PIRATE: Privateer (25 page)

Hector was so taken aback he thought he had misheard his friend or that Dan’s eyes were deceiving him. But there was no mistake. The Breton woman was strolling along the beach. Hector
needed a moment to recognize her because she was wearing a skirt and blouse and a bonnet, and he was accustomed to seeing her dressed in men’s clothes. But there was no doubt that it was her.
Even more astonishing was that Captain Laurens de Graff was at her side. Yet the last time Hector had seen Anne-Marie she had helped him and his friends escape the
Morvaut
and thwart the
French filibustier.

‘That’s de Graff with her!’ he burst out in surprise.

‘I thought so,’ commented Dan drily.

Hector was utterly bewildered. He racked his brains, trying to find an explanation for Anne-Marie’s presence on Providencia. The island was so seldom visited that the Breton could only
have arrived aboard the
Sainte Rose
. Watching her walking alongside de Graff, Hector found it was impossible to tell whether she was there willingly or as a prisoner. From time to time she
appeared to engage the Frenchman in amiable conversation, but then again there were long intervals when she ignored her companion completely. Hector was so absorbed with this puzzle that only a low
warning hiss from Dan alerted him to the approach of a party of sailors from the
Sainte Rose
. Carrying axes they were coming in the direction of the mangroves to cut firewood. Dan and he
risked being discovered. Stealthily Hector crept away, following the Miskito as he picked a path through the mangroves and then across the scrub-covered neck of land which divided the careenage
from the beach where they had left their jolly boat. An hour later they were back aboard the
Speedy Return.

*

‘W
E SEND IN
a fireship,’ Hector announced. He had assembled everyone on the pink’s aft deck to hear his plan of action. Only Allgood,
the sailor with the missing fingers, and three of the Coromantee sailors were absent. They were on the French supply ship now hove to in the lee of the
Speedy Return
, and both vessels were
far out of sight of any lookout on Providencia. On the deck in front of his audience Hector had laid a length of rope to illustrate the coastline of the island. A deep loop in the rope represented
the bay where the
Sainte Rose
had careened. Using the ramrod from a musket as his pointer, Hector tapped the spot in the bay where the French frigate lay at anchor.

‘De Graff has placed his ship exactly opposite the entrance to the bay. Tomorrow afternoon when the sea breeze is strongest, I propose sailing the
Meteor
through the entrance, then
setting her alight and letting her drift down on the French frigate.’

Bartaboa, the sailing master, nodded approvingly. ‘Even if the
Sainte Rose
has re-rigged her spars and sails, de Graff can’t shift her fast enough nor can he beat out of the
bay. The wind will be against him. He’s trapped.’

Hector went on. ‘The
Meteor
carries combustible naval stores including large quantities of gunpowder and tar—’

‘—and dozens of barrels of brandy and rum,’ added Jezreel. ‘De Graff’s crew must be a gang of tosspots if that’s what they asked to be sent to them. That ship
will blaze like a firework.’

With the tip of the ramrod Hector traced a line on the deck. ‘This will be the
Meteor
’s route. She makes a direct approach from the sea, the breeze dead astern. Only a minimum
of sail handlers are needed, three or four at most. Here –’ he tapped the end of the rod on the narrow entry to the bay – ‘they set fire to the cargo and leave the ship in
the cockboat. They row clear to be picked up by the
Speedy Return
. The fireship sails on, unmanned, and collides with the frigate.’

Jezreel spoke up. ‘Surely de Graff knows that his careenage is vulnerable. He must have placed a shore battery to protect the entrance.’

Hector exchanged glances with Dan. ‘You are correct. De Graff has landed some of his guns and set up a battery at this point.’ Another tap of the rod. ‘On the slope of the hill
which overlooks the harbour entrance from the west.’

The parson, Watson, gave a snort of disappointment. ‘Even a drunken gunner’s mate couldn’t miss at that range. He’ll be shooting from a steady platform. Your fireship
will be blown to bits before she’s halfway through the entrance.’

