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When Jack did not reply, he set below"

"With the others?" the ogre asked

"No Not with the others," Ghost said thoughtfully He gestured to a tall, pale nized as the pirate he’d shoved down the stairwell "Finn, uest ht have been his nahly to the forecastle Thebroken, nothing bloody

"I should have stabbed you," Jack said, and his cohter The sound seemed out of place on the ship, and as Finn pulled at Jack, someone whistled once, sharp

"There!"

A whisper, a thud, and then a large white shape thu for a ’s exposed neck The pelican grew still, blood s spread in death

"So different for dinner tomorrow, Ghost," the man who had shot the animal said He came forward, bent down, and plucked the crossbow bolt from the poor creature’s body

"Perhaps," Ghost said "Perhaps"

Jack felt theinto the back of his head as he was forced down into the ship, and into the tight, dank quarters of the Larsen’s bestial crew And he could still feel that heavy gaze as the door was slammed and he was left alone in the darkness, and the cold

CHAPTER TWO

AN ANGEL AMONG DEVILS

Jack awoke in a stinking bottom bunk in the crew’s quarters, startled to find that he had ed to fall asleep in the cold, dank forecastle They hadn’t locked him in, but he knew he had nowhere to run save over the side and into the rolling sea Though he had struggled not to let his guard down, he had been alone and exhausted And with his mind a riot of defiant and rebellious plans, his body had surrendered to weariness, silencing his thoughts at last

Now he blinked awake facing the wall, and stiffened as he realized he was no longer alone

Soh he could scarcely hear it breathe A scent filled the forecastle, the musk of men combined with the stink of filthy anied to the creature even now stepping lightly toward his bunk Yet when he inhaled again, he caught that smell on the stained linens beneath him and knew it did not come solely froht, and wondered if the thing had seen hiloo for the rustle of cloth or the grunt that would presage an attack But the rustle that came moments later sounded too deliberate, too stealthy, to be thethe wall, as understanding struck him His jacket had been next to him on the bunk, and it was only now that he noticed its absence The intruder was not an assassin, but a lowly thief

Erupting into motion, Jack rolled and twisted and shot out both feet, raave the kick such force that it drove the intruder across the roo his head on the upper and turunted in surprise, then hissed as he clawed to pull hiht

But Jack was already on his feet He had no weapons and no time to find one, for he sa that this was Finn, the sailor he had ambushed on board the Umatilla and who had confined hio Unshaven, lips peeled back in an instant of hatred, Finn would kill hiiven the chance And Jack knew that in such close quarters, the larger, stronger reed that saved hirip on Jack’s coat butin its pocket and realized what it contained And so instead of attacking Jack directly, he tried to secure his prize, clutching at the jacket that had fallen onto the bunk beneath hirabbed the jacket and tugged, raising his right leg and storoin The man let out a bellow of pain and released the coat, and Jack was already running for the door As he climbed three steps and exited the cabin, he heard the furious sailor scraht He’d dealt him a cruel kick, and Finn should’ve needed time for such pain to subside But even as Jack reached the stairs that led up to the deck, he heard the rurowled "I’ll have your eyes"

On the second step, Jack knew he’d never make it He turned, saw a flicker of surprise in the scruffy sailor’s face, and hurled hi around Jack’s throat and the other holding his free hand at bay He squeezed, and Jack felt hirip Finn sainst the bulkhead at the base of the stairs, and san to crush Jack’s throat

Jack twisted his fist in the fabric of his coat, felt the weight of the little bag of gold, and swung it with all his strength It struck Finn on the tehtly, but that was enough for Jack He braced his feet against the wall behind hi Finn against the stairs The sailor tripped and fell back, cracking his skull against a wooden step, and then Jack was clarabbed at his leg, but Jack tore free and launched hiht sky had cleared and the lea where he could run and what that murderous pirate captain Ghost would make of the concept of justice, Finn crested the forecastle steps and hurled hiht his speed would give hih on the streets of Oakland and San Francisco, and then riding the railways in search of work and enlightenhts, frohteen, he was stronger than ht dirty

But Finn treated hi his face with a stonelike fist Twice Three tirabbed a handful of Finn’s hair and yanked, stealing his balance for just a ered back But he did not release Jack

With a roar, he lifted Jack over his head and hurled hi cracked inside, and Jack knew he’d fractured at least one rib The wind knocked out of hi for air He tried to rise, but Finn was upon him

Voices rose around them The lookout called sore and the blackthose who caer a scuffle In a ht into bloody punishold in the pocket of the coat that Jack still clutched in his hand Instead, the sailor’s entire focus was on inflicting pain

Jack felt the blows land Tasted blood Knew that he could expect no help, and without it he would surely die

A shape darted in froht, and then Finn flailed as he was yanked backward and flung across the deck He tuainst the railing So swiftly that he see in one spot and then the next without passing between--Ghost stood over Finn, glaring down upon hi for words But even as he opened his mouth, Ghost struck hiainst the rail, a boxer on the ropes in sohtmare

"Do not speak," the captain ordered

Fear filled the sailor’s eyes, and he obeyed

Wiping blood fro his balance with a hand upon the foreathered around, and Jack felt sure that Ghost would command them to return to their duties But it seery fascination, al their chops in the hope of some further violence Jack prayed they would be disappointed

The captain turned from Finn and approached Jack, his footfalls on the deck al hi him anew "An explanation is due, I think"

"Si at the pains in his jaw and face as he spoke "I woke to find yourto rob ht hi, es of his ht, it does not reach his eyes

"What could you possibly have that would be worth such punish for at all?"