The Angel's Command

accepted all terms, telling himself that he could always alter the balance at a later date. Unarmed, the entire crew of the

Diablo Del Mar were marched up on deck in fours and made to wade ashore in the ebbing tide. Surrounded as they

were by a fully armed and very hostile English crew, they were forced to comply sullenly.

Boelee and Portugee led the first lot. Chest high they waded toward the sandy beach. Portugee looked warily about. 'I

don't like this, there's sharks in these waters!'

Boelee gritted his teeth. 'The real sharks are aboard our ship, but we don't get any say in the matter. If Madrid's playin'

us false, I'll track him to the ends of the earth!'

Just then, Rocco Madrid appeared on deck alongside Teal. The Spaniard exchanged words with his lookout, Pepe.

Before he went over the side, Pepe nodded and shook hands with both Madrid and Teal.

Boelee and Portugee were waiting as Pepe splashed ashore. They ran to meet him.

'What did the capitano have to say to you?' 'Redjack, did he have anything to say? Tell us, Pepe!' The Diablo

crewmen gathered around as the lookout explained. 'Redjack, he said nothing, but the capitano told me to tell you all:

We are joining forces with the privateer and sailing out into the ocean to capture Thuron's ship!'

Boelee shook his head in disbelief. 'Are you sure?' Pepe sat down on the warm sands. 'Si, amigos! Here is what will

happen. We will crew the privateer ship; Capitano Redjack will take us in tow. He will command the Diablo after he

has moved his own cannon aboard her and repaired the bowsprit. After we have taken Thuron's vessel, Redjack will

cut the Diablo loose to sail back to the Caribbean.'

Portugee gnawed thoughtfully at his lip. 'But why do both ships need to sail about chasin' Thuron, did he say?'

Pepe grinned as he related what his captain had told him. 'That prisoner from the Marie, you know what he said? I

will tell you. Thuron is quitting these waters, going back to his home in France. That is why he put in to Guayama. For

years he has been burying all his booty there, and he went to dig it up before he crosses the ocean. The man saw it, a

real treasure, chests an' barrels of plunder. Our capitano made him talk—now he has made a bargain with Redjack.

Good, no?'

All eyes were on Boelee. He was the most astute member of the Diablo's crew, having served longest with Madrid.

Sitting down, he pursed his lips and squinted one eye. Then he laughed. 'Good, yes! Two ships can find Thuron out

there a lot easier'n one could. Ho ho, that Rocco, he's craftier than a sack o' monkeys. I'll wager he's got a plan formed

already. You mark my words, mates, Rocco Madrid'll end up with all that booty, or my name ain't Boelee!'

The crew set about building a driftwood fire on the shore as night set in. The Devon Belle's crew towed the Diablo out

and secured her alongside the privateer. Teal commanded the entire operation, striding about and giving orders as

blocks and tackles hauled cannon between the two ships. Rocco Madrid sat in Teal's cabin aboard the Devon Belle,

sampling the Madeira while he formed bloodthirsty schemes for future days. Joby, who had now been promoted to

carpenter, had a party at work replacing the bowsprit with timbers from the Devon Belle's broken foremast as others

laboured at rigging new foresails and bowlines.

One of the men nodded toward the pirates onshore. ' 'Tain't fair! Lookit that lot, layin' about on the sand while we're

sloggin' our guts out aboard this tub!'

'You were sayin' ?'

The man turned to see Teal standing there. He bent his back to the task, apologising humbly. 'Nothin', Cap'n, never

said a word, sir!'

9

LA PETITE MARIE had now passed through the Mona Passage, the channel between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico.

Ben and Ned were in the captain's cabin, getting a lesson in navigation from the Frenchman. A large, untidy chart was

spread out on the bed, with books and a sextant holding down its scrolled corners.

Thuron indicated a spot on the map. 'This is a simple old chart, rough but reliable. We are about here by my

reckoning, see, Ben?'

The boy studied where Thuron was pointing. 'We're actually out in the Atlantic Ocean. Where do we go from here,

Cap'n?'

Thuron stroked his beard. 'Right across this chart and on to a second one which I have. This ocean is a strange place,

boy, not much is known about it. Many ships have been lost and never heard from again. No one knows how deep the

seas and oceans of this world are. When you sail the high seas on a vessel, I wager that you don't think of what lies

beneath its keel. Have you ever thought of that, Ben?'

Ned interjected his opinion into Ben's thoughts. 'Personaay!'

Ben stroked the black Labrador's ears to silence him. 'Hush, Ned, don't interrupt. Listen to the cap'n!'

Thuron tapped at the deck with his foot. 'Underneath our pitiful little ship lies a whole world. Valleys, hills, deserts

and huge mountains!' He smiled into Ben's startled blue eyes. 'Never thought of that, have you, lad? But 'tis a fact.

One day men may go there to explore it. Hundreds of thousands of leagues, clear and visible near the surface, where

daylight and the sun can penetrate, descending to shaded blues and greens, then on to where it is dark as a moonless

night with no stars. But down, ever down to complete blackness, fathomless and silent as the grave, a realm of fish that

are all sizes. Some no bigger than a babe's fingernail, others massive, monsters of the deep who have lurked there since

the earth was young!'

Ned lay on the bed, covering both ears with his paws and whining as he transmitted his thoughts to Ben.