Budding Magic

  Chapter Eleven

  They had spent the night in Celeste's first guest room—it had the largest bed. Alana, Dara, Rhoswen, and Vevila easily fit on the bed. Kane was cuddled up on the settee while Kellan slept on a padded mat on the floor. They found comfort in sleeping in the same room when not at home.

  Rhoswen found herself awake, staring restlessly at the ceiling. It was very early in the morning. The sun was barely shining through the window. Something felt odd, undone somehow. She noticed Dara awake also. Dara was frowning like one does sometimes when waking up from a tormenting dream.

  :Something feels odd,: Rhoswen sent to Dara, :but I can't figure out what.:

  :I had a dream that mama was trying to tell me something, but I just wouldn't listen—and then she was gone.: Dara sent back.

  Rhoswen touched Dara's hand. They were both surprised to feel the magic flare between them.

  :I'm thinking of home, but don't get anything,: Rhoswen told her.

  :No, it's not home,: Dara agreed. :Everything there looks quiet. Even Haley is still sleeping.:

  Rhoswen was silent as she let her mind drift. The uneasy feeling led her to the manor, and then out to sea.

  :Look out at the ocean by the manor,: Rhoswen suggested, :way out.:

  :Oh! There's a ship,: Dara replied, :there is a fight going on and the ship is drifting listlessly. If it doesn't correct itself, it's going to end up in our sea and hit the rocks!:

  :There's sickness,: Rhoswen told her, "and death.:

  :They are waving and cheering. One group must have won over the other.: Dara looked into the ship. :Some see their peril and are staring out helplessly. They are now in our ocean.:

  :They can't stop it,: Rhoswen glimpsed one of their possible realities. :They have no control of the ship.:

  "We need to get everybody up," Dara called out to her sleeping sisters. "I don't know what we can do, but we can't just let them hit the rocks!"

  "What's going on?" Kellan asked from the floor.

  "There's a ship by the manor's sea which is going to hit the rocks!" Dara told her as she struggled out of bed and started grabbing clothes. She ran from the room to rouse Celeste.

  They found Celeste in her workroom. This part of the house had always been forbidden to them. This time they didn't even hesitate before running in.

  "You see," Celeste said to them as they rushed in.

  "What can we do?" Kellan asked.

  "First we have to get the ship to stop drifting," Celeste told them as she concentrated on her drawing. "This is a magical anchor, that's the sea, and that's the ship. Crude, but it will work."

  They watched as she connected the anchor from the ship to the bottom of the sea. She pierced her palm and let the blood drip on her drawing. They could see the magical flare of light interacting with the drawing. They could also see the sweat bead up on Celeste's forehead as the energy was drawn directly from her.

  "The sea is really deep where they are at," Celeste whispered, "and the currents strong."

  Kellan studied the simple drawing and realized that there would need to be another support. She took Celeste's pen and drew in a line from the rocks to the ship. She drew in symbols to represent a block or beam. Before Celeste could protest, she activated her drawing with her own blood. She instantly felt the drain, but stubbornly pushed her will on the drawing.

  "The ship has stopped drifting," Dara told them.

  "Thank you," Celeste told Kellan. "I didn't realize the strength of the current and the wind in the sails."

  "Now what?" Vevila asked.

  "These are sailors who had been overcome by pirates," Rhoswen told them. "They just took their ship back—an American ship."

  "How come they are in our sea?" Kellan asked. "Isn't there a barrier from that side of the ocean? What would be the point of only partitioning our land, if it could be discovered by sea?"

  "They've been allowed in," Rhoswen told them.

  "By who?" Kellan asked.

  "There is a lot about this whole situation that is very perplexing," Celeste shrugged. "I only guess about the land barrier. I have no idea how they went about creating a sea barrier. I know they did because the sea creatures from the two realities do not mix, but I have no idea how, or why."

  "There's been some type of intervention for them," Rhoswen told them.

  "I agree," Celeste looked over at Kellan, "Are you okay to move on? That's some pretty strong magic."

  "Actually, yes," Kellan told her. "I hardly feel the pull at all."

  Celeste wished she could say the same for herself. She had really misjudged the magic. If Kellan hadn't taken control, she would have found herself drained and probably unconscious. The ship would then have found its fate on the rocks.

  "People are sick from the wounds received several days ago," Dara looked up surprised. "Kellan's line is a very narrow bridge. We can probably walk it, but it's not visible to the naked eye."

