Vengeance a Pirate's Tale

[Bullfrog]

What I want to know is, did you write this story, Bullfrog? Because if you did, we obviously have an author in our midst. It's outstanding, and you have me captivated and waiting for the next chapter. I didn't want to comment, for fear of breaking up the rhythm. Keep up the fantastic work!

I wrote this with a lot of help from JW and a few other good friends. As I said, the entire story was written one piece of a chapter at a time online as my friends critiqued, found typos and errors. For example, what did they call the bathroom back then? Also as I said, even though I really enjoyed writing it and it does lay the groundwork for the entire series, it is somewhat crude compared to later works. Don't ever worry about breaking up the rhythm, as the tale is done, but I can go back and edit it at any time. So... on we go.

I'm about to introduce my favorite character "Batu", he is fashioned after my huge firefighting buddy Clyde Goree. Look at him standing next to me...

He is a huge man with a very big heart, here he is slumping next to his wife Shayla...

Moving on, meet Batu...


CHAPTER FIVE



THE SLAVES




The Marianna was built like all fishing boats with a high bow to cleave the waves and a long, low stern to easily pull the nets upon. With her three sails she made good time. On the morning of the fourth day Cuba came into sight. They skirted eastward along the southern coast and rounded the point into the Atlantic. Finally Andreas pointed out a rather large island to Felipe. Mountains covered with a thick layer of trees jutted upward, it appeared very lush. As they drew closer the water turned from a deep blue, to a turquoise and then clear. Felipe could see the reefs below sliding below the ship, “The fishing should be very good here.” he said.
“It is, the colder water of the Atlantic brings in very large fish, they are abundant.” Andreas replied.
As they drew near Felipe could see many coconut trees, the undergrowth was very thick. They followed the shoreline until they saw a small break. Andreas steered into it into a sheltered lagoon that curved inward. Soon they could not see the Atlantic any longer and their boat was well hidden. The water here was still and clear many large schools of fish swam beneath the boat. They furled their sails as they approached the shore and dropped their anchor.
They unloaded a trunk and only put the needed tools in it then threw it overboard, it floated easily. They jumped in and pushed it to the shore. Opening the trunk they removed axes and rope and constructed a small raft to float the rest of their things to the shore as needed. They went well into the interior so there was no trace of them from the shoreline and began felling trees and notching them to build cabins.
It took four months but they now had three sturdy cabins built, one for each of them as well as Marianna. Andreas said, “We must still gather some men before we bring her here so that we have a large enough force to provide her with protection if the need arises. We will sail tomorrow and get some men.” Andreas said.
“Where will we get these men?” Felipe asked.
“Hired men are only as good as their pay, they have no particular loyalty to their Captain. No, we need men who hate the Spaniards as much as we do and feel a debt of loyalty to us. The slaves that the Spaniards bring here are badly abused. We will free some slaves and they will be more devoted to us than any men that we could hire. They are also very strong and resourceful people.” Andreas replied
The next morning they set sail through the windward passage to Hispaniola where the slaves were sold. They rented three horses and arrived at the dusty square where the auction was to be held.
Wagons pulled up and began unloading the slaves, the women first and then the men. One slave in particular stood out. He was very tall and muscular, six foot six and at least 285 pounds of chiseled muscle. He had a fierce look about him, his anger burned in his face. He had a thick black beard that made his jaw look even stronger, he was indeed a very menacing looking man. Felipe and Andreas stood in the shade of a flamboyant tree and watched, smoking cigars.
The auctioneer stepped up to the platform and called for attention, “We have a fine lot of strong, healthy slaves for you today. All come from the same stock and tribe. A very wealthy landowner bought their parents from the same shipment. This is the second generation, their children. These are not imported savages, they were born here, speak our language and know our ways. All are healthy, strong and will make fine servants. Let us start the bidding with some breeding stock.”
A woman with a manacle around her neck was pulled away from the rest to the platform. She tried to struggle and was yanked very hard by the rope that tethered her. The large black slave began to struggle against his bonds and scream. “ That is my wife! Release her or I will kill you! I will kill all of you!“ He lunged for her and drug all of the other men that were tied to him. It took five Spaniards to finally restrain him. Still he struggled violently until they had to untie him from the rest and tie him to a tree.
The woman was led to the platform and the auctioneer raised her shirt showing her full, well formed breasts and her perfectly slim waistline. He turned her around and raised her skirt showing her firm buttocks then turned her again. Her face was beautiful, large liquid brown eyes that tilted up at the outside corners with long lashes. Her lips were very full, her skin was a flawless light brown. She was truly beautiful. The crowd began to shout and the large man tied to the tree hurled death threats at anyone who bought her. A man approached him and hit him very hard with a club, he just looked at him with such hatred and ferocity in his eyes that the man backed away.
All eyes were on the woman as the bidding began and Felipe walked up to the large, fierce man, “Listen to me, I know that if I purchase you that you will never work for me. You will try to escape and find your wife, am I correct?”
“Yes.” said the man in a very deep voice as he stared at Felipe.
“What is your name?” Felipe asked.
“My master called me Juan, but my given name by my father is Batu.” he replied.
“I am Felipe. I do not want you to work, but if I buy you and then get your wife back so you can be free together, would you fight by my side against these Spanish dogs?” Felipe asked.
“To the death, you would have my complete devotion but you yourself appear to be a Spaniard. How do you propose that we get her back?” He asked.
“It is simple, I will buy you and we will kill the bastard who buys her and get her back before the sun sets today. And yes, I am a Spaniard by birth, but they killed my father and it is my life’s endeavor to punish them for this.”
The large man looked at him, he did not trust Spaniards but he saw the truth in Felipe’s eyes. This sounded to good to be true but he realized that he really had no choice. He smiled down at him and said, “You have my word Felipe, if you do this, I will always fight by your side.”
Felipe told him, “Continue to scream loudly and threaten anyone who buys you or her with death. No one will want to buy you except me and we will get your wife back. I promise my friend.” Felipe smiled at him and walked back to the platform.

 

[Bullfrog]

