Far Tortuga (40 page)
Authors: Peter Matthiessen
Weak light from the stove fire casts Raib’s face in a poor color; his mouth hangs wide but his windburnt eyes are tight.
You never heard me tellin Vemon dat I don’t stand for none of dat aboard of here?
Slowly Will gets to his feet; Byrum, Speedy, Wodie remain squatted. Buddy, perched upon the rail, is outlined on the night shine from the shore. Then Byrum, rising, picks the old conch shell from the scuppers, tosses it once on his big hand, and hurls it out into the night.
Triumphant, drunken, he confronts the Captain.
Copm Raib, de voyage done. You lost three de crew, and now it done.
The Captain stands expressionless, without movement.
Byrum holds out a red plastic cup. Slowly Raib’s hand extends and takes it. Byrum pours rum into the cup, grinning at Raib as the rum overflows and pours onto Raib’s hand.
Got enough, old mon?
The Captain is silent. Byrum, snorting, turns his back on him, sitting down again among the men.
Raib stands there, broad face in a mask. Then he drinks off half a cup, gasps, coughs, starts to laugh, stops short. The men watch him. For one instant, he looks bewildered, studying the cup.
Dis cup stink like hell, de plastic in it. In times gone back we used to have dem good old blue tin coffee cups …
He is silent again as Byrum laughs. Taking rum into his mouth, he holds it a moment, then spits on Byrum’s feet.
Mon dat drink dis log’red piss has got no self-respect.
He tosses the red cup overboard and moves aft toward the deck-house.
You finished, Copm Raib, know dat, old mon? YOU FINISHED!
Midnight.
Low murmuring. A cough.
One
A.M
.
Black rain squalls to eastward of the cay, black upon black. High in the dark, pale terns circle the masthead, their cries piercing the wind creak of the ship. Ashore, black figures fall across the firelight; the fire flares and dies.
By the
Eden
’s galley, sparks blow from a loose cigarette.
Mon, mon. What could dey be doin over dere!
Dis a bad night. See dat black water?
Yah, mon, dat tiger down dere somewhere.
Where dat Wodie get to? Gone below?
Don’t know, mon. (
spits
) Domn fuckin Jonah.
Wodie okay, y’know. Nice fella. He just kind of fufu.
Dogwatch.
The Captain comes, unseen.
Throw dat boat overboard! I goin ashore!
Huh? All by yourself?
I ain’t sailin without Copm Andrew’s knife!
Copm, it no good to fly up now! You askin to get dat knife back in de belly!
Lower de boat, I tellin you!
Speedy and Byrum get slowly to their feet; they do not help Buddy and Will swing the boat over the rails.
Watch dat—HOLD HER OFF!
The catboat smacks onto the sea, and the short chop heaves it back against the hull with a hollow
boom
.
Now Byrum sways unsteadily before the Captain.
So you abondonin dis vessel without no pilot and without no kind of crew, in time of storm, with bad reefs all around dis place—s’pose dey knifin you in dere?
boom
Why den, de best thing, Byrum, de
best
thing to do, boy, is notify de Union! Yah, mon! Call de seaman’s union! Ask dem what to do (
shouts
) ON DE BLEAK OCEAN!
Speedy points at Will and Buddy. He looks sleepy.
Dem two takin you ashore? (
softly
) You ready to get dem two killed just cause you sick of life?
And leavin only three aboard de vessel? We
never
get dat anchor up!
Raib starts to speak, stops; he turns toward the rail.
Get out de way, Will. I take her in myself.
You ain’t goin dere alone.
Dass right, Papa!
Will? (
gently
) You a goddom idiot, know dat, Will?
Speedy has moved between Will and the rail; he puts light finger-tips on Will’s chest.
Ain’t
no
crew goin down into dat boat, Mist’ Will. Maybe Doddy dere got nothin to lose, but I got fifty-five acres, mon, and cows. I goin home.
Speedy! You been drinkin!
Raib watches both through squinted eyes; he is not quite smiling. When Will picks up a marlin spike, Speedy taps his knife.
Mist’ Will? I fast, mon. Very very fast.
