Thieves of the sea

Before you start reading this, keep in mind I just write for pleasure. I have no real intention to bring it out, but I still would like your feedback on this. Any reaction is welcome. If you review me, I would be glad to review your work. I hope you enjoy the story so far.

The smithy was a little further down the road. It looked like a small but comfortable workplace. At the front, hanging from a beam, were the handmade tools and weapons. You could see at first glance that these were made with care and precision. These were of real craftsmanship, anyone could see that.
Thomas elbowed Mario. “Look at these, people would pay a fortune to get their hands on those.”
Mario nodded, while Thomas went forward and turned the blade of an upside hanging sword around to admire the forged steel. He couldn’t keep his eyes from it.
“C’est beau, hein?” From the back, the blacksmith came towards them. He rubbed his hands clean on a cloth. “Je sais. J’ai travaillé nuits et jours à perfectioner. Ça a couté un part de ma vie, mais ça valait le coup.”
Thomas took a step backward and looked at his friend. He didn’t understand a thing the man was saying.
“Alors, je peux vous aider, messieurs?”
Thomas leaned in to his friend. “What is he saying,” he whispered as quite as possible.
Mario translated quickly for him. “He likes the sword too, he worked day and night on it. Took part of his life, but he says it was worth it.”
Mario’s attention went back to the man.
“Bonjour,” he said in his best French. “Oui, nous cherchons des chevaux.”
“Ah, moi, j’ai juste un cheval mais j’ai besoin de lui. Quels sortes vous cherchez? Pour travailler dans le campagne ou d’autres?”
Thomas pushed him in his side to ask for translation. Mario grabbed his arm and turned him around. He leaned in and spoke very quietly to not be overheard by the other man behind their backs.
“He says he has one horse himself but can not miss it. He asks why we need them. What do I tell him?”
“Tell him we just need them to take us to Port-de-Paix, north from here.”
Mario turned back to the man. The blacksmith had his arms crossed in front of his chest and looked with a frown at the two strangers in front of him.
“Pour nous emmener a Port-de-paix, dans le nord,” Mario replied.
“Ah oui. Je connais cette endroit très bien.” He scratched his balding head. “Alors, vous pouvez essayer chez Jacques Dejan. Il habite là-bas.” He pointed with a finger to the other side of the road, to what appaered to be a small house.
Surprised, Mario repeated the man. “Cette petite là-bas?"
“Elle semble petite, oui, mais il a des étables à l’arrière et il a encore quelques chevaux pour voyager aussi, je pense.”
“Ah, comme ça. Eh bien, merci pour nous aider, monsieur.” He shook the man’s hand. “Je vous souhaite encore une bonne journée.”
He quickly took Thomas by the arm and walked away.
The blacksmith scratched his head again. “A vous aussi,” the man said quietly while watching the two strangers leave. He thought they acted a little too weird for his like.
When they were out of his reach, Mario could talk again. “He said we can try with the man living over there.” Mario pointed at a small house with a big meadow next to it.
“I’m really impressed. You were so good, I don’t think he knows you’re not French.”
“I hope he doesn’t.”
“You speak it fluently to me.”
“That is because you don’t speak it at all,” Mario mocked him.
They started walking again.
“The blacksmith said this man, named Dejan, might be able to help us. He has stables.”
“Good work, let’s try it then.”
Getting closer, they could also see a not so small stable as they assumed to find.
“Looks we’re in the right place.”
There was no one outside so they knocked on the door. After a while, they heard some noises coming from the inside. When the door opened, a big man with strong arms, heavy beard and grey at the temples greeted them.
“Bonjour.”
“Bonjour, monsieur. Dejan?”
“Oui, comment vous savez mon nom?”
“Excusez-moi. Laissez-moi expliquer. Mon ami et moi cherchons des chevaux pour nous emmener a Port-de-Paix et l’homme qui habite à l’autre côté de vous nous a dit de le demander à vous.”
“Il a dit ça? Et pourquoi vous devez voyager à Port-de-Paix?”
