Before answering, the surgeon was finished patching Heinrich up and stood up.
“He’s a lucky man, captain. The arm wound is the worst. The blade cut into the muscle. It needs to be sutured up expertly, and over time it should heal fine as long as you, young man,” he glared at Drope, “allow it to heal properly. I can fix you in my cabin. After two weeks, you must slowly start stretching the arm out but gently for over a month before you can proceed with more strenuous movement.”
“Thank you, doctor,” said Drope. “My ship’s surgeon is fully up to the task.”
“It is your decision.” Looking back at Hennessey, the surgeon quipped, “All this mayhem to settle a gentlemanly disagreement is barbaric. I hope you are all satisfied with all the bloodletting.” Then he stomped away still shaking his head angrily.
Hennessey glanced at O’Shea, who also looked disgusted.
“I fully agree with the surgeon also, Patrick. I was not keen at all with having Colonel Thomas demanding to be onboard on this patrol, but the man wields power,” said Hennessey.
Turning back to Heinrich, he gave him an intense stare. ‘Well, captain what do you have to say to my last question?”
“Captain Hennessey,” he stated more formal. “I will not avert your question. I am at your mercy. I will first of all state for the record that I am here as your guest for you forced my ship to heave to. It was not my choice. Then of courtesy sake, I took it upon myself to come to your vessel as a peaceful gesture. You know very well that I was sailing on open seas; devoid of any maritime law stating otherwise. Why I was stopped was an outright intrusion on my ship’s freedom of passage, but I came rowing to your ship despite the outlandish behavior of the British navy. I chose to be cordial; the high road to discuss the issue with you as the master of this ship hoping this was all just a misunderstanding. Germany is not at war with England. My men and I are not your prisoners. I find it intrusive, and a damn provocation on your part to be stopped and held at bay. It is a deplorable way to treat innocent civilians in such a manner.”
“Are you innocent, captain?”
“Obviously we do not have a choice in the matter as we are at your mercy. We might as well be shackled in chains the way we are being treated. Then on top of all that I have stated, an army colonel no less has a personal issue with me that led to a bloody duel of all that is sacred! I almost lost my life onboard this ship; the ship you should have had sole command of. You couldn’t even stop the fool-headed colonel from almost succeeding in his trickery. I do not, however, believe you have a personal grievance with us. I presume it was Colonel Thomas’s decision to halt us and hold us in his arrogant and unlawful means of jurisdiction. I cannot find fault with you … unless you intend to go ahead with his controversial decision. I demand justice. Do you find what I have stated contestable in a fair court of law?”
“All right, Captain Drope; calm down with the rhetoric. It sounds more like a diatribe. I am quite aware of the circumstances that played out, and I am not at all proud for what happened. But as I do have you onboard, are you attempting to dodge my original question regarding this vessel that fired on a British warship?”
“And I suppose you will take my word if I flatly deny the incident you speak of? Then you will allow us to be on our way?”
“I wish to know from your lips, sir, if you captained that ship or not. What is so hard to provide a simple answer to that? I have duties to enforce, and I will have an answer, captain! I can easily give the order for my marines to inspect your ship.”
“Yes, that is true, but I believe you to be an honorable man who would understand common sailing courtesy. Am I wrong to assume that from you?”
Hennessey proffered him a no-nonsense look. In a much lower voice for only Heinrich to hear, he said, “Do not attempt to sweeten me up with compliments. Evading my question will not work on me, captain. As you said, I am more astute than others, and I will not be swayed by contriving schemes. I still find you and your ship questionable, and I am allowing you to convince me otherwise. So now that we have all that pretentious bluster behind us, a simple, truthful answer will do. I am a man of my word, and I am waiting to hear from you if you are such a man also.”
Drope was at a loss, and at the end of hoping to come out of this with only his wounds. There was no getting around it. Hennessey had figured it out and held all the cards. He breathed in deeply and slowly let it out before giving the captain his answer.
“The See Wolf is, in fact, that same schooner you English have a bounty on, captain. I can explain in fine detail what truly occurred on that fateful day. I will tell you straight out that the reports rendered by the British captains of those two warships had to be fraudulent; absolutely spurious to cast us as the culprits. I do not expect you or your honorable navy to suspect your captains to be so deceitful, so I won’t try to defend ourselves before a pretentious trial. I will tell you this; if there were, but one wish that I could depend on coming true, it would be to challenge that very captain to a duel to settle that old score. He was guilty of firing his cannons directly at my ship without regard for human casualties. Fortunately, only one hole through a sail and a ball into my starboard bow was the result. My entire crew’s lives were at stake as they faced a broadside of guns. My merchant ship and crew were only guilty of sailing in waters that held free passage. You want to talk about justice and duty. Where was justice that day, captain? And my duty was to save my crew who were fired upon without any provocation. I only fired back to save my crew from disaster.”
Hennessey’s heart sank to the pit of his stomach at hearing Drope’s answer. He had genuinely hoped this was not that ship. Drope was finally brutally honest. From his initial appearance onboard his ship, he had found this man a likable sort.
“I have sworn an oath to do my duty, Captain Drope,” Hennessey said in a soft voice.
