The sun was setting behind the hills on the west side of Kublaminsk harbor. Thin clouds shone in the sky. Sallina leaned on the Reliant's port rail, watching the color of each cloud changing from orange to pink to ruby red. Garibaldi stood next to her facing the deck. The Captain was pacing up and down. The entire ship's crew, including Sharpy with his crutches and Jasper with his sling, was on deck. They were watching the shore and talking among themselves.
The Captain stopped pacing and wiped his brow. He looked out over the heads of his crew towards the town. He shook his head and continued towards the fore deck.
Sallina looked away from the clouds and down the side of the ship. The harbor water was flowing past and out into the sea. The tide was going out, and it was time for the ship to leave. Sallina did not mind particularly whether the ship left today or tomorrow. She had one hundred and eighty pelts in a wooden crate down in the Reliant's hold. Sixty of them were mink, twenty were wolf, and a hundred were snow rabbit. The snow rabbit ones were her favorites: they were pure white. Altogether, she had spent two hundred and fifty gold pieces on her furs, but she felt sure she could sell them for twice that much in the port that the Reliant was planning to visit next. They were sailing to Independence Island, where the people were rich, the winters were cold, and there were no mink, no wolves, and no snow rabbits.
She turned around to watch the sailors. Some had frowns on their faces, some leaned on the rail and talked in low voices. Many of them were smoking their funny sailor's pipes with little caps on the bowls. They were amusing company most of the time, these sailors, but right now they were upset.
The Captain turned at the wall of the fore deck and started walking towards the aft deck. Sharpy limped away from the starboard rail on his crutches. He stood in the Captain's path. When he found his way blocked by a sailor on crutches, the Captain did not walk around. He stopped and stood up straight. "Yes, Seaman Sharpy, what can I do for you?"
"Captain," Sharpy said. He opened his mouth to say something else, but changed his mind and looked down at the deck.
"Out with it seaman!" the Captain said, "I am in no mood for the shy antics of a scholar's son."
Sallina wondered if Sharpy really was the son of a scholar. He didn't talk like the son of a man who read a lot of books. The vicar back home read a lot of books, and his son couldn't say any word with a "t" in it without stopping and saying "d" six times first. Sharpy wasn't anything like that at all. But Jasper told her Sharpy could speak three languages, so maybe it was true that he was a scholar's son.
Sharpy looked up. "Captain, today is the fifth of August."
"I know it well, Seaman Sharpy. And this is the year two-thousand four-hundred and fifty-one, in case you're wondering if I have forgotten that also."
"As you say, sir. And as you know, we were due to meet the Endeavor at Independence Island yesterday, the fourth of August."
The Captain crossed his arms. He stared at Sharpy and Sharpy stared back at him. "I am well-aware, Seaman Sharpy, that we are late to meet our beloved sister-ship, and that you and near everyone else on this ship, with the notable exception of myself, are right eager, I should say, Seaman Sharpy, unprofitably eager, to rendezvous with her."
"That we are, sir," Sharpy said. He smiled, but his eyebrows were still furrowed.
"But I guarantee you, Good Seaman, that the Endeavor will wait for us, and I guarantee you that you can survive another two days without your sweetheart. We have been at anchor here for two weeks. Another day won't kill you."
"You're right, of course, Captain, as always."
"Don't be sycophantic, Seaman Sharpy," the Captain said. "Now, be so kind as to leave me to my anxious pacing."
Sharpy limped back to the ship's rail. The Captain continued towards the aft deck. Before he reached it, Dan's voice rang out clear across the deck.
"Well now, Captain."
The Captain stopped in mid-stride, with one foot in the air. He put the foot down, but he did not turn around to face Dan. He stared at the empty space where the rear mast of his ship should have stood with sails at the ready.
"I think it be mighty unprofitable," Dan said, "To be taking aboard this boy. It be fairly blackmail by which The Axe had you accept him."
The Captain put his hands in his pockets and stared at the aft deck for several seconds. He turned and faced his crew.
