Free Pirates of the Storm (Stranded In Time Book 1) by Fletcher Best

me
Jenny.”
    “Agreed,” Jeff smiled.
    As they reached the edge of the trees
just outside town, Jenny once again scanned the street. “You go in
first and I’ll come in a bit later, just to make sure nobody
suspects us,” she suggested. Jeff nodded and walked across to the
tavern and entered. Graves, Crabtree, and the two Stevens were at
the table drinking and apparently had been for some
time.
    Crabtree looked up as Jeff approached
and raised his mug. “Mr. Greene, join us for some rum!” The other
men were obviously pretty drunk as they raised their mugs in
greeting.
    “Wheresss Misssterr Rrrobinson?”
Graves asked.
    “I have no idea. I figured she’d be
here with you… Uh, HE’s probably off with a whore somewhere,” Jeff
replied, cringing to himself as he realized he’d referred to
Robinson as a she. To his relief, none of the men seemed to have
picked up on his slip and they continued to drink.
    Jeff picked up an empty mug and poured
a small quantity of rum into it from the pitcher on the table. He
didn’t really want to drink rum, but he figured he’d look out of
place if he didn’t. He waved over the serving wench and asked her
to bring him some coconut water with lime juice. She looked at him
with an odd expression, but nodded as she headed off. She returned
just as Robinson was walking in the door of the tavern. Jeff poured
the juices into his rum and tasted it. It would have been better
cold, but even warm it was not too bad. Robinson took a seat beside
him at the table. “Ah, there ye be, Robinssson,” Crabtree slurred.
“Did ye enjoy yer whore?”
    “Aye!” Robinson acknowledged. “Think
she might have had crabs though,” she said, elbowing Jeff in the
ribs.
    He stifled a laugh and said, “I’m sure
Mr. Graves can cure that if need be.”
    “Aye!” Graves nodded, spilling his
rum.
    Just then, the Captain emerged from
the back door and strode across to the table. “Gentlemen, make
space for I have invited some friends to drink and eat with us.”
Jeff and the others shifted their positions to make room at the
table as the Captain waved over a small group of old men. The men
took their places at the table as Coxen addressed them. “You all
know my crew, and this is Mr. Greene, whom I’ve told you about.”
Turning to Jeff, he continued, “Mr. Greene, these men have each
lived many years at sea as well as here in Port Royal. I’ve taken
the liberty of explaining your circumstances to them and inquired
if they know anything more about the storm that brought you here
than what I’ve been able to tell you. Mr. Turnbuckle, if you would
be so kind as to go first and share what you told me.”
    “Of course,” the elderly man replied.
“I have seen storms like the one two nights ago three other times
in my life, scattered over many years. The other times were all
when I was aboard ships, never before when I was on land as I was
during this storm. Other than the storms themselves, nothing was
odd, except for the first one. During the first one I experienced
off the coast of Jamaica, near the main Port Royal, there was a
brief instant when I saw something that looked like an enormous
ship made of metal. When I rubbed my eyes to look again, it was
gone. Soon after that, the storm broke up and vanished - all in the
blink of an eye.” Jeff spoke up, “May I ask where you were for the
other two storms?” “You may ask, but I don’t really recall. We were
between ports and had not seen land for several days and that is
all that I remember.”
    “Thank you, Mr. Turnbuckle,” the
Captain said. “Mr. Gibson, would you be so kind…”
    “Yes, Captain, of course,” the next
man replied. “Mr. Greene, I have seen the same type of storm only
once before, just a few years ago. I was on my way over to the
island of Utila on a small boat with my son when the storm came up
out of nowhere. During the storm, I could hear a cry for help off
in the distance, but we were struggling to keep from