Raised By Wolves Volume four- Wolves (52 page)

“Not many,”he said. “It’s a tokenforce kept here bythe Governor to remind everyone this is a French colony under the

 

Crown.”“I suppose we should be thankful,”I said.

 

He snorted. “I am. Let us hope they haven’t gotten here ahead ofus and takenthe ship.”

 

“I amhopingthe Bard willnot have had to sail.”

“I amhopingthe Bard willnot have had to sail.” “Not likely; we have Dickey,”he said witha grin. “Ah, of course.” I laughed. My matelot being ashore

would keep me from sailing, but there was a small voice in my heart that hoped the Bard would save the childrenand the rest of those aboard ifhe had to, and meet up withus later.

When we crept up to the cove, we found we were indeed needed. The
Magdalene
had not sailed: she could not; blockaded as she was by a sloop with four cannon and a deck filled with soldiers. The
Magdalene
had the smaller vessel outgunned; however, the Bard did not possess the wind, maneuveringroom, or mento get under sailand awaywhile firing even one cannon or a handful of muskets. Yet he did have enough of a perceived advantage in arms that the sloop’s master had decided to drop anchor just beyond cannon range and not close.

Pete and Gaston swept out around the forest line and returned with Julio and Davey and the news there were no soldiers ashore, yet. Our friends were happy to see us. We quicklytold themwhat had occurred intown.

“The Bard has been afraid they’ll close or send men ashore ifthey see anyone trying to board,” Julio said. “However, they cannot see that landing boat, or the path it can row to the ship.” He pointed at a ship’s boat sitting on the sand with the bulk of the
Magdalene
between it and the blockading sloop. “Youcanget aboard without themknowing.”

“And thenwhat?”Striker said.

 

“Well, the Bard is hoping you can get that sloop to clear

 

off first,” Julio said and handed Cudro, Ash, Pete, and Striker

 

off first,” Julio said and handed Cudro, Ash, Pete, and Striker their muskets and gear bags.

“Good thinking on his part,” Cudro sighed with relief as he loaded his musket.
Pete grunted as he did the same.
“Let us first work our way around to that side of the cove and get the womenaboard,”I suggested. “And Theodore.”
Theodore nodded. “I doubt I willbe anyuse here.”
“I’lltake ’em,”Daveysaid.
“Aye,” Pete said. “TheRestStay’EreFerNow. WeBeCloserTaTheSloop ’Ere.”
Though exhausted, Theodore, Yvette, and Hannah shouldered as much as they could carry of the remaining items for the boat and followed Daveyinto the brushto skirt the cove.
“You must go, too,” Gaston said, and I turned to see Chris squattingnearby.
For a moment, she seemed prepared to argue, and then she abruptlynodded and hurried after the others.
I looked about at our war party. “Where is Ash?”
“I sent him to watch the trail and the passage,” Cudro said.
“Oh, good. Well,”I asked Pete, “Canwe burnher?”
He grinned. “ShameWeGotNoGrenadoes.”
“Nay, it’s a shame she’s too small to cross the sea,” Cudro said. He shrugged. “If she wasn’t, I’d say take her. It would save us the trouble of having to sail all the way to the Netherlands first.”
Striker frowned at that and sighed. “Aye, she is small, twentytons at most.”
twentytons at most.”
“WeCouldStillTake’Er,”Pete said.
Gaston and Pete exchanged a look and crawled off throughthe brushtoward the sloop.
Liam was shaking his head and smiling. “Damn fools; iffn’ she were loaded with Spaniards and their militia, aye, but that vesselis surelyfullofsmugglers.”
“Well, all we really need to do is get her to weigh anchor,”Cudro said.
Striker nodded. “Then the Bard can sail out when the wind changes withthe sunset.”
“The problemis, he won’t have time to wait to get those harassingthe sloop aboard,”Cudro said.
“Davey and I are still staying,” Julio said. “We can do what we can.”
Striker shook his head. “Nay, it’d be best if you two weren’t near here when the soldiers arrive. You can’t run off very fast these days. If you’re still staying, you should be sitting on the porch looking bored when they show up at the house to ask where we went.”
“I agree,”I said.
Julio sighed but nodded. “Then I should collect Davey and leave now.”
“Aye, and truly, Julio, I worry what will happen if you stay,”I said. “I amsorry, but we killed a number ofsoldiers, and I killed a priest.”
Julio swore and crossed himself. “I must talk to Davey.” He hurried offinto the brush.
“I hope theycome withus,”Striker said.
“I hope theycome withus,”Striker said.
I supposed I would always worry about Pomme, but it would be for the best iftheydid come.
“Listen, those that scare the sloop off could run to another cove and steal a small flyboat and meet up with the
Magdalene
later,” Cudro said. “All the plantations on the water have some way of sailing to town. The roads are too poor for large wagons.”
“I don’t like us splitting up, but aye, that’s a good idea,” Striker said.
I had heard another thing in Cudro’s voice. I peered at him with curiosity, and he awarded me an oblique smile. I understood. He had meant what he said about not sailing all the way to the Netherlands first. Those of us going to England could part companywiththe rest now.
“The fewer the better,”I said inFrench.
Striker regarded me curiously.
I shrugged. “Just muttering.”
Cudro had nodded.
I crept into the brush to find my matelot. I found himand Pete hunkered down at the top of the little spit of land that cupped the westernside ofthe cove. Fromthat vantage we were close enough to fire down upon the sloop’s deck at the twelve soldiers and the eight smugglers. We were also close enough to be fired upon by their cannon as well as their muskets. Despite that, I was sure we could killor injure enoughofthe sloop’s men to accomplish our aim of not allowing her to harry the
Magdalene
when she sailed; but it would require men to stay behind to do it.
behind to do it.
“Cudro has made an interesting suggestion,” I whispered. “This sloop could be rendered impotent in blockading the
Magdalene
if the force of men attacking her were willing to stay behind while the
Magdalene
sailed—and then find another craft and catch the
Magdalene
, or sail somewhere and book passage to England.”
Pete smiled gleefully, and then quickly frowned. “DidHeSayThatInStriker’s’Earing?”
“Nay, he alluded to it and Striker did not catch his

