Pirates of the Caribbean 03 The Pirate Chase

The Pirate Chase

The Pirate Chase (Pirates of the Caribbean: Jack Sparrow #3)

Rob Kidd

Captain's Log:

Having recently defeated some most vicious (and most beautiful) mermaids--agents of the legendary Sirens--we set sail in the hope of finishing up our quest to procure the legendary Sword of Cortes, a sword with unimaginable power. Once the sheath and the sword are united, the power of the sword shoots from unimaginable to godlike. I expertly ascertained that the sheath belonging to that sword--a sheath which the crew of the mighty Barnacle happens to currently possess--must be able to somehow lead us to the sword itself. I gracefully set the sheath on the deck of our great ship, and it spun around like a compass needle, pointing toward an island very likely, in my opinion, to be Isla Fortuna. At least, in the general direction, no doubt. After all, how could an enchanted sheath steer us wrong? It won't be long before the Sword of Cortes is back in that sheath--and all of its power is in the hands of the mighty Captain Ja [crossed out] Barnacle's crew! Our only obstacle is the notorious, vicious pirate Leftfoot Louis.He should be an easy adversary to overcome, however, given our track record defeating roaring sea beasties and pirates who control storms.

CHAPTER ONE

"See, I told you!" Jack Sparrow proclaimed from the prow of the Barnacle as the misty green shape of an island became clear on the horizon. "The sheath's led us straight to Isla Fortuna." He bowed. "No applause necessary," he continued despite the fact that no one had clapped, "stow it till we have the Sword in hand."Just days before, the sheath to the fabled Sword of Corte
s had fallen to the deck of the