‘De Graff’s gunners won’t know that she is a fireship,’ said Hector quietly. He had their full attention now. ‘He’s expecting a supply vessel to arrive.
Indeed he may even know that it’s the
Meteor
from Petit Goâve. When his gunners see a ship heading boldly for the entrance and recognize her as French by her rig, they will let
her sail in.’

‘And what happens if de Graff is not expecting a supply ship?’ objected the sailing master. ‘He’ll smash the
Meteor
to splinters with his first salvo. The plan is
suicidal.’

‘We make sure that he thinks the
Meteor
is friendly. And at the same time we give those who are aboard the fireship their best chance of getting away.’

He paused and looked round the circle of faces. He thought someone else would have seen how to fool de Graff. But he was met with bemused silence.

Hector took a deep breath. Now came the key part of his plan. ‘De Graff is unaware of our presence and that the
Meteor
is in our hands. Around noontime tomorrow his lookouts on the
hill will see a ship, a French vessel judging by the look of her. She is heading straight for the entrance to the bay, tearing along at full speed, every sail set, clearly in an
emergency.’

Jacques gave a cackle of delight. He had guessed. ‘And not far behind her is the
Speedy Return
, guns firing, chasing the
Meteor
, apparently trying to catch her before she
reaches safety.’

Hector grinned. ‘Exactly. De Graff’s shore battery allows
Meteor
to race into the bay. The gunners concentrate their attention on the
Speedy Return
, waiting for her to
come in range. Meanwhile, below them, in the entrance to the bay, the men aboard the
Meteor
put torches to the combustible cargo, abandon ship and row out to the
Speedy Return
to be
picked up.’

‘Hector, you’re as cunning as Captain Drake!’ exclaimed Jezreel.

‘Does anyone have any questions?’ asked Hector.

‘Just one,’ said Jacques. ‘Who will be aboard the fireship?’

‘I will, and I need four volunteers to come with me,’ said Hector.

Jezreel, Dan and Jacques immediately raised their hands. Hector had expected them to do so. ‘Dan, I’d be glad if you would come along. This is a job for good swimmers should anything
go wrong.’

Then he hesitated. Jezreel and Jacques both knew how to swim but they were clumsy in the water. He did not want them floundering in the sea under gunfire. The sailing master was speaking rapidly
to the Coromantee sailors. He must be explaining the plan. When he finished, his listeners asked a few questions and then four of them stepped forward.

‘Captain,’ said Bartaboa, ‘these men would like to join you on the fireship. It will be their way of repaying you for agreeing to help them. On the African coast they worked on
the boats that run the surf. I can assure you that they are excellent swimmers.’

‘Just three men will be sufficient. Please thank them for their bravery.’

He felt light-headed now that he had committed himself and his volunteers to the adventure. ‘Tonight we stay well clear of Providencia. In the morning we prepare the
Meteor
for
burning. Then, as soon as the on-shore breeze picks up, we set sail for the entrance.’

Suddenly he was tired, very tired, and with exhaustion came the realization that he would have to hand over command of the
Speedy Return
during his absence. ‘Jezreel, I’m
placing you in charge until I get back. If for some reason neither Dan nor I return, you and Jacques must decide jointly what is best.’

*

T
HE
M
ETEOR
REEKED OF
tar and rum. They had hoisted two barrels of ship’s pitch from the
Meteor
’s cargo and softened it to a bubbling sludge in kettles over the supply ship’s galley fire. They had cut up the spare sails and dipped the canvas strips in the sticky
liquid before stuffing the rags in cracks and crevices around the vessel. Knocking in the top of a hogshead of rum, they had taken dippers and splashed the liquor around the hold. The gunpowder
kegs they left sealed. Loose powder could lead to a premature explosion which would shatter the
Meteor
before she was alongside the French frigate, and ruin their plan. It was enough to
shift the powder kegs from their safe storage in the bowels of the ship, and position them at intervals within the hull so they would detonate one after another when the conflagration reached
them.

On deck everything still appeared normal. The preparations that had turned the brigantine into a floating bomb had to be invisible to sharp-eyed lookouts on Providencia. Hector walked around the
deck, checking for any suspicious signs. He could see none. The little skiff they would use to escape the burning vessel was chocked on deck close to a gap they had sawn in the bulwark. He doubted
that this unorthodox arrangement was enough to arouse the suspicions of observers on the island. The crew of the fireship had only to cut two lashings, then slide the skiff through the gap and into
the sea.

