From 4a2bc53d3b3893eebe53f0e4eac1ea740614a341 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: luxagraf Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2021 09:30:15 -0400 Subject: lbh: rolled in corrinne's edits to the first three chapters and got rid of a few of my stylistic tics like "said nothing" --- lbh.epub | Bin 167486 -> 168044 bytes lbh.txt | 377 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------------------------------- 2 files changed, 186 insertions(+), 191 deletions(-) diff --git a/lbh.epub b/lbh.epub index 5a036e3..2933601 100644 Binary files a/lbh.epub and b/lbh.epub differ diff --git a/lbh.txt b/lbh.txt index ca29823..d71dbb1 100644 --- a/lbh.txt +++ b/lbh.txt @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -% Untitled +% Wandren: The Adventures of Lulu, Birdie, and Henry "The months and days are travelers of eternity. Just like the years that come and go. For those who live their lives on boats, or lead horses towards old age, their lives are travel, their journeys are home." -- Matsuo Basho, Oku no Hosomichi (1689) @@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ By the time they arrived all the twins had left was a memory of trees. The deep # Main ## Chapter 1: On The Sea -The scent of the world crept into her hammock even before she opened her eyes. The smell of wet wood and salt. The soft sweetness of cedar too long at sea. The bright briny smell of the wind. She opened her eyes and looked up. A sliver of purple twilight peaked through the canvas of the hammock, wrapped up around her. She craned her head back to look at the dark brown mast, crusted with salty white patterns that looked like the drawings of snowflakes in Papa's big book, which was wrapped carefully in walrus leather and stored somewhere in the hold beneath the deck. +The scent of the world crept into her hammock even before she opened her eyes. The smell of wet wood and salt. The soft sweetness of cedar too long at sea. The bright briny smell of the wind. She opened her eyes and looked up. A sliver of purple twilight peeked through the canvas of the hammock, wrapped up around her. She craned her head back to look at the dark brown mast, crusted with salty white patterns that looked like the drawings of snowflakes in Papa's big book, which was wrapped carefully in walrus leather and stored somewhere in the hold beneath the deck. The wood creaked. Some of the salt blew loose. The water slapping the hull told her the waves were small. Her hammock, strung between mizzen mast and taffrail, swayed hardly at all. She lay without moving, trying to feel the boat as her father had taught her. She closed her eyes again. The boat was lifting and rolling slightly. They were moving with the current, but not as fast as the light swell rolling past them. At this latitude, this time of year, this close to shore, that would be south, as it had been for days now, although a swell moving south was called a northerly swell, which always mixed her up. @@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ He shook his head. A sleep voice from a hammock on the other side of mast piped She could see her brother's unruly mop of hair sticking out the side of the hammock. She never understood why, but he slept very high up in his hammock, almost as if he were standing up. -"What about you Lulu?" She grabbed the lines of her sister's hammockjand swung it gently. +"What about you Lulu?" She grabbed the lines of her sister's hammock and swung it gently. "Yes." @@ -79,9 +79,9 @@ She lurched and stumbled her way to stern where everyone was waiting for the ric They'd run out of Pemmican two weeks before when they were held up in the outer islands by a late season storm. They'd spent the better part of two days beached, living almost entirely below deck, huddled out of the wind and rain, wishing for sunshine. When they finally floated Wanderer again after the storm had passed, a few days of rough seas seemed like nothing. Anything was better than being wet and cold and chewing sand in the ceaseless wind. -The remains of that wind had born them south quickly though. They'd hugged the shoreline, out of the strong northward current that ran further offshore. They saw sails only twice and both times the ships were too far over the horizon to see more than a top sail. They were big her father said. +The remains of that wind had borne them south quickly though. They'd hugged the shoreline, out of the strong northward current that ran further offshore. They saw sails only twice and both times the ships were too far over the horizon to see more than a top sail. They were big her father said. -Yesterday to wind had finally let up and Birdie had her first good night's sleep in a week. This morning they were using a favorable offshore breeze to ride out further to sea. They wanted some distance from the land as they passed Charlestown. To anyone with a spyglass standing on the shore at the mouth of the Ashley river they would only be a tiny bit a sail on the horizon. The pilot boats that helped merchant ships navigate the narrow shoals up the river into Charlestown harbor kept a sharp eye out for sails. And not every ship in these seas was welcome on the land. Birdie's family liked to keep to themselves, they gave cities a wide berth most of the time. +Yesterday the wind had finally let up and Birdie had her first good night's sleep in a week. This morning they were using a favorable offshore breeze to ride out further to sea. They wanted some distance from the land as they passed Charlestown. To anyone with a spyglass standing on the shore at the mouth of the Ashley river they would only be a tiny bit a sail on the horizon. The pilot boats that helped merchant ships navigate the narrow shoals up the river into Charlestown harbor kept a sharp eye out for sails. And not every ship in these seas was welcome on the land. Birdie's family liked to keep to themselves, they gave cities a wide berth most of the time. Running downwind, as they were, meant they were moving at the same speed as the wind. So even though there was wind all around them, it felt still. Dead still. The warm humid Carolina air was like sitting inside a wet wool sweater. Birdie sat in the slight shade of the sail, with her back against the mizzen, alternately watching the shoreline for signs of Charlestown, and whittling a whistle she was planning to use to find duck nests when they got to the island. @@ -113,21 +113,21 @@ Wanderer was not a pirate vessel, and did not sail with pirate vessels, but it, "Have I ever steered us wrong before? -"Yes" Tamba and Kobayashi spoke in chorus, which made Birdie laughed. She heard her father laugh too. +"Yes" Tamba and Kobayashi spoke in chorus. Birdie laughed. She heard her father laugh too. "Okay. But on this one you'll have to trust me. No British warships coming to take Nassau this year." -Neither of the other men said anything. The silence stretch out until Henry came running from the bow, careening the length of the ship without ever touching a railing or handhold, yet somehow never losing his footing. She watched him shove his hand in the basket, pull out a handful of now dried out rice, and then turn and run back the length of the ship, again without touching anything or seeming to stumble, and then disappear into the hold where he was playing with Lulu. She envied him, those sea legs. Even her father seemed somewhat taken aback by Henry's sea legs. But he usually just shrugged and said, "I guess that's how it is when you're raised on the sea." +Neither of the other men said anything. The silence stretched out until Henry came running from the bow, careening the length of the ship without ever touching a railing or handhold, yet somehow never losing his footing. She watched him shove his hand in the basket, pull out a handful of now dried out rice, and then turn and run back the length of the ship, again without touching anything or seeming to stumble, and then disappear into the hold where he was playing with Lulu. She envied him, those sea legs. Even her father seemed somewhat taken aback by Henry's sea legs. But he usually just shrugged and said, "I guess that's how it is when you're raised on the sea." Birdie had been two and a half years old, when Henry was born. She had only a few fuzzy memories of Henry's mother. Dark hair leaning over her. The sunset in a window behind her. They had lived for a time on shore. Near the Thames. Her father worked on ships. A woman watched Birdie and her sister during the day. Sometimes her father would hire on a ship and be gone for several weeks. The last of these trips was nearly two months. Birdie remembered sitting under the table with Lulu, both of them crying, while the woman who watched them spoke to a harbor master about storms and her father's ship going down. -Two night later, there had been a tap at the window and there he was. Birdie had picked Henry up out of his crib and they had all disappeared into the London night. The next day they were aboard Wanderer and well out of the Thames, bound for the Colonies. +Two nights later, there had been a tap at the window and there he was. Birdie had picked Henry up out of his crib and they had all disappeared into the London night. The next day they were aboard Wanderer and well out of the Thames, bound for the Colonies. -Neither she nor Lulu had any memories of their own mother, save the stories she had heard her father tell, memories she inherited and clung too sometimes when she felt the tightness in her chest grow too much to bear. +Neither she nor Lulu had any memories of their own mother, save the stories she had heard her father tell, memories she inherited and clung to sometimes when she felt the tightness in her chest grow too much to bear. She was startled out of a midday drowse by Tamba's shout from the bow. "I see the bank." Birdie jumped up and ran to the bow (grabbing on the way the mizzen mast, rails, lines and other hand holds, as normal people do on a ship), racing past Lulu and Henry coming out of the hold. She nearly slammed into Tamba, but managed to hit the rail next to him instead. She followed his finger and saw the light green patch that marked the bank. -The bank was a deposit of sand and silt that started a few hundred yards out from the north fork of the Edisto river and stretched between half a mile and an mile out to sea, depending on the year. It was high tide, the bank was still under water, but this year it looked to be shorter than usual. The bank was where they did most of their fishing, and last year they'd even careened a very large ship on it. Birdie had not been allow to come on that ship, but she, her siblings, her cousins, and some of the local kids had all sat on the end of the island and watched as three smaller ships careened the largest ship Birdie had ever seen, a ship called Revenge. +The bank was a deposit of sand and silt that started a few hundred yards out from the north fork of the Edisto river and stretched between half a mile and a mile out to sea, depending on the year. It was high tide, the bank was still under water, but this year it looked to be shorter than usual. The bank was where they did most of their fishing, and last year they'd even careened a very large ship on it. Birdie had not been allow to come on that ship, but she, her siblings, her cousins, and some of the local kids had all sat on the end of the island and watched as three smaller ships careened the largest ship Birdie had ever seen, a ship called Revenge. Birdie ran astern to tell her father what they had seen, but he was already standing on the Taffrail, glass to his eye. "Bit smaller this year, eh Birdie?" @@ -135,7 +135,7 @@ Birdie ran astern to tell her father what they had seen, but he was already stan "Must've 'ad some weather this summer." Her father hopped down. "Hope we're done with that," she heard him mutter to himself. He pointed to the wheel. "Bring us out a wee bit." Birdie turned the wheel a quarter to port and Wanderer' nose edged out toward the open ocean, carving a wide berth around the bank. -Orange-headed gannets and brown pelicans dove at the outer edge of the bank, their sleek wings pulled back until they looked like harpoon tips thrown from some unseen ship sailing in the sky. They sliced through the air and hit the surface of the sea with such a quiet, tiny splash, transformed in an instant from bird to fish. When they surfaced the Gannets always with a fish in their beak. +Orange-headed gannets and brown pelicans dove at the outer edge of the bank, their sleek wings pulled back until they looked like harpoon tips thrown from some unseen ship sailing in the sky. They sliced through the air and hit the surface of the sea with such a quiet, tiny splash, transformed in an instant from bird to fish. When they surfaced the gannets always with a fish in their beak. Birdie turned to her father, "Papa can we fish?" @@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ Birdie pulled in the porgy, which was big enough to feed them all in a stew. Lul "Coming about," Her father yelled. Birdie instinctively ducked as the booms creaked and groaned and lines whirled and the ship pitched from starboard to port and pointed her nose at a sharp angle to shore. -Wanderer was a lateen rigged Caraval with two masts and two triangular sails. She was light, fast and maneuverable. She had a short keel that made it possible to bring her nearly a mile up the Edisto river if they needed. Their winter home was nowhere near that far up river. They made their camp on the island, a mere quarter mile from the Atlantic shore. Wanderer would be kept further up in the marsh though, protected from storms by a massive stand of lobblolly pine that sheltered the marsh. +Wanderer was light, fast and maneuverable. She had a short keel that made it possible to bring her nearly a mile up the Edisto river if they needed. Their winter home was nowhere near that far up river. They made their camp on the island, a mere quarter mile from the Atlantic shore. Wanderer would be kept further up in the marsh though, protected from storms by a massive stand of lobblolly pine that sheltered the marsh. The worst part of winter camp was arriving. Every year they had to beat upwind, while also fighting the current of the river and constantly sounding to watch for shallows in the muddy brown river mouth. Even now, still a quarter mile off shore, Kobayashi and Tamba were hauling up the sounding lines while her father shortened the traveler so they could beat closer to the wind. @@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ All Birdie wanted was to get ashore and see Aunt Māra and her cousins. She went Their father tacked Wanderer back and forth up and down the windward side of the island for most of the day, waiting for the tide to begin streaming in, since this would give them the added momentum they needed to make it into the river mouth where, for a time, it was too narrow to tack. -Last year they had to paddle in using two oars that her father had carved from great thin pine trees. It has taken two days of waiting for the wind to die and another half day of paddling. This year the gods smiled on them. The wind shifted to the north enough that they could take right into the mouth of the river where they dropped the main sail and landed just as the sun was disappearing in the tangled trees that was now their western horizon. +Last year they had to paddle in using two oars that her father had carved from great thin pine trees. It had taken two days of waiting for the wind to die and another half day of paddling. This year the gods smiled on them. The wind shifted to the north enough that they could take right into the mouth of the river where they dropped the main sail and landed just as the sun was disappearing in the tangled trees that was now their western horizon. Everyone on the island had seen them come in, but they were still too deep in the marsh to make it to camp before dark. They made the last meal of the season on the ship with Birdie's fish and hatched plans to get Wanderer unloaded the next morning. Birdie, Lulu, and Henry fell asleep making plans for what they would do when they saw their cousins the next day. @@ -171,33 +171,33 @@ Her skin was brown from long days in the sun. She was thin, but strong. Her body She sat on a low rising dune a hundred yards from the shoreline. The eastern sky was pink and rapidly turning orange. She knew her father would already be awake back at the boat. Lulu hadn't wanted to sleep in the marsh. She preferred the seaside. Near where their camp would be, where she would sleep all winter. She didn't mind the hammocks of the boat, but there was something about the sand that made Lulu sleep easier. It conformed to you, it hugged you. Like floating in the sea, but firmer. -She wrapped the sheet, which had once been Wanderer's foresail, around her shoulders and walked down the beach toward the wreck of Arkhangelsk. The Arkhangelsk was the second best thing about winter camp, after her cousins and the other children of the island. The Arkhangelsk was her ship. Well, *their* ship. The island's ship really, but Lulu thought of it as her ship. Wanderer might be her home, but Arkhangelsk was *her* ship. +She wrapped the sheet, which had once been Wanderer's foresail, around her shoulders and walked down the beach toward the wreck of *Arkhangelsk*. The *Arkhangelsk* was the second best thing about winter camp, after her cousins and the other children of the island. The *Arkhangelsk* was her ship. Well, *their* ship. The island's ship really, but Lulu thought of it as her ship. Wanderer might be her home, but *Arkhangelsk* was *her* ship. -Arkhangelsk was a 42-foot Bermuda sloop that had been taken by the *Whydah* and put ashore with a small crew to careen and re-tar the hull. Unfortunately for the *Ave Marie*, as she was known at the time, her hull was too worm eaten and leaky to be repaired. Even a coat of the quality tar that Lulu's family was known for making wasn't going to save the *Ave Marie*. This had been the subject of some dispute between her father and the would-be captain of the Ave Marie, but in the end, the boat was abandoned on the beach. +*Arkhangelsk* was a 42-foot Bermuda sloop that had been taken by the *Whydah* and put ashore with a small crew to careen and re-tar the hull. Unfortunately for the *Ave Marie*, as she was known at the time, her hull was too worm eaten and leaky to be repaired. Even a coat of the quality tar that Lulu's family was known for making wasn't going to save the *Ave Marie*. This had been the subject of some dispute between her father and the would-be captain of the Ave Marie, but in the end, the boat was abandoned on the beach. -Two years ago a huge storm that Lulu had fortunately not experienced personally had washed the Ave Marie up and into the dunes. Her main mast was destroyed, but the rest of her, somehow, remained mostly in tact. The next year another storm had brought a huge tidal surge that swamped the dunes, lifting *Arkhangelsk*, as Lulu and Bridie had by then renamed her, and spinning her around, pointing the bow to the sea in the process. Most of her stern had been torn off that time but as she settled back into the shifting dunes, the top deck leveled out and she wasn't hard to climb. +Two years ago a huge storm that Lulu had fortunately not experienced personally had washed the Ave Marie up and into the dunes. Her main mast was destroyed, but the rest of her, somehow, remained mostly intact. The next year another storm had brought a huge tidal surge that swamped the dunes, lifting *Arkhangelsk*, as Lulu and Bridie had by then renamed her, and spinning her around, pointing the bow to the sea in the process. Most of her stern had been torn off that time but as she settled back into the shifting dunes, the top deck leveled out and she wasn't hard to climb. -Lulu stood atop a dune studying her now. She still listed a little to port, but not much more than last year, and not so much that you couldn't race around the upper deck just like you could on Wanderer, but you could race around Arkhangelsk as much as you wanted and no one would give you a job to keep you busy like they would on Wanderer. Well, Captain Birdie might try, but just let her. Lulu always ignored Captain Birdie's orders anyway. +Lulu stood atop a dune studying her now. She still listed a little to port, but not much more than last year, and not so much that you couldn't race around the upper deck just like you could on Wanderer, but you could race around *Arkhangelsk* as much as you wanted and no one would give you a job to keep you busy like they would on Wanderer. Well, Captain Birdie might try, but just let her. Lulu always ignored Captain Birdie's orders anyway. -Lulu walked around the Arkhangelsk, comparing her memory of it to the way it looked now. If there had been a storm over the summer it didn't seem to have affected the wreck at all. She stuffed her sheet in the hold so it wouldn't blow away and climbed up to the top deck. The wood was dry and brittle but so far it had not broken up as much as she would have expected. She and Birdie had begged their father to tar it, that it might last but he refused, the tar was too valuable. +Lulu walked around the *Arkhangelsk*, comparing her memory of it to the way it looked now. If there had been a storm over the summer it didn't seem to have affected the wreck at all. She stuffed her sheet in the hold so it wouldn't blow away and climbed up to the top deck. The wood was dry and brittle but so far it had not broken up as much as she would have expected. She and Birdie had begged their father to tar it, that it might last but he refused, the tar was too valuable. She watched the sun rise over the sea from the deck. The wind was already blowing strongly offshore. White peaks churned in the wind tossed sea, blending white and green and murky brown waters into the kind of messy chop no one wanted to sail. It looked like the winter sea. It was technically still summer, but clearly the sea was already thinking of winter. She was glad they'd made it in last night. If they were trying this morning they'd have never made it. -She sighed and went to retrieved her sheet. Wanderer was waiting. She already knew she'd be yelled at for not helping out. She was always being yelled at for not cleaning up, not helping load, not helping unload, not helping keep the ship ship shape. She hated those words. Ship shape. It sounded stupid. Who wanted something ship shape? And why was swabbing even a thing? Normal people mopped. Why did sailors have to swab? Even the word made it sound harder. And it was, it was like mopping while standing on the back of a horse. The thought of horses made her want to get back. Her father had promised her he would teach her to ride this year. She jumped off the bow into the soft sand and began walking back toward the marsh where Wanderer waited to be unloaded. +She sighed and went to retrieve her sheet. Wanderer was waiting. She already knew she'd be yelled at for not helping out. She was always being yelled at for not cleaning up, not helping load, not helping unload, not helping keep the ship ship shape. She hated those words. Ship shape. It sounded stupid. Who wanted something ship shape? And why was swabbing even a thing? Normal people mopped. Why did sailors have to swab? Even the word made it sound harder. And it was, it was like mopping while standing on the back of a horse. The thought of horses made her want to get back. Her father had promised her he would teach her to ride this year. She jumped off the bow into the soft sand and began walking back toward the marsh where Wanderer waited to be unloaded. --- -On the way she walked over the dunes into the area that would become her home for the winter and took stock of it. The fire pit would need to be dug out again, the bamboo frame of the little hut that would be their winter home was nowhere to be seen, but she assumed her father or Tamba knew where it was buried. Or would claim too. There were already two barrels plopped unceremoniously in the middle of what would eventually be camp. Not very ship shape she thought as she started down the trail to the marsh. +On the way she walked over the dunes into the area that would become her home for the winter and took stock of it. The fire pit would need to be dug out again, the bamboo frame of the little hut that would be their winter home was nowhere to be seen, but she assumed her father or Tamba knew where it was buried. Or would claim to. There were already two barrels plopped unceremoniously in the middle of what would eventually be camp. Not very ship shape she thought as she started down the trail to the marsh. When she got to Wanderer everyone was already up and unloading barrels. There was no breakfast in sight and her stomach was growling. "Lulu, good of you to join us again" Her father smiled, but his tone of voice told her she was late. Papa did not suffer anyone not pulling their weight. She looked around. Henry and Birdie were bringing things up from the hold and stacking them as best they could with the deck listing hard to starboard. Wanderer was aground now that the tide was out. -Her father and Tamba were alongside Wanderer, looking over the pirogue, which had been stored for months now in the hold. They seemed satisfied with it and set it in the muddy water next to Wanderer. The pirogue was small, narrow boat, like a canoe but with a sail. It could comfortably hold three people and load of cargo. It could hold more if you didn't mind being uncomfortable. It was what they used to fish the bank, get upriver to the trading post, and get back and forth between shore and any ships anchored offshore. For reasons no one could remember it was named Delos. +Her father and Tamba were alongside Wanderer, looking over the pirogue, which had been stored for months now in the hold. They seemed satisfied with it and set it in the muddy water next to Wanderer. The pirogue was small, narrow boat, like a canoe but with a sail. They called it *Delos*. It could comfortably hold three people and load of cargo. It could hold more if you didn't mind being uncomfortable. It was what they used to fish the bank, get upriver to the trading post, and get back and forth between shore and any ships anchored offshore. She was about to ask her father were Aunt Māra and her cousins were when she felt herself grabbed from behind and swept off the ground into her Aunt Māra's arms. She was squeezed tight against a warm soft chest. "Lulu. I've missed you so much." Aunt Māra kissed her cheeks before she put her down and spun her around. Lulu wrapped her arms around her. "Māra, I missed you." "Hi Lu." said a shy voice behind her. She slipped slowly out of Auntie Māra's embrace and turned to face her cousin Francis. He looked older. She wondered if she did too. His front teeth had finished growing in and he looked somehow like an adult. Lulu wasn't sure she liked this look, but she hugged him anyway. -"The Arkhangelsk is still in good shape." +"The *Arkhangelsk* is still in good shape." "I saw." @@ -223,21 +223,21 @@ Lulu stepped out from under the sail cloth her aunt was busy tying down and into The first thing she saw stepping out of the hut was their communal cooking area, which consisted of a fire pit, along with several old, weathered trunks of palm trees they used for sitting or as tables if they sat next to them in the sand. This was where the days started and ended, where guests would come to sit and talk, where visiting ship crews would tell the news