"Sukh, or The Axe as you call him," the Captain said, "was the only person in Kublaminsk interested in our silk. We bought that silk for cheap in Godiva because there's too much of it in the markets to the south. We can't go back and sell it at a profit anywhere near here. We bet upon a bargain with a man who turns out to be dead. So what were we to do with it?"
He pointed to the rear of the ship. "Meanwhile, we have no mizzen mast, and we don't have enough money in the ship's coffers to pay for another one."
Garibaldi smiled. In fact, the Captain did have enough money in the ship's coffers to buy another mast. Garibaldi had lent him two hundred gold pieces. In exchange, the Captain would allow Sallina and Garibaldi to remain on the Reliant in Dan and Harry's cabin, and the Captain would pay Garibaldi a small number of gold pieces in what the Captain called interest.
"Sukh took all our silk," the Captain said, "And gave us furs in return, a lot of furs. The fur harvest is the best in twenty years. And he gave us ivory, blubber, and syrup also. All things we are sure to be able to sell for a good profit in the south."
The Captain took a deep breath and wiped his brow with his handkerchief. "As you know, Sukh put one condition upon our trade. We must take his son on board as an apprentice sailor for one year."
Jasper said, "But we have the furs aboard, and he has the silk. Why don't we just go! We don't have to come back, ever."
"No, lad, we can't do that," Dan said, "The Captain gave his word. And trust me when I tell you, Sukh is not the sort of person you want to double-cross."
Jasper nodded.
"He wants his boy to see the world," the Captain said, "And he chose our ship to be the vessel upon which his son, his only son, should go upon his travels."
Dan turned his head and spat over the rail into the harbor. He rubbed his calloused old hands together and crossed his arms. "You speak of it as if it be an honor, Captain. Shall I get a red carpet out for the boy when he comes aboard?"
The Captain stomped his foot on the deck. "Damn and blast it, Dan! This is not a game! This is our livelihood!"
Sallina stood up straight and held Garibaldi's arm. She had never seen the Captain angry before.
"Except when you're in trouble," Dan said, "Then it's me who has to pull you out of it."
The Captain nodded. He looked at the sunset and put his hands on his hips. After a while, he looked back at Dan.
"What are you trying to say?"
The crew had moved away from the rail as the Captain and Dan talked. Now they watched Dan, waiting for him to answer the Captain's question. Dan looked down at the deck. He thrust his hands deep into the pockets of his baggy, striped trousers and frowned. A seagull called out, and a loose piece of sail-cloth flapped in the breeze high up on the main mast.
Dan looked up. "I can smell trouble." He took one hand out of his pockets and tapped his nose with a finger. "I have a nose for it. And you mark me, Captain, this boy will be trouble."
The Captain nodded slowly. He walked across the deck to Dan and put his hand upon the old man's shoulder. "Maybe you're right, my friend. But I can't see what else to do."
Dan smiled. "Aye, we're in a corner, that's for sure."
From farther up the deck, Otis's hoarse voice called, "There they are!"
All the sailors turned and looked towards shore. Sallina and Garibaldi crossed the deck to get a better view. There on the sandy beach were two figures. One was Sukh, and the other, not quite as tall, must be his son, although Sallina could not tell because he wore a red hat low on his forehead. Beside them, on the sand, was a chest.
"Well then," the Captain said, "Harry, take six seamen and fetch our new apprentice aboard."
"Aye, aye, Captain!" Harry said.
"And as for you Dan. You think the boy is trouble, so you keep an eye on him. Hang his hammock next to yours. Keep him out of mischief."
"I will, Captain."
The Captain walked to the aft deck, climbed the steps, and waved at the two figures on the beach. Sukh waved back.
Sallina took Dan by the elbow. "Dan."
Dan tilted his head to one side. "Yes my pretty?"
"How old is Sukh's son?"
"He's sixteen, Ms. Sallina."
"And what's his name?"
"Baatarsaikhan."
"And what does that mean in Kubla?"
Dan smiled at her. His gold tooth sparkled. "It means Warrior of Peace, sweet lips. Now be a good girl and let loose my arm." He took her hand gently off his elbow and stepped away from her. "I have my duties to attend to, I does."
