Narrator: In the darkness of the night the Dark Shark, captain Roger’s pirate ship, sneaks up on the galleon Madonna. This ship is supposed to sail a load of gold from the American main land through the Black Reef to Europe. The fence McMoney sold this information to captain Roger for a lot of money. And amazingly at the specified time the lookout sees the gold ship from the crow’s nest of the dark Shark.
Lookout: Ship ahoy; there is a ship to the southwest!
Roger: It’s the Madonna, she is coming, slow and lumbering because she is filled to the brim with gold.
Will: Now I see her as well. She is heading straight towards us.
(Cannon fire sounds.)
Pirates: Hey! Who is that? Who is shooting at the Madonna? What is this supposed to mean, captain? Someone is out there! Heh! There is another ship to the side of it. Someone is stealing our booty.
Roger: This can’t be true.
Will: We are not the only ones who have snuck up on the Madonna.
Roger: Damn it. Can anyone see who the others are?
Will: Sorry captain, I can only see that it’s a very large ship. Bigger than our Dark Shark.
Narrator: Every time the cannons on the other ship fire long flames shoot out of the cannon muzzles. The flames light up the side of the ship and its sails. Then, as the cannons go quiet, everything returns to darkness.
Roger: Do you think it’s the barracuda?
Will: Hmm, it could be.
Popsy: Fire and brimstone. Ohohohoh argh.
Roger: If only we could see better.
Will: The other ship is now right next to the Madonna.
Roger: Bloody pirates. They are boarding my ship, they are taking my gold. Honourless scoundrels!
Will: Captain, we should leave. The booty is lost to us and we can’t get into a fight, the other ship is far superior.
Roger: Yes yes, you are right. But I ask you Will, who else did McMoney sell the information to?
Will: You think McMoney has betrayed us?
Roger: I’m sure of it. But he will be mistaken; I’ll show that dirty character that he can’t pull those tricks with me.
Popsy: Pirate! Gallows noose!
Roger: We’ll retreat. Rummy, set course for the pirate village.
Rummy: Ay ay, captain. Set course for the pirate village.
Narrator: At dawn the Dark Shark returns to the safe harbour of the pirate village. They have barely anchored before captain Roger and bosun Will rush to McMoney’s store where you literally can buy or sell anything. Gold, silver, jewellery, weapons, gunpowder or information, McMoney has everything, knows everything.
(Captain Roger knocks on the door and a dog barks.)
Roger: McMoney! Get out here, now! I have to talk to you. Come out already!
McMoney: Captain Roger, why are you making so much noise?
Roger: You haven’t heard anything yet, I’m just getting started. I only have the right hand left, you see? Left I have an iron hook. But let fate take my healthy hand if you aren’t a swindling dog.
McMoney: Me? A swindler? Captain, I object to that. No one on this island is more honest than I am.
Roger: There was another ship. It took my gold.
McMoney: And? Why is that my fault?
Roger: You didn’t only sell me the information that the galleon was coming, you also sold the information to someone else. Probably captain Foul.
McMoney: Captain, I’m outraged, how can you accuse me of something like that? You can’t accuse me of doing something that mean.
Will: And where did the other ship come from then? Eh?
Popsy: Cheater! Swindler!
Will: How did the crew know about the galleon?
McMoney: Think about it Will, I have also bought the information.
Popsy: The little sweetie.
McMoney: After all, I was not on the mainland myself, but someone else was.
Roger: And you are saying that he swindled you?
McMoney: It’s the only explanation. I’m sorry. You should still not take all the damages though; I’ll give you back half of what you paid.
Polly: Little sweetie.
Narrator: Neither captain Roger or bosun Will are convinced that McMoney is telling the truth, but they cant prove anything to him. The captain returns to the ship. Will instead takes a walk along coast of the bay that lays up to the harbour. He wants to go swimming in the ocean. Then he seen a man who fully dressed is lying on a beam that slowly drifts towards the beach. Will jumps into the water and swims out to him.
