PIRATE SHIP

Oliver had been told that the new recruits resembled pirates. Looking back, he supposed that that should have been a clue. Now, he looked up at them in dread and disbelief, where they gathered on the dock, waiting to embark.

"No. You-all didn't foller me here. That jest cain't be possible," he spoke in a whisper too faint to be heard by anyone else but he himself, including the six newcomers several yards away, waiting to be welcomed aboard by the captain. "How did you ever find me???"

As soon as the six Forresters came on board, they saw him. It was clear from their expressions that they were not at all surprised to find him on this ship; they'd known that he was here. They stared openly, smugly, a bit amused, but not so obvious about it as to arouse the captain's suspicions. They observed Oliver, and he observed them, trying in vain to hide the consternation that he felt in his heart. He knew that he was panting hard, wide-eyed, trembling noticeably, and not managing to suppress those symptoms of fear.

The full moon trailed its light beautifully across the ocean toward the ship. As always, from Oliver's perspective, it seemed to come right to his feet, an illusion, of course, of angle. He stood at the railing and looked out at the sea, its tranquility, tonight at least, also an illusion. He had expected that they would take this opportunity to approach him, and so they did. With guards patrolling all up and down the ship, they could not harm him, not here and now, and he frankly wished to get the first grueling conversation over with, however difficult it might be. Over the slapping of the waves against the ship, he did not even hear their approach.

Buck appeared silently to his right along the rail.

Oliver felt his presence, turned, and gazed back at him bleakly.

"You ain't figgered we was gonna let a leetle distance keep us from gittin' you, did you?"

"Well, uh, yeah, I did. At least I kinda hoped...."

"Ain't worked out too good, did it?" Lem demanded cruelly, from directly behind him.

Oliver whirled to his left, saw a thus-far quiet Mill-wheel eyeing him, and then spun the rest of the way to face Lem. The blond struggled to suppress quiet gasps as he and Lem studied each other intently.

Buck regarded him a bit more sympathetically, pityingly as if at his short-sightedness, and said, "Oliver. We go horse-tradin' to Kentucky, reg'lar. Boston wa'n't gonna stop us."

Oliver dropped his gaze in defeat, but then forced himself to face them again, however difficult it was."You fellers know I'm the captain's first mate. That means...."

"We know what it means," Buck said coolly and clearly. "It means we'll have to bide our time. We cain't jest jump you in front o' the captain and crew."

"Well, I sure 'nough ain't goin' nowheres alone with you-all, on or off ship," Oliver vowed firmly. He was beginning to feel light-headed at the danger of their presence, and yet at the temporary safety of so many sailor-witnesses. It was a heady contrast of sensations.

Mill-wheel smiled a superior, knowing smile. "We're patient. Don't fret. We've got it figgered out how to git to you."

A chill ran down Oliver's spine that he sought to suppress, or at least to conceal.

Presently, he sighed heavily, and said, "I still cain't hardly b'lieve you-all come all this way, after me."

"Well, we figgered you'd got a leetle shy 'bout comin' to us, seein' as we laid a trap for you in Volusia, and you ain't stepped in it," Mill-wheel remarked.

Oliver looked confused.

He went on, "And we'd been so sure a house fire'd lure you to us."

Oliver blinked, and almost physically stumbled, quickly catching hold of the railing behind him, to steady himself. Then, he murmured with feeling, "You mean.... Jody told me the truth that night."

They regarded him quizzically, also clearly somewhat irked at the involvement of the Baxters again.

Oliver dropped his gaze. "Ma lied to me. She told me you-all ain't done it." He instantly realized, "She lied to protect me."

"From comin' after us," Buck agreed. "We was layin' for you."

Oliver shivered hard, before he could even think to try to suppress it. They grinned. He steeled himself, and requested, "Please fellers. Leave me be."

"After comin' all this way? Not likely." Arch smirked.

"You...aim to kill me, ...don't you?"

"Sure," confirmed Lem. "Finish what we started."

Oliver tried to appear nonchalant. "You gonna shoot me?"