Dan strode off and down the stairs below decks. Harry and six sailors climbed over the side of the ship and into the longboat. Sallina frowned and rubbed her chin. She leaned close Garibaldi and said, "There's something funny about Dan."
Garibaldi laughed. "I'll say there is."
"No, I mean, there's something wrong with the way he speaks. Have you noticed how he speaks like a common sailor some of the time, but then he knows long words that you would not expect him to know?"
Garibaldi was not sure he understood Sallina's question. What did she mean by a common sailor? He shook his head. "No, I hadn't noticed."
Sallina looked up at Garibaldi. He was frowning. He had his axe in one hand. Its iron head rested upon his shoulder. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.
"I'm glad we still have a cabin of our own," she said, "Thank you for making a deal with the Captain."
"You're welcome."
Sukh came aboard the Reliant with his son. I was not the first time Sukh had been aboard. Twice he had come to look at the silk, and once he had stayed for supper in the Captain's cabin, just the two of them alone.
Sukh embraced his Baatarsaikhan. He stared into the young man's eyes and kissed him on both cheeks. Baatarsaikhan spoke quietly and Sukh answered. The young man nodded. Sukh walked away across the deck and climbed down into the longboat. The rowers pushed off and started rowing towards shore. Sukh sat with his back to the boat. He did not look back.
Baatarsaikhan stood watching his father's back. Sallina stood near him. He did not look sixteen. He was no taller than she was. But she had no reason to doubt Dan's word. The young man's bright red hat was decorated with gold thread. His trousers were made of baggy, fine, green wool. His belt was leather, and from it hung a sword in a shiny black sheath. His jacket was dark blue leather. It hung open at the front, showing a yellow silk shirt. On his feet were leather sandals.
Sallina stared at the shirt. Surely that was some of the yellow silk from the Reliant? Someone must have made Baatarsaikhan a shirt for him to wear on his travels. Maybe it was his mother. Sallina had never met his mother. She had not come aboard today. Where was she?
Baatarsaikhan turned to face Sallina. He was scowling as if he were angry, but Sallina could see his eyes were red. He must feel like she and Garibaldi did when they left their parents behind. He would not see his family for a long time. She smiled and held out her hand. He looked down at it and clasped it in his own. His grip was firm. He leaned forward slightly and pointed at Sallina's eyes.
"Blue," he said.
Sallina let go of his hand. "Yes." She pointed at his eyes. "Brown."
Dan and Harry walked up, carrying Baatarsaikhan's chest. Baatarsaikhan looked at them and at the chest. "Thank," he said. He reached forward and took the chest from them. The lid and sides of the chest was engraved and painted with pictures of ships and sea monsters. The paint looked fresh, but the carvings were chipped in places, and worn smooth in others. Despite its age, however, the chest looked strong. It was bound with iron bands and held shut with a large iron lock.
"The boy is strong," Harry said, "We'll make a seaman out of him."
Dan nodded. "This way, Baat, come and see your quarters."
Baatarsaikhan did not move.
Sallina looked at Baatarsaikhan. Was he annoyed that Dan called him "Baat". Maybe he was one of those people who wanted everyone to call them by their full name, and pronounce it just so, in which case, maybe Dan was right, and the boy would be trouble.
Dan spoke to Baatarsaikhan in Kubla, calling him Baat again. The young man nodded. Dan walked towards the aft stairs, and Baat followed him, carrying his chest by himself.
I'll call him Baat too, Sallina thought. It's much easier, and he doesn't seem to mind.
Sallina looked towards shore. Sukh was standing upon the beach. She had not seen him get out of the longboat. Now the longboat was starting back towards the Reliant. Sukh peered at the Reliant from beneath his hand. The ship was in the shadow of the hills, but the sun still shone upon the shore. Sallina waved at him. He waved back. Even though he was two hundred paces away, Sallina could see that his shoulders were hunched forwards. Was Sukh wondering if he would ever see his boy again? Why did Dan think that the boy was going to be trouble? The boy seemed very sweet, not the type of person to cause trouble. She would help him get along on the ship. Maybe she could teach him their language.
