also brought aboard the Liberty.
With eight of Liberty’s crew now on the Falcon, Samantha, James, and Matthew had extra duties. Because she was so good at climbing, Samantha worked raising and lowering the sails. Matthew was on her watch. James became the sole cabin boy. Everything he learned from Captain Black he passed on to Samantha.
Samantha’s true identity still remained a secret. The sailors treated her like a lad. She joined in the fun, but she was more serious than ever before in her life. Each day her frustration grew at her inability to do anything to help Henry. She was used to taking charge, being in command. On the Liberty she had no choice but to follow the rules of the ship and the orders of Captain Black.
“I wish I could go ashore to hunt,” Samantha announced one noon. She poked at a bit of dried beef on her plate. “Fresh skunk would be better than this.”
An older sailor grinned toothlessly. “Laddie, this is nothing. When I sailed aboard the Rose, we ate nothing but horsemeat and biscuits for three months. The biscuits were more weevil than wheat. Had to crack ’em against the table till all of the weevils fell out. Me teeth, they fell out from the scurvy.” He chomped his gums together.
“But if Captain Black lets me ashore, I can shoot a deer and we’ll have fresh meat.”
“Sam, you know he doesn’t dare let us leave unless we have to. You never can tell when one of Dunmore’s ships might try to flee.”
That afternoon, when she wasn’t on duty, Samantha climbed the mast to enjoy the view. The sailor aloft greeted her and left her to her thoughts. The Liberty plunged through the bay like a porpoise. Samantha scanned the horizon.
Suddenly she rubbed her eyes. Far to the west, a tiny sail moved along. At first she wasn’t sure if it was a sail or a cloud. She couldn’t make out a ship at first, but as she watched, another sail came into view.
“Look!” she yelled.
The sailor followed her finger. “Good eyes, Sam,” he complimented her. “Looks like one of Dunmore’s flock is venturing forth.”
“Sail ahoy!” he shouted to the deck. “Off our port bow.”
Samantha kept her eyes on the sail, willing it to come closer. A British flag fluttered from the ship’s mast.
Breathless, Matthew joined them, the captain’s telescope in his hand. He passed it to the sailor, who trained it on the sails.
“She hasn’t seen us yet,” he whispered, almost as if the ship could hear him. “But she will soon enough.”
The hot sun burned down, but neither Samantha nor Matthew wanted to leave the mast. Reluctantly, they did when Captain Black ordered all hands on deck. By then they had cut their distance to the ship by half.
I hope Henry is aboard, Samantha said to herself as they climbed down.
For a long time, Captain Black stared at the ship. “Men,” he said. “We’ll take another prize if the wind holds out. Prepare for action.” The men scurried to their posts. “Break out the muskets and small arms. This ship will be putting up a fight. Both you Byrds come with me,” he ordered.
Samantha and James followed him below. He unlocked the cabinet holding the guns and powder. He handed two muskets to Samantha. “Take these up on deck and give them to Mr. Walker,” he ordered. The cool musket barrels felt good in Samantha’s hands. She longed to aim one. James, carrying the powder and shot, poked her to hurry up.
The Liberty’s four cannons had been loaded and rolled out. Three men stood at each gun ready to fire and reload.
Samantha gave the muskets to Mr. Walker, wishing she had one too. “Thou shalt not kill,” Mama’s words echoed in her ears.
Samantha hurried below to fetch more muskets. James followed.
When Samantha returned to the deck, she saw that they had gotten even closer to the ship.
Sam and James returned for a third trip when Mr. Walker said, “James, take this bucket of powder up to the first cannon. And be fast about it. You will be the powder monkey during the fight. If you are wounded, then your brother can take over.” With that, he handed the bucket to Sam. Rather than argue that she was really Sam, not James, she took it and climbed carefully to the deck. She dare not spill a grain of the precious powder.
She placed the bucket by the first cannon and dashed for more. She didn’t even glance at the other ship until she had carried up a powder bucket for each gun.