Pack wore a knowing grin. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? Nice and quick."

"No sich luck," Lem said, unmistakably sadistically.

Now, Oliver was trembling visibly, and unable to hide it. He tried desperately, "Safer for you-all iffen you jest shoot me: quicker means you got a better chance o' gittin' away."

Buck laughed softly. "Don't fret 'bout us."

Mill-wheel, too, was amused, and commented sardonically, "Nice o' you to be so worried 'bout us, but we got it all figgered out, so no need to fret on our account."

"No!" Oliver whispered in despair, closing his eyes in misery.

All six of the formidable men grinned broadly at him, and Buck said, "But we'll leave you be...for now." They disappeared back into the night.

Oliver clung to the rail and fought for control. It wouldn't do for the ship's first mate to be seen crying on the way to his cabin.

When at last he felt that he was in no danger of disgracing himself, he went quickly and directly to his cabin, and, with shaking hands, carefully locked the door behind him.

Oliver lay in his bunk, trying vainly to find enough calm to sleep. He had finally nearly dropped off, when a hand clamped securely over his mouth. The owner of the hand hissed at him, "Don't scream." Oliver was struggling frantically to do just that, but the attacker, like all Forresters, had an iron grip. The man rose from beneath Oliver's bunk, and Oliver saw that it was Gabby.

"Shut up," the shortest, but still frightening, Forrester told him harshly. "You ain't gonna git it tonight, so no use yellin'."

Slowly, Oliver nodded his compliance. Gabby gradually released him and straightened to his still rather impressive height. He looked Oliver over for a moment, and then turned and unlocked the cabin door. The other five Forresters filed into the room. Oliver involuntarily tugged the covers up higher around his neck.

"What...? Why...?? Iffen you ain't gonna hurt me tonight, then...???"

Lem feigned nonchalance. "We aim to give you a chance to beg us for mercy...on your knees."

"But...you said...ain't no way out, ...so what's the point???"

Lem shrugged carelessly. "Oh, who knows? Maybe it'll make some diff'rence. You don't wanta bother?"

Oliver eyed his nemesis. He knew that he had to try. And clearly Lem knew that Oliver knew that he had to try. The Forresters' evident wish for Oliver to humiliate himself, likely pointlessly, was infuriating, but to refuse to even make the effort would be gravely foolish.

Oliver sniffed and pushed down the covers, suddenly shy. He slept naked, and didn't want to display himself, but the Forresters seemed not to care one way or the other. He slid from the bunk and dropped to his knees.

He begged eloquently, and held nothing back. In various phrasings, he admitted to being "afraid," "frightened," and "scared." He begged variously for "mercy," "pity," and to be "spared." He "begged," "pleaded," and "implored." Without outsider witnesses, he allowed the tears to flow. When at last he raised his eyes again to their faces, he could scarcely see them, for the flood of tears.

Lem, of course, was hardened against him, regardless, but he sensed a slight, tender sympathy from Buck and Mill-wheel. The others, he could not read at all. The Forresters acknowledged his efforts with nods, and then left his cabin without further comment.

Oliver sighed heavily, and then, giddy, felt his way carefully back into his bunk. He didn't even bother to re-lock the door.

The ship stopped at a small port to take on large cargo. No other sailors were needed; the six Forresters formed an efficient and vastly powerful relay together, pitching big heavy boxes from one to the next, aboard and into the hold, as if the contents weighed nothing at all. They saw Oliver staring at them, and at their bulging muscles, from where he stood on the upper deck, and they favored him with unsavory grins. The first mate didn't even bother to look away; there was no point; after last night in his cabin, everything was out in the open now between him and them.

The captain appeared beside him. "Raw recruits, they are, but strong as bulls. They serve well."

"They are my mortal enemies, Captain," Oliver heard himself saying.

"What's that?" His superior clearly wasn't sure that he'd heard correctly.

"Remember I mentioned to you once that I had bitter enemies at home, and that I could never safely return there?"

"Yes...."

"That's them."

