"That's the full 20." "Take him to his cabin." "Don't trouble to rise, Hawke." "I deeply regret the necessity for this flogging." "Thank you, sir." "I don't think the flogger needed to carry it out with such gusto." "You requested the customary lashing." "I know, sir." "Of course, you could have done me the favor of denying it." "I swear he took a particular pleasure in having an officer under his cat." "Should you fail, you'll look back on Flogger Flower's lashing as a pleasant afternoon's pastime." "That's another reason, sir, why I've not the least intention of failing." "Is the longboat ready?" "You'll put off at dark." "You should reach Diego Suarez within 10 days." "Jones and Harris will accompany you." "Good." "And when do you meet with Sir Cloudsley?" "We sail immediately to rendezvous with him off Cape Town." "I will join him aboard his man-of-war, and we'll cruise outside the northernmost tip of Madagascar the week agreed upon." "I'll send you the rocket flare as we arranged." "Should the week pass and there be no signal, well, since I've no kin, there'll be none to mourn me." "Brave men are not forgotten." "Thank you, sir, but..." "Sometimes they don't live long enough to be remembered." "Longboat approaching." "We'll take them to Captain Roc Brasiliano." "He'll know what to do with them." "Move." "Swaine." "What's this I hear?" "There's no truth to it, sir." "Now, you know the punishment for concealing booty." "I swear, Captain Brasiliano, I hid no booty." "I took only my share." "You lie!" "Belike you'll tell the truth now." "You best speak the truth or the carrion will feed on your guts before the sun sets." "I took no booty." "Now, place the truth on your tongue or I will place this knife between the other two." "No, don't!" "I did take some." "But I meant no harm." "I'll show you where it is." "All right, tie this foul-smelling pig below." "Hey, Spitfire!" "Keep your distance, Captain Roc." "That's a terrible hard thing to do." "Then you'd better learn or I'll have to teach you." "You were never offended before when I took a fancy to you." "After last night, I'll do my own fancy and when the time..." "Come on now, Spitfire, let bygones be bygones." "Captain Brasiliano!" "Caught these cullies coming ashore in a longboat." "Well, what have you to say?" "We're deserters from the East India Company ship Monsoon." "Brian Hawke at your service, ma'am." "This is Jones, topman." "Harris, gunner's mate." "Deserters, huh?" "Well, what do you want here?" "Why, to sail against all flags, naturally." "You're an officer, aren't you?" "You'll excuse our appearance, I trust, ma'am, surely, after a week in an open longboat." "Strip me." "If I'd expected to meet somebody like you here, why, I'd have brought a valet along with me." "I'm not exactly dressed to meet distinguished company myself." "Blast your guts!" "I asked you if you were an officer." "Well, the answer, sir, should be obvious even to you." "He was an officer, a lieutenant, sir, afore they broke him and give him 20 with the cat, sir." "Got in trouble with a passenger, he did." "Oh, a passenger, eh?" "I don't like the cut of your sail." "Well, now, come right down to it, Captain," "I don't much care for the cut of your own." "Batten your mouth or I'll batten it for you." "You have the stink of a spy to me." "Know anyone here who can vouch for you?" "No, sir." "We was just in irons for stealing rum." "Met up with him in the brig, we did." "Take them to the auction block." "Bring him tonight before the Captains of the Coast." "Captains of the Coast?" "What do they have to say about us?" "Not much." "Only whether you'll go pirating or have your throats cut." "Oh." "Well, if there's any chance of that, ma'am," "I'd like to have mine shaved first." "You're a regular rooster, aren't you?" "And why not, ma'am?" "You seem to be a high-spirited chick yourself." "I hopes you're finding the edge smooth, sir." "Smooth as silk, surgeon." "Usually I uses this one for throat-cutting, but seeing this is a special occasion..." "Well, sink me." "You mean to say that you're the executioner, as well as the barber, as well as the surgeon?" "Bless me, sir, if it weren't for the hangings and the throat-cutting, I'd starve to death." "Hangings is for crimes committed aboard ship." "Throat-cuttings is for the molesting of females or the hiding of loot." "Course, I don't make nothing on the spies, sir." "They goes to the tide stakes." "What a pity." "What are these tide stakes?" "Just some poles they've stuck in shoal water on the reef, sir." "Gives the crabs a chance to get at them afore the water comes in to drown them." "Crabs are as big as coconuts here." "I've seen blokes' bones a- stripped to the hips afore the water had a chance to reach their heads." "Archimedes, hand me that towel." "You seem to lead a very interesting life." "Oh, yes, sir." "It's barbering I hankers for, though." "Gets in a man's blood, it does, sir." "That's why I'm thankful to Spitfire Stevens for sending me to you." "Spitfire, huh?" "There must be a reason for that name." "You'll find out, sir, if you ever tries to lay a hand on her." "Not much chance of it." "Might be worth it, barber, it might be worth it." "That's better." "Thank you, Master Cruikshank." "Your servant, Mistress Stevens." "Come along, Archimedes, and don't forget to tip your hat to the lady." "How can I tip me hat with my blooming hands full?" "Come on, me lad." "Come on, come along." "I'm much beholden to you, Mistress Stevens." "So, you had trouble with a passenger?" "A female passenger, no doubt." "No, ma'am, my oath on it." "I had no trouble with her, merely because of her." "I never have trouble with women, never." "You don't?" "I've got a feeling that you're going to and soon." "But I think you'd be a bad judge of that, ma'am." "I'll warrant, I'll wager that you've never even kissed a man without a great bushel of whiskers on