Jack: Book 3 in the Trilogy

The Prayer Part 1

Jack called for a meeting of everyone on board the ship to be held a couple of hours before sunset on August 8, 1860.

We had passed along the easterly edge of the storm which was headed in a north-westerly direction – Jack had ordered the ship to turn eastward and chart a course towards Africa, a move that saved us as we gradually put distance between us and the gale which we had been fortunate enough to have just skirted. Had we continued our westerly course we would have hit the storm head on and undoubtedly we would have all perished.

"What made you turn the ship at that moment, Jack? What an incredible piece of luck," I said.

"It wasn't luck," said Jack. "Although I am not a religious type as you well know, I said a prayer that if the good lord would save us from the hurricane I promised I would return the darkies to their home as long as that was what they wanted. Then I thought, well, I made the promise, why not show my faith in praying that I just had done, and start immediately making good on my promise. It was like a little voice in my head that said, 'Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Turn the damn ship toward Africa!' So that's how it happened. Wasn't luck, sonny boy! It was ... destiny."

"Wow Jack! That's amazing! But are you just making up a story so as to go ahead with your new adventures without consulting any of us or even to see if the darkies do want to go back? After all, maybe many of them were sold off by their chiefs to the slave traders and don't ever want to go back – I have heard stories about how this has happened," I said.

"Didn't you hear what I said, moron?" said Jack. "I said I promised in my prayer I'd take 'em back to Africa if that was what they wanted. So now, we have to have everyone meet on deck before we head much further east, and determine what the darkies want. Maybe they don't want to go back. Maybe they want to go to Mexico or Costa Rica or even to Hispaniola where slavery is illegal."

"What happens," I said, "if some want to go back but others want to go to Hispaniola?

"Well, in that case, we'll have to establish up front of any discussion that a majority vote will win so that if 51 percent want to go back to Africa, that's what'll happen," said Jack. "Call the meeting of everyone on deck, except of course the good Captain Pendleton. Lock him up 'til we have decided."

"Aye, aye, Captain!" I said. "But, if some want to go to Jamaica with us – we are going back to Jamaica right? – then let's take them back with us after dropping the others back home in Africa? Sound like a plan?"

"Sometimes sonny boy you can be amazingly smart – just that it doesn't happen very often," Jack said. "Okay, so they'll have some choices."