The bidding was reaching a pitch and finally a price was settled on.
A man walked up to the platform to claim his property. He raised her shirt and squeezed her breast. She slapped him hard across the face. He grabbed her hair and yanked her head back and slapped her with a vicious blow across her mouth. The blood trickled down her chin, crimson against her brown skin.
He smiled with yellow teeth and said, “The master is paying for you but tonight I will show you what a real man feels like. You will spread your legs and beg for more.” Batu screamed death threats, swore that he would hunt him down and kill him. He was going berserk, struggling against his bonds.
The auctioneer started to lead the next woman to the platform when Felipe spoke up loudly, “I cannot hear or think with this slave screaming like this, sell him now and be done with it so we can conduct business!”
Everyone agreed and six strong men led Batu struggling to the platform. He looked so ferocious that it was doubtful that anyone would buy him. The bidding began but the auctioneer could not be heard above his screaming at the man who had bought his wife. They had him gagged and the bidding began again at sixty reales.
No one raised a hand at the first offer, no one wanted this wild beast. The auctioneer again repeated the offer of sixty reales.
“Look at the size of this man and the strength, he will make a fine worker after the whip is applied.” He said.
Felipe blew a plume of smoke into the air and said, “I will take him off of your hands if you give me ten reales.” The crowd laughed loudly and the auctioneer began again as Batu struggled, it took all six men just to hold him.
The auctioneer began again at sixty reales, Felipe offered ten.
“We have a bid of ten reales, do I hear twenty?” The crowd went silent. The auctioneer went on…
“This is insane, just ten reales for such a large, strong man? Do I hear twenty?” The crowd still was silent. “Going once for just ten reales, going twice, sold!”
Felipe walked to the platform and instructed the six men to drape him over his spare horse and bind his hands and feet and to tie them firmly beneath the horses stomach. When this was done, he led the horse away a short distance under the shade of a tree. He pretended to check Batu’s bonds while he actually loosened them as well as the rough rope that was used as a gag.
Felipe ran his fingers across the deep scars that crisscrossed the man‘s back, the bite of the whip. “Bastards, what kind of a man could do this to another man? I have to leave you bound until the man who bought your wife leaves, then we will follow him and I will free you to liberate your wife, do you understand?” Batu nodded and watched the bidding.
The rest of the women were sold quickly and then the men were led up. The best specimen was led up first, a short man with very wide, muscular shoulders. He was bought by the same man that bought Batu’s wife. As the bidding went on he also bought one more man, this one almost as large as Batu. He tied a rope around their necks and had their hands tied . He then tied all of them together by their necks and wrapped the rope around his saddle horn.
Felipe and Andreas with Batu still tied over the horse’s back walked their horses to the fork in the road, then concealed themselves in the nearby jungle. They freed Batu and watched to see which direction the man would take. They would travel through the jungle and easily get ahead of the man walking the slaves and then ambush him. They watched and waited, they could still see the slave auction.
The man checked their bonds again and swung into the saddle. When the horse started walking Batu’s wife was pulled off of her feet and drug for several feet. The man got off and whipped her with his quirt, “Get up you clumsy bitch or I will make my horse run and see if you can keep up!” She struggled to her feet and he slapped her once more hard across her buttocks.
As he took the road to the left fork, Felipe, Andreas and Batu quickly got ahead of the man with his slaves. They dismounted and tied their horses to trees. Felipe drew his sword and handed it to Batu and said, “I will leave this pleasure to you, justice will be served today.”
Batu smiled and hefted the blade, “I would prefer a machete, but this will do nicely my friend.”
As the man approached Felipe stepped out onto the road and grabbed the horses reins, “What is the meaning of this?” The man shouted.
“You have something that does not belong to you.” Felipe smiled and blew out a plume of smoke.
“And what might that be?” He asked.
“The woman tied behind you.” Felipe replied
“I just bought her and she is the property of her new master now.” He said impudently.
“No, actually she is the wife of this man.” Felipe nodded toward the side of the road. Batu Stepped out and immediately dug the tip of his sword into the man’s side forcing him off of his horse. Batu ran around the horse while the man drew his sword.
Felipe had never seen such savagery as he witnessed at that moment. Batu’s swings were so powerful that the man was truly helpless. With one mighty swing he lopped off the mans arm which held his sword at the elbow. The man raised his other arm to defend himself and Batu cut that arm off as well. Without his arms he could only scream and try to run as Batu chased him hacking at him from behind. Finally, Batu cut his head off with one swipe and his body fell hard on the dusty road. The blood continued to spurt out of the arteries until it diminished away.
Felipe told him, “We need to work on your swordsmanship, my friend.”
“He is dead, is he not?” Batu smiled and ran to hug his wife.
“We need to get the body and the horse off of the road and cover the blood, help me free your wife and the others quickly.”
Batu explained what was going on to his wife and friends and they drug the body off of the road into the jungle. They covered the blood with dust and picked up his arms and head, these Batu threw far into the jungle.
Felipe looked at the other slaves, “I have an offer for you, I need men to exact revenge on the Spanish dogs who killed my father. I will sail you off of this island and set you free if you will fight by my side. I will share any bounty that we seize from the Spaniards equally with you, you will be free and rich. Or you can simply flee on your own here and now.”
Batu told them that he was joining Felipe and their decision was made instantly to join with them also. The short man with the wide shoulders smiled and introduced himself as Ajamu and his large friend introduced himself as Tor.
Felipe gave Batu the man’s sword and told him, “Take Ajamu with you down the right fork of the road and free the rest of your friends as they pass. Andreas will be at the fork and will come for you as soon as the last of them are sold. Tor will stay here with me and we will free all who come this way. Meet me back here as quickly as possible after you have freed them all. We will sail off of this island and tonight you will all be free men.”
Batu smiled and took his wife and Ajamu off following the road just inside of the jungle until they came to the fork. Andreas drew his sword and handed it to Ajamu. They rode ahead and got into position to free the rest of their friends.
Felipe took Tor and they went back to the jungle near the road and waited. Over the course of the next two hours he had a group of ten men and eight women hiding in the jungle when Batu arrived leading another eight men and five more women.
There was much joy at being reunited and free. The prospect of finally being free men and being able to get revenge after years of abuse at the hands of the Spaniards was exciting to them and they were all eager to join Felipe. But for now the need was to escape this place before the men and their slaves were missed. Felipe and his friends followed along the road staying well into the jungle and very quiet until they came to the coast where the Marianna was moored.
Now he told them not to say anything and just to follow him and do as he told them. He boldly walked up to the dock with all of the slaves following him and approached the Harbor Master to pay his due.
“That is a fine lot of slaves but how could you afford to buy that many of them? This ship does not look like that of a wealthy man.”
“I was hired by a wealthy man to purchase them and the size of my ship does not concern you, only that I pay you.” Felipe handed him enough reales to bring a smile to his face and then had all of the slaves board the small ship and sit down. The harbor master helped him to untie his lines and shoved him off. Felipe and Andreas trimmed the sails as they filled with the wind , the boat began to glide easily out of the harbor. Andreas looked at the harbor disappearing behind them and then looked at the former slaves, smiled and winked. As They rounded the windward point and turned out of sight of the harbor he turned to his group of new friends and said, “You can smile now.”
A wild cheer came up and Batu grabbed Felipe in a mighty bear hug and lifted him off of his feet.
“Easy my friend, do not break my ribs, save that for the Spaniards. That keg is filled with rum, pass a cup around and let us go home.” Felipe smiled as his small band of men tasted rum for the first time in their lives. They sailed on toward Tortuga.

 

[Bullfrog]

And yes, Batu eats as much in real life as he does in the story...

 

[j.w]

Looks like some kind of a shrimp eating contest................yum!

 

[Bullfrog]

Crawfish.

 

[Bullfrog]

