Chapter 9
The Sea Dancer
Captain McGregor's Pirate Ship
Sunday Evening
In the shadow of the Black Rock
1699
The Sea Dancer, the Royal Thistle and the Eagle lay at anchor in the lee of the volcano at Black Rock Island.
Captain Rob had ordered Mr Bones to come aboard the Sea Dancer from the Thistle to inspect some men who had begun to feel out of shapes, and then, and definitely most anticipated of all, a measure of grog had been issued to all Able Bodied Seamen in his pirate fleet to celebrate the success of the day.
Afterwards, Captain McGregor had summoned the Captains from the other ships to his cabin to drink some claret and toast the success of the day, ?as well as to say a few words about the Albatross. He did not want to simply forget the loss of its crew without a word of remembrance.
Although most other pirate captains in the Caribbean would simply accept a lost ship without so much as by or a leave, James Silver had noticed there was quite a lot about Captain Rob that was different and made him stand out from any of the other pirate captains he knew. Begrudgingly he admired the man's education and many of his mannerisms, but increasingly he was become more suspicious of the true identity of Captain Rob McGregor, and who he really was.
As the first light of dawn crept over Puerto Bello de la Cruz earlier that morning, Captain Rob had led his men to repel the attack of Captain Kidd's men by advancing on them with progressive lines of disciplined musket fire: 'Advance....Kneel, ...raise....FIRE!' he had calmly shouted at his men in the thick of battle, guiding them in a maneuver they had practiced repeatedly on the deck of the Sea Dancer at sea.
James Silver had watched the whole episode, and marveled at it. Yet, at the same time, he knew that this betrayed something about Captain Rob's past that he could not yet easily discern. Where had the Captain that the men loved so much learned such things? He was not like any pirate that James Silver or any of the other men knew, that much was certain.
Silver had once questioned the Captain about his past over a glass of claret, inquiring as to whether he had ever had any military training, or spent time in His Majesty's Forces, but McGregor had denied it. It would have been simple enough to have said 'yes', and then explain his way out of it, but he had not. The truth was that many pirates had spent time in the English navy after being pressed into service and then later escaping. It was nothing to be ashamed off.
Yet, McGregor denied it.
There was a lot about his Captain that Silver admired, which frustrated him, because that made it harder for Silver to dislike the man, and dislike him he did.
One day James Silver would seize his chance and take command, but until that day came, he would ensure that he learned as much from his master as he could.
The three Captains sat around the mahogany table in the center of McGregor's room, laughing and retelling tales of the day's activities in Puerto Bello de La Cruz, and each boasting of the prizes that their men had discovered and captured, and which now lay securely in their holds.
Each Captain had been down to study and marvel at the booty stored in each of the other's holds. Now all they could think of was making it safely back to their hidden harbor that lay amongst the islands off the southern tip of Florida, where they would resupply their ships and split the treasure! Each man in McGregor's fleet was going to be rich beyond their wildest dreams!
They had toasted the Captain of the Albatross and his men who had been lost that day, and were just about to receive another glass of claret poured by the hand of their Captain into their goblets, when a loud peel of thunder cracked almost directly above them.
"Ye Gods!" shouted Captain Wainright of the Thistle. "That caught me off guard!"
"Me too," exclaimed Captain Jones of the Eagle. "I was a mind that the storm had passed. That sounded mighty like it's back, to me!"
The men stood up and walked up the ladders to the quarterdeck where they appraised the heavens and were dismayed to discover that the storm was rolling back on top of them again, but this time looking far darker and more ominous than before.
As they each quickly finished their goblets of claret, the first drops of rain began to land on the decks.
Within minutes it had become a deluge, accompanied by lightning, thunder and a driving wind that scared Rob, such was the speed with which it materialized and the ferocity by which it bit.
With swift instructions to weigh anchor and follow him around the island in search of calmer seas and deeper water, Captain Rob dismissed his Captains and sent them back to their ships.
When they had dropped anchor several hours before, the sun had been shining, morale was high, and the future looked wonderful.
Yet, in the space of two hours the world had become a very different place: as each second passed by, the strength of the winds continued to grow and increase, the relatively calm sea of two hours before had vanished, and in its stead soon rose tall mountainous waves whose peaks stood thirty or forty feet above the deep troughs that they left behind.
The speed and ferocity with which the storm returned, caught them all off guard. The wind was also playing tricks on them, one moment coming in strong 100 mph gusts one moment from the north, and then the next from the west or east.
Whereas the Sea Dancer and the Eagle had successfully made it to deep waters and away from island, the Thistle had not been so lucky.
As it had turned and started to follow the Eagle, a train of unusually large waves had picked up the Thistle and pushed it too close to the island, where some jagged rocks hidden just beneath the surface had ripped its belly out.
The others were powerless to help, and were not able to turn around and even consider looking for survivors.
By thirty minutes past the seventh hour, the Royal Thistle had been lost, smashed to smithereens on the rocks and sunk with all hands, and all its treasure.
Captain Rob McGregor watched it go down, and swore loudly.
He had now lost two ships in less than twenty hours.
Cursing, he realised that they had been premature in celebrating the success of the mission.
.
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Sunday
8.30 p.m.