Mario didn’t know what to answer on that question. He grabbed Thomas arm and walked a few paces away from the farmer.
“I explained to him where we need to go and that the man across the street has told us to ask him but now he asks why we need to go there?”
“Why?” Thomas thought about it. “Because we lost our way. You know, lost travellers.”
Mario nodded and walked back to the waiting man. “Parce que nous avons perdus la route.”
The man looked very intensively at both of them. At the end his gaze rested on Thomas standing in the back.
“Perdus la route,” he said with a strange undertone. “You do not fool me, Englishman.”
Thomas and Mario were surprised. He spoke English, although with an accent of course.
He looked back at Mario. “And you are no Frenchmen, but a Spanjard, n’est ce pas?”
Thomas saw there was no reason of hiding their identity anymore, except for where they came from. He walked up to the man.
“We apologise for not telling you at first. We know how sensitive this is with the people living here in Saint-Dominique, us coming here. We were afraid you all would see us as an offence or a thread but it isn’t. We are really lost and need to get to Port-de-Paix. Nothing else.”
The way the farmer looked at him, made him swallow. “Monsieur.”
The man took a deep breath. “It is good you are honest now. Yes, it is true we had some trouble with the English.” He looked at Mario. “And the Spanish for sure. Fortunately for you, I do not see it that way anymore.”
Thomas and Mario felt how they could breathe a little easier again.
“French, English, Dutch, Portuguese. As long as they pay, I don’t care. But I can easily tell where people come from only by looking at them. There is no hiding in that.”
Thomas felt a little ashamed that their cover was so easily blown.
“But I must admit, Spaniard, you speak French well.”
Mario, still a little uncomfortable, just nodded to his compliment.
“Now, English is easier for you to do business with, I assume?”
“You are willing to help us?”
“You are not carrying any weapons, you are not offensive or rude and you are honest now. I think I will take that risk, yes.”
Thomas felt relieved how easy it all was after all. However, the feeling that they were in some way still lying to the man weighted down on his conscience. They couldn’t tell they were pirates. That would not be forgiven, not like lying about where you came from.
“So, you need horses? How many?”
“Two horses, strong enough to take us to Port-de-Paix.”
“Two horses?” He put a hand in his side and scratched his beard. “Alors…follow me.”
The man lead them to his stables and a paddock lying behind it.
At the stables he stopped and turned. “Here you have some horses. Stallions.”
There were three boxes to the left, one horse in each. Their skin glistered in the sunshine coming through the big double doors of the stable.
When the animals heard their master, they turned to him, hoping to get something to eat.
Dejan grabbed some carrots from a nearby crate and fed them.
“You are taking good care of them,” Thomas said. “They do look strong.”
Mario cleared his throat.
“Ah yes,” Thomas said when remembering. “Do you maybe have a calmer animal? My friend is not so familiar with horses.”
“Plus calme, tu dis? I do have an older mare. Come.”
He left the stable, Thomas and Mario right behind him. They halted next to the fence of the paddock and he pointed. “Beatrice.”
Thomas smiled and looked over to his friend. But he could see the doubt in Mario’s eyes.
“She looks nice, doesn’t she,” Thomas tried to convince him.
Mario didn’t say a thing.
“She will not throw you off,” Dejan said.
Mario looked at the man. “You are sure?”
The man smiled and called Beatrice’s name to get her closer. When she stood at the fence, he rubbed and patted her on her nose and encouraged Mario to do it as well.
He wasn’t afraid of the horse itself, or horses in general, but like he had said, of the fact he had never learned to ride.
Thomas saw his friend relax by the minute as he got to know his new travelling companion.
“What do you say,” he asked.
Mario nodded. “Fine, but we will start slow.”
Thomas smiled and turned back to Dejan.
“We’ll take this one and the chestnut stallion over there. How much will it cost us?”
As soon as he posed his question, he realised he and Mario hadn’t discussed that before.
“Beatrice et Robin. I would say…quatorce.”
“How much,” Thomas asked Mario.
“Fourteen,” he translated.