Barnacle and acted as a compass, pointing the crew somewhere. Jack guessed Isla Fortuna. Legend had it that once the Sword and sheath were united, the already powerful Sword would become invincible!"Oh, come on, Jack. Ye're mad. Sure, the sheath has led us straight to an island," Arabella, Jack's trusted first mate said, folding her arms. The sea breeze tugged at her tousled auburn hair. "We don't yet know which island. And, if it is Isla Fortuna, how do we know the Sword is there?""You're splitting hairs, chere," said Jean, a young sailor that Jack's crew had picked up on Isla Esqueletica, the very first island they visited on their adventure. Jean stood next to Jack at the very prow of the Barnacle, gazing at the island in the distance. Sea foam splashed at his feet."It does
n't matter if this is where the
Sword is. The sheath wants us to go to this island, so it has to be important for some reason, non?"Jean's friend Tumen, an equally great sailor and expert navigator, who had also been rescued from Isla Esqueletica by the Barnacle, added, "Jean is right. Where else could that sheath be leading us but somewhere related to the Sword?""Perhaps it is leading us to somewhere terrible," the aristocratic runaway Fitzwilliam P. Dalton III pointed out. "If the sheath really were cursed, it could be pointing us straight to our doom."Some people just couldn't take an enchanted sheath pointing toward an island for the obvious stroke of good luck it was. Annoying, in Jack's opinion.Jack stepped up and sighed. "You're all wrong. We
are going the right way. We are
about to find the Sword and, in the unlikely event that we are, in fact, headed into danger and not to the Sword itself, well, I say it's about time somebody--anybody--on this crew had a proper sense of adventure!"Arabella sneered. "Trust me, Jack. Anybody who sails with ye is willing to take risks." Jack smiled proudly, "Why thank you, mate," he responded.Jack took the ship's wheel firmly in hand and steered the Barnacle straight toward the island and whatever it held in store for the crew. With the wind snapping the sails and the Barnacle dancing on the waves, Jack thought he no doubt made a fine picture of a ship's captain--worthy of a painting.Then, Jack stumbled as Constance, the ship's resident girl-turned-cat, wound herself around his ankles, her tail curling up his boot.
"Jean, get this blasted cat "My sister!" Jean snapped, “the
feline in question off my boots," Jack said.Jean shook his head, looking down fondly at the purring cat. Jean was the only one in the crew who was ever so adoring toward the ragged, ill-tempered beast. This made sense, as Jean insisted that the beast in question was his sister under a mystic's curse."I could pull her away," Jean said, shrugging, "but what good would it do? Soon she would return."
Jean sighed. "I think she li
kes you," he said in a singsong tone to Jack, blowing mocking kisses at his captain.Jack sneered back at Jean and his half-cat
sister-thing.Within a few minutes, the island was close enough for the crew to make out details: the
high mountains in the distance
and the many palm trees on the coastline. Arabella grabbed Fitzwilliam's spyglass and surveyed the coastline."Jack, ye were right when ye guessed that the sheath was pointing to the Sword-- whether this island be Isla Fortuna or not," Arabella said, her face as serious as Jack had ever seen it.
"Thank you," Jack said flatly, grabbing the spyglass from her and surveying the island himself. "And what, pray tell, finally convinced you of my great, underestimated wisdom?""Nothing. But now I believe in th
e sheath's magic. Because that
" She raised her hand to the horizon, her finger pointing at fluttering white outlines of sails."--that is the
Cutlass. “Left
-Foot Louis's ship?" Fitzwilliam said, leaning so far
over the railing that he was in
danger of falling overboard. Jack resisted the urge to boot Fitzwilliam in the aristocratic rear and help the process along. "How can you be certain?""See the flag? The skull and crossbones of the Jolly Roger are scarlet instead of white-- that's him. That's his symbol." Arabella hugged herself, looking sad and uncomfortable.Jack adjusted the spyglass to better see the Cutlass. Arabella's sharp eyes had not failed her. The blood-red skull appeared to be laughing eerily, as the flag flapped in the wind. A few figures moved about on deck-- Louis's crew--all busy with something or other.This was good news, as far as Jack was concerned. Left-Foot Louis was a notorious pirate. Evil and deranged--at best. But the crew als
o suspected that Louis had the
powerful Sword of Cortes in his possession. And the crew wanted the Sword of Cortes badly--to keep its power out of the hands of pirates, and to experience the freedom that power would bring."Sails down," Jack commanded, tucking the spyglass into his belt so that he could steer the ship eastward. "We need to make ourselves a little less conspicuous."Jean smirked. "I never thought I would hear you say you wanted to be less conspicuous, Jack.""Okay then," Jack said, "why don't we just send up smoke signals, alert them to our presence and invite them aboard for high tea?"Tumen and Jean nodded quickly and shuffled across the deck. They had crossed Louis once before. The pirate had sworn to kill t
hem both and skin Constance the next time around.
"No, there's really no need to see that brute or his crew again," Jean said."Aye, we'll see him again," Arabella said quietly. "But not until we're ready.""I like your style," Jack said, winking at her.Jack steered the Barnacle toward the island's main port, Puerto San Judas. The crew was tense as the Barnacle slipped away from the Cutlass, and even Jack felt a little stir of dread. Not that he couldn't lick Louis in a fair fight any day of the week, but the Cutlass had cannons. Large ones. Lots of them. The Barnacle was little more than a fishing boat. That sort of thing skewed the odds in Louis's favor.As soon as they rounded the sandy cove of Isla Fortuna, and palm trees finally hid the----
-
As Jean and Tumen told the
crew in
Barnacle entirely, the crew breathed a collective sigh of relief. Jean and Tumen grinned at one another, and even Fitzwilliam's stiff spine seemed to relax a little.Arabella was the one crew member who didn't relax. She stared into the swaying palms as though she could still see the scarlet skull of Louis's Jolly Roger. Jack wondered if she had somehow missed the part where he had cleverly steered them from danger."No use in worrying," Jack said. "We'll be docked in Puerto San Judas in no time.""Food . . ." Jean said, his face lighting up with a dreamy smile. "Ah, if only we can find some good shrimp etouffee--""First, we find an inn," Tumen said, shifting his back. "This deck is hard. Beds are soft.""No. First we s
peak to the local constabulary
about Louis." Fitzwilliam nodded vigorously and straightened his grand coat which, despite his numerous adventures, always seemed to be in pristine shape. "They cannot be aware that such a despicable character lingers so close to their town. For surely they would have taken steps to arrest him immediately."Jack picked up Fitzwilliam's spyglass again to get a good look at Puerto San Judas, which was already taking shape on the far horizon of the island's cove. Then he lowered the spyglass and blinked hard. He looked again in disbelief. Finally, he handed the glass to Jean and said, "Tell me how many ships you see in the
harbour
."Jean peered through the spyglass for a very long time before he answered. "None.
So? “Jack
folded his arms. "Dunno, mate. It just seems odd
that a port town on any island
in the Caribbean would be free of ships.""Is
la Fortuna is a small island. Difficult to find," Jean pointed out. "Not everybody is as good at navigating as me and Tumen," he said proudly. "Maybe all the ships are lost out at sea looking for it."