"Able seamen, jump to it!" the Captain called from the aft deck. His voice was so loud, Sallina stood up straight, her eyes wide. "Unfurl the sails! Set the spars, lets get going! To Independence Island, I say, and we shall raise her on the morrow!"
The sailors shouted. "On the morrow!"
"Weigh anchor!" the Captain called.
Four sailors began to turn the big wheel that wound up the anchor rope and pulled the anchor up from the bottom of the sea. "Whey hey, and up she rises!" they sang, "Patent blocks of different sizes! Whey hey, and up she rises, Early in the morning."
The Reliant sailed all night in the open water. At dawn the next day, the sixth of August, the wind was blowing hard out of the west and the boat was running downwind to Independence Island. Clouds drifted by overhead, following the same wind as the ship, but moving faster.
Garibaldi found Baat gripping the port rail and leaning over the side. His face was white.
"Not there," Garibaldi said. He took Baat by the arm and pointed to the fore deck. If Baat threw up over the port side, the wind would blow it back into the boat. Baat followed him up the steps to the fore deck, where he leaned over the side again. Garibaldi patted him on the back.
As the sun rose into the sky, the Captain joined them on the fore deck. "Aha!" he said, over the sound of the water crashing against the bow of the ship. "Thinking of feeding the fishes are we? The two of you together will be a blessing for all our scaly friends."
"Actually," Garibaldi said, "I'm not feeling that bad." And he wasn't. A bit nauseous, perhaps, but nothing like he had been on their journey to Kublaminsk.
"Good for you, boy," the Captain said. "I'm very glad to hear it." And he seemed to be glad. He hooked his thumbs into his belt and smiled broadly. "Getting your sea legs. I was hoping you wood."
In the late afternoon, they sighted Independence Island. As the sun set, they dropped anchor in a small bay. "We made the best time we could, boys," the Captain said from the aft deck. The sailors were gathered together below him. "Tomorrow we'll make Prudence Harbor. With any luck, the Endeavor will be there. But if she's not, she'll be there soon."
The sailors cheered.
The wind blew the clouds away and dropped to a breeze. It was warm. The stars shone in a clear sky, and a crescent moon hung low on the western horizon. The gentle waves of the small bay lapped against the side of the ship.
Pops and Garibaldi brought up a big iron fire-bowl from below, the same one Pops had used three weeks before to cook Otis's tuna. Garibaldi lit a wood fire in it, and when the smoke of the fire died down and the wood coals were burning brightly, Pops skewered the carcass of a lamb upon an iron spit held up by two stands, one on either side of the fire. The spit had a crank at one end, so Pops could turn the carcass above the fire and cook it on all sides.
The smell of roasting meat drifted across the deck and down below. Before long, everyone was on deck watching Pops turn the lamb over the fire. The sailors lit their pipes. The smell of tobacco joined that of the roasting meat. On the Captain's orders, two sailors brought a barrel of Kublaminsk beer up on deck, and the sailors helped themselves to it with their metal cups.
Each sailor had his own metal cup. Most were made from silver, and had their owner's initials engraved upon them. Some were made of a softer metal called pewter. These had glass bottoms. "So's we can see what's in 'em," Otis said.
Baat leaned against the port rail and watched the sailors. Although the light was dim on deck, it seemed to Sallina that the young man was no longer pale in the face. He must be feeling better, but he was not smiling. She crossed the deck to talk to him.
"Feeling better?" she said.
He looked at her for and shook his head. "No understand."
Sallina put her hand on her stomach and pointed at him. "Feel good?"
He looked down at her tummy and at his own. He nodded. "Yes, good now."
Sallina smiled. Baat did not. He put his hands in his pockets. He was no longer wearing his jacket and hat. His yellow silk shirt shone in the glow of the fire.
"That is a beautiful shirt," Sallina said. She spoke slowly.
He nodded. "Good shirt."
It seemed to Sallina that Baat could understand her better when she spoke slowly.
