“Say! Look at the fellow on the oars,” said the bearded buccaneer behind them, in surprise. “He can really move that boat.”
“Aw, so what?” His friend snickered. “We did all right, for a boat that wasn’t ours anyhow.”
“Do you want us to take an oar?” Steve asked. “Jane and I could each take an oar. I see another set of oarlocks behind you.”
“No,” said Hunter. “I can maintain our desired speed and direction more consistently this way.” He looked around to see if Captain Morgan’s ship had moved. It was not yet under way.
Hunter concentrated on the flexibility of the oars as he stroked, He was strong enough to row harder, but risked snapping off the oars if he did so, No one spoke.
The dinghy moved through the waves steadily, with agonizing slowness. At least the waves were moderate and the wind was low. Facing him in the stern, Steve and Jane looked into the distance ahead anxiously. At last, Hunter could hear the creaking of the sailing ship growing closer.
“Captain Morgan! Ahoy!” Steve shouted. “Ahoy the ship!”
“Ahoy the boat! Who’s there?” The voice was gruff and suspicious.
Hunter turned to look up. He adjusted his rowing to maintain the position of the dinghy. If they got too close to the hull of the ship, they would have trouble seeing the men who were up on deck.
“Steve and-and John, from last night,” called Steve. “Where’s Captain Morgan?”
“Not so fast,” said the buccaneer. He disappeared from sight. A moment later he reappeared. “The Captain says all right.” He threw a long rope ladder down the side of the hull.
Steve laughed with relief.
“I guess we made it,” said Jane.
Hunter maneuvered the dinghy against the hull and held its position. Steve started up the rope first, then Jane. Hunter remained in the boat until they had both climbed all the way over the rail. Meanwhile, the buccaneers above cranked down a couple of lines on a winch for Hunter to tie to the dinghy. After he had secured the lines, he ascended the rope ladder. By the time he was climbing over the rail, the buccaneers had already begun raising the dinghy.
“Always glad to have experienced buccaneers along,” Captain Morgan was saying to Steve and Jane. “And this is your friend. You are?…”
“I am Hunter, Captain.”
“Well met, Hunter, All right.” Captain Morgan turned and glanced around. “We’re almost ready. You three give a hand where you see the need.” He hurried away, calling to someone across the deck.
Some buccaneers were carrying crates of food below. Others were belaying kegs on deck with rope. Hunter saw a couple of men lifting a rolled sail and quickly joined them. Steve and Jane hurried to his side. Soon they were just part of the crew, working to get the ship under way.
20
Wayne had returned to the Old Laughing Lady before sundown. He had not yet told Captain Tomann that Roland was holding MC 2 hostage. The Captain had been busy all evening directing preparations for the upcoming voyage, so Wayne had easily avoided him. In the moonlight, Wayne stood on deck watching the Hungry Hawk a short distance away. He was sure that Roland had MC 2 on board there.
“A fine night for sailing, eh?” Captain Tomann came up next to him.
“Huh? Oh-it sure is, Captain. When do we leave?”
“We follow Captain Morgan out of port. The lookout is watching his ship.”
“So, where are we going this time?”
“I wish I knew! That crafty old Morgan won’t even tell his own crew, let alone the other captains.”
“And you’re following him anyway?”
“Aye, he’s always done well by us. I’m trusting him to raid some fat sleepy Spanish town-like his raid on Puerto Principe in Cuba last year.”
Wayne nodded.
“So what about our valuable friend? Did you get any leads on him in town?”
“No,” said Wayne. “That is, not for sure. But I wonder if he is on one of the other ships on this voyage.”
“Ah! Now that would be a boon. May hap we can grab him somewhere along the way, eh?” Captain Tomann laughed raucously and pounded him on the back before walking away.
Wayne was not sure why he had said what he had. He would probably need Captain Tomann’s help to get MC 2, but he wanted to be cautious. Roland had betrayed his trust and he was certain that Captain Tomann was not above doing so as well.
Rita posed another problem. Wayne’s earlier plan of trading Rita to Hunter for MC 2 was on hold for the moment-but if Hunter managed to get MC 2 before Wayne did, then it would still work. He saw that Captain Tomann was occupied elsewhere and quietly went below to see Rita.
Her quarters were still bolted on the outside. Wayne unbolted the door and knocked politely.
“Who is it?” Rita demanded.
“Wayne.”
She unbolted the door from her side and opened it. She folded her arms. “How long are you going to hold onto me?”
“Well-I don’t know. But I should come in.”
She moved back and he closed the door. Then she walked all the way to the rear of the chamber, facing one of the small open windows. Through it, he could see the waterfront in the distance.
“Exactly what do you want, anyway?” She turned back to him again. “You really don’t care about me one way or another, do you?”
“No, not really.”
“Then what am I doing here?”
“Look, I don’t want to hurt you or anyone else. I just want my robot back.”
“‘Your’ robot-MC 2.”
“That’s right.”
“I know you invented the Governor robots, but that doesn’t make him yours.”
“I think that’s my business”
“I repeat, what do you want with me?”
“I’m not exactly sure. But I can’t have you interfering with me. So for now, you’ll have to stay here.”
“Well, then, why are we still in port? I thought you said earlier that we were sailing soon.”
“We’re ready. Apparently we have to wait for a Captain Morgan to lead us out of port.”
Her eyebrows went up. “Captain Henry Morgan?”
“I don’t know his first name. I guess so.”
“I knew he was here somewhere, of course,” said Rita. “Well…let’s see. Summer, 1668. Of course-it’s his famous raid on Portobelo.”
“Where?”
“No, no.” She shook her head. “Our destination is a secret. I can’t let it get out. If it does, and the raid is foiled somehow, then we’ll change history.”
“I guess I don’t have to know. I don’t want to change history either.”
“What did you come to see me about?”
Wayne paused. “I don’t know. Maybe I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“To make sure your prisoner couldn’t escape, you mean?” She turned away, looking out the window again.
“Well…like I said, I don’t want to hurt you. I just want my robot back.”
Captain Morgan’s ship led the fleet of nine from the harbor. Steve stood by the rail with Jane and Hunter, watching the lights of Port Royal shrink in the distance and the lamps of the other ships follow them. When the fleet was safely out to sea and sailing south, most of Captain Morgan’s crew went to sleep, leaving only the customary skeleton crew on night watch.
“Hunter,” said Steve. “Can you pick out the Hungry Hawk?”
Hunter looked across the moonlit water at the other ships. “Yes, I see it.”
“Is there any way you could sneak over there tonight and bring Rita back?”
“It is not impossible for me to swim that distance,” said Hunter. “The Hungry Hawk is one of the ships closest to us. However, the risk and difficulty are too high. I will wait until we are anchored, preferably closer.”
Steve nodded. “I guess 1 knew that. I just wanted to make sure.”
“I also have to feel that you two are safe,” said Hunter. “After what happened the last time we separated, I do not want to leave you unless I feel we can reunite without difficulty, especially now that the communicators are gone.”