Buccaneer

The slightest thump as the hulls of the two vessels touched, and a moment later half a dozen of the buccaneers dropped down on L'Arc-de-Ciel’s deck. Two of them carried wide-mouthed blunderbusses. The last man to come aboard seemed to be their leader. Of middle age, he was short and plump, his close-cropped reddish hair turning grey, and he was dressed more formally than the others in buff-coloured breeches and stockings, with a purple waistcoat worn over a grubby white shirt. Unlike his fellows who preferred knives and cutlasses, he had a rapier hanging from a shabby baldrick. He was also the only boarder wearing shoes. The heels clumped on the wooden deck as he strode purposefully to where Dan and Hector were standing. 'Summon your captain,' he announced. 'Tell him that Captain John Coxon wishes to speak with him.'

Closer up, Captain Coxon's face, which at first sight had seemed chubby and genial, had a hard set to it. He bit off his words when he spoke and the corners of his mouth turned down, producing a slight sneer. Hector judged that Captain Coxon was not a man to be trifled with.

'I am acting as the captain,' he replied.

Coxon glanced at the young man in surprise. 'What happened to your predecessor?' he demanded bluntly.

'I believe he died of fever.'

'When and where was that?'

'About three months ago, maybe more. On the river Wadnil, in West Africa.'

'I know where the Wadnil is,' Coxon snapped irritably. 'Have you any proof, and who brought this ship across? Who's your navigator?'

'I did the navigating,' Hector answered quietly.

Again the look of surprise, followed by a disbelieving twist of the mouth.

'I need to see your ship's papers.'

'They're in the captain's cabin.'

Coxon nodded to one of his men who promptly disappeared below deck. As he waited, the captain slipped his hand inside his shirt front and scratched at his chest. He seemed to be suffering from some sort of skin irritation. Hector noticed several angry red blotches on the buccaneer captain's neck, just above the shirt collar. Coxon gazed around at L'Arc-de-Ciel and her depleted crew. 'Is this all your men?' he demanded. 'What happened to the others?'

'There are no others,' Hector replied. 'We had to sail shorthanded, just the five of us. It was enough. The weather was kind.'

Coxon's man came out from the cabin door. He was holding a sheaf of documents and the roll of charts that Hector had found aboard when he, Dan and Bourdon had first set foot on L'Arc-de-Ciel, Coxon took the papers and stood silently for a few moments as he read through them while absent-mindedly scratching the back of his neck. Abruptly he looked up at Hector, then thrust one of the charts towards him. 'If you're a navigator, then tell me where we are.'

Hector looked down at the chart. It was poorly drawn, and its scale was inadequate. The entire Caribbean was shown on a single sheet and there were several gaps or smudges on the surrounding coastline. He placed his finger about two-thirds across the parchment, and said, 'About here. At noon yesterday I calculated our latitude by backstaff, but I am unsure of our westing. Twelve days ago we saw a high island to the north of us, which I took to be one of the windward Caribees. Since then we could have run perhaps a thousand miles.'

Coxon stared at him bleakly. 'And why would you want to go due west?'

'To try to reach the Miskito coast. That is where we are headed. Dan here is from that country, and wishes to get home.'

The buccaneer captain, after a brief glance towards Dan, looked thoughtful. 'What about your cargo?'

'There is no cargo. We came aboard the ship before she had loaded.'

Coxon gave another jerk of his head, and two of his crew opened up a hatch and clambered down into the hold. Moments later, they reappeared and one of them said 'Nothing. She's empty.'

Hector sensed the captain's disappointment. Coxon's mood was changing. He was becoming annoyed. Abruptly he took a step towards Jacques Bourdon who was loitering near the mast. 'You there with the brand on your cheek!' Coxon snapped. 'You've been in the King's galleys, haven't you? What was your crime?'

'Being caught,' Jacques replied sourly.

'You're French, aren't you?' A ghost of a smile passed across Coxon's face. 'From Paris.'

Coxon turned back towards Hector and Dan. He still had the sheaf of papers in his hand.

'I'm seizing this ship,' he announced. 'On suspicion that the vessel has been stolen from her rightful owners, and that the crew has murdered her captain and officers.’

'That's absurd,' Hector burst out. 'The captain and his officers were all dead by the time we came aboard.'

'You have nothing to prove it. No certificate of death, no documents for transfer of ownership.' It was evident that Coxon was grimly satisfied with himself.

'How could we have obtained such papers?' Hector was getting more angry by the minute. 'The bodies would have been put overboard to try to stop the contagion, and there were no authorities to go to. As I said, the vessel was halfway up an African river, and there were only native chiefs in the region.'

'Then you should have stopped at the first trading post on the coast, sought out the authorities, and registered the events,' countered Coxon. 'Instead you set sail directly across to the Caribees. It is my duty to regularise the matter.'

'You have no authority to take this ship,' Hector insisted.

Coxon treated him to a thin smile. 'Yes I do. I have the authority of the Governor of Petit Guave, whose commission I carry on behalf of the kingdom of France. This vessel is French. There is a branded convict aboard, a subject of the French king. The ship's papers are not in order, and there is no proof of how the captain died. He could have been killed, and the cargo sold off

'So what do you intend to do?' Hector asked, choking down his anger. He should have realised that from the start Coxon had been trying to find an excuse to seize the vessel. Coxon and his men were nothing more than licensed sea brigands.

'This vessel and those found on her will be taken to Petit Guave by a prize crew. There the vessel will be sold and you and your crew will be tried for murder and piracy. If found guilty the court will decide your punishment.'

Unexpectedly, Dan spoke up, his voice grave. 'If you or your court mistreat us, you will have to answer to my people. My father is one of the old men council of the Miskito.'

Dan's words seemed to have carried some weight because Coxon paused for a moment before replying. 'If it is true that your father is of the Miskito council then the court will take that into account. The authorities in Petit Guave would not wish to anger the Miskito. As for the rest of you, you will stand trial'

Coxon again slipped his hand inside his shirt front and scratched at his chest. Hector wondered if the itching was what made the man so irritable. 'I need to know your name,' the buccaneer said to Hector.