Drabble Series: 'An Execrable Business' (31/?)
400 words today, theme: "North". Many thanks to my dear hereswith for beta reading, editing, and excellent suggestions.
Previous bits...
1. Tortuga
2. Happiness
3. Festive
4. Last Minute
5. Calm
6. Truth
7. Bargain
8. Spook
9. Down
10. Wounds
11. Moon
12. Monsters13. Beauty
14. Name
15. History
16. Service
17. Advice
18. Captain
19. Awe
20. Cross
21. "You've made a big mistake"
22. Heroism
23. Gold
24. Echo25. Greed
26. Advance
27. Challenge
28. Adventure
29. Sentence
30. Treasure
And here's today's...
31. North
~ An Execrable Business, continued...
Jack took the helm to guide the Pearl from Tortuga's crowded harbor, and kept it as they eased from the bay into the open sea, revelling once more in the fresh, clean breeze, the movement of the ship under his feet, the sense of freedom, unbound from land. He was quite looking forward to heading out into the Atlantic. Blue water sailing, they hadn't done any of that in many a day. And the Pearl seemed to sense Jack's anticipation and elation at the prospect, sailing large in an evening breeze that was just abaft the beam, water hissing along her sides and her bow wake white in the rising moon.
"We'll head out northeast, by Grand Turks," he told Barbossa, who joined him briefly on the quarterdeck. "I've a couple of vile miscreants stashed in the brig I want to drop at Cockburn Town."
"Miscreants? Tortuga's full of miscreants."
"These were exceptional."
Barbossa sniffed. "A cabin boy, and now miscreants. If we'd stopped more'n four days the ship would've been full to the scuppers with the scaff and raff of Tortuga."
"It was an interesting few days of shore leave, sure enough," Jack agreed with a crooked smile.
Some time later, Bill came trotting up the companionway, grinning.
"And what are you so happy about, Mr. Turner?" Jack asked.
Bill said quietly, "Barbossa went to see those fellows of Claypool's in the brig."
Jack frowned. "He did, did he?"
"Aye. And got nothin'. They're both dead drunk. I gave 'em a few bottles, for medicinal purposes, when you told me you'd changed your mind about leaving 'em on Tortuga."
" Bill, it ain't only your sword that's sharp," Jack approved. "A sound idea, very sound indeed."
"Why thank you, Captain," Bill said with a bow. "We're takin' 'em to Cockburn Town? Barbossa told me."
"Aye. I suppose we'll have to stop and row 'em to shore, if they're that well-to-live. But we'll make sure they know Smith's with us. Don't want 'em going back to bother Joe and his people, and they're the sort that might."
Bill nodded. "How's Smith doing? I barely caught a glimpse."
"Fine, I expect. Straightening up me cabin. What else are cabin boys for?" Jack smirked, and batted his eyelashes, and Bill shook his head, though he chuckled, too. Jack said, "Go say hello! You can tell him I'll be there in a while."
TBC...
Previous bits...
1. Tortuga
2. Happiness
3. Festive
4. Last Minute
5. Calm
6. Truth
7. Bargain
8. Spook
9. Down
10. Wounds
11. Moon
12. Monsters13. Beauty
14. Name
15. History
16. Service
17. Advice
18. Captain
19. Awe
20. Cross
21. "You've made a big mistake"
22. Heroism
23. Gold
24. Echo25. Greed
26. Advance
27. Challenge
28. Adventure
29. Sentence
30. Treasure
And here's today's...
31. North
~ An Execrable Business, continued...
Jack took the helm to guide the Pearl from Tortuga's crowded harbor, and kept it as they eased from the bay into the open sea, revelling once more in the fresh, clean breeze, the movement of the ship under his feet, the sense of freedom, unbound from land. He was quite looking forward to heading out into the Atlantic. Blue water sailing, they hadn't done any of that in many a day. And the Pearl seemed to sense Jack's anticipation and elation at the prospect, sailing large in an evening breeze that was just abaft the beam, water hissing along her sides and her bow wake white in the rising moon.
"We'll head out northeast, by Grand Turks," he told Barbossa, who joined him briefly on the quarterdeck. "I've a couple of vile miscreants stashed in the brig I want to drop at Cockburn Town."
"Miscreants? Tortuga's full of miscreants."
"These were exceptional."
Barbossa sniffed. "A cabin boy, and now miscreants. If we'd stopped more'n four days the ship would've been full to the scuppers with the scaff and raff of Tortuga."
"It was an interesting few days of shore leave, sure enough," Jack agreed with a crooked smile.
Some time later, Bill came trotting up the companionway, grinning.
"And what are you so happy about, Mr. Turner?" Jack asked.
Bill said quietly, "Barbossa went to see those fellows of Claypool's in the brig."
Jack frowned. "He did, did he?"
"Aye. And got nothin'. They're both dead drunk. I gave 'em a few bottles, for medicinal purposes, when you told me you'd changed your mind about leaving 'em on Tortuga."
" Bill, it ain't only your sword that's sharp," Jack approved. "A sound idea, very sound indeed."
"Why thank you, Captain," Bill said with a bow. "We're takin' 'em to Cockburn Town? Barbossa told me."
"Aye. I suppose we'll have to stop and row 'em to shore, if they're that well-to-live. But we'll make sure they know Smith's with us. Don't want 'em going back to bother Joe and his people, and they're the sort that might."
Bill nodded. "How's Smith doing? I barely caught a glimpse."
"Fine, I expect. Straightening up me cabin. What else are cabin boys for?" Jack smirked, and batted his eyelashes, and Bill shook his head, though he chuckled, too. Jack said, "Go say hello! You can tell him I'll be there in a while."
TBC...