his chin." "Perhaps not, but it's easily remedied." "I lost." "Well?" "I'll survive." "I'll survive." "Of course, if I didn't have my hands tied..." "Of course, of course." "But don't get any wrong ideas about me." "I may have use for you when I know that I can trust you." "Otherwise, you'll find your hands tied again and not to an auction block but to a tide stake." "But then that's for us to decide tonight." "Us?" "Tonight?" "What do you mean?" "You're one of the Captains of the Coast?" "And why shouldn't I be when I own a ship?" "No reason at all, ma'am." "Except that..." "If the Captains do decide to dispose of me," "I shall only regret that I didn't have the honor of serving under you." "Harris, who are these Captains of the Coast that have the say about us?" "The same crew of cutthroats that sailed the Spanish Main out of Tortuga." "That right, sir?" "Oh, yes." "Yes." "Seems that times are changing, though." "You say you were broken from your rank as lieutenant on the Monsoon?" "Yes, sir, formally broken before passenger and crew." "But it is a simple affair, monsieur, to tear buttons from a coat, is it not?" "So say I." "Why waste our time listening to his foul-mouth lies?" "We'll find out soon enough whether he lies." "I remember well, Captain Kidd, when you'd let the crabs have their fill of them first and find out if they told the truth after." "And well I do, too." "But I was younger then and consumed with the impatience and the injustice of youth." "It was during your youth that your name was to be feared along the seven seas." "Meaning, of course, that I am to be feared no longer?" "You can take it as you wish." "Better to die while you're still a legend than to live long enough to make a mockery of that legend." "Is that what you imply, Captain Brasiliano?" "Don't you think you're getting a little..." "It's not Captain Kidd who is on trial here, but these three men." "Aye." "Proceed, Captain Kidd." "You say you had 20 at the grating?" "Yes, sir." "We've only got your word for that." "I can show you if it's the truth or not." "Go ahead then, Gow." "Who did you have 20 from on the Monsoon?" "From the boatswain, Flower." "Right." "I sailed on the Monsoon meself, gents." "And I knows that when Flogger Flower lays 20 to a man's back, he signs his name with the last four lashes." "So let's have that shirt off and see if it's there." "Now, wait, gentlemen, please." "In the presence of a lady?" "He ain't lying, gents." "Leastways not about having them from Flogger Flower." "Look you now, Captain Kidd, a man with the guts to spy upon us would have the guts to take 20 on his bare back, would he not, whatever?" "Indeed to goodness." "Undoubtedly, Captain Roberts." "Undoubtedly." "I say we take no chances." "To the tide stakes with him." "We may be making a mistake." "Nothing has been proved against him." "If there's any mistake to be made," "I aim to make it in our favor, not in his." "Nobody asked him to come here." "There might be a way of testing the fellow." "Bring Swaine, Captain Brasiliano's sailing master, from below." "Aye, aye, sir." "Mr. Hawke, it's apparent you're a gentleman." "I've had considerable experience of your kind." "Now, this fellow Swaine's been convicted of concealing booty." "You must know what that means here." "Kill the scoundrel in any way you please if you'd have us believe you've a stomach for pirating." "Belike I've a stomach for pirating, but I'm no hangman to kill a man unarmed." "You've the choice of it." "Or a slow death along with your mates." "So say we all." "Well, belike I've no stomach for that, either." "But if it narrows down to a choice of evils, why then," "I'll fight any man here with any weapon he wants." "Then fight the sailing master." "Aye, we might kill two birds with one stone." "An excellent suggestion, Captain Roberts, excellent." "What have you to say to it, Mr. Hawke?" "As I said, sir, any man, any weapon." "Kill him and I'll give you your life." "I'll fight him." "With what?" "Any man, any weapon is what you said, if I remember correctly." "Well, Swaine, what weapon do you want?" "Boarding pikes." "Take them to the main deck, get pikes." "Three to one on Swaine for 100 moidores." "I lay you threes." "Hawke for 50 reals." "100 guineas on the Englishman." "Done." "Stay in close, sir." "He's got too much reach for you." "A fool he is to fight you with a lower-deck arm." "Are you ready?" "Aye, aye, sir." "Aye, ready." "Then would you be good enough to give them the signal, Captain Death?" "Stay in closer!" "Stay focused!" "I'll wager you 20 moidores and take your pick." "Mercy, sir, mercy." "I distinctly heard him choose boarding pikes, not rum bottles." "Mercy it is, since it was Mistress Stevens gave me this advantage." "Take Swaine below." "Well, Captain Brasiliano, are you satisfied?" "I still put no trust in him." "Well, I do, and enough to give him my ship as soon as she's re-rigged." "No man is taking your ship out of here unless he has a rope around his neck like any known pirate." "All right, if he wants to sail, let him sail on the Scorpion as my navigator." "I have need of one and at once." "When he comes back with blood on his hands, then he can hoist his own black flag, but not before." "Your pardon, sir." "I didn't hear you come in." "That's all right, master gunsmith." "For a moment there, I thought I was getting a warm reception." "I'm in need of a good blade and a brace of pistols to be charged to Captain Brasiliano." "I'm only Williams the foreman here, sir." "I can show you the arms, but Mistress Stevens will have to give her word about the charge." "Mistress Stevens?" "Is she a gunsmith?" "In a manner of speaking, sir, she is." "And a good one, too." "But her father was the smith." "When he passed away, the business came to her, along with his ship and his rating as a Captain of the Coast." "That's very interesting." "How'd they come here in the