from Boston, London, Kingston, Madagascar, Nicobar, Manilla. It was where Lulu and her sister would fall asleep at night, watching the fire listening to tales of storms, close calls in the rigging, sand bars where they should not have been, and cruel captains cursed in language their father told them not to use. The fire was the center of their world and the best thing in it. -When they had too they could cook on a small fire inside the hut, and around winter solstice it would be cold enough for a few weeks that they'd use the fire place inside for heat, but mostly, life was lived outside, under the sun and moon. +When they had to they could cook on a small fire inside the hut, and around winter solstice it would be cold enough for a few weeks that they'd use the fire place inside for heat, but mostly, life was lived outside, under the sun and moon. Birdie and Henry were down by the shoreline gathering small stones to fill some gaps in the fire pit. Her father and Kobayashi took the pirogue upstream to find larger stones to brace the iron tripod, which was where they did most of their cooking. It was their father's doing, though Kobayashi did much of the cooking. Papa had forged the tripod using iron scrounged from a shipwreck many years ago. -When her father and Kobayashi returned Lulu went to help unload the stones, but they were too heavy for her to carry. She contented herself gathering wood for the fire. It wasn't hard. The past summer's storms had brought down plenty of dry oak branches that lay amongst the sandy leave debris of the forest floor. Lulu ducked into some thickets of palmetto to see what had made its home in them this year. She flushed a few quail, and started a dozen squirrels angrily chattering and twitching their thick fuzzy tails at her. When she had enough twigs and small branches to fill the leather thong, she looped it tight, heaved the bundle unto her shoulder, and headed back to camp. +When her father and Kobayashi returned Lulu went to help unload the stones, but they were too heavy for her to carry. She contented herself gathering wood for the fire. It wasn't hard. The past summer's storms had brought down plenty of dry oak branches that lay amongst the sandy leave debris of the forest floor. Lulu ducked into some thickets of palmetto to see what had made its home in them this year. She flushed a few quail, and started a dozen squirrels angrily chattering and twitching their thick fuzzy tails at her. When she had enough twigs and small branches to fill the leather thong, she looped it tight, heaved the bundle onto her shoulder, and headed back to camp. Her father arranged the tripod and tested its balance with a kettle full of water. They carried a number of large kettles, far larger than they needed to cook for the six of them, for occasions when a ship came to careen. Then whole crews of men, sometimes as many as a hundred would eat with them. Usually Tamba would kill a few pigs on those occasions. Last summer some sailors had managed to kill a bear. Lulu sat now and watched as Papa lit a fire. He said a prayer thanking Hestia, goddess of the hearth, and threw some Frankincense resin on the flames. The sweet, light scent of Frankincense filled the air in the dunes. It smelled like home to Lulu. -The long afternoon shadows began to race their way across the clearing they'd be calling home for the next six to eight months. Lulu turned and looked west. A little back from camp there was a line of oak trees that then gave way to the marsh where Wanderer would be anchored for the season. In the shade of those oaks they would soon construct great kilns that would be used to make the tar that brought them to the island in the first place. Across the flat reedy world of marsh was another line of oaks and then a no man's land of cypress swamp and brackish water that slowly, as you moved south, resolved itself into the southern fork of the Edistow River. Beyond that were the great pine forests of the low country where they would dig stumps and then haul them by barge and horse out here to the beach where they would burn them, slowly extracting the sap and then boiling it down into a sticky resin that sealed wood against the sea. +The long afternoon shadows began to race their way across the clearing they'd be calling home for the next six to eight months. Lulu turned and looked west. A little back from camp there was a line of oak trees that then gave way to the marsh where Wanderer would be anchored for the season. In the shade of those oaks they would soon construct great kilns that would be used to make the tar that brought them to the island in the first place. Across the flat reedy world of marsh was another line of oaks and then a no man's land of cypress swamp and brackish water that slowly, as you moved south, resolved itself into the southern fork of the Edisto River. Beyond that were the great pine forests of the low country where they would dig stumps and then haul them by barge and horse out here to the beach where they would burn them, slowly extracting the sap and then boiling it down into a sticky resin that sealed wood against the sea. They ate dinner as the sun set through the trees behind their half-finished hut. Lulu went down to the shore and rinsed her abalone bowl. The air had a hint of chill at the edge of it. The sea was cold on her feet. When she came back her father and Kobayashi were laying oak logs on the coals that had cooked dinner. It wasn't long before the fire was roaring and light filled the circle of dune. Lulu sat on a log of gray driftwood and watched her Uncle Cole play the fiddle while Birdie and her father danced in circles. Henry and Owen sat on a log next to her Aunt Māra and directly across the fire. Lulu smiled. She like winter camp, she liked her family. She knew enough of the world to know they were different. Perhaps even odd to most people. But she didn't care. She was glad they had a place to live their lives the way they wanted to, a place they could fish, a place they could weather storms. -Birdie sat down beside her breathing hard. Her father pulled Henry up and danced with him and then he switched to Lulu. After a while Uncle Cole professed he was tired and put away the fiddle and sat down by the fire. There was catching up, plenty of poking fun, a rather long story about planting rice that Lulu lost track of in the middle when she began to doze off. It wasn't a made up story like the ones her father told around the fire on winter evenings. These where the stories Lulu wanted to hear. The stories that felt like they were real. Like the worlds he described were out there somewhere, waiting for her to discover. Worlds of pirates and ships and storms, talking animals, strange mythical creatures. Her father never failed to take what would always start as a normal story and turn it in someway that you never saw coming but afterward couldn't imagine turning out any other way. +Birdie sat down beside her breathing hard. Her father pulled Henry up and danced with him and then he switched to Lulu. After a while Uncle Cole professed he was tired and put away the fiddle and sat down by the fire. There was catching up, plenty of poking fun, a rather long story about planting rice that Lulu lost track of in the middle when she began to doze off. It wasn't a made up story like the ones her father told around the fire on winter evenings. These were the stories Lulu wanted to hear. The stories that felt like they were real. Like the worlds he described were out there somewhere, waiting for her to discover. Worlds of pirates and ships and storms, talking animals, strange mythical creatures. Her father never failed to take what would always start as a normal story and turn it in someway that you never saw coming but afterward couldn't imagine turning out any other way. Later she found a blanket in the pile of still unsorted belongings in the hut and went partway up a dune where she could still feel the heat the fire, but also see the stars and the sea. She fell asleep watching Castor and Pollux twinkle in the night. @@ -257,13 +257,13 @@ One of the brushes she'd lost somewhere on the voyage north to summer camp on th "Birdie?" Aunt Māra was looking at her with a curled smile. "Your mind moves much faster than your hands." -Birdie looked down and realized she'd been holding the same strand of reed for, how long? She did not know. She had been thinking of drawing, painting. "Sorry, I was thinking." +Birdie looked down and saw that she'd been holding the same strand of reed for, how long? She did not know. She had been thinking of drawing, painting. "Sorry, I was thinking." Aunt Māra laughed, "How old are you Birdie, already lost in thought?" She shook her head. "You are your father's child." She laughed again. This last comment startled her, did she disappear like her father? Was that what it was like for other people when she was thinking? Was that what it was like for her father when he disappeared from the present? -Aunt Māra laughed again, "right back to it. Go girls, go and play, I will finish this." +Aunt Māra laughed again, "Right back to it. Go girls, go and play, I will finish this." Birdie looked up at her to see if she was serious. Birdie had a momentary pang, she was abandoning her to work on her own house. She should make her own house. @@ -271,9 +271,9 @@ Birdie looked up at her to see if she was serious. Birdie had a momentary pang, Birdie and Lulu jumped up, blurted out a thank you and took off down toward the dunes where they knew Francis was digging up last year's stumps and spreading cut reeds to dry. Birdie reached the top of the dune and stopped so abruptly she nearly toppled over. Francis was down below, spreading reeds along the side of the dune and weighting them down with driftwood gathered from the beach. Judging by the pile near him he had about ten minutes of work left. Birdie shouted in the wind, "Hurry up, and meet us at the ship." -He looked up, squinting at her, smiling. He nodded. Birdie turned and walked out to the harder sand near the shoreline and made her way down to the Arkhangelsk. She saw Henry and Owen playing on the rear deck. For reasons she did not understand no one ever made either of them do any chores, though both were perfectly capable of helping out. Somehow they both got a pass. Birdie was pretty sure she'd had chores at their age. She tried to set aside the anger she felt rising in her chest when she realized they'd done nothing but play on the ship all day. Her ship. She stopped herself. Everyone's ship. Poseidon's ship. The island's ship. The ship that the island had been so kind as to preserve so they could use it. She thought of Tamba. Be grateful Birdie, always be grateful for the gifts we have. +He looked up, squinting at her, smiling. He nodded. Birdie turned and walked out to the harder sand near the shoreline and made her way down to the *Arkhangelsk*. She saw Henry and Owen playing on the rear deck. For reasons she did not understand no one ever made either of them do any chores, though both were perfectly capable of helping out. Somehow they both got a pass. Birdie was pretty sure she'd had chores at their age. She tried to set aside the anger she felt rising in her chest when she realized they'd done nothing but play on the ship all day. Her ship. She stopped herself. Everyone's ship. Poseidon's ship. The island's ship. The ship that the island had been so kind as to preserve so they could use it. She thought of Tamba. Be grateful Birdie, always be grateful for the gifts we have. -It wasn't long before Francis arrived and they began to play. As with most of their adventure's it started with Lulu creating a back story. They were a family of sea gods who had been cast out of the high temples where their mother and father had disowned them for some reason that Birdie wasn't entirely clear on. From that time they were doomed to wander the seas for forty years, and woe to any ships that crossed their path for they would devour them and all their sailors. As captain it was Birdie's task to find a new homeland, but since they could not find it for forty years she mostly just conjured ships for them to attack. +It wasn't long before Francis arrived and they began to play. As with most of their adventures, it started with Lulu creating a back story. They were a family of sea gods who had been cast out of the high temples where their mother and father had disowned them for some reason that Birdie wasn't entirely clear on. From that time they were doomed to wander the seas for forty years, and woe to any ships that crossed their path for they would devour them and all their sailors. As captain it was Birdie's task to find a new homeland, but since they could not find it for forty years she mostly just conjured ships for them to attack. Lulu had a back story for every one of those ships too. Birdie sometimes complained to her that half the time they were playing they were just listening to Lulu tell stories, but everyone else seemed to really enjoy these outlandish tales. Too outlandish for Birdie's taste. Who had ever heard of sea gods cast out of somewhere? How did a god get cast out of something? What was the point of being a god if you can get cast out just like a person? @@ -459,7 +459,7 @@ Birdie was nearly a head taller than Lulu and whenever she pointed out their dif Sometimes Lulu needed to get away, to be alone. That's why she had come today with her father and Tamba out into the scorching midday sun to find stumps to dry for next winter. Her father made carvings in each stump, a square within a diamond, the beginning of wisdom he told her when she asked what it meant. Whatever that meant. They'd come back here next full moon to work in what light could be had, digging stumps and hauling then back to the beach. They would pile them in to the dunes just beyond camp, where they would lie for a year, drying like great white bones bleaching in the sand until they were so weathered they were gray. Soon Tamba and her father would repair the kilns and start making tar with the stumps they'd gathered last year. -Lulu and Birdie and Henry, along with their cousins and friends, would gather moss and dry grass to feed the slow heat of the kilns. As the wood burned the dark pitch drained down to the bottom of the kiln and dripped into buckets set below the catch it. This was the Arkhangelsk tar. The way her father's people had made it for generations he said. The archangel tar that kept the ships afloat, the rigging tight, the sailors safe and bought Lulu and Birdie and Henry a place in the world, clothes to wear, food to eat and sometimes even peppermint treats or dolls or new ribbons for her hair. These stumps were the reason Lulu's life was possible. +Lulu and Birdie and Henry, along with their cousins and friends, would gather moss and dry grass to feed the slow heat of the kilns. As the wood burned the dark pitch drained down to the bottom of the kiln and dripped into buckets set below the catch it. This was the *Arkhangelsk* tar. The way her father's people had made it for generations he said. The archangel tar that kept the ships afloat, the rigging tight, the sailors safe and bought Lulu and Birdie and Henry a place in the world, clothes to wear, food to eat and sometimes even peppermint treats or dolls or new ribbons for her hair. These stumps were the reason Lulu's life was possible. But that didn't make the day any cooler or her patience any greater. @@ -487,7 +487,7 @@ Lulu rounded the corner at full speed, through the tall field of sea oats that f "Papa did." She took another bite of bread. "Squares." Her sister did not seem to care. Birdie had never liked stumping. -"Aunt Māra gave us a pot for the kitchen in the Arkhangelsk." +"Aunt Māra gave us a pot for the kitchen in the *Arkhangelsk*." Lulu stopped chewing. "Really?" A smile came over Birdie's face, all she could do was nod faster than Lulu had ever seen a head move before. "It's the best" blurted Henry. @@ -495,7 +495,7 @@ Lulu stopped chewing. "Really?" A smile came over Birdie's face, all she could d Birdie was always making things for them to play with, she'd fixed the wheel of the ship, carved a pole for the flag, made fish hooks out of deer bone, and was always helping Papa repair the fishing nets. Sometimes Lulu hated the way Birdie was so good at making things, but mostly she loved to use the things when they were finished. She scooped up some sand and wiped her bowl out. She dumped it all at the edge of the fire and handed the bowl back to her Aunt. "Going to the ship," she said as the three of them ran out of camp. -They slowed when they reached the dunes, they all knew from experience that running in the dunes was a waste of effort. From the top of the rise they could see the single mast of the Arkhangelsk. +They slowed when they reached the dunes, they all knew from experience that running in the dunes was a waste of effort. From the top of the rise they could see the single mast of the *Arkhangelsk*. "How come Māra gave us the pot?" Lulu had been trying to come up with reasons for a gift in her absence ever since Birdie had said it, but she had come up empty. @@ -509,7 +509,7 @@ Henry was five, and as their father said, clever as a Lynx and innocent as the d Despite his twinkle, Henry never got away with anything. He was too naturally mischievous and yet not sneaky. If something was amiss in camp, some prank played, some calamity caused, everyone always came looking for "the little brown imp." The only other possible culprit was their cousin Owen, but he was a year younger, actually quite sneaky, and lived a mile down the beach with their aunt and uncle, which generally absolved him. -They crested the last dune and from the top the Arkhangelsk came into view lying in a gully just beyond the beach, listing slightly to port. The three ran down the slope of the last dune in great bounding leaps, sinking deep into the soft sand and leaping out again great whooping war cries rising from their lips. +They crested the last dune and from the top the *Arkhangelsk* came into view lying in a gully just beyond the beach, listing slightly to port. The three ran down the slope of the last dune in great bounding leaps, sinking deep into the soft sand and leaping out again great whooping war cries rising from their lips. Lulu ducked under the crumbing beam that had once supported the deck, following Birdie down into the hold, where the new pot sat on their makeshift stove. It was a world of black and white, dark shadows punctuated by bleach white light streaming in the occasional holes in the deck. The damp sand under the shadows was a cool luxury after the heat of the swamp. Lulu sat down and Birdie passed her the pot. She felt it cool and smooth in the darkness. She ran her finger along the lip feeling the nicks where metal tongs had banged into it. She passed it back to Birdie who put it on the stove. They all went out to gather crab shells and seaweed for a stew. @@ -547,13 +547,13 @@ Birdie sat in the shade of a sago palm. It was the last palm, the scout at the e Birdie was waiting for her cousins to be done with their chores. She glanced up the beach toward their camp but there was no sign of Francis or Owen. Aunt Māra had said they were helping their father with the boat. Birdie sighed and plucked at a sea oat, slowly breaking up the stem and letting the breeze pick up and carry the crumbs off down the shore. -She could see the Arkhangelsk nestled in the dunes. Most of the time she loved seeing the boat, but sometimes it reminded her of the awful day it arrived. After her father had told the captain of the Ave Marie it could not be saved, the rest of his crew shrugged and went off hunting the wild boar that were forever rooting in the jack pines of the island interior. The captain sat on the beach and stewed in anger. He drank rum all afternoon until finally he'd strode into camp shouting for her father, who eventually appeared. There was a good bit of quarreling in several languages until at some point Birdie remembered the captain drew his sword and her father had gone very quiet. Aunt Māra pulled all the children inside the hut, but Birdie had stood by the door and watched as her father walked very slowly forward until he had placed his neck against the captain's sword, a move that had been so unexpected that the captain did not appear to know what to do. He stammered something Birdie could not hear, though she heard her father's voice quite clearly, I know how I will die and it is not by your hand. The captain had dropped his sword, spun on his heel and marched right out of camp in the direction of Charlestown. No one ever saw him again. +She could see the *Arkhangelsk* nestled in the dunes. Most of the time she loved seeing the boat, but sometimes it reminded her of the awful day it arrived. After her father had told the captain of the Ave Marie it could not be saved, the rest of his crew shrugged and went off hunting the wild boar that were forever rooting in the jack pines of the island interior. The captain sat on the beach and stewed in anger. He drank rum all afternoon until finally he'd strode into camp shouting for her father, who eventually appeared. There was a good bit of quarreling in several languages until at some point Birdie remembered the captain drew his sword and her father had gone very quiet. Aunt Māra pulled all the children inside the hut, but Birdie had stood by the door and watched as her father walked very slowly forward until he had placed his neck against the captain's sword, a move that had been so unexpected that the captain did not appear to know what to do. He stammered something Birdie could not hear, though she heard her father's voice quite clearly, I know how I will die and it is not by your hand. The captain had dropped his sword, spun on his heel and marched right out of camp in the direction of Charlestown. No one ever saw him again. A few hours later the crew of six returned from the woods with a wild boar so huge they staggered under the weight of the pole it was slung out on. Birdie's father had informed them of their captains departure, the news of which they barely acknowledged, bent as they were to the task at hand, namely butchering and roasting the boar. There'd been a great feast in camp that night, with music and dancing that didn't stop until long after Birdie was asleep. The crew had stayed on for a quarter of a moon, until the rum ran out and they too headed off down the road in the direction of Charlestown. Birdie had been worried that the angry captain might return. For several nights she refused to sleep outside until her father finally coaxed the problem out of her. "My girl, you don't need to worry," her father had said, "he's gone." No one seemed to know what became of him, but he never bothered them again. -And so the little ship had been commandeered by Birdie and her siblings and cousins. That first year they'd spent the autumn in the ship, every free moment they had, sailing the sands of the island, re-christening her the Arkhangelsk. Birdie was captain. They had voted, as free sailors did, and she had been elected. As Lulu was always careful to point out the captain only had authority during pursuit and battle, the rest of the time the whole crew was in charge. Birdie did not argue. She had only been voted out of her captain position once, when Lulu called a new vote after Birdie had ordered all the boys over the side to raid an enemy ship for the hundredth time, holding Lulu back. But Lulu's term as captain had lasted only a few days before Henry called a vote that put Birdie back in charge, and set the boys, along with Lulu, over the side to attack the forts and towns of the coasts they sailed. +And so the little ship had been commandeered by Birdie and her siblings and cousins. That first year they'd spent the autumn in the ship, every free moment they had, sailing the sands of the island, re-christening her the *Arkhangelsk*. Birdie was captain. They had voted, as free sailors did, and she had been elected. As Lulu was always careful to point out the captain only had authority during pursuit and battle, the rest of the time the whole crew was in charge. Birdie did not argue. She had only been voted out of her captain position once, when Lulu called a new vote after Birdie had ordered all the boys over the side to raid an enemy ship for the hundredth time, holding Lulu back. But Lulu's term as captain had lasted only a few days before Henry called a vote that put Birdie back in charge, and set the boys, along with Lulu, over the side to attack the forts and towns of the coasts they sailed. Birdie was trying to decide what they should do today. A new pot called for new adventures, but she wasn't quite sure what. Perhaps they should sail to the Spanish main and sack Campache. It had been a while since they'd done that. She was deep in contemplation of her battle plan when out of the corner of her eye she noticed a small sail rounding out of the northern river. The boat road the middle of the current. This jarred her out of her reverie. Don't do that Francis. She tried to send this thought to him somehow, but before she could even begin to concentrate she watched as the boat slammed hard into the leeward shore of the bank, hurling two small figures through the air like dolls pitched from a catapult. She winced as they landed. She watched them get up. Down at the shoreline Henry and Māra were laughing as they folded up the net. @@ -664,9 +664,9 @@ It was warm, but not hot. The wind and water together kept them cool in spite of They landed and pulled the net in, there were easily hundreds of fish. They could not even haul it all the way up out of the water. They waded out to inspect it, Birdie knew there was no way they could get their entire catch to shore in Delos, she would have sunk under the weight. Birdie looked at the writhing mass of fish trying to decide how they could divide it up, let some go without losing them all. That was when she noticed a strange line sticking out of the water. It was a slight thing, thin and gray. She had never seen anything quite like it, which was why it took her so long to realize it was a dorsal fin and it was coming straight for Francis faster than Birdie had ever seen a fin move. -"Francis! Get out! Now!" Birdie dropped the net and ran for the bank. Francis was right behind her, but as Birdie scrambled up on the dry sand she realized the fin was curved, not straight. She started to laugh. At first Francis thought she had played a trick on him, but then teeth closed around his leg and he screamed. +"Francis! Get out! Now!" Birdie dropped the net and ran for the bank. Francis was right behind her, but as Birdie scrambled up on the dry sand she noticed the fin was curved, not straight. She started to laugh. At first Francis thought she had played a trick on him, but then teeth closed around his leg and he screamed. -Fortunately for him, they were not shark teeth, but it took a moment of screaming and terror and panic before either Francis or Birdie realized this, because seeing a curved fin might have made Birdie feel better, but dolphins don't bite. Except this one did. It bit and Francis fell to the sand and it began to drag him back into the water, Birdie grabbed his hands and pulled and Francis kicked until the Dolphin gave up and darted off to deeper water. +Fortunately for him, they were not shark teeth, but it took a moment of screaming and terror and panic before either Francis or Birdie fully understood this, because seeing a curved fin might have made