Forever Young The Beginning (2 page)

“
Aye-aye” Ian said over his
shoulder as he leapt from the stern deck to relay the orders.
Shortly Angus handed over the helm to Ian again as he rejoined him,
and watched through his glass as the lead pirate craft closed the
gap once more.

“
She’s got bow cannon, Ian!”
Handing his spyglass to Ian he said “Keep an eye on that as they
get in range!” Ian looked back at their pursuers, watching them as
several minutes passed. Suddenly he saw a flash of light from her
bow. “All hands take cover!” shouted Ian. In less than four seconds
a cannon round whistled past, narrowly missing the stern rail, and
followed by a distant booming sound.

“
Hah! A lucky shot, but too
close! She’s in range now for sure! Now again Ian, hard aport!”
Then he shouted “Furl top-gallants and mizzen and trim to half
mainsails! Drop port bow rudder, drop port bow rudder!” The
commands were punctuated by the ship’s bell. Again
Elsie’s Cloud
tilted to
port and slowed in a turn so sharp that even the lighter, shorter
Xebets couldn’t hope to match. Her deadly cannon were being brought
to bear far faster than seemed possible. The lead pursuer this time
was within range, and only then began to drop sail and turn to
port. The bait had been taken and hook set. The lead craft
continued, well within cannon range of Elsie.

In maybe eight unbelievable seconds
Elsie was broadside to the pursuers, thanks to the combination of
her oversized rudder and Ian’s bow-rudder device. The lead pursuer
was closing, and continuing to turn to her port, presenting a
broader target. Her turn to port was yet another fatal mistake as
it turned out, ensuring that the two ships would converge. The
captain on the lead craft was in a panic as he looked through his
glass. He saw the broadside of Elsie coming to bear on them before
they could hope to return fire. Gunny’s crew had already adjusted
the guns to fire at a low target at a shorter range. Here Angus
deferred to Gunny again, shouting “Fire at will! Fire at will and
reload! Hoist bow rudder! Hoist bow rudder.” MacCarr and his man
cranked the winch furiously to raise the bow rudder from the sea.
In some ten seconds then the roar of Elsie’s cannon shook the deck
beneath Ian’s feet and he felt a surge of energy course through his
body.

One round took out one of the two
masts of the lead pirate craft. Another hit the stern deck
squarely, obliterating the helm as it killed the helmsman. A great
cheer erupted from the crew of Elsie. Angus hollered “Furl flank
sails! Ready starboard cannon and stand by!” Gunny hastily called
the command and two of his men ran to the starboard guns, already
loaded when the pirates were still far away. They ran all ten of
them out to fire position through their respective hatches. The
remainder stayed on the port guns reloading them. For some reason
the rearmost pursuer had added an extra oversize sail of sorts.
Likely they thought to catch up and help to take the prize. From
where they were there would only be a pall of smoke with a blinding
sunrise behind it. They sailed closer, not realizing what had
happened.

Elsie was going to sail between the
two craft. They would then pass the first craft firing all of their
port cannon for the second time and then engage the second craft
with their starboard cannon. There was no stopping it now as the
pursuers had the wind at their backs, being pushed to the battle
full tilt by their sails and nearly blinded by the rising
sun.

The second craft sailed full
tilt into the fray which by now was well obscured by smoke, as the
lead pursuer had fired all of her starboard cannon as well. Two
rounds had struck
Elsie’s Cloud
on the port side, well above water line. One had
made a hole, and MacCarr had dispatched a man below to look for any
leaks. The wind had slackened somewhat so the smoke hung thickly
over the scene as Elsie continued to tack across the light wind and
close on the two craft.

The smoke was so thick and
the sun behind it so blinding that not until the second ship saw
the tops of
Elsie’s masts above the smoke
did they also realize how close to her they were, and worst of all,
coming under her broadside starboard cannon. Aboard the second
craft they began to panic, realizing too late that they were
already within range of her deadly guns as Elsie moved between the
two ships. They had no choice now but to try to help their fellow
pirates.

