"Sorry sir but I didn't want to speak too loud but they's a light just off the starboard bow, looks like someone's got ’holt ’o a lanthorn and walking down the side of a ship."
Dagan put the tiller over and the light was visible and appeared to be moving along the deck of a ship.
Davy and Lavery's boats had eased up along side of Gabe's.
"Unless I'm mistaken gentlemen, yonder lays our missing ’cow'."
This brought a smile from Lavery.
"Let's muffle our oars, then Dagan and I will come up on her starboard quarter astern. Mr. Davy, put your boat under her stern but where you'll see my signal. Mr. Lavery, I want you to swing wide and if there's no guard boat or sentry come up along her bow.
Make sure nobody has a loaded musket or pistol.
Remember this ship is loaded to the gills with powder and munitions. Any questions? Now let's take our stations and pay attention to my signals."
As the crews put their backs into it, the distant ship became more visible. It was undoubtedly the Turtle, her sails were furled and a glow seemed to move about on the weather deck, the lookout with the lanthorn. The larboard side was not visible from this position but Gabe could make out a list to the larboard.
"She's aground…stuck in the bloody mud by damn," he whispered to Dagan.
"Aye, probably beached her on the low tide to unload her," Dagan answered. "I'll bet they got boats in the water working back and forth from the shore now."
"I agree," Gabe turned to the boat crew, "Let's be about it men."
The boats eased their way up to the unsuspecting ship. Voices could be heard on deck. Once, one of the men on board the Turtle spit over the side just missing the gig. Gabe was now able to pick out individual faces in the lanthorn light. The same light that helped the men see on the deck also took away their night vision and made it easier for the men in the boats to go unseen. A seaman reached up and grasped hold to Turtle.
"Boats as secure as I can make it sir without tying off to ’sumthin."
The hull was moist and smell ed of salt and tar mixed with the distinct odor of mud. As Gabe climbed silently up the side of the ship more men were in evidence on Turtle's deck. Barrels of gunpowder fill ed the deck where they'd been brought up from the hole.
A voice with a distinct Irish brogue said, "Keep that lanthorn away from the barrels you fool. That's gunpowder."
Patrick, the bastard, is on board Gabe thought, recognizing the voice.
"When's the boats coming back?" one of the men asked.
"We're never gonna get this stuff unloaded by daybreak."
Dagan was standing in the boat as Gabe eased his way back down into the gig.
"Patrick is there and his bosun is by the larboard rail. Two other men are on deck sitting by several barrels of gunpowder, and from the sounds one or two more men are down in the hold."
"Mr. Lavery is latched onto the anchor cable sir, and Davy's waiting on your signal." Dagan informed Gabe.
"Very well, let's be about it."
As Gabe climbed back up Turtle's hull he was suddenly met face to face with the man who'd spit over the side just minutes before. Then everything happened at once. Seeing a British officer rise up startled the man as he spat. He instinctively grabbed Gabe and bel owed, "What the hell?"
Gabe was bodily swung over the bulwark and thrown across the deck landing with a thud, almost at Patrick's feet. Quick to recover himself, Gabe rose up and grabbed Patrick with one hand as he tried to get
the handle of his sword in his other hand. It was dangling from his wrist by its lanyard. Hearing the shout and commotion on deck behind him, the man who was holding the lanthorn and peering down to where the boats were being loaded was startled. As he swung around he banged the lanthorn on a stanchion, shattering it and sending the flaming candle across the deck and into the barrels of gunpowder. The clumsy sailor was wild-eyed with fright. In moving the barrels of gunpowder in such haste a stave had separated and grains of powder had leaked out of a barrel and lay upon the deck.
The rolling candle sparked a few grains which then caused a larger flash.
Seeing this, the doomed man said, "Oh hell!" They were the last words he uttered.
Captain Patrick's back was to the flash, but he saw the reflection in Gabe's eyes. "My God!" he screamed.
The explosion was tremendous. The ship, the inlet and the sky al seemed to burst apart and a great flame shot up in the air twenty feet or more lighting up the night sky. Then everything came raining down; bodies, water and fiery debris.
Men were dead and floating in the water. Others were temporarily blinded and deaf from the explosion, blood draining from their ears and nose. Some suffered burns while others were thankful they were unharmed.
Surprisingly, SeaWolf’s boats would al float even though they'd overturned with the explosion. The boats were righted, water was bailed out and sailors
helped their wounded mates into the boats. Those who could swam the short distance to the muddy shore.
Lieutenant Lavery and Mr. Davy were each in a boat.
"Where's the cap'n?" Lavery asked.
"He was on deck," Davy replied.
"Then he's gone," Lavery responded.
"No…he's alive," Dagan almost shouted. "Let's search for him."
"He's gone Dagan," Lavery said putting his hand on Dagan's shoulder.
"He's alive."
"No one could live through that, Dagan."
"He's alive."
Lavery looked to Davy for support but got none.
"Maybe he is alive," Davy said, remembering events involving Lieutenant Witzenfield and the pirate captain when they'd been on Drakkar. "Dagan's usual y right," he added, "And it can't hurt to look."
"Al right," Lavery knew it was futile to argue and truthful y he didn't want to argue with Dagan. The piercing look he'd gotten from Dagan when he said the captain was gone sent a shiver clean through his body.
His eyes seemed to penetrate clear to his soul and made him feel weak. No, it wouldn't hurt to look but he'd send up a flare for SeaWolf, not that one was needed. If they didn't see the explosion there wasn't much need sending up a flare.
"Mr. Lavery," one of the bosun's mates was calling.
"We got visitors from both directions." SeaWolf was just off shore and a group of Colonials were on the beach.
"Put a white flag on an oar and let's see if they know anything about the captain," Lavery told the bosun mate.
With a piece of torn white shirt tied to an oar, Lavery was rowed over to the beach where a crowd of Colonials and slaves were gathered. As the boat ground into the mud one of the slaves pull ed it further up onto the beach. Lavery and Dagan got out of the boat. Some of the Colonials looked ready to fight.
"Why'd you blow up the ship?" one of the better dressed men asked.
Before Lavery could speak, Dagan replied, "We didn't. It happened just as we arrived." This caused a few hushed whispers.
"What are you looking for?" Again this from the better dressed man. As he spoke, he tapped sand from his boot with a walking stick.
"Our captain," Lavery said not wanting it to appear that Dagan was in charge. "He'd just gone on board the ship when it exploded."
"Then he's dead!" one of the men said toward the back of the crowd.
"We've found no body," Lavery said.
"Ain't likely to either," again the man in back spoke.
However, Dagan was paying no attention to the man. He was looking at one of the slaves. He looked familiar, he knew him, but from where? The man had looked him in the eye but only for a moment. Dagan couldn't make eye contact with him again. To do so deliberately in front of the Colonials would probably cost the slave his life.
As more of SeaWolf’s boats approached, the Colonials turned to walk away. The neatly dressed man paused. "I'm sorry for your captain. I hope you find him." Then like the others he walked over the dune into the brush and out of sight.