As Felipe sailed into the sheltered lagoon the breakwater stopped and became smooth. Andreas expertly tacked the sails and then dropped the anchor. Felipe let the boat swing around on its anchor chain into the wind and dropped a small anchor at the stern and lashed it tight, the boat was secure. He told Batu, “The tide is out now and we still have ten feet of water beneath our keel in case it drops any further. All we have to do now is swim the short distance to the shore.”
“We do not swim.” Batu said in his deep voice.
“What do you mean you do not swim, none of you?” Felipe asked as he looked around at them.
“Excuse me, but our former master never saw the need for recreational activities, we washed at the well and there were no rivers or streams nearby, we do not swim.” Batu replied.
Felipe looked at all of them as the Marianna rocked on it’s anchors, “Well how am I going to get you all to the shore?”
Batu looked around, “You have plenty of rope, you tie it around your waist and then swim to the shore. We can then climb down the rope hand over hand and keep our heads out of the water.”
“I cannot hold you up, you weigh twice as much as I do!” Felipe said.
Batu smiled and said, “Perhaps we will send one of our wives first, can you hold one of them up? They are strong.”
Andreas said, “I will swim to the shore and help you Felipe.”
Felipe said, “No, I can do this by myself!“ He looked around the crowd and said, “Send Ajamu first, we should be able to hold up anyone together.”
“Very well then, here.” Batu handed Felipe the rope and he tied it around his waist. With a grand sweep of his hat and a bow, he tossed his hat to the deck and vaulted over the rail into the clear water.
All of them rushed to the side to watch, they had never seen a man swim before. He swam strongly toward the shore dragging the rope behind him. Soon he could touch the bottom and walked until he was waist deep then he turned toward the ship. Batu tied the rope to the handrail and Felipe backed up until it was pulled tight. Ajamu was nervous, he could see that from where he was standing but with much encouragement from Batu he held the rope in both hands and slid over the side.
He was much heavier than Felipe thought that he would be. Felipe was pulled forward a foot or two, his boots digging into the sand. Ajamu was screaming at him, the water was at his chin. Felipe struggled and backed up pulling Ajamu up so that his shoulders cleared the water. Ajamu began to quickly move down the rope, hand over hand toward the shore. This made the rope jump violently and once more Felipe slipped forward. Ajamu struggled with the rope and this pulled Felipe forward even more.
Ajamu’s head went under and there was a collective scream of horror from all of the others on board. Felipe dug his feet in and backed up pulling Ajamu’s head out of the water. Ajamu was coughing and cursing him. Felipe managed to get his footing and Ajamu began to rapidly move toward him hand over hand along the rope. Soon he joined him and together they held the rope as one at a time they all made it and all of them were standing in the water.
At last they waded onto the shore and through the jungle to the small settlement. They started a fire as the sun was setting and sat around it. Felipe said, “Tonight you will sleep under the stars but the rainy season will soon be upon us. The women can use my mother’s cabin if they wish, she is not here yet. Tomorrow we will go into the jungle and chop more trees and build cabins for all of you. We can purchase more axes, saws and hammers in the square and we will get started on your homes.”
Batu blinked at him, “We will have our own houses? He asked.
“Of course you will have your own houses, but we will have to build them. We will all work together and it will go quickly. Did you not have your own houses before?” Felipe looked around the circle of faces, he knew nothing of slaves or how they lived.
Batu spoke, “We slept in the back of the barn on hay. This is a whole new and wonderful life for us. We will serve you well Felipe.” With that he hugged him hard and let out a loud laugh.
Felipe pushed him off and said, “You have had enough rum my friend and do not know your own strength. Now, before you break my neck I will ask you to release me.”
The evening was getting cool and the sun was beginning to set. They gathered more firewood and Banana tree leaves to lay on. As night fell they had a roaring fire and Felipe passed the rum bottle around. Batu and the others had never had liquor and it affected them quickly. Batu stood and started to piss in the fire and everyone screamed at him.
He staggered off a few feet and finished then came back and plopped down beside Felipe and put his arm around his neck. “So what is next my friend?” He asked.
Batu smiled drunkenly at him. Felipe looked around them and smiled, “You are my friends, we are equals and partners against the Spanish. I will of course be the Captain on the ship and give the orders there, that is the way of the sea. But on land, we are all friends and you will never serve another man again.”
Batu’s wife spoke up, “Does that go for us women too? You mean I do not have to serve Batu food any more?” She smiled.
“Silence woman! Fetch me some more rum!” Batu shouted playfully. She stood up and tossed the clay jug into his lap smashing his testicles. Batu grabbed himself and rolled in pain as the crowd laughed loudly. They drank and partied into the night and one at a time fell asleep under the stars.
The next day Felipe and Andreas showed the men how to cut and notch the trees properly. Andreas took the Marianna around the island to purchase more axes and saws. He returned by noon and the clearing got larger very fast, they were very strong, hard workers. They built one cabin at a time but with twenty men working it moved along very well. After less than two months there were cabins all built around a large circle and they constructed a large pavilion in the center. It had a thatched roof like the cabins but had a hole in the center to let the smoke escape.
The soil was very rocky and nothing grew well here except a few scattered tobacco plants that surrounded the settlement on the other side of the island. All of the time that the men were building cabins the women worked weaving baskets, removing rocks and bringing in baskets of dirt that they scraped from other locations. Soon they had gardens between the cabins and planted banana trees and other vegetables with seed purchased from the settlement.
Once the village was completed Andreas began teaching them all how to properly wield a sword. They also spent many hours learning how to swim in the nearby pond of fresh water. As time passed they all became adept at handling the sails and steering the ship as they fished the rich waters surrounding the island. They learned fast and soon were accomplished sailors as well as swordsmen. They also learned the bow and lance.
Life was good on the island, they were enjoying their new found freedom. No longer would they be whipped or have their wives taken at night by the master. A deep bond of friendship and devotion developed between them, Andreas and Felipe. They hunted and trapped hogs which were abundant on the island and built a smoke house to cure the meat so it would not spoil. The women cooked good meals and they ate well.
Felipe approached Andreas and said, “Can we now go and get my mother? The village is very habitable. It seems like we have enough men to defend her if we are attacked”
“Felipe, even a small Spanish regiment has twenty officers and 326 men. We could not defend ourselves against such an attack, we would all be killed including your mother. I too miss Marianna as I know that you do, but I do want her to be safe when we bring her here.” He looked around at the men working, constructing more small cabins, they all knew that they would need more recruits soon.
“But, the time has come. These men are well trained at sailing and fighting now. We need more men but first we will need a ship, a large warship.” Andreas looked at him.
“We cannot possibly capture such a ship with the Marianna, we have no cannons.” Felipe said.
“I know this and have been thinking about it. We shall steal a ship.” Andreas looked at him and smiled, “Cuba is not far and they have a large port there. It is a home port to them and secure. They leave a minimum amount of guards on the ships at night, the guards get bored, they are not that vigilant. I believe that we could slip into the harbor under the cover of darkness and kill the few guards that are on board but we must be swift and very silent. If one man shouts and raises the alarm we will all be killed. We must plan it out very carefully and strike when there is no or very little moon.”
“That is a bold plan uncle, but it seems like our only choice if we are to procure a large warship.” Felipe replied.
“Very well, ring the bell and summon the men to the pavilion, let us make our plans.”

 

[Bullfrog]

Felipe rang the bell that hung from the roof of the pavilion and everyone gathered and sat in a circle. Andreas and Felipe explained the plan as they all listened. Ajamu’s wife said, “We have a good life here, we are free and have food. I do not want my husband to be killed, this sounds like a very dangerous mission.”
Ajamu quickly spoke up for all to hear, “Yes, we have a good life here and we owe all of this to Felipe and Andreas. They freed us and brought us here and we all swore allegiance to their cause. We have reaped the benefits and now it is time to fulfill our part of the bargain. We descended from a warrior tribe and now we have the chance to pay back the Spaniards for all of their transgressions against our parents and ourselves. I want to hear no more of this. If any man will not fulfill his part of the bargain I personally will kill him.”
He looked around the circle but all agreed with what he said. “Are there any other objections?” Felipe asked, “This is indeed a very dangerous mission and I will not hold any one of you to the bargain. If any man or woman does not want to participate in this you do not have to, you simply will not reap any of the reward when we capture other ships. You are all free men and women now.”
Batu stood up and looked around the circle and told them all. “If any man here shows cowardice I do not want them living in this village with us. As Ajamu said, we descended from a warrior tribe. We are not farmers and I too want blood in revenge for all of the wrongs that have been heaped on our people.”
All of them shook their heads in agreement and Ajamu’s wife apologized, “I am sorry Felipe, I spoke without thinking. Yes, we do owe all of this to you and Andres, I was just concerned for the safety of my husband.”
“There is no need to apologize.” Felipe smiled at her, “I understand your concern. We will begin laying supplies on our boat and wait for the moon to wane. You will have your revenge.”