The older man stared, from the six, back to Oliver. "All the way from Florida! How'd they track you down?"

"I have no idea. But they'll kill me iffen they kin ketch me alone."

The captain was floored. "Oh, ...certainly not! Maybe just...rough you up a little."

"That they've a'ready done, and not a leetle, a heap. But no, they mean me the worst. They reminded me agin last night."

Flabbergasted, the captain just stared.

Lem caught Oliver's eye just then, and the hostility in the dark eyes jolted Oliver's heart. And his heart kept on jolting. The blond's hand rose to press his chest, and then, with a grimace, he soundlessly crumpled to the deck.

The ship's captain and two armed guards stood outside of the closed infirmary door when the Forresters approached.

"What happened to the first mate? We seed him keel over," asked one of the burly men.

"You can drop the act," said the commanding officer tersely.

"Captain?" inquired the man.

"I am aware that you mean harm to my first mate. Now, I admit that you're good workers, the best, in fact. But that doesn't entitle you to make any mischief aboard my ship."

They gazed back at him sullenly, no longer concealing the secret that they no longer had.

"So there's no point in you pretending that you care. And you won't be permitted to see him while he's convalescing."

"But what happened to him?" insisted a bearded man in clearly genuine curiosity.

The captain studied the man carefully, and then apparently decided that there was no harm in answering the question. "He suffered a mild heart attack."

The Forresters exchanged meaningful looks, which the captain easily interpreted.

"And if you're wondering whether you're to blame for his attack, it's very possible. We can't know for sure, of course, but your threats to him certainly didn't help. Now, these armed guards aren't going anywhere. For as long as Mr. Hutto is in the infirmary, they will remain right here, and if you men make any attempt to go near him, they have orders to shoot if necessary."

The captain reluctantly entered crew quarters that night and approached the Forresters. "Which one of you is Buck?"

"I am," said one of the giants, as he rose from his seat on a bunk. No one was asleep yet; it was still another hour until lights-out would be in effect.

The captain drew himself up and declared, "I can't say that I approve of this, but the patient has asked to see you. Just you," he emphasized. "Not the rest of you," he addressed to the other Forresters, as a few smirked in response to Oliver's surprising request. He further clarified, "You won't be alone with the first mate; there will be an armed guard inside the room at all times."

"I'll not hurt him," Buck volunteered readily. "Even iffen the guard ain't there. I'll not hurt a feller who's ailin'."

The captain blinked at the big man, surprised by the decent declaration. "Let's go," he said simply.

Buck sat in the chair beside Oliver's bed.

The blond was pale and weak. "Thanks for comin'," he murmured feebly.

"Sure," Buck acknowledged evenly.

"Buck, do you hate me? Truly hate??"

"No," he answered easily.

"And the others? Not Lem, the rest?"

Buck thought for only a moment, and then shook his head. "None o' the others neither. Jest Lem."

"So, ...th'other five o' you-all're jest goin' along with him, out o' loyalty."

"That's right."

"Have I ever really done anythin' all that turrible? 'Sides agreein' with Lem that Twink is lovable?"

Buck chuckled slightly. "Yeah, when you put it that-a-way, I reckon you and Lem jest got too much in common."

"Yes, that, and I started that fight; I throwed the first punch."

Buck was shaking his head. "That don't matter. We fight amongst ourselves all the time. So once agin, that jest meant you fit right in." His eyes twinkled slightly.

"Somethin' else we got in common: we both like the Baxters."

"True 'nough."

Oliver changed tactics. "You remember when we was all young uns: you-all was teenagers, and I was jest a leetle feller?"

"Course."

"And you-all played real nice with me at the doin's and I loved it."

Buck's agreement there was conditional. "Your ma ain't loved it none."

"No," he admitted softly, and then fervently added, "I so wish she ain't takened me away from you-all!"

Buck confessed reluctantly, "I reckon she feared we'd play too rough and hurt you."

"Yes. That was it. But she riled you-all. And your ma. So then, by the next Christmas, your ma had you-all convinced that I didn't want to play with you."

