Pirate's Tail

Chapter Three

 Ace awoke to the yelling and laughter of men. He opened his eyes and finding himself in darkness, was completely disoriented with where he was. Then his memory came flooding back to him. He was still under the rowboat. He cursed silently. He immediately felt embarrassed for falling asleep and ashamed for not returning to Captain Harris' home as he'd promised. The darkness of the lifeboat provided little aide in comforting him. He needed to right his mistake.

Hoping that he'd not been asleep long, Ace lifted the life boat and was temporarily blinded by the sun. He heard a yell and, when his vision returned, he found he was surrounded by men dressed in military uniforms. Ace couldn't understand why all of these men were surrounding him in the Port of Haiglin. Had the capital city been invaded again? He felt a quick jerk at his right elbow as one of the men seized him. He fought against the hand, but was unable to escape as he was hoisted off of his feet. Ace took a look around and realized that he was no longer in Haiglin. There were no buildings or other ships around. He was on the open sea. He could feel the roll of the ship beneath his feet.

"Boys, we got ourselves a stowaway!" one of the sailors spoke.

"Food for the fishes!" another yelled.

"Put him down, gentlemen," a voice said. The men did as instructed and turned as the captain of the vessel approached them. "Do you have a name, sir?" the captain asked Ace.

"Ace Lynx, sir," Ace answered.

"Well, Mr. Lynx, can I ask what you're doing on the F.S.M. Visp? Perhaps a little spying and sightseeing on this fine fall day?" the captain asked.

"The F.S.M. Visp?" Ace asked and looked around. Captain Harris had told Ace that the F.S.M. Visp had been one of the ships that had won the Great War for Menquin. Ace knew little about what had actually happened in the war, but knew that this vessel was of great historical significance. "I'm not doing either, sir. I just wanted to get out of the hailstorm last night, and I stumbled upon your lifeboat," Ace said with a smile and a gesture toward the lifeboat. "I mean all of you no harm."

The captain looked Ace up and down. He stared into Ace with his dark brown eyes and seemed to peer into his soul. He was dressed in the traditional Menquin golden naval uniform and had dark navy epaulettes on each shoulder. He had a dark bushy beard and wore a navy bicorne hat on his head. The hat was pointed at each end and had a gold tassel hanging from the rear with a large golden feather protruding on the right side. The moments dragged on as the captain played absentmindedly with his beard and examined Ace.

"Lock him up!" the captain shouted and walked away.

Ace's heart plummeted to his feet. Two sailors seized him and silently led him into the bellows of the ship. The pair corralling him through the ship appeared to be decent gentlemen, but it did little to brighten Ace's mood. Ace was to spend his time aboard one of the great historical ships of the age, locked in a small prison cell. He couldn't believe how foolish falling asleep had been. Now he'd have to endure the consequences of his mistake.

Ace was taken to the cell and met with stiff darkness and stale air. One of the sailors lit a small candle in the room, but it did little to lighten the darkness. The air hung in the cell as if it had been nailed to the ceiling. The cell was triangular in shape with a small wooden stool in one corner. Ace could tell by the candlelight that there was nobody else in the brig. He supposed it was better to be alone at the moment. The sailors opened the cell door for him and pushed Ace inside. They locked the thick steel door behind him and left without saying a word.

Ace slumped to the hard wooden floor of the cell. He had hit an all time low. The last few days had been so good and now he was locked in a prison cell at sea. Ace kicked himself for being so stupid to fall asleep under the lifeboat! He should have just ignored his feelings for Abigal and gone with Captain Harris. Instead of going on a vacation with his new family, he was going to be left to rot here on this ship.

Silently, tears crept down his face as he thought about the events of the last few days. There was nothing to do in the darkness but think about all that had happened. Ace was filled with a variety of emotions, none of which he could do anything about at the moment.

He closed his eyes in an attempt to calm himself. He could do nothing from this cell. He had to escape. Ace weighed his options of escape. He was startled to realize that he had a small glimmer of hope within his boot. He still had his dive knife. Perhaps escape was possible. Ace soon realized that it would be a worthless attempt to try to escape the Visp while the ship was at sea. If he were able to escape his cell, he had nowhere to go but into the ocean. No one could survive long in the open ocean; he'd surely end up drowning. His only chance was to escape when the F.S.M. Visp made port.

Ace began to formulate a plan on how to escape from his cell. Perhaps when the Visp reached port Ace could pick the lock of his cell with his knife. Once he was out of this cell it was only a matter of—

Ace's thought process was thrown off by the sound of the door unlocking. The door opened, and the two sailors who delivered Ace to the cell were standing in its frame.

"It's the captain for you, Mr. Lynx," the taller sailor said with an ominous grin.

Ace gave no resistance as the two sailors grabbed him and led him back toward the main deck of the ship. Ace's head was reeling with possibilities as to what the captain wanted, and his worries were calmed when he remembered his dive knife in his boot. The knowledge of the knife gave Ace a small measure of comfort. He knew he could defend himself if it came to it.

They walked up the stairs to the main deck in silence. As soon as Ace's head broke out from the bellows of the ship he was met with a cool breeze of night air. He had no idea how long he'd been locked up below deck, but he'd not expected to see a full moon glistening off the calm sea. Ace breathed in the fresh air as if he'd not breathed in hours. The air gave him comfort and resolve as he was led toward the captain's quarters. He admired the beauty of the night as he watched the reflection of the Visp sail through the tranquil sea. Ace smiled to himself. What a difference a day makes with the weather. The Visp must be dodging the winter fronts.

The trio reached the mahogany doors of the captain's quarters, and the taller guard rapped his knuckles on the glass window pane. "The stowaway, Mr. Ace Lynx, Captain," the guard announced.

"Bring him in, Mr. Bahnhoff."