Chapter 12: Chasing the Pirates

The first ship the two Captains came to had several lines dangling in the water, as well as wreckage hanging over the side. They swam around the vessel and saw in addition to what was hanging over the sides, debris hanging from the masts and yardarms. Looking up at the wreckage they were not encouraged by what they saw. They picked what looked like the two easiest ropes for them to climb.

They scrambled over the railing and were even more disappointed with the sight before them. Dismayed to find the deck covered with rubbish left behind from the pirate’s hasty retreat with discarded sailing equipment scattered everywhere, the ship was far worse than they’d feared. The deck was covered with such an amazing amount of trash both men thought it would take a minimum of two days to clean the ship just enough to be able to start preparing for sea. They shook their heads., “Shall we go and see if the other ship is in better shape?” Jake asked Destand. The old skipper said yes.

Some of the men from shore had arrived and were standing on the littered deck. Destand spoke to the natives, telling them to stay put, and the two sailors left to see if the other ship was in better condition.

The two men arrived at the second ship and as the men swam around it, they couldn’t find any lines hanging over the side. Eventually Jake spotted a light line hanging over the side and having not much hope the line could hold him, he started climbing. The rope was so light and small in diameter it cut into his palms and by the time he was halfway up the rope his hands were bleeding. Just as he hooked an arm over the railing, the rope snapped. Luckily Jake was able to hold onto the rail and pull himself onboard.

Jake searched through a couple of holds until he found a rope ladder which he flung over the side for Destand to use. Once the older captain was on board, both sailors surveyed the ship. They were pleased to find this vessel in much better shape. It appeared to be the second pirate craft and other than a few items the pirates took, they’d done little to destroy it.

Jake told Destand to summon the natives and crew from the other ship and from shore. The young sailor went down to the gun decks and started checking on the condition of the cannons. Moving from cannon to cannon, he was satisfied they were clean and ready for use. With little work, the young captain could make the ship ready for sea, and they could chase the fleeing pirates. Jake returned to the main deck where he and Destand exchanged comments on how little damage there was. Both felt the ship that was attacked must have surrendered with very little fighting since this vessel was in good condition.

The two sailors had everybody to swim over, and Ben called from shore asking about the men who couldn’t swim. Jake instructed for a cockboat to be dropped over the side and row anybody back to the ship who needed help.

Jake noted the countess followed Ben around like a lost puppy and he didn’t need to worry about her. Nani was already swimming over with the native men and was on board before the small yawl had pulled away from the larger ship. As soon as the light craft was on its way, Ben and the countess stood on the rail of the other vessel and dove into the water. On the way over they matched each other stroke for stroke, and it was difficult to say who reached Jake’s vessel first.

Once they were at the edge of the ship, Jake called down to the couple, “Since you two have so much energy, how about you two go over to the other ship where I found the countess and see if they left anything on board we can use.” The couple agreed and swam off towards the ship that held both prisoners.

Jake assembled what was left of the crew from The Elizabeth and addressed them. “Men, most of you know Captain Destand by now.” Many of the crew nodded. “The captain and I want to go after the pirate ship and bring their reign of terror to an end. We feel this ship might be our best chance to defeat them. We know they have lost a lot of their crew in their last few fights, and even more when some drank the poisoned water.

“I’ll be in charge, and when Mr. Stakewell returns, I would like him to become my first mate. As the need arises, we will appoint others to various positions. If any of you have a problem with this arrangement, I’d like you to speak up now. I cannot afford to have you asking questions once we trap the pirates, and perhaps are under fire.”

The men talked among themselves and then one burly man looked up at Jake. “Sir, if I may?” Jake nodded. “You came back for us. Most of us thought we were going to die in that hell hole on our old boat. If not there, we were positive them pirates were going to kill us one way or another. We knew we were all dead and it was just a matter of time before it happened.

“Captain Beecher, I watched you on The Elizabeth when they attacked us. I saw that coward Merick running from the command deck leaving you in charge. When them damn pirates attacked us, you fought just as hard as the rest of us, and when you fell out of the shrouds, I knews you had to be dead.

“You didn’t need to come for us. None of us would have ever known you were alive until an angel came down the stairs into the hold to rescue us. That angel was you. Sir, as for me, I’d follow you to the hub of hell. I don’t think any of us would be standing here today without you.” The other crew members murmured, and all nodded in agreement. “I believe I speak for the crew when I say we feel Ben should become first mate and many of us always considered you to be the true skipper anyway.”

Just as the sailor finished his speech, Ben came over the railing followed by Sophia.

