Episode 46 - The Bribe
Sunrise, the next morning...
Back on the Galleon's Bridge, Coggy intently watched the smouldering campfires from the night before. And just beyond this he could see the early morning mists disperse through the jungle - giving him a clear view of the fort.
During the night, the soldiers in the fort had raised a large Spanish battle flag, which now flew proudly in the moderate breeze.
"Looks like they could be fallin' fer our lil' ruse" remarked the Captain, before turning to the eager men on deck and calling out; "HOIST DA SAILS, MATEYS! I WANNA BE IN THAT TOWN 'AFORE BREAKFAST!"
And with that, the Galleon and Coggy's Sloop upped anchor, hoisted their canvass aloft once more, and swiftly got underway.
The moderate breeze blew the two buccaneer ships at a fair pace and within minutes they had sailed parallel to the eastern side of Lookout Island with the rocky shoreline of the mainland to the portside. Two thousand yards ahead lay the relative safety of Maracaibo bay in which several trade ships were berthed.
The Grim Reaper, with Henry Morgan at the helm, positioned itself island-side of the Galleon to protect its more cumbersome companion from the imminent barrage of cannon shot. The pirates took no chances and would rather see the little Sloop fired upon first rather than take the risk of the fort sinking their treasure-laden Galleon.
And within minutes the garrison duly opened up with a constant bombardment of heavy cannon-shot. The first few rounds fell just short of the Reapers starboard bow, but the next barrage hit the little Sloop amidships and caused heavy damage to her sails and lightly-manned deck.
"STAY ON COURSE!" barked Cog as another barrage of heavy shot whistled its way towards the ships - this time hitting the Galleon high in the rigging.
"Arrr, they're firing upon the jungle too!" called out Sir Loin 'o Beef on witnessing a few splintering palm trees disintegrate in a heavy barrage from the northern side of the fortress.
"HAAARRR, shootin' shadows, me thinks!" laughed the Jamaican, Jacob Jones.
Several more broadsides fell short of the Galleons bow, and another struck the heavy ships' starboard but she kept ploughing through the water - picking up speed as she went
"We're almost through, me hearties!" called out Cog, with excitement.
"Aye mate, tha blimmy dons 'r too busy raking da jungle wildlife! HAAARRR!" laughed Davey Jones.
But just as he said it, another volley of cannon balls struck the Galleon - this time blasting apart the mizzenmast and once more causing extensive damage to her starboard.
Burning canvass and splintering wood caused the pirates to scatter and duck for cover.
"DAMN IT! IF'N THEY HOLE US, WE'RE DONE FER!" called Cog as he emerged from behind several water barrels and dusted himself down.
Ol'Man stumbled his way down onto the deck as another deafening whistle of cannon-shot approached. "Cognito, ya bloody fool! Bring us about 'afore it's too late" he called.
But another violent blast blew the pirates off their feet once again; as yet more heavy damage was inflicted upon the Galleon.
Within seconds, another direct hit caused the ship to shudder in the water, but the hardy vessel ploughed on - not deviating from her course.
"Almost thar….. almost thar" mumbled Cog to himself as the adrenaline began to flow. "A FEW MORE YARDS 'N WE'LL BE THROUGH THA THICK 'O IT" he called.
By now, Henry Morgan and his handful of sailors had managed to guide the Grim Reaper ahead of the larger ship and into to safer waters.
But just as the Galleon reached the edge of the forts firing arc, a final volley of heavy shot approached the ship. Each man aboard knew that this one would be the end of them and they remained motionless - simply waiting with baited breath as the whistle of cannon-shot grew closer and closer.
"GIT DOWN!" called Cog, anxiously.
The men instantly ducked for cover - but the explosion they all feared didn't come to pass - for the heavy broadside hit the water a couple of yards astern of the ship causing a plume of water to shower the Bridge and disperse in her wake…
After a few seconds, the pirates lifted their heads...
"WE'RE THROUGH! WE MADE IT!" yelled the elated Sir Loin 'o Beef.