"Did your mother make it for you?"
Baat looked down at the deck. "No."
"It is made from our silk, isn't it?"
Baat leaned towards her suddenly. He looked right into her eyes. He was frowning. Sallina could not decide if he was angry or just unhappy. She wanted to move away from him, but she did not.
"Mother dead," Baat said.
Sallina put her hand to her mouth. "Oh. I am sorry."
"You not kill her," Baat said. He moved away and stared at the deck.
Sallina folded her arms and turned her eyes to the sailors. Garibaldi was poking the coals with a metal rod. He put another piece of wood on the fire, sat back, and picked up a metal cup, the cup that Pops the cook had given him. He sipped beer from the cup. Dan and the Captain sat nearby on a coil of rope, laughing at one another's jokes. Otis and Sharpy were making fun of Jasper. Otis said something about the Endeavor and Sharpy laughed again. Jasper blushed and fidgeted.
Well, Sallina thought, I suppose I should not ask Baat any more questions about his shirt and his mother, but on the other hand, Dan thinks Baat might be trouble, and if that's so, I should find out about it, for the sake of all of us. And anyway, I want to know what his story is, because he surely has a story. Did he want to come on the ship, or did his father make him come? He probably won't answer that question right away. Better to start with things that were simple, and see what he says.
"What was your mother's name," Sallina said.
"Delgernandjil," Baat said.
"That's a pretty name."
Baat nodded.
"How did she die?" Sallina said.
Baat's frown deepened. He turned away from her and walked up the steps to the fore deck.
Oh well, Sallina thought, I have upset someone else. But I'm not going to follow him. He must want to be alone. Well, I don't want to be alone. She made her way through the sailors and sat next to Garibaldi.
He smiled and held out his cup. "Would you like some of my beer?"
"Sure," she said. She took the cup and tasted the beer. It was warm and smooth in her mouth, but bitter. She gave the cup back to Garibaldi. "I'm not sure I like it."
Garibaldi nodded. "You have to drink it a few times before you like it, that's what my father says. So I'm drinking it." He lifted the cup and took another sip.
"That's good beer, that is," Pops said. He turned the roasting carcass. Fat was dripping from the meat. The fat crackled and burned in the fire. Sallina watched the coals burning and the fat dripping. She was getting hungry.
Baat sat down next to Sallina.
Garibaldi raised his cup. "Have beer if you want."
Baat shook his head. He stared at the fire and the roasting lamb. Sallina leaned her head against Garibaldi's shoulder.
The Captain laughed. "You're kidding! Oh, that's rich!"
Baat spoke loudly and clearly. "My mother die in war. Father away." He pointed behind him, to the south, across the length of the sea. "Far away journey. He is away, men come to Kublaminsk and kill. They kill everyone they find. They kill my mother. They kill my aunt. They kill my sister."
Pops stopped turning the lamb. The sailors fell silent one by one. They whispered among themselves, repeating what Baat had said for those who had not heard it. Dan laughed at something the Captain said, but then he and the Captain fell silent also and listened to Sharpy whispering to them.
Sallina put her hand on Baat's shoulder.
"I'm so sorry," she said.
Part of her felt like crying for Baat, when she imagined how it must feel to see your mother and sister killed, but part of her did not want to cry. That was the part of her that did not yet believe Baat's story. It seemed too horrible a story to be true. Who would kill a child? Surely nobody would do such a thing?
"Why did they not kill you?" Sallina said.
Baat answered clearly, as if he knew that everyone was listening. "I am small. I go under house, where the dogs live, and I lie down in dirt. They no see me there. I no fighting." He clenched his teeth and made fists with his hands. "I am like dog."
Garibaldi raised one eyebrow. Why was Baat like a dog? Dogs fight, didn't they? He leaned forward and spoke to Baat across Sallina's lap. "How long ago did this happen?"
Baat shook his head. "No understand."
Dan said something in Kubla.
Baat nodded. "Seven winters."
"You are sixteen now," Sallina said, "So you were nine then. You were too young to fight. They would have killed you also."
