Shipwreck: Murtogg and Mullroy Cha. 18
Disclaimer: I think this is a wonderful opportunity to thank you for continuing to read this story. I really appreciate it. :) In this chapter there are two…
Confrontations
Was it on the ground? Jack whirled Oliver towards Murtogg, Mullroy, and Charlie and pushed him towards them. Oliver took a few steps, paused, and turned his head to look over his shoulder at Jack, who waved two hands at him in a manner that suggested he was an annoying little puppy being sent out.
“Charlie?”
Charlie, who had been throwing dirk sharp, looks at Murtogg and Mullroy’s disregard for proper apple care paused to glance over his shoulder. After seeing it was Oliver he drew his eyes away and continued carefully placing each apple he retrieved in the sack. “Haven’t said it yet, have you? Can’t help you much if you won’t admit it.”
“Charlie…Come on, just look at me!” Oliver pleaded
“Not doing anything.” He replied stubbornly. Oliver did the only thing he could think to do in this situation: He bit into the apple with a loud, blatant, crunch. Charlie head bobbed up. “Y-you-you’re eating an-an apple! You do love apples!”
Oliver was bit disappointed. He had expected Charlie to leap off the deck, throw his arms around his neck and start apologizing for everything. For the way he hadn’t spoken to him for days, that he hadn’t believed him, that he ever doubted his adoration of apples and for being a complete idiot at times.
“ ‘You do love apples’? Is that all you can say?”
“Do you forgive me for ever doubting you?”
“Aye.”
“Eye?”
“Yeah.”
“Why’d you say eye?”
“What d’ya mean? I was answering your question.”
“No, you said ‘eye’.”
“What was I suppose to say-apple?”
“Don’t mind if I do!” Charlie grinned he took Oliver’s and munched happily on it. Oliver looked up as if blaming the sails above his head. “No Charlie-I meant-”
“Oh, what were you saying?”
“ I said ‘Apple?’ then you-”
“No thanks, I had one already.”
“You can be so stupid sometimes.” Oliver sighed in frustration. His eyes widened and a spark of comprehension roared into a campfire in Charlie’s brain.“When you said ‘eye’ did you mean ‘aye’ as in ‘yes’?”
“YEAH!” cried Oliver exasperatedly.
“Don’t need to get so worked up about me forgiving you.”
Oliver’s astounded reply that surely would have reaffirmed how stupid Charlie could be was lost as another exasperated I-can’t-believe-you-didn’t-do-something voice echoed on the main deck of the infamous Black Pearl. “NO ONE TRIED TO STOP IT?”
“What?”
“Not you Oliver, them.” Sparrow nodded towards the crew of the Black Pearl all of whom had stopped the miscellaneous tasks and duties they had been attending to or hadn’t for some strange reason, been attending to. To say every single member of his crew stopped working would be preposterous, if no one was on the look out or steering the ship, or watching for sea slugs and sirens that would surely lure the men on the ship to their very doom they would be a very foolish lot indeed.
“Ye were sayin’ that we hadn’t stopped-ah- ‘it’?" Gibbs said slowly, "What exactly did ye mean by ‘it’?”
“Gibbs what do you think it could possibly be?" Jack groaned. "The apple pelting, the broom banishing, the bellowing at the top of his lungs and scurrying ‘round in circles-that’s what it is.”
Gibbs frowned,“ What were we suppose to do?”
Jack looked as though he wanted to hit him over the head with a pillow filled with mud. Instead, he turned to the next available crewmember who had stopped what she was doing.“Ana Maria.”
“Aye?” Jack shot Gibbs another I-want-to-hit-you-with-mud look before flexing his fingers as if itching to do it on the spot. He paused and asked Ana,“What do you say would be a favorable answer?”
“Try to stop it.”
“Yes, well...why didn’t you do that?”
“Am I a governess? Why should-”
“Where was Gibbs?”
“I don’t know!”
Jack was on Gibbs again in a second.“Where were you-Joshamee Gibbs-on the moment in question?”
“I was below decks…”
“Why would you be there?”
“ Er-I was..."Gibbs looked around as if searching for a handy answer fluttering through the air that he could use. "-uh-distracted-”
“ You were distracted with something much more in'tresting I imagine, than say screams, airborne apples, and dead attack rats?”
