Rapture of the Deep: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Soldier, Sailor, Mermaid, Spy (36 page)

I was finding it difficult to dislike this man.

The dinner dishes were cleared and more wine was poured.

"So, just where in the world is this 'scientific expedition'...Good Lord, is that Flashby over there? I never expected to see that particular blighter again. Last I heard of him was a splash as he went over the side of the
Belle of the Golden West.
Flashby! Come over here."

I looked over to see that Flashby had, indeed, entered the room and was startled to hear his name spoken. Upon recognizing Lord Allen, his face darkened, but he walked over to stand next to our table, his hands clasped behind him. Neither the Captain nor I stood up.

"Up to more nasty business, Flashby, eh, what?"

"I am here on His Majesty's business," replied Flashby, coldly.

"If you're involved, it's sure to be nasty, Flashbutt." It was plain that Allen was not at all worried about offending Flashby. It was equally plain that Flashby was furious ... and extremely uncomfortable. "I did not come here to be insulted, Mr. Allen," he said, his teeth clenched.

Captain Allen got to his feet and faced Flashby. "Then meet me at dawn. Name your second. Mr. Fletcher here will second me. And that's 'Lord Allen' to you, Flashby." There is silence from our table and from all near us, this being an outright challenge.

"I am forbidden from dueling in my current command," said Flashby, his nose in the air. "Perhaps some other time, my
Lord.
May I be excused from Your
Lordship's
presence? Good day, then."

Flashby turned on his heel and left the place, to a hum of conversation. A Royal Navy officer had refused a challenge—a serious loss of face...
and
a discredit to the Service, which does not go down well with those naval officers present, myself included. While I thoroughly enjoyed Flashby's humiliation, I did not like seeing the Service disgraced.

Allen sat back down. "Do you think he speaks the truth on that?"

"Yes, my Lor ... yes, Captain Allen. He is Second Mate on HMS
Dolphin
and I am Third Mate on the same ship. Had Captain Hudson not imposed his rule, I should have called Flashby out long ago. I will do so when the restrictions are lifted."

"Hmmm ... Well, don't expect that cowardly rascal to be around when that happens. He's a slippery bastard," said Allen. "So you've heard what he did to her?"

"If you mean that he repeatedly struck her and confined her in durance most vile? That he burned her leg and promised even more torture? Yes, if that's what you mean. If there was more, perhaps I do not want to hear of it."

"No. That was about the extent of it."

"She tells me you were instrumental in stopping the abuse, and for that I thank you."

"Ummm ... Well, rest assured that she dealt out far more than she received," he said, chuckling at the remembrance. "But tell me the name of your ship again."

"HMS Dolphin. Why do you ask?"

A smile spread across his features.

"And where is our girl and her 'scientific expedition'?"

"Off Key West. We will rendezvous in four days."

"Um. So she must be gathering very valuable specimens," he said, and then laughed. "Oh, this grows so very,
very
interesting!"

"But why...?"

"Because I, along with a squad of my men, have been assigned to your ship to guard something of great value." He lifted his glass to me. "We shall sail together, James Fletcher, and we will see just what our little friend is really up to."

Good Lord.

I'm tending to El Gringo over at the coop, handfeeding him shelled walnuts—figure he could use the oil the nuts got in them to glossy up his feathers some, and maybe put a little more weight on him, which can't hurt—and Jemimah's over at the breadboard, mixing up flour and water and forming up loaves for kneading, and the kids are pleading for the rest of the story.

"So you remember that Fox and Bear are still down in that trap?"

Both heads bob up and down.

"All right, then you'll recall that Brother Rabbit done sent off his boy to fetch Sister Beaver and her crew, and by 'n' by Miz Beaver come waddlin' up the path, with Brother Beaver and other of the Beaver Clan by her side.

"'What chew want, Brother Rabbit?' she say. 'We gots work t' do. Dams don't build demselves, y'know.'

"'Want some chewin' done, Sister,' says the rabbit, gettin' up and goin' over and puttin' his paw on a sweet gum tree that he had picked out. 'Now iffen you and Brother Beaver was to chew on dis side o' dis tree, it'll fall over dere and dat big ol' branch'll poke down into dat hole and doze Brothers'll be able to climb out.'

