"The best crew I could ever have," Jack informed Gibbs. "Nobody who seems suspicious. And nobody who's been on my crew before, unless we know we can trust them."

"Like Anamaria?"

"Aye, like Ana."

If Jack was to be honest, he doubted that he'd find any crew members at all in this place. Matthew Town wasn't exactly known as a haven for pirates.

Jack heard footsteps approach and pulled Gibbs behind a building. A group of Navy soldiers walked down the cobblestone street in front of them. Matthew Town was definitely not his preferred port. But what was he to do? He'd left most of the mutinous crew on a small spit of land, unable to sail with them anymore, and he needed replacement.

"There's bound to be a tavern somewhere around here."

Jack looked at Gibbs, but the older man shrugged. "Don't know. I've never been here before."

"Come on then. Down that direction."

The alley Jack headed through looked less respectable than the rest of the place. Oh, no doubt that everybody who lived here was as respectable and honest as dear William, but there were no more cobblestones. Just a trail of mud, and windows without glass. Houses that had seen better times. Each town had a corner like this one, you just had to find it.

"Over there?" Gibbs asked.

Jack followed Gibb's finger and his look came to rest on a building. The letters on the sign above the door had faded, but the drawing of a mug was still visible. He could hear muffled laughter ringing through the closed door.

"Over there," he confirmed, taking a careful glance to both sides before crossing the street. No navy in sight, not in this part of Matthew Town.

It always surprised Jack how many men could be found in a tavern after dark. Even in the most respectable town, ones under the firm control of the Navy, there was nothing the soldiers could do against the rum that was drowned every evening or the pleasurable company that showed up wherever there was a willing man.

"Let's make it quick," Jack said, heading for the counter and taking in the men around him. Most of them didn't look like pirates. Most of them didn't even look like sailors. That one over there, he was surrounded by a cloud of smell that only tanners carried with them. And the man at the counter, next to Jack, looked more like a servant than anything else in his fine clothes.

"What's your master going to do if he sees you here, I wonder?" Jack asked, chuckling to himself as the man startled. He was young still, maybe the age of William, and his eyes were bloodshot from the alcohol.

"I don't care," he slurred, leaning dangerously close to Jack. "I don't care whatever happens to me."

Jack rose his eyebrows, pushing the boy away from him. Maybe he used a bit too much force and the next thing he knew, the lad was laying on the floor next to him.

"Gibbs," Jack called out, patting the now empty seat next to him. "I got you a seat by the counter."

He ordered two mugs of rum while the older man made his way to him. The look on his face said it all.

"Now did you find anybody?"

Gibbs shook his head gravely. "One sailor here, from what I gather. Though he seems to know what he's doing and would be willing to join us."

"You won't find many seamen here," the barkeeper interrupted, placing two mugs in front of the men. "It's rare that anyone docks here – anyone of your kind at least. Although you're now the second this week."

"Is this so?" Jack asked, not really interested in what the barkeeper was saying.

"Aye. Captain Smith, he was called. Wanted some replacement for that wench he'd left in Tortuga, though I told him he'd find none. Pleasurable company, they may be," the barkeeper looked at a girl in a deep red dress who installed herself in a costumer's lap, "but none of them crazy enough to leave on a pirate ship. Told him he should have kept his wench, they're rare to find. Doubt he'll get one like that Anamaria."

Jack spit out a mouthful of rum, spraying it all over Gibb's face.

"What did you say?"

"Me said he won't get a wench on his ship. Not one like the one he had before. 'Specially not since he was a nasty fellow."

"No, no," Jack interrupted with a wave of his hand. "The name. You mentioned some Anamaria?"

"Oh yeah. That's what his previous wench was called. Told him he should have kept her, if she was good an' all and on his ship. Here in Matthew Town, our women are honourable. Won't leave with a pirate and…"

But Jack wasn't listening anymore. He drowned his mug of rum.

"Let's go," he told Gibbs. "Take that sailor with you, and him to."

He nudged the boy on the floor with the tip of his boot. He knew a desperate soul when he saw one and as much as he hated the thought of having to teach him all about sailing, a inexperienced working hand was better than no working hand at all.

However, Gibbs and that other sailor would have to bring the lad.

For Jack, there were more urgent matters than finding a crew right now.

He found Anamaria in the crow's nest, right where he had left her.

"Everything calm?" he asked, sitting down next to her. The island was a huge shadow stretching out before them. If Jack hadn't known about Matthew Town behind the hill, he would have believed it to be uninhabited.

Anamaria nodded. "Calm like nowhere else. How did it go in town?"

Jack shrugged. "It's not exactly a pirate port."

She chuckled softly next to him. Jack turned to look at her. Moonlight illuminated her face and he watched her carefully as he spoke up again.

"Though there was one here not even a week ago. Captain Smith."

He had to concentrate on keeping his voice casual. Anamaria seemed as relaxed as ever, but on a closer look, he could see her hands ball up to fists.

"That has to be some lousy captain. I mean, which respectable pirate calls themselves Smith?"

Anamaria had always been so good at hiding her feelings. Even now, she looked perfectly at ease as she turned towards him.

"Must be an awful captain, indeed. I hope the crew you found are better."

And she'd always been good at changing the subject.

Jack shifted next to her, spotting three figures coming out of the woods. The one in the middle had to be the young lad, the others seemed to be dragging him along.

"Well, they're certainly something," Jack muttered.

"Something indeed." Ana's tone let him know that she had spotted the three as well. "Jack, you can't be serious. How are we going to make it to the Fountain of Youth with them? We need a crew, a real one."

"They are real. Look, there's not much here for us. I know that you've been working constantly the last two days. We'll stop again on Long Island and we'll see then if we need more crew members."

The more there were, the higher the chance of a mutiny. Jack didn't like that idea at all. He knew that his crew was exhausted, but those two and himself included, they were now nine on the ship. That was a good size, wasn't it?

"I even got you an apprentice," he said, turning to Anamaria with a smirk. "He reminded me somewhat of the whelp. I'm sure the two of you are going to have fun while you teach him the basics."

"Oh no, you didn't." Anamaria jumped to her feet and Jack had to crane his neck to look at the finger she pointed into his face. "You're not going to make me babysit some stuck up boy."

"Not babysitting. Teaching." Jack's grin widened. He loved seeing Anamaria all riled up, even if it meant that he had to watch out.

But he was prepared and caught her hand in mid-air. "And there's no need to slap me, he's on board of the ship and I won't change my mind about it. Come on, let's go. I want to bring some distance between us and the island before we go to sleep."