first place?" "Try this one for balance, sir." "Thank you." "Her father was sentenced for transportation to the Virginias as a bonded laborer, sir." "Seems hard to think of a man and his child being sold to slavery for no more than the poaching of a rabbit in Windsor Park." "It doesn't quite come to hand for me." "Maybe the blade's a little long." "Try this Toledo, sir." "When Captain Roberts took their prison ship and gave all as wanted the chance to come here, it was the best day's work he ever did." "Yes, this is much better." "It's a beauty." "I'll take it." "Why do you say that, Williams?" "It was Master Stevens who fortified this port." "I didn't see any fortifications when I came in." "Naturally not, sir." "Master Stevens did a right clever job, he did." "Masked batteries, sir." "Every pair of them set to cross fire." "I see." "That must be why the Portuguese lost three ships of the line when they tried to come in." "You heard about that, sir?" "What sailor hasn't?" "This place is said to be a veritable deathtrap." "That it is, sir." "That it is." "That's why Master Stevens was made a Captain of the Coast." "If you've a liking for these, sir, we'll try them in the clamps." "I don't think the clamps will be necessary." "Got himself a ship, too." "Said a captain ought to have one." "Of course, he never went to sea." "Only had his share in her ventures, same as Mistress Spitfire does now." "So that's how it was, huh?" "They're all right." "I'll take them." "You've a hand, sir, and an eye." "Thanks, Williams." "I've also an eye to inspect those batteries one time, having once been an engineer myself." "You'll need permission from the Captains of the Coast, sir, seeing as how they're guarded at all times." "If you could only see the map of the port in Mistress Stevens' bedchamber, you'd get an idea of the master's cleverness." "It were the original plans for the fortifications which Mistress Stevens, sentimental-like, had framed after her father passed on." "Williams, if I'm ever permitted the honor of Mistress Stevens' chamber, I'd..." "Well, hello." "What are these?" "Belonged to Mistress Stevens, sir." "Not the ones she carries, though." "I should think not." "They're much too heavy for her." "Satin Jack Sabin wouldn't agree with you if he were here, which he ain't, sir." "Stood back-to-back with him, she did." "Walked 10 paces, turned and shot him through the head." "You mean they fought a formal duel?" "That's impossible, man." "Spitfire's a proud gal, sir." "Could have had his throat cut for molesting her if she'd wanted to." "But instead, she asked for her rights as a Captain of the Coast." "And it being the law of the brotherhood, there was none that could deny them." "Satin Jack had to fight her." "Blew his head off, she did, sir." "I suppose you might say that there was a man who really lost his head over her, huh?" "Yeah." "I'll thank you not to fire those." "As you wish, ma'am." "Can it possibly be 6:00 so soon?" "What do you..." "I should like to have a word with you, Mr. Hawke, in private." "Your servant, ma'am." "Perhaps it would be more private in your private chamber." "Won't you sit down?" "Why did you ask me if it was 6:00?" "Because, ma'am, surely nobody wears a dress like that before 6:00." "Captain Roc brought it to me from New England." "It's beautiful." "With other things." "I wanted to ask you if... lf..." "If you knew what this is." "Surely, ma'am." "It's a patch box." "What are they for?" "If you care to sit in front of the mirror, I'll show you." "A patch, ma'am, is worn by a lady to point up her best feature." "The arch of an eyebrow, the curve of a chin, the line of a throat, the roundness of her shoulder." "And why does she do that?" "Why, to attract the attention of the gallants, naturally." "I should think that a dress like this would do it sufficiently." "Yes, but not amongst a dozen others." "Now, I should say that in your case, let me see..." "I think on the left cheek would be the place." "Thus." "You see?" "I like that." "My word on it, ma'am, a lady attracts attention to herself wherever she may be." "For instance, if she's getting into her sedan chair, she's always very careful to show a leg." "A discrete amount, of course, and it must never look deliberate." "Everybody knows it is deliberate, but it must never look it." "Thus..." "Try it." "Excellent, ma'am." "Excellent." "I've rarely seen better." "Then, when she's dining at the Swan, she always curses the waiter in her loudest voice." "And, of course, at the dances at Vauxhall, she curtsies lower than anybody else in the room." "This way." "Try that." "Oh, no." "No, strap me, ma'am." "Sink back on your heel." "Try that all over again." "Way low." "Now, that's excellent." "I doubt if I've ever seen better." "The next thing, of course, is when she goes to the theater, her box at the theater, she screams so shrilly that not even the actors can hear what they're saying." "And at the gaming tables later, she laughs louder than any other female present." "If she wins." "Of course, if she loses, why, she puts her little hands together and pouts so winsomely that, of course, you want to give her her money back to start all over again." "And what then?" "Well, by then, it's late." "Well, it's about 2:00 in the morning." "Late, and..." "Pardon me." "My blunder, ma'am." "Of course, I was only demonstrating, wasn't I?" "You are a very beautiful girl, you know, and I was simply carried away, ma'am." "You're lucky that you weren't blown away." "I kiss when I feel like kissing, Hawke." "And see that you remember that." "Oh, I will, ma'am." "Now." "I said that I might have use for you when I knew that I can trust you, which isn't yet, Mr. Hawke, by a long way." "But when you return, I'll give you the Shark for a venture that I have in mind." "The Shark?" "She's a brigantine of 20 guns." "And now, perhaps you'd better get your arms." "I'd