And after two more hopeful volleys from the fort, the Galleon finally pulled out of range of the distant turrets and swiftly turned on a heading that would take them directly into the bay.
"That was too close, mate!" remarked Davey Jones as he gingerly emerged from some smouldering rigging.
Coggy remained silent and gave a wry smile as he helped his shipmates to their feet and ordered the dazed crew to secure the loose rigging.
Maracaibo itself was a lightly armed town with not too many defensive fortifications. But the pirates could see numerous barricades made up of up-turned wagons, sand-bags, and hastily erected fencing along the dockside and outskirts of the town. And behind these, waiting militia and numerous soldiers had gathered and stood on guard since their arrival the previous day.
"Lads, time ta hoist the flag 'o truce and hope these friggin' lubbers aint in a fightin' mood" called Cog as he motioned the crew to get Ol'Man's rowboat ready.
Making his way to the side of the ship, he turned to Ol'Man and gave him a menacing stare.
"Ok, Ol'Man. Remember what I said - if'n yer not back 'ere with Moose by noon this very day, we'll take our chances with the fort again 'n sail ta Tortuga without ye" he warned.
Within fifteen minutes the pirate ships had cast anchor once more and came to a halt in the middle of the open harbour.
To the north, the garrison on Lookout Island had kept up a continuous barrage for a while - despite their targets being out of range. And along the main dock, the forty anxious militia and Spanish redcoats had formed a skirmish line in preparation to defend their town at all costs.
But when it was evident that the pirates weren't intent on landing, a few curious murmurs could be heard across the water as the townsfolk watched a lone rowboat approach with but a single occupant aboard her and a white flag stuck on its bow.
And as the boat grew closer to the dockside, a few eager militias fired a couple of musket shots over the head of the boat.
"Hold ya fire, yew scurvy dogs!" barked O'Man as he stood up and waved the flag a few times.
"I recognise that man!" called out a puzzled town official as he watched the events unfold from a window of the heavily guarded treasury.
Scurrying down the stairs, he pushed his way through a few watching soldiers and sprinted to the dockside, just as the rowboat pulled up.
Several militia unceremoniously man-handled the Ol'Man out of the boat and escorted him up the stone steps and onto the dock, where the curious crowd gathered and began menacing him, "You thieving dogs, there's no quarter for you here!" they called.
"Let me through! Let me through!" called the man from the treasury as he pushed his way to the centre of the gathering.
Finally, a little out of breath, the official stumbled his way through and stood facing Ol'Man.
"Sir, my humble apologies!" he said, as he gave the Ol'Man a salute.
"At least one 'o yew buggers knows who I be!" remarked Ol'Man as he gave the on-lookers a menacing glance.
"Stand aside you fools!" ordered the town official as he motioned the men to stand down and let the Ol'Man pass.
"This fine gentleman be the Governor of Cartagena, you blithering idiots!" he called.
A few more murmurs rumbled through the curious townsfolk as they watched the two men head for a nearby townhouse.
Back on the Galleon, Coggy watched the dispersing townsfolk for a few moments before glancing at his pocket watch. "Two hours 'afore noon, lads. If'n there's no sign 'o the Ol'Bastid and Moose by then, fire a few broadsides onto thar purdy lil' town 'n bring us about."
"We don't wanna be stayin' here fer too long"
"Aye Sir", replied a sailor as the men prepared the ships for the journey back to Tortuga.
Later that morning...
Ol'Man had been informed that Captain Moose and several other captured pirates from the recent battle were indeed awaiting execution in the local prison. Ol'Man also knew Coggy and his mates wouldn't think twice about keeping to their original plan and abandoning their captured shipmates should the townsfolk not sanction their release.
And the idea of Coggy leaving for Tortuga without him in search of his precious hoard played heavily on his mind. So he'd purposely misinformed the Spaniards that should they refuse to hand Moose over to his custody and allow the buccaneers to leave unharmed, then a fleet of nearby pirate vessels were under orders to attack Maracaibo and give no quarter to it's inhabitants.