"Man must fight," Baat said.
"Yes," the Captain said, "Man must fight. But not boy. That is a terrible, sad story, Baat. But you are not like a dog."
Baat looked past the fire at the Captain. He unclenched his fists and turned to Sallina. He pulled on his shirt with one hand. "My mother's mother make shirt," he said, "She no die in war. She give me food and help me live. My father come back. He help me live."
"I'll tell you," Dan said aloud to everyone. "Sukh must have been pretty darned angry when he came home."
Baat looked up and around him. Dan said something in Kubla. Baat frowned. "Father angry. Sukh angry at Sukh. No go away on journey, never more journey. No more son and family alone. Never again."
Sallina could see Dan nodding in the firelight. "Your father is a good man, Baat."
"The men came to Kublaminsk," Baat said, "They came second time to Kublaminsk, to kill and take our food and clothes. But my father is there. They came not into our house. My father, he stand at door with his axe. The dead men make mountain in front of him and around him, all around him." Baat pointed around himself and in the air. He was no longer frowning. His mouth and his eyes were wide.
"Aye," Dan said. He tapped ash from his pipe by rapping the bowl upon his hand. He threw the ash into the fire. "That's The Axe, all right."
The sailors were silent. Pops began to turn the roasting carcass. Sharpy bent down with the help of his crutches and poured himself another cup of beer. The waves lapped against the side of the ship. The lamb fat sizzled in the fire. Dan struck a match and lit his pipe.
Otis farted. The sailors near him laughed and tried to push the old man away.
"What?" Otis said, "We're outdoors aren't we?"
"Otis!" Sharpy said, "Be serious for once, will you?"
"Go easy on him," Dan said, "The deaf old bugger can't even hear himself fart, let alone hear the boy's story."
Baat looked up at Sallina. He pulled upon the front of his shirt. "The mother of my mother make this shirt for me. She tell me wear it and be safe. When come back I be man like father."
Sallina nodded. A tear fell from her eye and landed upon her hand. She looked at the tear shining on her hand in the fire light. To her surprise, Baat took her hand, held it up to his mouth and kissed the tear away. Garibaldi sat forward and looked at Baat, but Baat did not notice. He let go of Sallina's hand and stared at the fire.
Dan laughed. "I'd say he's half way there already."
At noon the next day, the Reliant entered the mouth of Prudence Harbor. The sailors crowded the ship's rail, staring ahead at the ships tied up to the wharfs. The wharfs were like the docks Sallina and Garibaldi had seen in Godiva, but made of earth and stone.
Baat stood next to Garibaldi. He had been seasick all day, but now he stared at the city with his mouth open.
"Beautiful," he said.
There were at least twenty tall ships tied to the wharfs. Some had two masts and some had three. Most were smaller than the Reliant, but a few were larger. One large three-masted ship was moving towards an empty wharf ahead of them, pulled by a longboat full of rowers.
Beyond the wharfs was Prudence City itself, spread out on either side of a river that flowed into the harbor. Its buildings were made of gray stone, spaced far apart on wide avenues with parks and fountains. Its roofs were of gray slate and red tile, and from them flew flags and streamers of many colors. Some of the taller buildings had golden domes upon them that shone in the sunlight.
"There she is!" Sharpy cried. He was examining the harbor through a telescope. "I see her! And they see us! They're on deck waving."
"Yes that's her," the Captain called. "Harry, steer for the Endeavor. She's tied up to wharf number three. We'll drop anchor aft of her while we wait for a mooring."
The Reliant turned a little to port.
"Drop sail three quarters!" Harry called.
Some sailors rushed to the ropes that raised the ship's sails, while others clambered up the shrouds. They went to work furling sails so that the ship would slow down.
"Which one is the Endeavor?" Sallina said to Sharpy.
"There," he said, and pointed ahead, "She's hiding behind those two sloops with their sails hung out. You can see some of the red stripe down her side, and her green aft wall."
