Two days later, I was sitting up in bed and starting to feel much better. Elizabeth and I were teasing each other and talking like brothers and sisters talk. Mother was standing by the door just watching us when Father came in. Elizabeth stopped in the middle of her sentence, and we all turned to him fearfully.
"I'm going searching for a job today, Emily," He said after kissing her lightly. "I'll see you for supper tonight." Then, he directed the rest toward me, "That means you best not do anything questionable."
He quickly left.
As soon as he was gone, Mother asked, "Are you two ready to go to Sammuel's house?"
"Yeah!" Elizabeth and I shouted, both jumping up.
I had forgotten, though, that I still wasn't fully recovered, so as quickly as I had gotten to my feet, I fell back to the ground. For a second, I was surprised, but then I remembered why that would happen.
"Are you all right?" Mother questioned, running towards me and helping slowly to my feet.
"Yes…I guess."
I supported myself on things and Mother all the way to the front door and stumbled into the carriage. Not to long later, I stumbled back out of the carriage and onto Sammuel's front porch. I fell over on the stairs and was kneeling on them when Sammuel opened the door. Sammuel didn't notice me at first, however. He was completely shocked that Mother was there.
"Myra!" He exclaimed after a moment, "I haven't seen you in forever!" He picked her up and put her down inside the house. That was when he noticed me and asked, "What happened here?"
"We'll explain inside," Elizabeth stated smartly, helping me take the last few steps.
Sammuel's wife came out, drying her hands on her apron. She was pregnant, and it was to the point of obvious now—maybe seven and a half to eight months.
"Myra," Sammuel began, "I would like you to meet my wife." A slight pause and a mischievous smile finished, "My Wife, meet Myra."
"Hi My-Wife," Elizabeth and I joked.
His wife rolled her eyes and lovingly glared at Sammuel. "I'm sorry Melony," he laughed after a second, "I just couldn't resist." She continued glaring, so he hugged her. That didn't change anything either. "Fine. Why don't you take Myra to the kitchen and…do whatever girls do in the kitchen. I need to speak to Wesley."
"Okay," the two mothers agreed suspiciously, walking away and doing a bit of small talk.
Sammuel knelt down and asked me, "Wesley, what happened? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," I mumbled, lying.
"Come on, Wes. You know that I know the terrible things that can happen when your father gets angry, but I've never seen you like this before. Whatever happened is worse than normal. I can't make it better if you don't tell me."
"I can't tell you," I whispered. "Anyways, you aren't my doctor."
Elizabeth walked right over to him and tried to whisper what happened, though it turned out much louder. "Daddy whipped him."
"Ooh," he kind of moaned and looked at me. His eyes sort of said, 'I know your pain.' Then, he asked Elizabeth, "How much?"
"Five times."
"Five! That's harsh for a first." He said to make me feel better; though, now I know that was a lie. For a moment, he was at a loss for words, until he got an idea. "I've got a great story for you today that's bound to cheer you up," he said helping me to my feet again, "You'll be back on your feet in no time."
We had a picnic in the field a little up town where Sammuel worked during crop seasons. (I know, I said he was a sailor. He does that too, just only when they don't have a need for farmers.) It was a beautiful day, and Sammuel was about to tell another Jason story. Mother had never heard any of the stories—save what I told her when I came home—and her reactions were almost better than the story itself.
"Jason was a guy who fought for the good and bad sides," Sammuel started.
I smiled. It started small and grew, bigger and bigger.
Elizabeth jumped up and screeched, "Yes!" Then she skipped about singing, "We're going to learn about Jason. We're going to…" over and over.
"Who?" Mother asked, very confused.
"He killed over three hundred pirates—but not yet—and was a pirate himself," Sammuel explained by continuing with the story. Elizabeth sat back down.
"A pirate! How horribly dreadful! And he killed three hundred people?"
"Oh, but Mother. Jason was no ordinary pirate," Elizabeth commented.
"And of course, he only killed the bad pirates who break the law." It was neat how Sammuel could answer her question by using the next line of the story.
"All pirates break the law," Mother recited with a little bit of scorn in her voice.
"No, no," Sammuel laughed, "The pirate's law. It is a code of morals that every pirate is to follow. Anyhow, he isn't a pirate yet."
"He's not?" Elizabeth asked in shock.