Birdie feel better, but dolphins don't bite. Except this one did. It bit and Francis fell to the sand and it began to drag him back into the water, Birdie grabbed his hands and pulled and Francis kicked until the Dolphin gave up and darted off to deeper water. They sat panting on the sand, watching the fin trace circles around the boat. @@ -690,7 +690,7 @@ Birdie considered it. It was a lot of fish. "Are you sure you're okay?" "What?" -"There's a baby dolphin in the net" In flash she realized why the dolphin had attacked. It hadn't attacked, it had defended. +"There's a baby dolphin in the net" In flash she understood why the dolphin had attacked. It hadn't attacked, it had defended. "What do we do?" Francis stared at her. @@ -736,7 +736,7 @@ Birdie and her father loved the sea in a way that Lulu understood, but did not. The sun had already disappeared into the thickets of trees on the western horizon when Lulu noticed for the first time that it was growing cooler. There was some almost imperceptible drop in the humidity as the sun faded, and she knew, winter was nearly here. She shivered slightly at the thought and then made a mistake. She was thinking only of getting down, but to do so she had to look down and when she did, a hot flash of fear shot through her and she was unable to move. -She started to yell Papa, but then she realized she was alone in the forest, high in a tree, at least half a mile from camp. No one was coming to help her. They would come looking for her, and it was possible they might hear her if she yelled loud enough, but it would be after dark before they found her and that would be worse. She realized, I am alone. I have to do this myself. +She started to yell Papa, but then she realized she was alone in the forest, high in a tree, at least half a mile from camp. No one was coming to help her. They would come looking for her, and it was possible they might hear her if she yelled loud enough, but it would be after dark before they found her and that would be worse. I am alone, she thought. I have to do this myself. She sat back down and gripped the trunk of the tree until she felt stable. She forced herself to breath deeply and slowing. She heard her father's voice in her head, count to four as you inhale, hold that breath while you count to four. Count to four as you exhale, count to four with your lungs empty. Slowly and steadily in and out. Lulu did this until she began to lose count and found that she was breathing normally. She opened her eyes and looked around. The last rays of the sun had poked their way through the forest thickets to fall here and there on Lulu's tree. It seemed to her as she looked below—she was careful not to look down, but at the trunk just below her feet—that the light was illuminating a kind of path down the tree. She could see the irregularity of bark in startling detail. She began to form a pattern of moves in her head, knobs seemed to jump out at her and she moved her foot down to the first one, easing her weight onto it as she gripped a branch above her with both hands. She shifted her weight onto that foot and gently moved forward, off the branch where she'd been sitting. She was up and moving. Now she looked down again and saw the perfect branch below her other foot. She stepped down. And down again, her arms finding the branches her feet had given up only moments before. She moved in a zig-zag pattern down the tree, using branches like a staircase, back and forth across the trunk, until she found herself back at the large branch she'd used to get up. She walked out on it, away from the trunk, balancing with her arms out, to where it very nearly touched the ground, and then she vaulted off to the ground. @@ -768,7 +768,7 @@ Lulu didn't need to be told twice. The tar scared Lulu. It was a fiercely hot, r Lulu did not like the smell of it until the tar had been spread on the rigging or hull of a ship. Something about the way it mixed with the salt soaked wood and hemp lines of a ship took the edge off the smell of the tar and made it smell pleasant again, like the forest standing at the edge of the sea. -What she liked even less than the smell of the tar was the heat. Sweat dripped off the end of her nose as she ate. Working the kilns was a constant sweat bath. She sweated gathering wood in the stagnant air of the hummocks around the marsh, sweated while she fed more wood into the kilns, sweated as she sat in camp, doing nothing more than eating. Sweating was simply part of life while the kilns were burning. Even the ocean was no great relief. For the past two days a warm current had made the shallows nearly as warm as the air. It was Lulu's least favorite part of the year, making the Arkhangelsk tar, but she knew it was also the most important part of the year. She often thought the only thing that would make it worse would be having to tan hides while tending the kilns. She never complained about working the kilns or gathering wood though. She did however, complain plenty about tanning hides. Who didn't? It was a smelly boring business rubbing brains all over a hide and scrapping the fur off. This was how she made it through making tar, by telling herself over and over again, at least there were no hides to tan. It's the little things that get you through. +What she liked even less than the smell of the tar was the heat. Sweat dripped off the end of her nose as she ate. Working the kilns was a constant sweat bath. She sweated gathering wood in the stagnant air of the hummocks around the marsh, sweated while she fed more wood into the kilns, sweated as she sat in camp, doing nothing more than eating. Sweating was simply part of life while the kilns were burning. Even the ocean was no great relief. For the past two days a warm current had made the shallows nearly as warm as the air. It was Lulu's least favorite part of the year, making the *Arkhangelsk* tar, but she knew it was also the most important part of the year. She often thought the only thing that would make it worse would be having to tan hides while tending the kilns. She never complained about working the kilns or gathering wood though. She did however, complain plenty about tanning hides. Who didn't? It was a smelly boring business rubbing brains all over a hide and scrapping the fur off. This was how she made it through making tar, by telling herself over and over again, at least there were no hides to tan. It's the little things that get you through. The sun was directly overhead when her father and Tamba returned from a barrel run. As soon as the previous day's tar was cool enough to move they secured it deeper into the marsh. It was unlikely there would be another storm this year, but her father was never a man to take chances on the weather. @@ -798,7 +798,7 @@ Birdie watched them but did not say anything. Henry nodded. "I came to make sure Birdie was okay, and to help her." -Lulu glanced up and for the first time realized that Birdie was carving a spear. Not the sort of toy spear they used for pretend fishing when the Arkhangelsk was sailing the sands, but a real spear, of the sort she used for real fishing when the surf was calm and the Snapper ran close in to shore. +Lulu glanced up and for the first time noticed that Birdie was carving a spear. Not the sort of toy spear they used for pretend fishing when the *Arkhangelsk* was sailing the sands, but a real spear, of the sort she used for real fishing when the surf was calm and the Snapper ran close in to shore. "You going fishing?" @@ -828,7 +828,7 @@ Birdie handed her the spear, and Lulu knew she'd won. She was glad too because t "They hit you with an arrow?" -Birdie nodded. All at once Lulu could see the streaks on her cheeks and realized that Birdie wasn't mad, she was sad. And hurt. "Sorry," Lulu offered. "Does it hurt?" +Birdie nodded. All at once Lulu could see the streaks on her cheeks and she understood that Birdie wasn't mad, she was sad. And hurt. "Sorry," Lulu offered. "Does it hurt?" "No. Not anymore." @@ -852,7 +852,7 @@ Still, that month, the month the tribes around them called Last moon of the Turt It was that smoke that drew the ship to them and forever changed the course of all their lives. -Birdie was the first to see it. She'd been on the north end of the island, helping Aunt Māra weave new reed baskets when she saw a patch of white on the horizon. She and her Aunt watched the ship work her way down the coast. Long before she'd come close enough to really study Birdie had decided her captain wasn't to be trusted. The sails were not trimmed like they should have been and her course wasn't nearly what it should have been. The closer she got the more Birdie began to wonder if maybe the captain wasn't bad so much as unwilling to get more than swimming distance offshore. She wasn't much of a ship. She wasn't far from joining the Arkhangelsk. Birdie could tell she'd once been a Bermuda sloop with a long bowsprit. Narrower than the Arkhangelsk, and smaller than Wanderer, she was missing her bowsprit entirely and her sails were torn. Her real trouble though looked to be that she'd been made of oak, rather than the Jamaican cedar used for Wanderer. Oak was a strong wood, but it did not last like cedar. It needed to be tarred more regularly to stop the worms from eating the wood. The worms, fortunately, were not a gross as they sounded. They were really more like snails, though they moved like worms. They ate every ship, but they really loved oak and this vessel showed it. She was riding low in the water and Birdie could tell she was probably taking on water faster than her crew was able to keep it out. That made her a good business proposition. Really, in the end the worms, Birdie thought, not for the first time, were what made tar necessary and therefore made her life possible. No worms, no tar. No tar, no reason to be on Edisto. +Birdie was the first to see it. She'd been on the north end of the island, helping Aunt Māra weave new reed baskets when she saw a patch of white on the horizon. She and her Aunt watched the ship work her way down the coast. Long before she'd come close enough to really study Birdie had decided her captain wasn't to be trusted. The sails were not trimmed like they should have been and her course wasn't nearly what it should have been. The closer she got the more Birdie began to wonder if maybe the captain wasn't bad so much as unwilling to get more than swimming distance offshore. She wasn't much of a ship. She wasn't far from joining the *Arkhangelsk*. Birdie could tell she'd once been a Bermuda sloop with a long bowsprit. Narrower than the *Arkhangelsk*, and smaller than Wanderer, she was missing her bowsprit entirely and her sails were torn. Her real trouble though looked to be that she'd been made of oak, rather than the Jamaican cedar used for Wanderer. Oak was a strong wood, but it did not last like cedar. It needed to be tarred more regularly to stop the worms from eating the wood. The worms, fortunately, were not a gross as they sounded. They were really more like snails, though they moved like worms. They ate every ship, but they really loved oak and this vessel showed it. She was riding low in the water and Birdie could tell she was probably taking on water faster than her crew was able to keep it out. That made her a good business proposition. Really, in the end the worms, Birdie thought, not for the first time, were what made tar necessary and therefore made her life possible. No worms, no tar. No tar, no reason to be on Edisto. Birdie and Aunt Māra build up their fire and then Birdie cut green fronds of sago palm to put on the top, sending thick white smoke billowing in to the air. @@ -882,7 +882,7 @@ Birdie saw out of the corner of her eye that Tamba and her father were both star Three men lowered a boat and came ashore in the usual manner to join the woman who was talking now with her Father. Lulu and Birdie stood on top the dune, watching as her father and Tamba greeted the strangers. Birdie wasn't sure where Kobayashi was, but she suspected he was in a tree with a rifle somewhere. Her father might like to pretend he welcomed every ship, but he was careful too. He made sure someone had his back whenever a new ship showed up. It seemed to Birdie though that this was probably safe. There was a woman on this boat. Birdie had only twice before encountered women on boats and both times they were passing as men. At least they seemed to be. Birdie knew at once but no one else seemed to, or they pretended not to, it was hard to know. -This was the first time she'd seen a woman being a woman and being a sailor and perhaps being a captain. She was pretty sure this woman was her hero. She watched in awe as she shook her father's hand like a man, smiled and laughed freely. She was Birdie realized with a rush, just like Lulu and herself. Only bigger. Older. Was it possible to remain as she was now as she grew older? She had never really considered this until now. She had never really seen herself in any adult, even those she looked up to like her father and Tamba and Kobayashi, not even in Aunt Māra. She loved them all, but she was not like them, this she knew deep down in some place that she had not thought up or created through her experience. Some place that was just there, had always been there and would always be there she assumed. She was not like them. She was like this woman. This smiling, laughing, singing, swearing, hatchet-packing, trouser-wearing woman. +This was the first time she'd seen a woman being a woman and being a sailor and perhaps being a captain. She was pretty sure this woman was her hero. She watched in awe as she shook her father's hand like a man, smiled and laughed freely. She was, Birdie realized with a rush, just like Lulu and herself. Only bigger. Older. Was it possible to remain as she was now as she grew older? She had never really considered this until now. She had never really seen herself in any adult, even those she looked up to like her father and Tamba and Kobayashi, not even in Aunt Māra. She loved them all, but she was not like them, this she knew deep down in some place that she had not thought up or created through her experience. Some place that was just there, had always been there and would always be there she assumed. She was not like them. She was like this woman. This smiling, laughing, singing, swearing, hatchet-packing, trouser-wearing woman. Lulu who stood silent beside seemed to feel the same way when she said suddenly, "Who is that woman?" @@ -938,7 +938,7 @@ Sarah laughed again. "You two are suspicious of me aren't you? Well, I suppose y Birdie considered this, and realized that, although she was about to say yes because it was the polite thing to do, the truth was she did not care. She did not know where Tamba was from beyond the vague understanding that he came from Western Africa. Kobayashi came from Japan. She already knew Sarah probably came from Ireland since her voice reminded Birdie of Uncle Cole who was from Ireland. Beyond that it did not much matter out here. It mattered who you were, what you did every day that made up who you were, not who you used to be or where you came from. That was something the British cared so much about and the people Birdie knew made it a point not to care about at all. Her father made it a point to tell them they were Alban, that they were different in some regards, that they were to hold themselves to a higher standard, this Birdie understood very clearly, but it was not because of where they came from, they did not come from anywhere, they were just out here, they had always been out here. -Still, Birdie nodded. But she'd been slow on the draw and Sarah realized it and so she smiled and looked down and said nothing for a moment. When she looked up there was something different about her eyes, like she understood Birdie somehow. "You don't care at all do you?" +Still, Birdie nodded. But she'd been slow on the draw and Sarah picked up on that. Birdie smiled and looked away. When she looked back there was something different about Sarah's eyes, like she understood Birdie somehow. "You don't care at all do you?" Birdie liked her more instantly. She smiled. "If you want to tell me about where you came from I would love to hear about it." @@ -956,7 +956,7 @@ Several ships that had careened at Lulu and Birdie's camp the previous year had "I'm learning." She laughed. "I could be better, that's why I want to join a crew. If they'll have me." -Birdie smiled, but said nothing. She knew many wouldn't. She'd never wanted to be part of a crew. She'd always wanted a ship. Her own ship. But then she didn't need to learn how to sail. +Birdie smiled. She knew many wouldn't though. Women were considered back luck on ships. Sailors were a superstitious bunch. Birdie had never wanted to be around them really. She'd never wanted to be part of a crew. She'd always wanted a ship. Her own ship. But then she didn't need to learn how to sail, she didn't need a crew. She had one. Lulu spoke up for the first time, "You certainly know how to make an entrance. You were just like the stories the pirates tell." @@ -1006,7 +1006,7 @@ The sat in silence for a while until Lulu and Henry climbed sleepily up the dune Lulu stood in the shade of the oaks, watching the thick hemp cords that held the Eliza May over on it's side. Her job was to inspect the ropes and the tree that held them, looking for any signs of weakness or fraying or rubbing. If any of these ropes slipped or broke loose it would put more strain on the remaining ropes and if they went, the ship would role back upright, crushing anyone who was working under it. It was pleasant work, watching things, though she couldn't help but feel tense and nervous since it was more than likely her father working under the boat. He always took the most dangerous jobs himself. If anything slipped she would scream and run which would be signal for anyone in the way of the rolling ship to run for their lives. Lulu was well known for her ability to out shriek anyone, which was why her father had given her the job. -Lulu kept an eye, and an ear, on the ropes, but she also couldn't help but keep an eye on Sarah. Sarah had donned sailor's canvas pants and a cotton work shirt just like the men. She used a bandanna to hold her red hair back. She was helping Tamba tend the fire and stir the great iron kettle as they heated some of the tar. The tar did not have to be re-heated to apply, but it went on easier, and more importantly penetrated deeper into the wood when it was warm. So Sarah stood, looking like a man but for her hair, working the tar. Lulu had never seen a woman like her. A woman who was both beautiful when she wanted to be, but also, Lulu had realized the previous night around the fire, able to turn into as rough tongued a sailor as any who had ever graced their shore. She was in fact two things it seemed to Lulu: a sailor and a woman. She and Birdie had discussed it quietly that morning, sitting on the dune eating dried fish as the sun rose. Sarah was exactly what Lulu wanted to be: a sailor and a woman. +Lulu kept an eye, and an ear, on the ropes, but she also couldn't help but keep an eye on Sarah. Sarah had donned sailor's canvas pants and a cotton work shirt just like the men. She used a bandanna to hold her red hair back. She was helping Tamba tend the fire and stir the great iron kettle as they heated some of the tar. The tar did not have to be re-heated to apply, but it went on easier, and more importantly penetrated deeper into the wood when it was warm. So Sarah stood, looking like a man but for her hair, working the tar. Lulu had never seen a woman like her. A woman who was both beautiful when she wanted to be, but also, as Lulu had seen the previous night around the fire, able to turn into as much of a rough-tongued sailor as any who had ever graced their shore. She was two things it seemed to Lulu: a sailor and a woman. She and Birdie had discussed it quietly that morning, sitting on the dune eating dried fish as the sun rose. Sarah was exactly what Lulu wanted to be: a sailor and a woman. She thought about what her father would have said if she'd told him this. He probably would have smiled and said, you can do whatever you want to do. But it was one thing to say that when you were Nicholas, it was another thing to actually do it when you were Lulu, who spent most of her time feeling small, curious, and unsure of the right thing to do. She knew everyone liked her stories. But she knew she invented elaborate stories primarily to keep anyone from thinking too much about her, to get them involved in some world she could control rather than looking to her, or at her, in this one, which she knew well enough she could not control at all. @@ -1024,7 +1024,7 @@ Their father who had been standing at the shore, with his back to them, lifted h "Oh goodness," said Sarah watching momentarily, but then quickly turning away, toward Lulu. "Does he always swim naked?" -Lulu and Birdie exchanged a look. "How else would you swim?" Lulu asked, wondering, for the first time if maybe Sarah didn't know everything. She looked at her in the moonlight and realized her face was flushed. Lulu felt embarrassed for her and quickly looked away, back toward her father who was a tiny head bobbing among the crumbling white foam of the small waves. It was then that Lulu noticed the light swirling around her father as he swam back to shore. He wrapped himself in a quilt and came walking up the beach. "Great night for a swim girls, phosphorescence everywhere." He nodded to Sarah, but she continue to look away. +Lulu and Birdie exchanged a look. "How else would you swim?" Lulu asked, wondering, for the first time if maybe Sarah didn't know everything. She looked at her in the moonlight and noticed her face was flushed. Lulu felt embarrassed for her and quickly looked away, back toward her father who was a tiny head bobbing among the crumbling white foam of the small waves. It was then that Lulu noticed the light swirling around her father as he swam back to shore. He wrapped himself in a quilt and came walking up the beach. "Great night for a swim girls, phosphorescence everywhere." He nodded to Sarah, but she continue to look away. Lulu jumped up and Birdie was right behind her. Sarah might dress like a man, and do a sailor's job, but Lulu and Birdie knew some things too, and nightswimming was one of them. Night swimming is best on a quiet night, though the girls and their brother had been known to swim in wilder weather as well. Calm nights were best for phosphorescence though. Her father claimed the eerie blue light bubbling up around you like tiny glowing stars caught in the sea were actually tiny animals. He'd learned this sailing with a man from London the year before they'd come to the Carolinas, but Lulu wasn't sure she believed it. Her father told just as many stories as she did. @@ -1106,7 +1106,7 @@ Birdie did not hesitate. "So one person can make decisions when there is no time "Well, we're not planning to do anything other than sail to Nassau. So we're probably not going to need to make many decisions in a hurry." -Lulu said nothing, but she realized suddenly that Sarah did not know everything. That she might wear sailors britches and a man's shirt, but she had done very little sailing and when she talked she revealed how little she knew. Lulu was glad she wasn't sailing with Eliza May. She knew eventually the sea would force decisions on them, it always did and they would not have anyone to make them, and they would argue and precious time would be wasted and people would be hurt. Or worse. But she said nothing. +Lulu realized suddenly that Sarah did not know everything. That she might wear sailors britches and a man's shirt, but she had done very little sailing and when she talked she revealed how little she knew. Lulu was glad she wasn't sailing with Eliza May. She knew eventually the sea would force decisions on them, it always did and they would not have anyone to make them, and they would argue and precious time would be wasted and people would be hurt. Or worse. But she said nothing. Birdie was not so quiet. "You can't run a ship through a storm by committee. Every sailor knows that." @@ -1118,7 +1118,7 @@ It was Sarah's turn to be quiet. She turned her head toward Birdie and Lulu coul And, thought Lulu, you need to pick one who knows where to go. It was something she and her father had talked about once. She asked why he sometimes was not the captain of Wanderer, why he let Tamba and Kobayashi lead. All he would say is that different times called for different people. -As she often did when her father wouldn't tell her what she wanted to know, she'd asked Tamba. They'd been in Wanderer' bow, using the reefed foresail as hammock, watching the sunset. At first Tamba said nothing, just kept staring out at the sea. Then, in Tamba fashion he had launched into one of his quiet rants, as Lulu thought of them. "You have to know where you are going Lulu, when you don't, you may have to follow others for a time. Some of them may go where you're going, and that may help. Some of them won't, that'll set you back. But in the end you have to find your own way. The secret is you can't think your way out of it, you have to feel it, you have to know deep down. To listen to your heart Lu, to reason with your mind and to understand the world and its winds with your eyes, your ears, your nose, and the sense that tickles your spine when you know, this is the way, this is the wind, this is the line across the water, this is where I am supposed to go. And when you know that, when you feel that, open the canvas, catch every bit of that wind you can without any bit of fear in your heart and nothing can stop you." +As she often did when her father wouldn't tell her what she wanted to know, she'd asked Tamba. They'd been in Wanderer' bow, using the reefed foresail as hammock, watching the sunset. At first Tamba said nothing, just kept staring out at the sea. Then, slowly he started to speak quietly. "You have to know where you are going Lulu, when you don't, you may have to follow others for a time. Some of them may go where you're going, and that may help. Some of them won't, that'll set you back. But in the end you have to find your own way. The secret is you can't think your way out of it, you have to feel it, you have to know deep down. To listen to your heart Lu, to reason with your mind and to understand the world and its winds with your eyes, your ears, your nose, and the sense that tickles your spine when you know, this is the way, this is the wind, this is the line across the water, this is where I am supposed to go. And when you know that, when you feel that, open the canvas, catch every bit of that wind you can without any bit of fear in your heart and nothing can stop you." Sarah sat back and looked at them for moment, studying their faces. "How old are you girls again?" @@ -1176,7 +1176,9 @@ The river narrowed and finally they saw signs of life, small farms of indentured Tamba hollered to an African man fishing from the bank. He pointed Delos over to him. The two exchanged words in a language Birdie did not recognize and Tamba did not translate. He merely nodded goodbye and pointed the bow back toward the middle of the river. The wind caught the sail and Birdie was able to stop paddling for long enough to ask Tamba what the man had said. -"He said the slavers from Charlestown came again. He hid in the swamp, but they took half the Sewee in the village up the south fork." Tamba glanced up the river. Birdie said nothing. Her