Will: Hey! Hello stranger, I’ll help you.
Don Carlos: Yes señor, I can’t make it on my own.
Will: Just stay on the beam, I’ll push you to the beach.
Don Carlos: Oh, uno miracle, it’s a miracle that I’m still alive.
Will: Who are you? And where do you come from?
Don Carlos: I’m Don Carlos Detargo Nemontekazim first officer of the Madonna, which was attack and boarded by pirates last night. And you, amigo?
Will: I’m Will, bosun of the Dark Shark. So Don Carlos it is?
Don Carlos: Don Carlos Detargo Nemontekazim.
Will: Do I have to list off all you names every time I want to talk to you?
Don Carlos: No no, Don Carlos is enough because you have saved my life. Gracias, muchas gracias, thank you very much.
Will: That’s what I thought, Don Carlos. You can get down from the beam now, you can stand here. Come, I’ll help you.
Don Carlos: Gracias; thank you, thank you.
Will: You said that the Madonna was attacked, did it sink?
Don Carlos: No, only the first cannonball hit the ship. I was thrown to the side and fell overboard. The other cannonballs hit the water next to me, but I remained unharmed.
Will: Oh, and what kind of ship was it that attacked the Madonna? Could you see that?
Don Carlos: I’m not sure.
Will: What do you suspect? Could you read the name that was written on the bow? Tell me.
Don Carlos: Si si, I believe it was the Cannonball.
Will: The governor’s ship? But… I can almost not believe it. W-w-why should Broadside have attacked the Madonna?
Don Carlos: Because the Madonna should bring gold to Europe. I don’t think there has ever been so much gold on a ship, as there was on the Madonna.
Narrator: Bosun Will brings the first officer of the Madonna to captain Roger and tells him what he has heard. The captain of the Dark Shark is outraged. That governor Broadsde has stolen the fat loot from right under his nose is an insult to him. By his pirate honour, he can’t let that pass unpunished.
Roger: So it was Governor Broadside? It just had to be him. This is outrageous.
Don Carlos: I’m not completely sure, capitán, but I am pretty sure.
Roger: Broadside has the gold, I can’t believe it. He is a pirate of the worst kind.
Don Carlos: It could of cause also be that the governor has put the Madonna under his protection.
Roger: Under his protection? Ha ha ha, don’t make me laugh. Had the Madonna passed the island and sailed out to the open sea no one would have been able to stop her.
Don Carlos: That is also true.
Roger: Well, Don Carlos, what do you want to do?
Don Carlos: I want to make you an offer, capitán Roger.
Roger: I’m listening.
Don Carlos: Help me to get the Madonna back, free the crew and at least save some of the gold.
Roger: Why should I do that?
Don Carlos: Because I will pay you 10% of the loot.
Roger: Ha ha ha, 10%, you must be joking, Don Carlos. I demand 50% of the gold we retrieve, and not an ounce less.
Don Carlos: 50%? That’s too much, capitán.
Roger: Then forget about your offer, I’m not interested.
Don Carlos: Uh, 25%.
Roger: I’ll do nothing for less than 50%.
Don Carlos: Alright, alright, 50%.
Roger: Ha! I’m your man, Don Carlos. We’ll turn up the heat under Broadside. We’ll take the Madonna, the prisoners and the gold away from him. Rummy, set the sails!
Rummy: Ay ay, captain. All men on deck! We are setting off! To the rigging, men. We are setting sails!
Narrator: The winds are not in their favour, the Dark Shark has to crisscross to get to La Sabatina, the island where the Governor lives. It almost takes her two days. What can all have happened menwhile? In a remote bay captain Roger sets off a little commando unit, it is led by helmsman Rummy. Bosun Will is also part of the party.
Rummy: I hope no one has been watching us.
Will: Yes, that would get unpleasant.
Rummy: Come on men, we’re walking, the others return to the Dark Shark. I’ll signal when we’ll need reinforcements.
Will: Yes, we’ll light two fires on the beach, just like we agreed on.
