Episode 31 - Darkness Falls
The evening of the 2nd day of March, 1640.
"Can yew smell burning gunpowder, Sir?" asked a puzzled officer.
At the instant when Tew became aware of it, a massive explosion ripped his flagship apart and lit up the night sky. The whole starboard side of his Man o War was blown away and the ship began to list to her side.
Within minutes she was sinking fast as the surviving crew scrambled for the undamaged rowboats.
The Admiral himself was in the water, surrounded by dead and dying crewmen. Burning debris littered the surface all around him.
And as helpless cries of drowning men echoed across the water, the remains of their ship burned ferociously and slowly began to sink...
Aboard the Grey Ghost, 500 yards ahead of the burning wreckage, Ol'Man and his wench stood at the stern of the ship and looked on with pleasure.
"Yew salty old sea-dog. Tis times like this that reminds me how much I loves thee!" said the laughing Cyclone as she put her hands around the Ol'Git and kissed his bald head.
Ol'Man smiled as he watched the remains of his pursuer's hardy vessel slip beneath the waves and head for her final resting place at the bottom of the Caribbean.
Cyclone wasted no time in opening a case of rum. She eagerly passed bottles of the grog to the Grey Ghost's gleeful crew and lifted her tankard to propose a toast.
"Three cheers fer Ol'Man - yew bunch 'o scurvy swines," she called, as the men cheered and began a merry jig on the deck.
"Guess we can have us a lil' celebration, me love" laughed the wench, as she poured the smiling Ol'Man a rum.
"Aye, darlin', we can" he replied, and the two swabs laughed at the smouldering embers of the once proud Man o War as they flickered away into the night sky.
A few minutes later...
The dying sounds of Tews men were all but gone now, leaving nothing but an eerie silence across the surface of the dark ocean.
Ol'Man's two volunteers slowly swam towards their Captains flagship and where met by their fellow shipmates who wasted little time in fishing them out and thrusting a well earned bottle of rum in their hands.
"Job well done, lads, job well done," smiled Ol'Man as he gave his soaking wet swabs a pat on the back.
Meanwhile, back among the floating debris, the only surviving rowboat drifted aimlessly through the darkness looking for survivors. Aboard her were four of Tews men, including his first mate.
"Those bastards!" said the officer as he watched the distant Grey Ghost weigh anchor and head away from the scene.
"If'n we ever meets those treacherous swabs again - I'm gonna kill every friggin' one 'o 'em!" replied one of the irate oarsman.
A few moments passed and the boat came alongside a large piece of wreckage with a sorry looking crewman clinging to it.
"Pull him aboard, lads" called the officer, as they heaved the slob out of the water.
Turning him over, the four survivors smiled as they recognized the dazed face of their Admiral.
"What tha frig 'appened?" he mumbled, as the men tended to his injuries.
Meanwhile, the Grim Reaper continued to make headway through the inky darkness, several miles behind. Cogs lookout was trying to convince his Captain and the others that the bright light on the horizon was not down to a session on the grog, but infact it was a battle or explosion he had witnessed, several minutes earlier.
"Come down from there, yew bloody halfwit!" called an irritated Coggy, "And tha next time I catches yew on the grog, I'll keel-haul yer sorry arse all tha way ta Catalina" he added, as the poor swab clambered down onto the deck.
Coggy and his mates took one last look towards the darkened horizon, but could see nothing but the reflections of distant stars shimmer across the surface.
The next day...
La Foot awoke early and was taking a morning stroll along the Reapers deck. Reaching the bow, he happened to notice a few broken planks of timber and rigging float by in the distance.
Coggy was still asleep when a knock on his cabin door startled Arfur the Parrot, "Squawk-git-tha-frig-up!" squawked the irate bird.
Coggy mumbled a little before opening his weary eyes, "Who tha bleedin' 'ell is that?" he asked, as the knock repeated.
"Sir, it's me, Lieutenant La Foot… thars something you should see," came the muffled reply.
"It 'ad better be good, Mister" said Cog as he stumbled out of bed and quickly got dressed.
Back on deck, Moose, Quinn, Morgan, and Davey Jones continued surveying the floating debris as the Grim Reaper slowly ploughed her way through it.
La Foot and Coggy approached.
"Me tinks tha light yer lookout saw wasn't down ta tha grog after all, Coggy" said Davey, as yet more chunks of wreckage floated by.
Coggy scrutinized the debris, "Whadda ya tink, lads?" he asked, "Do yew reckon it's tha Grey Ghost or Tews flagship?"
No one answered.
Coggy motioned for his lookout to get back atop the crows nest and scan the horizon.
Within a few minutes, some of the crewmen had managed to fish out a piece of the wreckage using netting. The pirates were scrutinizing it and looking for any familiar markings.
"SIR!" shouted the lookout as he pointed over to the starboard side, "Thars a small boat in the distance!"
The pirates quickly moved to the side of the ship and glanced over to where the lookout was pointing.
"Thars a bunch 'o sorry buggers in a rowboat... can't quite make 'em out," said Coggy as he viewed the survivors through his spyglass.
Twenty minutes later...
The Grim Reaper had dropped anchor and her crew watched intently as the rowboat approached and pulled along side.
"I don't believe it!" said Henry Morgan as he recognized the familiar face of the Admiral.
A few moments later, Tew and his four surviving crew were standing on the Reapers deck with blankets around them drinking a welcome bottle of rum each.
"That treacherous Ol'Bastid blew me ship up! We's been drifting fer hours," shivered the still wet Admiral.
The pirates welcomed their mate and listened to his sorry tail before vowing not to rest until the Ol'Man and his wench Cyclone, were swinging from Coggy's yardarm...