chest felt hot, like she couldn't breath. She thought of the children she knew had been in that village, some her age. She'd traded dried salt for gum from a woman in that village. She tried to imagine her now, bent on some field, overseer's whip stinging her back. It made her chest burn with anger. She said as much to Tamba. +"He said the slavers from Charlestown came again. He hid in the swamp, but they took half the Sewee in the village up the south fork." Tamba glanced up the river. + +Birdie's chest felt hot, like she couldn't breath. She thought of the children she knew had been in that village, some her age. She'd traded dried salt for gum from a woman in that village. She tried to imagine her now, bent on some field, overseer's whip stinging her back. It made her chest burn with anger. She said as much to Tamba. "There are always slaves, Birdie" Tamba said. "The people farther inland, they take slaves too sometimes. My people, before we were taken slaves, we took people as slaves. Your ancestors took slaves." He shifted his weight and the boat rocked. "The tragedy is not to a be a slave, the tragedy is to be a slave to the British, a people without mercy or compassion. It is one thing to be taken by a people who see you as a defeated equal. It is another to end up with someone who sees you as a dog. The British. The French. The Spanish. The Dutch. These are the only people I have ever encountered who see anyone that way." He rummaged in his bag and pulled out a stick of dried fish. "Kobayashi says the Chinese are that way toward his people, but I cannot say." @@ -1252,7 +1254,7 @@ Birdie tried to think of what her father would say, but he said nothing. She cou "You think it's a bad idea." -Her father still said nothing. +Her father just kept staring at the fire. "You're worse than my wife," her uncle said. @@ -1318,7 +1320,7 @@ Birdie risked a peek through the veil of eyelashes. She could see her father, he For once Birdie agreed with her Uncle. But the thought of the British coming made her angry. She did not like the British. Their soldiers were always drunk, their sailors cruel. Unwashed, dirty men who brought nothing but pain and misery to anywhere they went, as far as she had ever seen anyway. Once in Charlestown she'd seen soldiers poking the slaves in the market with sticks. -Let the British come," She realized her uncle was drunk, slurring his words slightly. "Do you really thing they can control everything, be everywhere? Besides, they aren't going to bother with us, we're not big enough to interest them." +"Let the British come," Her uncle was drunk, slurring his words slightly. "Do you really thing they can control everything, be everywhere? Besides, they aren't going to bother with us, we're not big enough to interest them." "They're not going to bother with us because they are not going to find us here. But do you really think they would ignore the people who make it possible for their worst enemies to continue to sail against them? Continue robbing their merchantmen? Stealing from the crown? Do you really think the British crown is going to ignore that?" @@ -1342,9 +1344,9 @@ Birdie rolled over and stared up at the sky. The British. Coming to Charlestown. She watched shooting stars and started to count them, but her eyes kept sliding shut. When she opened them again the sun was just cresting the sea. -## Chapter 11: Storm +## Chapter 10: Storm -It was late in the afternoon when she felt it. Lulu sat straight up in the hull of the Arkhangelsk and hit her head on a cross spar. "Ow," she exclaimed followed quickly by, "Birdie, do you smell that?" +It was late in the afternoon when she felt it. Lulu sat straight up in the hull of the *Arkhangelsk* and hit her head on a cross spar. "Ow," she exclaimed followed quickly by, "Birdie, do you smell that?" "What?" Birdie paused and sniffed. "What?" @@ -1392,7 +1394,7 @@ Birdie glanced at Lulu and together they dashed out of camp. Birdie shrugged. "Maybe, but we still have to tell them, Papa told us to." -Fine." Lulu crossed her arms angrily. "Let's run then." And she took off down the trail, leaving Birdie behind. Their cousins' camp, was in nearly the same spot on the north end of the island as Lulu and Birdie's camp was on the south end. Nestled in the first row the dunes, out of the wind, and right by the river, that, while too brackish to drink, was good for fishing, washing, and cleaning. Lulu was panting hard as she rounded the bend and she could hear Birdie's feet pounding the sandy trail just behind her in what had become more a race between sisters than any message carrying errand. They both burst into camp, nearly knocking over Aunt Māra. Both doubled over sucking wind, unable to speak. It was Birdie who first looked up and realized to her horror that no one else was around. She put out her arm and caught her Aunt's dress. "Māra, where is everyone?" +Fine." Lulu crossed her arms angrily. "Let's run then." And she took off down the trail, leaving Birdie behind. Their cousins' camp, was in nearly the same spot on the north end of the island as Lulu and Birdie's camp was on the south end. Nestled in the first row the dunes, out of the wind, and right by the river, that, while too brackish to drink, was good for fishing, washing, and cleaning. Lulu was panting hard as she rounded the bend and she could hear Birdie's feet pounding the sandy trail just behind her in what had become more a race between sisters than any message carrying errand. They both burst into camp, nearly knocking over Aunt Māra. Both doubled over sucking wind, unable to speak. It was Birdie who first looked up and saw to her horror that no one else was around. She put out her arm and caught her Aunt's dress. "Māra, where is everyone?" "They've gone in the boat to Charlestown child, what is it?" @@ -1412,7 +1414,7 @@ The tide was raising Wanderer, her father and Tamba used lines and a bent pine o High clouds had been blowing in all afternoon, but wasn't until the sun began to set that they could see the line of the storm off in the east. It was so dark it looked like night blowing across the sea. Her father climbed the mizzen mast with his spyglass and studied the horizon. When he came down Lulu noticed something she had never seen in his eyes before, fear. It chilled her. She shivered and put her arms around him. He knelt down beside her and wrapped his arms around her. "It's going to be okay Lu. I promise." -She nodded, but said nothing. +She nodded, but did not speak. "It's going to be a long one, a fierce one, but we will all be alright." @@ -1440,7 +1442,7 @@ He turned to Birdie. "Go tell your father that we're going to give this family a "They say the water is already rising there." -Lulu said nothing, she watched as the man rought the canoe alongside. +Lulu watched as the man brought the canoe alongside. "How come every one asks Birdie to do things and not me? @@ -1566,7 +1568,7 @@ Birdie smiled, but started to cry again. "But now I don't know, I think about Fr Lulu felt herself start to cry. She hugged her sister and began to cry on her shoulder, and she felt Birdie crying on hers and they cried together, until they had nothing left to cry. -## Chapter 12: Sails +## Chapter 11: Sails It was after breakfast, the first truly cold morning of the year. Her father had come in from his morning swim and for the first time sat by the fire, hands spread over the flames to warm himself. Birdie had been stirring leftover stew in the kettle, which she'd hung herself over the fire. She was the first up, after her father. She scooped out a bowl stew and sat down on a stump to eat. The more she ate the hungrier she felt and before long she went back for another bowl. "That's my girl," said her father, ladling another bowl for her. @@ -1574,7 +1576,7 @@ Birdie tried to smile but she didn't feel it. It had been a week since the storm Aunt Māra rarely came to their camp anymore. She wandered the north end of the island like a ghost, staring out over the marsh. She seemed in a daze. She did not talk to anyone and Birdie had not seen her eat for days. Every now and then her father would convince her to eat something, but it was never much and afterward she would wander back to her camp and sit on the top of the dune, waiting. -Birdie had taken to following her, making sure she was okay by watching from a distance. She wasn't sure if Aunt Māra knew she was there or not and she didn't really care. She knew that she could not bear the thought of anything happening to her too, and so she appointed herself to look after her. It helped to have something to do too. It took her mind off the ache that sat at the middle of her, a vast blackness of loss and sorrow she did not want to touch, but knew would not go away. She kept it at bay, and was able to avoid Aunt Māra's state by focusing herself on caring for her Aunt. She brought her food, put her to bed at night the way she had once tucked Birdie in, walking back to her own camp along the shore in the dark, using the moonlight and the Arkhangelsk's mast to navigate her way through the dunes. She came to love these moonlit walks and she thought perhaps she understood why her Aunt wandered and stared. It was not just the ache of loss, though there was that, but also the moon and the sea seemed to smile. Things so vast, so incomprehensibly huge and unfathomable made everything else feel less real, less important, less like a weight pushing in on you. +Birdie had taken to following her, making sure she was okay by watching from a distance. She wasn't sure if Aunt Māra knew she was there or not and she didn't really care. She knew that she could not bear the thought of anything happening to her too, and so she appointed herself to look after her. It helped to have something to do too. It took her mind off the ache that sat at the middle of her, a vast blackness of loss and sorrow she did not want to touch, but knew would not go away. She kept it at bay, and was able to avoid Aunt Māra's state by focusing herself on caring for her Aunt. She brought her food, put her to bed at night the way she had once tucked Birdie in, walking back to her own camp along the shore in the dark, using the moonlight and the *Arkhangelsk*'s mast to navigate her way through the dunes. She came to love these moonlit walks and she thought perhaps she understood why her Aunt wandered and stared. It was not just the ache of loss, though there was that, but also the moon and the sea seemed to smile. Things so vast, so incomprehensibly huge and unfathomable made everything else feel less real, less important, less like a weight pushing in on you. --- @@ -1590,7 +1592,7 @@ They looked at each other and smiled. Birdie quickly washed her bowl and they tu "Doesn't look like they're headed this way." -Birdie nodded. She screwed up her courage inside and said quickly before she lost her nerve, "Papa, can Lulu and I play at the Arkhangelsk until you need us?" +Birdie nodded. She screwed up her courage inside and said quickly before she lost her nerve, "Papa, can Lulu and I play at the *Arkhangelsk* until you need us?" Her father looked at her darkly, but then he smiled. "What gave you the idea that there was ever a time when I did not need you?" He rubbed his beard and continued. "I always need you Birdie, at my side, we are joined at the hip. He clasped a huge hand on her shoulder and pulled her tight against his leg and attempted to take a step forward, swinging her along with him. She laughed and tried to pull away, but his grip was strong, she remained pinned against his leg and he took another, stiff-legged step, swinging her along again. He walked her like that, laughing as they went all the way over to where Lulu stood oblivious to the both of them, watching the sail through the glass. "She's tacking toward us." @@ -1616,13 +1618,13 @@ Tamba was lying in the shady grass beside the river with a young Waccamaw woman Kobayashi told them when they landed. He was unloading extra cooking pots from Wanderer. -"Whydah." +"*Whydah*." Tamba smiled. "Ah, Captain Sam. It is always good to see Sam." Lulu and Birdie shared an excited look. Their favorite sailor often sailed with Captain Sam. Although they liked Captain Sam as well. But no one told stories like Jack. No one was as comical and somehow earnestly serious as Jack. -"Ko," said Birdie. "Does Whydah have the same quartermaster?" +"Ko," said Birdie. "Does *Whydah* have the same quartermaster?" Kobayashi smiled. "I believe she does." @@ -1636,7 +1638,7 @@ He crouched down in front of the kids and smiled. "Birdie, how you've grown my d "Oh yes sir." Lulu caught herself, and then managed to ask, "is Calico Jack with you?" -Bellamy knelt down and glanced out at his ship, the Whydah. "The quartermaster is indeed somewhere on the ship. He is attending to some needs of the crew, but I do believe he will be ashore later. We plan to careen." He straightened up and turned to her father. "That is, Captain, if you have any tar to spare us." +Bellamy knelt down and glanced out at his ship, the *Whydah*. "The quartermaster is indeed somewhere on the ship. He is attending to some needs of the crew, but I do believe he will be ashore later. We plan to careen." He straightened up and turned to her father. "That is, Captain, if you have any tar to spare us." Her father smiled. "I do believe that's why were out here." @@ -1644,7 +1646,7 @@ Her father smiled. "I do believe that's why were out here." There was much hugging and patting of backs and the crew shook hands with them, some they remembered from the previous summer, when Bellamy had come north to the cape. The crew rolled barrels down the beach, they were headed upriver with Kobayashi to fill up on fresh water. -Bellamy sat down with the children in the sand. He glanced up at the dunes. "I see the Arkhangelsk has survived two years worth a storms." +Bellamy sat down with the children in the sand. He glanced up at the dunes. "I see the *Arkhangelsk* has survived two years worth a storms." "She lost her mast last week." Birdie dropped her head. "And her mate." @@ -1664,9 +1666,9 @@ Captain Sam put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry Birdie." Bellamy struggled to his feet and dusted off the sand. He clapped a hand on her father's shoulder. "I know you don't drink captain, but I may have to tonight. Now tell me about the storm. We saw it, but it went well north of us at the time." -Her father nodded, and started to walk down the path toward the camp, Bellamy followed, leaving Birdie, Lulu, and Henry standing on the beach, staring at the Arkhangelsk. +Her father nodded, and started to walk down the path toward the camp, Bellamy followed, leaving Birdie, Lulu, and Henry standing on the beach, staring at the *Arkhangelsk*. -"I wish it had been washed away." Birdie said it before she'd really thought about it, and then she realized she meant it. It would never been the same. She would never be able to play on the ship without thinking of Francis. She realized then that she didn't want to play on it anymore. She wondered if she really wanted to play. She wanted to... she wanted something and she didn't know what it was. She wanted Francis back. She wanted Owen back. She would even take her uncle Cole back. She wanted things to be how they had been. She wanted her aunt to be like she was, she wanted to play on the boat, she wanted.... +"I wish it had been washed away." Birdie said it before she'd really thought about it, but as the words settled in the air around her, she knew she meant it. It would never been the same. She would never be able to play on the ship without thinking of Francis. She didn't want to play on it anymore. She wondered if she really wanted to play. She wanted to... she wanted something and she didn't know what it was. She wanted Francis back. She wanted Owen back. She would even take her uncle Cole back. She wanted things to be how they had been. She wanted her aunt to be like she was, she wanted to play on the boat, she wanted.... But as she stood there in silence, wanting, she knew it would never be. Nothing would ever be the same. A thing came, a storm happened. It reshaped the land. It reshaped her. It had made her into something else and nothing would ever be the same. Her father always told them, nothing remains the same, everything is always changing. He said it so often it was a kind of mantra they made fun of behind his back, not because they didn't believe him, but because they didn't realize, they didn't know. It was one thing to hear and understand a thing. It was another to live it and now, only now, did Birdie understand what her father was saying. Only now did she have some inkling of what it must have felt like for him to lose her mother. For her mother she felt nothing. There was an absence, but it was not loss, she had never known her mother. She had never really lost her, her mother had just never been there. Only now did she understood what loss felt like. And she understood that she did not understand the loss her father must have felt when her mother died. @@ -1704,19 +1706,19 @@ Ratham laughed. "Well there you go then. Good man." He walked over to the first --- -Bellamy and her father did most of the work to get Revenge in and on her side. Jack made a chair out of some wood planks and a pile of sand and sat down, jug of rum at hand, watching the progress. It took the entire crew and half the trees they'd cut that summer to bring Whydah in and get her on her side, sufficiently out of the water to work on her hull. At Ratham's insistence they started on the starboard side. "Always start on starboard," he said. Nicholas had just shrugged and passed the word on to the men doing the work. +Bellamy and her father did most of the work to get Revenge in and on her side. Jack made a chair out of some wood planks and a pile of sand and sat down, jug of rum at hand, watching the progress. It took the entire crew and half the trees they'd cut that summer to bring *Whydah* in and get her on her side, sufficiently out of the water to work on her hull. At Ratham's insistence they started on the starboard side. "Always start on starboard," he said. Nicholas had just shrugged and passed the word on to the men doing the work. -Lulu, Birdie and Henry sat on the bow of the Arkhangelsk, watching the men work on the hull of the Whydah. "She looks to be pretty badly worm eaten. Probably doesn't have but a couple years left in her at most," said Lulu. +Lulu, Birdie and Henry sat on the bow of the *Arkhangelsk*, watching the men work on the hull of the *Whydah*. "She looks to be pretty badly worm eaten. Probably doesn't have but a couple years left in her at most," said Lulu. Birdie swung her legs idly. She wished she could help, but her father wouldn't let her even roll barrels of tar down the beach. Too dangerous he'd said. Birdie understood the danger of careening, but she failed to see what was dangerous about painting a hull with tar. "If a line gives way, if a timber rolls and that ship moves, it crushes anything in it's path like a bug" her father said. "I'd just jump out of the way," she said, but he'd only grunted and ignored her further pleading. And so she sat, watching from another ship. Over Birdie's shoulder, back toward camp she could see a plume of smoke rising up from the great pits where her father had buried two huge boar in last night. By evening they'd be ready to dig up, and it would be Birdie's favorite meal, the delicious sweetness of the pork, with the special rice Kobayashi made to go with it, her mouth watered even now at the thought. -It wasn't until she glanced out at the sea beyond Whydah that she realized she had not thought of Francis or Owen for several hours. Is this what happens she thought with a start. Is this how we move on? We slowly forget them? It seemed somehow the most horrible thing she could have done and yet she realized she didn't do it, it simply happened. At most she let it happen. Then she understand why Aunt Māra wore black and kept to herself. If you didn't make an effort to hold the dead in your mind you risked them slipping away from you. +It wasn't until she glanced out at the sea beyond *Whydah* that she realized she had not thought of Francis or Owen for several hours. Is this what happens she thought with a start. Is this how we move on? We slowly forget them? It seemed somehow the most horrible thing she could have done and yet she didn't do it. It simply happened. At most she let it happen. Then she understand why Aunt Māra wore black and kept to herself. If you didn't make an effort to hold the dead in your mind you risked them slipping away from you. She found herself wondering what Francis would have thought of Calico Jack, he was hard not to love. He was loud, often drunk, a bit of a fool, but completely lovable. Henry followed him around like he was the greatest thing on the island, which she knew irritated her father, though he never said anything or made any effort to stop him. Jack was harmlessly hilarious, though from stories the crew told he was fierce and quite capable when he needed to be. He was after all quartermaster of a ship of about sixty men who'd picked him to lead them. -More than the captain, the quartermaster ran a ship. The captain decided where to go, what course to set, but the quartermaster represented the men, and was first over the rail in a fight. They'd captured a Spanish Galleon the previous year off the coast of Port Royal Jamaica, which Birdie knew had taken skill, perhaps some luck, but skill and daring certainly. It was hard to imagine the man now sitting in the sand in his fancy coat, swigging rum from a jug and throwing shells as seagulls leading a ship full of men into battle with a ship twice, maybe three times the size of Whydah, with three decks of 24 pound canons sticking out the side of it. Birdie had never seen a galleon. None of them had, not even her father, though he'd at least seen the British equivalent. If the rumors were to be believed British warships would be here soon enough. Birdie shivered. She wondered what Ratham would do when the British came for him. Probably get drunk she decided. +More than the captain, the quartermaster ran a ship. The captain decided where to go, what course to set, but the quartermaster represented the men, and was first over the rail in a fight. They'd captured a Spanish Galleon the previous year off the coast of Port Royal Jamaica, which Birdie knew had taken skill, perhaps some luck, but skill and daring certainly. It was hard to imagine the man now sitting in the sand in his fancy coat, swigging rum from a jug and throwing shells as seagulls leading a ship full of men into battle with a ship twice, maybe three times the size of *Whydah*, with three decks of 24 pound canons sticking out the side of it. Birdie had never seen a galleon. None of them had, not even her father, though he'd at least seen the British equivalent. If the rumors were to be believed British warships would be here soon enough. Birdie shivered. She wondered what Ratham would do when the British came for him. Probably get drunk she decided. "You know what would be fun?" Henry's voice broke the silence and interrupted Birdie's train of thought. "We should try to sneak up on Captain Jack and steal his rum." @@ -1728,13 +1730,13 @@ Ratham leaped to his feet and roared a half animal yell that made Birdie's hair Henry instantly dropped the bottle in the sand and kept running full speed back to the Arkhanglesk where he skidded into the sand and tried to hide. -Ratham shrugged and walked toward the bottle, fitting his sword back into its sheath with considerably less drama and noise than he'd used pulling it out. He bent down in the sand, picked up the bottle and glanced over at the Arkhangelsk. He slowly sauntered over, taking a long pull of rum as he walked. He did not say anything when he got there, he just leaned against the hull below where the children sat on deck and said simple, "You see children. Let this be a lesson to you. If your person strikes sufficient fear into the heart of others, you don't actually have to hurt anybody. Just the threat of hurting them is plenty." +Ratham shrugged and walked toward the bottle, fitting his sword back into its sheath with considerably less drama and noise than he'd used pulling it out. He bent down in the sand, picked up the bottle and glanced over at the *Arkhangelsk*. He slowly sauntered over, taking a long pull of rum as he walked. He did not say anything when he got there, he just leaned against the hull below where the children sat on deck and said simple, "You see children. Let this be a lesson to you. If your person strikes sufficient fear into the heart of others, you don't actually have to hurt anybody. Just the threat of hurting them is plenty." He turned and walked back toward the beach. "Take the man you call uncle teach, he's the most feared man in this part of the world and I don't think he's ever so much as messed up another man's hair." "But," he spun around to face them with a menacing look on his face. "Never take another man's rum." -## Chapter 13: The Tale Black Sam Told +## Chapter 12: The Tale Black Sam Told Henry avoided Ratham for several days, heading off into the woods in search of boar, while Birdie helped clean up and organize their camp each morning. A full ship's company could make an impressive mess of their camp. Lulu helped out, but Birdie always went beyond cleaning into organizing, leaving Lulu to her own devices. @@ -1792,7 +1794,7 @@ After some cajoling Bellamy stood up and straightened his hat, rested his hand o "We were all hungry and thirsty all the time. Food was running low. We'd put a water ration in place the minute the wind died. Two dips a day. It was like sailing a merchant ship." There was a round of dark, knowing chuckles. -"We finally found enough of a current to pull us out and what do we see on the horizon but a sail. Luck is changing. It's impossible to know how far ahead she is though, we might catch her in a matter of hours, it might be a week. There's still no wind, we're really just drifting, but with a bit of direction. Those sails though, they must be drifting too. Whydah doesn't have a very tall mast so we often sight ships before they sight us." +"We finally found enough of a current to pull us out and what do we see on the horizon but a sail. Luck is changing. It's impossible to know how far ahead she is though, we might catch her in a matter of hours, it might be a week. There's still no wind, we're really just drifting, but with a bit of direction. Those sails though, they must be drifting too. *Whydah* doesn't have a very tall mast so we often sight ships before they sight us." "One of her best points," put in Jack. @@ -1800,7 +1802,7 @@ After some cajoling Bellamy stood up and straightened his hat, rested his hand o "So we figure there's not much to be done. Either we drift faster and catch it or it gets the wind ahead of us and disappears. I hate drifting. Every sailor hates drifting. We float along for days with those sails on the horizon, never can see the ship, just the sails, the white against a world of blue, forever out of reach. -"Finally after three days the sails disappear and we know. Wind. Life comes back to the crew, men get out of hammocks again. Everyone feels lighter, the water ration doesn't even seem so bad anymore. Two hours later we heard that first snap, that delicious curling sound of canvas catching wind. And we move forward, we leap forward. It feels like Whydah has been shot out of a gun. We're laughing and crying, everyone is hugging." +"Finally