Author's Note

You may have noticed a pattern of me switching back and forth between the Surprise and Jack and Tom, but I couldn't resist this time, I have to do Jack and Tom again! Sorry, but it must be done! (Oh, it doesn't matter, get over it!) Here goes:

Jack and Pullings soon found out why Mowett was covered in injuries. Every stumble, every misstep, every little thing that Jimjara decided they did wrong was punished by a blow. Jack, who was seething, didn't care.

Jimjara tripped for the fifth time as Jack "accidentally" jerked on the vine rope too hard, pulling him backwards. The enraged cannibal spun around and punched Jack hard on the nose, causing it to bleed. "Stop it!" he screamed. "Stop or I kill!"

Jack was thoroughly enjoying himself. "I don't think your leader would like that, do you? I think he might just serve you up with my midshipman and crewsman if you kill me or my friends."

Jimjara was nearly foaming at the mouth. "Shut up! Shut mouth, English, or I kill them!" He nodded to the two other cannibals, clearing wanting them to threaten Pullings and Mowett, but they backed off uneasily, muttering, "We kill them, Karrak eat us alive. Ignore him, Jimjara."

Jimjara roared in their native tongue at them for a few minutes and stalked off, yanking on the rope. Jack, Tom, and Mowett followed. Mowett muttered to Pullings, "Is the captain mad? What is he doing, provoking that hothead?"

Pullings chuckled under his breath. "What he does best-insultin' him, firing him up. If that idiot leading us gets so distracted by the captain, we might get a chance to escape. In the meantime, they can't kill us 'cause their leader would punish them for doing it."

Mowett nodded knowingly and purposefully tripped their rearguard, a particularly dim-witted cannibal known simply as Dok. Dok glared at the Surprise's first lieutenant as he smiled innocently and said in English, which Dok couldn't understand, "Sorry for that, you stupid excuse for a half-dead mud brained midshipman, an' sorry for the beating you're going to get, you thick-as-a-rock landlubber cannibal scum!"

Of course, there was a lot more colorful language than that, Mowett being a sailor, but of course, I'm not going to print that, so use your imagination. But see, none of the cannibals understood English, so Mowett could basically get away with anything he wanted to say.

Pullings snickered, earning a prod with a spear butt from the other guard, Nuraren, who soon found himself sliding backwards down the hill because he tripped on the edge of the vine rope, which had been so conveniently been placed right where he was about to step. Jimjara was screaming with anger. He hauled on the end of the vine, dragging Jack, Pullings, and Mowett behind him to the top of the mountain. On the other side, just down in the valley, lay the French ship.

She was moored in a small lagoon and looked to have about forty-eight guns. Jimjara half dragged, half kicked the three down the incline. Suddenly, before the French spotted him, Jack leapt on Jimjara, stunned him, and shoved him into the bushes. Dok opened his mouth to yell for help, but Pullings and Mowett jumped on him and pummeled him into unconsciousness.

They were trying to get the vine rope off (which was a lot tougher than it seemed) when they heard a voice speaking in heavily accented English behind them. Jack spun around, hand reaching automatically for the sword he didn't have.

A French officer stood there holding a pistol. He drawled, "Huh, I do not think you get too far. I watched you from d'shore, you English idiots."

Jack pretended to look confused and said in French, "We are not English, we were captured by the natives looking for the ship! We were sent by the Emperor to speak with you."

The Frenchman laughed. "I do not think I believe that, oui?"

"Why is that?" Jack challenged, still keeping up the pretense.

Pullings gave a loud, fake cough. Jack looked around at him. He casually brushed his right shoulder, coughed again, and glared pointedly at Jack, who for the first time noticed his epaulette of a post captain in the British Navy. "Oh..." he said, rather stupidly.

"Come on, Capitaine. I think we would like to speak with you," the Frenchmen said. He motioned with his pistol. "After you."