"Well. We was jest young fellers then, and couldn't figger out your ma for ourselves."

"Yes. But I was so disappointed. I liked you-all a heap. I wanted to play with you. And I wanted to be your friend. And Ma ruined it, and made us enemies, and we didn't need to be. She didn't mean no harm, but the damage was done."

Buck sighed. "Oliver, where is all this goin'?"

Oliver took a deep breath. "Do you really want to kill me? Really?? And then all o' you end up in jail, or hanged for it?"

Buck looked rueful. "I figger you a'ready know the answer to that."

"So? It's jest loyalty. Is it worth it? Am I worth it?? Ruin all your lives???"

Buck sighed again. "So now what? You figger I kin go back to my brothers and talk 'em out o' this?"

Oliver replied carefully, "Iffen you only talk to 'em one at a time, maybe. Start with Mill-wheel first, I think...."

"Oliver...."

"Lem last, o' course."

"Oliver...."

"Please? Please! I meant the beggin'. I'm glad you-all gave me the chance to beg. I meant every word. And the fear of you-all burns like a fire in my gut. You-all hit too hard. It hurts too much. Please!!" He dared to reach and take Buck's hand in his. Tears clung to his lashes.

Buck appeared both exasperated and torn.

"You-all hurted me so turrible bad in that fight. It takened me months to recover. Cain't that jest be my punishment?? And then you don't have to do it agin???"

Buck made a slight move to withdraw the hand, but Oliver hung on, and Buck didn't insist.

"Help me! I beg you, help me!!"

"Oliver, take it easy. 'Fore you give yourself another heart attack."

"You keer?" he asked hopefully, but then he sagged. "Or you jest don't want Lem should miss his chance to kill me hisself?" He sniffed.

Buck eyed him in mild frustration.

Oliver hastily backpedaled, saying, "I'm sorry! I ain't tryin' to rile you."

"I know," Buck admitted, and then sighed again.

Naturally, the other Forresters were eager to hear about Buck's meeting with Oliver. Buck made no attempt to honor Oliver's request that he speak to his brothers one at a time, but he told them everything, including that request. Some of them chuckled a bit, and all of them shook their heads.

Mill-wheel remarked, "Dogged iffen he don't make it seem like he ain't done nothin' too turrible to deserve what we got in mind."

Lem muttered ruefully, "And he sure done a good job o' makin' me the 'evil one,' and the rest o' you-all jest goin' along with me."

"You fellows have messed up my first mate, and badly," the captain told them, nearly a full week later.

"We ain't touched him," Lem protested.

"No, you've just about scared him to death. His heart is quite weakened. He can't work anymore. He can barely stand up; he most likely can't do this job ever again. But we won't be back to Boston for months, so we can't return him to his wife and mother. However, our next port is Jacksonville. That's as close as we ever get to your area, I believe. We could at least drop off the bunch of you. Now, if only you fellows could be trusted to take him home. Would you really harm an invalid?"

"We would not," Buck assured him. "Trouble is, we cain't jest take him home and keep him. That'd never work."

"Dump him on the Baxters," Lem suggested callously. "They think so much of him."

Mill-wheel followed the thought, "And leave them figger out how to git word to his ma and...her." He glanced regretfully at Lem.

Buck sat next to Oliver and explained to him the agreement that the captain had made with the Forresters, but kindly left it up to Oliver to choose whether or not he could stand to trust the men enough to transport him from Jacksonville to Volusia, and then on to the scrub.

Oliver hesitated, but then, as he had done before, he reached for Buck's hand and took it in his own.

Buck smiled gently. "Why do you keep wantin' to do that?"

Oliver's blue eyes searched Buck's black ones. "To connect. To remind you, I'm jest as human as you-all."

"I do know that, Oliver."

"Don't hurt me," he implored quietly.

"We'll not. We figger enough o' that's been done."

On the long road back to Volusia in the rented wagon, Lem grumbled, "We follered him to Boston to git rid of him. Now we're stuck with him forever."