"No, people aren't born pirates, Elizabeth. Jason's father was a French fisherman. The only problem was, he was Huguenot during a time of religious hatred. The Catholics hated the Huguenots and the Huguenots hated the Catholics."
"Don't we hate Catholics, Mother?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yes, His Majesty the King does," Mother replied, trying to hide whether she actually did or not.
"Anyhow," Sammuel said again to change the subject, "the Catholics began to view the Huguenots as a danger to the nation. They searched all over for the Huguenots, most of which they found and killed. Eventually, when Jason was fourteen, they caught him and his father on their fishing boat."
"What did they do?" Elizabeth asked quietly. I couldn't believe they kept asking so many questions, it just makes the story take longer.
"They pointed a gun at Jason's father's head," Sammuel was gesturing again, "and then forced Jason to sail the boat away from shore. There they proceeded to beat him to death in front of Jason's eyes."
"Sammuel!" Mother exclaimed, "So much violence, and in front of the kids!"
"I agree; it's violent. But that is what happened. Many healthy men were killed that way for religious reasons, and sailors too. Events like this define the way people are."
"Am I going to die?" I whispered. That is what he made it seem like.
"No," he answered squatting down. "You see, almost all sailors have been beat at one time or another. Yes, many of them die, but most of them don't die. They're just like you, and Jason too. He got beat later too." Then, he stood back up ready to tell the rest of the story.
It was at that point that the rest of us realized why he was telling this story—it was an experience of someone else who'd been through the same thing and survived. He wanted me to realize that I was not alone. From then on, flogging was connected to bravery because Jason was my hero, and he was brave.
"But," Sammuel went on with the story, "before Jason's father died, he whispered to Jason, 'Don't hold on.' At that time, Jason had no idea what his father meant by that. He was contemplating the meaning…" Sammuel paced back and forth like if he were thinking. "…when one of the Catholics slammed the door open and made him an offer."
In a very strong, fake, French accent, Sammuel offered, "'We will release you only if you swear an oath on the Bible that you will be Catholic for all eternity.'"
"That is a Catholic for you," Mother interrupted, "always trying to convert the whole world."
"Jason replied, 'I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request.'"
"What?" Elizabeth and I both asked. He always tried to throw in some difficult words to teach us in a story too.
"It means 'I don't want to.'" Sammuel explained. "Now, because Jason responded that way, the Catholics whipped him too, in hopes a little pain would change his opinion. In fact, pain does change how the world seems to you, but not in the way the Catholics had hoped. So Jason clenched his fists, bit his teeth together, and prepared to resist the pain. After the first stroke, he looked up, for apparently no reason.
"From his angle, he noticed his hands and randomly thought, 'Hey, it looks like I'm holding onto a bar.' Then, it finally dawned on him that that was what his father was talking about. Immediately, Jason unclenched his fists, opened his mouth, and relaxed his muscles, giving himself the chance to take his mind away from the pain. Amazingly, it made it hurt less."
"Does that really work?" I inquired, remembering that I had tensed up.
"It worked for me."
"I still can't believe you are telling this story to my kids," Mother complained, finally able to inject a thought.
"The Catholics swore they would do the same thing again the next morning, but Jason still wouldn't convert. That night there was a dangerous storm that landed the boat in the middle of the ocean. The next morning, Jason went up on deck, expecting the worst."
"Jason! No Sammuel! Stop it, this is sad!" Mother had started to cry.
Elizabeth sarcastically repeated what Jason had said before, "I agree, it is sad, but it's the truth."
"Ah, I've tricked you both." Sammuel bragged, "You see, the Catholics were too preoccupied with something else to even bother with Jason. You see, they spotted a pirate ship."
"Whose? Was it Malevolence his arch enemy?" Elizabeth guessed.
"Or was it Invidious, another repeat offender?" I supplied, referring to one of my favorite episodes.
Then, we all looked at Mother, waiting for her to say which ship she thought it was. She, however, knew very little about pirates—or even ships. She just sat there thinking.
Embarrassed, she simply said the first thing that came to her mind, "Could it have been…the Black Pearl, terror of the seas?"
I broke out in laughter. "Mother, you know the Black Pearl isn't real. It's no more than a legend." Of course, that only made a difference because I thought Jason was real.
Sammuel and Mother exchanged a knowing glance. Something there made me uneasy, but I couldn't tell what about it sent shivers down my spine.
