From 4d86e8e86b2b67fd8b458e7e6bba748bbf0d246b Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: luxagraf Date: Wed, 3 Mar 2021 21:04:04 -0500 Subject: rearranged several stories and dealt with some continuity errors --- lbh.txt | 214 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++------------------------------------ 1 file changed, 93 insertions(+), 121 deletions(-) diff --git a/lbh.txt b/lbh.txt index 044859b..c1399d4 100644 --- a/lbh.txt +++ b/lbh.txt @@ -364,7 +364,7 @@ And so she did. But then the scowl returned to her face. "Well I don't care if t --- -Kobayashi was digging up a roasted boar when they got back to camp. He and Tamba had killed it with a single arrow the day before. "Lucky shot," Tamba had said when he told her father the story. They butchered the animal, splitting it between their camp, her cousin's camp down the beach, Kadiatu's family, and a family of Edistow that were camped across the river mouth. Kobayashi, who claimed to have been a cook in the emperor's household before he was Shanghai'd from a Hayama bar, had buried their portion of the boar the day before in a pit of coals. He pulled it up and gently unwrapped it from the great leaves of seaweed he'd wrapped it in. +Kobayashi was digging up a roasted boar when they got back to camp. He and Tamba had killed it with a single arrow the day before. "Lucky shot," Tamba had said when he told her father the story. They butchered the animal, splitting it between their camp, her cousin's camp down the beach, and a family of Edistow that were camped across the river mouth. Kobayashi, who claimed to have been a cook in the emperor's household before he was Shanghai'd from a Hayama bar, had buried their portion of the boar the day before in a pit of coals. He pulled it up and gently unwrapped it from the great leaves of seaweed he'd wrapped it in. Her father and Henri dragged some driftwood up from the shore and soon they had a good blaze going. Her Aunt Māra and Uncle Cole came with their cousins. The incident on the beach was forgotten. The boar was sweet and salty and possibly the best thing Birdie could remember eating. The fat and juice drained into her rice and she ate until her belly ached. @@ -372,27 +372,57 @@ The sun disappeared to the west, an orange glow in the tree line. Birdie hunted She wasn't sure what you were supposed to say. The rhyme her father had taught her didn't really have instruction on precisely how one wishes, just that one could wish on stars. And maybe planets, hopefully planets. -Across the fire Kadiatu and Tamba were talking quietly together. Her father was lying back on his elbow, listening to Kobayashi tell stories of Japan, but she also saw him watching Uncle Cole out of the corner of his eye as he drank from a bottle of rum he'd brought. Lulu came over with a sheet for Birdie. She laid down by the fire and listened to the crackling wood as the darkness closed in around them. Far off in the distance she could hear the waves breaking on the shore. She closed her eyes. +Across the fire Aunt Māra and Tamba were talking quietly together. Her father was lying back on his elbow, listening to Kobayashi tell stories of Japan, but she also saw him watching Uncle Cole out of the corner of his eye as he drank from a bottle of rum he'd brought. Lulu came over with a sheet for Birdie. She laid down by the fire and listened to the crackling wood as the darkness closed in around them. Far off in the distance she could hear the waves breaking on the shore. She faded in an out of sleep, but then woke up to hear her father say, "Tamba's people have been sailing these waters longer than ours probably." Her father nodded at Tamba, but he shook his head. -A frightening hissing sound woke her up. She didn't move for fear it was a snake, but then she heard it again and realized it was her father. She wasn't sure how long she'd been asleep but the fire was coals and only her father and Uncle Cole were awake, standing very close together and speaking in hissing whispers Birdie could hear, but not understand. She didn't need to understand the words to know that her father was not happy. She glanced around and saw that Tamba was awake as well. She saw his eyes in the darkness and glint of his knife in the sand next to him. Until that moment Birdie had still been half awake, but the knife snapped her out of it, clearly her father was angry and something was wrong. +"I do not think so." + +Birdie glanced back and forth between the two them. Her father raised his eyebrow. + +"The Egyptians perhaps. There are stories I have heard from the northern tribes about trading for copper that came from over the seas. But my people were coastal cruisers. Why cross oceans when everything you need is right here?" Tamba stretched his arm toward the shore. "If you want to have food, you need to be by the shore. Maybe you sail out of sight sometimes, you follow the currents and migrations of the fish, but you do not need to go too far. Where I come from there is plenty of food to be had without even setting foot in a boat. You grow rice on the shores. We have yarrow and yams on the higher ground, and you cast a net in the shallows for fish. We have palms and a tree that is not here. It is very strong. Like the teak we traded in Siam. We have these trees for building shelter. Everything is there, we use it. It is only crazy people who would leave this." He smiled and gestured