Black Sam - Prince of Pirates

Twenty Nine - THE SLAVE

 Twenty-Nine -THESLAVE

 November 1716

 Sam awoke to John Julian hovering over him tending to his wounds.

 “How do you feel?” John asked.

 “Like hell warmed over.”

 “You should,” Paulgrave said sitting a short distance away. “You’ve been asleep for two days.”

 Sam smiled and shook his head. “Don’t you ever sleep Paul?”

 “How can I sleep with you constantly moaning over there?”

 Sam chuckled. “How does it look, doctor?”

 “The maggots kept infection away,” John said.

 “Maggots?” Sam asked, thinking of the tingling sensation he felt earlier. “Ah, right, the medicine. Thanks Paul,” he said flatly.

 Paul smiled. “Don’t mention it.”

 “Listen, time is running out,” John said. “I can help you get off this ship, but we must move quickly.”

 “How?” Sam asked.

 Paulgrave got to his feet and stretched his legs. “We just left port, so we’re not too far out yet.”

 “What about Cyprian and his guards?” Sam asked.

 John stood up as well. He and Paulgrave helped Sam to his feet. “Cyprian will be asleep, as he always is. The guards won’t be a problem.”

 “How do we get out of the hold?” Sam asked.

 John smiled. “You’ll know when the moment arrives.”

  Sam walked slowly trying to find his legs. “Sounds like you two have been busy.”

 Paulgrave shrugged. “We have a pretty open schedule.”

 “Get yourselves to the main deck without a sound, or we’ll all hang before the sun comes up.” John smacked a metal plate on the iron bars making a terrible racket. “Guard!”

 A guard came around the corner.

 “Get me out of this stink-hole,” John said with a sour-looking expression.       

 The guard unlocked the door and escorted the slave out of the hold.

 Through iron bars, Sam and Paulgrave watched the slave exit the hold.

 ***

 Midnight came and a soldier came staggering into the prison hold. He was obviously drunk as it took him a few minutes to get to the iron door. “Which one of you has the missing sack of gold?”

 Sam and Paulgrave looked at each other, and then back at the drunken guard. “That would be me,” Sam said stepping toward the door.

 “Hand it over, or I shall have you whipped again.”

 Sam reached inside his breeches as the guard anxiously waited. The inebriated soldier did not notice Sam step even closer to the door pulling out his empty hands. “I thought I had it,” he said, turning to Paulgrave. He took a step backward, again toward the cell door.

 “Do you have the sack of gold?” he asked Paulgrave.

 Paulgrave searched his own pockets as he too stepped toward the iron door. Sam looked and felt around his naked chest and stomach, then started to search Paulgrave’s shirt. Paulgrave covered his laugh with a cough, and then quickly yanked Sam’s hands out of his shirt.