"Sister Beaver look down into de pit and say, 'Don't see de wisdom o' settin' doze two rascals free, but all right.'

"So she and her man commence to chawin' away, and by 'n' by the tree come down and the branch fall where it was supposed to and the fox and the bear was able to climb out, blinkin' in the sunlight.

"Brother Rabbit, not quite trustin' the conversion of Brother Fox and Brother Bear, take his child and head off down the hill and back to the rabbit shack.

"But Sister Rabbit, no, she stand her ground, as the newly freed fox and the bear tower over her, to test the strength of their promises, and maybe her own faith, too.

"'Today's Wednesday, Brothers. See you at Meetin'.' Then she tuck her Bible under her arm and hop off down the hill after her man and her boy. End of story."

There is silence for a bit and then Joannie asks, "What happened to those brothers after that? Did they keep their promises?"

"Well, child, Brother Bear, he go back to live with his mama, who give him a good spankin' for hangin' around with bad company like that Brother Fox and he promise never to do it again and he live out his life all happy, gettin' fat on eatin' berries and roots and apples and suchlike—but no bunnies, 'cause Brother Bear don't want to go to Hell for the breakin' of a promise to the Lord, nossir.

"And Brother Fox, he starts goin' to church and meetin's and soon he takes the Spirit into his heart and he put on the black hat and long frock coat and white collar of the preacher. Preacher Fox preaches all through the Big Woods and then goes to preachin' up and down the Big River and he got right famous and he never again ate another rabbit. End of story, back to work, both of you."

"Jemimah, do you mean that there ain't any more stories?" asks Daniel, a bit crestfallen.

"No, boy, I don't mean that at all. Y'see, when one wily fox step aside, another one will step up and take his place, and when one bear decide to lie back and smell the flowers, well, another mean old bear will come roarin' in, up to all sorts of rascality."

Jemimah chuckles deep in her throat. "And you can be sure there'll be one very smart rabbit on hand to confuse them both. Heh! No, Sister Girl and Brother Boy, the stories never end. Now back to work, both of you."

The kids scurry out and Jemimah brings her gaze to bear upon me.

"I hear things down below. Late at night. Things rustlin' about. Sets my mind to thinkin'...and what I think is, Brother Rabbit may be the smart one in the Big Woods, but you, girl, you somehow be the trickster in this here story. I knowit to be true."

I don't say anything to that, just continue to stroke Gringo's feathers as Jemimah continues to knead the bread.

She's humming a tune as she does it and I say, "Jemimah. That song you're hummin'. It sounds right familiar. Will you sing it for me?"

She slaps a dough ball on the board and commences to knead it. And she lifts her head and starts to sing and beat the bread at the same time:

Oh, the High Sheriff, he told his Deputy,
Go out and bring me Lazarus. (Huh!)
Oh, the High Sheriff, he told his Deputy,
Go out and bring me Lazarus. (Huh!)
Bring him dead or alive, Lord, Lord,
Bring him dead or alive.

I was right, I had heard the song before. On the way down the Mississippi River, work gangs on the banks would sing this as they brought their big hammers down on the rocks they were splitting. They would time the hammer blows to fit the song, and so make the work pass easier. Just like sailors sing shanties when they're raising heavy sails, and just as Jemimah does as she kneads her bread, grunting
huh!
and slamming the dough down where the hammers would come down.

Oh, they found poor Lazarus,

up between two mountains. (Huh!)

Oh, they found poor Lazarus,

up between two mountains. (Huh!)

And they brought him down, Lord, Lord,

They brought him down.

I'm noticing that the bread dough is taking a good deal of punishment, as Jemimah seems to be putting a good deal of anger into her
huh!
She sings on, her big voice filling the galley.

And they shot poor Lazarus,

shot him with a great big number. (Huh!)

And they shot poor Lazarus,

shot him with a great big number. (Huh!)

Number forty-five, Lord, Lord,

Number forty-five.