meaning.”I looked to Gaston and found him thoughtful. “It might

be best, but we willnot be able to sayfarewellproperly.” “Aye, I regret that, too,” I said. “They will be angry with
us, again. Chris will hate us, again; but so be it. The rest will
forgive us in time. But, we will know they are safe, and we have
all we need.” We had planned for the possibility of separation,
and Gaston and I carried all we would need to survive alone—
includingsome gold.
“Striker’sNa’Comin’WithUs,”Pete said.
“Does he know that?” I asked even though I surely
knew the answer.
Pete snorted and began to crawl back fromour vantage
point.
I wondered how he intended to resolve that matter.
Gaston tapped my arm. I turned to look at him and ended up
following his pointing arm. There was another ship sailing toward
us – a much bigger vessel, possibly the merchantman that had
arrived withChris and the Marquis’ letter. She was not sailingfar out into the channel as a ship normally should if heading for the
opensea near dusk:she was huggingthe coastline.
We hurried to follow Pete.
Ash and Cudro were running up from the trail when we
arrived at the others.
“There is another ship!”I said.
“Aye!” Cudro gasped. “We saw her: she’s only sporting
her spars to maneuver. She’s not going to sea. She’s coming
here. We have less than half an hour and we can’t fight them
both. We have to get the
Magdalene
clear now, and maybe…
well, damn, it would be fine to use that sloop as a fire ship
against the frigate, but I can’t see how we’llmanage that.” I sighed. The sloop was in musket range, but not
grenadoe range even if we had the spare powder or rum.
“Someone willhave to swimout to her.”
Pete nodded.
“What’AppensIfWeCut’ErRudderAn’ErAnchor?”
Cudro frowned in thought. “The current is westerly
through the channel, she’ll pivot and drift – maybe not into the
other ship, but enough to make them slow and give the Bard
time.”
“All right, the rest of us can fire on them from shore to
keep their guns offthe swimmers,”Striker said.
Cudro was regardingme expectantly.
“We like your plan,”I said.
“Aye, so let’s do it,”Striker said.
“Na’ThatOne,”Pete said.
Striker turned to him.
Pete smiled with great affection tinged with great regret.
“ILuvYa.”
“What?”Striker asked withwonder.
Pete’s blow knocked himoff his feet and laid himout in
the dirt.
Then Pete turned on Liam.
“YouAn’DickeyTake’ImAnGetAboard.” He looked to Cudro.
“WhoYaBeSailin’With?”
“You three idiots can’t sail to England,” Cudro said.
Beside him, Ashgrinned.
I looked to Liam, who stood there dumbfounded. “We
will insure your escape. Then we will steal another craft. We will
sail north, I suppose, and from one of the colonies sail to
England. We will send word to the Marquis when we can. Go
the Netherlands and contact him. Ifthat does not work…” “We’ll be lookin’ fer ya where we planned,” Liam said.
“Damn, Will, there willbe some angrypeople onthat ship.” “I know, I amsorry; but I would rather they be safe and
angry people who will live long lives. Please take care of them,
and do not let Striker do anythingfoolish.”
“Aye, yoube carefulnow,”he said and embraced me. Dickeydid the same and whispered, “Godspeed.” They embraced the others as well and then awkwardly
hefted Striker betweenthemand disappeared into the brush. We were now five and we stood between all we loved
and painand death.
“Well, we are off, then,” I said. “May the Gods smile
uponus.”

