CHAPTER -23 - THE SPARROW
The Glencoe slipped into the harbor of Okracoke, unseen in the darkness of night. Jack carefully sailed her to the edge of the of soft sand beach holding tight her sails until the sound of the sand breached the silence of the night. Upon the beaching of the Glenoce , Jack leapt over the side and pulled her fully on the beach. Okracoke Island was blessed with a natural harbor, a perfect harbor upon the edge of the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Pamlico Sound to the east.
In the midst of the harbor Jack beheld the silhouettes of two large ships, the Sparrow and the Fortune, ships belonging for the time being to the Argyll.
He secured the Glencoe on the beach and grabbed his sea chest still full of the Argyll's gold from the Skye and made his way down the beach towards the shimmering glow of lights coming from the once quiet Village of Okracoke.
Deep in his sea chest, Jack buried his sword, his sword of vengeance that upon its hilt bore the crest of the Clan MacDonald.
At the edge of the village stood a large tavern from which could be heard the laughter of men enjoying the delights of the village. The scent of tobacco and the smell of rum filled the night air as Jack strode up the stairs and entered the tavern unnoticed by most of the men in their drunken stupor.
One man did notice his entry, one man who had remained perfectly sober, one man who immediately stood up and made his way across the room. Charles Bonnie never drank in the company of strangers if he ever drank at all.
"Jack, I see ya have kept your word."
"By the glow of the fires to the north, I see ya did not keep yar word, Mr. Bonnie."
"Ahh, in that ya are surely mistaken, for I did not return to Frisco and thus I kept my word in our bargain. Tis the men that own the Sparrow and the Fortune, these Campbells as ye are well aware, are the sort of men who sent the press gang unto Frisco and have set it to blaze. I myself did remain here in Okracoke and thus have kept me word. Twas bad business from what I have been told, for it was the women of Frisco who did violently object to the taking of their husbands and sons. What choice did the Campbell have but to fire the Village for such a riotous display? Tis the way of the Campbells, as if I had to remind ya of that, Jack."
Jack had not even looked upon his old Captain's face as he spoke his twisted words of deceit in an effort to assure Jack that he had kept his word. Jack finally turned, and leaned close, eye to eye and nose to nose, then scowled:
"Such words as yours are best spoken in the Old Bailey, and unworthy of any honest man of the sea."
Charles Bonnie burst into laughter.
"Who ever said I was an honest man of the sea, but truth be told, even my words are more honest and true than any who ever stood at the bar in the Old Bailey. Come and sit with me, and sign yar name to the log, for this day I have spent here in the tavern, keeping my word to ya Jack that I would not return to Frisco, recruiting men to sail aboard the Sparrow and the Fortune."
The two men made their way across the smoke filled tavern to a small table in the back corner. Several men who were seated at the table stood up and walked away with a single nod from Charles Bonnie.
"Have a seat Jack."
Jack complied, taking a chair facing the interior of the tavern so as not to be seated with his back towards any man. Mr. Bonnie smiled at Jack's choice of seating.
"Don't ya trust me Jack, have I not proven myself to be a man of his word?"
"Yar a man of yar word alright Mr. Bonnie, but between ya and me, I know exactly what yar word is worth." Jack wryly retorted.
"Jack, ya break me heart. Now I have to be knowing Jack, as ya know me ways, can I count on ya when it comes to my business on the Sparrow?
Jack simply nodded.
"Excellent, seeing as we are of one accord on the matter, then this shall be our only meeting on the subject. Is ya a Christian man Jack?"
"Aye"
"Tell me Jack do ya know how many days the Christ was in his tomb?
"Three days."
"Good lad, a true believer I see. We shall be ready on the the third day at sea during the last dog watch, when the officers bellies are full from their evening meal and I shall see to it a little too much port. I shall see to it that only my men shall be on the watch. Tis then that we shall strike and make our bargain with the crew, to either join with us or to swim with the Captain. As to the Master of the Ship, Jacob Campbell, he is all yours Jack to do with as ya please. Do we have an understanding?"
"Aye"
"Then we shall not speak of this again, just remember the last dog watch on the third day."
