My gaze caught on Marcus Zale. His face was a mask of indifference, though his dark eyes showed a hint of displeasure. He stood by the gangplank that had been pulled out, connecting the two ships. When his father approached, he said something quietly to the older man, but Captain Zale shook his head once and Marcus stood straight, emotionless.
I was dragged past both men and forced to walk the precarious plank into the belly of the pirate’s ship.
I wanted to weep but forced myself to steady my emotions.
My mother was farther away than ever.
We entered the ship on the gun deck, just below the main deck. Timothy was ahead of me, and though I hadn’t been friendly toward him, I was thankful he was there. At least there was one friendly face among hundreds of untrustworthy pirates.
“Don’t be afraid,” Timothy said as we were prodded out of the way by pirates loading the plunder they had taken from theAdventurer. “If we do what they say, we’ll be treated fairly, and we can escape at the first port of call we make.”
I swallowed the panic that raced up my throat, wondering whyI had ever thought this was a good idea. No one knew where I was, and there would be no one coming to rescue me. I was at the mercy of a pirate captain.
“Up to the main deck,” one of our captors said, pushing us to take the ladder.
When I reached the top deck, I had a view of theAdventurerbelow. Captain Zale and his son were speaking to Captain Frisk, who was still bound. Captain Frisk did not look pleased, and Captain Zale was speaking close to his face, no doubt an intimidation tactic.
“Captain Zale is trying to get information out of Captain Frisk,” Timothy said quietly beside me. “He’ll be asking if there are any British or Spanish naval ships upon these waters and what merchants we’ve seen along the way.”
I nodded, unable to find my voice.
“TheOcean Curseis a galleon,” Timothy continued. “It’s not the largest ship at sea, but it’s one of the fastest of its size. There are two other ships that are larger, but the Spanish and British Royal Navies use those. They’re really the only threat against Captain Zale.”
“Does that mean he is unstoppable?”
“Nay.” Timothy shook his head. “But almost. And from what I can see”—he looked around the main deck where a dozen cannons were positioned, six on either side, ready to fight—“he’s modified theOcean Curseand added more cannons. There are at least fifty on board this ship.”
“Is that a lot?”
“More than a ship like this usually has.”
For another hour, we watched as the pirates moved barrels and boxes of food from theAdventurerto the pirate ship. They left the livestock, which meant no more fresh milk and eggs but also no more manure. And when Captain Zale seemed satisfied, he and his son left theAdventurerand boarded their ship, allowing his men to pull the gangplank back. The ropes holding the vessels together were cut with long knives and swords, and then theAdventurerstarted to float away, my hopes and dreams of seeing my mother going with it.
I swallowed my fears and said to Timothy, “Do you think the pirate ship will go to Nassau?”
He shrugged. “Since the Royal Navy took hold of Nassau again, a lot of pirates stay away.”
“But there is a chance?”
“I suppose.”
I had to hold on to that chance.
Captain Zale and Marcus climbed the ladder and came to the main deck and were soon joined by all the pirates. There had to be at least two hundred of them, and they were all looking to their captain and quartermaster.
“Good work, men,” Captain Zale said. “There’ll be an extra dram of rum for each of you tonight.”
The men cheered.
“And that goes for the new recruits,” he said with a hearty laugh. “Whether you wanted to be here or not, you’re one of us now. I think you’ll like what you find aboard theOcean Curse. Soon, you’ll wonder why you didn’t volunteer.”
Redness crept into Timothy’s already ruddy complexion, and I suspected that he wanted to disagree.
“Once word gets out that we overtook a British merchant ship,” Captain Zale continued, “they’ll be on the lookout for us. We’ll head to Barataria and lay low for a couple of weeks to sell some of our plunder before we return to Florida.”
“Barataria?” I whispered to Timothy.
“Near New Orleans,” he whispered back.