“Far as I can figure…”
“And you were…”
Gibbs hesitated, “Mending a few things…”
“Surely there’s more to it than that. What were you mending?”
Gibbs looked guiltily at his shoes, turned, disappeared down the hatch to the hold and clambered back up with a grubby looking sack. He held it out. Jack frowned as he scrutinized Gibbs. He stretched one hand toward it as if hesitant to touch it, then pulled it away. With one more glance at Gibbs he tugged on the drawstring, reached for what was inside and-stared at the brown, crumpled mass of cloth with one large slash that had been partially stitched up. It was his coat.
“Who did this?” A whistle broke the air, everyone looked up and with a flutter of wings the parrot started to sing: “How fare ye?’said the peg-legged brute. The boy jumped up wi’ holler and hoot: ‘Fine as can be! Yes sir,’ said he! Who was the boy an’ who was the brute? Why Jonathan Green and Ol’ Man Soot!”
Jon’s jaw dropped open in shock and he gaped at the bird who sat as calm as a mother hen above him. “He can sing?”
Jack was silent as he walked away. Jon imagined he was going to fetch some horrible form of punishments like-like-something horrible! He followed him.
“Please, Cap’n I didn’t mean to! I was helping the carpenter and it just happened! Don’t put me in the brig or keelhaul me or-” beseeched Jon. Jack led him down with a lantern in one hand and the other on his shoulder.
“Keelhaul you?”
“You are a pirate…” Jon pointed out.
“Well despite what you may have heard most pirates don’t take too kindly to that sort of thing,” Jack brought out a small bag and held a needle and thread out. “Here.”
“But I can’t sew!”
“Then I rather you practice on somethin’ else before you start on my coat.”
“So-so you’re not-”
“No, I’m not.”
“Oh, thank you!” Jon called gratefully. Jack scrambled back up the stairs, leaving him the lamp. Before the hatch door was closed Jack poked his head in and said, “And before I forget you’re keepin’ watch with Jumping Joe and Audacious Angus.”
“What? No-wait-come back-please don’t make me! I did it, I know I did-but - let me do two watches-just not with those two!”
Cha. 17
Cha.19
Confrontations
Was it on the ground? Jack whirled Oliver towards Murtogg, Mullroy, and Charlie and pushed him towards them. Oliver took a few steps, paused, and turned his head to look over his shoulder at Jack, who waved two hands at him in a manner that suggested he was an annoying little puppy being sent out.
“Charlie?”
Charlie, who had been throwing dirk sharp, looks at Murtogg and Mullroy’s disregard for proper apple care paused to glance over his shoulder. After seeing it was Oliver he drew his eyes away and continued carefully placing each apple he retrieved in the sack. “Haven’t said it yet, have you? Can’t help you much if you won’t admit it.”
“Charlie…Come on, just look at me!” Oliver pleaded
“Not doing anything.” He replied stubbornly. Oliver did the only thing he could think to do in this situation: He bit into the apple with a loud, blatant, crunch. Charlie head bobbed up. “Y-you-you’re eating an-an apple! You do love apples!”
Oliver was bit disappointed. He had expected Charlie to leap off the deck, throw his arms around his neck and start apologizing for everything. For the way he hadn’t spoken to him for days, that he hadn’t believed him, that he ever doubted his adoration of apples and for being a complete idiot at times.
“ ‘You do love apples’? Is that all you can say?”
“Do you forgive me for ever doubting you?”
“Aye.”
“Eye?”
“Yeah.”
“Why’d you say eye?”
“What d’ya mean? I was answering your question.”
“No, you said ‘eye’.”
“What was I suppose to say-apple?”
“Don’t mind if I do!” Charlie grinned he took Oliver’s and munched happily on it. Oliver looked up as if blaming the sails above his head. “No Charlie-I meant-”
“Oh, what were you saying?”
“ I said ‘Apple?’ then you-”
“No thanks, I had one already.”
“You can be so stupid sometimes.” Oliver sighed in frustration. His eyes widened and a spark of comprehension roared into a campfire in Charlie’s brain.“When you said ‘eye’ did you mean ‘aye’ as in ‘yes’?”