"You are all wrong," Sammuel said after a moment. "They saw the ship Satisfaction and were about ready to begin firing on it."
"What!" I was appalled.
"Okay…now, this is sad," Elizabeth sniveled.
"Huh?" Mother asked, not getting. "What is so special about that ship?"
"That's Jason's ship!" Now, Elizabeth was bawling.
"Oh," she shrugged indifferently.
"'Fire!' The leader Catholic called," Sammuel continued, "However, since this was just a little fishing boat, they had no cannons, just pistols. The Catholics fired their pistols, and Jason huddled in the corner, knowing they were making a very stupid decision. It only took one shot from the pirates' cannons before the Catholics surrendered. A little later that evening, the captain of Satisfaction, Henry—"
Elizabeth interrupted, "Oh Captain Kidnap. I love Captain Kidnap." She had gone through a phase where she had to give everything a nickname, and that was his. Captain Henry Morgan, greatest pirate in the world, was named kidnap. That was why I was convinced the stories were true, of course Captain Morgan was real.
"Yes, well Captain 'Kidnap' released Jason from the prison that night but left the Catholics in it. Right in front of them, he offered, 'Jason, we would like you to join us in pirating the seven seas.'"
"Let me guess," Mother mumbled, "he replied, 'I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request.'" She was sarcastic and still not impressed.
"No!" I explained, "He said what he always says when people say that. 'There are many more than seven seas.'"
"'Yes there are,' the captain agreed, 'but we only pirate in seven. The others are enclosed and much too difficult to get to.' Jason thought for a moment, about his father, then replied, 'I really shouldn't.'"
"He can't say that! He has to be a pirate! You're telling it wrong." Elizabeth commanded.
"No, he did say that Elizabeth. You can't change that."
"Well, then what did Captain Kidnap say to change his mind? Because he is going to be a pirate."
"He answered, 'I understand completely. That is what everyone says at first. After all, piracy is illegal. If you would prefer, I could put you right back in prison with those men who you seem to get along with perfectly.' Morgan pointed to the jail. Jason looked at it and at the Catholics, remembering what they had done to his father. He turned back to Morgan and asked, 'Do your men fight Catholics?'"
"Why of course they did!" Elizabeth exclaimed, "Remember Darwin?"
"And Antonio," I added.
"Philip."
"Paulo."
"Columbus."
"Marcus."
"Yes, but Jason didn't know that yet did he?" Sammuel asked. "So Morgan said, 'For you Sir, we could.' Then, realizing it was the men in the jail that Jason was talking about, he continued, 'If you can give ample reason that they deserve it.' 'Uh…they killed my father.' 'Well, all righty then. That's perfectly enough reason'"
"Is it really that easy?" Elizabeth inquired excitedly.
"No, he's got to just be flattering—what's his name—Joseph, or something." Mother purposefully dampened Elizabeth's excitation because she was afraid of pirates and didn't like how much we enjoyed learning about them.
"No, he is not flattering Jason. And yes, it is that easy—if you are his age, and a boy, and they want you there." Sammuel explained, "And if they want you there, they will find you, no matter what.
"However, Jason didn't get it that easily. He had to learn to sword fight, which takes endurance and dedication. Then, for his final test, he had to challenge the Catholics and win." Sammuel was making really weird gestures again. "For the whole six months Jason spent in training, the Catholics poked fun at him and called him Devil Child. One day, they did this while he was guarding the prison. Jason was extremely sick of it, so he figured this would be a good time to challenge them.
"He turned around and grabbed the leader by his shirt through the cell door. 'My name is Jason Pierre Tournier. I am not the Devil. And today I challenge you, in the name of my father, to gain revenge upon his death. Take up your sword.' He unlocked the cell door, slashed the rope around the leader's hands, and chased the man on deck, where they both finally drew their swords. A crowd of pirates quickly formed to see what would happen."
"What did happen?" Elizabeth questioned full of suspense.
"The man looked around at the onlookers. He looked at Jason. He became so afraid that he dropped the sword and ran right off the boat, never to be seen again."
"And that's how he became a pirate?" I asked, able to see that was the end of this story.
"And that was how he became a pirate," Sammuel repeated. "And next time I shall finish the one about Esperanza and the Malevolence." He bowed, and we all clapped—even Mother.