after three days the sails disappear and we know. Wind. Life comes back to the crew, men get out of hammocks again. Everyone feels lighter, the water ration doesn't even seem so bad anymore. Two hours later we heard that first snap, that delicious curling sound of canvas catching wind. And we move forward, we leap forward. It feels like *Whydah* has been shot out of a gun. We're laughing and crying, everyone is hugging." The crew was smiling now at the memory. @@ -1866,11 +1868,11 @@ Lulu rolled over and looked at Henry. Her back was to the fire, but he was sitti He continued to stare off into the fire as a tears ran down his face. Finally he spoke again, his voice choked. "I think Owen is out there somewhere, missing me." -Lulu didn't know what to say. She thought a thousand thoughts, but none of them could do anything to ease the pain of that image, of Owen and Francis and Uncle Cole, somewhere out there in the darkness, never able to find their way back, searching for their families, but never able to find them. She said nothing, but when Henry finally laid his head down, she pulled him close and wrapped her arms around him and they fell asleep that way. +Lulu didn't know what to say. She thought a thousand thoughts, but none of them could do anything to ease the pain of that image, of Owen and Francis and Uncle Cole, somewhere out there in the darkness, never able to find their way back, searching for their families, but never able to find them. She couldn't think of anything to say, but when Henry finally laid his head down, she pulled him close and wrapped her arms around him and they fell asleep that way. -## Chapter 14: Careen +## Chapter 13: Careen -Sam and Jack and the crew spent two weeks on the beach. The crew helped her father frame out a new Delos. It still needed a mast, but they'd floated it and rowed it up the river. It was a slightly modified design her father believed would sail faster. Jack stood on shore watching Sam and her father trying to surf it in from its maiden voyage. "You know Birdie, three years ago I started sailing in something not much bigger than that thing. I sailed into a Nassau two winters ago in a canoe. A canoe Birdie. It was a fine canoe. But look at that Birdie. He pointed down the beach at Whydah, which was nearly upright, waiting for the tide to lift her enough to slide back out into deeper water, her hull sealed, her rigging the next thing to be worked on. +Sam and Jack and the crew spent two weeks on the beach. The crew helped her father frame out a new Delos. It still needed a mast, but they'd floated it and rowed it up the river. It was a slightly modified design her father believed would sail faster. Jack stood on shore watching Sam and her father trying to surf it in from its maiden voyage. "You know Birdie, three years ago I started sailing in something not much bigger than that thing. I sailed into a Nassau two winters ago in a canoe. A canoe Birdie. It was a fine canoe. But look at that Birdie. He pointed down the beach at *Whydah*, which was nearly upright, waiting for the tide to lift her enough to slide back out into deeper water, her hull sealed, her rigging the next thing to be worked on. "That my girl, is a warship. We captured that vessel without firing a single shot. We simply paddled up. There was no wind that day, so we were paddling our canoe. We rowed up and they were so afraid of us they gave up. I never thought I would see a day like this, when people like me, Sam, your father... when people like us would have our own ships." He took a large swig of rum from the small barrel in the sand. @@ -1880,11 +1882,11 @@ He stared out at the sea in silence for a moment. "Somewhere, someone is very, v --- -Birdie went with Tamba to work the rigging on Whydah. The ship was huge, so much larger than Wanderer as to make her home feel like a little toy. Whydah was a warship Ratham kept saying, and Birdie thought he was just bragging until she got out there next to it in the rowboat and realized what he meant. It was big, a truly massive, hulking, heavy-looking piece of wood and sail. It had a presence you could not ignore. +Birdie went with Tamba to work the rigging on *Whydah*. The ship was huge, so much larger than Wanderer as to make her home feel like a little toy. *Whydah* was a warship Ratham kept saying, and Birdie thought he was just bragging until she got out there next to it in the rowboat and saw what he meant. It was big, a truly massive, hulking, heavy-looking piece of wood and sail. It had a presence you could not ignore. She climbed up the rigging with Tamba behind her. They got to work tarring the standing rigging, some of which the men were still retying and splicing. The smell of pine and tar and salt water mixed in the offshore breeze with its scent of salt marsh and river mouths and maybe, if she really focused, the hint of campfire smoke. But she didn't focus, she focused on holding onto the rigging because she was higher than she had ever been before and, unlike her sister, she did not much like heights. She kept one arm looped tightly around the hemp line as she painted the tar onto the row of line above it. -She was halfway down the mizzen mast rigging when she happened to stare out at sea at just the right moment so that she saw something white move. At first she thought it was a sea gull, or a skimmer dipping its beak down to snag some unseen fish, but then she realized it was not a bird, it was too far away, to indistinct to be a bird. It was a sail. Without really thinking about it, because it was what she always did when she spotted a sail, it was what any sailor would do if they saw a sail, she yelled "sail". +She was halfway down the mizzen mast rigging when she happened to stare out at sea at just the right moment so that she saw something white move. At first she thought it was a sea gull, or a skimmer dipping its beak down to snag some unseen fish. But it wasn't moving like a bird. It was a sail. Without really thinking about it, because it was what she always did when she spotted a sail, it was what any sailor would do if they saw a sail, she yelled "sail". She felt every eye on the ship glance up at her, find her line of sight and follow it out to sea. Tamba was in the rigging across from her and he slowly turned around to look. She watched as it dipped below the horizon before he had turned. She gulped, what if no one believed her? She glanced down. Jack was standing below her, one leg on the rail, glass to his eye. She watched as he brought the glass down and glanced up at her, "Flag? Bearing?" @@ -1908,15 +1910,15 @@ Jack came up from below deck carrying two hatchets. Two more were strapped to hi He turned to a sailor near the rail. "Make read their pirogue. Birdie, you help Tamba get the bung in that barrel and then get overboard to the boat, we're raising anchor." -Bellamy might be the captain, but the ship came to life when the quartermaster came on deck. Men scurried up the rigging and began dropping the sails. Others were already winching the great wooden wheel that raised the anchor. Birdie had spent most of her life at sea, been on many a ready ship, but she had never seen a crew come together in the kind of concerted effort that the crew of Whydah displayed now. It was like an octopus waking up, first a few suckers twitched, then whole tentacles began to move, then suddenly it's off, gone in a flash. +Bellamy might be the captain, but the ship came to life when the quartermaster came on deck. Men scurried up the rigging and began dropping the sails. Others were already winching the great wooden wheel that raised the anchor. Birdie had spent most of her life at sea, been on many a ready ship, but she had never seen a crew come together in the kind of concerted effort that the crew of *Whydah* displayed now. It was like an octopus waking up, first a few suckers twitched, then whole tentacles began to move, then suddenly it's off, gone in a flash. -She and Tamba hammered in the bung and fairly slid down the side of Whydah into the pirogue. Two sailors hoisted up the netting behind them and Whydah began to move away from them before they had even settled into their seats. The offshore wind sent her surging out to sea and she and Tamba watched her go as they set about raising their own sail and tacking back toward shore. +She and Tamba hammered in the bung and fairly slid down the side of *Whydah* into the pirogue. Two sailors hoisted up the netting behind them and *Whydah* began to move away from them before they had even settled into their seats. The offshore wind sent her surging out to sea and she and Tamba watched her go as they set about raising their own sail and tacking back toward shore. -And just like that, Whydah was gone, back to what she did best, chasing sails over the horizon. +And just like that, *Whydah* was gone, back to what she did best, chasing sails over the horizon. -## Chapter 15: Whydah Returns +## Chapter 14: *Whydah* Returns -It was a quarter turn of the moon before the Whydah returned, with the prize ship right behind her. +It was a quarter turn of the moon before the *Whydah* returned, with the prize ship right behind her. It was early morning, Lulu was still half asleep but a voice was yelling. "Someone bring me the glass." Lulu turned to find this voice. Her father was standing on top of the dune looking out at the sunrise, yelling down at her and Birdie still asleep by the fire. @@ -1924,9 +1926,9 @@ Lulu jumped out of her covers and dashed into the hut to grab the glass out of h "Father wants the glass." She darted out the door with the glass clutched tight in her hand and loped up the dune to where her father, Birdie and Henry were now standing. They were all shielding their eyes, watching the thin line of horizon where two ships were sailing, nearly directly toward them. Her father held out his hand without ever looking down. Lulu handed him the glass. -"Whydah. And her prize I imagine." His voice trailed off to a whisper. "Why are they coming here?" +"*Whydah*. And her prize I imagine." His voice trailed off to a whisper. "Why are they coming here?" -Lulu knew he was talking to himself, but she enjoyed answering his inner monologues when he spoke them out loud. Who talks aloud and doesn't expect others to answer? "Maybe her prize needs to careen. It's happened before." She glanced down the beach toward the Arkhangelsk. +Lulu knew he was talking to himself, but she enjoyed answering his inner monologues when he spoke them out loud. Who talks aloud and doesn't expect others to answer? "Maybe her prize needs to careen. It's happened before." She glanced down the beach toward the *Arkhangelsk*. Her father took the glass from his eye and stared down at her. He cocked his head to the side as if considering her, but she knew he was really considering some silent thought in his head. "That could be Lu. That could be." @@ -1946,9 +1948,9 @@ They lost interest in the game as the two boats drew together. "I wish we had a "I wish we were in the boat with Papa," said Lulu. Though she too wished they at least had a glass. Technically Tamba had a glass and he probably would have let them use it if they'd asked, but she had not thought of it. Her only thought had been to get Henry headed back to camp so he could go hunting. Without Owen around Henry had no one to hunt with. He'd had no one to share the glory of his boar with. While it was probably fun to be paraded around on sailors' shoulders, she knew the one he really wanted to know about it was Owen. He rarely spoke of Owen, or of hunting, but she knew he missed them both. She saw it in the way he sat quiet sometimes, staring at nothing. It was a little bit like what Aunt Māra did, but it didn't last as long. Still it lasted long enough that Lulu had noticed it, and as soon as she noticed it she'd made a point to look for ways she could help him. This was the first thing she'd been able to do. It made her feel good to think of him off hunting, though she did wish that she'd thought to ask Tamba for his glass because it was impossible to tell what was happening offshore. -Her father's boat was in irons, probably being towed by a line to Whydah, since she had not slacked sail, though she did appear to be coming about. The pirogue's sail flutter like a flag alongside. +Her father's boat was in irons, probably being towed by a line to *Whydah*, since she had not slacked sail, though she did appear to be coming about. The pirogue's sail flutter like a flag alongside. -And then they watched as the Pirogue heeled slightly, caught the wind and pulled away from Whydah. The big ship began to turn away, abreast the wind, Lulu saw the anchor fall from the bow and guessed Whydah was going to spend the night just off the mouth of the river. +And then they watched as the Pirogue heeled slightly, caught the wind and pulled away from *Whydah*. The big ship began to turn away, abreast the wind, Lulu saw the anchor fall from the bow and guessed *Whydah* was going to spend the night just off the mouth of the river. Her father came back up the river, the tide and wind in his favor such that he sailed all the way up into the marsh without even tacking. Lulu watched him from the dune, and once she realized he might be able to do it, she darted off through camp and down to the edge of the marsh to watch. She was standing out on the huge fallen oak that served at their dock when he glided up and tossed the stern line to her. @@ -2058,7 +2060,7 @@ Jack shrugged. "His higher bred morals were unable to deal with the reality he f Lulu glanced at her father, he was staring into the fire lost in thought. She wondered what the south seas were like. She'd heard stories, Kobayashi had sailed the far side of them from his home in Japan, down though endless chains of islands, all covered in coconuts and mangos and surrounded by treacherous coral reefs, to a town named Batavia, where he'd somehow met up with her father, though both were rather vague on the details. -"You want to sail Whydah around the south seas eh Jack?" Her father smiled. "I'd go with you in Wanderer if you did. That'd be a fine adventure. Wouldn't miss it for the world." +"You want to sail *Whydah* around the south seas eh Jack?" Her father smiled. "I'd go with you in Wanderer if you did. That'd be a fine adventure. Wouldn't miss it for the world." Ratham laughed. "No, I like my Nassau. I like my clothes and my wine and my food, my Spanish Galleons. I'm a simple man, Nicholas, I don't want adventure, I want more rum" @@ -2074,19 +2076,19 @@ Her father sighed. "In principle no. Still, this island is a wonderful place to Jack nodded and pushed his hat back a little, smiling. "Well, when you put it like that..." He raised his mug to her father and then took a drink. -## Chapter 16: Birdie Joins Whydah +## Chapter 15: Birdie Joins *Whydah* Birdie lay awake late into the night, watching Orion's belt move across the sky, wondering about the hunter. Did he like it up there? Was it small consolation? Did he miss hunting? Did that great son of Poseidon miss Artemis? Are you happy up there Birdie whispered to Orion. I think I should have liked to keep hunting if it were me she answered for him. Never trust a jealous god, not even Apollo. -None of the stories swirling in her head had an answer for her real question though. Should she claim her share of the Whydah's prize? Ratham had offered two shares. One for sighting, and one for being part of the crew, even if it were only for that morning. Every member of the crew was entitled to a share. With her second, for sighting, she would get over 150 pieces of eight. +None of the stories swirling in her head had an answer for her real question though. Should she claim her share of the *Whydah*'s prize? Ratham had offered two shares. One for sighting, and one for being part of the crew, even if it were only for that morning. Every member of the crew was entitled to a share. With her second, for sighting, she would get over 150 pieces of eight. That was more money than Birdie had ever seen in her life. More than she had ever heard of anyone seeing or having. It was more than her father had. It was enough to outfit them for years to come. It was enough that they would not have to worry about money again for quite some time. At least that was what Ratham had told her. But she knew her father was against it. She knew he didn't want her name in the ship's log in case that log ever fell into British hands. If it did her name would be there, marking her a pirate, pure and simple. If captured she would be hung like any other pirate. This was not a fate Birdie enjoyed thinking about. She had seen men hanging dead from the gallows in Charlestown, crows picking at their rotten flesh. She did not want to be up there on the gallows. But the idea that her family would be safer, could afford to find somewhere new to live, could maybe even find a home away from... the British. Hadn't her father said the British treated everyone badly? Did it matter then if she was official a pirate? Was being thrown in prison for living on someone else's island so much better than just being hung? Maybe Kobayashi was right, at least being hung it was all over quickly, there was no sitting around in prison. It was hard for Birdie to imagine a worse fate than being locked in a dark prison cell. Just thinking of it now made her wonder if she might not prefer the gallows, crows and all. -The fire was nothing but coals. No one had banked them. Birdie got up and used a small log to move the coals to the side of the fire, piling them against the rocks to protect them from the wind, where they would last through the night and help them get the fire going again in the morning. She sighed and sat down beside the warmth of the coals. She shivered. It was getting colder. It was getting to only time of year she did not like, real winter, the two moons where it was cold enough that she had to wear pants and a coat all the time. It was the time they made their last batches of tar and the heat of the kilns finally became welcome. She wondered though, with the Whydah having used half their tar if they would have to keep making it longer than last year. There wasn't much left if they were going to tar Wanderer too before they left for northern shores in March. +The fire was nothing but coals. No one had banked them. Birdie got up and used a small log to move the coals to the side of the fire, piling them against the rocks to protect them from the wind, where they would last through the night and help them get the fire going again in the morning. She sighed and sat down beside the warmth of the coals. She shivered. It was getting colder. It was getting to only time of year she did not like, real winter, the two moons where it was cold enough that she had to wear pants and a coat all the time. It was the time they made their last batches of tar and the heat of the kilns finally became welcome. She wondered though, with the *Whydah* having used half their tar if they would have to keep making it longer than last year. There wasn't much left if they were going to tar Wanderer too before they left for northern shores in March. -She could change all that if she claimed the prize. She could make it so they no longer had to make tar. *I like making tar* her father had said, but in her head Birdie had been thinking, then you can still make it, you just won't *have* to make it. She half wanted to take the money just to see if her father would really keep making tar or if that was just something he said so that she wouldn't feel obligated to put her name in the log for the sake of their family. But the truth was she realized, she did feel obligated, and as soon as she realized that there was no doubt in her mind what she had to do. She fell asleep watching Orion run down toward the sea. You never stop hunting, you just move to new hunting grounds. +She could change all that if she claimed the prize. She could make it so they no longer had to make tar. *I like making tar* her father had said, but in her head Birdie had been thinking, then you can still make it, you just won't *have* to make it. She half wanted to take the money just to see if her father would really keep making tar or if that was just something he said so that she wouldn't feel obligated to put her name in the log for the sake of their family. But the truth was, she did feel obligated, and as soon as she understood that there was no doubt in her mind what she had to do. She fell asleep watching Orion run down toward the sea. You never stop hunting, you just move to new hunting grounds. --- @@ -2112,21 +2114,21 @@ Birdie considered this, but before she could answer Kobayashi went on. "Who deci He ladled boiling water out of the pot into his cup, watching the tea leaves swirl. "I believe also that Karuma knows what is in your heart. If you act with love, without greed, without hatred, without fear... if you act as you know you should, I believe Karuma accounts for this when it comes the bear upon you." -Birdie said nothing. She was thinking about what was in her heart, and again she knew that it was the right thing to do. She was not taking the money for greed, she was not taking the money because she hated the British merchant, she was not taking the money out of fear of the future. She was taking the money to ease the struggle of her family, of her tribe, her crew. She was responsible not just for her well being but for theirs as well. +Birdie thought about what was in her heart, and again she knew that it was the right thing to do. She was not taking the money for greed, she was not taking the money because she hated the British merchant, she was not taking the money out of fear of the future. She was taking the money to ease the struggle of her family, of her tribe, her crew. She was responsible not just for her well being but for theirs as well. -When her father came back from his swim she told him. To her surprise he did not object. He simply nodded and went to tell Jack who was still sprawled in the dunes, fully clothed, asleep in the sun. Ratham was excited. He insisted that Birdie accompany him out to the Whydah and undergo the ceremony of induction for new crew, which consisted of taking the oaths and then feasting and drinking with the crew. +When her father came back from his swim she told him. To her surprise he did not object. He simply nodded and went to tell Jack who was still sprawled in the dunes, fully clothed, asleep in the sun. Ratham was excited. He insisted that Birdie accompany him out to the *Whydah* and undergo the ceremony of induction for new crew, which consisted of taking the oaths and then feasting and drinking with the crew. -It was nearly lunch time when the men who'd spent the previous day and night hunting upriver came rowing back. Their launch with so full of boar and deer it road dangerously low in the water. Ratham, undeterred, climbed in and the crew headed back the Whydah to prepare for Birdie's induction. +It was nearly lunch time when the men who'd spent the previous day and night hunting upriver came rowing back. Their launch with so full of boar and deer it road dangerously low in the water. Ratham, undeterred, climbed in and the crew headed back the *Whydah* to prepare for Birdie's induction. -That evening, Birdie and the crew of Wanderer sailed Delos out to Whydah and climbed up the rigging to the deck. The crew of Whydah, including the cabin boy, who was not much older than Birdie, was waiting. They lined both side of the deck. In the middle of the ship, near the wheel, stood Ratham and Bellamy. Bellamy had the ships log, where he'd recorded Birdie's name. She'd never seen her name before, but her father assured her it was correct. She put an X beside it and Bellamy blew on it to dry before ceremoniously slamming the book shut. "Welcome to the crew of Whydah!" he cried. A roar went up from the men around the ship and Bellamy bent down to speak softer in her ear. "However briefly you may serve with us Birdie, it is an honor to have you." +That evening, Birdie and the crew of Wanderer sailed Delos out to *Whydah* and climbed up the rigging to the deck. The crew of *Whydah*, including the cabin boy, who was not much older than Birdie, was waiting. They lined both side of the deck. In the middle of the ship, near the wheel, stood Ratham and Bellamy. Bellamy had the ships log, where he'd recorded Birdie's name. She'd never seen her name before, but her father assured her it was correct. She put an X beside it and Bellamy blew on it to dry before ceremoniously slamming the book shut. "Welcome to the crew of *Whydah*!" he cried. A roar went up from the men around the ship and Bellamy bent down to speak softer in her ear. "However briefly you may serve with us Birdie, it is an honor to have you." -"Thank you sir," she whispered back in his ear. Jack blew in a conk shell and the low groaning sound silenced the crew. Jack stepped forward and spun around to make sure he had everyone's attention. "The oath here is simple. To be a member of this crew, and to therefore receive your share in spoils, you must agree to the articles of this ship." Ratham unrolled the paper Birdie had put an X on and showed it to the crew. He began to read the paper, which quickly delved into details of sailing Whydah which Birdie would never need to know, given that she was sailing with Whydah tonight only, something she would reflect on with some relief in the years to come. +"Thank you sir," she whispered back in his ear. Jack blew in a conk shell and the low groaning sound silenced the crew. Jack stepped forward and spun around to make sure he had everyone's attention. "The oath here is simple. To be a member of this crew, and to therefore receive your share in spoils, you must agree to the articles of this ship." Ratham unrolled the paper Birdie had put an X on and showed it to the crew. He began to read the paper, which quickly delved into details of sailing *Whydah* which Birdie would never need to know, given that she was sailing with *Whydah* tonight only, something she would reflect on with some relief in the years to come. Two things stuck with her though from Jack's reading, one was the promise not to draw blood, or "take away the life of any man given Quarter," and above all else, to remain loyal and "assist your brethren in danger, on pain of death." -In the end much food was eaten, much drink was drunk and a small sea chest with 140 pieces of eight in it was presented to Birdie, though carried by Tamba and her father since it proved very heavy indeed. She sat with in balanced on her knees as the very crowded Delos made for shore in the moonlight, the weight of it was somehow reassuringly real, unlike the vague weight that lay on her mind. Whatever may come, she was a member of Whydah's crew now. +In the end much food was eaten, much drink was drunk and a small sea chest with 140 pieces of eight in it was presented to Birdie, though carried by Tamba and her father since it proved very heavy indeed. She sat with in balanced on her knees as the very crowded Delos made for shore in the moonlight, the weight of it was somehow reassuringly real, unlike the vague weight that lay on her mind. Whatever may come, she was a member of *Whydah*'s crew now. -## Chapter 17: The British +## Chapter 16: The British Two weeks later Lulu woke from a dream where she was gliding over the water, slow and smooth like a pelican, alone, her wing tips skimming the waves and watching the schools the fish dart from her shadow. And then she was in her usual body, lying on a calico quilt on the sand. She