Free Cities of the Red Night by William S. Burroughs Page B

of sharks. The water is wonderfully warm and buoyant, quite unlike the swimming in freshwater lakes.
    Feeling hunger after our swim, we put out lines which we had brought and soon took a number of the fish known as red snapper, each one two or three pounds in weight. Five fish we fried in a pan, leaving the others on a string through the gills in the water. This most delectable fish we ate with our fingers, washing the meat down with coconut milk.
    Feeling a great drowsiness after eating, we all lay down naked in the shade of a rock, Jerry with his head on my stomach and I in turn resting my head on Bert Hansen’s stomach. Clinch and Paco lay on their backs, side by side, with an arm around the other’s shoulders. The heat, our full stomachs, and the sound of gently lapping waves put us into a light sleep which lasted for about an hour.
    I woke with a strong erection and found my companions in the same condition. We stood up stretching and comparing.
    The breeze was rising and it was getting towards sundown. We put out our lines and caught enough fish to make a goodly string, and made our way back to the beach as speedily as possible. Jerry kept us all laughing, slashing with his cutlass at trees and branches with fierce snarls and pirate cries. Adam and Bill rowed ashore and took us back to the ship. Sail was raised and we got under way.
    While we were gone a number of different fish had been taken from the ship, and for supper we had a spicy fish stew with grated coconut.
    A shout from Jerry while we were eating brought us all to the rail, where we witnessed a wondrous sight known as the green flash, which occurs a moment after sunset. The whole western sky lit up a brilliant luminous green.

LETTRE DE MARQUE
    Feb. 28, 1702: Today we were captured by pirates. At five o’clock in the afternoon a heavily armed ship came abreast of us flying the Dutch flag, which was then lowered and the black pirate flag raised. We were carrying no cannon, so resistance was out of the question and Captain Jones immediately gave the order to raise the flag of truce. We all gathered on deck, including the de Fuentes twins, who were impassive as always, scanning the pirate ship critically as if to assess its worth.
    Shortly thereafter a boat was lowered and it rowed towards us. Standing in the stern was a slim blond youth, his gold-braided coat glittering in the sun. Beside him was a youth in short gray pants and shirt with a red scarf around his neck. The boat was rowed by what appeared to be a crew of women, singing as they rowed and turning towards us to leer and wink with their painted faces.
    The companionway was lowered and the “women” scrambled aboard with the agility of monkeys and posted themselves about the deck with muskets and cutlasses. I perceived that they were, in fact, handsome youths in women’s garb, their costumes being Oriental, of colored silks and brocade. The two youths then stepped on board, the one with his gold-braided coat open at the waist to show his slender brown chest and stomach, a brace of pistols inlaid with silver, and a cutlass at his belt. He was a striking figure: blond hair tied in a knot at the back of his head, aristocratic and well-formed features, possessing a most lordly bearing and grace of manner.
    Captain Jones stepped forward. “I am Captain Jones, master of The Great White. ”
    â€œAnd I am Captain Strobe, second in command on The Siren, ” said the youth.
    They shook hands most amiably and if I am any judge are not strangers to each other. I was immediately convinced that the “capture” had been prearranged between them. Strobe then received the keys to the armory. Turning to us, he assured us that we had nothing to fear for our lives. He would take over the conduct of the ship and set its course, his men acting under the orders of Mr. Kelley, the quartermaster. He indicated the youth in gray shorts, who was leaning against the rail immobile as a