Thomas looked surprised at Dejan. “Pieces of eight?”
The man nodded.
“Would you excuse us for a moment?”
Thomas grabbed Mario by the arm and walked a few paces.
“I feel so stupid we forgot to discuss this. How much do you still have?”
Mario took the bag of coins from his belt and emptied the content on his hand.
“Six. And you?”
Thomas did the same. “I fear not enough. Only three. That makes nine,” he said disappointed.
With hanging shoulders he went back to Dejan.
“Monsieur Dejan, I’m afraid we can’t pay you. We only have nine pieces of eight.”
Thomas felt more and more stupid they hadn’t thought this through earlier. Where could they get that money? In an empty town?
Mario went over to him. “We don’t want to buy them. Only use them, for a day or two. Depending on the road and the weather, of course.”
Dejan thought about it.
“D’accord, I will accept it if you do something in return.”
Thomas was all ears. “Do tell.”
The man nodded to his own thoughts. “Wait here.”
He left them and went back to his house. A little later he returned and held something in his hands.
“This letter has to be brought to the frères Ormille.”
“The brothers Ormille.”
“Oui, ils ont un forgeron. ”
Thomas looked at Mario, but even he couldn’t translate it.
“Comme Legrand, là-bas.” Dejan pointed to the house of his neighbour. “Comment tu dis ?” He used his both hands like he would handle a figurative pair of bellows.
“Oh, a smithy,” Mario replied.
“Oui, and this letter is urgent.” He gave the letter to Thomas.
“We will deliver it, no problem,” he said.
“It will cost me more if I ask a messenger to do it. We are so small town that it is difficult to get contact farther away.”
“Of course.”
Dejan went inside the stables and returned with a saddle. He opened the gate of the paddock and lead Beatrice out. He saddled her and put on her reins before giving her to Mario.
Then he went into the stables again and a little later returned with Robin, ready for the ride as well.
He handed him to Thomas. “You can leave the horses in their stables there.”
Thomas put the letter away and took out his pouch. He mentioned Mario to do the same. He collected all coins in his hands and presented them to Dejan.
“Here are our nine pieces-”
“It is fine. Only give me six and keep three for your journey. You might need it.”
Thomas gladly accepted his offer. He knew they would need it.
“Good. We’ll be on our way then.”
“Wait, give this to them too.” He gave Thomas another letter. “They will know what it means.”
Thomas put it away as well, next to the other letter.
“And please, do not open it. C’est privé.”
Thomas nodded silently and turned to the horse.
“One more thing,” he said, turning back. “We noticed there’s almost no one here. Where is everybody?”
“They left.”
“Left? Why?”
“The war with the Spanish, of course. We are so close to the border with them. They destroyed our houses, took our profits. Tout.” He sighed. “So many left.”
“Except for you and Legrand, you decided to stay.”
“Not only me and Legrand. There are still some families who stayed but because of the war we are forced to do with very little.”
Thomas looked around again and saw what he meant. These people were poor and tried to make the best of what they still had.
Dejan continued. “If it was not the Spanish, it was others that came to take our profits by force.” He balled his fists. “Ces pirates maudites! Plundering and pillaging our stock for their own purpose! And for what? We already had nothing left!” He sighed and his shoulders dropped. “We could barely survive…and we learned not to trust des étrangers since then.”
Thomas looked at the ground, ashamed him and Mario were those kind of strangers too.
“Excusez-moi, jeunehommes, I do not mean you two.” The man looked away, into the distance, as he saw it all in his mind again. “It has been a hard time.”
“I can only imagine,” Thomas said quietly.
Mario grabbed his arm. “Can we…?”
Thomas rolled with his eyes in agitation and pushed him aside.
“Try to mount first or we’re not going anywhere.”
Mario gave him an angry look and turned.
Dejan grinned. “Impatient.”
“I know,” Thomas said under his breath. “He always is.”
They watched Mario trying to put his left foot in the stirrup and grabbing the reins. Beatrice was calm but due to Mario’s helplessness she started to move impatiently as well. Thomas went over to her, held her in her place and with difficulties Mario lifted himself up and over the back of the horse.