The day was full of bright sunshine with only the faintest smears of high gauzy cloud. Already the sea breeze had begun to blow towards the land. The
Meteor
, all sails set, was travelling
at her best pace straight for Providencia. The low hill at the entrance to the careenage was two miles ahead and plainly visible. Hector himself had dressed in a rust-red coat taken from the French
captain’s wardrobe, and at the stern flew the same Brandenburg ensign which the
Meteor
had shown when she had tried to escape the
Speedy Return.
In every detail they were trying
to repeat the appearance of that earlier chase, and once again the
Return
was in hot pursuit. Bartaboa, the sailing master, was handling the pink skilfully, and there was no doubt that she
had been gaining on the
Meteor
yard by yard. If she kept up the blistering pace, she should overtake her prey before the
Meteor
reached apparent sanctuary in the bay.

A cannon boomed, and the ball threw up a spout of water thirty paces to one side of the fleeing
Meteor.
Hector looked astern. The
Speedy Return
had yawed to one side so that her
forward gun could be brought to bear. She was well within range. Inevitably the manoeuvre slowed her down, and when she came back on her course the gap between the two vessels would have widened
again. Hector allowed himself a moment’s satisfaction. Everything was going as he had intended. For the past ten miles, whenever the
Speedy Return
began to get too close to the
Meteor
, she had made that deliberate swerve. Simeon Watson aimed off and fired a useless shot, and the chase went on. To the observers on Providencia it must seem that the
Meteor
was
fleeing for her life, and it would be a close call if she reached her refuge before she was captured.

He turned to look at the island ahead. In that short space of time the details of the landscape had become much more defined. Over the starboard bow rose the hill that commanded the entrance.
Halfway up its flank he could make out the ledge where de Graff’s men had cleared away the vegetation, levelled the ground, and placed their artillery. It must have been hard work to haul the
heavy culverins up there through the matted bushes and tangled undergrowth that covered the slope. The opposite shore was much lower and more open, a promontory where the coconut palms tossed and
waved in the breeze. Straight ahead through the entry he could already distinguish the three masts of de Graff’s frigate. She was still anchored where he and Dan had last seen her. At that
distance it was difficult to be sure but it appeared to him that the
Sainte Rose
already had her yards crossed. The filibustier captain must have been driving his men hard to have re-rigged
his ship so quickly. In a day or two he would be ready to sail.

Hector’s gaze returned to the
Meteor
’s deck. The supply ship must now be in clear view of the gunners on the hillside. He was suddenly uneasy that they would wonder why so few
people were on the deck of the approaching vessel. But there was nothing he could do about it now. He could only hope that the drama of the chase unfolding below them would distract their
attention.

The
Meteor
raced on. Dan, at the helm, was steering the vessel into the middle of the entrance channel. Hector stole another glance at the shore battery on the hillside. He was close
enough now to see the individual cannon, four of them, their black barrels sinister against the green foliage around them. The gun crews would have had ample time to load and prime their weapons
from the time they first saw the
Meteor
and the
Speedy Return
hull up against the horizon. He could see the gunners standing poised, almost motionless. They were waiting for the
command to open fire.

A darting movement caught his attention. A man was running down from the summit of the hill, where de Graff must have placed his lookouts. The undergrowth was so thick that Hector could only see
the man’s head and shoulders as he sped towards the battery. The slope was very steep, nearly a precipice, and the man had to double back and forth in a series of zigzags, following a hidden
track. Hector watched his progress, saw him arrive among the gun crews, and then a flurry of ant-like activity as they responded to the message he brought. They were adjusting the angle of the
guns.

Once more he looked back at the chasing pink. In a matter of moments the
Speedy Return
would come within range of the shore battery. He hoped that Jezreel would not be rash and bring the
vessel dangerously close. De Graff’s gunners had to be made to think that they could destroy the
Speedy Return
. But at the same time Jezreel should stay far enough out to sea to make
it unlikely that they would hit their target. It would require fine judgement and skilful sail-handling.