Chapter 6

I was not sure if it was some sort of noise or the sun woke me. I rolled over, and as quietly as a mouse I shuffled over to the side of the barn that the noise was coming from. I looked out through a hole in the wall. It looked out over the beach and into the bay. There was a small ship in the bay, and she had just launched her sea boat. How long she had been anchored out there, I did not know.

I shuffled back to my bed and pulled on my clothes, I then picked up my pistols and the telescope. Then I slipped down the ladder to the lower level and then I took the ladder down to make it hard for anyone to find my little hideaway, I slid it behind some gorse bushes.

I stepped out of the door and ducked down before running over to a bit of headland. It was to the left of the bay, and it was covered in heather and gorse; it was a great natural lookout as I could see out into the bay, but I doubted they would ever be able to see me.

The telescope gave me a better view of the boat as the occupants rowed it into the beach. There were four men on board, and they all looked well-armed. The ship was a small trader; I guess it would have a crew of between ten and twelve men. It took the boat a good twenty minutes to get from the ship to the shore.

I heard the small boat hit the beach and the men jumped over its side and pulled it high up on the sand. They were all armed with pistols. One of them ran into the barn, he was in there for less than five minutes before he ran back to his mates. They had a brief chat before they headed off up the track toward the main road. The fact they had headed off without searching the area told me that my stuff in the loft of the barn had not been found or they were so well armed they were just not worried by my presence I gave them a good ten minutes before I headed back to the barn, I got the ladder out and climbed up to the loft pulling the ladder up behind me.

I had a breakfast of bread and cheese, washed down with water from my barrel. The four men had walked toward the main road and I was undecided whether to follow them or wait for them to return. I waited...

After eating, I slipped out of the barn, after hiding the ladder and took up my position on my little lookout spot. I made sure at all times I was out of view of the men still on board the little ship.

It was a full three hours before they returned; they did not bother looking in the barn on the way back. They just pushed the boat back into the water and rowed off toward the ship. I watched from my little lookout as they rowed against the waves. They seemed to be in a bit of a rush as they pulled hard on the oars.

I sat in the sun and waited for something to happen, as something surely would. I kept my eyes on the ship, but it was a noise, from behind me, that caught my attention.

There were voices, voices of at least two men, coming down the track. I turned around and watched as a man walked down onto the beach. He was armed with a musket and a pistol, he had a backpack on, which he slipped off and he dropped that against the wall of the barn. He slipped into the barn and seconds alter came out and shook his head at the other man that was still on the track.

The other man appeared, he had a pistol in one hand and a rope in the other and at the end of the rope was a girl, she was black and beautiful. She looked scared, she was in her teens, and she was dressed in a colourful dress that came down to her knees. Her hands were tied behind her back and then the rope that the man held was tied around her waist. The other man also had a backpack which he placed near his mates.

The other man turned towards me; he had a face covered in scars. He looked mean ... he tied the rope to a tree and the girl sat with her back against its trunk. She looked scared; I could see she had been crying. There were tear tracks on her cheeks.

The two men walked away from her and they talked for a few seconds before walking down to the foreshore, their feet in the waves as they crashed onto the beach. I watched as they waved at the ship and men on the ship waved back.

I was not sure what was going on, but I did not like what was going on, in my gut, there was a gnawing feeling. Something was not right here, that was for sure.

I assessed my options; it was obvious I had to try to free the girl. The two men had a musket and two pistols each and I had my spear, two pistols, and a knife. If I took in the two men on the beach, would the ship send men to help them?

I had to deal with the two men nearest to me quickly and then make ready for the ship’s crew to attack, if they did, I would have to do my best to take them on.

I checked my pistols to make sure they were primed and cocked. I slipped down into the undergrowth and on my hands and knees, I moved around to the barn. I was well away from the waves and I hoped their noise would mask any noise I would make.

I made my way around until I was in the woods about six feet behind the tree the girl was tied to.

“Hello!” I whispered, either she did not hear me, or she did not understand English.

“Hello there,” I said a little louder She made as if she was trying to turn around.

“Don’t move,” I said, “please don’t move”

She sat back against the tree and looked toward the beach

“Who are you “she whispered back. She spoke English but with an accent that I did not recognise.

“I am the man that could help you,” I told her. “My name is John, John Trelawney who are you?”

“My name is Makosi,” she whispered back to me.

“I am going to try to free you, but you need to do exactly as I say, do you understand?” I told her.

“But...” she started to say, she stopped talking as one of the men was walking up the beach toward her.

“Who are you talking to girl?” he snarled.

“I am praying to God master,” she muttered.

“I am not sure your god will help you girl, “he said and kicked out at her leg. She let out a little yell of pain and the scarred man just laughed at her and walked away.

I let the man walk to the beach and then I slipped through the undergrowth and cut the rope that was around her wrists and waist. She flexed her hands and tried to rub life back into her limbs.

The men on the beach just stared at the ship and took no notice of the girl.

“Why have they brought you here?” I asked the entire time keeping one eye on the men on the beach as I spoke to her.

“They kidnapped me at a market three days ago; they told me the men on the ship will pay good money for me” she whispered.