Rummy: That makes everything clear. So, let’s go.
Pirates: Ay ay, helmsman. Good luck, we’re leaving.
Rummy: We’re going to need it.
Narrator: Carefully the pirates push through the wilderness to take the shortest route to Port Royal. After about an hour they are crossing dry bush land.
Will: I would have preferred that we had stepped onto land during darkness.
Rummy: I don’t care. Keep your eyes open, and then it’ll work out.
Will: What do you think Rummy, do you think Don Carlos knows who we are?
Rummy: You bet he does, the man is not stupid. He knows that he is working with pirates. He has no other options to get the gold.
Will: Watch out! Soldiers on horses.
Rummy: Get to the bushes, men. And keep your heads down, hurry. Be completely quiet.
De Martinet: Deughah! Why are you shooting?
Soldier: I thought I saw someone hiding in the bushes.
De Martinet: Oh, you fool, that was just a couple of parrots, not pirates. You have to stay calm. It is of no use to shoot at everything that moves, huh.
Soldier: I’d rather shoot one time too many than one time too few, Lt. De Martinet. The governor is expecting pirates to come to the island. If I see one of them then I’ll shoot.
De Martinet: Tsk, tsk, tsk, don’t panic, it could also have been a harmless fisher or trapper.
Soldier: Ah, the next time I’ll be more careful.
De Martinet: Keep going!
Rummy: That was close. It’s good that he didn’t see us.
Will: Governor Broadside appears to be nervous. He fears for the large amounts of gold that he has captured.
Narrator: As helmsman Rummy, Will and the other Pirates reach Port Royal it had become dark. Soldiers are patrolling the streets, the pirates sneak past them to the fruit seller Skip, who already has helped them a few times when they have been on La Sabatina.
Rummy: Before you start talking, Skip, give me a rum, I’m dying from thirst.
Skip: That’s not a problem.
Rummy: Ah, that hit the spot. And now, what do you know?
Will: Who has captured the Madonna?
Skip: The Cannonball, Orh hor hor hor horh. But she didn’t capture the Madonna. She took the Madonna under her protection because of the ever present pirate threat.
Will: But there was a fire fight. The Madonna was damaged.
Skip: An unfortunate accident, because they probably didn’t want to delay the Madonna, as long as the gold is on board. The other shots intentionally missed, as it is said. They only wanted to stop the Madonna.
Rummy: That crook, he is lying through his teeth to get his hands on the gold of the Madonna.
Skip: The Madonna returned fire, the Cannonball was damaged.
Will: What? Returned fire? Huh, Skip, that is a lie.
Skip: I wasn’t there, but I know better, the Cannonball is in the shipyard. The damages are being repaired there. The Madonna must have opened fire.
Narrator: Will and Rummy briefly look at each other. Skip must be wrong, or the Cannonball must be at the shipyard for another reason. Don Carlos would probably have told them if the Madonna had returned fire. But they stay quiet.
Will: And what is up with the Madonna?
Skip: She is in a bay close by. Ho ho ho ho, if you were thinking about getting your hands on the gold, better forget it again. No ship has ever been as heavily guarded as the Madonna. No one gets close to her.
Will: I have to get into Fort Rasselsword.
Rummy: I understand, you want to go to your lovely Camilla.
Will: Just that, Rummy. Wait here for me.
Narrator: Will leaves the fruit merchant’s home. Carefully he walks through the nightly streets of Port Royal. He has to hide in a house entrance again and again. There are soldiers everywhere, and he knows that they will shoot immediately if they spot him. But he succeeds at getting to Fort Rasselsword unseen and gets through the hidden hole in the wall. He throws pebbles at Camilla’s window and a little later she comes down to him in the garden.
Camilla: Ah, Will, I’m so happy that you came, even if it was rather reckless of you.
Will: Why reckless? Because of the many soldiers?
Camilla: Yes. They have the orders to shoot immediately if they feel threatened. And those cowards always feel threatened.
Will: And all of this just because your uncle has taken the Madonna under his protection, as he calls it.