sat up and stretched and shook Birdie, who swatted at her. "Come on, Birdie, lets play what we were playing last night." @@ -2158,7 +2160,7 @@ There was a light splashing sound when Wanderer came off the logs and into the w Wanderer cleared the shadows of the oaks along the shore and the bright morning sun hit the deck. It had all the appearance of a beautiful day, though for the crew of Wanderer there was no time to appreciate it. -## Chapter 18: Birdie with her father +## Chapter 17: Birdie with her father "Do you know why I kept you behind?" Her father sat still drinking coffee, but she saw him glance frequently at the dunes behind her. @@ -2224,13 +2226,13 @@ McPhall smiled again, this time genuinely, his whole face lit up, "why yes, that For the first time McPhall glanced over at Birdie. She had drawn herself up to aunt's side as her father and McPhall talked, putting her left arm and hip into Aunt Māra's dress so that she could reach down and keep her hand on her knife. "this must be your wife and daughter." -Birdie said nothing. Her father nodded. +Her father nodded, which surprised Birdie since Aunt Māra wasn't his wife. "Well I rather hate to do this in front of your family, I had really hoped perhaps we could work something out, but I can tell that that will not be possible. Which means I have no choice but to arrested you. Birdie's heart leaped into her throat. Her father just shrugged. "Do what you need to." -"Where will I find the rest of your, em, crew? entourage?" +"Where will I find the rest of your, em, crew? Entourage?" "You won't." @@ -2264,15 +2266,15 @@ Her father smiled. "Me probably, not you. His ego won't let him chain women in f "You have much more confidence in your ability to read people than I do." -Her father said nothing. They heard McPhall yell something. Birdie started to turn, but her father caught her arm. "Forward Birdie, no looking back. You don't react. The minute you react they're in charge. Always keep them reacting to you. Even when it seems crazy." He smiled at her. The three of them stopped in the shelter of the dunes, out of sight of both the beach and the soldiers back in camp. "It's okay Birdie. We're going to be fine. You and I are going to Charlestown. Most likely by wagon. We may be separated, but don't worry, don't react. Trust that I will come get you. No matter what happens, I will come for you." +Her father didn't respond. They heard McPhall yell something. Birdie started to turn, but her father caught her arm. "Forward Birdie, no looking back. You don't react. The minute you react they're in charge. Always keep them reacting to you. Even when it seems crazy." He smiled at her. The three of them stopped in the shelter of the dunes, out of sight of both the beach and the soldiers back in camp. "It's okay Birdie. We're going to be fine. You and I are going to Charlestown. Most likely by wagon. We may be separated, but don't worry, don't react. Trust that I will come get you. No matter what happens, I will come for you." -Birdie said nothing. There was a hard lump in her throat and she felt scared. Not fear, not the electric aliveness of fear, but scared. She nodded because she did not trust herself to speak without crying. She heard the clinking of metal, the sound of soldiers running. +There was a hard lump in Birdie's throat and she felt scared. Not fear, not the electric aliveness of fear, but scared. She nodded because she did not trust herself to speak without crying. She heard the clinking of metal, the sound of soldiers running. "They're going to chain me up Birdie. Remember. Everything is going to be okay. You have to believe that." A soldier crested the hill pointing a rifle at them. Her father raised his hands over his head and stepped away from Māra and Birdie. "Easy soldier, it's me you want, don't point that at them." -The soldier said nothing, but he swung the rifle clear of Birdie and Māra while keeping it trained on her father. Two more soldiers came over the dunes. One of them carried irons. They placed the manacles around her father's wrists. They turned him around and pushed him forward, toward the camp. Birdie and Māra followed and the soldier with the gun brought up the rear. +The soldier swung the rifle clear of Birdie and Māra while keeping it trained on her father. Two more soldiers came over the dunes. One of them carried irons. They placed the manacles around her father's wrists. They turned him around and pushed him forward, toward the camp. Birdie and Māra followed and the soldier with the gun brought up the rear. --- @@ -2322,7 +2324,7 @@ Lulu sighed. She was scared too. She wished Papa was there too. They were never "Why do we need help Lulu? We never need help, why do we need it now?" -This stopped Lulu mid thought. She realized he was right and she had not even thought about it. She had accepted that they needed help. But why did they need help? And why were they hiding? +This stopped Lulu mid thought. He was right. She had not even thought about it. She had accepted that they needed help. But why did they need help? And why were they hiding? If all her father was doing was talking to a man about pine trees, why did he want the ship hidden? And why did the man bring soldiers? There must be more going on than Lulu had worked out. She'd been too busy and too caught up in her own fear and pain to think about the bigger picture. She'd failed what her Papa always said, detach, step back and take a look around. See the whole picture before you dive into your part in it. @@ -2384,7 +2386,7 @@ Aunt Māra came up to the bow and stood beside Lulu. "How are you doing?" Lulu smiled. "No reason." -## Birdie +## Chapter 20: Birdie Birdie woke up to the sound of men snoring. She lay in the dark trying to decided which one of them was her father when she heard a whisper in the darkness. "Birdie, are you awake yet?" @@ -2424,7 +2426,7 @@ Birdie lay back down in bed wondering what Lulu and Henry were doing on Wanderer She was just beginning to doze off again when a loud angry voice barked through the door. "Get out here." -She sat up. It was light outside now and she could see clearly in the hut. She was surprised to realize it was just her and her father. Whomever had been snoring had been doing it from further away than she realized. She hopped down and pulled on her sailcloth pants, spreading her dress down over them. Her father motioned her back to bed and he went outside. +She sat up. It was light outside now and she could see clearly in the hut. She was surprised to realize it was just her and her father. Whomever had been snoring had been doing it from further away than she thought. She hopped down and pulled on her sailcloth pants, spreading her dress down over them. Her father motioned her back to bed and he went outside. "That your ship I presume?" The angry voice said. @@ -2438,7 +2440,7 @@ McPhall grunted. "You have coffee? Make me some. All they have on that ship is t "I traded a bag last year from a ship up on the cape. They're crazy for it in Boston apparently. I had never had it..." -Birdie watched from the doorway as her father clattered the coppers and made a big show of getting water. If McPhall had been angry before, he didn't seem it now. She came slowly out carrying the wooden coffee grinding box her father had also got in the trade. She sat down beside the fire and began to grind the beans. McPhall nodded to her, but said nothing. +Birdie watched from the doorway as her father clattered the coppers and made a big show of getting water. If McPhall had been angry before, he didn't seem it now. She came slowly out carrying the wooden coffee grinding box her father had also got in the trade. She sat down beside the fire and began to grind the beans. McPhall nodded to her. When the box was full of grounds she gave it to her father and he dumped it in the pot and set it on the coals. @@ -2452,15 +2454,15 @@ When the box was full of grounds she gave it to her father and he dumped it in t "How often does something unforeseen happen?" -Her father smiled. "Every time I drive it something I wasn't expecting happens. Last time a Carolina Panther tried to hitch a ride on one of our horses." Papa glanced at Birdie. "I shot it before I even realized what I was doing. That was a fun trip wasn't it Birdie?" +Her father smiled. "Every time I drive it something I wasn't expecting happens. Last time a Carolina Panther tried to hitch a ride on one of our horses." Papa glanced at Birdie. "I shot it before I realized what I was doing. That was a fun trip wasn't it Birdie?" Birdie nodded. The truth was she'd never heard that story. She'd only been to Charlestown by road once, two years ago, and she couldn't remember anything about it, except that by the time she got there she felt like her bones had been rattled right out of her body and that she'd collapse as soon as she stood up again. She had spent most of their time in Charlestown dreading the return trip, but then her father had run into some sailors he knew in town and they brought them and all their goods back down to Edisto in a very clearly Spanish bark only a little bigger than Wanderer. "Panther eh? Had not heard of those." McPhall rubbed the stubble on his jaw. "There a lot of those?" -Her father glanced up from the fire where he was stirring the boiling coffee. "I'm not sure, I've never tried counting them. But I've seen a few. One is more than enough." +Her father glanced up from the fire where he was stirring the boiling coffee. "I'm not sure, I've never tried counting them. But I've seen a few. One is more than enough." -McPhall said nothing. Her father handed him a cup of coffee and he sat down to sip it. "God that's good," he said. "I haven't had a decent cup of coffee since Temple Bar three months ago." +Her father handed McPhall a cup of coffee and he sat down to sip it. "God that's good," he said. "I haven't had a decent cup of coffee since Temple Bar three months ago." "I always preferred Turk's Head in the Palace Yard" @@ -2514,13 +2516,13 @@ Birdie, at that moment, could not have cared less what happened to the low count It was nearing midday by the time they made it to the farm. It was the biggest house between Edisto and Charlestown, and owned by a man who had little tolerance for the British or anyone else who wanted to tell him what to do. He made it plain that he did not want to give any horses to McPhall or the soldiers. But McPhall kept upping the price until finally the man could not refuse. -He gave them the worst of his herd and a sad little wagon that looked to Birdie like it would fall apart long before they reached Charlestown, but she climbed in the bed anyway, preferring it to sitting next to McPhall on the riding board. Anderson, who owned the farm, gave her father the best horse, which could plainly outrun the rest of them. McPhall said nothing, but Birdie could tell that he saw all these slights, and knew them for what they were. She felt bad for him for a minute, everyone was against him and what had he done to them? But then she reminded herself that he was arresting her father, and she decided however people treated him, that was a reflection of what he did in the world. You shall reap what you sow was what Aunt Māra always said, which sounded good if you believed you were a good person, but how did you know? Aunt Māra said "well, you see what you reap. Does the world treat you kindly?" +He gave them the worst of his herd and a sad little wagon that looked to Birdie like it would fall apart long before they reached Charlestown, but she climbed in the bed anyway, preferring it to sitting next to McPhall on the riding board. Anderson, who owned the farm, gave her father the best horse, which could plainly outrun the rest of them. McPhall didn't say anything, but Birdie could tell that he saw all these slights, and knew them for what they were. She felt bad for him for a minute, everyone was against him and what had he done to them? But then she reminded herself that he was arresting her father, and she decided however people treated him, that was a reflection of what he did in the world. You shall reap what you sow was what Aunt Māra always said, which sounded good if you believed you were a good person, but how did you know? Aunt Māra said "well, you see what you reap. Does the world treat you kindly?" Birdie used two scraps of burlap sack left in the wagon to fashion a pillow and lay down on her back to stare up at the sky and think. There was nothing better for thinking than the limitless view of the blue sky. The wagon lurched and shuddered across some dried mud ruts and onto the road. Birdie sat up and held on to the side until they found a grooves of the road. It would be soft until they got out of the marshlands, then the road would turn hardpack, horrible and jarring. Birdie lay back to enjoy the sky while she could. Was it true what Aunt Māra said, you reap what you sow? It sounded nice and it seemed like something that might be true because it was so simple. Everyone knew if you put corn in the ground, corn came up. No one ever put corn in the ground and ended up with squash, or beans. But was life the same way? Birdie was suspicious of things grownups said that were hard for her to test. How did anyone know that you reaped what you sowed? What did her father sow to reap being arrested? -He lived, she lived, on an island, and burned stumps to make tar for ships. They harmed no one. Or did they? She knew Sam and Jack and Uncle Edward robbed ships. She knew they captured the ships, took their cargo, and sold it for their own profit. And she knew Sam, Jack, Edward and others used that money to pay her family to careen their ships and for the barrels of tar they needed. Did that make what her father did wrong too? Was it too closely associated with that theft? What about the people in Charlestown who sold flour that ended up on the Whydah? Or salt pork? Or anything else? Were they too pirates in some way? Responsible for what anyone they sold their goods too did once they had their goods? Was what Sam and Jack did wrong anyway? Hadn't the Spanish Galleons stole the gold from the people that lived on the main? Did that make what Sam and Jack did okay? Or did it make them further guilty? More blood on the money as her father always said about Spanish gold and silver. He refused to touch it, called it cursed, and said it would ruin the men that took it and kept it for themselves. He said it would sit in their storehouses and rot them from the inside, eat away at the souls of those whose livelihoods were built on it, and all those who came after them. It would fester like a lesion on the soul of the nation until the nation collapsed and disappeared and the gold returned to the earth from which it came. But then her father was prone to saying things like that. Birdie wasn't so sure. It seemed to her that the merchants got rather rich and didn't seem to rotting much. She'd said this to him once and he'd said, "you're not thinking long enough Birdie." +He lived, she lived, on an island, and burned stumps to make tar for ships. They harmed no one. Or did they? She knew Sam and Jack and Uncle Edward robbed ships. She knew they captured the ships, took their cargo, and sold it for their own profit. And she knew Sam, Jack, Edward and others used that money to pay her family to careen their ships and for the barrels of tar they needed. Did that make what her father did wrong too? Was it too closely associated with that theft? What about the people in Charlestown who sold flour that ended up on the *Whydah*? Or salt pork? Or anything else? Were they too pirates in some way? Responsible for what anyone they sold their goods too did once they had their goods? Was what Sam and Jack did wrong anyway? Hadn't the Spanish Galleons stole the gold from the people that lived on the main? Did that make what Sam and Jack did okay? Or did it make them further guilty? More blood on the money as her father always said about Spanish gold and silver. He refused to touch it, called it cursed, and said it would ruin the men that took it and kept it for themselves. He said it would sit in their storehouses and rot them from the inside, eat away at the souls of those whose livelihoods were built on it, and all those who came after them. It would fester like a lesion on the soul of the nation until the nation collapsed and disappeared and the gold returned to the earth from which it came. But then her father was prone to saying things like that. Birdie wasn't so sure. It seemed to her that the merchants got rather rich and didn't seem to rotting much. She'd said this to him once and he'd said, "you're not thinking long enough Birdie." For a long time she'd thought he meant she had not thought about it for long enough, but then one day when she'd mentioned it to Lulu and Henry, Henry, who had sat very quiet while she and Lulu talked about the morality of the pirates they were pretending to be, had said Birdie, he means you're not thinking long enough in time. She'd asked him what he meant and he just shrugged, "Papa always thinks about things way in the future. He wasn't saying they'll rot right now, he means the weight they have brought on themselves will be there forever. Or until the get rid of it." @@ -2582,7 +2584,7 @@ Her father leaned forward on the pommel of his saddle and looked at McPhall for Her father laughed. "Oh, I don't care about commerce at all. I like to sail, and fish, and hunt. In that order." -## Lulu and Wanderer at Sea +## Chapter 21: Lulu and Wanderer at Sea They were well out of the river mouth before the eastern sky even hinted at dawn, but there was little wind to speed them over the horizon. They road the current and hoped for more wind. The plan was to sail east, out of sight, and then cut north to Okracoke. The wind was not cooperating though. In a flat out race they could not beat the British warship. It was bigger and heavier, but it had more sails and could catch more wind. Tamba still believed they could out run it, but even he didn't want to try right now. So they were going to do what the warship could not, sail close the wind, row if they must, and use the tides and shallows to their advantage. They could lose her in the tidal marshes of the shoreline, they just had to get north of her first. That was the first race, and they had one distinct advantage: surprise. The British warship's crew had to raise anchor, set the sails, and get moving. The ship might know something was hidden up the river, but the British did not know that they would slip out under the cover of night. They had a head start, the question was, how much would that help? @@ -2646,7 +2648,7 @@ They watched a tiny puff of smoke and then there was another roaring sound. The Tamba shrugged. "We get put in jail with your father and have to come up with a new plan. If I know you father, he's already working on that part." -## Road to Charlestown. +## Chapter 22: Road to Charlestown. Her father was up before dawn. He nudged Birdie's foot and moved around so their heads were together. "How's my girl?" @@ -2670,7 +2672,7 @@ This sent a chill down Birdie's back. "I don't want to leave you." "Cannons. Where are you going to get cannons?" -"Queen Anne. Perhaps." +"Revenge. Perhaps." "Edward's coming?" @@ -2692,11 +2694,11 @@ This sent a chill down Birdie's back. "I don't want to leave you." Her father was quiet for a moment. "That's the hardest part. The waiting. We will give them six days. If nothing has happened after six days then I will get out the hard way and come find you. Wherever you are be kind to the servants, befriend any of the slaves you're around, they can help you get messages to me. And I will send messages to you as best I can. But always keep your eyes and ears open. Wherever you end up they will be in touch with McPhall and know what's happening. Always be silent. Always listen. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I love you Birdie." -## Lulu and Wanderer into the night +## Chapter 23: Lulu and Wanderer into the night The sun was already below the horizon when Lulu woke up. She and Henry had laid down in the hammocks to try to make up for the sleep they'd lost last night and the sleep they'd lose tonight. Lulu didn't think she could sleep with a warship periodically firing cannons at them, but she did. She remembered her father once saying, you'd be surprised what you can get used to, but she'd not really believed him until now. She lay there a moment in the hammock listening to the silence of the boat plunging though the sea, there was no other sound and it was easy to believe she was alone in the world. That the whole world was just this boat and there was no British warship around, no England at all, just ocean and her ship sailing between worlds where no owned the trees and everyone was nice. Then she got up and looked around. The British ship was no closer and in little while it would be dark. -She went below to get some food for her and Henry when he woke up. The darkness she found Aunt Māra and Tamba sewing on a huge black piece of canvas. +She went below to get some food for her and Henry when he woke up. In the darkness she found Aunt Māra and Tamba sewing on a huge black piece of canvas. She took a piece of dried fish from the rafter and a ball of rice from the stove and came over to where they were working. "What are you doing?" @@ -2722,9 +2724,11 @@ She and Tamba worked in silence. When her section was done she carefully put the Tonight it wasn't that calm, but that was okay, somewhere out there in the darkness that ship was still coming for them. She squinted at the western horizon, but could not tell how far out they were. She came and stood by her Aunt who was taking her turn at the helm. She sat down on the stool Tamba had anchored to the deck, Lulu climbed in her lap. +TODO + Aunt Māra would sail for four hours, then Tamba would relieve her and sail into the early morning, then Kobayashi would take over, then Aunt Māra again, and so it would go. As long as they were at sea, someone had to be on watch. If her father were here, and if they weren't being chased, Lulu would have a watch, usually in the day time, although once or twice her father had let her take the first night watch. Twilight was her favorite time to be at sea, there was something so peaceful about the way to sounds of the sea and light of the evening mingled together, mixing at the western horizon where the last yellow glow faded to blue and then black and then it was just the waves and the wind and stars, endless stars. -Lulu jerked awake and realized she had dozed off in Aunt Māra's lap. She stood up, hugged her Aunt and went forward to find Henry. She picked him up and carried him to his hammock, gently laying him down. She went below and fetched a quilt for Henry and another for her. The night was already chilled and would be even colder some morning. Then she climbed in her own hammock and pulled the quilt over her head and fell asleep. +Lulu jerked awake. She was still curled in Aunt Māra's lap. She stood up, hugged her Aunt and went forward to find Henry. She picked him up and carried him to his hammock, gently laying him down. She went below and fetched a quilt for Henry and another for her. The night was already chilled and would be even colder come morning. Then she climbed in her own hammock and pulled the quilt over her head and fell asleep. The sun was up when she woke with a start. It was cold, but the beginning of warmth was there in the light of the sun poking through the canvas of her hammock. It was damp. Everything was always damp at sea. Her father said sailors love the sun not because it means fair winds but because it means maybe, just maybe, for a few minutes the world won't be damp. This sun had it's work cut out for it. The inside of Lulu's canvas hammock was nearly dripping. She however was quite warm with a quilt under her and another over her. She was wondering how long she could stay in this nice warm cacoon when Henry's head poked into her hammock, appraised her open eyes and said rather matter of factly. "here's some fish, you should eat, we'll be anchoring soon." @@ -2732,27 +2736,21 @@ Lulu sat up. "Anchoring? Where, why?" "Good winds through the night, Tamba brought us straight up to Ocracoke. We're going to see Edward." -Lulu looked out at the Carolina coast, which was more barren here than down south. That meant they must have had excellent wind all night to have made it this far. "What about Whydah?" - -Henry shrugged. "It's out there somewhere, but we don't have time." - -Lulu chewed on the fish and consider this. "Maybe Whydah is at Ocracoke?" - -"Maybe," said Henry. +Lulu looked out at the Carolina coast, which was more barren here than down south. That meant they must have had excellent wind all night to have made it this far. -There was no way to know until you came right up on it. Ocracoke was a small barrier island off the coast of Carolina with several very protected anchorages. It was favorite of Thatch and Bellamy. It offered three things all sailors loved, protection from storms, fresh water, and game. It was also nearly impossible to sneak up on it. They watched Thatch's lookouts come toward them from the headland long before they rounded the bend and actually saw his ships. If they'd been flying colors they'd have no doubt been engaged, but they flew a solid blue flag with a small white trident in the upper left corner. It was another of her father's symbols which he was vague about. "It's the color of the sea he'd said once, and that's our only master. +Ocracoke was a small barrier island off the coast of Carolina with several very protected anchorages. It was favorite of Thatch and Bellamy. It offered three things all sailors loved, protection from storms, fresh water, and game. It was also nearly impossible to sneak up on it. They watched Thatch's lookouts come toward them from the headland long before they rounded the bend and actually saw his ships. If they'd been flying colors they'd have no doubt been engaged, but they flew a solid blue flag with a small white trident in the upper left corner. It was another of her father's symbols which he was vague about. "It's the color of the sea he'd said once, and that's our only master. Tamba hailed the men in the long boat with the bullhorn, letting them know they sought Thatch. The men came alongside and tied off to Wanderer. They both clamored aboard and glanced around briefly before Tamba brought them to the wheel to pilot her in to the shallows where they could anchor. -They were both missing teeth and dirtier than Lulu had ever seen anyone be. Even the men of Whydah, while rough, were not a rough as these men. Lulu involuntarily shrunk from them. One of the men grinned at her. "Don't often see young ones on a ship out here, good for you girl. And don't worry, I won't bite." +They were both missing teeth and dirtier than Lulu had ever seen anyone be. Even the men of *Whydah*, while rough, were not a rough as these men. Lulu involuntarily shrunk from them. One of the men grinned at her. "Don't often see young ones on a ship out here, good for you girl. And don't worry, I won't bite." -Lulu was embarrassed that she'd tried to back away from them and nodded quickly and then busied herself with a line that needed coiling. She avoided them both the rest of the time they were on the ship, which wasn't long. There was one narrow passage between to shoals that Lulu felt sure they could have managed without a pilot, but then one probably didn't want to take any risks. It wouldn't do to run aground in front