No one else was below. The three of them sat quietly on crates in the hot, dank air while the buccaneers on deck shouted and cheered. They were all anxious to get a break from the routine by rowing to land.
Hunter could tell what was happening by the sounds he heard. First the longboats were released from every ship on long lines, each one dropping into the sea with a splash. Then the buccaneers climbed down rope ladders, shouting to each other to hurry. Soon he could hear the oars splashing into the water as the longboats pulled away. For several minutes, he heard only the footsteps of the skeleton crew that remained on board.
“Captain Morgan is probably going to summon the captains to join him here now for his conference.”
“How can he summon them?” Jane asked.
“With flags,” said Steve. “But, look-the longboats are gone, so we can go up on deck again.”
“All right,” said Hunter. “But I cannot risk swimming to the Old Laughing Lady while the other captains are being rowed to this ship. I shall have to wait until they have arrived.”
“That’s right,” said Steve. “We’ll go up and wait.”
No one on deck took any special notice of them when they emerged from the hold. The buccaneers who were still on board were standing by the rail, gazing at the shore. Captain Morgan stood with them, talking and pointing.
Hunter turned toward the other eight ships. Several longboats were already coming toward Morgan’s ship first, on their way to the shore. That told Hunter the signaling had been completed already.
He moved to the seaward side of the ship and occupied his time by checking the firmness of belayed ropes and the tightness of knots. Steve and Jane did the same. Until the longboats left, they would simply pass the time quietly.
21
As Hunter pretended to work, he kept count of the other ship captains who came on board. When all eight had arrived, Captain Morgan took them below to his quarters. Their longboats then headed across the gentle blue waves toward the shore.
“Time for me to go,” he said quietly to Steve.
Steve looked around the deck. “No one is watching. But just in case they turn around, let’s see… Jane, stand next to me and help me pull on this rope.”
Jane and Steve pulled on a loose rope dangling from a pulley in the rigging above. All the rope did was slide through the pulley, but Hunter used their bodies as a screen as he moved to the rail. As silently as possible, he climbed over it and started down the side of the ship. His hearing told him that none of the buccaneers had noticed his departure.
Using tiny irregularities in the wood on the side of the ship as handholds and footholds, Hunter worked his way down the side just as he had climbed up the side of the Cadiz. Hunter worked his way to the waterline and slipped into the sea without a splash. The Old Laughing Lady was roughly fifty meters away, with some variation as the ships drifted on the radius of their anchor lines. In the moderate waves, a good human swimmer could make it easily. For Hunter, it would take virtually no effort at all.
Hunter swam the distance half a meter under the surface of the water. If anyone happened to look in his direction, he would be no more than a shadow of the sort that a large fish or a shark might make. At the same time, he was close enough to the surface for the tropical sunlight to beat down on him as he swam, replenishing his energy through the microscopic solar collectors on his skin where his clothing left it exposed. He arrived at the waterline of the Old Laughing Lady with only a little less energy than he had possessed when he had started his swim.
When he broke the surface of the water, he heard no sound of human activity on the ship. Cautiously, he began to climb up the hull. He hesitated at the rail, looking and listening again. Some buccaneers were dozing on the deck. A few others were gazing toward the shore. None noticed him.
Moving slowly and silently, Hunter moved up on deck, always behind crates, kegs, or rolled sails in order to stay hidden.
“Rita, Hunter calling,” he radioed.
“Hunter!” She radioed back. “Is that you?”
“Yes. I am on deck, staying out of sight of crew members. Where are you?”
“I’m in one of the officer’s quarters.”
Hunter worked his way below, still alert for buccaneers, but encountered none. In the narrow hall, he saw that only one door was bolted from the outside. He unlocked it and heard another bolt move inside the door.
Rita opened it, smiling with relief. “Hunter, I can’t tell you how embarrassed I am. I had no idea I was going to cause this much trouble. When I left, I just wanted to get a feel for the times and experience some of this history.”
Hunter nodded noncommittally. “We should get away from here promptly.”
“Hunter, I’m trying to apologize.”
“I accept your apology,” Hunter said blandly. “Please help the tam from this point.”
“Of course-“
“Come on.” Hunter was not angry at her in the human sense, but he was not sure how much he could trust her. At the very least, her judgment was flawed. For now, he simply wanted to reunite his entire team.
Hunter carefully led Rita up on deck, to the side of the ship that was away from the shore. Hunter could see a few buccaneers on some f the other ships walking around on deck, but none was paying any attention to the Old Laughing Lady. The buccaneers on the Lady were still either napping or watching the shore. Over their heads, signal flags snapped in the breeze, creating enough sound to camouflage Hunter’s voice.
“Can you swim fifty meters?” Hunter whispered.
“Yes. But my clothes will weigh me down and I can’t discard anything. I’ll need them all when I get to the other ship. So I won’t be able to keep up with you.”
“I will stay right with you, of course,” said Hunter. “If you tire, I will carry you back.”
“I see a little dinghy still on board here,” said Rita. “We could row.”
“We must avoid notice if possible,” Hunter. “We will swim.”
“What about, uh, sharks?”
“I saw none. Do you trust my judgment regarding the First Law of Robotics?”
“Yes.”
“Then we should swim.”
“All right.”
Steve sat on a crate next to Jane, who was sitting on a keg. While they had been waiting, they had stacked up some empty crates to block the buccaneers’ view of the rail where Hunter would come aboard, placing them near a rope ladder attached to the side with belaying pins. Then they watched Hunter swim toward them on his back while holding Rita in the lifeguard’s across-chest carry. Some of the buccaneers on board were napping in the shade of the sails; others were still watching the shoreline from the opposite rail. None were looking toward Hunter; nor were they concerned with Steve and Jane.
When Hunter and Rita reached the ship, Steve quietly let down the rope ladder. He moved it hand over hand, making sure that the slight thumping of the ladder against the side of the ship attracted no attention. Rita came up first, breathing hard from exertion, and gave him a self-conscious smile. He nodded coolly and held up a hand for her to wait.
Jane looked around to see if anyone was watching. Then she motioned for Rita to come over the rail. Steve helped her.
“Squat down out of sight for a moment and get your breath back,” said Steve.
Rita ducked down by the pile of crates.
Hunter climbed over the rail, slowly and silently, and joined them. He kept his voice low. “Did anyone miss me?”
“No,” said Jane. “They’re all too busy waiting to see if their friends come back with fresh water and good food.”
“The sun and wind will dry our clothes quickly,” said Hunter. “Rita, we will keep you close to us and hidden from the others as much as possible.”