Thomas went over to Robin and did the same but more fluently. He patted the stallion on his neck to comfort him.
Dejan noticed it. “You have done this before.”
“Yes, a very long time ago,” he said melancholic. He pushed the thoughts of his father away.
“Thank you for your help.”
“Deliver my letters and I will be thankful to you.”
“Will do.”
He pulled the reins and clicked with is tongue to lead the horse the way
“Bon voyage, messieurs!”
Thomas raised his hand in goodbye.
He passed Mario, who was too occupied trying to get to know his new friend, he didn’t notice him leaving.
“Try to keep up.”
Mario looked up and only then saw Thomas riding off. Immediately he kicked his feet in the sides of his mare and clicked with his tongue to get her going. Finally, slowly but steady, she started out in the direction of his friend.

He reached out his hand under the bush and found them. He pulled them back and handed Mario the weapons which belonged to him. Then he took those belonging to him and put them back on. All in silence.
“Thomas, you have not said a word since we left. What is wrong?”
“I was thinking about what that man just said. About what happened here and who did this.”
“But that was not us. We never came here.”
“No. I know that. But still, these people deserved better.”
“It happened anyway. There is nothing you can do about that.”
Thomas held the horse while Mario lifted himself back in the saddle, a little faster than before.
“Wrong. We can avoid it happening again.”
“How?”
Thomas got back in the saddle too.
“By quitting our piracy.”
“Thomas, that is madness. You know we can never quit unless Valdez is dead.”
“Then I’ll have to kill him.”
“You have known the people who tried that before and Valdez is still alive. Es idiota.”
“Maybe. But tell me what would have become of the men and women on the Sea robin if we didn’t help them? And all the others before that for which we risked our lives? The life of one mad man does not weigh against the hundred lives of good people. The world would be a lot safer without him.”
Mario shook his head. “Estas loco, amigo. No one can kill him. If someone can, I will eat my boots.”
Thomas didn’t respond to his joke. “I know it’s hard, but not impossible.”
“Sí, es imposible. Trying will only get you killed.”
“Mario, he has to be stopped! If someone doesn’t have the courage to kill him, more people will fall under his tyranny. The last eight years of my life I have sworn to do good whenever I can and I intent to keep my promise. Even if it costs my life.”
“Your bravery is big. But what will you do when you return and stand in front of him empty handed? Will you have the courage to kill him then?”
He liked to ignore it but Mario was right. He feared the captain’s reaction, now more than ever. Valdez was not a fool, he had already figured out what he had been doing all along and he would be waiting for him.

It had been a great while since he had been riding on horseback. In the beginning, it all felt uncomfortable and strange but soon he got used to the movements again. He had heard that once you learn to ride, you never forget. He had to admit that really seemed the case.
“Sit up straight. Don’t forget your posture. Always hold on to your reins.” The words of his father echoed in his head.
When he was a child, only about six years old, he had convinced him to learn to ride. According to his own father, who had learned him to ride at a very young age as well, this tradition had been passed down from father to son for the past five generations. He had said that riding on horseback was the way to find out what kind of man you really were. Every boy born in their family would have to pass that test. And so did he.
Unfortunately, he didn’t really share the love for riding like his father, grandfather or other ancestors did. He had more eye for the sea than anything else. He was drawn to it for a reason he couldn’t explain.
Of course he had learned to ride after all, with a lot of ups and downs but now he was glad that time with his father was paying off.
By noon, they already had a great distance behind them. It was such a hot day they often stopped at the river to refresh themselves and water the horses.
Back on the road, Thomas noticed his stallion was restless and sometimes difficult to control.
Then he remembered his father’s words: A horse may sense your feelings so when you’re afraid or angry, it might pick it up and react the same. Show who is master but always treat your animal with respect. Only then you will get it back.
“He must be feeling my frustration and anger towards Valdez,” he thought.
He turned to look around him before turning to Mario.
“Wait here,” he said to his friend and as Robin wanted to dash again, he loosened his reins.