The two men sat silently watching as the men in the tavern enjoyed their last night on dry land. As the light of the rising dawn began to shine Charles Bonnie stood up and in a his loud booming voice cried out:
"Up you sons of whores! Rise up you dogs of the sea! Now is the hour that we shall set sail and make the French women weep for the loss of their sons and their silver! Rise up!"
The men of the tavern gave a collective groan, too much rum for such a rude awakening. Slowly the men plodded out of the tavern and stumbled towards the beach to the longboats that would take them to the ships of the Argyll, the Sparrow and the Fortune.
Charles Bonnie briefly grabbed the arm of one of the men, Nathaniel Greene, a former shipmate from his days as a pirate Captain. He whispered in his ear:
"Today is the first day in the tomb, I shall see thee on the day of the Resurrection, when the Sparrow shall be in my hands and the Fortune shall be in yours."
Jack took a seat in the longboat with his sea chest full of gold and his sword of vengeance. He stared at Mr. Bonnie, who to his eyes, was as a greyhound, excited with fury in his eyes waiting to be let loose on the hunt.
It was all about the hunt for men like Bonnie. He would risk all for the thrill of the hunt. All other men in Bonnie's world were either part of his pack or they were his prey.
Jack shook his head thinking to himself, "my life is accursed, how have I come to be in the company of this man again."
Then as if in response to this moment of self-pity, his mind resounded with the thought that "the Campbell has done this to thee and all thine." For it was the Argyll who had ordered the slaughter of Glencoe and it was a Campbell who had ordered the press gang to the Village of Frisco putting that humble place to fire and to sword.
Jack looked out across the harbor at the Sparrow sitting peacefully at anchor in the harbor.
The longboat silently slipped through the water alongside the Sparrow. The men crawled aboard the Sparrow still weak from the night's pleasures.
Jack using all his strength hoisted his sea chest aboard the Sparrow. Mr. Bonnie, who noticed all things, had watched Jack hoist his sea chest aboard the Sparrow.
"A bit heavy for a few rags, eh Jack."
Jack just smiled and then pretended as if the words had never been spoken. He then leapt aboard the Sparrow.
The Captain of the Sparrow stood upon the deck waiting for Mr. Bonnie to come aboard with the Master of the Ship, Jacob Campbell by his side.
"I see that you were successful in your recruiting endeavors."
"Aye Captain, with the taste of rum and the promise of silver, men are easily persuaded to leave hearth and home. Such men shall always prove more loyal than those lead by the point of a sword, in shackles and in chains."
Mr. Bonnie spoke these words while staring directly at Mr. Campbell who had led the press gang to the Village of Frisco.
After a brief and awkward moment of silence, the Captain ordered:
"Get the men stowed away below decks, then join us on the aft deck for we set sail within the hour."
Charles Bonnie led the new recruits below decks and into the crews quarters. Jack followed the men down below the decks, struck by the sound of iron chains clanking and the sound of men sobbing. Deep within the bowels of the Sparrow a row of men sat shackled in irons. Some sobbing quietly for the loss of their homes, their wives and their children.
Jack spied a small figure in the midst of this misery and came to a halt just staring at a small boy, a boy like his own son in age and appearance, who openly wept.
Mr. Bonnie came up behind Jack to determine what had brought the old pirate to a standstill.
"Tis the work of the Campbells, Jack, tis a work ya know well. He weeps for the parting, a parting we all have known, and tears we have all shed."
"Aye I have known those tears well."
"Come on Jack, ya shall bunk down over there near me and a few old friends of yours."
If Jacob Campbell had known that the Ghost of Glencoe had boarded the Sparrow, the Master of the the Ship would have thrown him in shackles along side the men of Frisco. Yet greed had blinded many hearts, but once again the vengeful heart of Iain MacDonald, the Ghost of Glencoe, the pirate Jack Henry saw all things clearly.
For tis not a sin to steal from those who steal. And tis not a sin to kill those who murder.
With the day of Resurrection, shall surely come redemption and all things shall be placed upon the scales of justice.