He offered Sallina his telescope. She held it to her eyes. Between the sails of the two smaller ships Sharpy had called sloops, Sallina saw a bright, clean ship with three masts. Standing on aft deck, and at the end of the wharf, were ten or twenty sailors waving and shouting. They were all waving and shouting at the Reliant.
And all of them were women.
A little while later, when the Endeavor was only a fifty paces away across the water, the Captain cried, "Drop anchor!"
The anchor splashed into the harbor. As soon as it did, several of the women on the wharf dove into the water and swam towards the Reliant.
"Each man turn to his neighbor," the Captain said, "Rock, paper, scissor, whoever wins gets shore leave for the day."
Sallina gave Sharpy his telescope. The sailors were playing rock, paper, scissor in pairs. At the end of the games, one sailor would say, "Yes!", or "Here I come!" and the other would shake his head and say, "Damn," or "Blast it!"
Sharpy won his game against Jasper. He looked down at his leg. "Not that I'm going to be able to get off the ship anyway."
Garibaldi walked among the sailors. He laughed with them and watched their contests. He patted Pops on the back when Pops lost his game. Baat stood with one hand on the ship's rail, watching the sailors with a frown on his face. He watched the sailor's hands moving as they played rock, paper, scissor. Seeing his frown, Sallina decided he did not know how to play rock, paper, scissor. She would teach him later.
Six sailors climbed up on the rail and jumped into the water. When their heads came up, they swam towards the wharf. They met the women in the water and greeted them by name. The women greeted them in return, and embraced them, even while they were swimming. Then the men kept swimming towards the wharf, and the women kept swimming towards the Reliant.
Dan and Otis played rock, paper, scissor. Dan won. "But you go anyway," he said.
Sallina said to Dan, "Don't you want to see the women?"
"At my age," he said, "It takes love to light the fires of passion."
"Speak for yourself," Otis said, and dove off the ship's rail into the water. He disappeared into the sea with hardly a splash and re-appeared twenty paces away.
Dan watched Otis and smiled. "That old bugger never ceases to amaze me."
By now, the first woman had reached the boat. She climbed quickly up the side, and three sailors pulled her aboard. She landed on the deck, her shirt and trousers dripping wet and clinging to her body. Sallina could see through the wet fabric of the woman's shirt, and she saw that underneath the shirt, the woman wore a tight piece of cloth across her breasts to hold them in place, with straps over her shoulders to hold the cloth up high. Sallina did not wear a piece of cloth like that herself. They were uncomfortable to wear, and her breasts were not so large that she needed one. But this woman definitely needed one.
"Where's my man!" the woman said.
"I'm here," Sharpy said from beside Sallina.
"By the Gods!" the woman said, staring at the cast on his leg. "What did they do to you!" She rushed forward and hugged him. She kissed his face and squeezed him. After a while, she stepped back so she could see his face. She put her finger on his nose. "Well, you'll just have to spend lots of time in bed." She winked at him. "Resting."
"Oy, Oy, Oy!" the sailors said. Sharpy's face went red.
The woman turned to Sallina. "And who are you?"
"I'm Sallina."
"Well, I'm Natasha." She looked at Sharpy. "Anything I should know about here with you and her?"
Sharpy shook his head. "Oh no. Nothing. Nothing at all."
"Good. That's just as well." She looked at Sallina. "Good for both of you. You are far to pretty, young lady."
Sallina opened her mouth to say thank you, but Natasha turned away from her immediately and took Sharpy's hand.
"Well now," Natasha said, "I have a nice room in a hotel ready for you. But how am I going to get you there? We'll have to use a longboat, and lower you over the side. And you'll have to tell me all about how you were injured."
"It was in a storm," Sharpy said.
She put a finger to his lips. "But not yet. First things first."
Baat was staring at Natasha. Sallina put her hand on his shoulder.
"Beautiful?" she said.
Baat frowned. He cocked his head to one side and smiled. "Beautiful like you."
Sallina folded her arms. "Oh. Well, thank you." She looked at Garibaldi. Did Garibaldi think she was beautiful? He was watching Natasha and Sharpy.
Baat leaned over the rail and watched the remaining women climb up the side of the ship.