“Man the pumps,” the lead man called out.
Several men jumped into the hold and water soon shot out of the thru-hull fittings high on the sides of the boat. After a few minutes, the rest of us jumped in and spelled them. I was surprised to find the water only knee deep as I took the handle and started to pump. By the time I tired, the water was ankle deep and we relaxed, exchanging grins.
Rory was still on deck where I had left her when I climbed out, covered in sweat.
“Are you alright?” I asked as I approached her.
“Fine ship you sold me to.”
I ignored the barb and reached down for her. She took my hand and we fell into a tight embrace. I could feel her chest heave and the warmth of her tears on my chest, and let her cry until she was done. Finally she looked up at me. “Thank you.”
40
We had to work in shifts to man the pumps and keep the ship afloat. During a break I had inspected the patch made from draping the sail over the damaged hull and, although it held, the pressure of the sea behind it forced water through the porous material. The boat wasn’t sinking, but it didn’t look like it could be repaired. Appleby had towed her to deeper water and she was anchored now, just off the reef in what looked to be thirty feet of water, listing sadly to port. Our vessel was tied off to Appleby’s boat, as we had no anchor of our own.
The deck was a flurry of activity as the day wore on and the men, including myself, took turns at the pumps to keep the wreck afloat, while others worked to remove her cargo from the holds. The seas had settled as the hours passed, but there was an urgency in our work. I wiped the sweat from my brow and looked over at our ship.
Rory had been shuttled over by one of the launches hours ago, and I wondered how she fared. She had been beaten and abused over the two days since we had parted. I felt responsible for her treatment, even though she had insisted on boarding the boat. In her anger with us and haste to leave, she had made a bad decision. I had noticed her staring intently toward Appleby’s boat, looking for a sign of the captain. He had been invisible, hiding ever since he had seen me bring her to daylight—a smart move. If I knew anything about her, those that crossed her paid dearly, as I had seen with the trader on the Caloosahatchee.
It was my turn for a break, and I sat by the rail drinking water from a tin cup. Mason and Syd approached and sat by me.
“We need to go talk to Appleby and negotiate our share,” Mason said.
I was tired. “Can’t it wait until we get back to land?”
“It’ll be best now. We left as partners and there’s decisions to be made.”
I looked at him, unsure of what he meant.
“The fate of the boat and cargo, for starters. He negotiated a deal with the captain of the wreck before we offloaded her crew, and we need to find out the terms. We left his dock as equals and I know the man well enough, but if he means to burn the wreck we need to take our share now.”
“Burn it?”
“That’s the way it works. If we leave it here, it’ll signal other boats where the reef is, at least until the sea claims her,” he said.
Syd smiled. “Sounds a bit like pirating, after all.”
It did, but I knew the laws of the sea gave us a legal right to the boat and cargo. The Bahamians had set up a court to hear cases and distribute salvage, and I expected the United States would follow. But for now, it was fair game to negotiate with the captain.
A launch called from below to throw a line, and we helped them tie off. After the men climbed aboard, we took the boat to Appleby’s ship.
He leaned over the rail as we climbed the ladder. “I was expecting you hours ago.”
We stood in a half-circle, watching the activity on the wreck. The cargo was piled high on the deck waiting to be offloaded.
“We had a deal to work as partners,” I started. “What do you intend for the cargo and boat?”
“The boat we’ve got to burn. I had a look earlier and there’s no repairing the damage the reef caused her.” He pulled a pipe from his pocket and struck a match against his boot sole. “As for the cargo.” He inhaled and paused before blowing a cloud of smoke toward me. “As for the cargo, we each take a share, but it’s my deal and I’ll take first pick.”
“And what of the captain and crew?” I asked, more interested in Rory than the cargo.
“What of them?” He inhaled again and I waited for him to continue. “We bring them to land and they fend for themselves. If they’ve got some gold, we can take them to Key West.”
“The cargo seems fair. But the captain needs to face justice for what he’s done to the girl,” I said, and told him the story of her desire to find a ship home, negotiating her passage with the captain and her subsequent abuse.
“What about Red?” Syd asked.
I hadn’t thought about him. We needed to help Red before he divulged the location of the treasure, and Key West was the logical place to look for him. But that harbor had not proven friendly to me on the last visit.
“You can have first pick of the cargo, but you’ll need to dispose of the captain and crew,” I said. The last thing I needed was the captain anywhere near Rory after watching what she did to the trader.
“If that’s what you want, young captain.” He puffed again.
“Let’s get on with it,” I said, sure I had cut a bad deal, but anxious to find Red.
He called orders to his men, and we boarded the launch to go back to the wreck and divide the cargo.
It took the rest of the afternoon to split the goods and shuttle them to our boats. I wasn’t all that impressed if this was what wrecking was about. It seemed a lot of work for the goods involved, but I guess some ships were richer than others. It had been the same gamble when we were pirating.
We retrieved the wreck’s anchor to replace the one we had lost, when almost capsized as we pushed to escape the fire that Appleby’s men had just lit. The tether tying us to Appleby’s boat was released just as the sun set, and I looked behind at the boat burning bright in the sky behind us. The entire vessel was engulfed in flame, and with the masts down it looked like a fire on the water.
We followed Appleby back to the harbor and tossed out the new anchor into the shallow water. Exhausted, we lay on the deck talking about the day when Rory appeared.
“What about the captain? I’ll do him justice right now.”
She had cleaned up and replaced her torn and bloodstained dress with a sailor’s clothes she had found below. The bruises on her face were still visible in the lantern light, and I wondered how badly they had treated her.
“He’ll get justice,” I assured her, although I had no reason to believe Appleby would do anything of the sort, if the captain could buy his way from captivity.
This seemed to appease her and I was glad for it, as I was too tired for a fight. My only thought was how to get in and out of the island without using the harbor. We couldn’t take the chance of being seen by the Navy.
“And, I’ll be looking for another boat home,” she said.
I bit the words back, as I was about to say that she ought to be a bit more patient and chose a better ship this time, but left it unsaid. “Join us for a bit of rum?”
She took the offered cup and stood by the rail, staring at the water. “How is the man you saved?”
We sat together and I told her of Mason and the other man as we sailed back from the reef. It was dark when we reached the anchorage and the men, except for Blue, collapsed on deck. He was anxious to see Lucy and paddled the canoe to the shacks.