  "I don't see very many options do you?" Celeste asked them. "I'd rather not expose our magic, but can't see a way to have them rescued without them knowing about our magic."

  "We don't have any boats in the area to get to them," Kellan frowned as she studied the situation. "If we release them, they will just smack into the rocks and the ship will be destroyed."

  "Can you push them farther out to avoid the rocks?" Alana asked.

  "It wouldn't do any good," Rhoswen told them. "They are badly hurt. I don't think they can manage a ship like that even if it was in a safe place."

  Dara linked them all into her sight as she moved around the ship. The ships masts were damaged by fire. The men were wounded and miserably tired, sickened—and there was fever. Dara looked closer into their water and found something dark, deliberate—maybe poison. She couldn't find any man that looked like someone in charge.

  "Let's load up supplies and get to the manor," Celeste requested wearily.

  She paused as she realized that the anchor was draining her. She could still feel the pulling against her anchor. She looked out under the ship to see why there was such a strong pull.

  "There's a cavern in the ocean floor causing a pull against my anchor," Celeste told them.

  Dara linked her sisters in with her vision. They all looked out under the ship.

  "Oh!" Kane exclaimed, "The ship wants to pull to the left. Maybe we should allow it to drift in that direction, and then anchor it to that reef."

  "That should work," Celeste blinked with surprise.

  Celeste released her anchor and they watched as the ship indeed started lisping to the left. It then started to pull around. Kane impulsively reached out to stop its movement at the same time Celeste used her anchor line to steady it.

  "Nudge it gently closer to the reef," Celeste told Kane, "You will either be able to—or will not. Trying harder will only exhaust you. It will not make it happen."

  Kane looked through Dara's eyes toward the anchor and the reef. She relaxed the muscles in her neck. She let her mind float to the object she wanted moved and nudged it into place. She was surprised by how easy it moved, and awed by her ability to move such a large thing from such a distance.

  Celeste immediately felt the ease of the magical drain. Vevila gently touched her hand. She was surprised yet again when she felt the surge of magical energy.

  "Thank you," she said stunned.

  "You're very welcome," Vevila told her with a grin.

  Celeste studied the girls while they were loading the wagon. She hadn't really noticed their growth in magical energies until now. It was astounding! That bonding oath they created mistakenly must have been intense! There would have been an astounding amount of shared energy.

  They ended up harnessing Celeste's wagon as well as their own. They needed one just for the supplies alone. They packed up bags of clean hemp rags for wounds, blankets, medicines and herbs, and food—a lot of food. The manor would have a lot of supplies on hand, but they didn't want to run out. They weren't sure just how desperate of a si
tuation they were taking on.

  Molly and Lord Jaspin were waiting on the porch when they rode up. Lord Jaspin had been pacing back and forth across the porch. Molly had been trying to make him stop.

  "You saw the ship I take it," Molly called to them as they pulled to a stop. "Don't know what can be done about it though."

  "We've anchored it," Celeste told them. "It won't be going anywhere."

  "Anchored it?" Lord Jaspin asked.

  "You know," Vevila told him, "with magic."

  "Yes, of course," he said doubtfully.

  "For someone who has been around the O'Byrne all his life," Kellan told him irritably. "You have a strange sense of reality. You know that there is magic in the world. We shouldn't have to explain that to you all the time."

  "Kellan!" Molly called out.

  "It's okay," Lord Jaspin told Molly. "She's right. Since I don't seem to be able to just believe, the best I could do is just not ask."

  "That would be helpful," Alana told him with a sweet smile, "it just gets in the way and takes up time."

  "Ah, yes," Lord Jaspin said bemused, his resentment at Kellan's words melting away. He couldn't even remember why he had been annoyed. What a delightful young woman.

  Celeste scanned between them with raised eyebrows. Alana had just mesmerized him. She wondered if Alana had done it on purpose.

  "Of course," Kane whispered to her. "She's been practicing. It only seems to work on men though."

  Celeste laughed. Alana looked at Celeste and Kane suspiciously. They both just grinned back. She rolled her eyes and shrugged.

  "So what now?" Dara asked worriedly.

  "We can get to the ship from the rocks," Kellan frowned, "but how do we get to the rocks?"

  "We have a small dingy," Molly told them. "Got it just a few days ago for the lagoon, but it isn't big enough to take out into the sea."

  "Can it get to that rock?" Celeste asked pointing at the rock the ship was anchored to.

