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I’ll inform the crew that I’m willing to take you on, even if you haven’t signed articles. That way you’ll be free to leave the ship whenever you wish.’
    Yet again Hector sensed that Cook was being dangerously subtle. ‘What would be our duties on board?’ he enquired cautiously.
    ‘Work the ship, stand watches, that sort of thing. Also I need a navigator who has already been around the Cape.’
    ‘But you’re heading through Magellan’s Strait.’
    ‘True. But I’m a cautious man, and if we have problems there, we’ll need to have an alternative route. When you left the South Sea last time, you came around the Cape, so I believe.’
    Hector hesitated, still unwilling to commit himself when Jezreel intervened again. ‘Hector, I think we should accept Cook’s offer. At least until something better comes along.’
    ‘I don’t fancy taking my chances among the black men,’ agreed Jacques.
    Hector looked across at Dan. He was always level-headed. Dan gave a rueful smile. ‘I’m with Jezreel and Jacques. We go to the South Sea aboard this ship. Besides, Hector, it will bring you closer to Maria, and we’d be happy to see that.’
    Hector felt a surge of gratitude. He hadn’t realized his friends were aware of his longing to find Maria again. He’d no idea that his desire was so obvious.
    ‘All ready,’ called the sailing master from the poop deck.
    ‘So is it settled between us?’ asked Cook. There was a glint of triumph in his eyes.
    Hector nodded his agreement.
    Cook raised his voice so that he could be heard throughout the ship. ‘Time to move off. Remember, be slow and calm, as if the Carlsborg is simply heading down the coast to visit another trading post, and the Revenge is going with her.’
    He grinned wolfishly as he turned back to face Hector. ‘We don’t want the fort mistaking us for pirates stealing Company property.’
    ‘I blame myself for telling you that her captain was away with half his crew,’ said Hector.
    Cook shrugged. ‘I’d probably have found out for myself, from gossip among the canoe men. But I only decided finally to take the Carlsborg when you told me you and your friends would be on watch at dawn. The ideal time to capture a ship, and an opportunity I couldn’t ignore.’
    ‘And you counted on our loyalty to Jacques.’
    ‘Of course.’
    ‘What if the Governor raises the alarm when he sees the Carlsborg sail off before her captain has returned from the interior?’
    ‘Yesterday, after our little tour of the fort, I called in at the Governor’s office. I told him that my visit had made it clear there was a shortage of slave stock locally, so I would be taking the Revenge farther down the coast to trade.’
    ‘And he believed you?’
    ‘Naturally. He saw us as we left the slave pens. I took care to add that I would recommend to the Carlsborg ’s first officer that he sail in company with me for a day or so, if he wished to pick up a few extra slaves. He would be able to return in time for her captain’s arrival.’ Cook gave a mirthless grin. ‘Before the Governor realizes the Carlsborg is overdue, I propose to make her vanish.’
    With that, Cook walked away.
    Hector slid a hand into his pocket and fingered Maria’s letter once again. His mind was in a tumult. Already he was calculating how many weeks it might be before he saw her again, and he felt a surge of happy anticipation at the thought that every mile the Carlsborg sailed would bring him closer to her. Yet he knew that he was also putting everything at risk by arriving on the coast of South America with a crew of ruffians whom the Spaniards considered barbaric pirates. He promised himself that at the very first opportunity he and his friends would abandon such unwelcome company.

 
THREE

     
    T HE LANDFALL off the broad entrance to Magellan’s Strait was both disheartening and confusing. The weather, hazy with frequent rain showers, made for poor visibility, and the tide, flowing out of the