“
Fire all swivel guns”
shouted Angus, then to Ian “Here Ian, I’ll take her” as he took the
helm. He knew that Gunny would fire one more round from the port
cannon as they passed the lead ship and would then move his crew to
the starboard side cannon for the second ship. Fire had broken out
on the lead pursuer’s remaining mast and sails. About the same
time, the two swivel guns on the rear deck barked and grapeshot
shredded sails and crew alike. Immediately after that Gunny gave
command to fire cannon again on the port side and the first craft
was devastated. She managed to send three rounds into
Elsie, but again, well above water line. Musket
fire crackled from the first craft, and musket balls flying past
whined like angry bees. Several struck masts, but none hit a man.
Not waiting for Angus, Ian hollered “Take another look below for a
breach or leak. Stay at that post and report!”

They passed by that craft and in
passing, Elsie’s stern guns again swept the pirates with grapeshot.
A cheer erupted from Elsie’s crew as fire now began to spread
rapidly on the lead ship.

“
She’s crippled and on fire
Ian, now on to our prize, God willing.”

“
Tack to rake her with our
starboard guns then?”

“
Aye laddie” He
thought
Ian, you’re a born
seaman
. Ian leaped again from the stern
deck to run again to Gunny who met him part way. “Be sure to keep
all shots high Gunny. We don’t want to burn or sink her. Mark, call
all hands down from aloft!”

“
Aye-aye, Ian.”

“
Ready all hands available
with muskets Gunny, and see to it that they stay down well below
the side rail. Let the starboard cannon do the work for us. Fire
only when we’re in range, and then shoot the grapples.” The
grappling hooks and ropes would be fired toward the second craft by
means of hand held grapple mortars designed to fire those hooks
further than a man could throw them. Looking like fat muskets, they
were loaded and ready, lying on the deck behind the side rail,
their ropes all secured to Elsie’s masts.

Elsie approached the second craft and
raked her with grapeshot from the foredeck guns. Her advantage in
height made the grapeshot even more devastating. As they drifted
broadside to her, both ships let loose with all cannon. Ian felt
another surge of energy as the deck shook again at the cannon’s
roar. It was an elixir to his adventurous soul and he could feel
the adrenalin surge through his body. Elsie took one at the water
line and five more besides, but the broadside that she delivered to
the second craft was devastating. One mast was broken, and the
sails shredded. By now they were in musket range. Every available
crewman positioned himself behind the side rail and took aim as
Gunny’s men reloaded the starboard cannon. Their height advantage
was coming into play even more now that they were within musket
range.

Ian ran and grabbed a musket already
loaded and joined Gunny. “One volley Gunny, and then shoot the
grapples.” As soon as the volley was fired Ian shouted “Grapples
away!” The grapple mortars fired and even through the smoke the
devastation was easy to see. The pirates were able to fire back a
ragged volley and one round caught a man trying to descend from the
mainmast. He fell to the deck some ten feet and yelled as he
grasped his leg. From their lower height the pirates couldn’t find
another target to shoot at.

Five of the eight hooks took hold and
the second pirate craft’s fate was sealed as Gunny’s marksmen fired
yet another round at anything standing aboard her. Others of the
crew drew in the grapple lines, drawing the pirates close. Ian was
first over the side as the cargo booms were swung out and downward.
He felt a surge of adrenalin again as he swung out over the lower
craft, and then dropped some twelve feet to their deck. Pulling
both pistols he shot a pirate point blank and snap-kicked a second
one in the groin as he raised his saber to strike. He caught that
man with a vicious knee to his face and followed by a front kick to
his chest that sprawled him back on his shipmates. By then three of
Ian’s shipmates had joined him and the bloody hand to hand fighting
was in full swing. Elsie’s crew began to swarm over the two cargo
booms to drop onto the deck of the stricken craft with a great
cry.

Dispatching the fallen pirate in front
of him with a thrust of his sabre, Ian leaped over him towards a
knot of men who were advancing with cutlasses drawn and raised. He
ducked as one of them leveled a pistol and fired a round that sang
past his right ear. Aiming his second pistol he shot that one in
the face and kicked his falling body back onto the others. Moving
toward the last of the pirates he and his shipmates engaged them.
The sounds changed from gunfire to those of ringing steel as the
last pistols had been discharged. The last group of pirates was cut
down, but not before inflicting a mortal pistol wound on one of
Ian’s companions.

