Chapter Fourteen
Amy sat on the couch while the fire crackled in the fireplace and she moved the duvet she found on the back of the couch over her legs. The tray of biscuits and tea appeared next to the couch and she opened the journal.
The man coming out of the hatch was tall and muscular with a bald head and large hands. His brown eyes were squinting while he breathed through his crooked bulb of a nose and a long scar ran from under his right eye to the corner of his mouth. He had a thick neck and the top of his left ear was missing. He was also missing two fingers of his right hand and long scars and burns ran up and down his arms. He was wearing a sleeveless white shirt, stained with blood and food, black trousers, his large gut hanging over the top of them, and the top of his left boot was missing.
"Where is it?!" the man bellowed and I saw the large clever in his left hand.
"Easy, Man, what's the trouble?" Mullins asked as the man stormed over to us and growled.
"Where is that fucking monkey?!" the man asked then looked at me. "Who the hell are you?"
"I'm James Robert McCrimmon. Commander Watertin's my guardian," I said and the man snorted, wiping some snot away from his nose with the back of his hand.
"This is Jack McBride," Mullins said. "He's the ship's cook."
"Ew, I'd hate to eat anything he cooks," Amy said and sipped on the tea.
"Right, where is that fucking thing?" McBride growled when we heard Bonga screeching and looked up at Bonga sitting above us. "Get down here, you fucking piece of shit!"
"Does he kiss his mother with that mouth?" Amy asked with a smile.
"What did Bonga do this time?" Mullins asked with a grin and folded his arms across his chest.
"I've got fruit all over the floor and something has been stepping in the butter pot!" McBride growled and Mullins smiled.
"Ah, that would explain why I had to give him a bath," Mullins said and I laughed.
"You think this is fucking funny, eh?!" McBride shouted at me and I blinked.
"Leave him be and get back to the galley!" Mullins said while McBride growled, shaking the clever at me.
"Keep that thing out of my galley or its skin will be hanging from my hammock!" he growled as he walked away then slipped on a wet spot on the deck and crashed onto his bottom, making the rest of the crew laugh. Snorting, he got up then headed for the hatch and went below deck. Bonga slowly came down from the rigging when it landed on my shoulder and I reached up, gently stroking its fur.
"Hmpft, you'd think he'd be more careful, with the curse and everything," Mullins said while I looked at him and Bonga gently played with my ear.
"What curse?" I asked.
"Well, the captain got Bonga from a gypsy woman when we were in the Indies, you see. She reported to be a witch woman and she gave Bonga to him after he saved her from robbers. She also told him about the curse she had put on Bonga, to make sure that no harm came to anyone who owned him. It goes "Treat with respect and never harm and you will know no ill or violent arm. Treat with pain or tongue of scold and you will feel my curse tenfold.". Now, I never believed in curses, but I will admit that it works. We have never had any major illnesses nor have been attacked by pirates or the British since Bonga came aboard. We also haven't lost man Jack during a storm either."
"Amazing," I said while Bonga climbed off my shoulder and I held Bonga in my arms.
"McBride doesn't believe in the curse so, as you can see, he has accidents, has nearly died from illnesses and gets violently sick during storms. I swear that he's going to end up in Davey Jones' locker one of these days," Mullins sighed then walked away and Bonga climbed up to my shoulder. Shrugging, I leaned on the railing then watched the water moving by and Bonga climbed onto my back, resting its head against my neck.
"Aw…" Amy said softly and nibbled on one of the biscuits.
"Ugh," Luis moaned while lying on the bunk and his skin looked a little green. Doctor Flint, the ship's surgeon, had given him something for seasickness, but it wasn't helping and Luis placed his arm over his eyes, rolling over onto his side.
"This happens all the time. He'll be alright in a day or two," Commander Watertin said as he buttoned up the front of his nightshirt and I leaned off the bunk, looking down at Luis. I looked up when I heard a soft scratching sound coming from the door then hopped off the bunk and walked to the door. Opening the door, I looked down to see Bonga standing there and smiled. Bonga was wearing a white cotton night shirt and scampered into the room, climbed onto the table near the bunk, hopped up onto the top bunk and curled into a ball on the pillow. Shrugging, I closed the door as Commander Watertin smiled and I walked to the bunk, hopping up onto it.
"Move over," I whispered and Bonga moved over and I crawled under the blankets. Commander Watertin dimmed the oil lamps until they went out and the room became dark. I heard him getting into bed as I rolled over onto my side and Bonga's head gently bumped into mine. Closing my eyes, I felt the ship gently rocking around me when Luis started moaning and Bonga crawled over me and hopped off the bunk. Sighing, I gently shrugged my shoulders then yawned and drifted off to sleep. The next morning Luis was fine and wasn't seasick for the rest of the journey.
5 June 1750
We arrived in Paris after a few stops and Commander Watertin was impressed how quickly Luis and I picked up things and I wondered if there was someone there who could contact my laird and his daughter. I asked around the dock if anyone had heard of Colin or Kirsty McLaren, the Annabelle, the ship that was bringing them to Paris or Willie McKay, the man who was captaining the Annabelle. So far I didn't have any luck and wasn't sure if any of them had made it.
It was a nice sunny day while I walked by the shops and Bonga sat on my right shoulder. I wasn't sure if the storekeepers would let me bring Bonga into the shops, but Mullins told me that Bonga was very well behaved and Bonga would stand up on my shoulder, giving the young ladies a bow as they walked by.
"You are a flirt, aye?" I asked as Bonga nodded, holding onto my ear. We walked toward the docks when I felt like we were being followed and I turned around, seeing several children behind us. I wasn't sure if they spoke English as they looked up at me and one of the boys, who looked to be ten years old, gently smiled at me.
"Does your monkey do tricks?" he asked, pointing to Bonga. Before I could say anything, Bonga hopped down off my shoulder then started doing flips, walked on its hands, did a few little dances then picked up some small pebbles, juggling them. The children laughed, cheered and clapped when they tossed some coins to Bonga and it would run to me, place the coins in my hand and ran back for some more coins. We heard women's voices calling for them as the children thanked us then left and Bonga climbed onto my shoulder, looking at the coins.
"Hmmm…" I said, looking around then noticed one of the fruit carts on the dock. The man stood near the cart, a little boy was standing next to him, and people walked by, ignoring them. Looking at Bonga, we walked to the cart and the man looked at us.
"Can I help you?' he asked as the little boy, he looked around five or six years old, smiled at Bonga and I looked at the coins in my hand.
"How much can I get for this?" I asked as he looked at the coins in my hand and smiled. He picked up three ripe bananas and an apple as I nodded and looked at Bonga. "Right, pay him."
The man and the little boy were stunned when Bonga climbed down my arm as I held it to my stomach and Bonga handed the coins to the man. The man smiled as he placed the coins into the pouch tied to his waist then placed the fruit into a small sack, handing the sack to me. The little boy asked if he could touch Bonga and smiled after patting the top of Bonga's head. Waving, we headed for the ship while I fed some of the banana to Bonga and nibbled on the rest of it.
(Here is a true story, Amelia. A few years later I went on another trip with Commander Watertin and the man with the food cart told me that, after we left, he got a job at one of the local markets and inherited it from the owner after the man died childless. The store is still there and his grandson runs it.)
"Whoa, just because he was nice to a little monkey?" she asked and turned the page.