CHAPTER SIX



THE SHIP




Early the next morning they began loading the small ship with supplies for the journey to Hispaniola and then Cuba. Water, food and weapons were brought on board. When the moon was waning she was finally laden and ready to sail, they all said goodbye to their wives promising to return soon. This was to be a dangerous mission and they all knew it, to steal an entire Galleon anchored at port had never been attempted before. The sheer audacity and daring of the plan was a real challenge, but the men were not afraid. Every one of them hated the Spaniards and looked forward to the revenge they would inflict upon their oppressors.
They weighed the anchors and unfurled the sails and slipped out of the lagoon. The time spent teaching his men the fine points of sailing was now paying off. They were strong, brave men who learned quickly but Felipe continued to advise them. The Galleon would be much larger and it would take all of them to control her. Felipe stood at the wheel and contemplated a plan.
They could take the ship at anchor he knew, because most of the crew would be ashore drunk or asleep in the barracks. A minimum amount of guards would be onboard because no one would dare to attack a Spanish vessel at anchor in her home port, this was unthinkable. Slipping out of the harbor without anyone else raising the alarm was going to be the difficult part. He knew that he could slip out of the harbor using a minimum number of sails. Once the crew was overpowered and the anchors were weighed, the bowsprit sails alone would turn her and one foremast sail would be sufficient to slip out of the harbor under the cover of moonlight.
He discussed the plan with his men and they agreed they could swing alongside the stern, climb the rudder and board the ship quietly. They also agreed that it would be a good idea to take the uniforms from the guards for future use. All would board her in anticipation of overtaking the guards. The bell was an alarm that could be sounded, so one man would be assigned to guard the ship’s bell. Once the ship was secured, one man would go back to their small ship and take the helm while they towed her out to sea, this would leave the rest of the crew to sail the stolen vessel once they cleared the harbor and reached the open sea.
They were confident with their plan so as soon as they came upon Cuba they anchored and went ashore to cut some long poles. They wound cloth around one end so they could stop their ship as they swung along side of the galleon without making any noise. Having their poles they the sailed on to the port. The port bristled with masts, there were a lot more ships than they had anticipated and this was daunting, but they agreed that late after midnight, most if not all would be asleep.
They dropped their nets so they would not draw attention and pretended to fish while they studied the ships that were at anchor. There were several average size galleons anchored on the outer perimeter, but closer to the shore was a really large warship. After surveying the area they sailed to the outer edge of the harbor, dropped anchor and pulled in their nets.
Cleaning the fish, they began to cook and discuss the plan of action. Felipe took out his telescope and surveyed the ships, “The three on the outer edge are average size galleons, displacing maybe seven tons.I count…fifteen guns along their gun deck for a total of thirty cannons. The large one closer to shore is one of their newer vessels, she displaces about thirteen tons and I count…thirty cannons along her side on two different decks. She also has two forward on her bow and two on her stern for a total of sixty four guns. That is our ship.”
Ajamu blew on a hot piece of broiled fish and looked at the harbor, “We would have to sail past those other three warships on the way out. What if they sound an alarm? Every ship in the harbor will be in pursuit of us.”
Tor agreed, “It would be a lot safer to take the outer ship, thirty guns are enough, besides, how many men does it take to sail a ship like the smaller one? He asked.
Felipe took a piece of fish and chewed on it as he thought. He then asked Andreas, “What do you think Uncle?”
Andreas stared across the harbor, “Two men per cannon would be sixty men, four manning the powder room to pass the gunpowder. Fifty manning small arms on her upper deck and maybe fifty to sail her. A few carpenters and a surgeon. About one hundred and eighty men.”
Batu said with a voice as deep as a well “And we are twenty.” He looked at Felipe and raised his eyebrows.
Felipe looked around his circle of friends. He took another bite of fish, chewed and swallowed it, “While we are at sea, I am the Captain and give the orders. But in matters of life and death, I am your friend, not your master. I cannot force any of you to do anything that you do not want to do. The journey across the Atlantic from Spain is long and treacherous, they sometime loose up to a third of their crew to sickness and pirates. See all of her rigging?” He pointed at the large ship.
“With those pulleys and cleats, the ship can be sailed with a lot less men. You simply tie the sails off where they are needed. Also, I do not plan on using all of her guns at once and trading cannon fire on the open sea. We will use guile and trickery to get close to other ships.” He looked at Andreas and Andreas gave him a wink. “We do not need the speed to cross the Atlantic right now, we just need to get her back to Tortuga so we do not need all of her sails unfurled.”
Again he looked around the circle of men sitting on the rocking deck. All was silent except for the sound of the wind and the creaking of the timbers of their small ship. Felipe went on, “We may be only twenty, but I would stack any one of you up against five Spanish soldiers. Her troops are decimated from the war and they are recruiting young, inexperienced men. They have no time to teach them the art of the sword as my uncle and I have taught you.”
He pointed at the large ship close to the shore, “We intend to attack the King’s ships and men. One day we may sail against a ship such as that one. Do you really want to be in one of those smaller ships? As soon as we get back to Tortuga we will recruit more men, but we need a ship first, and that should be our ship.”
They all looked at the huge ship comparing it to the smaller ones. Batu spoke first, “I agree, we will get more men but we need a stout ship, what say you?” He looked around at the men and one by one, they all agreed and shook their heads. Batu said, “Very well then, it is settled.”
Felipe smiled and lit a small cigar, “Get some rest then, tonight we will shed some Spanish blood.”

 

[Bullfrog]

Felipe looked at the large ship swaying on its anchors and tried to count the men that he saw on her decks. He only saw four men posted on the deck. A cook came up and threw a bucket of slop over the side. After a few hours, one of the men went below and four other men came up to relieve those on deck.
The night fell over the harbor and surrounding town and lanterns slowly lit on the ships and the shoreline. The stars became clear as the sky darkened and a crescent moon rose slowly in the sky. Felipe rethought all of his plans. Batu snored heavily nearby but most of the men were not able to sleep with nervous anticipation. They had been raised never to stand up to a Spaniard, to actually kill one was an alien thought. Other than their escape from Hispaniola they had never rebelled. But, they all had whip marks on their backs and had seen their women raped by these hated bastards so killing them was eagerly looked forward to. Andreas honed his sword and then his dagger.
As the crescent moon slowly rose into the night sky the noise from the harbor increased as the taverns filled up. It seemed like ages, but little by little the lights went out in the city until only a few remained. The lanterns on the ships still burned but they only gave off enough light to see when walking on the decks. From the position of the moon Felipe estimated that it was well past midnight and he made a pot of strong coffee.
He awoke Batu and the few others who had fallen asleep and they drank the strong liquid and spoke in hushed tones. Felipe said, “I will be at the helm so it is very important that you tack the foremast well. We want a slow approach so we will only use the sails on the foremast. When we get close I need two men on each sail’s rigging. As you tack the sail I will swing her stern around and then the rest of you men be ready with the poles. We will tie off to her and board her quietly. There is no time for swordplay nor do we need the noise. We must slip up behind them and slit their throats.”
Batu smiled. “I like that idea, but why do we not also eliminate the guards on the outer ships? That way they cannot sound and alarm.”
Felipe looked at the three ships between them and the large one, “Too risky, all it would take is one shout from one of them. No, we will slip past them, the guards are probably drunk or asleep at this hour, angry that their shipmates are drinking and tasting the women ashore. We will take the ship and steer as far away from them as we can as we clear the harbor. ”
Felipe looked at his small circle of men. Their dark faces looked formidable and their eyes shone in anticipation of their daring act, “If they call out to us as we pass on the way out, you men keep your backs turned, the King has no black soldiers. The rest of you hide behind the rails and be ready with you bows. Aim for their head and throat, I want each of them to get at least three arrows. Do not fire until I give the order. So, are we ready?”
“Ready.” they all replied.
“Batu and Ajamu, I will take the helm, we need the four men on the sails and the rest of you go below decks and weigh the anchors, God be with us.” With that he got up and threw what remained of his coffee over the side, put down the cup and strode to the stern.
As soon as the anchors lost their bite on the ocean bottom, the wind began to slowly turn the ship. As instructed, two men on either of the foremast sails tacked their sails, playing the small ship into the wind and she eased forward into the night. They gave the first ship a wide berth but the guards on board barely noticed. It was not unusual to see a fishing vessel coming in late at night. They passed the next two without incident.
Now they were approaching the large warship. The men on the sails tacked them slightly into the wind and Felipe turned the wheel hard starboard. The rest of the men extended their poles and as they made contact there was not a sound. They lashed their small ship bow and stern and climbed up the rudder of the tall ship and over the rails. Felipe motioned for them to stay put and he very quietly slipped across the deck. Padding his way along from the stern to the bow, he found that the guards were posted evenly spaced, all four of them looking out toward the village.
Guard duty was a boring affair and generally doled out as punishment, or to those who the Captain did not favor. They did not expect any threat yet were young and standing at their post. Felipe slipped back to his waiting men. He did not speak but used hand signals. He held up four fingers and pointed to where the guards were. He pointed at two men and pointed to the rear guard. To each guard he assigned two of his men. He then cupped his hand over his mouth, tilted his head back and drew his index finger across his throat.
All his men smiled and nodded. He motioned for Batu to wait there and then he and six men stealthily crept along the deck He pointed out the guards and motioned for them to wait until they were all in position. Moving back to Batu they got into position. He looked down the line of his men. In the darkness he could only see the first pair but he knew they in turn could see the next. They watched him so when he was ready, he raised his hand and then dropped it. With knives drawn they crept up quietly behind the unsuspecting guards and caught them in a total surprise. They cupped their hands over their mouths, tilted their heads back and slit their throats.
The hot blood spurted out very hard and the men struggled briefly, but with no oxygen going to their brains they soon fell slack. They eased the dead men down to the deck and met back amidships. They slipped down the stairs to the lower deck. This was the gun deck, the cannons were all lined up, the men all smiled as they looked at them. Loud snoring made it easy to tell where the were other guards were sleeping on the gun deck. They could get a breeze through the cannon ports.
They silently walked to where the men were sleeping. There was no time for mercy and no time for a fair fight. The men fell on them, covered their mouths and lanced them numerous times with their swords. They died quickly.
In hushed tones they agreed to search the entire ship in pairs to see if anyone else was on board and to meet back here. They split up and quickly and quietly searched the entire ship. Felipe went toward the stern with Batu and Andreas, searching each compartment until he came to the Captains quarters. The door was locked but locks were crude and easy to pick. Andreas was a blacksmith, he had made such locks. He reached inside of his vest and produced a set of small picks, he was prepared for locked doors. He quietly slipped the rods into the lock and maneuvered them until the lock gave way. With swords drawn they opened the door and stepped in.
The cabin was large and lavishly appointed but obviously unoccupied. They put their swords back into their scabbards and Felipe looked around. Oil lamps lit the large room. There was a large desk and a plush bed. A sitting area with padded chairs, a table and a bar stocked with fine liquor. A hand carved cigar box on the desk was filled with fine Cuban cigars. Rolls of nautical maps, a sextant and a good quality telescope were in a case. A large wooden chest was against one wall. Windows surrounded the quarters and gave a good view and a cross breeze that filled the room. Felipe said “Ah, my new quarters.” with a smile.
Batu said, “We do not own this ship yet, we must make our escape now.”
“I agree.” Felipe said and they went back to meet with the men.
Ajamu had found an extra uniform for each of the soldiers and they busied themselves changing into the Spanish clothing. Batu tried on several pair of pants and they all were too short, coming only half way down his calves. The men all chuckled as he finally threw them aside. Felipe said, “OK you overgrown bastard, once we get underway you just hide on deck and be ready with your bow.” They went silently up on deck and unfurled the two sails on the foremast and tacked them to pull away from the shore.
Felipe and the rest of the crew went below decks and split into two groups. There were two anchors down and in such a sheltered port, they were not the large ones that were used in a storm. There was a large round wooden capstan with spokes emanating out from the center. He instructed them to grease the capstan, give him time to get to the stern anchor, then to turn the capstan reeling in the cable. He left eight men there and he and his other seven ran to the stern.
With one man on each spoke, they heaved into the spokes with all of their strength. At first it did not give, Batu planted his feet far behind him and gave a mighty shove. The anchor pulled from the sand of the harbor and began to rise as they marched quickly in circles reeling it up. Finally it seated and they planted the steel stop into the hole on the base.
As planned, they ran back up on deck and stationed themselves with their bows along the rail, crouching down out of sight. Felipe took the wheel and ran her hard to port as the men on the foremast let the sails fill with air, they snapped taut in the breeze and the mighty ship began a slow, steady turn out to sea.
They gave the first ship a wide berth but still the guards took notice, “Look at this, she is sailing at night, that is unusual.” One said.
“Mind your own business, our duty is to guard this ship.” Another said.
“ I do not like this, Spanish warships do not sail from port at night. The opening to the harbor is narrow and treacherous. This does not seem right.” He said and got the lantern down from its hook. The large ship was broadside now at thirty yards and he waved the lantern and called out loudly, “Ahoy! What is your business? Why are you sailing at night?”