deem it another favor, ma'am, if you'd do what you can for Jones and Harris, my shipmates." "For instance, Harris might be very useful to you for an odd day's work." "He's a fine gunner's mate." "I'll keep them in mind." "And now I suppose it's goodbye, Mr. Hawke." "Keep an open eye while you're sailing with Captain Roc." "Oh, yes." "Thank you, ma'am." "I will, indeed." "But I have a feeling that the good captain will be as gentle as a mother's kiss." "After all, he can't navigate back without me." "Your very humble servant, ma'am." "You've been a Jonah to us so far." "Cargos of spices, cocoa and cotton is nothing to brag about." "You never know your luck till the ball stops rolling, Captain." "Deck ahoy!" "Ship five points off the port bow." "Here." "What do you make of it?" "Why that's..." "What is it?" "That's the Qutabuddin." "Aurangzeb's own ship of state." "Who might be this Aurangzeb?" "He might be the Grand Mogul, the Emperor of India." "She's heading out for the Red Sea." "On a pilgrimage to Mecca, doubtless." "Bunged to the hatches with offerings, I'll wager." "Jewels, moidores, plate, carpets!" "Looks like you brought us luck after all, cully." "Are you insane, Captain?" "You so much as train a gun on that boat, and you'll have John Company's Army down here and half the British Navy to blast us all out of Madagascar." "Batten your lip." "Who's to know if we sink or burn her?" "The devil with Madagascar." "There's enough treasure aboard that ship to keep us rotten rich for the rest of our lives." "Standby to man the ship." "Standby to man the ship." "Pirates!" "Pirates!" "Memsahib!" "Memsahib!" "Memsahib!" "Memsahib!" "Memsahib MacGregor." "Memsahib MacGregor!" "Silence, you hussies!" "Silence!" "Stop that screaming till I can hear what Hassan's saying." "Pirates?" "You lummox." "Quiet, all of you!" "What pirate would dare to harm the Great Mogul's own ship?" "Call yourself a man, do you?" "Come in here to terrify these poor lambs." "Pooh on you and your pirates." "The nerve of the monsters." "Unspeakable effrontery of the scoundrels." "Stay where you are." "Princess." "Princess." "What is the matter, MacGregor memsahib?" "Patma, my lamb, listen to me carefully." "I will, MacGregor memsahib." "Go into the prayer closet." "Take off your pearls, your ring, your robe, everything that shows that you're the daughter of the Emperor of India." "Hide them and wear this instead." "You know I love you, me lamby, so don't ask me why." "I will do what you say, MacGregor memsahib." "Stay in the prayer closet till I come for you." "Now, go, and be quick about it." "And who might you be, ma'am?" "Who might I be?" "I am Molvina MacGregor, governess to these lambs." "And if you lay a finger on them," "I can scratch your eyes out with me own hands, Captain Brasal, or whatever your name may be." "You will hang in chains with the rest of your monstrous breed, if it takes every man in John Company's Army and every ship in the British Navy to smoke you out of your rat hole in Madagascar." "See, Captain, she took the very words right out of my mouth." "Well, cast off and be quick about it." "What do you intend to do with these lambs?" "Now, ma'am, I don't mean them no harm." "They'll bring fancy prices as lawful wedded wives." "Of course you've got nothing to worry about." "And may I enquire of you, sir, why not?" "Set the torches to her." "Burn her down." "Close haul the starboard lines." "Close haul our starboard lines." "My lamb, my lamb." "Wait." "There's nothing to..." "Let me go, you murderer." "Let me go!" "What, you mean there's a girl aboard that ship?" "In the prayer closet with a carpet over its door." "In the small cabin." "You may be a pirate, but you look like a man to me." "Save her, the Lord will reward you." "Save her!" "Well!" "Come." "No." "I am afraid." "I am very much afraid." "Don't be, little one, don't be." "There." "My lamb." "My lamb." "Is she..." "Is she..." "Oh, no, ma'am." "Merely swooned away." "I'll take her, Tom." "South-southwest, sir." "South-southwest it is." "And a fair night." "Never saw her fairer, Tom." "Why don't you turn in?" "No point in both of us being on deck." "That's very good of you, Mr. Hawke." "Thank you, sir." "What are you doing here?" "I came to find you." "All right, little one." "I'll take you back to the rest of the girls." "Again." "No, no." "You must not come on deck alone." "Again." "Again what?" "I will give you the Kohinoor." "Oh, that." "There." "Now, come on." "Are you a prince from the Arabian Nights?" "No, little one." "No, I'm just a man." "I've known but two men." "Hassan has no hair on his head, and my father has hair on his face." "Do you mean to tell me that" "I am the third man you've ever seen in your life?" "Tell me, what was that you said you'd give me?" "The Kohinoor." "Do you mean..." "Do you mean the Grand Mogul's big diamond?" "Yes, he will give it to me, and I will give it to you." "He'll give it to you?" "Tell me, little one, what's your name?" "I do not remember what MacGregor memsahib said." "But I must not say that I am Patma, Princess of Hormuz." "Princess of..." "No, no, little one." "No, you must not say that." "No, we'll find a name for you." "Something easy for you to remember." "A lovely name, as lovely as you are yourself." "Yes, but first, again." "Anything to keep you happy." "Curse him." "I've searched everywhere for him and no sight of him." "Has he been here?" "Has who been here, Mistress Stevens?" "Who?" "His Royal Highness Brian Hawke." "You go get your dinner." "I'll take care of the shop myself." "Yes, Mistress Stevens." "Rot him." "Blast him." "Spitfire!" "How's the flower of Diego Suarez?" "So it's you." "Well, you could look more delighted seeing as I come to bring you a favor." "Indeed." "Here." "There weren't nothing finer in all the loot we took." "You don't have to tell me that." "Yeah, I'd like to see it around your neck." "Look