(7:22 am Nov 03, 2008)
Well, gentle reader, once again I have been deep into my practice of procrastination. And I remember now that I can ill afford it. There is supposed to be band practice tonight which will cut into my writing time and there are a goodly number of gigs this month which will also wreak havoc with my writing and mood. Ah well... Such is life in the tropics as they say. And the funny thing is we say that here even though we are not there, only semi there as it were.
Fulcrum set off down the path to the settlement. He was on his way to meet his mates at a spot where he had told them to wait for him when he had sent them on ahead so that the captain would not protest.
He didn't intend to disobey the captain exactly. No, more like creatively obey his orders. He had no intention of dying here in the bush today. He would not let anyone accompany him as he searched the bush, but he would have them nearby and perhaps they would prevent any further attacks.
It took him a hot hour or more, but he finally saw his mark and retrieved the captain's package. He took it down from the branch and secured it in his shirt and headed back to his mates.
They were almost to the dune when the first shots rang out. One of his mates pitched forward, hit on the leg. A ball whizzed by his left ear and he broke off running towards the beach yelling for help. His other mates were right behind. No one stopped to help their fallen comrade.
(7:41 am Nov 03, 2008)
(7:54 am Nov 03, 2008)
Life obstructs art again gentle reader. How much art could we have if life did not get in the way? ~;-)
When the men in the camp on the beach heard the shots, they looked up startled. Someone called out that they should head for the path and a group took up their weapons and started down the beach.
Fulcrum and his remaining mates had almost reached the dune when the men from the night before stepped onto the path, swords in hand. Unfortunately for Fulcrum and friends, they had reinforcements.
Luckily, not too many, and time wasn't on their side hopefully.
(8:01 am Nov 03, 2008)
(8:19 am Nov 03, 2008)
Gone for now gentle reader...
(2:52 pm Nov 03, 2008)
Back, for a while now but again stuck in that temporal black hole. This time wasting deal is getting so old and so frustrating already and this is still very early days yet. What to do? Indeed, what to do?
"We need to break through and get to the beach before the cowards behind us catch up and attack from the rear. No stopping! Kill them all if we can!"
His mates seemed to like the sound of that and raised their cutlasses and their voices and ran towards those blocking the path with a red glint in their eyes.
The two small groups came together with and intensity and fury that spoke of something deep and primal. Metal clashed on metal, Screams filled the air, some intimidating. some a notice of intense pain.
It looked for a short while that Fulcrum and friends would not make it through to the beach before the chasing party arrived on the scene but, just at it seemed they were to falter, Fulcrum slashed the arm clean off of the enemy he was engaged with and turned his attention to the man he pegged as the leader of the opposition who was currently about to get the better of one of his mates.
Fulcrum came at him from the right side as his attention was focused on disemboweling his opponent and ran his cutlass into him through his arm pit. With that, the enemies seemed to lose heart and Fulcrum's group burst through into the clear and run up and over the dune just as the pursuers caught up. They were chased up and over the dune but when the attackers set eyes on the pirate band a scant ten yards away and closing fast, they quickly turned tail and disappeared over the brow of the dune and dashed off down the path at full speed.
(3:19 pm Nov 03, 2008)
(3:33 pm Nov 03, 2008)
When Fulcrum and the rest made it back to the camp, the captain was waiting with a scowl on his face and pistols in his hand. Without warning, he raised a pistol and pulled the trigger. Fulcrum had been watching carefully but without seeming to be aware that anything was amiss. As the captain's arm started up, he started his dive and roll, sweeping his leg out and taking the captain to the sand. Before anyone else knew what was happening he was on the captain with his knife at the captain's throat, and his mouth to the captain's ear.
"Easy my captain, I have your package safe and no one is the wiser. Let's go to your tent, shall we? Then the lights went out.
Fulcrum came up out of the dark with his head throbbing, thinking that he had to stop going to sleep so unexpectedly like that. Surely it was not good for the health.
Looking around, he noticed he was in the captain's tent. He groaned and tried to stand but found his feet and hands bound and fell over onto his face on the captain's new, soft carpet.
The captain appeared over him and pushed him down firmly with a boot to his chest. "Stay still lad, you have a lot of explaining to do it you want to see another day."
(3:44 pm Nov 03, 2008)
"Captain, I..."
"Quiet lad. I will ask the questions, you answer, directly and honestly and quickly. The only reason you are still breathing now is that I have my package and it seems unopened. But lad, I will have no truck with those who disobey my direct orders."
"Captain, I..."
