“Yes.”
“They why do you look as if the British are going to beat down the door any minute?”
“Because he’s the only thing between us and the British. How long can he push himself that way? Christ! You should see him up there! He looks as if he could kill the entire Royal Fleet with his bare hands or break down in tears and never know the difference. How long can he keep that up?”
“Cloud?” It was only a whisper but it riveted both men to the source.
“There’s your answer, Mr. Jordan. He’ll go as long as she can.” To Alexis he replied softly, “He’s not here, Captain. Soon.”
Alexis shook her head. Her eyes opened slowly and her gaze alternated between the two men, seeing neither.
“She doesn’t know who we are,” muttered Jordan.
“That would be asking for quite a lot.” Peters lifted the bottle of brandy to her lips and managed to pour a few drops in her mouth before she passed out. “She needs rest and for that we’ll have to trust Tanner.”
The hours until sunset passed with agonizing slowness. On deck there were occasions when the men believed theRaleighhad abandoned its pursuit only to discover minutes later this was not the case at all. Each disappointment was met with a succinct epithet and a renewed effort to see that it was their last. In Alexis’s cabin the time was spent in much the same manner. Peters and Jordan took turns at her side, seeing to her comfort. There were no lucid moments for their captain and when she became tormented by pain Peters administered drops of laudanum. When she slept peacefully the two men silently berated themselves for not being able to do more.
Several factors were involved in Cloud’s decision to change his strategy. The night was plagued by a sliver of new moon and lack of cloud cover, providing theRaleighwith sufficient light to track theDark Lady.Hope of breaking free of their ghostly shadow gone, Cloud was forced to consider alternatives. Alexis’s worsening condition throughout the night not only made the selection of a new course imperative, it helped determine the destination.
It was not yet midnight when Cloud informed Jordan of his plan. He had not slept for forty hours but tension was keeping him alert.
“I’ve decided to takeDark Ladyto Roadtown,” he said. “Alex will make a better recovery there.” He would not admit aloud there was any possibility but that she would recover. “Engaging theRaleigh isstill out of the question. It would be like putting a pistol to the captain’s head. I’ve thought of a way we might be able to stop theRaleighwithout firing a shot.”
Jordan had listened attentively, but now he was skeptical of Cloud’s last statement. “Without a shot?”
“That’s right. I was thinking of Horse Shoe.”
Jordan’s eyes widened. “Use the reef, you mean? Damn! That’s a good thought.”
Cloud smiled wryly. “I’m glad you think so. I’ve already committed us to the new coordinates. We could arrive there in three days if the weather holds. Roadtown is only a couple of hours beyond. Once we have taken care of theRaleighit will be safe to see Captain Danty to her home.”
Later that night Cloud was able to leave his post for a brief visit with Alexis and a few hours of sleep on the floor by her bed.
“Is there nothing else I can do?” he asked Peters before he left.
“Nothing. I can bathe her fever and ease her pain with laudanum. Beyond that there is nothing.”
Cloud stared at Alexis while he held her hand and squeezed it gently. He thought his heart would stop beating when he felt the pressure of her touch respond reassuringly. The conviction that he had not imagined her response was what he needed to keep on going when the weather changed shortly before sunrise.
At first the slackening sails were hardly noticeable and only minor adjustments were necessary before they billowed fully in the wind. But as the hours wore on the wind tapered to a soft breeze and it was as if the anchor had been suddenly dropped. In a matter of minutes, the breeze had disappeared and theDark Ladydrifted listlessly on still water.
There was no way of knowing how long the calm would last. It was not unheard of for a ship to be trapped in one for weeks. That theRaleighwas experiencing the same conditions did little for theDark Lady’smorale. TheRaleighhad more men, and in a calm, men with musclearethe wind.
Cloud ordered men into a longboat which was then lowered over the side. Grasping the oars, the men rowed to the bow of the ship and attached a tow line. Wilkes, Brandon, Ned, Allison, and the others making up this first shift grabbed the oars again and heaving, grunting, and sweating, began the almost impossible task of pulling theDark Lady.
Through his glass Cloud saw theRaleighwas up to the challenge. Two of their boats were being used to tow the frigate and more men were waiting to replace those who dropped.
While the crew in the boat put forth their best effort, one shift of men was allowed to rest while a third shift filled buckets with sea water and painstakingly carried them up the rigging to wet the sails. The heavier material now caught even a suspicion of a breeze.
The calm lasted two days. During this time strong men dropped to the deck from exhaustion while theRaleighcame dangerously close, and Alexis’s reassuring gesture to Cloud was never repeated.
Several hundred miles to the north, in a newly constructed town with muddy streets and cheap boardinghouses, an event was about to take place that would change the static nature of the present.
In Washington the morning paper carried a brief account of the battle to free Charleston’s harbor, and now, on a tray carrying the President’s lunch, there was one letter among many which held special significance.
“Get me Senator Howe!” was the outraged response to the letter’s content.
And it was as if that bellow filledDark Lady’ssails.
