H.M.S Valor Page 25

  “Something is wrong,” Will said aloud, his heart sinking.

  “There must be a sail visible on her other side. Another damn ship to fight.” grumbled one of the men pulling on the oars. “Another engagement and in less than a week since you clambered aboard in place of the old man, Lieutenant.”

  “Funny how a chest of gold makes mouths and hearts bolder. Tell me sailor, what exactly are you getting at?” Will snapped, fearing what the man would answer with.

  “The Admiral is dead, as is your Captain, we were fired on by our own countrymen from the fort and now we’re chasing a vessel that you say has mutinied, rescuing pirates out of the drink. Why would the fort open fire on us, unless you officers committed some treason? How far exactly do you think you will push before we deal with you Sir?” the sailor raised his voice, standing in the longboat, his long oar still firmly in his grasp.

  There were three armed marines aboard the longboat as part of William’s compliment, part of their duties charged them with maintaining order against mutiny. Will looked over his shoulder to one of the marines as the sailors ceased their rowing and stood around him. His eyes met the barrel of a musket.

  “They have a point Lieutenant, why don’t you put your sword down before this gets out of hand,” the marine said.

  “This only ends one way men.” Will started, gently lowering his sword to the deck of the longboat.

  “Your end is what you should be considering,” another of the sailors quipped, “When we get back aboard, I say we clap this fool into irons and lock him below, head for the nearest British port and get this mess all sorted out. It’ll be the gallows for him when the Crown catches up to him.”

  “Or perhaps, for you. Once you are discovered as a bloody mutineer.” Will seethed, unable to check his tongue.

  The longboat clunked clumsily against the hull of the Endurance and the men aboard made quick work of attaching the lift ropes. In moments the craft was being heaved up while the crew aboard turned the capstan, it’s lock clunking with every step. Will’s furious outrage grew with every thud of the capstan as they ascended up toward the deck of the Endurance. Captain Grimes had implored him to do what was right and he now sat in the midst of the second crew to mutiny against his command. He felt completely and hopelessly alone. He looked down at the unconscious pirate laying at his feet, if he surrendered now, she was as good as dead.

  The deck rail of the Endurance crested into view and Lieutenant Shelton stood with Lieutenant Harper watching as the longboat came level with the deck. Will stood helpless to warn his fellow officers with a musket still trained on him.

  “Sail on the horizon Sir, we can’t identify her colors… yet.” Shelton started, losing his voice as he noted William’s expression and saw the demeanor of the rest of the longboat party. “What is going on here?”

  One of the sailors quickly disembarked, scrambling toward the ladder well and disappearing below deck. The marine who had his musket trained on William edged out from behind him as the remaining sailors unloaded the chest from the longboat.

  “Lieutenants, I’ll ask you to place your officer’s swords on the deck. Carefully. Or Lieutenant Pike here will be missing a large portion of his head,” the marine said. His voice was calm and even, only a few of the nearest on deck noticed the situation that was developing. Shelton and Harper both unbuckled their swords from around their waistbands, easing them to the deck. Will turned his head slightly to look at the marine who held him at gunpoint from the corner of his eye.

  “Are you quite sure the rest of the crew will be going along with this?” Will asked, shifting his eyes from the marine behind him to another that stood just out of reach at his side.

  “I’m sure enough, but it won’t matter once we’ve clapped you all into irons,” his hissing reply came.

  Will caught a look of hesitation from the marine by his side, the man was unsure, unconvinced of the events unfolding around him. That cemented Will’s decision and he sprang into action. In a burst, Will threw his head aside of the musket barrel and grabbed it in his hand. He then delivered a donkey kick into the man’s gut while heaving forward on the gun. The marine let out a guttural cry and stumbled backward, tripping over the longboat’s edge and fell over the side. Will continued his momentum forward and swung the musket’s butt hard into the jaw of the hesitating marine beside him, sending him sprawling. One of the sailors swung an oar toward Will in a savage arc. Will managed to retrieve his sword from the deck of the longboat and met the oar with his blade, inches from the side of his head. He countered with a thrust and ran the sailor through with his sword eliciting a shriek from the man that sent every eye on deck to the longboat.