 

[Bullfrog]

The men crouched behind the rails had their arrows nocked and waited for the word. Andreas walked to the rail wearing a Spanish Captain’s uniform and said as quietly as he could to still be heard, “Silence you fool! This is a secret mission of the utmost urgency ordered by the King himself! Douse that lantern!”
“I told you to mind your own business.” the other guard said.
The guard with the lantern said, “I still do not like this.” He then shouted out, “Show me your papers authorizing this mission!” The men behind the rails all drew their bows to full draw but remained in place.
“I will show you our blades if you shout out one more time and endanger the secrecy of this mission. The Viceroy himself is watching us depart from the shore!“ He pointed at the dark shoreline, “Now, douse that lantern!” Andreas said as they continued to slip past.
“Do not be a fool! You are going to get us all killed, beheaded!” The second guard whispered. Against his better judgment, the guard doused his lantern. The other two ships noticed the exchange of words but could not hear what was being said. The fact that the first ship cleared them was enough. They went back to drinking rum and playing cards, discipline was more lapse on the outer perimeter.
The men hiding behind the rails relaxed their bows and the big ship slowly slipped out of the harbor under the crescent moon. As soon as they cleared the mouth of the harbor they unfurled all of her sails and tied them off. The big ship surged forward and even Andreas was impressed with her speed. “Even as large as she is, with this much sail she is very fast and handles very well, take the wheel Andreas.” Felipe said.
“Yes, she is very responsive even without tacking the sails. Once we have enough men to tack the sails properly she will turn very sharply.” Andreas agreed.
They sailed from Cuba back to their island home. The next morning the Harbor Master was sitting in his office drinking a cup of coffee when a large man strode angrily into his office. The man slammed his hands down on his desk and demanded, “Where is my ship?”
“What do you mean ‘where is your ship?’” “Where did you anchor it?”
The man pointed out of the window at the large, vacant spot and said, “Right there you fool! And now it is gone! Where is it?” he demanded.
“How would I know? You are the Captain.” he replied.
“Yes! But you are the Harbor Master! You are responsible for all of the ships in this harbor!” The Captain was getting angrier.
“I am responsible for the documenting of all cargo that enters and leaves this port. Meticulous records are kept so that the King gets all of his shipments and no goods are stolen. I am not responsible for your ship, you are.” He stared flatly at the man.
The man paced back and forth and then looked at him, “Do you think that the King will see it that way? This was a new galleon, one of the largest in the fleet. It cost an enormous amount of money and had yet to even fight. It was stolen from your port. I fear that the King will have both of our heads for this.”
The harbor master thought about this for a few moments and then said, “What was your Destination?”
“Veracruz, we were to escort a treasure trove back to Spain.”
“You loaded no cargo here?” he asked.
“Only tobacco, sugar cane and provisions, food and water.” the Captain replied.
“That is not valuable cargo like gold. There is no need for both of us to die. I will sign the ledger as you will. It will show that your ship sailed this morning. Go back and inform your men that it was taken by another Captain and crew as an emergency. They can board another ship. When she does not arrive in Veracruz as scheduled, they will all think her sunk possibly by pirates. It will remain as a mystery of the sea, there are many ships that never make port, these are treacherous times.”
The Captain considered this and finally said “And what of me? I can never show my face in Spain again.”
“You can simply board a ship for the new colonies and disappear into the settlements there, you can still live a long, good life. I hear that the local women there are very beautiful and the land is rich. With your skills, you can easily find work.” The harbor master looked at him while he thought about it. “The alternative is both of our heads on the chopping block.”
“Sign the ledger.” the Captain said. The Harbor Master recorded the ship as leaving the harbor and signed it, the Captain signed below his name.
Aboard the ship Felipe and Andreas had no idea that fortune had again smiled on them. Not only were they successful at stealing the ship, she was never reported as stolen. They sailed on toward Tortuga.

 

[Bullfrog]