In a townhouse, close to Maracaibo dock, he stood with the man who greeted him earlier. With them were several more gentry types. One of which was a high-ranking officer of the Spanish navy.
"Sir, I recognise that Galleon in dock. Is it not the ship that was under the command of Admiral Mendez?" asked the officer.
"Aye, that it be, Cap'n" replied Ol'Man. "Who might be enquiring?" he asked.
"I'm Captain Karn, of his Majesties Fleet" replied the Spanish officer. "We thought she'd been sunk during the recent battle off Puerto Bello"
"Well, as ye can see she's still in one piece… well almost." replied Ol'Man, before adding, "Those bleedin' wharf-rat pirates have her now, and yer mate Mendez is no doubt a resident 'o Davey's Locker."
Karn removed his hat to show a sign of respect.
Turning to the other town officials, Ol'Man asked, "So what says ye to me terms? The pirates don't have enough men aboard their ships to trouble ye at the moment, but they have 'emselves a formidable armada on the way here." he lied.
"Best be handin' their mates over to me 'afore it's too late" he added.
"I'm sorry Sir" replied the gentry man. "We're under strict orders from the Governor of this town to keep the prisoners here until he returns from his business trip to Caracas. He wants to see them swing - personally"
"He won't have no bleedin' town ta return to if'n ye don't heed me advice!" warned Ol'Man.
But again the Spaniards remained resolute and refused to sanction Moose's release.
After another heated discussion, Ol'Man slumped back down in his seat and anxiously took a look at his pocket watch as the noon deadline approached.
Just as he'd resigned himself to the fact that Coggy and his mates would soon up anchor and leave without him in search of his loot, he stood once more and approached the gathered Spaniards with one last proposal.
"What would ye say if'n I got these wharf rats ta pay a lil' donation to yer personal coffers?" he asked, with a devious grin.
The officials became intrigued a little and spoke amongst themselves for a few moments.
Finally, one stepped forth and asked, "Just how much is this renegade pirate we hold, worth to them?"
Ol'Man gave himself a sly grin on realising he'd made a breakthrough just in the nick of time.
Back on the Galleon, the gathered pirate officers continued watching the town as the stand-off continued.
Anxiously glancing at his watch again, Cog noted the deadline he'd set had expired five minutes previous.
"Lads, looks like the Ol'Bastid as bailed on us like he said" he sighed, before Davey Jones interrupted…
"Or failed ta convince the friggin' dons ta release Moose. He won't come back 'ere empty handed knowing the only reception he'll receive will be a hangman's noose." he remarked.
Turning to the crew on deck, Coggy was about to order them to weigh anchor and hoist the sails when from the dockside, the rowboat that had been despatched earlier, now made the return journey. Again with but a single occupant aboard - Ol'Man.
"Hold up mate! I could be wrong!" remarked Davey quickly, as he brought the pirates' attention to the approaching boat.
Within ten minutes Ol'Man had been swiftly brought aboard once more and stood before the pirates.
"Tha townsfolk are willing ta release yer mate but it's gonna cost ye a hundred grand" he announced.
"THA THEIVING SPANISH BASTIDS!" barked the irate Coggy.
Henry Morgan tried to calm Cog a little and said, "Mate, 100,000 pesos aint so bad… especially now that we've got Ol'Man's hoard ta go dig up!"
"Aye, 'Enrys right! Lets give 'em what they ask fer 'n then git the 'ell out 'o here while we can" added Sir Loin 'o Beef.
After a few moments, Coggy gathered his composure once more and asked the Ol'Man what had taken so long.
"Arrr, thar a stubborn bunch 'o landlubbers. They be more afeared of their out 'o town governor than they are 'o ye lot. Fortunately fer ye, thar as greedy 'n corrupt as any decent pirate" he explained.
Later that afternoon, Ol'Man informed the pirates that the Spanish officer, Captain Karn, would accompany Moose in a rowboat over to the Galleon and would oversee the despatch of the bribe money.
And the same man would then proceed with the two pirate ships to Lookout Island where he would order the local Garrison to allow the ships to depart, unharmed...