“Do you know how to fire a pistol?” I asked her and she nodded her acknowledgement. I gave her one of the pistols, it was already loaded and cocked.

She hid it under her skirt.

“Only use it if you have to!” I warned her.

“Yes sir,” she said and flashed me a huge smile.

“Put your arms behind you as if you are still tied up and I will lure the men back up toward the barn,” I told her. However, as I spoke one of the men turned and walked toward us. He was carrying the musket and a water flask. It was Scarface, the meaner looking of the two He gave the girl a passing glance as he walked past her but if he noticed that anything was wrong, he did not say. He walked past the barn and into the woods. I checked that the other man was not looking, and I slipped out of the undergrowth and followed the man into the woods.

It took me five minutes to catch up with him, he was kneeling beside a deep pool in the stream and he was filling his water flask from it. The musket and his pistols were on the floor about six feet from him.

I set my pistol down and approached him, trying to be as quiet as a church mouse. I got within three feet of him when he either sensed me or heard me. He stood and turned quickly, I threw a punch at his chin, that punch dazed him, the next two that smashed into his face made him spit out teeth and blood.

I kicked him hard in the balls and he dropped to his knees. I went to kick him in the face, and he grabbed my foot and lifted it, making me fall to the floor. He was on me like a rat on a chicken leg; his fingers were in my face scratching at my eyes. He weighed more than I did, and I was struggling to shift him as he tried to poke his fingers into my eye sockets. My arms were trapped by my sides and I was wiggling around trying to free them.

He yelled out to his mate and I knew if he had heard it would be only a few minutes before I had both of them to fight off. I need to do something and to do it quickly.

I managed to free my hands and pulled his from my face, he lunged forward and tried to head-butt me. He caught me a glancing blow, but it had put him off balance. We traded blows as we rolled around the floor; he was a strong old boy that was for sure.

I knead him in the balls, and he gasped, as he did so I managed to free one of my fists and hit him twice in the face. He was spluttering now, and I rolled him off me, he was on his hands and knees on the floor.

“You’re a dead man!” he snarled, “a dead man I tell you!”

We both stood at the same time, he lunged at me. His fist glanced off my chin, it rocked me, but I still managed to throw a punch his way that caught his chin. His head jerked backwards. I followed it up with two jabs to the ribs and one to the gut. His dropped to the floor, so I went in for the kill. However, he was a wily fighter and his leg swept out. I stumbled to my knees and he was on me, I took a kick to the shoulder and a punch to the face before I managed to kick out at him driving him backwards.

I stood up and he came at me, fists flying!

We both knew this was a fight to the death. He swung and his guard dropped, and I caught him in the guts, then in the face, left-right-left-right my arms threw their punches. However, he was a tough old bird, and he took the blows and came back with some of his own. One punch caught me square in the face and took the wind from my sails, I dropped to the forest floor, and he aimed a kick at my ribs. I blocked it and punched him in the squarely in the groin. He gasped and stepped backwards; his face went puce.

“You are a fucking bastard “he shouted, saliva spraying from his lips.

I was on my feet and kicking him in the ribs before he had a chance to move. Three kicks sent him crashing back to the ground. He shouted out for his mate again, I had to stop that, I did not want to be outnumbered.

I jumped on him and clamped my hand over his mouth. I grabbed my knife from my belt and thrust it into his ribs; he tried to cry out as the steel did its work, once twice three times I stabbed him. After the third, he let out a gasp of anguish. Then blood oozed from his mouth and he died before me in less than a minute.

I sat for a few moments and got my breath back; it was obvious the other man was not coming to find his mate. I hoped that he was so close to the waves that he had not heard the pistol being fired.

I got up and went to the stream; I washed the blood from my hands and then drank some of the cool water, the fight had left my mouth dry.

I collected up his weapons, the pistols, the musket, as well as a knife; I searched his pockets and found some shot and powder.

I walked back to the barn and peered around the side; the other man was still on the beach. As I watched he turned and stared up at the girl and then at the wood. He walked toward me; I slipped around the barn and, eventually ending up behind him. He had left the musket on the beach, propped up against some rocks, so he had his pistol and dagger in his belt. I leaned the musket against a rock and prepared for the fight that was sure to come.

As he got to the edge of the wood, he called out to his mate. We had the barn between us and the ship which was good as I did not want them seeing me as that would make then come back to the beach.

“Jethro are you getting that water or not?” he called and waited, when there was no reply, he called out again.

“Jethro ... Come on you old bugger where are you?” he shouted, “Jethro ... where are you mate?”

I decide that now was the moment, I took my knife from my belt and as quiet as I could I walked toward him. I was six yards away when he turned; he saw me and went for his pistol. He fired it and the ball missed me as I dropped to the floor. Then I was up and on him before he had time to reload.

The first slash on my knife hit him in the upper arm, the second he tried to block but the knife bit into the flesh of his wrist. He yelled out in pain, but it did not put him off his stride, the third slash missed as he dodged backwards.

He pushed me away and went for his own knife, I kicked him hard in the gut, and he staggered back. He let out a roar and rushed at me; he parried my knife arm away and hit me hard in the face. I saw stars; he had a punch like a prize-fighter. Another punch to the chin rocked me backwards, the next punch I managed to block with my arm.