CHAPTER SEVEN



RECRUITS




Reaching their home on Tortuga they pulled into the sheltered lagoon, dropped the anchors and raised the sails. One of the women was on the shore standing vigil, she shouted a greeting, then ran back off toward the village. Soon, all of the women were wading out into the water shouting and waving. Securing the ship, they all dove in and swam to the shore.
There was much hugging and kissing as the women greeted their men, they all marveled at the size of the ship. After walking back to the village the women began to prepare a large meal of pork stew with potatoes, vegetables and a lot of fresh fruit. After days at sea, the men ate hungrily.
As they ate, they told the women of their need to recruit more men. Early the next day they would construct a raft, load it and their fishing boat with the tobacco and sugar cane that was in the hold of the ship. On the other side of the Island was a thriving community of pirates. There were taverns, shops and a market. They would tow the goods there and sell them, this would give them the money to hire more crewmen. The taverns would gladly buy the cane to make rum and the tobacco was also a very desired commodity.
After eating, they all began to drink rum and celebrate their success. Batu spoke in his deep voice, “It is a good thing that I was there. I single handed, killed all of the guards on that ship while Felipe and the others quaked in fear. I think several of them shit in their pants as they witnessed my bravery.” A loud cry and laughter erupted from the men as the rum took hold. They each took personal credit for the defeat of the Spaniards. The number of guards grew from eight to over fifty and mighty sword battles took place.
Felipe smoked a fine cigar, drank his rum and just smiled as the night wore on and the tales got taller. Andreas smoked his pipe and stirred the fire with a stick. The women were no fools but were enjoying the revelry and their good fortune. All of their men had returned unharmed and were home. They laughed as the men each tried to claim credit and outdo each other.
Batu’s wife Shayla asked him “So, tell me Felipe, what really happened?”
Felipe just grinned and said, “It is as they are telling you, they all showed amazing bravery against the Spanish dogs and claimed a fine ship full of cargo that will line our pockets. The former captain also was kind enough to leave us a big chest full of reales to share”
Batu’s wife looked at him and said, “We have money? Our own money? We have never had money before! Good then, I need some new clothes, I have been washing and wearing this same skirt and blouse for weeks now.” She smiled at Batu and all of the other women began to talk happily about being able to actually buy new clothes.
Batu said in a loud voice, “Silence woman! I prefer you naked!” the men howled with laughter.
She lowered her eyelids and said, “It will be a very long time indeed until you see me naked if you do not buy me some new clothes tomorrow.” The men all hooted and goaded him until all of the other women stood up and followed Shayla’s lead. They all stood beside her and shouted that they too would not be naked unless promised new clothes.
Andreas looked at Felipe and winked, “Women, they are all the same, no?”
The men all looked at each other. Ajamu said, “We risk our lives and the first thing they want is new clothes. Very well then, we have never had any money before and we may as well spend it on our women as they are the most precious things in our lives.”
Felipe laughed and said, “A wise and well spoken choice of words my friend. The women can accompany us tomorrow to shop for clothes. It has been a long voyage and I have no wife so I am going to sleep now. You all did a very fine job and I am proud of each and every one of you. I now bid you all goodnight.” Felipe rose and sauntered toward his hut with a flask of rum in his hand. They all bid him a good night and soon he was fast asleep.
He awoke the next morning as the light filled his hut. He heard the sound of axes chopping trees in the nearby jungle. The women were already cooking breakfast and were eager to go to the market and buy new things. They had never had any money nor the choice of what they wore. They chatted happily and wondered what they might purchase. Felipe poured himself a cup of coffee stretched as he stood.
He walked to the edge of the clearing where the men already had several tress felled as they worked on more. They began to drag the trees to the shoreline and align them as Andreas instructed them. After a while, they had constructed a raft of palm trees lashed together with rope. They got the women together and everyone worked together lifting and dragging the raft into the surf. The women got aboard and the men all lined up along the back kicking their feet as they pushed the raft out to their new ship and secured it.
Climbing the rope ladder they all went below decks and began loading the sugar cane and bales of tobacco onto the raft. Once the raft was laden Felipe and three others dove into the water and pulled his fishing boat alongside. The women boarded and the men continued to load more cane and tobacco until the Marianna could hold no more. They set sail for the short trip to the village.
Upon arriving, they dropped anchor and once again pushed the raft ashore. A group of men and women came to the shore to see what new goods had arrived. They made it to shore through the surging waves. They finally tugged the raft on land and the people began to immediately start bartering for the cane and tobacco. These were the merchants who had enough money to buy the bulk goods. They would divide the goods into smaller parcels and make their profit as well. Bidding began and it was not long before the raft was empty.
Then Felipe announced they had more on his ship. They had paid a good price thinking that this was the entire load and a few of them scurried off to tell other merchants and the owners of the taverns that there was fresh cane and tobacco to be purchased. Again the raft was pushed back out to the small ship and loaded down. This time there was room for the women to get aboard. A small crowd had gathered on the shore and as soon as they made landfall the bargaining began again.
Felipe’s crew was amazed at the amount of gold reales that were changing hands. The raft emptied quickly and the crowd dispersed with their goods. Felipe counted out the money and divided it between them in a generous enough quantity to make the purchases that the women wanted with plenty left over. There was enough of his and Andreas’s share combined with the reales from the Captain’s trunk to hire a new crew. A lot of the men no doubt had been ashore for a while now and had drank most of their money away.
Tortuga, being a pirate stronghold was a mixture of all races and nationalities. Felipe told the women that they would be safe to roam the village and make their purchases, there were no slaves or masters here. He asked Batu, Ajamu and Tor to accompany him and Andreas as they got the new recruits. The women happily scampered off down the dirt street and disappeared into shops and markets. The five men walked down the dirt street toward a noisy tavern.
Felipe smiled, looked up at Batu and asked, “Have you ever been in a tavern before?”
Batu just lowered his eyelids and gave him a flat expression.
“Just stick with me and do as I do, you will be fine.” Felipe said jauntily.
“I feel so safe now, knowing that you will be there to protect me.” Batu said. They walked into the tavern and into a wall of noise. Three drunk men were singing loudly being cheered and booed by an equally drunken crowd. It was indeed a motley crew, all of them had scars and a several of them were missing limbs, hands or feet, a few had a patch on one eye.

 

[Bullfrog]

This is where the story actually began. A man on another ponding forum with the screen name of “Freddie Peepers” (named after a frog in his pond) spent a lot of time and money putting in a nice pond. His neighbors became very obtrusive, they would be camped out next to his pond with a cooler when he got home. His wife was planting some trees along their property when the other wife asked if they were going to obstruct her view of “the pond”, not “your pond.” He was a big man with a full beard and looked tough as hell, but on the inside, he was a pussycat. He asked for advice and we all told him just to lay the law down for them to ask before coming to their pond, but he didn’t want to start any trouble, so he left a very polite note on their door.
The man next door pounded on his door, and he ignored it. Then this guy opened his door and stormed through his house finding him in his basement and proceeded to chew him out. So, I took his character, rough on the outside but a pussycat on the inside, and as I told him, “stuck his nose up his butt and turned him inside out.” I created the character, “Jeanne Pierre Francois” a girly man on the outside, but a stone cold killer on the inside. With no further ado, Meet a major player, Jeanne Pierre. (soon to become JW’s love interest.”

