Jack: Book 3 in the Trilogy

Hard to Starboard Part 8

Captain Pendleton was at the helm with Morris who was using the spyglass to look out for any ships on the horizon. It was a bright, beautiful day in the middle Atlantic Ocean with blue sky, deep blue water and a good tail wind. The ship was doing about 15 knots. Flying fish could be seen near the ship. The Midnight Raider -  formerly the Helena - had been sailing for four days since the captain agreed to help navigate to Cape Verde Islands, then on to Guinea on the African coast and finally to return to Jamaica and Charleston.

Pendleton usually took the night shift while Jack and I slept because we didn't want him to spot any ships and possibly signal them while we were asleep. Morris scrutinized his every move. Today, however, we wanted to test him further. I slept for a few hours and then took the watch - that is, I watched Pendleton from a hidden spot behind crates of coffee. The loose coffee beans in burlap bags turned out to be concealing pistols and cutlasses. All of them. It was a veritable arsenal. 

I saw something behind me. Way over on the horizon off of our port side was a ship that seemed to be running parallel to the course we were heading. Had they seen us? Were they tracking us and was it a pirate ship? Before long, I noticed that Pendleton had seen the ship too. He kept looking to port, then straight ahead toward the bow and then to port again. This might be his chance, I thought. Would he maneuver the Midnight Raider closer to the other vessel or try to lose it? Or would  he keep the same course. I held my breath in anticipation.

And then Pendleton did something I completely had not expected - he veered off course and, casting an eye toward the distant ship, veered sharply to starboard directly away from the other vessel apparently to get our ship out of danger of being seen. The other ship made no movement toward us. After 20 minutes we could not see the other ship. Pendleton possibly had saved us from disaster. But who was he protecting? Himself? Or the entire ship's crew? I had to find out.

Approaching the helmsman, I said very loudly, "Captain Pendleton, you veered off course!"

I had evidently startled him because his head jerked towards me when I yelled that out to him. I wanted to see what his immediate response would be so I purposely surprised him.

"Yes, there was ship," he said. "I thought it was following us. It was on the port on the horizon. Can't see it now, sailor, because I successfully evaded it and we were not seen."

Morris had not noticed the maneuver even though he was the one with the spyglass.

"Why would you do such a thing?" I asked.

"Because ... because ... I wanted to ... I'm not sure ... I owe these people," he replied.

"Thanks Captain Pendleton sir, good work,"  I said, and went back to the cabin to go back to sleep. 

I told Jack when I returned to my cot.

"So, I was right about him," he said. "He's actually a pretty decent sort. Sometimes kiddie, you cannot be afraid to risk it all when your chips are down and you have few options. But let's continue to study our good captain. He stands to lose millions and that fact is a powerful reason to be one way one day and another the next."

"Well put,  and a wise point," I said. "Did you learn that in school or did you find that out during your other vast life experiences?"

"Sonny boy! Just stick with me and forget your silly books - unless of course they're nautical books - and you'll come out on top every time. I ain't a'gonna tell ya how or where I learned that, because it's something that can't be learned like in your stupid little school house. It's in here," he said, pounding below his stomach. "It's a gut feeling! Sometimes ya just know something because it feels right even though you have no evidence that it's this way or that."

"Oh, I get it. Very good there Jack. I would't call it a scientific approach but, I've got to agree with you this time. You used your intuition and it seems that you were right."

"I used my what? Speak English sonny boy before I have to slap you silly," said Jack.

"Intuition. A good word to know. Whittemore told us what it meant one day. Do you remember what he said on his last day in school. He said, "My intuition now tells me that I must return to my former life before the mast in order to make things right." 

"So? What are you saying?" said Jack.

"You don't know what he meant by intuition, do you Mr. smart guy?" I said.

"He meant he was going back to his job preaching on a slave ship - we learned that only later," said Jack. "Stop annoying me!"

"He meant that his "gut feeling" as you so aptly put it, was that he had to go back to the Helena to make amends - to right a wrong he had committed. He didn't think much about it, he just knew it."

"That's the problem with you educated types, you make something that is so simple so ridiculously complicated and then pat yourself on the back for being so intelligent. That's not intelligent. That's stupid thar, kiddie."

"Yeah, right Jack. Whatever you say!"

"That's Captain Jack to you boy!" Jack said.