  Will withdrew the blade, kicking the sailor to the deck of the boat and adjusted his grip on the musket.

  “Lieutenants retrieve your swords, this isn’t over.” Will shouted as another sailor in the longboat grabbed for an oar. Will caught him with his blade at the nape of the neck, splitting his collar open with a gush of arterial blood spewing forth. From below deck a bevy of armed sailors came rushing out, led by the disgruntled sailor who had first scrambled off the longboat. He raised a sword, pointing it at the officers.

  “Whatever treasons you have committed to destroy this fleet, it ends here and now!” he cried out, “Seize them!”

  His last word was annunciated by the musket in Will’s hand, he leveled the gun and fired it like a pistol into the mutiny leader’s chest. A moment of calm punctuated the deck of the ship as the puff of gun smoke cleared from the breeze. The man dropped his sword, clutched his chest with a look of pale dread and fell to the deck. Chaos followed as the crowd of sailors behind him rushed forward. Swords clattered and gunfire erupted. Will swung the barrel of his musket into one of the advancing men with a solid impact on top of his head and then ran the edge of his sword across the man’s throat. Shelton had engaged two men with swords and was handily keeping both on their heels. Lieutenant Harper met another with his cutlass and delivered a swift kick to the man’s knee, taking him to the deck while William caught a sword swing toward Harper’s neck with his own blade. Marines came from below deck adding to the fray, instinctively circling around to defend the officers.

  “Get the woman from the longboat and get her into the aft castle!” Will shouted to Lieutenant Harper, “I’ll guard your flank, lad, come on!”

  “Woman? What?” Harper looked frantic and then seeing her laying in the longboat snapped to his orders in a mad sprint.

  A mad frenzy ensued as Will, with a handful of loyal marines and sailors guarded Lieutenant Shelton’s movement into the great cabin of the aft castle, carrying the unconscious woman in his arms while sword and bayonet clashed all around. Will slammed shut the door behind them and turned to face the onslaught. More sailors had been rallied against them and the deck was littered with bodies of the wounded and dying, made slick from bloodshed. Scanning the situation Will’s heart sank as he took stock of their dilemma. There was only a handful of men aiding him, a dozen at most and with each passing moment it seemed their odds at survival slipped away while more sailors would take up arms against them. A sailor scrambled forward and grabbed the rope handle on one side of the chest dragging at it with all his strength. Will stepped over to the sailor and with an odd calm swiftly kicked the man in his jaw, sending him sprawling over backwards. The sailor raised an arm up as will reversed grip on his cutlass and plunged the sword down through the man’s chest. The sailor clawed at the blade with bare hands, slicing them to ribbons while Will leaned hard downward.

  A sudden eerie calm settled over the deck of the Endurance as pistols and muskets had all been spent. The clash of sword and bayonet hushed and eyes across the ship shifted to the wails of the sailor Will pinned to the deck with his sword. Will looked up from the desperate sailor’s eyes to see crew all around gaping at him. His fury only grew in intensity and in his rage, he kicked over the chest of gold bars, spilling them across the deck.

  “All
these lives lost, needlessly and over what? Some gold?” he screamed, glancing out to the sail on the horizon, “and even as we fight amongst ourselves, enemies draw nearer! If it’s gold bars you want, take them! Take them and be gone! We will gladly shed your dishonor and count ourselves fortunate.”

  “You’ve gotten half the fleet sunk at harbor! Why in hell would we follow you any longer?” a sailor shouted in reply.

  “Toss the gold, it’s your head we want!” another cried out.

  “Toss him! Keep the gold and the ship!” a sailor shouted.

