“Where is it? Show me,” he snarled at the group of sailors, fumbling in a pocket for his telescope.
“There sir, right along four points off the bowsprit,” a sailor replied, loosely gesturing out over the sea. The description did little to aid Tim and his inexperience with anything nautical revealed itself. He extended his glass out and was scanning the horizon almost due south, far off the direction of the sighting. Looks and grins were being exchanged at his expense, as though he hadn’t noticed. Finally, he scanned far enough eastward he was looking at an azimuth about forty-five degrees from the bow. A white square floated above the water, faint even through the lens of his telescope. Four points, he thought to himself making a mental note, a forty-five-degree angle. He watched the small patch of white, desperately begging his eye to coax whatever information he could glean from the little white patch of sail far across the water. Through the distance he could not decipher even their direction of sail much less size or origin of the ship. It pained him horribly, but he decided to ask one of the sailors.
“Can you make what direction she is headed?” Tim asked in a low growl, warning them against taking further humor at his expense.
“Likely she will get closer before we lose sight of her sir.” One of the younger sailors informed him, “She’s either headed east or north with the winds from the southwest as they are. But we’ll know her direction after watching her for a while. If she gets a bit closer, I can tell you for certain sir.”
“Right. Good, please do that. The minute you have a good fix on her, I want to be the next man to know.” Tim replied as he squinted back into his telescope. For the next several hours he was immovable from his post on the starboard rail, raising his telescope to his eye every few minutes to glimpse at the white square off in the distance.
The Black Fleet
24 Sept 1808
17 Degrees 8 minutes N, 76 Degrees 3’ W
“Sails on the horizon!” the cry had come from lookouts aloft hours ago, setting the crew to preparations for engagement. Since then a steadily increasing tension had built. Lilith could feel it, hanging in the air and dancing between the masts, injecting every task with a sense of urgency. The wind had held steady out of the southwest and she kept her course steady while awaiting orders from Captain James. Nowhere amongst the crew was the excitement more palpable than with the Captain. The instant the call had floated down from the crow’s nest, James armed himself and furiously assisted in battle preparations everywhere he could. Cannons were loaded and run out while arms were disbursed through the crew and staged on deck for quick access. Chibs appeared from below decks where he had been assisting the gun crews with their loading, a cloud of pipe smoke rolling behind him as he walked about the deck. Orders flew around the deck of the Maiden, sending hands new and old alike scurrying through preparations until finally no tasks remained.
The sails loomed larger and larger as the hours drug by and through the course of time it became apparent to Lilith that these ships were not the same ones they had engaged near the Jamaican cove. James gave the order to don the colors as they drew ever closer and Chibs raised their black banner above the stern. As it unfurled into the wind all eyes examined the ships for a reaction. Lilith took her eyes off course for a moment, stealing a glance up at the banner as she always did when it was run up. As she did, the lead vessel altered course northward.
“Captain!” Chibs cried out, “We’ve struck a chord in that lead crew, they are breaking to run!”
“Aye, So I see. Hold her steady now Lilith, are you with us girl?” James replied, noting her gaze upward.
“I am Captain,” her sheepish answer came back. She felt a bit embarrassed to be caught off focus.
“Good, they have three vessels and we’ll need every hand to have their wits about to come out on top. Watch those ships carefully and I want you to make a hard larboard turn the minute one of them comes about toward us. The wind favors neither of us at the moment, but one wrong move could give them the upper hand.” James said to her. As he spoke the lead vessel had come back onto her original course.
“They’re not sure what they want to do Captain.” Lilith observed.
“I see. That will work in our favor. Hold her true Lilith.” James said with an endearing smile. “I’ll be close by my dear, worry not.”
“I can take care of myself Captain.” Lilith shot back with a smile and a glance from the side of her eyes.
“Oh, I don’t doubt that miss. If we are forcibly boarded, you are on your own, it’s every man and woman for themselves at that point as they say. I only meant that once the maneuvers begin, I will be close at hand to help you position the ship exactly as I want it. That is all.” James said lifting his hands by his shoulders with his palms forward. “This won’t be a sail by broadside. We will likely have to do some quick handling. But, if you insist on doing it all alone, I suppose.”
James started to step away, but Lilith reached to stop him, grabbing his shirt.
“No, James, that’s not what
