Chapter 6
In the morning John climbed out of his hammock, careful not to wake his mother, and tiptoed barefoot out the cabin door. Men were sprawled all over the floor of the common room, passed out drunk no doubt, and all of the hammocks were full of sleeping men, as well. John did his best not to bother the men as he picked his way past their slumbering bodies.
From the sounds coming from the kitchen galley, John knew the cook was preparing to make breakfast. John stopped by the kitchen door and snuck a handful of biscuits while the man had his back turned. Unnoticed, he continued on to the hatchway, hoping the guards would let him pass.
Today, he intended to climb up to the crow's nest where he hoped he could be alone with his thoughts. I need to show the pirates I belong with them, John ruminated as he climbed the ladder to the hatchway.
"Who goes thar," a tall pirate said, his mouth was lined with rotting teeth and long greasy hair hung down his face from a receding hairline. The man drew a pistol from his belt and bent over the boy, shoving the weapon towards John's face.
John froze as he stared down the barrel of the gun, not knowing what to say or do.
"Ah heck, it's just that kid again," the friendlier short pirate said. "Where are ye off ta now?"
"The crow's nest to feed the seagulls," John squeaked.
"Be off with ye then," the tall pirate said. He grabbed John by the arm and pulled him through the hatchway. "But don't go botherin' the capt'n. If I find ye over thar again, I'll beat ye bloody."
"Don't be so hard on the lad," the short pirate said. "Can ye blame 'im fer wantin' to be one of us?"
"I won't bother him," John agreed as he backed away from the men, headed for the rope ladder that would lead up the mainmast. He smiled at the short, round-bellied pirate. Gaining sympathy from the guard was just what John needed to boost his confidence. Maybe, I can get him to talk to the captain for me, John thought as he turned to climb the rope ladder up the mast.
Once in the crow's nest, John pressed his stomach against the basket wall and took a bite out of the crumbling biscuit in his hand. As he munched, he watched the birds fly in lazy circles above him. A plan slowly began to take shape in his mind. I could lure a seagull in with a biscuit and shoot it down with my sling shot. Killing a bird would show Captain Black Sam that I'm a talented shot. Maybe, he'd take me on if he thought I could be of some use to him.
He lined his biscuits in a row on the edge of the crow's nest and waited to see what the birds would do. The gulls took notice immediately and began circling closer. John selected a clear marble from the small collection he always kept in his shirt pocket. Then he singled out a bird, placed a marble in the slingshot, and aimed carefully at the seagull as it flew by. He shot and missed.
As another seagull swooped in, John grabbed another marble, but the bird was too quick for him. By the time he had reloaded, the gull was flying away with its prize. But more birds swooped in and John had many more opportunities. He shot off a few more rounds, but hitting a flying bird was harder than he expected. With every missed shot, the birds became more wary of him and seemed to anticipate his every move.
But the greedy birds couldn't pass up the food he was offering, so John practiced again and again until he was down to his last marble. While he carefully lined up his final shot a seagull came straight at him. This is it, John thought, I'm going to get this one for sure. He fired just as the bird landed on the biscuit, but the shot flew wide.
A frustrated sigh escaped his lips as he slumped in defeat over the rail. As he leaned forward he desperately looked for any marbles that might have fallen below and might still be on the Bonetta. He scanned the deck carefully. Most of the marbles had been shot out into the waves, never to be seen again, but he was sure one or two had landed below.
The sun glinted off something shiny embedded inside a coil of rope left behind by the pirates. Encouraged, John climbed down to the deck and began searching through the rope. When he found it, he snatched up the glass orb and held his prize to the sun. The light shone through the blue-tinted glass, highlighting the tiny air bubbles trapped inside.
The seagulls continued to fly around the crow's nest, oblivious to the danger they were in. They squawked as they swarmed over the last of the sea biscuits that John had left on the railing far above. In their haste, the greedy birds knocked a biscuit off the railing. It fell to the deck and broke open, spraying crumbs in all directions.
John, recognizing his opportunity, readied the marble in his sling shot, aimed at the biscuit and waited. When a seagull landed on it, John fired and hit the bird in the chest, stunning it. The gull flopped over and began to flutter its wings helplessly.
John whooped, jumping into the air to celebrate his success before he ran over to the bird to catch it. The bird squawked and pecked at John's fingers as he picked it up, but John pinned its wings to its body and refused to let go. He stood and watched the bird squirm, not knowing what to do next.
"John! What are you doing?" Alice screeched. She ran to him and cuffed the back of his head with the palm of her hand until he let go of the bird. It fell to the deck and hopped away, unharmed. Soon after, the bird regained its wits and flew away.
"Nothing," John said in a sharp tone. He tried without success to hide his slingshot under his shirt. He was surprised to see his mother, and extremely annoyed that she had interrupted him.
"Don't take that tone with me. I saw you. What has gotten into you?" Alice cried, on the verge of hysterics. She ripped the slingshot from John's hand and threw it overboard. John watched helplessly as it fell on the deck of the Sultana with a clatter of wood against wood.
"I was going to kill it, so I could prove myself to the pirates," John yelled, glaring up at her. She would never understand him. It was her fault that Black Sam viewed him as a weak puppy. John took a step towards his mother, wind-milling his fists with the intention of hitting her. As soon as the word 'pirates' flew from his mouth, Alice's face turned purple with rage.
"I've had enough of this nonsense," Alice cried as she grappled with John's flailing arms. One of her hands found the black pouch and ripped it from his belt, spilling the precious powder over the deck.
When John saw what she had done, he screamed with rage and clawed at her face, trying to exact his revenge with his fingernails. This only enraged his mother further. She held his wrists together with one hand and, with the other hand, rolled his body so his chest faced her legs, then she sat down, pulling him to the ground with her.
"You're going to learn to mind me even if I have to beat the lesson into you," she screeched.
Alice pinned John to his stomach with one arm and began pulling down his breeches with her free hand. John was horrified when he realized she intended to spank him. He tried to fight her off, slapping at her face with one hand and trying to pull his breeches up with the other.
"No! No! No!" he screamed. "You can't!"
"Yes, I can," she said, and she struck his bare buttocks as hard as she could with the palm of her hand. John heard the slap of flesh on flesh, and a shock of pain shot through him. He cried out more with rage and embarrassment than pain. The laughter of the men hurt more than anything. He couldn't believe that she was doing this in front of them, especially the pirates.
He struggled and screamed as she continued to slap. It was as if all of her pent up frustration from being ignored the last few days was being released in her rage as she struck him. At some point, John wasn't sure when, he began to wail and sob uncontrollably. Soon after, the men quit laughing and John's pitiful cries broke through his mother's rage; her hand began to slow, and then finally stopped.
When she let him go, John flew from her, pulling up his breeches as he ran. With the agility of a monkey, he climbed the rope ladder to the safety of the crow's nest.
"Come down here this instant," Alice screamed.
"I hate you!" John yelled. He crumpled into a ball on the floor, pressed his face into his knees, and cr
ied until he was so exhausted the only thing left to do was sleep.