  Will looked back to the sail approaching, the sun was dropping low in the sky and the vessel would not draw near until after nightfall. By that time, he would either be dead or have such scarce crew left he would be unable to command a defense. If he surrendered now, he would be killed as would all who had stood with him and the woman he’d rescued. He did not hold enough of the crew to effectively sail the massive line ship, let alone man her guns as well. Surrender would not do. Fighting on would only prolong the inevitable, but his honor wouldn’t allow him otherwise. A pistol shot pierced the moment of calm and Will felt a tearing, burning sensation high on his left arm followed by several sailors charging him. He parried and countered in a rolling retreat, falling in line with the marines who had stood with him.

  Their stand on deck was short lived as they were pushed by the overwhelming number of revolting crew towards the aft castle. A marine opened the hatch and the men all scrambled in, Will rushed in just ahead of the last marine who took several pistol shots in the back, collapsing to the deck. The door slammed shut behind Will as he raced into the cabin. Around him the men braced the door as those from the outside attempted to force their way in. Three marines held the door while another two dropped a timber plank through braces on the inside. Shelton approached, exhausted from the struggle and wounded by a slash on his forearm.

  “You’re bleeding Sir,” he said, opening Will’s sleeve to examine the wound. It was a deep gash, but the shot had grazed his arm and missed the bone. “What happened Sir? How did we come to this so rapidly?”

  “Gold, man. I’ve heard of mutinies over less, though I’d never expected it would happen to my first command, nor so rapidly. There’s enough gold on deck to fund the entire Royal Navy.” Will answered dropping his gaze onto the floor of the cabin where the woman lay, still unconscious. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes while the pounding against the door and shouting outside intensified. “It seems they take issue with my decision to rescue this one as well. We found her floating in the sea among the wreckage on our sortie.” Shots sounded outside the door and one of the marines began to look panicked.

  “Sir, if they lift a gun from below to blow down this door, we’re finished. If they all rush us, we won’t last but a few minutes,” he implored.

  “They can’t keep up the siege forever and the approaching ship should be on us shortly after nightfall. They don’t have the time to lift one of the heavy guns.” Will said almost thinking aloud.

  “But if they are another pirate crew or a French privateer, we’ll be done in Sir. I won’t be a captive, I’ll die first.” Shelton retorted.

  “You may have the chance Lieutenant, but I won’t surrender to mutineers. For now, we hold the line here, force those buggers on deck to make their move. Once that ship approaches closer, they’ll have some decisions to make. Let’s see how well they hash it out amongst themselves.” Will said smirking. He walked to the fantail, pressing on one of the ornate glass panes above a wooden bench lining the rear of the cabin. The pane popped free and fell to the water below prompting wild looks between the rest of the occupants of the cabin. Will protruded his head out of the frame the glass had occupied, craning his neck to see the incoming vessel. She had full sails set and in skillful manner, she would intercept the Endurance in a matter of hours.

  Drowned Maiden

  25 Sept 1808

  17 Degrees 32 minutes N, 76 Degrees 12’ W

  Night closed around the Maiden as she sliced through the calm seas northward. The last rays of evening dying out in purple and red hues gave way for the wonders of the galaxy to display themselves down onto the earth. But no eyes from the Drowned Maiden were sky larking amongst the heavens as she sailed for the last suspected location of the Unholy Shepherd. Instead, every hand on deck had their focus glued to the double decked line ship that lay ahead of them. As they drew nearer and the light of the sun faded from sight, it became apparent to Lilith that something was unfolding before them on the vessel across the water.

  “Chibs, is that gunfire?” Lilith asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

  “It sure sounds like it. They wouldn’t be firing at us though, not yet, we’re too far away…” his answer drifted away.

  “They’re fighting each other?” Lilith pressed dying to know more, even if it was Chibs’ conjecture.