Camilla: Hmm, also that, but that is not what is most important. My uncle expects visitors from Europe.
Will: Aha.
Camilla: A member of the royal family will stay in Port Royal with a little fleet for a few hours.
Will: How unpleasant for the governor. Someone could get on to him and take away his golden source of income.
Camilla: You can’t talk to him at all, he is close to panicking. He fears that it will be discovered what he has done with the Madonna.
Will: That could certainly end badly for him.
Camilla: Oh yes. He would not be governor anymore and he would also have to expect a punishment.
Will: Hmh, so he will do something.
Camilla: Yes, he has to do something. He just can’t wait it out. Oh, if I just knew what he was going to do.
Will: Come, we’ll go inside. Maybe we’ll get to know something.
Camilla: No, we can’t. Will, if the soldiers spot you they’ll shoot you. My uncle is unpredictable.
Will: He is scared, I understand that. Despite that we’ll still go inside; you will make sure that I won’t be spotted. Come.
Camilla: If you insist.
Narrator: Fearlessly bosun Will enters the den of the lion. Camilla suffers through a thousand fears, but she gets him past the guards into a little room, which is placed right next to the salon. Though a little window they are able to see governor Broadside, he is sitting at the table and is eating a roasted turkey.
Camilla: That’s Lt. De Martine, he probably wants to talk to my uncle.
Will: Yes, it seems that we came just at the right time.
Camilla: Hmmhmm.
De Martinet: Your honour, I’m at your service.
Broadside: Good, De Martinet, very good.
De Martinet: Yes.
Broadside: Sit down.
De Martinet: Yes, thank you.
Broadside: Now listen.
De Martinet: Yes.
Broadside: The gold of the Madonna has to disappear, at least for a while.
De Martinet: Yes, until the royal visitor has left again, sir.
Broadside: I have a brilliant idea, it is truly worthy of me.
De Martinet: I’m convinced of that.
Broadside: We switch the ballast of the Cannonball out with the gold. The preparations for it have started already.
Narrator: Will skips a breath as he hears the plan that the governor has thought out. The idea is actually surprisingly good. Every ship carries large amount of lead deep in its belly so it stays steady in the waters and won’t capsize easily even during a storm.
Will: Truly brilliant, I have to give him that.
Camilla: Mmmh.
De Martinet: When will it take place?
Broadside: Tonight. The Spaniards will form a long chain and will bring the gold, which has been packed into little bags, from the Madonna to the Cannonball. Our soldiers will watch over them.
De Martinet: Oh, that’s difficult, your honour. In the shipyard’s area they have to crawl through a low corridor or the have to take a long way around the foot of the mountain.
Broadside: They have to get through the corridor, there is no other way. Ha ha, let them crawl on all four, I don’t care. The important thing is that they bring the gold to the Cannonball.
De Martinez: And what happens to the crew of the Madonna after that?
Broadside: We’ll make short work of them. Tomorrow morning I’ll put them on trial, I will convict them of piracy and have them executed.
De Martinet: Oh, is that necessary, your honour?
Broadside: It’s unavoidable. I can’t have any witnesses to our… slip up.
De Martinet: Eh, yes sir.
Broadside: It’s bad enough than many soldiers know of it.
De Martinet: And the Madonna?
Broadside: As soon and the gold is no longer on board well drag her out to sea and…eh…sink her. Then everything would be in order.
De Martinet: Oh, brilliant, your honourable, most honoured honour.
Broadside: Yes yes yes yes, that’s just what I said. Brilliant, yes. Make sure that everything works as I have planned and then your promotion will be sure. I mean, you have been waiting on it for so long, my friend, right?
De Martinet: Oh yes. I would be extraordinarily thankful to you, your honour. Yes, yes.
Broadside: Yes yes yes yes, that’s enough. Now come, we still have to talk about some details with the officers.
Camilla: This is unbelievable.
Will: He will never promote De Martinet.