The stallion sprinted away, going faster by every step.
“Thomas! What-,” Mario shouted frightened watching him riding off like the devil was on his heels.
The horse took him over a hill and then another and another, going faster with every step. It was as if it had been locked up its whole life and now saw the sky for the very first time. Thomas leaned down as much as he could, flat on his stomach against the horse’s neck. He grabbed the waving manes so the wind wouldn’t blow them in his face and blind him. When they ran through a small creek, the water splashed all around them so it looked like a rain shower had passed over them. He was wet from head to toe and he didn’t even care. “This is the freedom I long for,” he thought. “Do what I want and when I want it. Choosing my own path. Just like you.”
The sun burned on his head and the hot wind blew him and his clothes dry again in mere minutes from being soaked.
After a while also Robin started to feel the heat too and decided to run slower to cool down. Thomas noticed it and sat up straighter now the wind in his face permitted him to breathe again.
He pulled the reins to show Robin his wild running was over and they had to turn back. To his surprise, the stallion did respond to his command and turned back to where they came from.
He patted the horse on his neck. “I guess we respect each other now, don’t we?”
Mario, who had dismounted to collect some plants like fevergrass and mimosa while he waited for his friend, looked up when he heard the sound of hoofs to his right. With a sign of relief he watched Thomas riding up to him.
“What were you doing?”
Thomas answered relaxed. “Taking my friend out for a ride.”
“And you could not warn me,” asked sarcastically.
“I did. I said to wait here.”
“I though your horse had gone loose!”
“Sorry, sometimes this young stallion just does what he wants. But I had everything under control.”
Thomas noticed the collection of herbs in his hand. “What are you doing?”
“Llenar mi stock.”
“Llenar?”
“Euh, fill up again.”
Thomas rolled with his eyes.
“Laugh all you want, but do not blame me if we need it and it is not there.”
“Well, we need to get moving. It’s getting late.”
Mario put the plants in his pack and mounted his horse again, after two attempts.
“So how is Beatrice,” Thomas asked amused.
“We are starting to get to know each other.”
“Good for you.”
Both of them rode next to each other in silence for a while.
Mario looked around.
“Thomas, do you know where we are?”
Thomas had a look around too.
“As far as I know the land, I would say we have just passed la Montagne Noire.”
“And how long have we been riding?”
“I’m not sure. Four hours maybe.”
“And how far is it still?”
“About an hour, I think. Why all those questions?”
Mario made a face. “I’m not comfortable.”
Thomas looked surprised and tried not to smile. “Oh. Well, you’ll get used to it.”
“You have it easy. You know how to ride a horse,” he said annoyed. “You don’t feel it.”
“Oh, I do feel it,” Thomas replied honestly. “It has been a while for me.”
“Who learned you to ride?”
Thomas hesitated. “My father did. I could barely walk or he put me on a horse to learn it.”
They rode in silence for a moment.
“Oh no. Lo siento, Thomas. I was not thinking.”
Thomas shook his head. “You couldn’t know.” He looked away, trying to hold his emotions in his grip. “It must be three years now…”
He felt a lump forming in his throat.
“I should not have asked. I know this is…not easy for you.”
Thomas tried to swallow the lump away. He didn’t trust his voice anymore.
Mario felt sorry for him and tried to change the subject.
“Let us talk about something else,” he said. “You remember I told you about the mutiny that is coming?”
Thomas turned to him and got a hold of himself again.
“Yes,” he said, in voice still filled with emotion. “But I still don’t understand it. I can understand why there would be a mutiny, but I can’t think of who would have the courage to do it.”
Mario looked at him. “I know.”
Thomas looked surprised and stopped his horse. The pain and grief he felt a moment ago had changed into curiosity. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Who is it?”
“Powell and Rogers,” Mario said, still riding on.
Thomas urged his horse to continue. “Wait, the bootsman and the quartermaster? Those are the right hands of the captain. Shouldn’t they be on his side?”
“Sí, but they can get close to him as well.”