To disobey de Coptin, dat is mutiny!
I ain’t disobeyed de Coptin. Not yet, anyways.
All wait for Raib, who is gazing at the cay.
Okay den, darlins, put dat rum away. Get set to sail.
Byrum howls.
In de
night
time? You sayin yourself dat Misteriosa Reefs ain’t no place to navigate in de night!
Well, speakin fair now, I de one mon left in de Cayman Islands dat would try it. But if dis crew ain’t too domn drunk, I believe I manage it.
Can’t wait till first light?
Shit!
On the cay, wild shapes move back and forth across the firelight.
We could lose dis vessel between dis time and first light. I ain’t sailin before daybreak less dey force me to it, but we gots to be ready for no motter what—don’t hear dem pirates?
You always tellin us dat
we
are stupid! But
you
de one told dem domn pan-heads dat Desmond would not come! And
you
de one called Brown a thief just when he try to help us!
Speedy casts a spray of rum across the rail.
Dem dreadlocks tell us dey be back. No tellin when.
Dey be back soon’s dey find out from Brown dat he can run dese engines.
The men look at one another. Then Speedy steps forward, hitching his pants; one by one, the others form a line. The Captain nods.
You a fine-lookin crew of fellas. (
sighs
) We ready? Where’s dat Wodie?
WODIE!
When you start de motors, Copm Raib, ride forward over de hook—save time dat way.
Ain’t gone to start no motors, Will.
Huh?
No, mon. (
laughs
) Winchin dat chain against dis wind might get you fellas sober. (
shakes his head
) No, mon. Got to feel my way—can’t do dat with motors. I got to listen to de sea fall on dem reefs to get my bearins, cause I sailin by remembrance—ain’t no moon.
So you takin dis schooner through night reefs with dem short masts and patchy sails and no goddom sea room, and no moon! Mon, dat is crazy!
Raib turns toward Byrum.
Dat is crazy, okay, if us six here thinks we can hondle maybe sixteen pan-heads like dem ones we seen tonight. (
pause
) Nothin more to say? Okay den, boy, de talkin time is done.
He walks up and down the deck.
Now maybe dey too drunk to come out after us, or maybe dey just drunk enough to try. But I believe dat dey will try, because dey desperate. Probably dey slip out here without dem outboards, take us by surprise, so I wants two men on watch.
What if—
DE TALKIN TIME IS DONE! (
resumes walking
) First thing, we winch dat chain right to de place where de anchor barely holdin, and de two on watch can slack her off a little if de vessel start to drag; den we unlash dem sails and clear de lines. After dat, we waits for daybreak light.
The fire ashore casts a glint on the black water.
Soon’s de hook is up, she gone to fall off by de head, but even with dis goddom wind, dere is plenty of reach before we would strike into de reefs, and in dat time we h’ist de sail and bear away to de sout’westward. (
pause
) I be up on de mast. Speedy take de helm, and mind you holler back loud whenever I yell de change of course. Will and Byrum managin de sheets—till you hears me sing out, let her run before de wind.
Wodie emerges from the fo’c’s’le; he stands entranced.
You okay, Wodie? You still with us? Cause I wants you to keep dat stove wood burnin so dey sees it good, right until dat hook is clear; den damp her down quick as if some mon had shut de galley door, so dey don’t see dat fire movin. Got dat? I say, Got dat?
Got dat, Jonah?
When Byrum smacks Wodie hard across the back, Speedy steps between them. Byrum is cursing.
Tonight you men are crewin on a sailin boat dat finds herself in a very ugly corner of de reefs. If dey any mon here dat don’t understand his job, den speak up now.
Speak up, den, you fuckin Jonah!
Papa? Where you want me, Papa?
Copm? How about dat boat? We take her back aboard?
No, mon. Leave her astern, and rig de other to de block and fall so’s we can throw her over quick, if de ship strike.
Raib looks once at each tense face.
I believe we make it okay, but it never hurt to have things ready. Soon’s de vessel under way, den Wodie and Buddy prepares stores and water for both dem boats. Okay? I make a crew out of you yet!
4
A.M
.
The crew is huddled by the galley. No man sleeps.
