Pirates of Tortuga Page #4

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- [Growling]

- [Yells]

I'll wage you 10 pieces of eight

on the slave, milord.

Always an eye

for the big muscles, eh?

[Yells]

Go on! Get him!

[Shouts]

If he wins,

can I have him?

Which one,

the man or the bear?

[Laughing]

You ain't

won yet, my love.

Get him!

[Laughing]

Ten pieces of eight,

Lola, my girl.

That's the Morgan luck

for you.

From what the Ogeron reports,

someone's drawn the barracuda's teeth.

A milksop merchantman.

The Mermaid.

- We boarded her and walked into a trap.

- Aye. That it was, Sir Henry.

As bloodthirsty a crew

as any in the brotherhood.

They was in hiding and jumped us.

Cut us down before we had a chance.

And yet left you alive

to come slinking back here...

to Tortuga with your tails

between your legs.

Aye, with a message

from the captain of the Mermaid.

King of the ocean,

he calls himself.

He said to tell you that he'd take

the booty he filched off us...

and sell it at

the marketplace atJamaica.

And then he'd come back again

for another cargo.

We gonna let this king of the ocean

do this to us, my love?

You blasted idiot! I've a mind

to sling you up from your own yardarm...

for letting this mountebank

slip through my blockade.

King of the ocean, eh?

Well, we'll soon see how long

he keeps his crown.

- Could by one of Morgan's ships.

- Nah, her flag is British.

A British ship.

Fat with cargo by the looks of her.

How did she slip

through the blockade?

- Make fast fore and aft.

- Here, lad. Catch this line.

Green lines out.

Standby to take

a line there.

Make fast mooring lines,

fore and aft!

Well, Jamaica seems

mighty pleased to see us, Bart.

They'll be a lot happier

when they see the supplies

we've got in our hold for 'em.

Make that forward line

a little tighter.

Percy, I'd better get those

bills of lading ashore...

before these good citizens

attack us.

- Take charge.

- All right.

- Stealing?

- No, just looking.

It's beautiful.

Must be worth a fortune

since you keep it so special.

It's worth more than money.

It's my mother's.

Morgan's men overlooked it when they

boarded the ship she was sailing on.

Did-Did your mother

escape, Bart?

My mother was still

a beautiful woman.

Morgan carried her

to Tortuga.

She died there.

It cuts deep, don't it?

I think it won't be long before I settle

accounts with Henry Morgan.

- [Reggie] The merchants

are getting impatient.

- Coming!

You can, uh, keep that

finery you're wearing.

Oh, l...

I couldn't. Really.

But however...

Oh, uh, sail clear

of butchers armed with cleavers.

With love to Lady Margaret.

I'm thinking you'll be

coming after me, Captain Bart.

- Say, who's captain of this ship?

- I am.

My name's Randolph.

Buy and sell everything.

Biggest merchant in the colony.

- Stevens here. Tailor.

- Did you bring any cloth?

Jason. Shoemaker.

I need leather badly.

Hawkins here. I'm a baker.

Did you bring any flour?

You'll all get a chance to bid on our

cargo as soon as it's cleared Customs.

I'll handle that for you.

Buy your whole cargo at your price...

- and take care of Customs

out of my own pocket.

- Out of our pocket, you mean.

- When we have to come to you to buy it.

- Give us a chance to bid.

[Men]

Yes, give us a chance to bid, Captain.

[Randolph] You'll find Jamaica near

starvation thanks to our governor here.

- Is this your ship, sir?

- The Mermaid, out of London.

Captain Paxton.

- Percival SmytheJones, my mate.

- At your service, sir.

And I'm Sir Thomas Modyford,

royal governor ofJamaica.

Captain, yours is the first ship

to make its way through

Morgan's blockade in months.

Our own merchants refuse

to send their ships out of this harbor.

To lose them

to the pirates?

They'll rest safer

in port, thank you.

The pirates gave you

no trouble, sir?

None we weren't

prepared for.

It appears you came through

without a scratch.

A few bites. But Montbars, the

barracuda, came off the worse for it.

Captain Paxton here had more luck

than your flotilla, Sir Thomas.

Morgan's ships jumped my fleet

before the wind had caught the sails.

They have an efficient

spy system here in Jamaica.

I thought it was England's policy

to keep hands offTortuga.

Paper policy

may do for London, sir.

But it is not mine to cringe under

piracy without striking a blow.

Let's get down to business.

If you'll just give me

your bills of lading, Captain.

Sir Thomas, as a merchant

I must turn a profit...

but I'll not trade

on human misery.

I'll be grateful if you'd

accept the responsibility...

for seeing to it that

my cargo's distributed at a fair price.

- Gladly, but...

- It seems the quickest way...

to get it to those

who need it the most.

I promise you speed

and fair dealing, sir.

And I promise

you're a fool, Captain.

As soon as we've dropped cargo,

we'll set sail...

and try and get another

shipload through to you.

You're a brave man, Captain Paxton.

Generous and brave.

I hope my luck holds.

- Thank you, Captain.

- Thank you, Captain.

Gentlemen, your help will

be appreciated to set a fair value...

on Captain Paxton's

merchandise.

- That we will, sir.

- We will, sir.

I shall clear this with

the Customs inspector at once.

Sir Thomas, excepting for one flaw,

you'd be a first-class governor.

You trust people.

Has it crossed your mind that this man

Paxton may be one of Morgan's men?

Does it seem reasonable

that one of Morgan's spies...

would go to that length

to gain our confidence?

Highly reasonable.

When only one ship in almost a year...

has gotten past

Morgan's blockade...

and her captain can hardly

wait to put back to sea.

I, for one, would like to know

something more about him...

before I give him

my full trust.

Good day, Sir Thomas.

- Meg, I hear you're leaving us.

- So the captain has told me.

But what are you

going to do in Jamaica?

I might return to

my career in the theater.

Here. Here's a sovereign,

just to help tide you over.

And here's another.

A lady should have money in her purse.

Thank you, sirs.

Welcome toJamaica, milady.

Can we be of any service?

Well, I'd like

to find an inn.

To be sure. To be sure.

Johnson, fetch a carriage.

Follow me, milady.

We shall start the distribution of

these goods first thing in the morning.

[Meg Screaming]

[Meg Grunting]

- Down that street! Hurry!

- [Screaming Continues]

Let go!

[Screams]

Help me get this lady

to the carriage.

The doctor said she'd be unconscious

for several hours yet.

There's no need for you to remain,

Thomas. I'll stay with her.

Thank you, Phoebe.

Lovely.

I wonder who

she could be.

Patience, Thomas.

The girl will tell us

soon enough.

I've seen more cheerful faces

dangling from a gallows.

It's just that,

well...

something's missing.

Yeah.

Little Meg.

I don't know. The ship

seems sort of... empty without her.

Quieter too.

It was a cruel thing,

Bart...

to set a poor, defenseless creature

adrift in a strange port.

Don't you worry about Meg.

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