"Then that makes us a touch above the rest, doesn't it?" Jack grinned. "Including especially this vessel's illustrious captain?"

"And let's not forget the sheath, which pointed us directly to this island," Arabella reminded the
boys. “Well
," Jack said, quickly changing the subject, "if we're the only customers they've got, we can expect a king's welcome." With the Cutlass out of sight, he felt it safe to give his command: "Raise sails and pull into port!"

"Aye, aye!" Jean crowed, and
he and Tumen set to work.
As the Barnacle docked, the kingly welcome didn't materialize. Not even a princely welcome. No welcome at all, if you wanted to be precise about it. Even as the crew tied the Barnacle to the pier, no one appeared to demand a fee, write down the crewmembers' names, or offer them
wares. Every
dusty old road was completely
deserted. “This
is too quiet," Jean said. Constance's
grey
fur stood on end, and she hissed at the silent town.Arabella whispered, "Something terrible happened here. Louis--did he--"Jack shook his head. "Hasn't been any kind of a fight, love. No broken windows, no bullet holes in the walls. No fires. Left-Foot Louis leaves his mark on a town, as Jean and Tumen ca
n testify. “The
two friends nodded uncomfortably in
agreement. “Look
," Fitzwilliam said, pointing at a nearby shop. "The butcher--he is open for business. And the apothecary, too. Not a locked door in the place." Relieved, they all rushed toward the markets--but they were all empty of people. Yet the dairy offered fresh milk, the butcher's displayed recently sliced ham, and the fishmonger still had a barrelful of very fresh catfish flapping about, waiting to be sold."All these items had to be put out this morning," Jean said. "No earlier than that. But now, the people who set up these shops are nowhere to be found."A shiver ran through Arabella. "It's as if they vanished, very suddenly, by a great fo
rce and without warning."

CHAPTER TWO

The crew wandered through the silent roads of Puerto San Judas, staring at the deserted shops and alleyways. None of them could quite believe their eyes. Arabella was right. It was as though every person who lived there had disappeared in an instant, leaving everything around them completely untouched. The whole town was snatched up--but
how? Jack
glanced at the members of his crew, who a
ll looked extremely uneasy. He
needed to steady everyone's nerves, and
fast. “Nice
and quiet here, isn't it?" Jack asked, realizing that perhaps his question wasn't the best solution to his crew's jitters."This must be a town of ghosts," Tumen replied. Arabella's eyes went wide. In the magically cursed Caribbean, a town of ghosts was not beyond comprehension.It was Jean who snapped out of the frightened daze first. As the crew walked past an inn, Jean stood up straight and sniffed the air. Then he breathed out a long, loud sigh and began stumbling inside."Is he quite all right?" Fitzwilliam gaped at him. "He acts like a man possessed!""No one here is possessed!" Jack shouted dismissively, hoping to turn the conversation away from ghosts and demons.But when the crew ran toward Jean, they quickly discov
ered that he was possessed, in
a way. But it wasn't a mystical being that had done it ... he was bending over a bubbling pot of deeply aromatic soup. "Gumbo!" he whispered, as reverent as a priest in church. "Seafood gumbo, just the way I like it. Ah, c'est merveilleux!""Ought to have known you'd lose your mind over food," Jack grumbled. Then he took a deep whiff of the spicy scent of the gumbo. At that moment, it occurred to him just how hungry he really was. "Don't suppose there's enough for all of us?""Most days, this would be enough for twice as many," Tumen declared, staring down into the pot. "Today, with five very hungry people--maybe just enough."Arabella snatched the bowls from the shelves and began serving up helpings just as quickly as she used to po
ur grog at the Faithful Bride.
"There's even enough here for Constance, if she likes." Arabella said.Constance had never been fond of Arabella, and this small offering didn't change that. The cat simply hissed at Arabella and jumped up on the bar near Jack, who had instantly gone to work on his bowl. Jean petted Constance's back and said apologetically, "Don't mind her. My sister was never big on gumbo. It was always steak tartare for her, or nothing at all!"