“YEAH!” cried Oliver exasperatedly.
“Don’t need to get so worked up about me forgiving you.”
Oliver’s astounded reply that surely would have reaffirmed how stupid Charlie could be was lost as another exasperated I-can’t-believe-you-didn’t-do-something voice echoed on the main deck of the infamous Black Pearl. “NO ONE TRIED TO STOP IT?”
“What?”
“Not you Oliver, them.” Sparrow nodded towards the crew of the Black Pearl all of whom had stopped the miscellaneous tasks and duties they had been attending to or hadn’t for some strange reason, been attending to. To say every single member of his crew stopped working would be preposterous, if no one was on the look out or steering the ship, or watching for sea slugs and sirens that would surely lure the men on the ship to their very doom they would be a very foolish lot indeed.
“Ye were sayin’ that we hadn’t stopped-ah- ‘it’?" Gibbs said slowly, "What exactly did ye mean by ‘it’?”
“Gibbs what do you think it could possibly be?" Jack groaned. "The apple pelting, the broom banishing, the bellowing at the top of his lungs and scurrying ‘round in circles-that’s what it is.”
Gibbs frowned,“ What were we suppose to do?”
Jack looked as though he wanted to hit him over the head with a pillow filled with mud. Instead, he turned to the next available crewmember who had stopped what she was doing.“Ana Maria.”
“Aye?” Jack shot Gibbs another I-want-to-hit-you-with-mud look before flexing his fingers as if itching to do it on the spot. He paused and asked Ana,“What do you say would be a favorable answer?”
“Try to stop it.”
“Yes, well...why didn’t you do that?”
“Am I a governess? Why should-”
“Where was Gibbs?”
“I don’t know!”
Jack was on Gibbs again in a second.“Where were you-Joshamee Gibbs-on the moment in question?”
“I was below decks…”
“Why would you be there?”
“ Er-I was..."Gibbs looked around as if searching for a handy answer fluttering through the air that he could use. "-uh-distracted-”
“ You were distracted with something much more in'tresting I imagine, than say screams, airborne apples, and dead attack rats?”
“Far as I can figure…”
“And you were…”
Gibbs hesitated, “Mending a few things…”
“Surely there’s more to it than that. What were you mending?”
Gibbs looked guiltily at his shoes, turned, disappeared down the hatch to the hold and clambered back up with a grubby looking sack. He held it out. Jack frowned as he scrutinized Gibbs. He stretched one hand toward it as if hesitant to touch it, then pulled it away. With one more glance at Gibbs he tugged on the drawstring, reached for what was inside and-stared at the brown, crumpled mass of cloth with one large slash that had been partially stitched up. It was his coat.
“Who did this?” A whistle broke the air, everyone looked up and with a flutter of wings the parrot started to sing: “How fare ye?’said the peg-legged brute. The boy jumped up wi’ holler and hoot: ‘Fine as can be! Yes sir,’ said he! Who was the boy an’ who was the brute? Why Jonathan Green and Ol’ Man Soot!”
Jon’s jaw dropped open in shock and he gaped at the bird who sat as calm as a mother hen above him. “He can sing?”
Jack was silent as he walked away. Jon imagined he was going to fetch some horrible form of punishments like-like-something horrible! He followed him.
“Please, Cap’n I didn’t mean to! I was helping the carpenter and it just happened! Don’t put me in the brig or keelhaul me or-” beseeched Jon. Jack led him down with a lantern in one hand and the other on his shoulder.
“Keelhaul you?”
“You are a pirate…” Jon pointed out.
“Well despite what you may have heard most pirates don’t take too kindly to that sort of thing,” Jack brought out a small bag and held a needle and thread out. “Here.”
“But I can’t sew!”
“Then I rather you practice on somethin’ else before you start on my coat.”
“So-so you’re not-”
“No, I’m not.”
“Oh, thank you!” Jon called gratefully. Jack scrambled back up the stairs, leaving him the lamp. Before the hatch door was closed Jack poked his head in and said, “And before I forget you’re keepin’ watch with Jumping Joe and Audacious Angus.”
“What? No-wait-come back-please don’t make me! I did it, I know I did-but - let me do two watches-just not with those two!”
Cha. 17
Cha.19