Author's note: Real Life ate my writing time. But this story ain't over yet, and it will be finished. Thanks for reading!
Chapter 11
Billy wiped his brow. It was hot on the gun deck, and he had been scurrying around for what seemed like hours with powder for the cannon.
Marty's concept of fun appeared to be shared by most of the crew. It involved fighting a pitched battle with a ship almost as well-armed as the Black Pearl and which was determined not to give in to the pirates. Consequently initial exchanges of fire, which had fallen mostly short of their targets, had swiftly been followed by more accurate shots. The Pearl had sustained some damage to her hull, but her masts were intact so far. Billy was working hard to help keep the guns loaded, as the men aimed and fired again and again.
There was a boom, and a crash, and the pirates let out a cheer.
"Foremast down," said McRobb.
The Black Pearl heeled suddenly, amid shouting from on deck. Billy leaned against the wall, holding on to a bulwark, and guessed that Sparrow was taking them closer to the target vessel so the pirates could board her. Indeed next there came a lurch and the sound of grapples whistling through the air, followed by the clash of swords and more yelling.
"Billy!" came a cry. Billy let go of the bulwark and picked up the little powder-keg once more. It seemed that though the other vessel was boarded, the fighting was not yet over.
But the loaded cannon were never fired. As Billy and McRobb carefully poured gunpowder into the last one, Hooper appeared on the gundeck and brusquely ordered everyone above; there was to be no scuppering of the enemy ship.
On deck Billy saw the extent of the damage the Black Pearl's guns had caused. The foremast of the captured merchant was lying half across her bowsprit, half in the water, with several large gashes in her hull. Sparrow, along with several of his crew, was swiftly subduing the rebellious sailors aboard the other ship. Some of the merchant sailors were sitting in a group guarded by pirates with drawn swords, nursing bloody injuries. A short distance away, two inert bodies lay on deck.
Billy grimaced and looked away, feeling a little ill.
"Are you all right, Billy?" It was Piper.
He nodded, and pulled himself together. "Just being below too long, sir."
"Hmmm." Piper was holding his little leather bag of equipment. "Well, stay here, and don't come across to that other ship." He climbed up on to the narrow gangplank and carefully, but confidently, walked across it and went to tend to the injured.
Billy was not left alone long, and was shortly distracted from feeling sick by the arrival of the first haul from the captured vessel. He stood by the rail of the Pearl and helped carry the goods across to a space by the mainmast, where they were stacked ready to be sorted later.
On board the other ship, Sparrow was now engaged in an intense conversation with a group of the merchant sailors. Piper, bending down, was busy stitching a wound, and his patient let out a blood-curdling yell.
"Good man, the doc," said Hooper, lugging a chest across to the pile of loot. "Good doc, too."
But Billy was watching the captain. "What's happening?" he asked, as Sparrow shook hands with one of the merchants, sheathed his sword and sauntered cheerfully back towards the Pearl.
"Looks like the cap'n's bringing on a couple of new men," said Hooper, glancing up. "Happens, occasionally."
Sure enough, Sparrow was followed back aboard by three of the merchant sailors, each with a small bag of things. Piper was last to set foot on the Pearl, casting a final look back at the injured sailors on the other ship. The grapples were cast loose, the gangplank removed, and with the pirates hauling away the Black Pearl moved away from the stricken merchant ship.
Sparrow strode across to the loot and examined it with a critical eye.
"Good," he said. "Nice work, gents. Let's get it below, and find our new crewmates a berth, aye?"
The pirates sprang into action, and in short order the deck was clear. Billy leaned on the rail and watched the merchant ship recede into the distance. As he watched, there was a splash; a short while later the white canvas of the maincourse inched slowly up the mast.
"They're all right, then," said Piper, appearing beside Billy.
"Will those men live?" asked Billy.
"Possibly. They don't have a surgeon, but they're not far from land. I pray they'll survive."
"Of course they'll survive, you bleedin' idiot," Sparrow said, from behind them. "I don't scupper vessels, nor do I leave 'em without vittles and water. Surely you've learnt that by now, Mr Piper?"
"I never quite know when to trust you," Piper said.
"Sensible man," Sparrow agreed. "I'm a pirate. Not to be trusted. But being a pirate don't mean killing folk without reason." He laid a hand on Billy's shoulder. "Cook wants you, lad."
At the evening meal, boosted by few small luxuries taken from the merchant, the new men were introduced to the crew. All three were young, and though they seemed nervous in the company of the pirates they were good-humoured enough to take the joking they were greeted with lightly. Sparrow ordered the rum to be broached, and as Billy went sleepily off to his hammock he could hear the singing begin up on deck.
They put in at Dominica for a night to restock with fresh water and fresh food, and for Piper to replenish his supplies of bandages - somewhat depleted after the raid. And then they were off again, following the wind.
Some days Billy sat astride the bowsprit and watched the water rush by underneath him, the breeze blowing his hair back off his face, and he wondered where his old life had gone. The little boy who was tucked up in bed each night by his mother and Estrella, the bored pupil, the apprentice blacksmith - sometimes he thought they must have been different people, in a different time. The Black Pearl had become a home, and the pirates family, of a sort. He was now proficient at climbing, sharp-eyed on lookout and able to tie any knot Hooper might ask him to tie. And he was happy.
So he was not quite sure what to say when, five days on from the raid, one of the new men - a tough sailor from Liverpool with an accent to match - popped his head into the galley with the news that there were Navy sails on the horizon, and could Billy come to the helm?
Billy wiped his hands, and followed the man on deck to where Sparrow was standing with his telescope.
"Looks like your choice might be coming up, lad," said the captain. "That's Norrington's flagship over there. Sixty guns." He turned and pointed in the other direction. "And that one's his fastest vessel." Meeting Billy's eyes, he snapped the telescope shut. "Now, I haven't got a particular desire to meet the commodore, today or any day. And I'll happily clap on sail and outrun 'em. The Pearl would be pleased to show them her heels. But only if you want me too."
"Oh," said Billy.
"If you speak the word, Turner, I'll run up a flag o' truce and let them come by. Then you can see your ma and pa, and decide which way you want to turn. S'up to you."
"Can I think about it?" asked Billy.
"Briefly," Sparrow replied.
Billy nodded, and went to find a spot where he could sit by himself to think. If he looked up, he could see the towering sails of the flagship; still far away but getting closer by the moment. Suddenly the thought that his parents were on that ship made him very homesick, and making the decision did not take long.
Sparrow gathered the crew together to tell them, and there was a ripple of muttering among the men. Marty in particular folded his arms and looked somewhat mutinous.
"Why?" he said.
"Because they won't give up followin' us," said Sparrow. "Not unless we sail for different waters, and I don't fancy that at the moment. We do this peaceful-like, and you all let me do the talking, and we'll sail away safe and sound in no time."
"With our cabin boy?" asked Hooper.
"That's up t' the lad," Sparrow returned.
Instantly there were forty sets of eyes on Billy, who fidgeted and looked at his boots.
Sparrow surveyed the men. "There'll be no complaints, savvy?" he said. "Now, let's look lively. I want the ship spick 'n span afore we have any Navy aboard. Let's make her look loved. The less like your usual pirate we seem, the better this'll go. Jump to it!"
Hooper nodded, and began bellowing orders.
"You made a good choice, lad," Sparrow said softly to Billy. "Go and scrub the galley."