of Blackbeard and crew and then flounder ashore and ask them to help you. Certain people commanded a level of respect that meant you had to get things right the first time, even if that meant accepting a pilot to help you through the shallows. Sometimes, her father had said to her when they came to Ocracoke the first time, you have to know when the real strength is admitting what you can't do. This he said, was why Edward liked the place so much, not for the protection, but for the weeding, the cutting of the herd. +Lulu was embarrassed that she'd tried to back away from them and nodded quickly and then busied herself with a line that needed coiling. She avoided them both the rest of the time they were on the ship, which wasn't long. There was one narrow passage between two shoals that Lulu felt sure they could have managed without a pilot, but then one probably didn't want to take any risks. It wouldn't do to run aground in front of Blackbeard and crew and then flounder ashore and ask them to help you. Certain people commanded a level of respect that meant you had to get things right the first time, even if that meant accepting a pilot to help you through the shallows. Sometimes, her father had said to her when they came to Ocracoke the first time, you have to know when the real strength is admitting what you can't do. This he said, was why Edward liked the place so much, not for the protection, but for the weeding, the cutting of the herd. Lulu was pretty sure they *could* do it, but then that was the point right? Not admitting that they couldn't sail the shallows, but admitting that they could not get to Blackbeard without a pilot. No one could. That was *his* point. -They Anchored Wanderer close enough to Queen Anne's Revenge that they could have had a conversation with Thatch from the deck, but he was ashore according to the men who piloted them in. They left quickly, heading back the headland where they apparently lived, and presumably, kept watch over the anchorage. +They Anchored Wanderer close enough to Revenge that they could have had a conversation with Thatch from the deck, but he was ashore according to the men who piloted them in. They left quickly, heading back the headland where they apparently lived, and presumably, kept watch over the anchorage. -Tamba, Lulu, and Henry climbed down into Wanderer's longboat and Tamba rowed them ashore. A sizable portion of Queen Anne's crew leaned over the railings, watching them in silence as they paddled by. +Tamba, Lulu, and Henry climbed down into Wanderer's longboat and Tamba rowed them ashore. A sizable portion of Revenge's crew leaned over the railings, watching them in silence as they paddled by. Here there was no surf to negotiate. The protected lagoon allowed them to row straight in and beach the boat. As they pulled her up above the high tide mark, Lulu glanced up the beach and saw two men walking toward them. One was stocky man of medium build that Lulu did not recognize. The other was a tall man with a massive black beard that stretched half way to his waist. He had long curly hair and sparkling, wild eyes. He reminded her of her father. @@ -2762,13 +2760,13 @@ Here there was no surf to negotiate. The protected lagoon allowed them to row st Thatch nodded, stroking his beard. "Still making the tar then?" -Tamba nodded. "Careened Whydah not more than a fortnight ago. Revenge before that." +Tamba nodded. "Careened *Whydah* not more than a fortnight ago. Revenge before that." -Thatch grunted. "Which Revenge? I've got a Revenge. And Queen Anne's Revenge. Hornigold has a Revenge down in Nassua. Hell, Vain probably does too by now." He turned to the man next to him as if sharing an inside joke. "If he stops drinking long enough to sail that is." +Thatch grunted. "Which Revenge? I've got a Revenge. Hornigold has a Revenge down in Nassua. Hell, Vain probably does too by now." He turned to the man next to him as if sharing an inside joke. "If he stops drinking long enough to sail that is." "There's a lot of Revenges in these damn waters Mr Tamba. What is it with Revenge? Nicholas would say that's our problem, too much revenge, not enough... something else." Thatch chuckled. He waved his hand to the man standing next to him, you remember my quartermaster Mr Dobbs?" -Tamba nodded to Mr. Dobbs. The Thatch turned to Lulu and knelt down. "You must be... Lulu?" +Tamba nodded to Mr. Dobbs. Then Thatch turned to Lulu and knelt down. "You must be... Lulu?" She nodded. @@ -2782,7 +2780,7 @@ Tamba looked down at his feet. "Yes. You might want to hear this before we go to Thatch glanced up. "A British ship? You mean a man of war? Do go on..." -"A 32 gun frigate." +"A 32-gun frigate." Thatch glanced at his quartermaster and raised his eyebrow. "That's four more cannon than we've got. I like this story so far, go on." @@ -2790,7 +2788,7 @@ Thatch glanced at his quartermaster and raised his eyebrow. "That's four more ca Thatch burst out laughing. "He was arrested for cutting down trees? That is the most British thing I have ever heard." He glanced at Lulu, "I am sorry to hear about your father, but a British warship arrives on the most pirate infested coast in the entire Americas and arrests a man for cutting down trees." He shook his head smiling. "Some times I almost like the British." -When Thatch had composed himself he straightened his jacket and smoothed out his beard. I have learned something from my new neighbors Tamba. Not the British ones, the ones the British have almost wiped out. I have learned from them that one should spend more time thinking. Do you know what they do when visitors arrrive? When I myself arrive? Provided it's not urgent, they invite me in and we all sit down and we smoke tabacco, have a bite to eat, I sometimes convince them to try tea." Edward smiled. "You know what it Tamba? It's civilized. Thinking, it's the cornerstone of civilization." +When Thatch had composed himself he straightened his jacket and smoothed out his beard. "I have learned something from my new neighbors Tamba. Not the British ones, the ones the British have almost wiped out. I have learned from them that one should spend more time thinking. Do you know what they do when visitors arrive? When I myself arrive? Provided it's not urgent, they invite me in and we all sit down and we smoke tabacco, have a bite to eat, I sometimes convince them to try tea." Edward smiled. "You know what it is Tamba? It's civilized. Thinking, it's the cornerstone of civilization." "My people do something similar." Tamba smiled. "And we do something similar on Edisto." @@ -2798,15 +2796,15 @@ When Thatch had composed himself he straightened his jacket and smoothed out his Lulu and Henry's eyes widened. Edward really was the best pirate ever. Who else would keep peppermint sticks? -he shrugged when Tamba raised an eyebrow. "I like them. Dobbs likes them. What? Don't you like them Tamba?" +He shrugged when Tamba raised an eyebrow. "I like them. Dobbs likes them. What? Don't you like them Tamba?" Tamba frowned. "Too sweet." -"Yes rather, that's the point I think." He turned to the children, "well you may one if you like." +"Yes rather, that's the point I think." He turned to the children, "well you may have one if you like." Lulu and Henry both nodded. -The small party walked back down the beach to the tiny cluster of trees where a number of tents, ringed by cannon, were pitched in the shade. The wind blew harder here and the sound of canvas snapping in the wind added a rhythmic percussion that mixed with the distant thud of waves breaking somewhere on the other side of the dune. Edward led them into a small tent where he and Dobbs set about making tea and gave Lulu and Henry three sticks of peppermint, one for each of them and an extra to take to Birdie. Lulu carefully wrapped Birdie's in a scrap of sailcloth that Dobbs gave her. +The small party walked back down the beach to the tiny cluster of trees where a number of tents, ringed by cannon, were pitched in the shade. The wind blew harder here and the sound of canvas snapping in the wind added a rhythmic percussion that mixed with the distant thud of waves breaking somewhere on the other side of the dunes. Edward led them into a small tent where he and Dobbs set about making tea and gave Lulu and Henry three sticks of peppermint, one for each of them and an extra to take to Birdie. Lulu carefully wrapped Birdie's in a scrap of sailcloth that Dobbs gave her. Tamba and Thatch smoked. Lulu and Henry sucked at the peppermint sticks. An easy silence settled in and no one spoke for a long time. Finally Thatch said, "Well then, how soon to you think this warship will come looking for us?" @@ -2830,9 +2828,9 @@ Tamba smiled. "Probably." "Sounds like a fantastic plan." Thatch rubbed his hands together. "We're been itching for a prize around here. It turns out the men are less impressed with my property than they are with more, well, tangible goods. We've a bit of work to do as well of course, but when is that ever done? A ship is nothing but work. Nothing but work. Sometimes you just have to say enough. Trim the sails and find the following wind." He patted Henry's head. "Mr Dobbs, call the men, let's put it to a vote and go get ourselves another ship. Maybe we can even," he glanced mischievously at Lulu and Henry, "recruit some new crew members." -## Birdie and her father in jail +## Chapter 24: Birdie and her father in jail -The road into Charlestown became too rough to lie down in the back of the wagon. Birdie braced herself against that side, her legs stretched across the width and bed and pressed firmly against the other side to keep her from sliding around as the wagon lurched and shuddered over the deep, dry ruts of the road. +The road into Charlestown became too rough to lie down in the back of the wagon. Birdie braced herself against the side, her legs stretched across the width and bed and pressed firmly against the other side to keep her from sliding around as the wagon lurched and shuddered over the deep, dry ruts of the road. She tried to ignore McPhall, but he kept asking her questions and she knew it was impolite to not answer them, and she wanted him to like her since her fate, and her father's fate, was as least partly in his hands. Until Revenge showed up anyway. Please hurry Lulu, she sent the thought out into the universe in hopes that her sister or her brother would hear her, please hurry. @@ -2894,11 +2892,11 @@ Aside from the road Birdie was on, which led out to Edisto, Charlestown was enti Worse for Charlestown, the entrance from the sea was blocked by a long sandbar that necessitated a pilot and was rather simple to attack. All you really had to do was sail up and point your cannon at the narrow channel, everything in the harbor was trapped. Birdie climbed down from the wagon and stretched her legs as the ferry brought them across the river into the city proper. She scanned the marsh for sails. There was one headed out to sea, but there was no sign of a blockade. As they rattled down the dusty streets toward the jailhouse though she saw the HMS Victory. If it was sitting here in the harbor, odds were it had never caught Wanderer. That meant her father's plan was unfolding as it should and everything was going to be okay. She glanced over at her father, he was watching her, he knew that she had noticed. The corner of his mouth smiled ever so slightly and he nodded to her before turning back to watch the street in front of him. -The entire town turned out to watch the soldiers ride in, and especially to see who was riding in the middle of them, clearly a prisoner. Charlestown was a divided city. The majority of its residents were African slaves. After that the small percentage of business men fell into two groups, those that made their money off the backs of the slaves, and those that made their money off the people who stole the first group's cargos. There were in essence, those who would benefit from the presence of the British, and those who would not. The one you had to watch out for her father had told here, were the men who made money both ways. They were the dangerous ones not to be trusted. +The entire town turned out to watch the soldiers ride in, and especially to see who was riding in the middle of them, clearly a prisoner. Charlestown was a divided city. The majority of its residents were African slaves. After that the small percentage of business men fell into two groups, those that made their money off the backs of the slaves, and those that made their money off the people who stole the first group's cargo. There were in essence, those who would benefit from the presence of the British, and those who would not. The one you had to watch out for her father had told her, were the men who made money both ways. They were the dangerous ones not to be trusted. Bridie watched the faces watching her from doorways. She saw a mixture of expressions. Some clearly uneasy at the sight of the soldiers, uneasy at the sight of her father in chains. Others seemed pleased to see both. And every now and then she noticed men whose expressions were inscrutable. Men and women who seemed neither uneasy, nor pleased. Men and women who were trying to sense which way the wind was blowing. Men and women who could only sail where the wind blew them. Men and women who were dangerous, to themselves, to the world around them. -## Lulu and Henry at sea. +## Chapter 25: Lulu and Henry at sea. Thatch's crew convened that evening. There was a bonfire on the beach and some nearby farmer brought over corn and a two deer they had hunted. Lulu's mouth watered as the meat cooked. She and the rest of Wanderer crew had lived on nothing but dried fish for days. Not that they hadn't lived on worse at times in the past, but it was enough to have Lulu and Henry drooling as they stared intently at the meat slowly cooking over the coals. @@ -2912,9 +2910,9 @@ Edward glanced up at the circle of men sitting under the trees in the shadows of "Aye, I do. But I let them talk it over without me hovering over them." He smiled. "I am only a captain in battle and weather, but I still seem to impose some weight upon their discussions that they prefer me not to impose." He shrugged, as if to say, I don't understand it, but Lulu, who was staring at his dark face, black beard, and strange glinting eyes, understood it perfectly. And she understood that he did too. Some people move through the world and world takes notice her father said. They are rare people, but they are out there. Edward, thought Lulu, was one of them. -Edward stood up, drew a large knife Lulu had not even noticed in this belt, and carved off a bit of meat and fat hanging off the bottom of the rib. He did the same to another rib and then stabbed them both with a stick and handed one stick to Lulu. "This is the past meat, and it'll cook faster this way." +Edward stood up, drew a large knife Lulu had not even noticed in this belt, and carved off a bit of meat and fat hanging off the bottom of the rib. He did the same to another rib and then stabbed them both with a stick and handed one stick to Lulu. "This is the best meat, and it'll cook faster this way." -Lulu stood up and moved closer to the fire, holding the stick of the coals, trying to keep it close, but not burn it. "Here, here," Edward gestured to Henry, "come hold this one and Tamba and I will get some rocks so we can wedge them in place. Henry stood next to Lulu, holding the stick over the coals. "Edward has a lot of knives," he said quietly. +Lulu stood up and moved closer to the fire, holding the stick over the coals, trying to keep it close, but not burn it. "Here, here," Edward gestured to Henry, "come hold this one and Tamba and I will get some rocks so we can wedge them in place. Henry stood next to Lulu, holding the stick over the coals. "Edward has a lot of knives," he said quietly. Lulu nodded. "He does." @@ -2922,7 +2920,7 @@ Edward, Tamba, and Aunt Māra returned each carrying a piece of driftwood which He gave the first piece to Lulu and Henry, handing them the meat, roasting stick still in it, on a piece of bark. It was the best meat either of them had ever tasted. Soon they were all silently eating. -The meat had just about disappeared, Lulu, who loved fatty bits was still gnawing her was though some flap as she called it, when Mr. Dobbs came over to the fire to fetch Edward. "The men are ready to vote." +The meat had just about disappeared. Lulu, who loved fatty bits, was still gnawing though some "flap" as she called it, when Mr. Dobbs came over to the fire to fetch Edward. "The men are ready to vote." Edward put down his bark plate and heaved himself up. Every time he stood Lulu was struck again by how fantastically tall he was. "Alright then, let's hear it." @@ -2937,9 +2935,9 @@ Edward was smiling when he walked back, most of the crew followed. "Let's go get The next day Wanderer sailed out of the cove at Ocracoke, followed closely by Revenge, and the sloops Adventure and Rosa, the latter two being prize ships that Thatch and crew had decided to keep for the time being, since a show of force, rather than speed was called for on this occasion. The winds and current were against them coming out to the east of the island, but as they rounded the point and moved into the ocean, the wind blew west southwest and Wanderer could bear almost directly for Charlestown. Revenge and the other ships, being square rigged, could not sail quite a close to the wind, and had to tack. After consulting with Thatch, Tamba agreed that Wanderer would sail to the mouth of the river and wait, staying out of sight as much as possible, posing as a fishing vessel should they be spotted. Tamba believed they would make Charlestown before the sun set, but it would likely be a long night of sailing either way since they'd probably have to tack back and forth all night. Unless they got their early enough to find a place they could set an anchor before the light disappeared. Tamba and Kobayashi set the sails and gave Lulu a heading before they went below to get some rest, leaving Lulu on watch. She knew that Aunt Māra was to keep an eye on her, but she also knew Aunt Māra was no sailor and that Tamba was trusting her to keep the ship on course and the sails smartly trimmed. -Henry sat on the desk beside her playing with two corn husk dolls who alternated between brutal close quarters sword fighting, and scampering runs around and between his legs and body. Sitting on the deck, below the reach of most of the wind it was warm in the sunshine. Lulu could almost pretend it was spring and they were headed north to fish, to spend the summers on the warm beaches of Rhode Island. But whenever she stood up to check her heading against the landmarks on the coast, or compare the maze of inlets, creeks, and estuaries on the map to the seemingly unbroken coastline in front of her, a cold blast of Atlantic winter wind reminded her it wasn't spring, and she wasn't sailing for fun. +Henry sat on the deck beside her playing with two corn husk dolls who alternated between brutal close quarters sword fighting, and scampering runs around and between his legs and body. Sitting on the deck, below the reach of most of the wind it was warm in the sunshine. Lulu could almost pretend it was spring and they were headed north to fish, to spend the summers on the warm beaches of Rhode Island. But whenever she stood up to check her heading against the landmarks on the coast, or compare the maze of inlets, creeks, and estuaries on the map to the seemingly unbroken coastline in front of her, a cold blast of Atlantic winter wind reminded her it wasn't spring, and she wasn't sailing for fun. -The wind held throughout the morning, Lulu only had to go aloft once and adjust the sails. She'd let Henry take helm while she climbed up the mast. Surprisingly, he hadn't done anything to her or played at it. He simply stood holding the wheel, too small to really navigate, but perfectly capable of making sure the wheel didn't turn as the waves rolled past them. The seas were picking up as the day went on. If they timed the tides wrong they were going to half a rough time heading up river and getting in the inlet. The navigating narrow, shallow channels when the ocean waves were meeting the river current and ebbing tide was never fun, but on these shores she knew it had been the ruin of many a ship. Hardly anyone went to St. Augustine, the only other town on this stretch of coast, because the inlet there was so treacherous. Ships had been known to wait weeks for favorable winds and currents to allow them entrance to the river. "And after all that you get there and it's a bunch of Spanish hovels and miserable people," her father quipped. +The wind held throughout the morning, Lulu only had to go aloft once and adjust the sails. She'd let Henry take helm while she climbed up the mast. Surprisingly, he hadn't done anything to her or played at it. He simply stood holding the wheel, too small to really navigate, but perfectly capable of making sure the wheel didn't turn as the waves rolled past them. The seas were picking up as the day went on. If they timed the tides wrong they were going to have a rough time heading up river and getting in the inlet. Navigating narrow, shallow channels when the ocean waves were meeting the river current and ebbing tide was never fun, but on these shores she knew it had been the ruin of many a ship. Hardly anyone went to St. Augustine, the only other town on this stretch of coast, because the inlet there was so treacherous. Ships had been known to wait weeks for favorable winds and currents to allow them entrance to the river. "And after all that you get there and it's a bunch of Spanish hovels and miserable people," her father quipped. Charlestown was not nearly so bad, as a town or a inlet, though it could get rough from time to time and today was shaping up to be one of those times. The wind that had brought them south at over six knots all morning had kicked up a considerable southerly swell that was now moving fast enough that it rolled Wanderer as it moved by. They were running almost directly down wind now. Wanderer rose up as the waves moved beneath her and then she slid and wobbled slightly side to side, like a squiggling piece of soap sliding across the top of the ocean. @@ -2949,7 +2947,7 @@ Tamba took over the helm when the sun reached it's high point for the day. Which Lulu thought about that night as she help Kobayashi gather up dried fish and two day old rice for a snack. She braced herself against the timber next to the cold stove and used the motion of the ship to guide her knife up and down through the tough strips of fish. -They made the inlet well before dark, but the channel was too rough to approach. They tacked out to sea, let the wind fall off into the evening and then made their way through the inlet in the twilight. They found an anchor by the light of a quarter moon and Lulu fell asleep dreaming of storming the city of Charlestown demanding the governor release her father and sister. +They made the inlet well before dark, but the channel was too rough to approach. They tacked out to sea, let the wind fall off into the evening and then made their way through the inlet in the twilight. They found an anchorage by the light of a quarter moon and Lulu fell asleep dreaming of storming the city of Charlestown demanding the governor release her father and sister. --- @@ -2959,7 +2957,7 @@ She watched them row off into the darkness and then she went below to start the She sat down on the stool Kobayashi kept by the stove and opened the door to the fire chamber to warm her hands. She fed in a few more sticks and waited for the water to boil. She watched the orange glow within the stove and wondered what Birdie was doing at the moment. Probably sleeping. If she was luckily. What was her father doing? Probably also sleeping. She glanced aft to where Wanderer's guns would be if she had any guns. There was a faint glow around the hatch door which meant the sun was rising. That meant her father probably wasn't sleeping. Neither was Birdie. It also meant Tamba and Kobayashi should have captured the pilot boats by now. Soon the dreaded pirate Blackbeard's flagship would appear on Charlestown's eastern horizon and with any luck that would strike enough fear in the hearts of its citizens that they would release her father and sister, and then... and then what? For the first time it hit Lulu that they would not be going back to Edisto. That, even assuming everything in the next few hours went according to plan and they made their escape, nothing would ever be the same again. They might escape his clutches, but McPhall still owned the island. Still claimed the trees. Still had the soldiers to drive them right off it again. Wherever they went after this, for the first time Lulu began to understand, nothing would be the same, -## Father in Jail, Birdie to some charlestown family. +## Chapter 26: Father in Jail The wagon stopped in front of the jailhouse. It was tiny and a little bit forlorn. It seemed better suited to some higher duty, like a storehouse, or perhaps a shop. Birdie almost felt sorry for it. McPhall climbed down from the wagon and went inside without so much as a glance at Birdie. Her father sidestepped his horse closer to the wagon. @@ -2969,7 +2967,7 @@ Birdie cocked her head. "What do you mean?" "I saw you two talking, and then I noticed that you stopped. I assumed it was something you said." -Birdie smiled. She told her father about the conversation with McPhall. He chuckled. "Watch yourself Bridie. Don't make enemies you if you don't have to." +Birdie smiled. She told her father about the conversation with McPhall. He chuckled. "Watch yourself Birdie. Don't make enemies you if you don't have to." She looked down. She'd felt good about her verbal attack until her father said that. He would have said the same she was quite sure. @@ -2991,7 +2989,7 @@ Her father was about to say something when the door to the jailhouse swung open "Theft of property. You trial will begin on Monday." -"Monday?" Her father let out a low whistle. "You don't waste any time do you Mr McPhall?" Her father shook his head and muttered something to himself as he climbed down from the horse. He came around in front of it and whispered something in it's ear. The horse bent down and her father scratched between it's ears. "Where are you taking my daughter?" He asked. +"Monday?" Her father let out a low whistle. "You don't waste any time do you Mr McPhall?" Her father shook his head and muttered something to himself as he climbed down from the horse. He came around in front of it and whispered something in its ear. The horse bent down and her father scratched between it's ears. "Where are you taking my daughter?" He asked. "Nowhere. She'll be in there with you." @@ -3005,11 +3003,11 @@ Her father didn't bother to hide his surprise. "On what charge?" Her father glanced down. "Well then." he said. -She climbed down out of the wagon and ran to her father's side and hugged him. They stepped up onto the porch and Birdie turned around. The harbor stretched out before them in all its muddy, marshy glory. Out near the point, between the trees of the islands she saw a top mast, still to far to see the ship, but it was a big one. Behind it there was another. She glanced at her father. He shook his head ever so slightly. She looked down and followed him in the door. +She climbed down out of the wagon and ran to her father's side and hugged him. They stepped up onto the porch and Birdie turned around. The harbor stretched out