Chapter 38
Liza and Will made their way over to the knot of Navassians who were standing
around the body of Henri. John knelt next to his father, laying his head on the
dead man’s chest, tears rolled from his eyes but he made no sound. There was
not a sound made by anyone, but most had tears. Liza and Will went up to Moto,
who was standing with the General and the colonel.
“Where is Mary?” Liza asked in a hushed voice.
“In one of the ships, helping a wounded man.” The general said with a
note of pride in his voice. “Did you speak to the queen?”
“Yes” Liza said. “We need to go to Port Au Prince as soon as we can. We
have the Ingellsdin man that survived. I have a plan, but we need to get to a
telegraph office first. Tell me Grandfather, are you still in contact with
people in the war office?”
“Absolutely. What do you suggest?”
“An offer. Once it is appropriate I will speak with John and ask him
about the… political situation.”
“Is he not king then?” Moto asked. Liza shrugged.
“It would seem to me, but who knows how it works here.”
“Does anyone know what happens next?” Will asked. Everyone shook their
head. So they waited. After what seemed like a very long time underneath the
unrelenting Caribbean sun, the group of Navassian pirates broke up and they
began to wander back to the airships. Some went around and collected various
guns and other tools from the camp, leaving the dead Ingellsdin men lying where
they fell.
“What about the men, the dead?” Liza asked. No one had an answer.
“We leave them to rot!” John said as he came up to the small group, who
had sought shelter underneath a large beach umbrella Will and Moto had found.
John’s face was etched in anger, so Liza did not say anything. She did
shudder a little, thinking about how it might have been if she had died and the
dead men around her has lived. Would they have left her to rot?
Will stood up, brushing off his pants. “I suppose, if it were all the
same, Moto and I could gather them together and put them in the trench they dug
in front of the main building?”
John spat on the ground. “Suit yourself.” He then turned and walked away.
“We’ll all help” Mary said, Liza had not seen her slide up to the group. “John
is upset, he will calm down and he would regret if we did not at least try and
give the dead a proper burial.”
So the small band gathered up the dozen or so men who has been killed and
placed them as best they could in a small trench that had been dug as fortification.
Moto and Will agreed that only a small layer of dirt was needed as there were
no animals on the island that might dig up the bodies. Liza felt like getting
sick the entire time, but kept telling herself she had to confront the dead,
not look away.
Several hours later the six of them were spent, but all of the bodies had
been buried. One of the pirates came over and spoke to Moto, who told them that
the airships were leaving. So they all trudged back , silently, to what had
been Henri’s airship.
As they lifted off from the small island the empty camp and the dirt scar
where the bodies had been buried came into full view. Liza felt like crying,
but no tears would come. She just hoped that whatever came of all this was
worth the cost.
It was a silent, hushed atmosphere back on the main ship that night. Liza
had tried to speak with John, but Adi had stepped in front of her and motioned
her to the side.
“Do not bother him now child. He is sick with grief.”
“I Know, I know Adi. I am sick even thought it was not my father, what he
feels I cannot imagine. But we do not have much time. The prisoner we have
below grows less valuable with each hour.”
“I will try to speak to him. What is it we need?”
“We need to get to Port au Prince, to a telegraph office. We need to
contact the British Army office before Ingellsdin does. He is the man behind
the group that we did battle with today.”
Adi nodded slowly. “I will speak to him then.”
It was not a half an hour later when Liza, who had been talking with Mary
about how she had been able to help several wounded pirates, looked up to see
John standing before her.
“Liza, can you not let a man grieve his own father’s death?” Liza looked
up, afraid he would be angry, but saw that he was more weary than angry.
“Time waits for no man.” Liza said standing up. She took John’s hand. “I
am truly and deeply sorry about your father John, but if we do not get a message
to the army office soon, he will have died in vain.”
John nodded, but was silent. Then he spoke quietly.
“My father used to say that work makes the heart sing. We will set down
in Port au Prince in the morning. We’ll use your basket, if that is alright?
Who needs to go?”
“Well, myself and Mary, and my grandfather, since he will send the cable.
We’ll need Will and Moto too, to help us.”
“With what?”
“The prisoner.”
“Ah yes, what do you propose we do with him then?”
“Well, it is obvious, isn’t it? We set him free!” Liza said with a smile.
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