at her father. + +Her father grunted. "I didn't leave anything. I was driven out." + +"So you say." + +"Our people have been hunted down and driven out for centuries. The lowlanders do not like us." + +"Why?" + +"Yes, why?" + +Her father shrugged. "I don't know. I think on this all the time. I think perhaps it is because they cannot stand the idea that not everyone is as miserable as they are." + +Tamba laughed. "You may be on to something there. These people came to our shores too and seemed unable to leave us alone. And look what they do to the people on these shores. Some people Birdie, I don't know, they won't leave you alone. It is a great mystery." + +"How did they drive us out papa?" + +Her father sighed. "Drive might be the wrong word." + +Tamba burst out laughing. "Yes, I think it would be. I have no love of the British or any of the rest of the people you call lowlanders, but I know you well enough to know that no one could drive you out of anywhere. You'd die in a hole before you'd be driven anywhere." + +Birdie expected her father to join in Tamba's laughters, but he did not. He ignored him completely. "We left Birdie because I was tired of the place we were. I wanted to go somewhere no one knew my name, somewhere I didn't have to do anything so I could chose what I wanted to do. So I could be free of the obligations that places lay upon you." -Whatever it was her father seemed to have convinced her uncle to leave. He stumbled away into the darkness. They watched him go. Her father came back over the fire and it was only then that she noticed her Aunt Māra was lying on the ground. Her father helped her up and Birdie saw dark smear running from her nose across her cheek. Her father handed her a cloth and she wiped her face. +Kobayashi was nodding. "I too left to be free. It is a hard thing for some. For me it was easy because when I am here, I can breath, I am free, no one looks for anything from me. I an able to be who I am. Your father can be who he is," Kobayashi's eyes twinkled, "he can wear his loin clothes and do his dances by the seashore." -"There's a blanket inside if you want to sleep here tonight." +Now her father laughed. "I will never live down the loin cloth will I?" Everyone shook their heads. "That's fine. That's what I wanted too, a place of possibility. A place individuals can do as they wish, no matter how eccentric that might be, so long as it doesn't harm anyone else or try to force anyone else to pay their bills." He shrugged. "You wouldn't think that would be so hard to find really, but it is, by god it is. I've been nearly around the world and this coast here, this is close as I have come." -"No, Nicholas." +"That seems silly. Why would anyone care what you did? That would just make them stupid." -Her father sat down, "well, you can come down here whenever you need to. You're family, not him." +Tamba raised an eyebrow at her. "Strong talk in this one tk father's name." -"He's my husband." +Her father smiled. "Yes, they are strong. They will have to be. Stronger than us I fear. I fear they will be living through much more than you and I have had to deal with this time." -Her father shrugged. "Doesn't mean you have to go down with the ship." +Tamba puffed on his pipe and said nothing. -Birdie saw her nose flare slightly. She shook her head slowly. "You don't understand." She gathered up her bag, turned and hurried off into the night. +Kobayashi leaned back against a stack of driftwood and packed his pipe. "This country is wild, it will not be tamed." -Birdie watched her walk away until she disappeared into the darkness. "Papa. What happened?" +"I hope you are right Ko, but I worry that line of thinking will lead to trouble. People who believe they can do no harm are the most dangerous people of all." -"Birdie? You're awake?" Her father came over and sat down beside her. He bent down and kissed her forehead, his beard tickled her cheek. "Nothing sweet girl, get some sleep." Birdie let herself slip back into the sheets and quilts on the soft sand. She let her eyes fall closed and when she opened them again the sun was nearly up. +Kobayashi grunted. "True." + +Aunt Māra leaned forward and stirred the fire until a log caught and flame flickered orange light on all their faces. Lulu and Henri were asleep, their heads in Aunt Māra's lap. Birdie yawned. Her father looked over at her. "You got us all serious Birdie, should I pull out the fiddle, lighten up the night?" + +She surprised herself by saying no, that she was tired. She gathered up her quilts and walked up the rise of the dune, away from the fire and lay down in the sand, spread layers of quilt over her until she could feel a cacoon of warm begin to form around her. She laid her head back and looked up. The dusty spray of the milky way spread across the sky. Orion the hunter stood tall and strong, his bow ever at the ready. He must be with us she thought, he must be Alban. Maybe he too is looking for a place to be who he is, a place he can hunt and run free. As her eyelids dropped the stars seemed to gather up, and pull together, to rain down around her and keep her safe and warm there beside their brother the sea. Where she was free. ## Chapter 4: Among the Stumps @@ -1304,6 +1334,10 @@ Her father walked off toward the ocean. Birdie saw him in the moon light take of Her uncle sat on the log. She could hear him muttering something to himself, but could not