When they went to the bar an overweight barmaid with her large breasts spilling almost out of her low cut blouse asked, “What will it be gentlemen?”
“Rum for my friends and I” Felipe replied. When their drinks were served, Felipe turned his back to the bar resting his elbows on it. His four companions did the same. They surveyed the crowd. A loud and celebrating group, many of them looked fierce and he knew that all were good fighters and sailors.
The drunken men finally finished their song and much laughter and clapping erupted. In a corner four men were engaged in a game of cards. One man, the largest was getting loud and angry banging his fist on the table and screaming at another. Felipe nodded toward them and they all moved to a close table and sat down, “Look at this character.” Felipe said. Three of the men, including the large, angry one were typical of the crowd, unkempt with shaggy beards and dirty clothes.
The man with all of the winnings in front of him had a neatly trimmed red beard and moustache. His long, curly red hair was clean and he wore a black cavalier hat at a cocky, rakish angle on his head. The hat had one side pinned up with a silver emblem that represented crossed swords. A feather was sticking up from the hatband. His white shirt was clean and had ruffles down the breast as well as at the cuffs. He dabbed at his nose nonchalantly with a white handkerchief that had lace along it’s edges and stared calmly at the large screaming man with his eyelids half lowered over bright blue eyes.
Batu said, “He looks more like a woman. We need sailors and fighters, not a pretty boy.”
Felipe said, “He is obviously very shrewd, look at his winnings.” He had a large pile of reales in front of him. “His manner of dress suggests that he is also very meticulous.”
“I think it suggests something else.” Batu said and wiggled his eyebrows up and down.
Andreas added, “He certainly isn’t showing any fear. The other man stands a foot taller than he.”
The large man was complaining that the red haired man had taken all of his money and the others agreed. The man calmly raked all of the reales into a leather pouch which he then tied and secured it to his belt. Taking a puff on his thin cigar he blew the blue smoke toward the ceiling while the other three men glared at him.
He spoke with a French accent and in a cultured voice, “Well then messieurs if I have taken all of your money, then I guess that this game is over.”
The large man shouted, “You must give me a chance to win back some of my money! I cannot even buy a drink now!”
The man calmly looked at him and said, “How can you gamble with no money? You played and you lost. So if you will excuse me now, I need another drink, I will buy you each one as well” As he reached for his handkerchief that was laying on the table, the large man grabbed his hand roughly and pulled it toward him. When he did, three aces fell out of the handkerchief onto the table.
“You French bastard! You have been cheating us all this time!” The large man screamed.
The Frenchman replied, “Oui messier, for over an hour now, you are as stupid as you are fat and ugly.” He yanked his hand away and the large man stood up and threw the table to the side. The Frenchman’s sword was already out and he took a professional stance. All three of the men drew their swords. The bar fell silent as everyone watched.
Batu asked, “Should we help him? He is outnumbered.”
“No, let us watch and see how he handles himself first.” Andreas said.
The large man attacked first using more strength than skill. The Small Frenchman easily sidestepped and parried all of his wild swings. The other two men spread to either side of him to flank him. He kicked his chair out of the way and got his back into the corner so they could not surround him. He took two steps back.
“Look” Andreas said “He is luring him in.“
“Just as you taught me to do” Felipe replied.
The Frenchman arrogantly took a puff on his cigar as his blue eyes slid from one man to the other. His sword was as steady as a rock out before him. He blew a smoke ring toward the ceiling.
The large man knew he was no match for this man with a sword. But he thought that it was a mistake for the man to back into the corner, he now had nowhere to retreat. He fell for the bait and lunged forward, making a thrust toward his chest. He was overextended and off balance. The Frenchman sidestepped the thrust and stepped in toward the man. Using the man’s own forward momentum he grabbed the large man’s wrist and pulled him toward him. Stepping behind him his other arm went around the man’s neck and he easily pivoted the man around in front of him as a shield.
At that moment, both of the other men made a thrust and both of their swords sank deeply in the large man’s chest. He cried out loudly and blood began to gurgle from his mouth immediately. The Frenchman kicked the large man square in the middle of his back sending him crashing to the floor. Before the man even hit the floor, he sank his sword deep into the center of one of the other men's chest and pulled it out. Blood spurted from the mans chest and he held his hands over the wound as he went to his knees.
The Frenchman stepped over the large man, now dead on the floor toward his only remaining adversary. This man made the mistake of looking at his kneeling friend who was dying on the floor. Before he could look back the Frenchman made a hard, precise upward thrust. The tip of his sword entered right below the man’s breast bone, sliced through his heart and exited the left side of his neck.
“That was a good stick” Felipe said.
“A very good stick.” Andreas agreed.
The blood spurted out of either side of his blade and then he quickly removed it. The blood spurted from his neck in a geyser and the man fell to the floor with a large pool of blood spreading out. The Frenchman wiped the blood from his sword on the dead man’s shirt at his feet and slid his blade back into it’s scabbard. He had killed all three of them in less than two minutes. He calmly turned his table and chair back upright and sat back down motioning to the barmaid for another drink.
“What do you think now?” Felipe asked and looked at Batu. Batu just smiled and nodded his head. Felipe got up and walked toward the man. Men were dragging the dead men out of the bar by their heels leaving a bloody swath behind them. A woman threw a bucket of water on the trails and began to mop. The noise level slowly resumed in the bar.
Felipe said, “May I buy you a drink?”
The Frenchman smiled and said, “I never turn down a free drink, please have a seat. My name is Jean Pierre François.” He extended his hand and shook Felipe’s hand with a strong grip.
Felipe introduced himself and asked him if he minded if his friends joined them, “Not at all, please call them over” the man said with a smile. Felipe motioned to the others and they all introduced themselves. The drinks arrived and Jean Pierre raised his glass, they all tapped glasses and he took a slow sip.
Felipe asked, “ So Jean Pierre, what is your profession?”
“I am a blade for hire, a soldier of fortune.” the man said.

 

[j.w]

Brings back fond memories Bullfrog :razz:

 

[Bullfrog]

Felipe looked at Andreas who smiled and nodded his head, “You handle yourself very well, do you have any problem killing Spaniards?”
The man drank the rest of his rum in one long, slow drink, patted his lips with his handkerchief and replied, “I would much rather kill the French, but Spaniards will do just as well.”
Felipe explained that they recently procured a large ship and were in need of sailors and fighting men who were willing to attack Spanish vessels. The Frenchman looked at him and asked, “What will be our share of the bounty?”
Andreas asked “What is your pay now?”
Jean Pierre said, “Most captains of large ships keep half of the spoils, the remainder is divided among the crew. Our recent Captain kept forty percent and the rest was ours to divide evenly.”
Andreas looked at Felipe and smiled. Felipe said, “Every man on this crew will get an equal portion, including the captain. We are all equal in our pay.”
Jean Pierre raised his eyebrows in surprise. “That is quite a generous offer, no Captain of his own ship pays like this, they own the ship.”
Felipe spoke, “We seek vengeance, not riches. We will take whatever they have, after we kill them. We need at least a hundred men who know how to sail and are quick with a sword. Can you help us to recruit such men?”

Jean Pierre smiled and said “With an offer of pay equal to the Captain? It will be no problem. I know all of these men and there are two other taverns in town.”
“Choose only the best swordsmen.” Andreas said. With that, Jean Pierre stood, took off his hat and made a sweeping bow. He then started talking to the men at other tables. The offer was accepted eagerly and soon men were coming to the table and introducing themselves. Felipe and Andreas asked them questions and the crew grew quickly.
Batu looked at Felipe and said, “There is something that I would like to purchase from the shops while we are here.”
“Why are you telling me this? You are a free man, you do not need to check with me before you leave.”
Batu smiled at him and said, “A free man, I really like the sound of that. It is hard to get accustomed to this freedom.”
“I am your friend, not your new master. You need never tell me where you are going again.” Felipe replied.
Batu started to stand up and then sat back down. He opened his eyes very wide as he looked around the room with mock fear on his face, “Felipe, will you be alright if I leave you here alone without me to protect you from these ruffians?”
Felipe smiled and said, “I will try to maintain myself.”
Andreas said, “If you do not mind Batu, I will accompany you. You are not used to bargaining and I do not want anyone to try to take advantage of you.” Batu agreed and they rose and left the tavern.
Most of the men in the tavern were now sitting nearby and Jean Pierre walked out of the door to the next tavern. Later Batu and Andreas returned, Batu was carrying a rolled up pouch of leather under his arm. After a few hours Jean Pierre returned with a large group of men. One man caught Felipe’s eye, he was a huge, fat man with a jovial face. His thick, black beard was curly and laughed loudly as he moved about the tavern shaking hands with the men.
Felipe motioned Jen Pierre over to him, “This is a fine lot of men, but I am somewhat concerned about one of them.”
“Which one is that?”
“The large man over there, he looks much too fat to fight.”
“Oh, that is Carlos, he is a cook, not a fighter. He is the best cook in the Caribbean.” Jean Pierre smiled.
“Very well, we need a good cook.”
By noon there were one hundred and eight new men. They all walked together back to the raft where the women were waiting with baskets of their new purchases. Many of the men held kegs of rum on their shoulder. There was no way to load all of these men on their small ship so Felipe and Batu sent the rest of his small crew with the women back to their boat to sail home. The rest would make the march overland back to their village. He and Batu walked into the jungle with all of the men following them. It was almost dark when they arrived back at the village, the women had food cooking and fires burning.
A large fire was burning in the center of the square and the women all were wearing bright, colorful new skirts and blouses. Batu admired how good his wife looked and said, “That was money well spent.”
She smiled and whirled around in front of him. She was very excited, “We have been waiting for you, look at what else we bought.” She walked to a large basket and reached inside. She pulled out a drum. It was made of a hollowed out tree trunk with deerskin stretched across the top. She then pulled out two smaller ones that were attached together and a large one that was on the bottom. The men all cheered loudly and rushed up to examine the drums talking excitedly.
Felipe asked Batu, “What makes you so happy about drums?”
“You do not understand Felipe.” Batu said, “Our parents were captured in Africa and sold into slavery. Drums and tribal dances were a very important part of their culture and heritage. There were dances for everything, courtship, war, love, mourning and hunting. The dances were forbidden by our masters so late at night in the barn we would do these dances when the master was asleep. My father drew two circles on a small board and taught me to play the drums but we did it very quietly, not like this!” Batu pounded the drums loudly in a rhythmical beat.
“War dance!” he cried out. He handed the drum to another man and got his lance. Eight of the men began to dance around the fire thrusting their lances in time with the drums. The women joined in twirling around and moving in time with the music. They were very graceful and stepped in time, it was a fast paced dance. Felipe watched fascinated as his friends celebrated.
One by one the men peeled away from the dance with their lances out in front of them and sat down. The women continued to circle the fire looking at their husbands as they danced by. They made motions as if they were wiping tears from their eyes, some of them actually had tears streaming down their cheeks.
“Why are they crying?” Felipe asked.
“They know that we are going off to battle.” Batu replied.
Shayla’s eyes stayed on Batu as she circled the fire for two more rounds and then they all began moving their heads back and forth together in unison, looking in every direction, they kept this up for several circles of the fire.
“They are looking for you to return?” Felipe asked and Batu nodded his head.
Their hands were clutched at their breasts and then their eyes and arms went skyward as they danced. “Praying for our safe return.” Batu explained.
The women went back to the looking with their heads all moving in unison until one of them shouted loudly and pointed at her husband. He got up and threw his lance in the ground and joined the dance. One by one the husbands all joined in and then after a bit the dance was over and a new one began.
The dancing and celebration lasted late into the night. Everyone ate fruit, stew and drank rum. Slowly, the fires burned down to embers and Andreas looked around. Felipe was not there. Andreas went to his cabin and he was not there either. He knew where the boy was. He walked to the edge of the lagoon. Felipe was there with a small fire looking at his new ship riding on her anchors.
“Dreaming of adventure are you Felipe? “ Andreas asked.
It took a few moments but Felipe said, “No, I’m dreaming of vengeance.”
Andreas sensed his feelings and quietly sat beside him by the fire. He said nothing, he just waited and watched the fire. The logs crackled and sent sparks dancing up into the night sky. The small waves rhythmically lapped at the shore and receded. Still Andreas waited, he could tell that the boy was troubled.
Finally Felipe stole a glimpse at him and his eyes were wet. He had shed other men’s blood and feared no man but his heart was troubled. Andreas softly asked him, “What is it Felipe?”
Felipe looked out at the ship, took a deep breath and finally said, “I miss my father.” His breath caught in his chest and the tears slid down his face. He tried to hold it back but he could not any longer. He dropped his head between his knees and wept quietly.
Andreas understood, “I miss him too.“
Again Felipe spoke, “They killed him for money! Those bastards! I swear to God almighty that I will kill every Spaniard who serves this King.”
Andreas put his arm around him and said, “And I will be by your side, always.”