  "We've been that far," Molly nodded.

  "Let's get to there, and then figure it out," Kellan suggested.

  "Can you hear each other from there to here?" Celeste asked her.

  They looked at each other surprised. It hadn't been suggested before.

  "I don't know," Kellan shrugged, "only one way to find out."

  "I'll get Teddy," Molly told them. "He's the strongest rower."

  Celeste stopped her. "We've been using some pretty obvious magic. Will that be a help or hinder?"

  "Oh, Teddy will get a kick out of that," Molly laughed, relieved about the situation.

  She had thought she was about to see her first shipwreck. She shivered. She had heard about the dead visiting such places as shipwrecks, returning over and over again. There unearthly, bony fingers pointing out toward the sea, calling out for their dead friends. Their faces…

  "Molly," Celeste was calling her. "Molly, are you okay?"

  "Oh yes," Molly snapped to, "I'll just go get him."

  "Wow," Celeste told them. "You have been busy."

  "Might as well take advantage of the gift given," Molly told them.

  The workers at the manor had just finished this dock the day before. They would have finished it sooner, but had to wait while that Queen's man was snooping around. It was a short trip from the manor down to the new dock.

  "The twins have the strongest link," Kellan mentioned. "It would make sense for Alana to ride out with Teddy, and have Dara remain here."

  "Why Alana?" Dara asked. "Wouldn't it make better sense for me to ride out?"

  :She can sweet talk the sailors if there's a problem,: Kellan sent to her. :I've been watching what you two have been up to.:

  "Oh," Dara frowned at her. "Okay."

  "It's better for the healers to remain here," Celeste told her. "Healing in those kinds of circumstances is very risky. A healer can become lost, especially one just learning the trade."

  "I'll go," Lord Jaspin called out.

  "Of course," Celeste told him. "You are the authority here abouts. It is only right for you to deal with this situation."

  "Take the ropes," Molly suggested worriedly. "It would be better to not need them, but if they are the suspicious types, the ropes may convince them away from think'n of magic. It's pretty warm in our lagoon, but chilly past that break."

  Teddy climbed into the little boat, followed by Lord Jaspin and Alana. The boat was just a dingy and was pretty tight with the three of them. Alana hoped those from the ship didn't expect to be rescued with a dingy.

  Teddy was a strong man, very capable. He had ended up at the manor when his wife had died in childbirth. He had taken a liking to whisky, and ended up in the gutters. The next thing he could recall, he was waking up at the manor, and a kind hearted Molly was changing his life. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for that woman.

  "The water is warm," Alana said with surprise as her fingers flittered in the water.

  "Best to keep your hands in," Teddy told her. "There are things in these waters."

  "What kinds of things?" Alana asked him.

  "Well," he hesitated. "Some of the fish look common, but may have teeth, or an added fin. The crabs, though tasty, are rather big. We were concerned about the algae we could see growing towards our lagoon, but for some reason, it didn't come on in. It was as if it hit a barrier and could not grow into our waters. Some say they noticed the same with the fish. They would be following a school when they would suddenly just vanish."

  "Sounds like blarney to me," Lord Jaspin scowled.

  "Sounds like mother didn't want our world to mix with the other," Alana scowled at Lord Jaspin. He just shrugged.

  "How could anyone possibly do that?" Teddy asked.

  "Magic—of course," Alana answered. "Maybe we are grouped, new area, old area, raven people, non-raven people. Something to keep us all separated in some way.

  Teddy was a strong rower and they were soon approaching the ship.

  :Rhoswen,: Alana called. :Can you get a sense of who we should be talking to. Someone who might be a little sympathetic concerning magic? I'd hate to find a bunch of witch hunters over there.:

  :Checking,: Rhoswen called back.

  :There's a lot of excitement coming from the ship,: Dara told them. :They've spotted your boat.:

  :Try to talk to the big man with a bald head and red beard,: Rhoswen told her. :His grandmother, who he is very fond of, is a healer.:

  "If I row out farther," Teddy told them. "We'll be pulled out to sea."

  "Rhoswen says that a big, bald headed, red beard man may be more understanding about magic," Alana told them.

  They looked toward the ship. The railing was filled with sailors. They were calling out boisterously, making no sense at all. Most of them were big, had bald heads, and red beards. Lord Jaspin stared at Alana with raised eyebrows.

  :Can you be more specific?: Alana sent to Rhoswen sarcastically.

