The Planters: A Ripple In Time Book 2 by Victor Zugg

Author:Victor Zugg [Zugg, Victor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-02-25T22:00:00+00:00

◆◆◆

Early the next morning, Mato showed up with two of his braves. They carried enough food and water for three or four days, and they each held a musket. The five of them set out as soon as everyone was aboard. The steady onshore winds provided for a quick, uneventful trip back to Charles Town. As he had done several times now, he guided the sloop up the Ashley River with the aid of the slight wind against reefed sails. Soon, they were tied up at the plantation dock.

Everyone gathered on the back porch of the main house to consider their next steps.

“If we follow the coastline, it’s about two hundred and fifty miles to St. Augustine,” Mason said.

“That sounds about right,” Charlie said.

“Why not a more direct route?” Jeremy asked.

“We don’t have navigation equipment,” Nathan said. He turned to Mason. “Unless you—”

“Navigation equipment?” Charlie asked.

“Compass and sextant,” Mason said. “Nathan is right, we’re not equipped to navigate the open ocean.”

Jeremy’s face turned sour, and he was about to respond but Mason cut him off.

“We’ll be following the coast. It will also keep us out of the main shipping lanes, and hopefully away from pirates and privateers.”

“How long?” Karen asked.

“If we can average seven knots, about thirty-six hours,” Mason said. “Day and a half, if we sail through the night.”

“Can you do that safely?” Jeremy asked.

“If there’s a moon,” Charlie said. “There should be enough light for the next five or six days, but you can’t just sail into that harbor. They’re likely to blow you out of the water. It was only a year ago that we attacked St. Augustine with a small force. We mainly engaged the Yamasee living near the fort, but it amounted to an attack on the Spanish, as well.”

“What has been the situation since then?” Jeremy asked.

“Mostly quiet, maybe a few skirmishes with the Indians. The Crown has turned its attention more to the French. Spain, for now, isn’t considered a main rival. Merchants from Charles Town have even explored the renewal of trade with La Florida—the Spanish and the Indians. You know how merchants are, they’re only concerned with profit. Doesn’t matter much where the money comes from.” Obviously realizing Mason was about to embark on a similar endeavor, a grimace spread across his face. “No offense intended.”

“None taken,” Mason said. “We’ll be laying up short of the town. The question is whether we should approach that final leg at night, or during the day.”

Charlie rubbed his beard for several moments. “Day time you can see what you’re running into, but they can also see you. I’d recommend approaching at night, probably early morning.”

Mason turned to Mato. “Do you know where to find your brother?”

Mato raised his chin. “Yes. Walk in dark. Find him with sun.”

“That means we need to leave now,” Nathan said, “or at least in the next couple of hours.”

Mason looked at Karen and Lisa. “Can you pack us enough food and water for three or four days?”

Karen and Lisa got up, stepped down from the porch, and began walking toward the kitchen.

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.