It was over. Ian and the others warily
ran about, looking for anyone else who might be hiding with a
loaded pistol or musket. No more combatants were found and after
confirming that with the twenty seven men from Elsie now on board
the pirate craft, Ian turned and shouted “She’s ours!”

A loud cheer erupted. Then someone
shouted “Three cheers for Cap’n McCloud!” Then the whole crew
shouted “Hip-hip huzzah! Hip-hip-Huzzah!
Hip-hip-Huzzah!”

Angus McCloud shouted “Silence!” and
rang the ship’s bell repeatedly until the cheering died down. “Now
listen, ye men! We’ve beaten the odds by God’s grace. Let’s not be
congratulating ourselves on this victory. Let us instead offer up a
prayer of thanksgiving to Almighty God for our deliverance! Bow
your heads now, and we’ll pray.”

Angus offered up a prayer of
thanksgiving and all the crew echoed his “Amen.” Then he said “I’m
pleased with every one of you this day. We’ve lost one of our own
and we will see to it that his family receives his share and a
widow’s share when we return home. We only have six wounded, which
is a miracle. When you tell this story to others, don’t forget
God’s great blessing this day. Get all of our wounded aboard Elsie
now and rig the prize for towing.”

After heaving the pirate dead
overboard the crew assisted Ian in rounding up the remaining
pirates, numbering eight. He then ordered four shipmates to bind
them and set them to be hauled aboard Elsie with the two starboard
cargo booms. Three of his crewmates who were wounded were lifted
back on board Elsie first though, for the ship’s surgeon,
shipwright, and carpenter Mark MacCarr to look after.

After reloading both of his pistols,
Ian took two of his crew mates with him and began a search of the
ship. Coming to the stern castle cabins, he stopped. Listening
intently, he thought he heard a stifled sob. He gestured to the
door on the left and then he kicked open the door on the right. A
loud scream came from a woman who ran and hid behind another woman.
Ian looked and made sure that no one else was in the room. First
uncocking, and then sticking both pistols back in his sash, he
smiled reassuringly at the two women and raised his right hand palm
outward as a sign of peace.

“
I have two women in here,
no arms. See to the other cabin now.” There followed a sound of
splintering wood as the door was kicked in and only a few seconds
later “No one in here, Ian”

McCloud hadn’t taken his
eyes off of the two since entering. The one in front was a
beautiful young lady, appearing to be Spanish. Ian noticed her
strikingly beautiful large hazel-green eyes, thinking
Lord but they look like I could fall into
them!
He was stunned by her beauty. She
shielded the other one who was about her age, but from her
clothing, likely a handmaiden, also Spanish and quite lovely. Ian
smiled again and using a crude blend of Spanish-Portuguese, he
attempted to reassure the two that they would come to no harm. He
stepped back and held up a hand with one finger and attempted to
ask them to wait a short while and he would get someone who could
speak their tongue. The lady noted the quiet gentleness of his
voice, liking its low pitched timbre.

Looking at Ian she saw a tall lean
man, deeply tanned with frosty blue eyes that sparkled merrily
beneath heavy arched black eyebrows. The man had a shock of dark
wavy hair with a slight widows’ peak, high cheekbones, and a
slightly aquiline nose. A black closely cropped beard barely masked
a strong jawline. His teeth appeared to be especially white
whenever he flashed his bow-like smile and she couldn’t help but
respond with an answering smile herself.

Speaking then she said “Parlez vous
Francais?”

Ian smiled and shook his head, then
said “English…..er….uh….Anglo.” The lady nodded and spoke again “I
speak….little…Anglo…no…much.”

Ian said slowly, holding his
hand to his chest “Ian McCloud.”
Again,
that voice
! thought the lady. Ian hesitated
to let that sink in, then “I will find one who speaks your tongue.
Please wait here.” The lady touched her breast and said “I… Alandra
Vasquez…. this … Celita.” Ian gave a slight but courtly bow and
with a friendly smile said “I am honored to meet you both. I will
return shortly. Please do not be afraid.” Turning he said to the
two sailors gaping open-mouthed in the doorway, “See to it no one
comes in here. I’m going to fetch Armando.”