Chapter 3: Captain Pierre Destand

By the shadows’ position on the wall, the next time the first mate was awake he knew it was later. Carefully the sailor pushed himself to a sitting position, not surprised his body was sore; but still surprised how little his wound hurt. Sitting there wondering if he wanted to try and go outside, three men entered the hut. Two of them were obviously natives, but the man in the middle looked different from the other two. Even though he was dark brown from repeated exposure to the sun, he didn’t have a native look. The natives were wide and muscular while the man in the middle was taller and thinner in appearance. The gentleman had long white hair pulled back in a ponytail and a long beard. He stood tall and appeared to be in good health, much better than might be expected if anyone judged him by his ragged clothing. The man stepped forward and with a heavy accent, “Good morning. Are you English?”

Finding he had someone he could talk to; the first mate was elated. The sailor replied, “Good Morning. Yes, I’m off a 60-gun English Warship, the H. M. S. Elizabeth. I was the first mate and while trying to defend the ship, I was shot by pirates.” The first mate paused and reached out with his left hand to shake the other man’s hand. The tall older man extended his left hand and as they shook hands, the sailor said, “My right arm is still healing.”

The white-haired man stepped back and the sailor looked him over. Finally, the sailor continued, “I don’t think you’re English, who are you and how did you get here?”

“I am ... or should I say, I was the captain of the French frigate L’Insurgente. There was a mutiny, and I was given a choice. I could choose death or be marooned here; obviously I decided life was precious and I had them maroon me on this island about...” The man stood there for a moment reflecting, then continued on, “I have been here 14 years if my memory serves me correctly.”

The first mate was awestruck at the information. “You were the captain of the L’Insurgente?” The older man nodded his head. “You don’t know this, but that was a very famous pirate ship. It was finally captured and during the fight, it caught fire and sank about seven years ago. Anyone on board who was still alive was taken back to England and put to the gallows.”

“Serves them well.” The old man muttered. For a while the old captain was quiet, obviously remembering his old ship and the ones who had marooned him. He continued, “This island didn’t have anybody on it when I was marooned. The people here now came from another island further south several years ago. The pirate ships your vessel had the fight with drove them off their home island.” The captain looked at the two natives fondly and then continued, “To be honest, I don’t know how I stayed sane for all those years I was by myself.” The captain paused again for a moment and then continued, “Do you have any idea the nationality of the pirate’s crew?”

The first mate replied, “I believe they were mainly Spanish, most of the orders I heard were in Spanish; however, I do believe I heard some French and some Portuguese. I know a little Spanish and I thought I heard what I always thought sounded like Portuguese.”

“Are either of our countries at war with Spain at this time?”

The first mate paused and chuckled, “Things change so quickly, to be honest, I really don’t know. When we left, there were some problems between England and France ... and with England and Spain ... in addition to Spain and France themselves. As far as I know, there are no official alliances at this time; but who knows, I’m just pleased to meet a person who speaks English and if you can stand talking to an Englishman, I don’t care what nationality you are. By the way, what’s your name?”

The man seemed to stand a little straighter and there was fire in his eyes as he spoke. “I am Captain Pierre Destand. And your name sir?”

“They call me Jake, but my full name is Jacob Beecher, Captain Destand.”

“Well, considering where we are and all, you may call me Pierre.”

“Sir, if you don’t mind, I would prefer to call you Captain. I have been by the mast far too many years to start calling the master of any vessel by his Christian name; regardless how long it’s been since you had a deck under your feet.”

The captain smiled at Jake for a moment and then nodded his head. “Considering what you have been through, I would consider you the master of the vessel you were wounded on; thus, I shall call you Mr. Beecher.”

The first mate smiled back at the captain, both giving the other his due. It was obvious to both that the two of them had spent many years at sea and there were certain protocols that are observed. They both knew their position on a vessel, even if there was no ship on which they could serve. Destand knew if Jake ever stepped aboard a ship again it would be as master of the vessel.

The first mate waved his hand at the two men standing in the doorway of the hut and asked, “Can you understand what these people say?”

“I can talk to them; not as well as I would like. As I told you before, they have only been here for a few years. As far as I can tell, there are two or maybe three tribes banded together. The pirates had almost destroyed one tribe but a few of them managed to escape into the forest. They joined up with another tribe, only to have that tribe attacked. Those that were left joined a third tribe and they now keep very well hidden. The back side of this island is riddled with caves, and they know just how to escape into them.”