make out was it was. "Come on Māra, lets go." Her aunt raised an eyebrow at him, but got up and gathered her things. +"Papa. What happened?" She asked when he returned. + +"Birdie? You're awake?" Her father came over and sat down beside her. He bent down and kissed her forehead, his beard tickled her cheek. "Nothing sweet girl, get some sleep." Birdie let herself slip back into the sheets and quilts on the soft sand. + 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. @@ -1702,12 +1736,9 @@ He turned and walked back toward the beach. "Take the man you call uncle teach, "But," he spun around to face them with a menacing look on his face. "Never take another man's rum." -:TODO: Figure out how to reconcile the Henri hunting reference above, with the actual story of his hunting below, maybe move it earlier and then replace this chapter intro with something else? - - ## The Tale Black Sam Told -Henri avoided Ratham for several days, heading off into the wood 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. +Henri 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. She headed out of camp, along the edge of the marsh, looking for nests she could raid. She hadn't gone far when she heard a hissing whisper, "sister." She looked around, but did not see Henri anywhere. "Sister!" This time it was louder, and she stared hard into the undergrowth until she noticed a pair of eye's starting at her out of the dark shadows and tangled branches. She walked toward him. @@ -1735,7 +1766,7 @@ Lulu looked more closely at the tangle of dry sticks. "I'm not sure about that" "Then I'll climb a tree." -"Good plan." She chuckled at the thought of Henri treed by a boar, but she stopped when he hit her shoulder, "hey" she brought herself up short when she saw the boar. It was a huge male, followed by a female. They rooted along the edge of the trail, digging at something. She was transfixed. They were not more than 6 knots away. She wasn't even thinking of Henri and his bow until the distinctive twang of the string snapped her back. The arrow hit it in the neck, there was a squeal and it charged into the undergrowth on the opposite side of the trail. Time seemed to slow down. Lulu's heart was beating incredible fast, but she felt like she was moving in water, her actions where slow and sloppy. Her body seemed to move without her telling it what to do. Before she knew what she'd done she and Henri were six feet up sitting on the low limb of a tk tree. The boar was nowhere to be seen. +"Good plan." She chuckled at the thought of Henri treed by a boar, but she stopped when he hit her shoulder, "hey" she brought herself up short when she saw the boar. It was a huge male, followed by a female. They rooted along the edge of the trail, digging at something. She was transfixed. They were not more than 6 knots away. She wasn't even thinking of Henri and his bow until the distinctive twang of the string snapped her back. The arrow hit it in the neck, there was a squeal and it charged into the undergrowth on the opposite side of the trail. Time seemed to slow down. Lulu's heart was beating incredible fast, but she felt like she was moving in water, her actions where slow and sloppy. Her body seemed to move without her telling it what to do. Before she knew what she'd done she and Henri were six feet up sitting on the low limb of an oak tree. The boar was nowhere to be seen. "Did you see that? I hit it! I got it. Yes." @@ -1883,95 +1914,39 @@ Bellamy might be the captain, but the ship came to life when the quartermaster c And just like that, Whydah was gone, back to what she did best, chasing sails over the horizon. ---- - -:TODO: Not sure where the below comes from, but it needs to be worked in - - -Tamba's people have been sailing these waters longer than ours probably. Her father nodded at Tamba, but he shook his head. - -"I do not think so." - -Birdie glanced back and forth between the two them. Her father raised his eyebrow. - -"The Egyptians perhaps. There are stories I have heard from the northern tribes about trading for copper that came from over the seas. But my people were coastal cruisers. Why cross oceans when everything you need is right here?" Tamba stretched his arm toward the shore. "If you want to have food, you need to be by the shore. Maybe you sail out of sight sometimes, you follow the currents and migrations of the fish, but you do not need to go too far. Where I come from there is plenty of food to be had without even setting foot in a boat. You grow rice on the shores. We have yarrow and tk on the higher ground, and you cast a net in the shallows for fish. We have palms and a tree that is not here. It is very strong. Like the teak we traded in Siam. We have these trees for building shelter. Everything is there, we use it. It is only crazy people who would leave this." He smiled and gestured at her father. +## Whydah Returns -Her father grunted. "I didn't leave anything. I was driven out." - -"So you say." - -"Our people have been hunted down and driven out for centuries. The lowlanders do not like us." - -"Why?" - -"Yes, why?" - -Her father shrugged. "I don't know. I think on this all the time. I think perhaps it is because they cannot stand the idea that not everyone is as miserable as they are." - -Tamba laughed. "You may be on to something there. These people came to our shores too and seemed unable to leave us alone. And look what they do