  “It happens at sea, a crew will mutiny for any number of reasons, a skipper too harsh or even rations running low. Sometimes all it takes is too much time between port calls. But my guess is they saw the black banner and they’re fighting amongst each other over what they will do. The captain will want to fight, the crew will want to flee. But that’s only my guessing, we’ll find the truth soon enough.” Chibs drew on his pipe and smoke circled from his nostrils as he spoke. “James means to find out what happened with the Shepherd but judging by the flotsam in the water around her, I’m guessing she is what happened,” he said pointing to the enormous line ship.

  Lilith’s heart sank in her chest. She felt a wave of dread and tears began stinging her eyes.

  “Trina? Chibs, if something happened to her I swear…” Lilith started, a wave of anger rising in her voice.

  “Don’t write her off just yet miss, Trina is as hard as they come. By god, it’s damn likely she’s mixed up in the gunfire we keep hearing. Those poor navy men have no idea what they have gotten themselves into in that case.” Chibs said cracking a smile while pointing the stem of his pipe across the water. “I’m afraid she may not leave any for us.”

  James paced into the midst of the bow where Lilith and Chibs stood, a wide-eyed excitement plastered his face.

  “Do you hear it Chibs? They’re fighting on the deck of the line ship. Can you believe our luck?” James exclaimed.

  “Only that I’d seen it with my own eyes Captain. If it were a story in a pub, I’d call the man a liar.” Chibs replied.

  “What would the crew size be on a vessel that big?” the Captain asked with a flash of an idea through his eyes.

  “Oh, at least two hundred likely closer to three. But who knows, they could be half that now, especially if that’s a mutiny we’re hearing.” Chibs said flatly, unexcited for what was to come.

  “That’s perfect. So long as the fighting keeps up, we’ll run right up to her, perhaps we have a chance to take her!” James chimed. Chibs head twisted a bit, Lilith could see he was thinking and judging by the larger clouds of pipe smoke, he was thinking hard.

  “I don’t know James. She’s a big brute of a ship, even if we took her, we would be hard pressed to sail her let alone man all those damn guns. We’d be far better off to take whatever we could and scuttle her, a ship like that draws a lot of attention too. There would be no changing names and banners and easing that thing into a port. The Royal Navy would be hunting her down to the ends of the earth!” Chibs argued. This time, Lilith agreed with him. He knew more about sailing than anyone aboard and he certainly knew more about the Royal Navy. The ship did seem gargantuan to her eyes, even from a distance, it looked big enough to get lost inside.

  “I wouldn’t want it for long. Just one sortie and I’d scuttle her.” James replied. Both Lilith and Chibs could see, yet again, he had his mind set.

  “I suppose Captain, if it’s doable, we’ll do it. I’m with you.” Chibs relented while rapping the contents of his pipe bowl onto the wooden rail. He let a deep sigh go as Captain James departed towards the helm.

  “You ok C
hib?” Lilith asked as he looked out over the water toward the large ship.

  “Oh, I’ll be fine my dear. We’re in for a fight with this one and James won’t have any other way I’m afraid. I’ll follow him to hades gates, even if it’s to talk him out of jumping in. Likely he won’t listen there either, which is fine. But we’ve got some precious cargo aboard and the means to send them on to a prosperous life. Why take chances we don’t have to?” Chibs replied. Lilith could hear a pain in his tone she hadn’t heard before and noticed he was hiding his face from her. She leaned over the rail slightly and saw the starlight gleam from a streak down the sailor’s face.

  “Chibs, James wouldn’t attack unless he thought the odds were for us. Would he?” Lilith implored, growing more concerned.

  “No miss, he wouldn’t. But why take the chance? Why rescue these people from their fate just to gamble it again? They didn’t ask for any of this and why subject them to any further loss? The doctor was helping me speak to one of the women, she’s lost her husband and her boy had his leg blown to ribbons. What business do we have risking their lives again?” he lamented.

  “None of that was done by us Chib and if I recall correctly, you tried to keep me from the boarding party when I first came aboard. These folk will find their sea legs, or leg I guess in Omibwe’s case.” Lilith said placing her hand on his shoulder and hugging his arm. Chibs chuckled when she mentioned Omibwe.