 

[Bullfrog]

I picture a young Robert Plant for Led Zepplin when I envision Jeanne Pierre...

 

[Bullfrog]

CHAPTER EIGHT



FIRST BLOOD



Early the next morning Jeanne Pierre was drinking coffee when Batu approached him with the rolled up leather pouch. He asked, “Jeanne Pierre, will you instruct me how to do something?”
“Of course my friend, what is it?”
Batu unrolled the leather pouch to reveal a straight razor, a cup with a piece of soap in it, a small brush, a small pair of scissors and a strap to sharpen the razor on, “I want to shave, I have not seen my face since I was a young boy.”
“Allow me, please, just sit here.” He took the scissors and started trimming away the beard. He then expertly sharpened the razor on the strap and added a small amount of water to the cup and whipped it into a thick lather. He dabbed the lather on Batu’s face and began to quickly but carefully draw the razor across his face and wipe it clean.
Soon he was done and Batu felt his now clean shaven, face. “It is so smooth now.” he said.
“Yes, and you look a lot younger. May I make a suggestion?” Jeanne Pierre asked.
“Of course.” Batu said, still rubbing his chin.
“I think that we should shave your head as well, many pirates have their head shaved, it will make you look even more intimidating.”
Batu nodded his head and said, “Yes, yes, shave it as well please.”
Soon he was clean shaven on his head as well. He called out to his wife Shayla and she gave him a surprised look. She hurried over and looked at him, “You are so handsome now that I can see your face! You look much younger also.” She smiled at him and ran her hand along his chin and face. “And it is as soft as a babies’ bottom.”
Felipe walked up and gave Batu a quizzical look. Batu just smiled and rubbed his head, “I like it.” Felipe said and walked on.
For the next few days all of the men busied themselves building new living quarters. These men had no wives so they were happy with barracks. Long huts with a central walkway down the center. Poles ran up to the roof on either side of the walkway and hammocks were attached to the poles and the walls. There were large windows and the sea breeze provided good ventilation. After two weeks they were finished.
Andreas was studying a nautical map at a table in the main pavilion when Felipe walked up with a cup of coffee. Felipe sat beside him and Andreas moved the map toward him. He ran his finger along the lines on the map, “These are the main shipping lanes to and from Spain. At this point, there is still much traffic, the waters are heavily patrolled for pirates. We need to sail out to this point, five days voyage from land to intercept ships without being detected.”
Felipe blew on the hot, black liquid and studied the map, “I agree Uncle, it is time that we sailed.”
Andreas smiled and nodded toward the men, “Well then Captain, prepare your men.”
Felipe got up and rang the bell that was hanging from a pole. All of the men and the women assembled in the pavilion and sat down. Felipe looked around at them all, a fine crew over one hundred strong. Well seasoned sailors and fighters, he was pleased to have such a strong force.
“Good morning. We have the living quarters built and it is time for our pay.” He smiled. “Today we will begin making preparations to sail tomorrow at dawn. Our ship is loaded with provisions, we need only lay aboard some fresh fruit, vegetables, chickens and rum”
“Plenty of rum!” Batu shouted and this brought a laugh.
Felipe smiled and went on, “Andreas has the shipping lanes marked out and we will sail west, northwest for five days to clear any patrols from the shore. There we will wait for our quarry. Any ship flying a Spanish flag”
Jeanne Pierre interrupted him with a loud cough and blew his nose on his handkerchief loudly.
Another round of laughter went up. Felipe smiled and said, “Excuse me, any ship flying Spanish or French flag will feel the shudder of our cannons and the bite of our steel. Any and all bounty will be evenly distributed among the crew.”
Jeanne Pierre removed his hat and made a sweeping bow, “Merci” he said.
“We will need everyone’s help loading provisions onto the raft and storing them on our ship. Andreas will direct you.” Felipe turned toward Andreas and whispered something in his ear. Andreas smiled and nodded his head. He gave him a hard slap on the back and Felipe left toward the lagoon.
The women began to pick green bananas that would ripen slowly. Mangos and papayas were packed into baskets. Tor and Ajamu ran through the chicken coop catching chickens bringing laughs from everyone who went by. They placed the chicken in cages while the wives also packed grain for them to eat.
These baskets and crates were walked down to the waters edge where they saw Felipe hanging over the bow of the ship with a rope attached to a swing like seat. He was just finishing painting over the name of the ship with her new name “Vengeance”. All of the men smiled and nodded in approval. By early evening the ship was well stocked and ready to sail.
Everyone gathered back at the pavilion and Andreas began going over assignments as to who would man which sails, cannons and which areas of the ship. He appointed Jeanne Pierre, Batu and Ajamu as lieutenants. Batu looked surprised and he looked at Shayla, she literally beamed at him. She was so proud of him, just months before he had been a slave, now he was a free fighting man, a lieutenant. As officers, they would each be responsible for a certain area of the ship during battle. They would also lead the men in their squads when they stormed the other ship Andreas explained.
It was all becoming quite real now to them. They looked at the drawings as Andreas went over battle stations and attack plans. Andreas had been a seasoned Captain in the King’s Navy and had fought many battles, they listened and learned quickly. He had a good crew and the other men would need minimal briefing, most had sailed the sea all of their lives. Satisfied that everyone knew their positions, they began supper.
The men all went and gathered firewood for a huge fire in celebration that night while the women busied themselves cooking. Three large pigs were slaughtered and were cooking on spits over fires. A lot of fruit was laid out on the large tables in the pavilion. Torches were lit as the dusk approached and supper was served. The men ate heartily and drank rum. As the night fell they lit the large pile of wood and made a huge fire.
Shayla took Batu’s hand, she walked him over to Felipe and Andreas and sat with them. She looked at them both with her large brown eyes and said, “You will take care of my husband and see him return safely to me?” She asked.
“Oh come now woman!” Batu protested “I can take care of myself. My father was a warrior as was his father.”
She looked at him and said, “Yes, but you have always been a farmer up to this point, tomorrow you will sail into battle and I am worried about you.”
Andreas asked Batu to stand which he did. Andreas rose and went to stand beside him. He looked up at Batu a full head and a half taller than he and then he looked at Shayla. He smiled and said, “I will look after the boy.” Batu laughed loudly as did Shayla. He was really a huge, intimidating looking man, “Please, sit back down Batu.” Andreas said.
He then looked at Shayla and said, “I have trained Batu with the sword, bow and lance. He is as fine of a warrior as I have ever seen. I myself would not want to do battle with him. If the truth be told, he will probably save me but yes, I will always cover my brother’s back and Batu is my brother.”