Compass Direction

With some maneuvering, Jack managed to balance the boat so Robby could boost himself in. When the boy was safely on board, Jack, humming a jaunty pirate tune, fished Tia Dalma’s compass out of its place of concealment in his waistband.

“What’s that?” Robby asked, then he peered closer. “Oh,” he said, in tones of profound regret, “it’s broken.”

“No,” Jack said. “It’s not. This is our salvation, lad.” Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the idea of the closest land that had food and fresh water. He pictured clear springs, clusters of ripe bananas, and delicious tortoises sunning themselves.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the compass needle pointing due east. Jack pointed. “That way, lad.” He pointed behind Robby, and cheerfully handed him the oars.

Over the next few days, he learned a lot about Robby Greene. At the age of ten, the boy had been grabbed by a press gang in Bristol when he’d accompanied his father to market to sell some pigs. Forced to serve as a powder monkey in His Majesty’s Navy, Robby had sailed aboard a vessel bound for the Caribbean. When the naval vessel had docked in Port Royal, he’d deserted, then found a berth as cabin boy on a merchant ship bound for England, determined to go home to his family. But, in keeping with Robby’s run of bad luck, somewhere off Bermuda the merchant ship had fallen prey to La Vipère, and Robby had wound up with a choice that faced many crewmen and passengers of captured ships—turn pirate, or be killed. He’d chosen to join Christophe’s crew, and had spent several years passing himself off as a ruthless rogue pirate.

“I stabbed a lot of corpses,” he said, ruefully. “And, of course, sometimes when we boarded, I had to fight for real, so I did.” The youth hung his head. “I’ve killed men, Jack.”

“We all have, Robby,” Jack said. “That’s life on the account. But that’s over now.”

Robby looked at him. “Over?”

“Yes. We’re going to become honest merchant sailors, we are.”

It took the two of them, rowing in shifts, five days to reach a small island that did indeed have fresh water, bananas, and tortoises. The island proved to be a popular place for ships to be careened. Jack and Robby had only a few weeks to wait before a ship arrived for just that purpose. Luckily, it was a merchant vessel, not a pirate ship.

***

The Price of Freedom, Chapter 11