here, Spitfire, there's no future here for a girl like you." "I've got all the riches a man could want." "Come with me to Genoa or Venice, outside the reach of English law and..." "Oh, by Judas," "I'll even marry you." "Why?" "There'll be plenty of fine women for you in Genoa or Venice, won't there?" "Yeah, but could I trust them not to vanish with my treasure some night?" "So it's because you can trust me that you're asking?" "Well, there's only one thing wrong with that, and that is that I can't trust you." "No, thank you, Captain Roc." "I'll go my own way." "I've told you I've a fancy for you." "Now, I'll remind you, I am a man that gets what he wants." "Tell me where you want it." "It's this popinjay Hawke that's turned your head." "The last time I saw him, he got a muzzle in his belly, and the next time he'll get a bullet in it, if there is a next time." "Because anytime I see him again will be too cursed soon." "You won't set eye on him so soon, seeing as I gave orders for him not to leave the ship till he finished the accounting." "Psst!" "Lieutenant, sir." "We took this job of painting ship to reach you, unseen belike, seeing as how we had no idea how long you'd be kept aboard." "I have no idea myself." "I've been confined to ship." "Were you able to get a copy of the map?" "Aye, sir." "Harris has it." "Better open the other port, sir." "He'll be along any minute now." "Happy to see you, sir." "Thanks." "Have you got the map?" "Aye, sir." "Here it is." "Good man." "That's excellent, excellent." "Have you memorized the positions of all the guns?" "Aye aye, sir." "We can find them in the dark." "That's when we're gonna have to find them." "Come in." "I'd expected to see you before now, Mr. Hawke." "I seem to remember having offered you the command of a ship." "Yes, and so you did, ma'am." "But, you see, I've been confined aboard this one to make an accounting of all the treasure." "As I am sure that Captain Roc must've told you." "How did you know I saw him?" "Well..." "Let's see. "One necklace, pearls, rubies and sapphires, to value 5,000 guineas," ""delivered to Captain Roc."" "I hardly thought the Captain would want to wear it himself." "Well, you can put it back on your list." "I will." "Won't you be seated, ma'am?" "Smells like a joss house in here." "Yes, it does a little, doesn't it?" "But there's something oddly fascinating and exotic about those Eastern perfumes, don't you think?" "You can put these back on your blasted list, too." "Yes, of course." "Of course." "Rather nice quality though, isn't it?" "You see, we had to give this cabin to Miss MacGregor and all the young ladies because..." "Incidentally, what did the captains decide to do about the Scotswoman?" "They put her in my keeping." "Oh, good." "Then perhaps you could return these to her." "I have a venture for you on the Shark." "Oh?" "When?" "In about two weeks." "Oh, I know you've taken a rich spoil, but..." "Would it interest you a little more if you knew that I was going to be aboard her myself?" "Yes." "Yes, it would." "I told you that I would kiss when I had a fancy for kissing myself, didn't I?" "Well, I have a fancy now." "You boasted about what you could do with your hands untied." "So..." "Get to it, Mr. Hawke." "Well, I hope you'll forgive me, Mistress Stevens, but, you see, as you see, I am very much occupied at the present moment." "What?" "Yes, I regret that I cannot put pleasure before the press of business affairs, but I had strict orders from Captain Roc not to let anything whatsoever interfere with the accounting." "First things first, I always say." "I never in all my born days..." "But, of course, if you wish to put a ball between my eyes merely because I'm trying to be conscientious..." "Blast you." "Are you trying to say that it will take a threat to compel you to..." "Oh, no." "By no means, Mistress Stevens." "I'm merely trying to say that I should be most happy to accede to your request at some more favorable time." "Some time when I can put myself fully to the task at hand without all of this ridiculous accounting." "And I am so bad at figures, too." "Come to my house when you've done here, and we will talk of the venture on the Shark." "Oh, again you must forgive me, ma'am." "When I am done here, I shall be otherwise engaged." "With a woman?" "With a woman?" "No." "Not with a woman, with 10 of them." "Hear ye, hear ye!" "By order of the Brotherhood of the Coast, these Moorish females, well-found and fully rigged, will be sold here and now without inspection for lawful wedded wives." "What do I hear for this little rig?" "50 moidores." "50 moidores." "60." "60." "70." "70 moidores." "Do I hear 80?" "Speak up, my lonely lads." "80. 80." "80, 80." "Do I hear 90?" "90?" "80 it is, then." "To Crop-ear Collins." "Going to Crop-ear Collins for 80." "Going, going, gone." "Come up here and get her." "I now opens the lucky bag." "Take her away, me boy, and be happy." "Now that I got her, what does I do with her?" "What does he do with her he asks!" "Take her away before I gives you a mother-in-law to go with her." "Well-found and fully rigged, me boys." "That will be 80 moidores, 103 guineas or 540 reals." "You got a real bargain there, Crop-ear." "A real bargain." "And now, gents, as you knows well, fine goods comes in small packets." "So, speak up, me lucky lads." "What am I bid for this trim little cloth?" "Do I hear 50 moidores?" "30." "I'll make it 50." "There ain't enough beam to her." "50." "50." "Thank you, sir." "Going at 50." "Do I hear 60?" "Going at 50." "Going, going... 