to the people on these shores. Some people Birdie, I don't know, they won't leave you alone. It is a great mystery." - -"How did they drive us out papa?" - -Her father sighed. "Drive might be the wrong word." - -Tamba burst out laughing. "Yes, I think it would be. I have no love of the British or any of the rest of the people you call lowlanders, but I know you well enough to know that no one could drive you out of anywhere. You'd die in a hole before you'd be driven anywhere." - -Birdie expected her father to join in Tamba's laughters, but he did not. He ignored him completely. "We left Birdie because I was tired of the place we were. I wanted to go somewhere no one knew my name, somewhere I didn't have to do anything so I could chose what I wanted to do. So I could be free of the obligations that places lay upon you." - -Kobayashi was nodding. "I too left to be free. It is a hard thing for some. For me it was easy because when I am here, I can breath, I am free, no one looks for anything from me. I an able to be who I am. Your father can be who he is," Kobayashi's eyes twinkled, "he can wear his loin clothes and do his dances by the seashore." - -Now her father laughed. "I will never live down the loin cloth will I? Everyone shook their heads. "That's fine. That's what I wanted too, a place of possibility. A place individuals can do as they wish, no matter how eccentric that might be, so long as it doesn't harm anyone else or try to force anyone else to pay their bills." He shrugged. "You wouldn't think that would be so hard to find really, but it is, by god it is. I've been nearly around the world and this coast here, this is close as I have come." - -"That seems silly. Why would anyone care what you did? That would just make them stupid." +It was a quarter turn of the moon before the Whydah returned, with the prize ship right behind her. -Tamba raised an eyebrow at her. "Strong talk in this one tk." +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. -Her father smiled. "Yes, they are strong. They will have to be. Stronger than us I fear. I fear they will be living through much more than you and I have had to deal with this time." +Lulu jumped out of her covers and dashed into a hut to grab the glass out of her father's sea chest, which lay opposite the door. She turned around and almost barreled right through Kobayashi, who laughed. "What is this big panic?" -Tamba puffed on his pipe and said nothing. +"Father wants the glass." She darted out the door with the glass clutched tight in her hand and looped up the dune to where her father, Birdie and Henri were 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 the glass to him. -Kobayashi leaned back against a stack of driftwood and packed his pipe. "This country is wild, it will not be tamed." +"Revenge. And her prize I imagine." His voice trailed off to a whisper. "Why are they coming here?" -"I hope you are right Ko, but I worry that line of thinking will lead to trouble. People who believe they can do no harm are the most dangerous people of all." - -Kobayashi grunted. "True." - -Aunt Māra leaned forward and stirred the fire until a log caught and flame flickered orange light on all their faces. Lulu and Henri were asleep, their heads in Aunt Māra's lap. Birdie yawned. Her father looked over at her. "You got us all serious Birdie, should I pull out the fiddle, lighten up the night?" - -She surprised herself by saying no, that she was tired. She gathered up her quilts and walked up the rise of the dune, away from the fire and lay down in the sand, spread layers of quilt over her until she could feel a cacoon of warm begin to form around her. She laid her head back and looked up. The dusty spray of the milky way spread across the sky. Orion the hunter stood tall and strong, his bow ever at the ready. He must be with us she thought, he must be Alban. Maybe he too is looking for a place to be who he is, a place he can hunt and run free. As her eyelids dropped the stars seemed to gather up, and pull together, to rain down around her and keep her safe and warm there beside their brother the sea. Where she was free. - - ---- - -Her father was standing on top of the dune looking out at the sunrise when he spun around fast and yelled back toward camp, "Someone bring me the glass." - -Lulu dashed into a hut and grabbed the glass out of her father's sea chest, which lay opposite the door. She turned around and almost barreled right through Kobayashi, who laughed. "What is this big panic?" - -"Father wants the glass." She darted out the door with the glass clutched tight in her hand and looped up the dine to where her father, Birdie and Henri were 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 the glass to him. - -"Revenge. And her prize I imagine." His voice trailed off to a whisper. "Why are they coming here though?" - -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 other's to answer. "Maybe her prize needs to careen." +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." 