  :Oh,: was her only reply until Dara joined the link. :That man there!:

  "The man towards the middle with the red shirt," Alana told them. It was only then that she realized the shirt wasn't red. It was blood!

  "Hail to you in the ship," Lord Jaspin called out using a big bullhorn. "How can we assist you?"

  In answer, one of the sailors dived into the water. Alana sat astounded by the sailor's actions. She reached over and collected the thick blanket Molly had thoughtfully put into the boat. They waited worriedly for the swimmer.

  :Can this one be trusted?: Alana sent.

  :The man we discussed trusts him fully,: Rhoswen answered.

  Alana heard the splashing as the man approached the boat. Teddy hauled him inside, being careful not to capsize the small craft. Alana quickly placed the blanket around his shivering body. Lord Jaspin handed him a container filled with whiskey. He took a stiff belt and then returned the whiskey to Lord Jaspin. Alana thought he looked like the walking dead. He was thin and very pale. His wet darkened hair clung around his face.

  "I
am Lord Jaspin, steward for these parts. This is Alana," he told the man not bothering to explain why a child was in the boat with them. "Who are you and what is your condition?"

  "I'm first mate, Tailor Hilliard of the American freighter, Liberty Annie, captained by Walter E. Brewster. We were attacked by Portuguese slavers," the man told them. "Their ship was floundering. We thought to render aid, and was overtaken instead. We got her back by God! The crew is down by half. Most wounded, and the wounds festering. The captain's down, but not dead. There is very little food and the water is fouled. We have a couple of sound long boats. There was a fire that damaged the sails, and burned parts of the deck. We can manage without that part of the deck, but we need those sails."

  "Where were you going when you were attacked?" Alana asked him sweetly.

  "To Portsmouth England where the H.M.S. Castor is in port," he answered frowning at her.

  "Why do you want to go there?" She asked persuasively.

  He scratched his head frowning heavily. She pressed him for an answer. This was the first time she had used her will against another. She didn't like the feel. She pulled back. This use of the magic just didn't feel right. It made her feel dirty somehow.

  Tailor looked around confused. Maybe he had gotten too chilled in the water. He shivered and the girl pulled the blanket tighter around him.

  "It doesn't matter right now," she told him. "What can we do to help?"

  :Good!: Dara told her. :That didn't feel right at all. Celeste and Kellan have modified the line that Kellan drew into what would feel like a sand bar. It is still invisible, but they can walk on it without suspicion.:

  "There is a sandbar from here to about where your ship is," Alana told him.

  "So that's what happened," he said. "We thought we were going to crash onto the rocks, but just stopped dead in the water. The sails, what we have left, were still full."

  Alana looked back at the ship and found that the sails had been lowered.

  :Rhoswen says to be careful,: Dara told her. :Fever was rampant on the slavers ship. They thought it was cholera. These people have to be quarantined.:

  "Slave ships are sloppy about disease," Alana mentioned. "Is there any of that going on with your own ship? We have to know you know."

  "I don't know," he answered honestly, openly confused. "That would make the most sense with what happened. We yelled out to offer aid to the drifting ship, but no one responded. We figured it was a ghost ship, and made our way on past. After we set anchor that night, someone came on board and poisoned our water. We were all sick, the doc realized the water had been tampered with and started distilling ocean water. Handy man our doc. One night with the crew down and out, the crew from the drifting ship attacked and took us."

  "What's a ghost ship?" Alana asked shivering.

  "A ship where the crew has all died," Lord Jaspin answered her, "usually from plague. The ship just drifts until it's finally ripped apart by rocks. Sometimes they crash on land. Whole villages have been wiped out by the disease they carry. So what happened?"

  "They sank their own ship," Tailor shivered. "Lit it on fire and sank it. Those on deck that witnessed it said they could hear screams. The screaming continued until the ship was sunk."

  "Who was screaming?" Alana asked horrified.

  "Slaves," Tailor answered quietly, "probably diseased slaves. They only brought over a handful of colored folk. Those who were special to the captain."

  "Have you seen any symptoms that the disease might have hopped ships?" Lord Jaspin asked.

  "Don't know," Tailor answered. "Between the fouled water and the injuries from the fight—just don't know."

  "What a bloody mess!" Lord Jaspin rubbed his hand through his hair. "Describe this sand bar?" He asked Alana

  "Well," Alana guessed, "it's narrow and very hard to see."

  :About a foot underwater,: Dara sent her.

