Chapter 3: Ragetti and Pintel
Out on the open grounds, Jack's legs stretched out, and he veritably flew through the estate's luxurious gardens. "Get in the boat!" he shrieked. "Start rowing! Don't wait for me! Get going now, now, now!"
Ragetti and Pintel looked up from where they'd been fishing, concealed in high reeds. What they saw was Captain Jack Sparrow running madly towards him with his hands flailing wildly in front of him. Behind him came twenty Spaniards waving cutlasses.
"Uh oh."
Jack's plumed hat flew off. He turned back, snatched the hat up off the lawn, saw how close the Spanish were getting, yipped, and returned to his panicked fleeing.
Ragetti and Pintel threw their fishing poles into their nearby longboat and wrestled it into the river.
"Get in the boat!" The hysterical voice of Captain Jack Sparrow came echoing out of the night. "Start rowing!
Ragetti started pulling at the oars while Pintel manned the tiller. When Pintel turned the boat to starboard, Ragetti hesitated. "The captain wants us to go the other way."
"I know what I'm doing," snapped Pintel.
The tall, scrawny pirate with the wooden eye shrugged and again began pulling at the oars. The rapidly flowing, narrow river cut through the majestic grounds of the Governor of Petit-Goâve and, where Ragetti and Pintel had been fishing, it forked in two. The captain's escape plan had been to row down the left branch, but Pintel was taking them down the right branch.
"Where are you going?" squealed Jack as he came over a rise and saw the direction the longboat. "Where are you going?" He leaped and landed in the boat. He would have gone on over the side, but Pintel grabbed his belt.
"I found a shortcut."
"Shortcut?" echoed Jack. "Shortcuts are good!" He replaced Pintel at the tiller, and the short, bald pirate joined Ragetti in rowing.
"Where're Mister Turner and Miss Swan?"
"Oh, they're hunting down the treasure room while I distract the guards."
Pintel looked back at the score of the pursuing Spaniards. "I hope they're as good at their job as you are at yours."
The longboat sped around a curve, dipped through a copse of trees and came out in rapids.
"Rapids!" choked Jack, "Rapids are bad!" He looked around. The boat was doing okay and indeed was picking up speed. "No, good. Rapids are good!" He looked back through the copse of trees and saw no Spaniards. He liked seeing no Spaniards. "Nice rapids. Wonderful rapids. I like rapids. -What's that sound?"
"What sound?"
"That kind of roaring sound. Growing louder. Ahgh!" He slammed the tiller to the side, but too late. The ferocious current swept the boat along and hurled it over a waterfall.