100." "200." "300." "400." "500." "700." "1,000." "Must be quite a prize if she be worth that much, laddie." "At 1,000 moidores, first and last call." "Going, going, gone." "I will send Williams over with the payment." "I think I'd prefer you as a bachelor." "Curse me if I can blame you too much." "Miss MacGregor." "Your servant, ma'am." "It's you, Mr. Hawke." "You startled me." "Mistress Stevens and her men are away today." "Yes, I saw them rowing out to the Shark." "As a matter of fact, that's why I'm here." "Indeed, Mr. Hawke?" "Tell me, Miss MacGregor, do you know how to fire a pistol?" "How would I know that?" "That's what I was wondering." "What possible use can you make of the one you've got in your underwear?" "Underwear?" "I'll have you know, I've no pistol concealed in my underwear." "Of course, if you wish to be technical, your petticoat." "I think you better let me have it." "It's liable to go off at any moment, you know." "Aha!" "Bad girl." "I suggest that if you must carry a weapon, you make it a knife." "It's far less likely to explode." "Where's the Indian girl's bedroom?" "Bedroom." "You philandering scoundrel." "You make the slightest attempt to approach her and I will put her beyond the reach of you and your kind." "I suppose you'll tell the Captain she's the Princess?" "Merciful heavens." "Miss MacGregor, you've got to trust me." "You've got to help me get her away from here." "You were trying to buy her." "I'd no more trust that lamb to you than I'd trust myself to Captain Brasiliano." "Ah, me." "If only I had as much of the game as you give me the name." "Let's be forthright." "I'm the only one you can trust." "Well?" "Well, I'll trust her to you." "But not alone." "Wherever you take her, you take me, too." "Agreed." "There are certain details to be completed." "I'll let you know when all's ready." "Well, I hardly expected to find you here." "Why not, ma'am?" "Since it's by your invitation that I am here." "Of course, there may be another reason for the honor." "Has he seen the girl, Miss MacGregor?" "He has most certainly not." "That seems very unkind." "After all, he did save her life." "Besides, I have a fancy to see them together." "This is the gentleman who tried to buy you." "Yes." "It's the same gentleman who saved you on the ship." "I know." "You must thank him for it." "Thank you very much." "Again." "No, no, not again, my sweet." "Yes, again." "Mercy honest!" "That's enough." "Quite enough, Miss MacGregor." "Take her to her room." "Why do you think you can talk to me like that?" "I'll have you..." "No, no, lamby, she's being kind to us." "Come now." "Sweet child." "Let me see." "There was..." "Oh, yes, there was to be some word of the venture, ma'am." "Yes, there was." "Sit down." "To what port can I go from which I can reach England as a passenger on a lawful ship?" "Why, Rio, Bahía, Pernambuco, any port in Brazil." "I've come to the belief that there's nothing left for me here." "Why, ma'am, that's very sound of you." "Why, in London you'll have every gallant in town at your feet in no time." "And I'll warrant before the rest of the season's out, a fine, handsome husband, too." "If you'll take me to Brazil, I'll give you the Shark." "And then you can go pirating to your heart's content, until they hang you in chains from Execution Dock, for which occasion I shall have a front seat." "Ma'am, I shall be delighted to toss you me garter from the scaffold." "The hangman will charge you a guinea." "And I'll give you the girl, too." "Now, what would I do with her?" "Put her on the mantelpiece under a glass cover like a Geneva clock?" "What did you intend to do with her if you'd succeeded in buying her?" "I was a fool to think that you might be different from the others." "Swaggering, misbegotten bullies who think that a girl is without pride of her own." "Just something to satisfy their selfish lusts and vanities because she's weaker." "Well, I'm not weaker!" "I go after what I want, just like they do." "And I can defend my own self-respect." "And if any man dares to damage it," "I'll shoot the eyes out of his head." "Both of them, Brian Hawke, both of them!" "I'll accept the venture, ma'am, but I'm warning you, you draw one more pistol and you're going to find yourself across my knee." "Why did you try to buy the girl?" "Maybe because I wanted to keep her out of rough hands." "My father taught me how to defend myself against rough men." "But he told me that he could only warn me against gentlemen." "He said that a girl like me should never put her trust in one." "And now it seems that I'm about to." "Whoever said that I was a gentleman?" "It might be an opportune time tonight, sir, seeing as how most of the pirate ships put out to sea." "I'll signal the man-of-war just as soon as we fix the cannon." "If all goes well, she should sail in at dawn tomorrow." "First, we have to get the Princess aboard." "If I may be so bold, sir, why can't we put the Princess aboard after she comes in?" "No, no, no." "We can't take a chance on that." "If any of these cutthroats were to find out that she's the Mogul's daughter, they'd hold her to hostage, do away with her, anything could happen." "It'd mean the death of every Englishman in India." "So you two see that the longboat is ready by night." "It ain't my affair, sir, but what's to become of Miss Spitfire?" "She treated us most kind, she did." "Yes." "I'll come ashore with the landing party." "See that no harm comes to her." "Now, pretend to go about your business as usual." "Aye, sir." "Hawke!" "Early this morning I saw Mistress Stevens and her hands putting off with the Shark." "Yes." "She's outfitting for a new venture in two weeks." "Rightwise, I've no cause to keep you from sailing on it." "Certainly not." "Providing you sail on it alone without Mistress Stevens." "Come now, Captain, claw me." "I was never much of a one for me own company." "I'm giving you fair warning, Hawke." "That's very generous of you, Captain." "I'll give it the fair attention it deserves." "No, no, wait." "It's Crop-ear." "Hold there!" "Well, Crop-ear." "Split me sides, I never expected to see you out tonight." "I'd have wagered you'd be home, finding out if that little bride of yours could cook or not." "Rot me for