Under the Jolly Roger: Being an Account of the Further Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber by L. A. Meyer Read Free Book Online Page B

other hand he pulls off my cap and my hair spills out onto my shoulders, but that ain't proof enough for this cove, no it ain't. He grunts and puts that same grubby hand on my chest. I recoil but think,
Better this than having to drop my pants in front of the whole ship's company for proof.

    The man smiles and makes a mock bow. "Welcome to His Majesty's Ship
Wolverine,
girl. I
know
you're going to enjoy your stay," he says, looking me up and down. His teeth are worn gray stubs and his puffy face bristles with several days' growth of beard. "But if you ever again call your Captain a fool, I will hang you from that yardarm there. Do you understand, girl?"
    Captain? This man is the Captain?
    He is a large man and he has a prominent hooked nose and full, almost womanish lips. There is a whitish residue on the lower of those lips and I'm amazed to see a tic tighten in a neck muscle and suddenly pull down the left side of his mouth. Then, incredibly, his left eye takes off on its own, independent of the right one, and appears to be looking up into the rigging while the right eye stays on me.
What kind of creature is this?
    An officer, a lieutenant, has come up next to the Captain. He, at least, is dressed as a naval officer and he says, very respectfully, and very cautiously, "Begging your pardon, Sir, but might it not be best to call back the..."
    The tic relaxes its grip on the Captain's face and he turns to look at the officer. "Mr. Pinkham," he says with undisguised contempt, "shut up. If I wanted your opinion, I'd ask for it." He turns again to me. "I paid for eight bodies, Mr. Pinkham, and I shall have eight bodies. And hers will do just fine."

    The Captain looms over me, legs wide, hands on hips. "How came you to be dressed like this?" he demands.
    "It was for sport," I says. "Now..."
    "For sport, eh? Well, you shall certainly find some sport here, my girl. Yes, you shall, and very quickly, too," he says, winkin' at me so I can't mistake his meaning. "This is turning into a really fine day. Yes, it is." He turns and faces up into the sky. "I got up this morning thinking all I had to look forward to was bad whisky and the worst crew ever assembled on a British warship. And now this. Thank you, Lord." He comes face-to-face with me and I can smell the whisky on him. Whisky and something else, I can't tell what. "Untie her hands and take her to my cabin."
    Oh, Lord, this doesn't look good at all.
    As my hands are being untied, I look about me and see that I am on a Brig-of-War—two masts, probably eighteen guns. There is land over the horizon and from the position of the sun, I figure it to be the coast of France and this ship is on the blockade. There are men looking on from the rigging and on deck, but they are strangely quiet, as if they are afraid to do or say anything about my arrival, which one would think would be cause for great uproar and hilarity. I'm thinkin' they're deathly afraid of the Captain. I am, too.
    The press-gang boat is too far gone to be called back, I see with a sinking heart. Looking toward the land, I see that we are quite close, not more than a quarter mile from a rocky peninsula jutting out into the Channel.
    I pretend to be resigned to my fate, and I stand there with my head down and shoulders slumped, but as my bonds are being loosened, I toe off my boots and the instant my hands are free, I bolt across the deck and dive over the side.
I ain't stayin' here, that's for sure.

    There are shouts as I fly over the rail.
Better France than this,
I'm thinkin' as the water comes up to meet me.
    I hit clean and come up pullin' for the shore. I gasp, but the water has kept some of its warmth from the summer and the seas are calm, with gentle swells and no chop, so I'm hopin' I'll be all right.
    As I'm strokin' away, I'm figurin' I'll tell the Froggies that I'm American and ask would they please direct me to the nearest port where I can book passage back there. I have my money belt on and my French is