Thomas agreed he had a point. “Where did you hear it is them?”
“I picked up what they were saying.”
“You mean they were talking about their plans out in the open?”
“Not really. I was scrubbing the deck, once again, and I saw them go away in silence. It looked suspicious to me.”
“You mean they sneaked away?”
“Sí, and I somewhat followed them but they didn’t see me.”
“And what did they say?”
“They were talking about planning a mutiny.”
Thomas was getting impatient. “Yes, but when? Where? How? Did they say that?”
“Not specific. They were more like, loose ideas.”
“What kind of loose ideas?”
“Ways to trap Valdéz. To deliver him to the authorities.”
“Like we all want.”
“Ways to get our gold,” Mario continued.
“Like we all do,” he said nodding.
“Those things.”
“But they can’t do that alone. Did they have others joining them?”
“Not that I know.”
Thomas didn’t buy it. “They must have others. And we have to find out what is going on there.”
“Porqué? To stop them or to help them?”
That was a very good question. He didn’t know yet and he hoped when they would be back he’d know the answer.

A little past noon they arrived at a busy harbour town with the name Arcahai. They decided to water the horses again and ask for directions to Port-de-paix.
“You stay with the horses. I will go and ask the way,” Mario said.
While Mario was asking some locals for help, Thomas took the time to refresh himself in the fountain in the middle of the town square. It was such a hot day, he felt all sweaty and dirty from their travel so far. And they still had quite a distance in front of them, he knew. As the horses drank lustfully, he washed his face and arms to cool down a bit.
The rest of the journey gave him enough time to decide what he had to do when he would be back. He kept thinking of what Mario had said about the plans for mutiny. He couldn’t think of any reason why he shouldn’t join Powell and Rogers. To get rid of their tyrant captain would solve all of their problems.
He’d rather serve under their command then having to keep up with the life he had now. Both of them were not the kindest either, they could be dangerous and fearsome too but certainly not the same way as Valdez was.
But there was still the fact that it had to be done. They didn’t reach that point yet where Valdez was dead. Gone for good.
And there was that, how could you kill a man who seemed to have eyes on his back? Who could not be easily tricked or distracted?
“Bonjour jeune homme.”
Thomas jumped up from a sudden face in front of him who addressed him and ripped him violently from his thoughts. A young woman, seeming a little older then him, filled her bucket in the fountain while looking at him. She had a small posture, was beautifully dark-skinned and had the typical characteristics of the natives originating from the numerous islands that made up the Carribean Sea.
“Oui, toi. Quel est ton nom?”
He was surprised she meant him. Thomas smiled nervously and turned to pretend to tend to the horses.
She moved next to him. “Moi, je m’appelle Roseline.”
Thomas, who had a little recollection of her native tongue, did understand what she said, but pretended not to hear her.
“Pourquoi tu ne dis rien?” She turned Thomas around in a rough way. “He, je parle à toi!”
“Qu’est-ce qui ce passe?”
The voice came from his friend.
The young woman turned to Mario. “Vous le connessez?”
“Oui, il est mon ami,” he replied.
She put her hands in her sides. “Pourquoi il ne réponds pas à mes questions?”
Mario looked over to Thomas. “C’est parce qu’il…ne peut pas,” he lied.
“Ne peut pas?”
Mario shook his head. “Non, il n’a pas apprendit.”
The woman looked surprised and watched Thomas. “Il ne sait pas parler?”
“C’est vrais,” he said, making a sad face.
“Oh, quel dommage.” Mario cold hear the big disappointment in her voice.
Thomas watched them in silence, he didn’t understand a word from what they were saying but as they were each looking in his direction from time to time, he assumed it was all about him.
“Mais comment-il vous dit ce qu’il veut?”
Mario had to think about that. “Par les mains.” To him, it sounded more like an excuse than an actual explanation.
“Ah, oui…,” the young woman said quitely.
Mario felt they had to go before she would start asking other things for which he would not have an answer ready.
“Désolé, mais nous devons partir maintenant.”