a two-headed baboon, but it be my turn to guard the cannon." "Though why it need be guarded is for someone with more wit than me to figure out, since there ain't no possible way a spy could get here without getting his throat slit first." "Of course not." "It does seem a shame, though, and such a pretty little thing, too." "It's not fair to that poor girl to be left at home." "Not fair to her?" "Well, what about me?" "Well, it's not fair to you, either." "By thunder!" "Look, I've no wench to entertain tonight." "Why don't I stand guard for you?" "Then you can go home and give her an extra kiss for me." "Would you, Hawke?" "Would you?" "Why certainly, old friend." "It'd be a pleasure." "Of course, if I'm on guard the night I get married," "I'll expect you to do the same for me." "That I'd be most happy to do, Hawke." "Most happy." "You are a friend, Hawke, a real friend." "Do a good job, me lads." "These are cared for, sir." "Then tend to the others." "I'll go tell the MacGregor woman, then give the signal." "Hurry!" "Strike me if it ain't Hawke." "Where's Crop-ear?" "I thought that a man's place on his wedding night should be with his bride, so I offered to take his place on guard and sent him home." "Well, now, that's the very same reason that brought me up here." "My old shipmate Crop-ear and me is..." "Hello, what's that?" "What's what?" "I'd swear I heard some hammering." "Hammering?" "If you heard any hammering, it must be the rum pounding in your ears." "I suppose that's it." "I..." "Now, don't be telling me that's the rum pounding in me ears." "I'm gonna have a look." "By all means, take a look." "Take a look at this." "Well, skulk me if you ain't a blasted spy." "Be at the gate at midnight." "We're leaving here tonight in a boat." "I do not want to go tonight." "None of your nonsense, girl." "And you can save your deceptions for you'll have no need of them." "He's going with us." "Then I will come, too." "You'll do as you're told." "If you try any more of that "again" business," "I'll box your ears." "If you do," "I will have you thrown in the pit with the cobras." "You and your cobras." "The kisses you've had from me, you've had freely because I wanted them myself." "So there's no need for lies between us." "There's no need for you to say that you love me if it isn't true." "Because if you lied to me now when you don't have to..." "But wait." "How can I say I love you when I don't even know your name?" "What is it?" "You won't laugh, will you?" "Laugh?" "Why should I laugh?" "Because it's..." "It's Pru." "Prudence." "Prudence?" "Sweet darling, Pru, I do love you." "And you've a lovely name." "Why, it's as lovely as the dew on primroses in the morning." "I'm sorry for what I said." "It's just that I'm not used to trusting anyone." "Then I'll just mention one thing." "That the time for trusting is when you've a doubt in your mind." "Promise me you'll remember that?" "Good night, my love." "Sweet dreams." "Answer him." "Aye, aye, sir." "Midnight." "They should be here." "I hope there were no slip-ups, sir." "So do I. I have no desire to visit those tide stakes." "The best we can expect is to have our throats cut." "No question about that." "Harris, got everything ready?" "Aye, sir." "All seen to." "The longboat's ready to cast off, sir." "Good." "You wait here." "Hawke." "You needn't bother." "No one's coming through that gate tonight." "Keep those two covered." "I'll take care of him myself." "Don't be a fool, Roc." "Listen to me." "I've listened to you for the last time." "Now, will you listen?" "It's not Spitfire I want." "It's the Indian girl." "Why?" "You Judas." "Now, where were you going?" "I don't know." "In a boat." "I thought he was taking you on the Shark." "Where were you going?" "She doesn't know and I don't know." "You're a liar." "I'm not one that lies, Mistress Stevens." "I wanted to get her away from you and your men of blood, as any decent woman would." "I had a feeling I could put my trust in Mr. Hawke." "So had I, Miss MacGregor." "Now, now, Spitfire, a man's fancy falls where it will." "There's no holding of it." "Let him have the girl and forget him." "Give her to him?" "After I told him that he had no need to lie to me." "After I told him that I'd shoot the eyes out of his head if he dared to." "And he did." "And for what?" "So that he could steal her?" "Blast and curse him." "So that he could steal a china doll, a porcelain puppet, who is no more use to herself than she is to any other man." "Give her to him and forget him?" "I will have you thrown into the cobra pit, bound before a buffalo and torn into four pieces, trampled under the feet of the Great Mogul's elephant for putting your hands on the Princess of Hormuz." "Princess of Hormuz?" "The Mogul's daughter." "And you knew it." "So it was a ransom you were after?" "Miss MacGregor, you'll bear witness to this, that neither I nor neither of me two lads had any knowledge of this from you." "That I'll swear to, Mr. Hawke." "Then I'll swear it came as just as big a surprise to me as any one of you here." "And as big a disappointment, too." "Why, that little baggage, she's just bewitched me." "She must have if you couldn't wait two weeks to get her and the ship." "What was that, my lass?" "I offered him the girl and the Shark if he'd take me to..." "To Brazil in two weeks' time." "What was your hurry?" "I don't know, just springtime." "There's more to this than we know, much more I'm thinking." "Take them into the shop." "I'll loosen their tongues." "Keep him here." "Where were you going?" "For the last time, where were you going?" "Must we put the coals to you?" "Wait." "We found a map of the fortifications on him." "Curse you." "So you are spies." "Just like I said when I first laid eyes on you." "So you came here to spy out the batteries?" "Cut them down!" "Take all three to the tide stakes." "You, take the MacGregor woman and the