One Hundred and One Wherein We Battle for Our Lives

“We’ll try to keep them from shooting at you,” Cudro said as we scurried through the brush to the lee of the hook of land nearest the sloop.

I thought of what I had seen of the sloop and her anchorage. The anchor rope dipped below the shallow swells a good fifty feet from her bow. “You award them entirely too much skill. They will not be able to hit bobbing heads at that

distance.”“Youbest pray,”Cudro said.

“DoIBlockTheRudder OrIsThereACable?”Pete asked. We had decided he would attempt the rudder while Gaston and I swamout and around the sloop: to reach the bow rope where it entered the water between the two vessels, just beyond the range ofthe
Magdalene’s
muskets. Pete would have less distance to swim, but be awarded more time to accomplish his task; whereas Gaston and I would have much farther to swim, but there would be two of us to hopefully make short work ofours.

“There’ll be a rope to be cut,” Cudro assured him. “The “There’ll be a rope to be cut,” Cudro assured him. “The anchor rope’ll be the harder of the two: it’s thicker. And they won’t see anyone at the rudder to be shooting at them,” he

added.Pete chuckled as he shed his breeches and gear.

“You have great faith in their incompetence,” Gaston said as he beganto shed his clothes.
I was momentarily startled into doing nothing when I spied how much closer the merchantman had gotten since we first saw her. We did not have long at all. Oddly, my greatest fear was that Liamand Dickey would not be able to board with Striker in time and tell the Bard what we were about so that he could sailwhenthe moment was right.
Gaston touched my arm and I stopped standing there like a startled doe and doffed my weapons and clothes. We handed our muskets and ammunition to Ash and Cudro. They were talking of having Ash reload while Cudro fired the five muskets he would have at his disposal.
I was left with only two knives in the belt wrapped tight about mynaked waist. Gastonhad the same. I grabbed the back of his head and pulled his mouth to mine for a final kiss of good luck. He returned it withfervor.
The water seemed cold and sinister. The coolness momentarily reinvigorated my tired limbs; however, I knew that would pass as soonas we had to swimbeyond the land and face the current that held the vessel taut on her anchor rope. The water would be the enemy then; until we at last reached our destination and the waves became our only cover. They in turn would attempt to drag our aching bodies down while we sawed would attempt to drag our aching bodies down while we sawed at a wet cable as thick as my wrist. Pete would indeed have the far easier job: he merely needed to hold himself to the rudder: at the lee of the ship where he would be protected from both the current and eyes above.
Everyone we could see aboard the sloop had their faces pointed toward the
Magdalene
, with an occasional glance back at the approaching merchantman. They were not looking at the water. That gave me little comfort. They could look down at any time. Thus we wished to conceal our presence as much as possible in case a gaze should stray in our direction. We had to swim beneath the waves and use strokes that did not splash or project our limbs above the surface. This was going to make our journeyevenharder.
There was simply nothing about the enterprise I could look upon with favor. It minded me of the desperate swimming the crew of the
North Wind
had once undertaken in order to rescue their friends upon the deck of the Spanish vessel that became Bradley’s
Mayflower
. In comparing our current mission to that partially-doomed one, I found some consolation: we would not have to board this damn vessel; and as ofyet, none of our people had weapons held to their heads.
I held to that as I made my determined way out around the ship inthe bright clear waters. I finallystopped to tread water at what I thought to be the farthest fromshore we must travel. I was surprised to find myself momentarily alone. The sun was sinking rapidly and the slanting golden rays reflected everywhere off the water. The merchantman loomed so large I was sure her men should have been able to see me if the sun had not been setting. I looked to the sloop and saw the small ripple of Pete approaching her stern. There were men on the deck above him —a mere two-score yards from me—but the ones I could see were still only glancing occasionally to the west and not looking