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." -He turned around and walked back toward camp. "Kobayashi! Tamba! We may need meat. I am going to sail the Pirogue out to them and see what's afoot. I'll have them fire a cannon if they're coming ashore." Lulu watched from dune as he headed down the trail toward the marsh to collect the Pirogue. She considered running after him, but she knew what he'd say *it's too dangerous*. It was always too dangerous. She grumbled to herself as she walked back toward camp to see Tamba and Kobayashi packing their rifles. "You should take Henri." They glanced at her, then at each other. Tamba shrugged. Kobayashi looked at her, go get him. +He turned around and walked back toward camp. "We may need meat," he said to no one in particular. "I am going to sail the Pirogue out to them and see what's afoot. I'll have them fire a cannon if they're coming ashore." Lulu watched from dune as he headed down the trail toward the marsh to collect the pirogue. She considered running after him, but she knew what he'd say *it's too dangerous*. It was always too dangerous. She grumbled to herself as she walked back toward camp to see Tamba and Kobayashi packing their rifles. "You should take Henri." They glanced at her, then at each other. Tamba shrugged. Kobayashi looked at her, go get him. -Lulu bolted back up the dune. Henri was already on the far side, walking the shore with Birdie. She yelled. They turned. But she knew they could not hear her. She gestured for them to come, and then she began running toward them. They met in the middle and Lulu had to bend over, panting hard before she could get it out even in gasps. "Henry... hunt... Tamba... Kobayashi..." birdie put is together before Henri, and shouted. "Tamba and Kobayashi said henry can go hunting?" +Lulu bolted back up the dune. Henri was already on the far side, walking the shore with Birdie. She yelled. They turned. But she knew they could not hear her. She gestured for them to come, and then she began running toward them. They met in the middle and Lulu had to bend over, panting hard before she could get it out even in gasps. "Henry... hunt... Tamba... Kobayashi..." Birdie put is together before Henri, and shouted. "Tamba and Kobayashi said Henri can go hunting?" Lulu nodded and sat down in the sand. Henri did not ask for details. he was off and running the miute Birdie had opened her mouth. The girls sat in the sand, catching their breath. Birdie stood up. "Look, papa." There was the Pirogue, barreling out of the river mouth, sail smartly trimmed. They could see their father's back as the boat road the offshore breeze through the surf at the mouth of the river, where the currents were slippery and strange and Lulu hated the way the boat moved, it moved unnaturally. Unlike a boat ever moved anywhere else. It was the only thing she hated about sailing, crossing the mouth of a good size river. -Her father slide right through it seemingly without noticing it. Soon after he was force to tack and the sail swung over blocking him from view, though she was sure he could see them on the sbore. The Pirogue was a sneaky little boat. Or at least Delos had been. She assumed the new Delos was as well, she had yet to be in it. +Her father slide right through it seemingly without noticing it. Soon after he was force to tack and the sail swung over blocking him from view, though she was sure he could see them on the shore. The pirogue was a sneaky little boat. Or at least Maggie had been. She assumed the new Maggie was as well, she had yet to be in it. -She felt a wave of panic pass through her chest at the thought of Delos. She and Birdie had not spoken of it since the days after the storm when they were still looking for it. She missed the boys. She missed Aunt Māra. Aunt Māra might still be on the island, but the part of her that Lulu loved to be around was gone. She was like a ghost wandering the island, never really there, never really anywhere. +She felt a wave of panic pass through her chest at the thought of Maggie. She and Birdie had not spoken of it since the days after the storm when they were still looking for it. She missed the boys. She missed Aunt Māra. Aunt Māra might still be on the island, but the part of her that Lulu loved to be around was gone. She was like a ghost wandering the island, never really there, never really anywhere. -They watched as the Pirogue and the man of war closed the gap between them. The merchant hung back. If she was in need of tar, no one seemed in a hurry to bring her in. Lulu shivered in the wind. She and Birdie took turns throwing shells at seagull feather sticking up in the sand, trying to see who could get the closest, but not hit it. Birdie was winning. +They watched as the pirogue and the man of war closed the gap between them. The merchant hung back. If she was in need of tar, no one seemed in a hurry to bring her in. Lulu shivered in the wind. She and Birdie took turns throwing shells at seagull feather sticking up in the sand, trying to see who could get the closest, but not hit it. Birdie was winning. -They lost interest in the game as the two boat drew together. "I wish we had a glass," said Birdie. +They lost interest in the game as the two boats drew together. "I wish we had a glass," said Birdie. -"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 was to get Henri headed back to camp so he could go hunting. Without Charles around Henry had no one to hunt with. He never spoke of Charles, 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 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 Revenge, since she had not slacked sail, though she did appear to be coming about. The Pirogue's sail flutter like a flag alongside. +"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 was to get Henri 