Pirate - Duncan Falconer [80]
‘Don’t hang about,’ he said, pulling another life jacket over the one he already wore.
She picked up a jacket and put it on. He handed her another and helped her fasten it.
‘Put this over the top,’ he said, handing her a large sweater.
‘Is hypothermia as painless as drowning, do you think?’ she asked.
‘It’s even more pleasant. I’ve had it on several occasions. Once you get past the freezing cold stage, it’s fine. Like drowning but without the freaking-out panic phase. Put this on,’ he said, handing her a fishing reel harness.
‘What for?’
‘To hold it all together. If we get through this phase, I have another idea that’ll keep us occupied for a while longer. Keeping oneself busy is the key to longevity they say.’
She thought he was acting a bit weirdly but nothing about him surprised her any more. She pulled the harness on while he donned one himself and after fastening up his buckles he helped her with hers.
When they were finished, the pair of them looked more than twice their normal sizes. She broke into a smile.
‘I’m glad you see the funny side,’ he said. ‘I was beginning to think you’d lost your sense of humour.’
When he looked back at the pirate vessel he could make out the front mast and wisps of smoke from the exhaust stack.
‘We’d better get into the water. I’m going to change the boat’s direction to take them away from where we jump in. Soon as I set the tiller, we go overboard.’
She nodded.
It was an effort for him to bend down to untie the tiller with all the clothing he was wearing.
‘Wait!’ she called out.
He stopped, one hand on the tiller.
She quickly unfastened the drinking water container that was still half full and held it in her arms. ‘OK!’
‘Good thinking,’ he said and yanked the tiller over. The boat turned sharply.
‘Go!’ Stratton shouted as he tied the tiller off with fishing line.
She leaped into the water. He rolled over the side. When he surfaced he watched the boat cruise away from them.
They then turned their attentions to the following vessel to see what it would do.
The mother craft continued straight at them. Stratton couldn’t believe that no one on board was watching the fishing boat. Maybe the lookouts had seen them jump into the water.
Then the vessel turned in pursuit of the little fishing boat.
They bobbed in the water and watched the raiders come on. The ship passed them some distance away. But it was the first time they could really confirm that it had been the pirate mother ship.
‘Won’t they just backtrack when they find it’s empty?’ she said.
‘They won’t know when we jumped off. Hopefully they’ll come to the same conclusion you did about us getting captured and think we’ve killed ourselves.’
They watched the back of the vessel cruise into the distance. Without its lights, it would soon have become invisible in the darkness.
‘I can see your life jacket on your right side,’ Stratton said, inspecting her. She adjusted her sweater to cover it up.
‘How do I look?’ he asked.
She studied him. ‘You’ll do.’
Stratton turned to look in every direction. ‘Quite a few boats about,’ he noted.
‘None within a mile of us, though,’ she said, acting as the voice of doom.
‘Dawn will crack in no time,’ he said, looking to the east where there was a faint glow on the horizon.
She unscrewed the water bottle and took a little sip. ‘Want some?’ she asked.
‘Thanks,’ he said. She passed it to him. He took a couple of mouthfuls and handed it back to her.
‘So,’ she began, leaning back and looking up at the stars. ‘We just wait here for a boat to happen by? Could be a while. But I guess we have all the time in the world.’
‘Not exactly,’ he said. ‘My plan is not just to wait here for a boat to happen by. The odds on that would be very small indeed.’
He exposed the large fishing reel attached