He went past her and grabbed the reins of the horses. He mentioned, with his hands, that he wanted to mount and Thomas had to hold the horse from him, as to keep up appearances for the woman watching them.
Thomas winked a thanks to him while he helped him in the saddle. He then mounted his own horse and started to ride away.
“Encore une bonne journée, Mademoiselle,” Mario said to the woman and without looking back left the town square.
When back on the road, Thomas felt relaxer again.
“Thank you for saving me there, I didn’t know what to do.”
“Well, you could say I was there on the right time.”
“Yes, you were. Sorry but my French doesn’t reach that far. What were you two talking about?”
“You. She found it strange why you didn’t answer her questions. I told her you couldn’t speak. Never learned it.”
“Couldn’t speak? That’s a good one,” Thomas grinned.
“Well it worked, didn’t it? Then she asked me how you spoke to me then. I said, “With his hands.” And that, she believed. Luckily. But she found it a shame you couldn’t speak, of course.”
Thomas grinned again.
“What is that with you and women? They always seem to come to you.”
“Well, I don’t ask them to,” he said playful. His mind went to the girl he had seen a year ago. He went serious. “Besides I’ve already found my love.”
“Yes, but she doesn’t know. And neither do you.”
“That will change. We’re going back to Tortuga, aren’t we? I will see her there again. Speaking of which, you know the way now?”
“Yes. First we have to ride four more hours to Les Gonaïves and from there we can take the road to Port-de-paix.”
“Sounds like we could make it by darkness to Port-de-Paix, if we hurry a little.”
Without a warning, Thomas spurred his horse and left Mario behind.
“No! Thomas! You know I can not ride that good! Espera me!”

It was just like Mario had said. After a little more than three hours following the coast, they arrived at the city of Les Gonaïves. There they took the time to eat something quick and be on their way again. By the time they left Les Gonaïves, the sun was already setting. There was no time to loose if they wanted to reach Port-de-paix before sundown, so they kept riding on at a fast pace.
It was near darkness when they finally arrived at Port-de-Paix.
Both of them dismounted and walked through the main street towards the harbour.
“Now, we have to find a ship of some sort to get us to Tortuga,” Mario said looking around.
“We first need to finish our errand for Dejan, remember?”
“Ah sì. The brothers Ormille.”
Thomas nodded. “We can leave our horses with them as well, he said. Can you ask around for them? See where they live?”
After a short while, Mario returned.
“I spoke to some men of there and they said they have their smithy in that street,” he pointed to an alley across a small square to the left. “Somewhere at the end.”
“You’ll do the talking again?”
“Of course.”
‘Then you’d better hold onto these,” Thomas said handing over both letters to Mario.
“Good, let’s take a look then,” he said starting off to the small alley.
The alley was not long and soon they reached the end.
“Do you see it?”
“No,” Mario said doubting. “Maybe I understood it wro-no, look! There’s a sign! Follow me.”
They stepped into a covered workplace, they smith’s fire still burning.
“Bonjour?” Mario called out. “Monsieur Ormille?”
Not a sound.
“Il y a personnes?”
Mario shrugged his shoulders. “Seems no one is there.”
“Then why would the fire still be on,” Thomas noticed.
A voice from the back reached them. “Je viens, je viens!”
The door at the back of the workplace opened and a middle-aged man came over to them. He had strong arms, just like Dejan, but was bald and had no beard.
“Oui. Que je peux faire pour vous?”
Mario stepped up to him. “Bonjour, nous avons une message pour vous, de Monsieur Dejan.”
“Dejan ?”
He took the letter from Mario and read it in silence.
“Ah oui, je m’occupe de ça.”
“Et il a dit que nous pouvons laisser ses chevaux chez vous?”
“Ses chevaux?” He looked behind Mario and saw Thomas standing there with the reins of the horses. “Oui, pourquoi pas. J’ai encore de la place.”
With a wave of his arm he invited them to follow him with the horses.
Mario wanted to follow him when Thomas put a hand on his shoulder.
“And the other envelope,” he reminded him.
Mario turned to the man who waited for them.