By the big grin on Ben’s face, Jake and Destand knew he had good news. “They must have been in a real rush. Almost all of the treasure is still in the cabin and very few of the muskets and pistols are gone; however, most of the daggers and cutlasses are missing. I guess they decided it was more important they make an escape and come back later and see if anything is still there. The ship is in shambles, almost as bad as the other vessel we just left.”

“Thanks Ben. We need to do an inventory here on this ship to see what’s onboard. I want you to assign three men to each vessel and take an inventory of what’s left on each ship. We will go and get whatever we need from the other two ships after we decide what we want.” Ben nodded and Jake continued, “By the way, while you were gone you were promoted to first mate.” All the crew cheered. “You need to get started on assigning crew members various tasks that need to get done quickly so we can get under way.” Ben agreed.

Ben assigned workloads to the various crewmembers, and the two Captains selected a native to work along with each crew member. Each sailor would teach a native as much as possible during the short time they could spend together on how to sail the vessel.

There were a few natives Jake and Destand had worked with when they taught them how to fire the cannons. Those natives went to the gun decks immediately to start preparations. Jake was pleased to see there were enough natives available to shoot the cannons with the help of a couple crew members. One time Jake smiled and glanced over at Destand, “This just might work.”

For the next hours, the ship was a beehive of activity. The two sailors were pleased how well the natives were catching on to what they needed to know on sailing the vessel. One time, when Jake extended his arm, Nani saw his palms. She saw they were raw and bleeding from several open sores from climbing the light line onto the ship. Without a word she left Jake’s side. Jake was so busy with the task of making sure the crew was preparing the ship to sail he didn’t notice her absence.

Destand had spoken with the two chiefs and asked them to send a runner back to the caves. They were to explain to the native men left behind what was going on. Several times Destand told the chiefs they were to instruct their men not to kill any of the pirates. It was obvious to Destand the two chiefs were disappointed they had to keep the pirates alive. However, they agreed to instruct their men not to kill the remaining pirates. As an afterthought, Destand had Merick brought back with him. When Jake asked him why, the old captain smiled mysteriously and told him he had his reasons. Jake let it go since he was busy with other chores.

Eventually the ship was as ready to sail given the short amount of time everyone had to prepare. The men took their places ready to weigh anchor and set sail. Jake looked around and discovered Nani was missing. Just as he was about to ask where she was, she showed up at his side.

The ship weighed anchor and Nani made Jake sit on a hatch cover, “Hold out your hands.” She told him. Nani had returned to shore and found leaves which she held in her hands. First, she carefully started wiping his hands with the leaves. The leaves made his wounds sting and he tried to pull his hands away. Nani snapped at him, “Sit still! This will feel better soon.” She continued gently wiping his hand and Jake noticed a soothing warmth spreading through each palm. “Hold the leaves between your palms as long as you can.” Jake agreed. Since the leaves removed most of the pain, he felt it wasn’t a big deal to keep his hands together.

The native Jake had sent to bring Merick to the ship appeared with the short, tarnished captain who stood defiant and started to spit out his displeasure. Merick’s next question brought the two sailors up short. “Who is in charge of this vessel? I demand to know who the captain is!” Jake and the old captain looked at each other. Finally, Destand extended his finger and pointed at Jake. “He is the captain. Captain Beecher will be the commander of this vessel.”

Jake thought for a moment, and then put his hand on the old captain’s arm. “I have a suggestion,” the French Captain nodded, “I want you to become the Admiral ... you are in charge. I will be the skipper and in charge of sailing the vessel, but when we go into battle, I want you to be the person in charge. I’ll do my best to obey your orders.”

Merick screamed his question, “What about me, what am I?”

The old captain whirled around and faced the little man, “A prisoner,” Destand retorted. “You should be keel-hauled for what you have done.” The old captain turned to one of the crew members, and exclaimed, “Take this miserable excuse for a human and put him in chains. If this ship starts to sink, no one is to release him. That is an order!” The old crew from The Elizabeth all nodded in approval. The discredited former captain was led away screaming when they returned to England, he’d see all of them hanging in gibbets on Execution Dock. Destand looked over at Jake and commented, “I see he is still an ass.”

Ben asked the two men what they thought would happen when they all got home. Jake told him he thought there would be a trial, and Ben and some of the others would have to testify. Both the captains felt that if they didn’t hang Merick, he would spend a long time in Newgate Jail. Destand commented, “Deserting your post during an attack was not something the Admiralty could ignore. Losing The Elizabeth will go even harder on him I fear.” Ben called over his shoulder, as he walked away, “I’m glad I’m not in his shoes.”