Jack Book Two in the Trilogy: Murder on the High Seas

Blessed Night Part 38

At 20:20 hours we could still see lights on the ship that was chasing us and could still see, dimly, the darkened sails. The moon was not up yet but it was starting to brighten on the horizon the way it does on land when she's coming up. We had maybe a half hour before there would be enough moonlight for the pirate ship to track us all night. Jack had cooked up a new plan and told me. He decided to make a large semi-circle to the south to see if the pirate ship would follow or if it had a predetermined tack. So that's what we did. Ten minutes later it was obvious that it was the pirate ship and they were a'comin' for us.

Finally, it became so dark that we couldn't see her and the moon was almost ready to peek at us from the horizon. That's when Jack made his move and ordered that the ship make another half circle this time aimed at coming up behind the other ship far enough away so that it would never see us.

The wind had relaxed to the point where the ship was only doing two or three knots so it was nerve-wracking as all hands watched for any sign of the other ship whose lights must have been extinguished. The lookout in the crow's nest above the main mast reported that nothing was visible except the first rays of the moon but then he saw it. "She's heading south still, they don't see us yet," yelled the lookout. He could just barely make out the outline of the ship and then, to the cheers of all aboard, the lookout said we had shaken her off. He could no longer see it. Jack had pulled off another fast one.

Approaching me, Mauricia and America, along with Samuel and Jonas, who were trying to set the ship's new course using the ship's compass, Jack said, "Don't applaud sonny boy. Just clap for a few hours," and he laughed, and slapped his thigh above the knee like it was one of the funniest lines ever spoken.

"I know," said America, "just call you Columbus."

"That's right. You stick with me girlie and you'll always come out on top."