The Adventures of Oliver Button

Chapter Six

Life aboard the pirate ship turned out to be a lot like life aboard the Chieftain. The pirates followed the captain’s and first mate's orders and kept the ship clean and sailing. Grog was rationed, although there was much more of it. Gambling was still forbidden, and women still officially not allowed. But there were some differences. The captain, Biddy learned, was elected by the crew, as was the first mate, who seemed to have a lot of power here. Crew members had different skin tones but no difference in rank or the way they were treated. Everyone was an equal party, including the captain, although the captain got double shares of the loot. That made sense, though, since his strategies largely determined whether or not they captured ships, and whether or not they preyed on the ships worth looting. Also among the differences was the possibility of capture and execution by the government or by other pirates. They had no friends now.

Cager and Wesley adapted surprisingly well to being pirates. Cager talked incessantly with his new crewmates, learning about the pirate’s life and which crewmates he preferred over others. Wesley made his own rounds, not as frequently as Cager’s, interspersed with times when he would follow Cager or find Biddy or go off by himself. Biddy herself worried—while life on the pirate ship now was fine, she knew that soon, she, Cager, Wesley, and the rest of the Chieftain’s surviving crew would capture their first ship alongside the pirates, and either that time, or a time soon after, they would have to fight a ship’s crew, to slaughter them in the name of nothing but greed. Biddy wasn’t sure she was ready for that. She wasn’t sure she was ready for battle at all. She had never fought with swords or guns, and as far as she knew, Cager and Wesley had never fought that way, either. They might be slaughtered more easily that the crew they would inevitably fight.

They had started practicing with weapons every day since they had become pirates. It was Wesley's suggestion, of which Biddy heartily approved. The more seasoned pirates were happy to show off their skills by training the newbies with first wooden swords, and then real swords and guns. They had been training for a few days, so Biddy felt better about her skills, but not yet ready for battle.

“Ship on the north-northeast horizon!”

Biddy sat up as she heard the words. She was laying in her hammock, savoring the last few minutes before all the crew would be ordered awake, but this shout from the crow’s nest…she turned over and out of her hammock, her feet landing expertly on the wooden deck, and ran to Cager’s hammock. His eyes were firmly shut, his brow furrowed in half-conscious determination to keep sleeping.

“Cager!” Biddy shook him by his shoulder. “Wake up!”

She moved to Wesley’s hammock. “Wesley!” He groaned and turned over, facing away from Biddy. “Wesley, wake up!”

“Keep it down, will ye?” a pirate yelled from another hammock.

“Spanish colors!” the pirate in the crow’s nest shouted above.

Cager rolled off his hammock and onto the deck. “Spanish ship? Will we attack?”

“I hope not,” said Biddy. “But…”

“All hands on deck!” the first mate shouted from above. “Weigh anchor and drop sails! Hoist the Spanish colors!”