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. Because while it was fun to be paraded around on shoulders, she knew the one he really wanted to know about it was Owen. He never 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 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 Revenge, 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 Revenge. The big ship began to turn away, abreast the wind, Lulu saw the anchor fall from the bow and guessed Revenge was going to spend the night just off the mouth of the river. @@ -1985,13 +1960,13 @@ He smiled. "I got lucky." "I know kiddo. I almost tacked just so you could be the first ones to do it. But then," he laughed, "then I couldn't believe *I* might be able to do it, so I had to do it." He looked down sheepishly. -"It's okay papa, I;m glad you did it." +"It's okay papa, I'm glad you did it." -"Thanks Lu. I'm glad I have to you to back me up, because if I were listening to me, I would not believe me. Ratham sure isn't going to believe me." +"Thanks Lu. I'm glad I have to you to back me up, because if I were listening to me, I would not believe me. Sam and Jack sure aren't going to believe me." -"Is he coming?" +"Are they coming?" -Her father frowned. "Yes, he's coming with Anne. Only for the night. A party of hunters is going to try tk south island for boar and deer. They're provisioning to go back down to Nassau. +Her father frowned. "Yes, but only for the night. A party of hunters is going to try the south island for boar and deer. They're provisioning to go back down to Nassau. "Is that his prize ship anchoring out there?" @@ -1999,7 +1974,7 @@ Her father frowned again. "Yes. We'll talk about that tonight. Where's your brot "Hunting with Tamba and Kobe." Her father raised his eyebrows. "It was my idea," said Lulu. -"That was kind of you Lulu. I should have taken him yesterday when I went upriver. I know he misses having Owen around." Her father glanced inland. +"That was kind of you Lulu. I should have taken him I suppose. I know he misses having Owen around." Her father glanced inland. "Do you think they're dead Papa?" @@ -2011,7 +1986,7 @@ Her father stopped coiling the line for a moment and looked at her, then looked "Wait, are we leaving? But I thought we were staying through Christmas?" -"We may. But we need a few things either way. Might as well get them. Ratham is paying us a share to this prize. You sister sighted it, he believes she deserves it." +"We may. But we need a few things either way. Might as well get them. Sam is paying us a share to this prize. Your sister sighted it, he believes she deserves it." "What? She gets a share? Like a real buccaneer?" @@ -2027,7 +2002,9 @@ Her father sighed. "It really depends who gets hold of the ships log, but I thin "Why?" -He sighed again and climbed out of the Pirogue onto the log next to her. "I don't know what's right Lulu. On one hand, there's that man out there in that other ship, he's losing everything on his ship. Captain Ratham will take it, and the ship, and sell it for himself. That man gets nothing. Jack is stealing everything from him. On the other hand, most of those things were made by slaves or stolen from the people who lived on this land before the Spanish came. People I think of as Alban, though they may speak a different language. So that man who just had everything stolen, stole what he had in the first place. Is it okay to steal from the person who stole? Or is it just more stealing? I don't know. I can argue it both ways and in the end I'd rather just sail and fish and hunt and not worry about anything else. But we need new sails, we need tk, we need tk. We could make those things, but it would take us a long time, and apparently, there is a man coming who wants us off his island. +He sighed again and climbed out of the Pirogue onto the log next to her. + +"It's hard to say really. I don't know what's right Lulu. On one hand, there's that man out there in that other ship, he's losing everything on his ship. Captain Bellamy will take it, and the ship, and sell it for himself. That man gets nothing. Sam is stealing everything from him. That seems wrong. Yet. Most of the things Sam is stealing were made by slaves or stolen from the people who lived on this land before the Spanish came. People I think of as Alban, though they may speak a different language. So that man who just had everything stolen, stole everything he had in the first place. Is it okay to steal from the person who stole? Or is it just more stealing? I don't know. I can argue it both ways and in the end I'd rather just sail and fish and hunt and not worry about anything else. But we need new sails, we need lines, we'll need flour and salt and other things. We could make most of those things, but it would take us a long time, and apparently, there is a man coming who wants us off his island." "Wait, what? His island? How is this island is?" @@ -2039,25 +2016,25 @@ He sighed again and climbed out of the Pirogue onto the log next to her. "I don' --- -It was somber around the fire that night, Anne sat beside Jack, leaning into him from time to time. Lulu watched her father across the fire. She always suspected her father and Anne might be in love, but now she wondered if she was mistaken and it was Jack and Anne that were in love. TK fix this: She wished she understood this thing love that grownups talked about. What was it, what did it mean? +It was somber