  "It's hard to see because it's submerged under the water," Alana continued remembering the map with the line that Kellan drew. "The water hits to the middle of my shin when I stand on it. It runs from that side of your ship to the edge of this rock over here."

  "If we lower the long boats from the other side of the ship we should be able to reach your dock." Tailor told them.

  "Not until we know you are clean," Lord Jaspin told him. "I'm sorry, but we aren't risking disease."

  "The sailors can just pick up supplies," Alana mentioned to Lord Jaspin. "It's up to our healers whether they wish to risk themselves or not. That would be Celeste and Dara. I hope you don't plan to tell them what they may, and may not do?"

  Tailor laughed. He knew healers. They'd walk into plague stricken slums to get to the sick. He thought about Jerold and was suddenly furiously angry. The captain of the slave ship had run a knife through him for having the audacity of touching his private slave. Jerold had only been reaching out to turn her head to see her wound. His death was what had ignited the crew into an all out berserker rage. It hadn't mattered that they were outnumbered and sick, that captain was going to die—and die he did!

  He felt the girl's touch on his arm and remembered where he was. He was shivering all over. The water had been a lot colder than he had expected. His breathing was raspy. He really shouldn't have risked the swim. He had already been feeling poorly.

  :Typhoid,: Dara told her. :Celeste says she thinks they have typhoid. She asked that you check his lower chest and stomach area for a red rash. Neither one of us seems to be able to see clearly.:

  "Let's get that wet shirt off you," Alana told him persuasively. "The blanket isn't going to do any good while you're wearing that wet shirt."

  He looked at her blankly while she gently pulled back the blanket and unbuttoned his shirt. He shuddered uncontrollably. She pulled the wet shirt away from him. His chest and stomach had the defining rash. She could smell the foulness of the sickness as the odor wafted up toward her. He was racked with another bout of shivers. She quickly pulled the blanket tightly back up against him.

  "He has typhoid," Alana told Lord Jaspin. "Don't panic. It's only passed on by dirty water or food from someone infected. We are safe. So would anyone else as long as we are being very careful."

  "How do you know that?" Lord Jaspin asked her. "My physician has told me that these fevers can be spread simply by breathing the same air."

  "I'm sorry," Alana told him seriously, "but your physician is not correct. Some fevers are spread by air, but this one is not."

  "I won't risk it!" He declared.

  "Risk what?" Tailor asked bewildered. Why was he sitting in a boat? He looked at the little girl with the big blue eyes and felt a calmness.

  "He's getting worse," Alana told Lord Jaspin. "He's reacting to his dip in the sea."

  :Bring him in!: Celeste sent out, :and the others with injuries.:

  Lord Jaspin jumped with surprise.

  "You might as well just let us do our thing," Alana told him. "You are outnumbered, I hope you realize." She handed him the bullhorn. "Better let them know we aren't stealing their man away."

  He took the horn resentfully. Sometimes…

  "Hail the Liberty Annie," Lord Jaspin yelled into the horn, "We are taking your man to shore." He paused, thinking about those people in the ship. "There is a sand bar to the left of your bow which connects to this rock. If you cast off a long boat from the other side you can reach our dock. Our healers will see to your sick."

  "Let Tailor tell us that!" One of the men yelled distrustfully.

  Alana and Lord Jaspin looked at Tailor doubtfully. His eyes were glazed over and he was shivering profusely. Alana took the horn and stood up in the boat. She looked very small and very harmless.

  "He is sick," she called out as loud as she could. "He doesn't know what he's doing right now. Do you really want this man to die? Do you want to die? What are your choices?"

  They waited in silence as those on the ship discussed their options. Action on the deck showed that they had come to some type of decision. A l
ong boat was lowered.

  "They are coming to us," Alana observed. "They won't be able to get over the sandbar from that side."

  "What exactly is this sandbar?" Lord Jaspin asked looking over at her suspiciously. "I see nothing of the sort!"

  Alana studied Tailor. He was in some little land of his own. She didn't think he would really hear anything she told Lord Jaspin.

  "They were going to crash on the rocks," Alana answered. "Celeste put down an anchor for them, but the current and the wind was too strong. Kellan drew in a connection line between this rock and the ship to keep it in place. That is our sandbar. You can't see it, but it will stop anything that can't float over it. This man was lucky he didn't smack into it during his swim."

  "I really shouldn't ask about such things, should I?" Lord Jaspin commented chagrinned.

