Chapter 2

For several seconds a stunned silence held over the ship. The men stared at the object lying in the midst of Sparrow's smashed rum bottles. Finally Barbossa took a step toward it.

"What is it?" one of the hands asked in a whisper.

"Looks like a goat," another hand answered.

"It's not a goat, it's a dog," said another.

"I never seed a dog looked like that," said the first hand. "Dogs don't have horns."

"And look, it's nose is all red."

"Is it bleedin'?"

"Musta hit the mast head-on."

"But how did it do that?!"

"I never seen anythin' like it."

"Hush," Barbossa said. He moved another step closer to the animal. It was near the size of a large sheep, only it had dark fur, antlers, and a definitely red nose. But it wasn't blood.

Jack Sparrow cautiously joined him. "I know what that is."

Barbossa nodded. "It be a reindeer."

"Aye," Sparrow agreed.

"A what?" one of the men asked.

"A reindeer," the captain repeated. "They live up north someplace. Russia, if I recall. Or Finland, one o' those places."

"Then what's it doin' here?" the hand wanted to know.

"Is it alive?" another man asked.

Sparrow drove his elbow into the first mate's arm. "Go see if the thing's alive."

Instantly Barbossa motioned toward one of the hands. "Pintel, go see if it's alive."

"Ragetti likes animals." The short man who answered to Pintel nudged the thin man standing next to him. "You go look at it."

The thin man adjusted a shabby eye patch but did not move. "Not me, I only got one eye. Besides, it ain't natural, it bein' here. Maybe it's cursed."

Before anyone else could speak, Barbossa's monkey jumped down and ran over to the animal. He poked the reindeer in the side and the animal raised its head and moaned. The men fell back.

Sparrow drew his pistol. "I'll take care of it!"

The men yelled in protest. They didn't like the animal, but they didn't like hurting it even more. Killing a strange beast could bring bad luck down on them all.

"It broke the rum, it deserves to die." Sparrow took aim.

Barbossa knocked Sparrow's arm out of line. "Heave to, captain. The men could be right. Think about it. What's it doin' out here, so far from home? And where did it come from? It couldn't just drop from the sky. Reindeer don't fly."

The hands agreed with him, and Sparrow reluctantly put away his pistol. While the monkey stayed with the reindeer, the men tried to assess the damage it had caused. Barbossa sent a couple of hands into the rigging to check. They confirmed quite a bit of damage to the mast and the sails. Without a doubt the ship needed repairs if they were to continue.

Captain Sparrow took out his compass and studied it. "Yes, yes, I remember now." He snapped the compass shut.

"Remember what?" Barbossa asked.

"There's an island not far from here," he said. "A tiny one, no amenities, but it would be a place to drop anchor while we perform the necessary ameliorations."

"Now you're thinkin' like a captain," Barbossa said approvingly. "Alright, let's set course for the island and get this ship put back together."

Sparrow gave the heading and then turned back to the reindeer. "I still say we shoot it. I've heard reindeer steaks are quite tasty, especially with gravy and lingonberry sauce. D' you suppose the cook has lingonberries on board?"

"I agree with the men, cap'n. Since we don't know where it came from or why, I'm thinkin' we'd best look after the animal properly."

Sparrow heaved a great sigh. "Oh, alright, Barbossa. Have it your way. Wrap the bloody thing up in a blanket and sing it lullabies if you like. But get the deck cleaned up, at least. I'm goin' below. I need some sleep. Wake me when we get to the island."

With Sparrow gone, the mood on deck lightened somewhat. The men seemed to lose their initial fear of the animal. It took four of them to move the heavy deer out of the way, and two of the other hands found a bit of thread and a smallish needle to stitch up a cut on its shoulder. Ragetti volunteered to fetch some water and wash the rum off its fur. Barbossa sent the cook to find some scraps to feed it. The remaining crewmen swept up the broken glass and splintered wood and swabbed the rum off the deck. Finally, as the whiteness of the fog began to go dark, they settled down to get some sleep.

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