around the fire that night. Only Jack ended up coming ashore. The grownups spent much time smoking in silence. Thinking. "This McPhail." It was Tamba who broke the silence. "Does he plan to settle here? On the island I mean? Like those plantations down south of here on that gooseneck island in Georgia?" -"Oh, I doubt that." Ratham chuckled. "He sounds more like the type to call Charlestown home, send a man out here every now and then to make sure riffraff like us aren't overrunning the place." - -"What do you plan to do tkfather? I here Virginia is very nice these days. CErtainly a good bit of water to disappear into. Excellent fishing. Could be just your kind of place to winter. Bit cold though I suppose." +"Oh, I doubt that." Ratham chuckled. "He sounds more like the type to call Charlestown home, send a man out here every now and then to make sure riffraff like us aren't overrunning the place. No, I don't think he'll say, but I think he'll make sure you don't either. I here Virginia is very nice these days. Certainly a good bit of water to disappear into. Excellent fishing. Could be just your kind of place to winter. Bit cold though I suppose." "Not enough jack pine, too far north for them, there'd be no point to wintering there, we couldn't make tar. Same reason we sail right past Okracok" -"You ever met that fellow, Dampier?" +Silence returned. More smoking. Lulu was bored and starting to doze. + +This time it Ratham who broke the silence. "You ever met that fellow, Dampier?" -"The one's always writing? Once, yes, in London." +"The one's always writing?" Ratham nodded and her father sighed. "Once, yes, in London." "You don't sound impressed." Her father shrugged. "We had a pint in a tavern, I was headed out, he'd just come in." -"I'd have thought you two'd have hit it off, scribblers the both of you," Ratham smiled. "And he's like you, not very interested in plunder, just wants to explore, sail off into the sunset. If he ever manages to command a ship, you'll never hear of him again." +"I'd have thought you two'd have hit it off, scribblers the both of you," Ratham smiled. "And he's like you, not very interested in riches, just wants to explore, sail off into the sunset. If he ever manages to command a ship, you'll never hear of him again." Her father snorted. "I don't think anyone is going to give Dampier a ship and I doubt he's got the resources to build one." @@ -2067,19 +2044,19 @@ Her father snorted. "I don't think anyone is going to give Dampier a ship and I "Hmm? Oh. I was thinking of a time he and I were crewed on a boat in Virginia. I helped him out with some troubles he was having." -"That's mighty kind of you Jack," said Anne. +"That's mighty kind of you Jack," said Tamba with a chuckle. Jack shrugged. "His higher bred morals were unable to deal with the reality he found himself in so I helped him in exchange for some silver he'd taken on ship in the south seas. Other side of the isthmus." -"He sailed round the horn?" Anne seemed surprised. +"He sailed round the horn?" "Oh, I don't know about that. He might have, but at least once he walked it. Over the Darien gap. The Kuna, that's the people that live down there, they hate the Spanish as much as anything so all you need to do is tell them you're headed to attack the Spanish and they'll up and join you, get you through the mountains, over the Pacific. That's the way he told it anyway." Jack paused and sat up to add another log the fire. A shower of sparks shot up in the dark. Lulu shivered. -Anyway, one thing that doesn't get to the South Seas much, apparently, at least as far as I can tell from the stories I've heard, is the British Navy. It's all Spanish out there and they're spread far too thin right now to be able to control it. I don't know if the place has Jack Pine, but I do know, if I were looking to avoid the British, that's where I'd head." +"Anyway, one thing that doesn't get to the South Seas much, apparently, at least as far as I can tell from the stories I've heard, is the British Navy. It's all Spanish out there and they're spread far too thin right now to be able to control it. I don't know if the place has Jack Pine, but I do know, if I were looking to avoid the British, that's where I'd head." 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 Revenge around the south seas eh Jack? Her father smiled. "I'd go with you in Delos if you did. That'd be a fine adventure. Wouldn't miss it for the world." +"You want to sail Revenge around the south seas eh Jack?" Her father smiled. "I'd go with you in Delos 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, tk, I don't want adventure, I want more rum" @@ -2087,28 +2064,23 @@ Ratham laughed. "No, I like my Nassau. I like my clothes and my wine and my food "Oh I know, but the south seas go on forever. Thousands of leagues of ocean. Why try to locate a fleet in the midst of all that water, when you can just wait for them to sail through the straights of Florida and attack them there?" -"Where's your sense of adventure Jack?" Anne elbowed him and then sat up to take a swig of rum." I think it'd be swell fun to sail round all that way. Shame you can't get a ship over that gap your man talked about though." - -"The Darien Gap? A ship over the... Anne you're mad." - -She shrugged. Anne drank and wiped her lips. "Anyway, tk, you're not seriously going to run all the way to the south seas because some lord from London