Captain Shark by Richard Silver

Author:Richard Silver [Silver, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nautical Fiction
Publisher: Thunderchild Publishing
Published: 2016-12-06T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

Shark took a mouthful of water, and gargled, and got his head above the surface. He bellowed.

“Draco! Draco ahoy! Ahoy, you deaf useless load of horse manure!”

Then a wave slashed across his face and Isabella dragged him down. There was no time to curse. He put his arms more firmly about her, feeling a small, round softness beneath his palm, hugging her in to him. She did not struggle. She lay close against him, as the seas bore them up and down.

With frightening rapidity the dim bulk of Draco passed away below the marching wave crests, and soon only the truck of her single mast showed, yawing and circling against the deepening sky.

Shark rolled himself over, paddling with his feet, his arms wrapped around this stupid bitch of a woman.

Her wet mouth panted against his ear, and water slopped over them, blinding, drenching, battering them in that waste of waters.

“You stupid, silly —” Splash. “ — idiot! Numbskull!”

Isabella felt an enormous strength floating in her limbs. She was buoyed up. She tasted triumph.

“You are beaten, Captain Shark! Now the Spanish ship will pick us up — and you will hang!”

Shark felt the awful nonsense of the situation slap him with the slapping water.

He spat.

“Spanish ship? What drivel is this?”

“You will scream and pray and beg for mercy, Captain Shark. And you know the mercy we Spanish show to demonios!”

“Aye!” They had swung about now, and Shark’s finning movements kept their heads above water, so that only the occasional wave broke against them, like the tide bursting against a half-submerged rock. “Aye. You’re all foul fiends from the pit. What did you do this for, you stupid bitch?”

“In order to bring you to judgment.”

Shark saw it all now, and his curses turned against himself. He had badly misjudged this Isabella Castileja.

“You have brought us to judgment, well enough, if we are picked up.”

“The Spanish ship will pick us up, Captain. God will not allow otherwise.”

“Mayhap you’ll wish He would.”

She did not understand him.

“When the Spanish captain knows who you are —”

“What Spanish captain?”

She flailed an arm over her head. Shark looked. Venture Lass had seen them. It was quite clear that Captain Goliath Niven had given up hopes of overtaking- Draco. The head of the frigate turned toward the two in the water. The sails shivered as the yards went over. The last of the sun sinking rapidly into the western horizon painted broad bands of gold and orange across the canvas.

“There, Captain Shark! There!”

“Stupid fool! Idiot! Idle Spanish bitch! That’s no Spanish ship. That is a pirate vessel — a corsario luterano, a demonio, a ladrôn! That’s Cap’n Goliath Niven! He who tears out men’s tongues and casts ‘em adrift in an open boat! You silly, stupid fool!”

She did not believe.

“You attempt to mock me, to taunt me. I know your filthy sort! When the Spanish hidalgos —”

“There are no Spanish hidalgos aboard that ship — or, if there are, they are wishing they were dead!”

“It is not true — it cannot be —” Now she was unsure.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.