before them in all its muddy, marshy glory. Out near the point, between the trees of the islands she saw a top mast, still to0 far to see the ship, but it was a big one. Behind it there was another. She glanced at her father. He shook his head ever so slightly. She looked down and followed him in the door. -When her eyes adjusted to the darkness Bridie saw a man standing beside a desk. He seemed ill at ease and was fidgeting with a piece of paper. "Well then," he began and then stopped and rattled the paper. "You'll follow me." +When her eyes adjusted to the darkness Birdie saw a man standing beside a desk. He seemed ill at ease and was fidgeting with a piece of paper. "Well then," he began and then stopped and rattled the paper. "You'll follow me." -Her father grabbed Bridie by the shoulders and turned her to follow the man. They waited as he unlocked a heavy wooden door and then led them into what Birdie assumed was the jail. There were rooms on each side, all of them small with a single barred window high up on the wall. The man unlocked a door and stood aside. Her father had to duck to enter the room. Birdie heard the door close behind them. Her father came over the to the door and spoke to the man outside. "The large ship in the harbor, what is she?" +Her father grabbed Birdie by the shoulders and turned her to follow the man. They waited as he unlocked a heavy wooden door and then led them into what Birdie assumed was the jail. There were rooms on each side, all of them small with a single barred window high up on the wall. The man unlocked a door and stood aside. Her father had to duck to enter the room. Birdie heard the door close behind them. Her father came over the to the door and spoke to the man outside. "The large ship in the harbor, what is she?" "HMS Victory." @@ -3039,7 +3037,7 @@ He picked up a piece of straw and twirled it between his thumb and forefinger. " "It's not about a place Birdie, it's about the ability to go. Once you lose the ability to go, everything is lost with it. What makes our people different is that we bring with us a way of life, a responsibility to the world, a way of living that works anywhere and everywhere. It isn't about where we are or even when we are, it's that we are." -Birdie nodded. She'd heard him say similar things before, but she liked Edisto, She like the cape. She didn't want to go and she failed to see how her people, however tightly they might hold their free way of living, would survive is there was nowhere left to go. If being truly free truly depended on having somewhere to go then what would they do when there was nowhere left. She said as much. +Birdie nodded. She'd heard him say similar things before, but she liked Edisto, She like the cape. She didn't want to go and she failed to see how her people, however tightly they might hold their free way of living, would survive if there was nowhere left to go. If being truly free truly depended on having somewhere to go then what would they do when there was nowhere left. She said as much. Her father didn't say anything. The silence stretched out. Finally he said very quietly, "then there will be no more free men left and it won't matter anyway. But that won't happen in our lifetimes." @@ -3065,7 +3063,7 @@ Her father smiled at her. "I don't know, where do you want to go?" "I want to go back to how things were, I want to go back to island before the storm, before the ships, before everything changed." -"Ah, to go back before the tide. That would be a neat trick, but we can't do that, the tide is here, it has risen us up and now it's our turn to decide, do we just drift and spin and let it pull us as it will or do we raise the sails, catch the wind, and go where we please?" +"Ah, to go back before the tide. That would be a neat trick, but we can't do that. The tide is here, it has risen us up and now it's our turn to decide, do we just drift and spin and let it pull us as it will, or do we raise the sails, catch the wind, and go where we please?" "Where we please I guess. If we get out of here." @@ -3073,7 +3071,7 @@ Her father smiled at her. "I don't know, where do you want to go?" "Wait, there's rats?" -## Lulu and Henry at sea +## Chapter 27: Lulu and Henry at sea The sun was just past its peak when Revenge appeared on the horizon. Tamba and Kobayashi had come back hours before with one of the pilot boats and six men under guard. They were below decks now, tied up. Lulu had given them fish and water. They were sullen and did not eat. She had felt sorry for them when she went below to get them water as Kobayashi had asked her, but by the time she came back up on deck she decided they were a rude lot and she didn't really care what became of them. It was strange how you could swing from sympathy to antipathy just by looking deeply in someone's eyes. @@ -3105,13 +3103,13 @@ Lulu paced the aft deck. Henry fell asleep in Aunt Māra's lap. Kobayashi sat on When the people of Charlestown awoke the next morning, they found themselves effectively prisoners of a terrifying man who moved in a cloud of smoke and now commanded the very warship that had been sent to protect them from people like him. It was not a good day to be in Charlestown, no matter who you were. The problem with men like Thatch, what really scared people was not threat or even the loss of whatever he might steal. What terrified the world was that they never knew what he might do. Thatch played this to the hilt. No one sailing the Atlantic before or since would be as good at it as he was. -At first light, in the silence of the morning, a shrieking whistle came screaming through the pink dawn and exploded in the courtyard of the residence of the mayor of Charlestown, blowing out windows and sending shrapnel searing through plaster walls. The kitchen was destroyed, a pig torn in the half by a chunk of cannon ball. No more cannon fired. No more cannon need fire. The people of Charlestown understoon what the first one said. It said very clearly, the king is not here. We are here. +At first light, in the silence of the morning, a shrieking whistle came screaming through the pink dawn and exploded in the courtyard of the residence of the mayor of Charlestown, blowing out windows and sending shrapnel searing through plaster walls. The kitchen was destroyed, a pig torn in the half by a chunk of cannon ball. No more cannon fired. No more cannon need fire. The people of Charlestown understood what the first one said. It said very clearly, the king is not here. We are here. -## Birdie and her father +## Chapter 28: Birdie and her father -Birdie jolted awake just like Lulu did, but for her the whistling sound came before the sound of the firing, which was only a split second ahead of the explosion as the cannon ball found the governor's mansion and the poor, unsuspecting pig, which Birdie did not know about. She was about the jump up when she felt her father's hand on her arm, holding her down. "Patience." +Birdie jolted awake just like Lulu did, but for her the whistling sound came before the sound of the firing, which was only a split second ahead of the explosion as the cannon ball found the governor's mansion and the poor, unsuspecting pig, which Birdie did not know about. She was about to jump up when she felt her father's hand on her arm, holding her down. "Patience." -"Was that?" +"What was that?" Her father yawned. "It certainly sounded like something Edward would do. No reason to fire a blank when you can lob an actual cannonball into town." @@ -3123,11 +3121,11 @@ She stretched her legs which were stiff from sleeping on the hard ground. "Not t "I didn't either," said her father. "And I didn't sleep much." He stood up and stretched. He walked over the windows and looked outside. "Fair winds, onshore. And I see Wanderer in the harbor." -Birdie leaped up and rushed to the window. Her father lifted her up so she could see. There was Wanderer, at anchor a stone's throw from HMS Victory, which she saw was not flying the same black flag that flapped from Revenge and a sloop. Wanderer was the only ship in the cluster anchored near the harbor entrance that wasn't flying the black. She squinted and tried to see if Lulu and Henry were on the deck of Wanderer, but she could not see that far. "What do we do now?" +Birdie leaped up and rushed to the window. Her father lifted her up so she could see. There was Wanderer, at anchor a stone's throw from HMS Victory, which she saw was flying the same black flag that flapped from Revenge and a sloop. Wanderer was the only ship in the cluster anchored near the harbor entrance that wasn't flying the black. She squinted and tried to see if Lulu and Henry were on the deck of Wanderer, but she could not see that far. "What do we do now?" "The same thing we've been doing. We wait. It's like sailing Birdie, lots of waiting broken up by the occasional moments of sheer terror." He set her back down on the ground. -"I don't recall any moment of terror sailing." +"I don't recall any moments of terror sailing." Her father chuckled. "You're young Birdie." @@ -3139,7 +3137,7 @@ The sound of hooves pounding along the dry streets broke her thoughts and remind "I mean he has control of this city right now. He could fire twenty-cannon broadsides into this city all morning until it was nothing but ruins. And every smart person in this city understands that and most of them will give him damn near anything he wants to get him to not do that. I am curious what it is that he'll ask for, assuming he does ask for more than us." -Birdie considered this. What would she ask for in Charlestown? Some paper and ink would be nice. A new doll for Lilah and her. Maybe some sail cloth for Wanderer. Peppermint sticks for every child. "What would you ask for Papa?" +Birdie considered this. What would she ask for in Charlestown? Some paper and ink would be nice. A new doll for Lulu and her. Maybe some sail cloth for Wanderer. Peppermint sticks for every child. "What would you ask for Papa?" Her father laughed. "I wouldn't ask for anything, I'd just leave." He looked outside again. "What would you ask for Birdie?" @@ -3161,7 +3159,7 @@ McPhall snorted. "Don't worry, you'll walk out of here today, but this is no lon Her father looked to the Sheriff who shook his head. "No sir. You are being released." -"Well then," Her father helped her up, then stood and brushed off his pants. "Let's go then." +"Well then," Her father helped her up, then stood and brushed off his pants. "Let's go." The sun was well up in the sky when they stepped out onto the street. A wagon was waiting. In the back of it was a chest and very frightened looking man sitting on top of it." Her father glanced at the sheriff. "What's this?" @@ -3181,21 +3179,21 @@ The road lead through the main square where Birdie saw a yellow wall in ruins an "Ah," her father sighed. Her turned to her. "Well, now we know what Edward asked for in addition to us." -Birdie glanced at Mr. Seward. She said nothing. It made sense. More sense than peppermint sticks for every child anyway. She wished she had thought of that. Of course they would need a doctor. After gold, doctors were the most sought after thing on the sea. Sometimes before gold. After all you couldn't find gold if half your ship was sick. She'd heard Bellamy tell stories of captured doctors who'd eventually joined their crews, not so much because they wanted to be pirates, but because they were no longer able to convince anyone they weren't already pirates. +Birdie glanced at Mr. Seward. It made sense. More sense than peppermint sticks for every child anyway. She wished she had thought of that. Of course they would need a doctor. After gold, doctors were the most sought after thing on the sea. Sometimes before gold. After all you couldn't find gold if half your ship was sick. She'd heard Bellamy tell stories of captured doctors who'd eventually joined their crews, not so much because they wanted to be pirates, but because they were no longer able to convince anyone they weren't already pirates. -The wagon turned up Meeting Street, headed for the shoreline. Near the end the road became too muddy for the wagon and Birdie and her father climbed down and helped Mr Seward with his chest, which was full of medicine Edward had asked for. Her father and Mr. Seward struggled through the mud to a long boat where Birdie saw Tamba standing among a number of other sailors, all holding guns, all with swords at their waists. She wanted to rush into his arms, but she did not. She waited while the chest was loaded in and then Mr Seward climbed in. Her father lifted Bridie over the gunwale and sat her next to Tamba and then she threw her arms around him, and he his around her. Her father pushed them out, mucking his was through the sucking marsh mud until he was up to his chest in the water and then he heaved himself up and into the boat in a wet, muddy, stinking heap. +The wagon turned up Meeting Street, headed for the shoreline. Near the end the road became too muddy for the wagon and Birdie and her father climbed down and helped Mr Seward with his chest, which was full of medicine Edward had asked for. Her father and Mr. Seward struggled through the mud to a long boat where Birdie saw Tamba standing among a number of other sailors, all holding guns, all with swords at their waists. She wanted to rush into his arms, but she did not. She waited while the chest was loaded in and then Mr Seward climbed in. Her father lifted Birdie over the gunwale and sat her next to Tamba and then she threw her arms around him, and he threw his arms around her. Her father pushed them out, mucking his was through the sucking marsh mud until he was up to his chest in the water and then he heaved himself up and into the boat in a wet, muddy, stinking heap. "Way to make an entrance" muttered one of the sailors who was rowing them back toward Revenge. -## Back together on Wanderer. +--- -The long boat hadn't even touched Wanderer when Birdie leaped off and onto Wanderer' hanging webbing. She felt her father and Tamba climbing up behind her, but she raced on up and over the gunwale in such a hurry she spilled over the top right into Lulu and Henry and all three of them sprawled in a heap on the deck. Birdie quickly gathered them up and they all squeezed each other until the could not breath and burst out laughing and rolled apart. +The long boat hadn't even touched Wanderer when Birdie leaped off and onto the hanging webbing. She felt her father and Tamba climbing up behind her, but she raced on up and over the gunwale in such a hurry she spilled over the top right into Lulu and Henry and all three of them sprawled in a heap on the deck. Birdie quickly gathered them up and they all squeezed each other until they could not breath and burst out laughing and rolled apart. Birdie rolled over and kissed the smooth oak boards of Wanderer' deck. "Thank gods." She looked at Lulu and Henry and it felt a little like someone was punching her in the gut, an unaccountable welling started in her gut, moved up her chest and began to slowly leak out her eyes in silent tears. Lulu rolled over toward her and they lay side by side, hands squeezed together, tears rolling down their cheeks as they stared up at the mast and the sun beyond it. And then the sun disappeared and Lulu and Henry were yanked away from her as her father caught them both up in his arms. Birdie wiped her eyes and stood up. The first thing she noticed was how ruined the deck looked. Wanderer was in rough shape. No one had scrubbed her since they slipped off in the night. -She glanced at her father. She was surprised to see the streak of tears down his cheeks, disappearing into his beard. It was only then she realized that just because he acted like everything was going to be fine, didn't mean the world was going to do as he wanted. To act was one thing, to bring the act to the end you wanted was quite another. But here they were, now it was time to go. "Let's raise anchor," she said. +She glanced at her father. She was surprised to see the streak of tears down his cheeks, disappearing into his beard. It was only then she understood that just because he acted like everything was going to be fine, didn't mean the world was going to do as he wanted. To act was one thing, to bring the act to the end you wanted was quite another. But here they were, now it was time to go. "Let's raise anchor," she said. Tamba chuckled. "Good to have you back Birdie." @@ -3213,7 +3211,7 @@ She was in the bow with Lulu and Henry, telling them all about the wagon ride an "Captain!" The man in the bow called. -Birdie saw her father lean of the gunwale. +Birdie saw her father lean over the gunwale. "Captain Thatch would like to see you." @@ -3237,7 +3235,7 @@ Her father shrugged and smiled. He and Edward hugged briefly before Edward stoop Birdie smiled and nodded to Mr Dobbs. "Thank you sirs, but I am already part of a crew." -Edward made a pouting face. "Well, if you ever change your mind..." He stood up and gestured at two heavy wooden chairs. Birdie and her father sat down. Edward had to duck under the chandelier as he came around the table. "I thank you for pointing me to this ship, she's a fine prize and I've been wanting a bigger ship. One hundred twelve guns gives me the largest vessel I'm aware of sailing the black at the moment." +Edward made a pouting face. "Well, if you ever change your mind..." He stood up and gestured at two heavy wooden chairs. Birdie and her father sat down. Edward had to duck under the chandelier as he came around the table. "I thank you for pointing me to this ship, she's a fine prize and I've been wanting a bigger ship. Forty guns gives me the largest vessel I'm aware of sailing the black at the moment." Birdie glanced at her father, but he only smiled and waited for Edward to continue. @@ -3245,11 +3243,11 @@ Birdie glanced at her father, but he only smiled and waited for Edward to contin Her father glanced at her this time. "We appreciate the help captain." -"I was hoping," in return, "I might be able to get you to help me." +"I was hoping, in return, I might be able to get you to help me." Her father didn't miss a beat. "What do you need?" -"I need to careen and tar. This and Queen Anne. Plus the larger of the two sloops you see to our east." +"I need to careen and tar. Revenge and Queen Anne's Renvent. Plus the larger of the two sloops you see to our east." "It'd be too dangerous to do that Edisto now." @@ -3275,7 +3273,7 @@ Thatch waved his hand. Her father pulled down a book and kept reading the spines "Dampier, something from Pepys, and the minutes of the Royal Society, 1704." -"Ah Dampier. Makes we want to sail the south seas." +"Ah Dampier. Makes me want to sail the south seas." "He does make it sound appealing." @@ -3283,13 +3281,13 @@ Thatch waved his hand. Her father pulled down a book and kept reading the spines Her father shrugged. -"I almost forgot, I have something for you Birdie. Well, it was something your sister requested of Charlestown, but I believe some of it is for you." He walked over to large chest that had accompanied them to the ship and open it. In side where bottles of medicine and bandages and other medical supplies. Edward lifted out a board, careful not to spill the bottles on it. Birdie leaned over to see into the check and noticed a thick stack of paper. Edward drew it out. "As requested, paper." +"I almost forgot, I have something for you Birdie. Well, it was something your sister requested of Charlestown, but I believe some of it is for you." He walked over to large chest that had accompanied them to the ship and opened it. Inside were bottles of medicine and bandages and other medical supplies. Edward lifted out a board, careful not to spill the bottles resting on it. Birdie leaned over to see into the check and noticed a thick stack of paper. Edward drew it out. "As requested, paper." Birdie smiled. "Thank you sir." Her father looked at Edward. "Lulu asked for that?" -Indeed I asked your whole crew if there was anything you needed from the city and Lulu was only one who answered me." +"Indeed I asked your whole crew if there was anything you needed from the city and Lulu was only one who answered me." Birdie saw her father's face darken. @@ -3327,7 +3325,7 @@ Her father smiled. "We'll hunt up some pigs for you. And then we'll burn the pla --- -It was after dark by the time they made it back to Wanderer. Lulu and Henry fell asleep in their hammocks but Bridie couldn't sleep. She sat on the gunwale, dangling her legs over the side of the ship the way her father told her never to do, but she didn't care, they were at anchor. She watched as Charlestown slowly lit up, its lanterns flickering to life as someone went around lighting them. She thought of earlier when Aunt Māra had stood to the side crying. She wanted to say something to her, to make her feel better, but she knew there was nothing to be said. Her family would never come climbing back up over the gunwale. There were no reunions in her future, just eternal reminders of what had been and would never be. Birdie nearly jumped out of her skin when Aunt Māra appeared at the rail beside her. Neither of them said anything, but she took Birdies had and held it as they watched the lights being lit. Birdie squeezed her hand. +It was after dark by the time they made it back to Wanderer. Lulu and Henry fell asleep in their hammocks but Bridie couldn't sleep. She sat on the gunwale, dangling her legs over the side of the ship the way her father told her never to do, but she didn't care, they were at anchor. She watched as Charlestown slowly lit up, its lanterns flickering to life as someone went around lighting them. She thought of earlier when Aunt Māra had stood to the side crying. She wanted to say something to her, to make her feel better, but she knew there was nothing to be said. Her family would never come climbing back up over the gunwale. There were no reunions in her future, just eternal reminders of what had been and would never be. Birdie nearly jumped out of her skin when Aunt Māra appeared at the rail beside her. Neither of them said anything, but she took Birdie's had and held it as they watched the lights being lit. Birdie squeezed her hand. After a while she turned toward Birdie. "I will miss you Birdie." @@ -3369,7 +3367,7 @@ Her father grunted and rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "That's true, but McPhall Her father narrowed his eyes at her. Then he smiled. "Now you're talking." ---- +### Chapter Camp looked just as they had left it. Birdie ran ahead of her father and Edward's men who'd come for the tar. As she crested the dunes and looked down she half expected it to all be gone, but it was all there, the hut, the fire, the kettles beside it. Everything just as she had left it that afternoon, just a few days ago she realized with a start. A few days and the whole world had turned upside down. @@ -3411,7 +3409,7 @@ Lulu nodded. "Yeah, it could be nice to be in a town for a while. Do you think t "True." -## End +## Chapter 29: End Lulu stood on a sand dune, watching men from Revenge and Queen Anne's Revenge drag the remains of their hut, along with a few more logs for good measure, down to the beach. Lulu followed the last of them down to the beach where keroseen soaked rags were already being lit. The fire would have been too hot in the sheltered area of the dunes, but on the beach it was perfect. Next to the bonfire they built a smaller cooking fire, which, when it had burned down to coals, was laid with an entire boar and a deer, spoils of the hunting party that had spent the morning scouring the north end of the island. Tamba had killed a boar as well, which he was busy butchering. Tomorrow at sea they would dry it on racks. It would give them a nice break from fish on their long sail to... Lulu wasn't sure where. They had voted earlier and unanimously decided to head... south. @@ -3419,13 +3417,11 @@ Beyond that, they did not know. *Exploring we will go, exploring we will go,* he Lulu, Birdie, and Henry watched as the flames devoured their former home. The crew of the Revenges sang shanties, and fiddlers played while everyone else ate and drank. But for Lulu, and she sensed for Birdie and Henry as well, the celebration felt strange. She was glad her father and Birdie were safe, she was glad they had escaped from the British, but she wasn't all that glad to be leaving the island. She did not feel the lightness her father did. Or, she did, but she felt other things too. Deeper things that she could not place, could not see the full shape of, just dim outlines, like shadows dancing in her mind, black weights clouding her lightness of being. -As the night darkened she found herself alone, sitting with her back to fire, watching the sea. The waves kept coming. Big, small, in between. It didn't matter. They never stopped. Did they get tired? Did they want to stop? Where they relieved to make it shore? Disappointed to be at their journey's end? What was it like to be a wave? Was it so different than to be a human? We're all echos of something she decided. +As the night darkened she found herself alone, sitting with her back to the fire, watching the sea. The waves kept coming. Big, small, in between. It didn't matter. They never stopped. Did they get tired? Did they want to stop? Were they relieved to make it to shore? Disappointed to be at their journey's end? What was it like to be a wave? Was it so different than to be a human? We're all echos of something she decided. Lulu wrapped her arms around her legs and glanced down the beach. Bodies littered the sand, most sailors content to sleep where they fell down. She'd never seen so much drinking. She finally understood why her father avoided rum. It certainly did not seem to make adults smarter. - -:TODO: need something to connect here - +--- Most of the next day was spent loading the ships. Her father and Tamba helped the crews take the tar on board, while Kobayashi and the children readied Wanderer to sail. None of them got underway until the sun the was nearly gone behind the great oaks of Edisto. @@ -3435,8 +3431,7 @@ There were favorable winds, and a following swell. It was shaping up to be a nic She turned back to paper and slowly, carefully began to write. *The scent of the world crept into her hammock*... Lulu began to write faster as she went on, the words seem to tumble out of her and until she found herself telling a story to herself, about herself, but somehow also not herself. A record of the kind she would like to read. She wrote until her hand began to hurt, stopping only to glance out the hatch and study the path of where she'd been. When she couldn't write anymore she gathered up the sheets of paper and tucked them carefully, along with the quill and bottle of ink, into her sea chest and latched it tightly. She blew out the candle and when topside. -The moon overwhelmed the milky way, but she could still see Polaris and the great hunter Orion. Her brother and sister were already asleep. Lulu climbed into her hammock and stared up at stars for a moment. The she pulled the hammock closed above her, shutting out the brightness of the moon, and drifted off to sleep, feeling herself again at home. - +The moon overwhelmed the milky way, but she could still see Polaris and the great hunter Orion. Her brother and sister were already asleep. Lulu climbed into her hammock and stared up at stars for a moment. Then she pulled the hammock closed above her, shutting out the brightness of the moon, and drifted off to sleep, feeling herself again at home. # Glossary -- cgit v1.2.3-70-g09d2