comes along claiming you're stealing his trees? That'd be mad." - -Her father did not answer immediately. Lulu heard Jack mumble under his breath, "that's a bit harsh don't you think. Anne? The man has children after all." +"Where's your sense of adventure Jack?" -Her father sighed. "This island is a wonderful place to make camp for the winter, but there are dozen of places to do that within a day's sail of here, and thousands more another day's sail beyond that. You can call it running if you want to, but that's not how I see it." Her father propped himself up on one elbow. "My people come from the high country, we got there following the water, just looking for a place we could exist undisturbed. But he kept having to go higher. So some of us turned around and went the other way, followed the water take to it's source. If we leave here it will just be more following the water, flowing on. Water never stops Anne. That river over there," her father gestured toward the tk river, "would you say it's running away from something? Or is it running toward something? I say it's doing neither? Is it just doing the thing it was given to do, to journey through the world as best it can, follow it's course out into the sea, and keep going on wherever the currents take it. The lowlanders, they think the rivers stop at the shore. You and I know that's not true. That water never stops flowing, nothing on this earth ever stops moving. Why would I? It's unnatural to stay in one place too long. Besides," her father smiled a broad, bright smile of the sort Lulu rarely saw him smile, "where's the adventure in sitting around some island all day?" +"You're not seriously going to run all the way to the south seas because some lord from London comes along claiming you're stealing his trees? That'd be mad." -Anne nodded and pushed her large hat back a little, smiling. "Well, when you put it like that..." She raised her mug to him and then took a drink. +Her father sighed. "This island is a wonderful place to make camp for the winter, but there are dozen of places to do that within a day's sail of here, and thousands more another day's sail beyond that. You can call it running if you want to, but that's not how I see it." Her father propped himself up on one elbow. "My people come from the high country, we got there following the water, just looking for a place we could exist undisturbed. But we kept having to go higher. So some of us turned around and went the other way, followed the water back to it's source. If we leave here it will just be more following the water, flowing on. Water never stops Jack. That river over there," her father gestured toward the Edisto river, "would you say it's running away from something? Or is it running toward something? I say it's doing neither. Is it just doing the thing it was given to do, to journey through the world as best it can, follow its course out into the sea, and keep going on wherever the currents take it. The lowlanders, they think the rivers stop at the shore. You and I know that's not true. That water never stops flowing, nothing on this earth ever stops moving. Why would I? It's unnatural to stay in one place too long. Besides," her father smiled a broad, bright smile of the sort Lulu rarely saw him smile, "where's the adventure in sitting around some island all day?" -Lulu's father nodded at her. Her eyelids where heavy and she found herself having a harder time focusing, but she thought he might have winked. +Jack nodded and pushed his hat back a little, smiling. "Well, when you put it like that..." He raised her mug to him and then took a drink. +## need birdie chapter here -## Sails +tk something between Whydah leaving and McPhail arriving. -### Lulu spots ship +Deal with Birdie and her share of the prize. -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. +## The British -"Come on, Birdie, lets play what we were playing last night." +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." Birdie sat up groggy, rubbing her eyes gently as they had all learned to do in a world where you never knew when there might by a grain of sand on your hand. "What game again?" @@ -2132,7 +2104,7 @@ She ducked into the tent, Tamba and Kobayashi had a of sail cloth bag of their g --- -### Birdie with her father +## 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. @@ -2258,7 +2230,7 @@ Even now somewhere out in that blackness her people were trying to slip out of t Aunt Māra getting away was the beginning of that plan and that had worked. So far so good. Birdie rolled over toward the wall of grass siding. She wished she could slip out the hidden door and disappear. But she could not leave her father. -### Lulu on Delos escape +## Lulu on Delos escape It all happened so fast that Lulu never had a chance to feel anything. She and Henri were off down the trail headed for Delos before it really even hit her that Birdie was not with them. It wasn't until she was knee deep in pluff mud, helping Kobayashi push Delos into deeper water that it hit her, where was Birdie. It was like something in the center of her had switched off, a vast open space created where there had been none. She wasn't positive, but she was pretty sure she and Birdie had never been apart for more than a few hours. Even then, Birdie was out fishing, or Lulu was down the river at Kadiatu's, they were both here. And now they were not. -- cgit v1.2.3-70-g09d2