The mood lightened as the channel opened to reveal an expanse of islands in the distance. At first I was jubilant, but as I continued to monitor the river’s western course, I started to worry. Gasparilla had traveled the route from the Keys up the west coast of Florida, and this area looked familiar. I glanced at Rhames, who would have noticed as well, but he was laid out and resting, his face toward the sky. I would have to wait until he finished his shift paddling to confirm my suspicion. For now I would keep quiet. If I was, in fact, correct, we were in the Shark River, a tidal basin that emptied into the Gulf of Mexico, miles of open water away from the protection of the Keys.
I allowed the group to revel in the accomplishment of our escape from the river of grass and kept my thoughts to myself. After all, we could well be the first white men to make the journey. If there were others before us, I hadn’t heard their claims.
Rory took over at the helm, and I sat in the bow studying the islands in the distance. The water had taken a light-green color and along the mangroves I could see fish rolling and jumping. My thoughts were broken by a strange site on the horizon. Two small, vertical lines appeared over an island not too far in the distance. They were too straight to belong in nature and, as we closed, I whispered to Rory to pole toward the far bank.
We formed a semicircle with our backs to the mangroves. The group turned toward me as I looked back at the open water. I whispered in case my voice carried over the water, “Right then, we’ve gotten out of one pot and climbed into another.”
All but Rhames looked confused. He nodded in agreement.
“It’s the Shark River we’re in. The captain’s had us take refuge here before. That’s the good news. The river of grass is behind us, but the worst of it is that these boats will do us little good out there.” They followed my gaze to the west. Several fingers pointed at the top of the masts I had seen earlier. “That’s right. Back to pirating, but this time, not for the loot but for our own survival. We need that boat if we are going any further.”
Rory looked distraught. “Why don’t you just pay them off? There’s a fortune in the chests.”
The men looked at her with odd looks on their faces. “We don’t know who they are. Holed up in the river, they could be pirates, slavers, or both,” I said.
She looked down. “I’m just sayin’ we could see what they’re about before you bloody lot go and murder them.”
“Right, then,” I said. My plan was to scout them out, anyway. If that kept her happy and quiet, all the better. I organized the group and appointed Red as leader, while Rhames, Blue, and I took the biggest boat, and unloaded the chest into another canoe to make our craft lighter and faster should we need to make a quick escape. I took Rhames for his knowledge and Blue for his instincts, desperately hoping between the two men’s skill sets that we could form a plan to take the boat. We stayed against the shore as we made our way toward the open water. Rhames, the strongest, paddled, and Blue sat forward, forgoing his blow tube for a rifle. I sat in the stern, feeling useless, but even the easy maneuver to switch boats had caused my leg to revolt in pain.
I lost sight of the masts as we crossed to the island where we beached the boat, and I worried that they had raised anchor and left—until I heard the talk of men through the brush. I stayed with the craft, a rifle ready, while Rhames and Blue went inland. Minutes later, they emerged and silently crept back into the canoe. I was already at the oars, ready to move, when Rhames signaled me to move out. The boat was silent until we were across the river and out of earshot.
“It’s a schooner—a merchant from the look of her. Less than a dozen men,” Rhames said. “From the looks of it, they had some trouble in the storm and sought refuge here.”
“Can we take it?”
“Aye, anything can be taken.” He grinned, clearly healed and back in his element. “But we need to act fast. From the looks of them, they’ll be leaving on the outgoing tide this afternoon,” he said.
My mind was working, trying to calculate the odds. We had half their manpower if Rhames had judged correctly, and I suspected he had. A pitched fight would surely result in casualties to our side, which we could not afford. “We’re gonna have to sneak up on them.”
“Aye.” He looked at Blue, who grinned. “While you were sleeping, we made some of those devil tubes like he’s got. With the poison from the cat’s claws and you three taking shots, we should be able to knock out at least half and make it a fair fight.”
I nodded acceptance, upset about being relegated to light duty, but with my leg as it was, I had little choice. I couldn’t help but notice the tide, slack on our way out, was now starting to ebb. We would have to act. The group gathered around as Rhames outlined his plan. Lucy, Blue, Rory, and I would take a canoe and go back to the spot where we had just landed, make our way across the island, and wait for the men to approach. In typical pirate treachery, Rhames and the other men would load themselves into one canoe and approach the boat as if they were being chased by Indians. The men on the merchant ship would hardly expect an attack from inland and they would go to the rail, more out of curiosity than suspect, to see what was going on. From that point, we would have a clear view of their backs.
The men began loading the chests in the two remaining boats and secured them to the mangrove branches. We left before them, retracing the route we had just used. As I rowed, I couldn’t help but notice the look on Rory’s face.
“What is it?”
“I thought you were going to scout it out and offer them pay?” she said.
I hesitated.
“Pirates is what it is,” she hissed. “I want no part of this. You swore to drop me off at the first sign of civilization, and I’m calling you on it now. Leave these men be and let me go.”
I continued rowing, wanting to respect my oath, but I had to consider the others as well. Fortunately, I was saved from the decision by Lucy, who withdrew a dart and went for Rory’s neck.
The boat swayed and almost capsized as I lunged to stop her, forcing the dart to land in her arm instead. Rory fell over instantly.
“You killed her.” I tried to keep my voice down.
“No, Mr. Nick. You saved her. If it would’ve gone into her neck, yes, I would have killed her, but in that part of the arm, she’ll sleep for a bit.” She smiled, as if this had been her plan all along.
Blue took over and focused our attention on the task at hand.
My heart was pounding in my chest when we reached the shore, and the adrenaline coursing through my blood, which one feels before battle, dimmed the pain in my leg to the point where I hardly noticed it when I got out of the boat. I looked behind at Rory, head down on her chest and slumped against a gunwale, and decided that she wouldn’t have to worry about being a pirate after all if she slept through the whole pirating thing. We left her there and crept through the mangroves.
The canoe was in sight when we reached the beach on the seaward side of the island and waited behind the last copse of mangroves. The men on the merchant ship were gathering at the rail as the men in the approaching canoe yelled and waved for help. As they approached, I watched Lucy and Blue swing the tubes from their backs and stick several darts in the sand. I followed their lead and readied myself.