  "Probably not," Alana confirmed.

  The long boat struck the bar just a few feet from their small craft. The sailor looked surprised as the boat lunged to a stop. The wake bobbed them back and forth causing the smaller craft to thrash to-and-fro.

  "Careful there," Teddy complained.

  "You just hit the sandbar," Alana frowned at them. "We did tell you about that!"

  "But we didn't see any such thing from the ship," the sailor complained.

  "Yes," Lord Jaspin said sarcastically. "We would lie about something so easily proved otherwise."

  There were three sailors in the long boat. They didn't look as bad as Tailor, but they didn't exactly look ready to dance, either. The taller one with the brown, bushy beard and eyebrows seemed to be in charge. The other two just seemed to be rowers.

  "Tailor!" He called out. Tailor looked up at him vaguely.

  "Your man is down for the count," Lord Jaspin told them.

  "Typhoid," Alana told them. "He has typhoid. Probably got it from those slavers you ran into, or that tainted water. We are taking him back with us."

  "I see that," the bushy sailor told them. It was obvious that they couldn't stop them. There was still a boat sized gap between them and their crew member. They looked from one to the other. They really didn't relish a swim. They'd just end up like Tailor, shivering and dazed.

  "Take the long boat back and lower it from the other side of your ship's bow. You can come ashore for supplies," Lord Jaspin instructed.

  The sailor hesitated and scratched his head. It didn't take an empath to discern that something was troubling him.

  "The captain is a mighty prideful man. We've never been indebted to anyone before," the sailor hesitated. "I don't know how the captain will handle this transaction. We kind of got ourselves into a situation."

  "There's always a barter that can be made with a seafaring ship," Lord Jaspin told him. "We're willing, and you don't look like the types to just suck it up, and put up with a bad barter."

  Alana watched as the sailor grinned. Lord Jaspin could not have put it better. He had struck this man's pride, and his confidence.

  "Will do," the man called out. "We'll come on ashore. They call me Will."

  The long boat made its way back to the ship. Lord Jaspin sighed with relief. He wasn't sure what he really expected, but things seemed to be working out okay. He'd love to get a look on that ship. It seemed that if the sail was fitted with a slightly more oblong shape, it would get more wind and have more control.

  Teddy turned them around and started toward shore. Alana watched Lord Jaspin with amusement as he stared longingly toward the ship—as battered as it was.

  The long boat reached the ship. The three sailors grabbed the roped ladder and pulled themselves on up into the ship. They were all tired and beaten. It had been one thing to retake the ship in a berserker rage, quite another to have to deal with the daily needs of the crew, or what was left of them. Will signaled for them to load up the long boat.

  "What did they say?" Big John asked him.

  "They said that Tailor has typhoid, and they're taking him back to shore with them." Will told them. "We've been invited, too."

  "We might as well all go ashore," Timothy mentioned. "There are not enough of us to man the ship. It doesn't seem to be going anywhere. The anchor must have finally snagged on something solid."

  Will and Big John exchanged looks. They didn't bother to tell Timothy, or any of the other men, that there wasn't an anchor. When that bloody whore of a captain saw he was losing the battle. He ran the chains out. The anchor might well have caught on to the bottom of the ocean, but it was no longer attached to the ship. Even if there had been an anchor, the ship was staying too steady. It was unexplainable. If sorcery was involved, their captain would know about it. They had never seen him do anything mysterious, but he sure seemed to know a lot about it.

  "We aren't doing any good staying with the ship," Big John called out, "let's lower the long boats."

  "So why the bloody hell did we just pull it back up?" Simon asked irritably.

  "Sandbar," Will told him. "We can't get to the shore from this side of the ship. We crashed against it when going out to parley."

  Big John eyed him wirily. Joey and Squint nodded their heads. Something just didn't seem right about that. He had never known Squint to bottom out before, and he hadn't seen any damage to the boat when it was hauled aboard.

  "People only," Will called out. "If it is typhoid, I expect we won't be returning for forty days. If it's something else—well, I expect we just won't return at all."

  "What about those prisoners and slaves?" Simon asked.

  "Liberty Annie does not condone slavery," Will chastised him. "There aren't any slaves on board—just crew, passengers, and those pirates."

  "There aren't any pirates," Big John told him.

  "No?" Will asked surprised.

  "No," Big John informed him.

  "Huh," Will said surprised, "well then, lets load up,"

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