Camilla: No, he always just promises it. And the lieutenant is dumb enough to fall for it every time. Oh, what will you do?
Will: I will certainly make sure that the crew of the Madonna won’t be executed.
Camilla: Yes, you have to free the men; no harm must come to them.
Will: We’ll do what we can, Camilla. Unfortunately we don’t have much time. Everything will have to be done by tomorrow, or it’ll be too late.
Camilla: Oh, I’m so ashamed of my uncle.
Will: You don’t have to. First tell me what corridor it is that the men from the Madonna have to reach the gold through.
Camilla: Come with me next door, there I have a map of Port Royal and the shipyard. There you can see everything precisely.
Narrator: Quickly Will goes back to the fruit vendor Skip, where Rummy and the others are sitting in jolly company. But the mood instantly changes as the men are told what is at stake. Some of the run to the coast and light the fires as a signal to the Dark Shark. And it doesn’t take long before captain Roger arrives at fruit vendor Skip’s house.
Will: Hello captain, about time.
Roger: Will, where are the prisoners? Who is guarding them? How can we free them? Have you been looking around or have you been sitting here on your lazy bum?
Popsy: Slug! Bird brain! Lazy bum!
Will: Be quiet Popsy, we don’t have times for jokes.
Popsy: Sweet sleep. (Yawns)
Willy: So captain, the crew of the Madonna is in a canyon behind Fort Rasselsword. I have already thought of a way how we can free them.
Roger: Then tell us.
Will: We will make a firework, what it is going to look like I’ll tell you later. First we’ll need a lot of gunpowder, paper and fuses.
Roger: You’ll get that. Go on, what more?
Will: Before that something else, the gold is brought aboard the Cannonball tonight. That is why the governor’s ship is in the shipyard, and not because it was damaged.
Roger: The gold, it is more important than the prisoners. Is there an opportunity to take it away from Broadside?
Will: Even a very good one. Listen up, the men from the Madonna form a long chain from the Madonna to the Cannonball. One passes the gold which has been packed into a red bag to the next until it ends aboard the Cannonball. On the shipyard’s territory the human chain goes through an underground corridor.
Roger: Yes, and?
Will: Listen carefully, captain, this corridor leads underneath a vault. In there the shipyard’s lead which is used as ballast on the ships is stored.
Roger: Yes, and?
Will: The vault is unguarded.
Roger: I still don’t understand it. What does this have to do with the gold?
Willy: That’s what I was just going to tell you. Listen up, we will go into the wault….
Narrator: While in considerable danger captain Roger and his men sneak into the shipyard’s territory. There the cannonball lays lit up by countless torches. She is closely guarded. But no one guards the lead vault. The pirates can get in there unnoticed. Bosun Will watches what is happening at the shipyard and follows the others a little later.
Popsy: Don’t be lazy, men! Har har hahahaha.
Roger: The guys must dig and hurry.
Rummy: Will is also here now.
Roger: That took you long Will, what was going on?
Will: The Spaniards are forming two long chains from the Madonna to the Cannonball. They are closely guarded, not even a mouse could escape the soldiers notice.
Rummy: Two chains? Why that?
Will: Pretty simple, Rummy, one of the chains carries the gold from the Madonna to the Cannonball, and the other carries the lead, which has been packed into blue bags, from the Cannonball to the Madonna.
Rummy: Oh, I understand now.
Roger: Then the Spaniards must be directly underneath us, both chains. How far are we?
Rummy: We are through. Take a look yourself captain, the corridor is open to us. The Spaniards are looking at us as if we came from another world.
Will: Carlos, now it’s your turn.
Roger: Yes, there are your men, Don Carlos. Quickly, speak to them. They must understand what we are going to do; our plan won’t work without their help.
Don Carlos: You can trust me, señores. You down there, do you hear me? This is Don Carlos Detargo Nemontekazim, who is down there in the corridor?
Juan: It’s me, Don Carlos, Juan Saragossa, the gunner. We thought you were dead.