“I wish that duty held a genuine conscience, captain.”
Hennessey paused a long moment as Lt. O’Shea stood by waiting for his captain to give him the anticipated orders to arrest these men, and then deal with the schooner.
“I do have a conscience, captain, to a certain extent possible. “That conscience has been molded over the years by a number of unjust claims against me because of my Irish roots. I have been a victim, without any merit, to accusations attacking my character as well as to my genuine loyalty to King and country. I know quite well what unscrupulous and debased minds can do to ruin a man’s life.”
Heinrich looked up, locked eyes with Hennessey, and searched the depths of the man’s inner being. Here was a man who was so opposite of what Thomas was. Although a complete stranger, yet to Drope, Hennessey stood out as someone exceedingly honest and just. But what could he expect this man to do really? Instantly he relented that thought, for he was ultimately at the British captain’s mercy no matter what.
His four men stood ready to do whatever Drope decided. They wore sour expressions in light of their volatile situation. Being stout enough to face the consequences was altogether a different scenario as wishing to face them. They were keenly aware that they had no possibility of escape.
“I will provide your ship a four-hour head start, Captain Drope, before we begin to hunt you down. I am indeed sorry that it cannot be settled in a more genteel way, but I have a command duty to pursue and arrest you even if it means to engage you in battle. Is that understood?”
“Perfectly clear … and most decent of you, sir. I am indebted to you for your principled decision. I leave my Toledo sword to you as a small, grateful gesture. We shall be on our way posthaste then.”
Drope faced Hennessey and held out his left hand since his right arm was bandaged, and hung in a make-shift sling at his chest. The captain took his hand and shook it firmly.
“Be off then, Captain Drope, before any more time ticks away. Your four hours are counting down starting now. Godspeed to you and your crew.”
Hennessey gave the order to Lt. O’Shea to escort the men off his
ship.
Anton grabbed Drope with arms the size of tree limbs and eased him away with the other men following on his heels.
* * *
Back onboard the See Wolf, bloodied, wounded and weak, Drope was taken directly to his cabin, while Otto took charge in getting the ship as far away from the British warship as physically possible. Heinrich was understandably exhausted from the fight and went to sleep with the aid of some brandy. Later in the day as dusk was approaching, some of the men came to check on him. He was not in his cabin. They found him standing at the bow looking out to sea.
“What a lovely sight to behold, heh, Herren?”
“Nothing better than making headwind in water all to ourselves,” answered Otto.
All grunted their approval as they stood together looking out at a scene they all knew intimately as sailors. They were each quietly reflecting with private thoughts of their fateful voyage. After some moments, Drope remarked, “Quite the charming fellow, the British captain. The first Englishman I have met with grace and a wise head on his shoulders,” said Heinrich. “He was generous, and we are the better for it.”
“It’s the Irish in him that stood up to the fool colonel,” said Reiner. “I bet those two would have had it out if Thomas had lived. There was no love lost between the two. That was the edge we needed to get out of that predicament.”
“We are not out of harm’s way yet, señors,” Diego stated. “As the saying goes, ‘do not count your eggs just yet.”
“That’s ‘don’t count your chickens,’ not eggs,” replied Reiner.
“Eggs – chickens, same thing, señor. “They are related; one is just not born yet.”
The men laughed, while Diego shook his head in disgust, yet widely grinning.
“Diego Cordoba, you saved me from death’s door. I am greatly indebted to you. That was a remarkable knife throw.”
“If I did not stop the man, one of the others would have.”
“I am a lucky man to have such steadfast friends. If it weren’t for the fighting lessons, things would’ve turned out quite differently. The colonel was quite the swordsman.”
With an indignant expression and a wave of the hand, Diego balked, “Bah, he was more billowing loud talk than a swordsman. Reiner or I would have taught him a lesson easily.”
“Oh, then you are saying I was but a complete knave wielding the blade against him,” Heinrich replied with a mock look of disgust.
“No, no, capitán. You did very well. You do require a bit more practice though. In time, we will make you a world-renowned swordsman.”
“Thank you, amigo. I owe much to all of you.”
Reiner interjected, “Right now we are on the run, and must be crafty and cunning to outrun Captain Hennessey and the rest of the British navy. By the way, you missed that pistol shot, purposely didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did. I wasn’t sure how the British would have reacted had I killed him off in the duel. I was trying to play up to Hennessey’s good-character traits, his sensible judgment, but the whole time I was only guessing what to do while trying to stay alive.”
Bruno stated, “We figured so. You were stalling for time. We were in a tough situation. You do know that Thomas had to die though to take him out of the final equation.”
“Yes, but how to do that was a dilemma to me throughout our fight. I wasn’t at all sure how Captain Hennessey would take it. He will, of course, do his duty to King and country, and come after us, but he is a man of his word and honor by giving us the four hours head start. Being back on the See Wolf with this marvelous crew, I feel refreshed already.”
“Over the next few days get plenty of rest, and mend. We need you in good health,” said Otto, and this time Heinrich didn’t argue.