Princess to the Scorpion." "Keep them under guard." "It may never matter, ma'am, but some time, amid all the hate you say you're cherishing," "I hope you'll remember a promise you made to trust me." "Trust you?" "The only thing I'll ever remember is that I didn't kill you with my own hands." "Louder, me hearties, louder." "Soon enough, we will be screaming in earnest." "Curse him." "Now, now, now, Spitfire." "There's no need to be put out." "You'll be taken care of." "Now, it's not a fair sight to see, so we best go and leave him be, huh?" "Give me your knife." "Well, if that's the only way you can get him out of your skin," "I'd just as soon leave you do it." "I never thought I could hate you more than when I heard what you said at the gate." "But I was wrong, I hate you more now." "Not because of what you did to me, curse you, but because of what you're making me do now." "Sag down, you fool." "Don't move until we leave." "Get to the cannon at once." "Hurry, hurry, my lads." "Let me have that." "It's a British man-of-war." "She's a fool, she is." "She'll end up like the other ships that tried to come in, at the bottom of the sea." "So that's why Hawke was putting out in the longboat." "To meet the man-of-war and give her the plans of the fortifications." "If that was the idea, we'll put a quick stop to it." "Let her come in now, without knowing where our cannon be, and the crabs will feed on her, too." "Hurry!" "Rot my guts!" "The cannons are blowing up." "Hawke did his work well, Morris." "Prepare for broadside at harbor ships." "Prepare for broadside at harbor ships!" "Point." "Point!" "Fire." "Fire!" "Well, the end's in sight for us here." "We'll all be taken off as prisoners." "No one's taking Roc Brasiliano as prisoner." "I'm putting off for Venice or Genoa." "Will you come with me, lass?" "I don't care where I go or what happens to me." "But with that man-of-war in the harbor, how can we go anywhere?" "Leave it to me, lass." "Bring the MacGregor woman here!" "She'll take a message to the British man-of-war." "Prepare to put over side." "Abdullah, get a move on." "Lower the boat!" "Haul in those bowlines." "All right!" "Stand by to come about." "All hands stand by!" "Lower the boat." "Easy there." "Easy now." "Blast my guts, get a move on." "Longboat approaching with passenger." "Confound me!" "But do you believe that this..." "What's his name?" "This fellow would really hang the Princess?" "Aye, Sir Cloudsley." "Captain Brasiliano will hang her at the sound of your first gun." "Ma'am, that would mean the massacre of every Englishman in India." "The pirate's signaling for an answer, Sir Cloudsley." "Give him none." "Prepare to broadside." "But we'll hold all fire until I give the command." "Aye, aye, sir." "Prepare a broadside!" "Give him a hand, Jorge." "It's been too long since they picked up Miss MacGregor's boat." "Why don't they answer?" "If we wait any longer, we'll lose the tide." "We're going through anyway." "Where's my glass, Morris?" "Have I forgotten the infernal thing again?" "Take mine, sir." "Gad, sir." "He's using the Princess as a shield." "That scoundrel means to run by us." "Hold your course, blast you." "Steady." "Steady as she goes." "Well, my lass, in a minute it'll be to Genoa or the devil for us." "What did I tell you?" "Now it's to Genoa for us and the devil with them." "I outwitted them, I did." "Sailed by with every gun brought to bear and them afraid to fire a shot." "This is a moment I'll not forget." "Nor will they." "Here, my lass." "Let's drink to your future and mine, huh?" "Although, from now on, they'll both be one and the same." "Here." "Again." "Not now." "Well, it's just you and me now, me lass." "Just you and me." "We'll live like a king and a queen." "You're a smart one, Spitfire, for casting your lot with me." "Or would you rather it was Hawke you were sailing with?" "Blast you!" "You mention his name again, and I'll run you through." "I hate him!" "Hate him worse than the lowest viper that ever crawled..." "But then he's dead." "So why talk about him?" "A hate such as that is usually held for someone we fancied with every bone on our body." "Any feeling I had for him died when I found him trying to steal the Indian Princess." "Oh, then prove it." "I will when I feel like it, and not until then." "I'm tired of waiting till you have the fancy." "For once let it be when I have the fancy." "There's time enough for that when we get to Genoa." "Genoa is still a long ways off." "A man's blood would have to be full of bilge water to be with you for the weeks to come and keep his distance." "I've done my waiting." "Blast and curse me..." "So you couldn't get him out of your skin, huh?" "No man has ever struck me and lived." "No woman's ever betrayed me and lived." "Take her below!" "Sir, I envy you." "I really..." "Again!" "I beg your pardon?" "Again." "I'll give you the Kohinoor and an elephant with an ivory howdah." "No, no." "And a peacock with ruby..." "What is she talking about?" "Miss MacGregor, please." "And a beautiful..." "In front of the British Navy!" "Sweet child." "As you were saying, sir." "I envy you." "What the merry old Mogul, what the government will do for you for saving the Princess." "Poor girl." "Yes, as a matter of fact, Sir Cloudsley, you're in a position to do more for me than both the government and the Grand Mogul put together." "My word, Hawke, just how?" "By forgetting about Mistress Stevens." "Well, well, so that's how it is, eh?" "Young once myself, you know." "Where is that infernal snuffbox?" "Take mine, Sir Cloudsley." "Thank you, Morris." "Thank you." "Forget about her, you said." "Wouldn't surprise me if I did." "Putrid memory, you know, Hawke." "Forgot to put my blasted breeches on for dress parade once." "Thank you, Morris." "Thank you, sir." "Mistress Stevens, appearances are sometimes a little difficult to explain." "But..." "Again." "Again!"