She pauses a bit to put another dough ball on the board, and then takes up the song again.

And they taken poor Lazarus,

laid him on the commissary counter. (Huh!)

And they taken poor Lazarus,

laid him on the commissary counter. (Huh!)

And they walked away, Lord, Lord,

They just walked away.

Lazarus's mother,

she come a'runnin'. (Huh!)

Oh, Lazarus's mother,

she come a'runnin'. (Huh!)

Cryin', My only son, Lord, Lord,'

Cryin', My only son.'

Jemimah stops singing, and she stops kneading, too, and just stands there for a while, her head up, her eyes closed.

"That was beautifully sung, Jemimah," I say, meaning it.

She nods and goes back to her task.

A thought occurs to me and though I know that I'm probably treading where I should not go, I ask, "Jemimah, you've told us some things about your children, but you haven't said anything about your husband. Where is he?"

She snorts. "He's either in Heaven or in Hell, but he's dead all the same."

Oh.

"How did it happen, if you don't mind me asking?" I say, as gentle as I can. "You can tell me to mind my own business and I will shut up and do that."

"No, child, it's all right. I will tell you." She takes a deep breath. "His name was Moses and everybody called him Mose. He was a big man and did the blacksmithin' work on the plantation, poundin' out hot iron and steel. Worked with the horses, too. Everybody liked him, colored and white, alike. When he was a young man, he run away twice, tryin' to get to freedom, but he was caught and brought back each time and whipped. After me and the children come along, he stopped tryin' to run away. He learned to get along, just like the rest of us."

She is quiet again for a while, then heaves a great sigh and goes on.

"He was good to me and he was a good father to the kids, too. Raised 'em up as good as he could—bein' a slave and all, you ain't got all that much say in things. Yes, he loved his children and that's what brought him down at the end. When things went bad and the plantation was bein' broke up, some men from Charleston come up to take our two oldest kids away. When Mose saw my Josh and my Rosie bein' bound up and put in the wagon to be taken off and sold, sumthin' happened in his mind and he rushed at the men and tried to set our chil'ren loose so's they could run off to the woods and maybe get away, but he didn't have much luck in that. They hit at him with clubs and told him to lie down and don't cause no trouble, but he wouldn't do it, no, he swung on the men with his big fists and when two of 'em was on the ground and he saw that they was bringin' guns, he re'lized what he had done and he run off into the woods, all crazy in his head.

"They sent out armed men on horses with dogs, and they run him down and they killed him. Shot him when he run and cut him down when he turned and tried to make a stand.

"They brought him back in a buckboard with his toes draggin' in the dust, and just like poor Lazarus, they laid him out all bloody on a plank, right there in front of me and what children were left. Did it as an example to us Nigras what would happen if we ever act up. We buried him that afternoon, and the next day they come and took the rest of my kids down to the Charleston Slave Market. In a few days, they come and took me there, too."

She paused for a moment, her eyes still closed.

"Mose thought he was strong as Brother Bear, fast as Brother Fox, and clever as Brother Rabbit, but he warn't none of those, no," she says, shaking her head. "But he was my good old man, and I miss him."

With that, Jemimah Moses takes off her dusty apron and hangs it up. And as for Jacky Faber, she who used to think she had seen some trouble in her life, well, I just sit there and don't say a mumblin' word.

I left Gringo's vest on him for the journey to La Pelea de Gallos Arena, and this time I put it on over his wings so he wouldn't flap about and waste his strength. Carnival is still in full swing and the bird's beady little eyes seem to take in the excitement that swirls all about. The place is packed, with crowds of people pushing and shoving to get in the still-open doors. Davy, Tink, and Daniel, who had come with us, go off to join the throng. Joannie, I keep by me.

Before we go in the contestant entrance, I put the little leather hood over Gringo's head to keep him from getting too excited at the sight of the other birds. Still, I can feel his heart thumping in the palm of my hand.

I'm given my fight number. It's three, my lucky numeral, and we settle down to await our turn. The other handlers look at El Gringo curiously—what with his tight vest and all. The others have their birds in cages and they flutter nervously within.