For now, the horizon was empty of any ship. The sun and wind felt good on their faces. It was exhilarating to be alive, but what did the future hold. Would more danger and tragedy play a central role in the voyages to come? Their fate still lay precariously before them, and if their recent trials were a foreboding of more tribulation to come, the water before them held seas of dread. They needed a new lease on life as a morning required a new dawn.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Girandoni air rifle was designed and developed by Bartholomaus Girandoni in 1779. The rifle was used by the Austrian army from 1780 to around 1815. It was called the Windbuchse in Germany. It is notable that the Lewis and Clark Expedition had one such rifle and demonstrated it to native American tribes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girandoni_air_rifle
Turn the page for a preview of
SEAS of DREAD
the second book in the
Heinrich Drope Chronicles series
by Peter Duysings
Caribbean
The breeze off the jetty just off to his right felt refreshing after departing the stale raw smelly pub with its steamy confined air. Sailors were accustomed to the reeking odor, and each fresh fill of their mugs helped to desensitize the malady of it even more. It wasn’t until one left the private premises when the air outside reminded the patrons of the disproportionate difference. Their hankering for grog was too strong of a craving to keep them from coming back to the seedy places any time they were in harborage. It was a sailor’s bane; an affliction so deeply ingrained in its culture longer than any one of them could remember.
Typically, Heinrich did not drink to the point of inebriation. He had his couple of tankards and went on his way. Just enough drink to enjoy the sudsy brew and wet his throat. It was late in the evening as he made his way to the dock where the See Wolf was berthed. As much as the hour of the night was not important to most sailors, the deserted street told him it was way past midnight as only a few stragglers were present. Several dogs barked and the slight splinter of what the moon provided tonight did little to shed much light. He strode briskly past the last few outlying buildings at the end of the street leading to the dock.
A brief tingling feeling of something awry was all he sensed before seeing a hazy dark movement becoming larger descending on him out of the corner of his eye in fluid motion. The flurry of several moving shapes and forms suddenly besieged him physically. He felt their rough grabs, punches, and kicks. Then felt powerful hands and arms gripping him with pressured leverage, swift and fierce. Then a blunt stroke of something solid smashed the back of his head, and the darkness around him cascaded with a million bright stars. All along his body, the rough hands held him like a vise. If the sparkle of brilliant lights and a sudden fogginess of the blow had not blinded him, perhaps he would have felt the full weight of bodies enveloping him and being hurled to the ground.
He tried to shake off the haze inside his head so he could react to the danger at hand, but there were too many clamored on top of him; the pressure too great. The lights in his head began to fade, and he started feeling the nasty sting of the clunk on his head. The whole time he was just conscious enough to peek through eye slits and could only see darkness and an occasional fleeting shadow in the weak moonlight. It was all but impossible to make out whom all these hands and arms belonged to. The confined space he was in now was completely blackened; taken up by a tide of bodies. He was entirely pinned down now on the dirt and could not find the strength to move. There were just too many of them, and the vicious smack to his head weakened him. Whoever they were, they had him cold. A streak of anger flashed across his mind for having been had so easily.
Despair was starting to overtake his mind. It descended as an ominous dark cloud and drifted with intense misery into the different quadrants of his brain senses undermining his natural ability to control his plight, which in most cases won out in dire consequences. The attack had happened so quickly and so well managed by an unknown number of men. Such a deed usually would have Heinrich Drope in a violent rage and fighting back, but not tonight. Under the circumstances, the ill feelings of helplessness held his mind captive as the thugs took him into bondage against his will with a well-orchestrated plan. He
tried to stem the flow of enormous destitute that coursed through his mind’s deepest recesses. He was feeling utterly helpless under its powerful transformation over his better judgment. His body began to shake uncontrollably with the dread of having been bested. A part of him hated himself for having been such easy prey. He felt viscerally feeble under its strength as his mental capacity of mastery over ill abode was draining under the captor’s constraint on him. His chest was heaving vigorously as his heart pounded in alarm as a bell tolling the hour of doom. Grave thoughts of daunting failure were paralyzing his futile attempts to halt the flow of the progressive foul acts, which he had allowed to take him captive. He needed to get control over his emotions. He could only concede to the fact he was in their bondage. It took him some moments to settle down.
Powerful hands had him thoroughly subdued. Frantic whispering went on amongst the men who had a hold of him and someone else nearby. They spoke in Spanish and Heinrich could not understand what was said. In his weakness he thought they dragged him between two buildings, then hands began to tie his arms and legs. He was bound tight as a wild animal and in the gang’s full control, along with a smelly cloth used as a blindfold. The thud to his head was now throbbing painfully.
He was lifted roughly, and in his hazy state could not even figure out how many carried him. One particular voice was giving orders to the others. He tried without success to pick up the few whispered words that went on between the men in the party. The route they traveled meandered in various directions. In his condition, he could not keep track of how far they had come.
He had given way to his captor’s will for now; no real choice. He had failed to avoid their forceful presence by being completely overwhelmed. He would have to consider other measures of escape as ideas would come to him. He wondered if anyone at all had seen the attack, but he was doubtful remembering the few people who were on the main street. His only chance at the moment to find an edge was to pay close attention to his captor’s actions and prepare for an opportune time to act.
Winds of Fury Page 55