“Oh, j’ai oublié,” he called after him. “Euh…nous avons aussi une autre message de lui pour vous.”
The man went back to them and Mario gave the second, private, envelope to him.
He opened the letter and read it. In between reading he looked up to the two strangers in front of him. He seemed not to trust them that much anymore. A frown showed on his forehead.
“Attendez ici,” he said and he left.
Thomas came a little closer. “What did he say?”
“He wants us to wait here.”
He felt a strange feeling in his stomach. “Hopefully that’s not bad,” Thomas said.
Soon after, the man returned again.
“Toi,” he said, addressing Thomas directly. “Viens ici.”
Mario mentioned with his head that he had to come forward. Thomas, very much on his guard now, gave the reins of the horses to Mario and went over to him. The man lifted his both hands up, palms facing upward holding some coins.
“J’ai ici deux mains. L’un avec un pièce de huit, l’autre avec dix pièces de huit. Lequel vous allez choissir?”
Thomas was not really sure if he understood it correctly but from what he saw and could translate he had to pick one hand.
He felt this was a test, but didn’t know for what. He wanted to ask the man why, but he couldn’t or their cover as French-speaking travellers would be blown immediately.
At first, the test didn’t seem so hard to him. His intuition told him to pick the hand with one piece of eight. No one liked greedy people, so choosing the single coin would prove his honesty. Just as he was about to reach out, he hesitated. What if the letter Dejan had written to his friend already had told him who they were? If it did, and he assumed it did, why still putting him to this test? It made no sense, but it could also be a trap he should look out for.
“What if we get the coins that I choose,” he wondered. “Travelling costs a lot and chosing the biggest amount would be logic in that case.”
And they could sure enough use it as well. They still needed to get to Tortuga and that would most likely not be for free. He thought about the other hand holding ten doubloons. Maybe he was supposed to do the opposite of what his first intention would be? The opposite of what Dejan would expect him to do?
It was a strange thought, but possible, to solve this puzzle.
His hand almost reached the one of the man’s when he shook his head. He had a strange feeling in his stomach. He pulled his hand back again and turned to his friend for help.
Mario looked at him too but he could not do anything. If it were to him, Thomas knew, he would go for the biggest amount. But he doubted if that was the right answer here.
Thomas turned back to the man. He had to make a choice now.
“Follow your instincts.”
He took a deep breath and pointed at the hand holding one coin.
“Always listen to your first idea,” he told himself. “I hope I’m right.”
The man closed both hands, turned around and went to the back again.
Thomas turned to Mario to see what he thought of this. Mario shook his head, he was confused as well.
Then the man came back, holding a small pouch seemingly full with money.
“Jacques was right. You are honest men.”
Both Thomas and Mario stared at him in disbelief. Thomas was the first to find his tongue again.
“You speak English?”
“In a town like this, you have to. Dejan wrote you are English travellers renting his horses.”
“Yes, we are.”
“He wanted to know if you read his letter on your way here. It said you had to pick the hand with ten pieces of eight to pass the test.”
Thomas heaved a sign of relief.
“So why did you pick the small amount instead?”
“I never read the letter but I felt this was a test. I just did…what my feeling told me to do.”
“Your feeling?”
Thomas nodded.
“You are right, it is indeed a test from Jacques and me to see who we can trust. And whether it was your feeling or being smart, you saw through it. Now I can give you this.”
He gave Thomas the pouch.
“Here you have six pieces of eight. The letter also said I should give it to you if you passed the test.”
Both of them looked surprised.
“Thank you, but Monsieur Dejan and we agreed on paying six to him. Doesn’t he want payment for the horses we rented?”
“Seems not. He was glad you did him a favour by delivering his message to us and as you turned out to be honest men in return, you have rented his horses for free you could say.”
Thomas had turned speechless. He had never expected this to happen.
“Anything else I can help you with, gentlemen?”
Mario took a step forward.
“Euh…do you know how we can get to Tortuga for less then six pieces of eight?”

Next chapter: "Thieves of the sea"