“Why are they not returning fire?” Tim raged aloud.
“It’s likely they don’t have enough men to by now.” Alton wheezed in reply.
It burned Tim that he was bound in his circumstances to the pompous deposed official. Again, without possession of the payment for the Order, he was beholden to keeping Alton alive for his own sake. Once safely out of range from flying debris, the pair rested, bobbing along in the ocean current while the onslaught against the Spirit continued. Tim looked northward hoping to see the ship he had sighted swooping in to save them, but only found the empty darkness of the night and the sea. Helplessly they floated and waited, watching in horror as the vessel that had carried them into these waters was pummeled into a slow surrender and descent to the depths.
H.M.S Endurance
25 Sept 1808
17 Degrees 24 minutes N, 76 Degrees 2’ W
William startled from his sleep to the sound of drums beating. Drenched in a cold sweat he took a second to gather his bearings, his heart was racing, and his fists were clenched so hard his forearms ached. On the deck above him he could hear the pounding of footfalls as men scrambled to battle quarters. Will pulled himself from his hammock, struggling in the dark to dress himself when an urgent knock came at the cabin door.
“Lieutenant Harper’s compliments Sir, he has requested your presence at the quarter deck,” a sailor outside informed.
“What is going on? Have we sighted the Valor?” Will asked, springing the door open and hurrying toward the ladder well. The sailor took off behind him, struggling to match his pace.
“An explosion, Sir. Miles to the south of us, flames were visible on the horizon and we’ve faintly heard some report from cannon fire. Not sure if it is the Valor, Sir,” the sailor answered.
“Very well,” Will turned and sprinted the rest of the way up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. He arrived on the quarterdeck to find Lieutenant Harper looking through a telescope toward the southern horizon.
“South by southwest of us Sir. It must have been a massive explosion to be heard this far away, followed by a ball of fire and now we’re hearing cannon fire intermittently.” Harper reported.
“Very well, time on deck and winds?” Will asked.
“Two bells in about a half turn Sir, winds still steady from the southwest.”
“Damn if we’re sailing in at a disadvantage. Lieutenant about face her, we’ll beat our way west and turn south with the daylight. That should put us upwind from where the explosion was. If there is anything left, we can assess what happened,” said William. His voice felt surer than his mind, his decision almost instinctive.
“Are we to break pursuit of the Valor then Sir?” Harper asked, lowering his voice slightly.
“No lad, for all we know that could be the Valor circling around to gain the wind on us to attack at dawn. That Cobb is a dangerous man, left to his devices. He is clever and malicious, most would be happy to take the ship and escape, not him, I believe he won’t stop until he has put us on the bottom with every soul aboard.” Will replied.
“Or we put him there.” Harper said.
“Yes, well, that would be the idea. Let’s get to it then, it’s going to be a long day.” Will said looking over the log to determine their position.
The bow of the Endurance swung around westward and Will took careful note of each cannon report his ears could detect. At first it seemed to be too slow and inconsistent for an exchange between two ships. Almost as if they were hearing the aftermath of a battle where one side was unrelentingly beating their enemy into shreds. Captains would often fire single guns and observe their effects carefully to conserve their valuable ammunition. One shot penetrating a ship’s magazine would effectively end an engagement. Though, if the outset of their engagement was an explosion, then why all the following cannon fire? Will carefully considered the possibilities he could be sailing into, also, bracing himself for the possibility that he had just broken pursuit of the Valor for something that could be completely unrelated. A thought of the American who had shot the Admiral crossed his mind and sent a twisting feeling through his stomach. If I cross paths with that man again, Will thought while gritting his teeth, he will die at my hands. His thoughts were interrupted by more cannon fire, this time though the shots were more rapid. Then another round of successive shots echoed in over the waves, snapping Will to an alert posture, it had to be return fire. The reports of cannon fire continued as the Endurance raced her way westward. The direction of the sounds aided Will in judging his relative location to the battle taking place.
The early glow of dawn began creeping into the eastern sky when one of the lookouts cried down from the rigging.
“Sail behind us, she looks to be fleeing northward!”
Will looked out over the fantail, straining in the early light he could just barely distinguish the outline of a ship. They had no lanterns lit on deck and Will could not make out if they were flying national colors. He couldn’t even distinguish the class of ship he was seeing, it was smaller, maybe a brig, perhaps a frigate.
“Helmsman come about southward, I don’t think she’s spotted us, but I don’t want our stern exposed if she has.” Will ordered, again he felt an unfamiliar confidence. His decisions felt more like finding a piece missing to a puzzle than they did carefully thought out and painstakingly weighed.
“Another sail, following the first,”
