Free The Stolen Heart by Jacinta Carey Page A

peered up through her wet bangs to try to see what had happened
    to the men aloft. Bob was dangling from the nets, and George was
    struggling to keep his grip with both arms and legs around the main
    course yard about twenty feet above her head.
     
     
But as she stood up to try to help haul the sail in, she looked
    forward and saw the remains of Tom, who had fallen head first from
    the top of the mast onto the pitching deck.
     
     
“Good God!” she gasped, and lost her dinner on the heaving planks.
     
     
Jared followed her gaze and spotted the dead crewman, and felt ill
    himself. Damn it, he had been a huge bright boy, one of his own boat
    crew.
     
     
He hauled Bill in further and pressed him against the mast. “Tie
    yourself on, and don’t leave Al, do you hear?”
     
     
He clapped Almira on the shoulder and began to head for the
    foremast.
     
     
“No, you can’t go!” she shrieked. “You’ll be killed!”
     
     
He stroked the sopping hair from Al’s eyes. “We'll all be killed if
    I don’t.”
     
     
She swallowed hard and nodded. “I know. At least tie a rope around
    yourself, then.”
     
     
He stepped into one of the ropes, pulled it tight, and placing one
    warm hand on her shivering flesh, promised, “I’ll be back soon.”
     
     
The hail and sleet which had started as a sprinkle from the sky now
    lashed down in earnest, stinging any exposed body part as the men
    labored on.
     
     
“You there, get aloft in the mizzen!” Mate shouted at her.
     
     
But to climb up the final mast was to leave the safety of her rope,
    and perhaps to meet the same fate as the unfortunate Tom. She looked
    up to see that Bob had swung to safety, but George was still hanging
    on with both arms and legs. They all needed her help.
     
     
She undid the rope and headed aft.
     
     
“And don’t think I’ve forgotten that you assaulted me,” he said in a
    menacing growl as he followed her up the heaving deck.
     
     
She grabbed onto the taffrail and stuck her nose into his face. “You
    assaulted me when I tried to warn the crew about this storm! I don’t
    give a stuff if you like me or not. Now you’ve endangered the whole
    crew, and Tom is dead because of you!
     
     
"So either let me do my job, and stay the hell out of my way, or
    I’ll take a bloody lance to you, and crushing your nuts will be the
    least of your worries.”
     
     
Mate almost looked as though he would hurl her overboard, but Smithy
    came up now with another two men.
     
     
Mate backed off, and followed them as they got up into the mizzen
    mast. She drew the short straw, ending up in the bunt of the mizzen
    topgallant sail. Being in the center of it, she caught the lion’s
    share of the wind, and also got the majority of the weight as she
    dragged the sail down and tried to stuff it into the net.
     
     
She clung on for dear life, and continued to stuff down as hard as
    she could, as fast as she could, so the wind would not catch the
    sail and blow it about. She labored on until it was secured,
    thinking all the while of the hideous fate which had befallen her
    new-found friend Tom.
     
     
As soon as they completed the topgallant, they moved down to the
    mizzen topsail, while the rest of the crew took down the mizzen
    sail. Then they were left bobbing up and down with only the main
    course, forecourse, and foretopgallant sails.
     
     
“Well done, men. That'll be all for now. Resume watch, everyone. The
    rest of you go below and get warm and dry,” Jared ordered. "Next
    watch, spell them as soon as you're done so they can do the same and
    then get back to their duties."
     
     
"Aye, Captain."
     
     
Getting warm was more easily said than done. In fact, it would be
    nearly impossible with no blaze or lights permitted because of the
    danger of fires at sea. Cook had put out all the fires and lanterns
    as soon as Al had given the shout.
     
     
The men headed to the galley to see if the old iron clad stove was
    still shedding