"Stop! I haven't asked a question of you yet lad! Now, Why didn't you go alone as I instructed you to do?"
"Captain, I'm sorry, but I had a strange feeling that I would be attacked should I go back looking for your package and I knew that I would not survive it and that your package would be lost for surely they would wait until I had it before attacking."
(3:51 pm Nov 03, 2008)
(4:36 pm Nov 03, 2008)
Now, where did that time all get to?
"Go on lad, tell me more?" said the captain.
"Well, I asked some of me mates to go with me and hang near by in case I should be attacked. I told them that I had seen a woman with green eyes in town last night and that she interested me something fierce. I told them that I was bringing back a token of the heart and was embarrassed that I had lost it when I had been attacked."
"So, they don't know you had anything for me?"
"Well, no, unless someone were to guess from how you reacted there on the beach."
"Alright then, you may live a bit longer if that is true. But don't go making a habit of disobeying my orders lad, and especially in front of the crew. That way leads to no good for a pirate. It's discipline I need at sea. Lucky for you we are between voyages right now or I would not allow myself to go this lightly on you lad."
"Thank you captain, Thank you!"
The captain turned and went out of the tent. Fulcrum had expected to be cut loose. He heard the captain shout to his first mate, "Mister Jack, come and take this dog out of my tent and give him ten lashes for good measure! I'll brook no disobedience such as his, even on land, unless I give my leave."
(5:10 pm Nov 03, 2008)
"But captain!"
"Quiet lad, and take it like a man. Or it's your life I'll be taking and not a bit of skin off of your scurvy back."
Fulcrum almost said more but then shut himself down in a hot fury. Better not push his luck.
A week later, the pirates put out to sea, heading south to the Crooked Island Passage to hunt.
Fulcrum had not made it back to town on the night he took his lashes nor on the next, but on the third, he had slipped away and made it back to the settlement. And now, though his flesh left on a sea voyage, his soul remained behind.
(5:30 pm Nov 03, 2008)
(6:00 pm Nov 03, 2008)
Ah gentle reader, there it goes again, slipping away to some unknown place, perhaps to take up with single socks in some riotous living...
And band practice is about 6:45 or 7:00 and I may want to eat a little dinner before then. Time, time, time, where is that factory again?
(6:33 pm Nov 03, 2008)
Gone again...
(9:42 pm Nov 03, 2008)
Back from band practice... Doing a few things that needed to be done and once again wasting some time in fine style...
And now I find myself burning some more time with the munchies.
They sailed about the Passage in the sloop Phearz for several days without sighting any other vessels and the captain had almost decided to quit the vicinity and sail over Bimini way. Almost... but then he decided to wait one more day. And the most beautiful Spanish sail was spotted early in the morning and was taken before noon time.
The captain decided to put Spanish crew ashore on Long island and send a small crew on the Spanish ship to Nassau to try and sell it and make their way back to Harbour Island to await their return. Fulcrum was amoung those to volunteer to sail the prize back to Nassau. His heart sang within his breast when he was chosen.
(10:14 pm Nov 03, 2008)
After they sold the Spanish ship in Nassau, the small crew sailed a small sloop back to the pirate outpost at Harbour Island. The whole way back, as they sailed along the cays that ran from Nassau up to Eleuthera, Fulcrum though of only one thing.
They landed at about three in the afternoon and Fulcrum dearly wanted to head in to the settlement right away, but there were things to do in camp and he could not leave at once as his heart desired.
But as soon as darkness came, he slipped off and made his way into town and to the house of the green eyed lady.
When he got there, he wanted to go and knock on her window right away, but there were people about. The house was well lit and all the windows were open. There were people sitting about outside on wooden chairs in the small, neat yard. Inside, there were people seated around a large dinner table eating dinner.
That must be her. The most beautiful face he had ever seen. And those green eyes. And she smiled and leaned in and said something to a dashing young man seated next to her at the table and she laughed. And Fulcrum Hornigold grew hot inside.
(10:27 pm Nov 03, 2008)
Fulcrum watched a little longer as the dead man put his hand on his lady's forearm and whispered something into her ear and as she laughed, her beautiful white teeth shining in the light. He knew he needed to get out of the area and take a long hard walk to calm down or he would do something rash and ruin himself and end up in gaol. He decided that he would come back later and deal with things.
He though of taking a walk by the captain's lady's house to see what he might see but decided that that would not be a wise move and so he made his way back to the beach on the north shore and walked down to the rocks at the far end and sat himself down on a broken piece of a mast and looked at the stars.
(10:34 pm Nov 03, 2008)
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