“Stand back, lads,” a sailor shouted. He raised his match in anticipation of Captain Black’s order to fire.
The order came promptly. The sailor touched the match to the wick. The powder sputtered. The cannon crashed against its ropes as it fired. Smoke hung in the air, then cleared. All eyes were on the other ship. The shot plunged into the water far behind her.
Samantha saw smoke rise from a cannon mounted on the opposing ship’s stern. She ducked as the shot whistled through the rigging. It cut a rope, which fell to the deck like a dead snake.
“Fire as you bear,” Captain Black ordered. As the Liberty closed the gap between the two ships, her second cannon fired. Then her third. The first was already reloaded, and her crew fired it. A cheer went up as the cannonball struck home, hitting the ship’s quarterdeck.
“More powder,” someone yelled. Samantha grabbed an empty bucket and went below. She had just reached the top of the ladder when the world seemed to explode. A shower of splinters flew through air like a horde of hornets. A sailor cried out. Samantha looked his way. A jagged piece of oak stabbed through his arm like a knife. She fought down a gag.
She looked for James and Matthew. James was loading muskets and passing them to sailors lining the railing. Several had climbed aloft, their powder horns and shot pouches dangling.
Where was Matthew? She ran up the deck, careful not to slip on the blood oozing from another wounded sailor.
A cannonball whizzed overhead, cutting through the jib. The sail split. The Liberty bucked now that she had lost such an important sail. Without being ordered, sailors cut the whipping sail loose.
“Where is Matthew?” she shouted at a sailor. He pointed to a heap huddled against the far side of the ship. Matthew lay still, blood from a wound spreading in a red pool around him.
Matthew!
Dead!
Rage burst through Samantha like a spark through gunpowder. She snatched a musket from a wounded man. Running to the railing, she picked out her target: a tall man struggling to steer the enemy ship. His face was turned away, but she had a clear shot at him. She drew a deep breath.
“Thou shalt not kill” echoed in her head.
“An eye for an eye, Mama,” Samantha whispered. “They killed Matthew. One of them will die too.” She squeezed the trigger.
The man at the wheel turned just as the powder flashed.
Henr
y’s eyes locked with hers as he grasped his chest.
Chapter 29
Samantha’s world spun. She couldn’t have shot Henry. Only in her overwhelming anger did she consider shooting anyone. But Henry?
Samantha slumped to the deck. She threw the musket away. She would never touch another gun for as long as she lived.
Henry.
Maybe she had only wounded him. No, she had aimed for his heart. At this distance she could not miss. She had seen him collapse, clutching his chest.
I’ll die too, she decided. Another eye for an eye. My life for his life.
Samantha stood and faced the enemy ship. She gasped in surprise. The Liberty was only a few feet away from the other ship, her pointed bowsprit already tangled in the ship’s rigging. With a grinding crash, the two ships smashed together. Ropes snapped. Wood cracked. Men cried out.
“Boarders away,” screamed Captain Black. Dazed, Samantha watched as the Liberty’s crew leaped onto the decks of the other boat. Swords and knives clashed. Pistols popped. Men yelled in anger and agony.
Suddenly silence fell. Samantha, rooted at the railing, watched as the enemy’s flag dropped. She didn’t cheer with the others when the Liberty’s flag climbed the ship’s mast.
Tears refused to come. She just slumped against the railing.
“Sam, are you hurt?” It was James, his face smeared black with gunpowder. One eyebrow had been singed off. He called to her from the other ship.
“I killed Henry,” she managed to croak. Her throat was as dry as a bone. “I killed Henry,” she repeated.
“Henry?” James asked. “What do you mean?” James climbed over the ship’s side to her.
“They killed Matthew. So I killed one of them too. An eye for eye.”
James shook her. “Sam, Matthew is only wounded in the leg. I talked with him. He fainted at the sight of his own blood. But don’t tell anyone.”
His words came to her as if through a fog and from a long distance away. Matthew was only wounded, not dead. And she had killed Henry in revenge!
“We must fetch Henry so we can bury him properly,” she snapped.