Son of Fury Page #6

- No.

You'll learn.

Your first lesson is that

you'll always call me sir.

Set your gallants and royals,

Mr. Grimes.

Aye, aye, sir. Gallants and royals!

Look alive!

You, Caleb Green, lay aft and sit up

on the weather vane.

Aye, aye, sir.

- What's your course?

- Nor-norwest.

Mm-hmm.

You're a full point

off your course.

Keep awake!

Why did you deflect

the compass last night?

What are you

talking about?

You know what I mean. You changed it,

and I took one from the mate for it.

- I wanna know why you did it.

- Aye. You've a right to know.

You see this?

I noticed it before.

"D." "D" for debtor.

Fifteen years

in the swamps of Guyana.

Fifteen years in the hot irons

because I owed 10.

My crime was

having no money.

Mine was having no name.

I wanna know why

you changed the course.

If you look at the charts, you'll see

there are islands to the southwest of here.

- Yes?

- There's a fortune to be made in those islands.

I heard the tale from Spanish sailors

that touched there long ago.

Oyster pearis bright as the moon

and big as your fist.

A fortune for the man

that dares try for it.

Why do you think I shipped in this stinking tub?

I've been waiting three years.

Begged and starved in the gutters of Bristol

for a berth like this one

a ship that would

sail these waters.

If there's a fortune to be

picked up so readily...

why haven't

the Spanishers come back?

They made a bloody record

when they were there.

The islanders were peaceful enough at first,

but they finally arose to drive them out.

There was a massacre, and only

a few of the Spanishers escaped.

- Have the islanders forgotten?

- Aye. I doubt it.

You mean to chance it alone?

Aye, I'll chance it...

to wipe this clean forever.

- You're going to desert

when we get to the island, huh?

- Aye.

And if you breathe

a word of this to a soul, I'll kill you.

You aloft.! Stow your gab

and get on with your work.!

You heard me?

Aye, I heard.

And don't concern yourself.

I'll say nothing

for a very good reason.

I'm going with you.

Land ho!

- Where away?

- Two points off the starboard bow.!

Land? Here?

There ain't

any on the chart...

unless we're 50 knots

west of our course.

There's strong currents hereabouts.

Or perhaps it's a magnetic variation.

Stove in me ribs. I've got more dirt

than that under me toenails.

Nay, there's

a big island beyond.

- 'Tis a cloud.

- No, look!

'Tis inhabited.

I can see the marks of cooking fires.

- We'll not take water there, Mr. Grimes.

- Belike they're peaceful, sir?

Nay, I've been warned

of the islanders hereabouts.

Bloodthirsty cannibals,

every one.

But we'll seek an anchorage

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