Don Carlos: As you can see I’m still alive. Listen Juan, we have a plan. We want to save the gold and we want to free you all.
Juan: I’ll tell the other right away, señor.
Don Carlos: Be careful Juan, so the governor’s soldiers won’t notice.
Juan: What should I do, señor?
Don Carlos: When the bags with the gold comes give them to us up here.
Juan: I can’t do that Don Carlos, there are soldiers everywhere outside, and they will do something immediately if the gold doesn’t arrive.
Don Carlos: Ho hoho, don’t be so scared Juan. We’ll take the gold from the bags and switch it with lead, then you’ll get the bag back, and hand it on to the Cannonball.
Juan: I don’t understand señor.
Don Carlos: Ha ha, you don’t have to, the important thing is that you do as you are told.
Juan: Si si señor, I’ll obey.
Don Carlos: Good: When does it start?
Juan: Now, the gold is coming.
Don Carlos: Good, good. Give it to us up here, bag by bag.
Narrator: The gunner lifts the gold up through the hole in the ground. Captain Roger and his men quickly take it out of the bags, replace it with lead, and give it back to the people below. Juan takes it and sends it on. Exactly the same happens to all gold bags after that.
Spaniard: Heave ho, heave ho.
Roger: Ah, it works.
Will: Not gold is sent to the Cannonball but lead. The soldiers only make sure that its red bags.
Roger: Yes and from there comes the lead in the blue bags that should be brought to the Madonna.
Will: But we take that ourselves and replace it with gold. And now it’s not lead that arrives at the Madonna, but the gold returns to there. The soldiers see blue bags and don’t get suspicious.
Roger: It’s a pity that Broadside uses different bags for lead and gold. Everything would be so much easier if they had the same colour.
Don Carlos: Señor capitán, for the large amounts of gold you will receive as pay you will have to work a little, or what?
Popsy: Work captain! Lazy bum! Gallows noose!
Narrator: It is really hard work. Gold and lead are heavy and the men have to be quick, because there must be no pauses. They work hour after hour; it’s a humongous amount of gold that has to be moved. Slowly the night comes to an end.
From the terrace of his palace in Fort Rasselsword governor Broadside watches what is happening on the harbour. He is enjoying an extensive breakfast that has everything good that the island La Sabatina has to offer. As the sun rises lt. De Martinet comes to him filled with pride.
De Martinet: Bon appetit your honour. Ha ha ha.
Broadside: yes yes yes, thank you, thank you lieutenant. So, how far are we?
De Martinet: Ah, it is almost done, governor, just at this moment the last gold bars are brought from the Madonna onto the Cannonball and left there as ballast.
(Both of them laugh.)
Broadside: What a stroke of genius. Ha ha, lieutenant, you can be sure that you will be promoted. You’ll probably become governor of one of the islands up north.
De Martinet: Your honour, I don’t know what to say.
Broadside: You can thank me later lieutenant. And one thing more.
De Martinet: Yes?
Broadside: As it has worked so wonderfully…
De Martinet: Yes?
Broadside: I’ll be open for talk about Camilla.
De Martinet: Oh, Camilla.
Broadside: Yes yes yes, I know that you have had an eye on my beautiful niece.
De Martinet: Not just one.
Broadside: When you become governor you will become a useful party for her.
De Martinet: Oh, I thank you, I, I thank you a lot.
Broadside: Enough already, De Martinet, enough. But now to today’s business.
De Martinet: Yes.
Broadside: Look out to the ocean, take my spyglass.
De Martinet: Ah, the other way around.
Broadside: Eh?
De Martinet: Yes, your honour?
Broadside: What do you see?
De Martinet: Three ships on the horizon, sir.
Broadside: Our royal visit. The ships will sail into the harbour during the day. The wind only blows weakly, so they will need a few hours before they arrive here.
De Martinet: Ah, that makes the situation a little difficult; we were first expecting the visitor to come tomorrow.
Broadside: Right.
De Martinet: What do we do with the prisoners and the Madonna?
Broadside: We have to act quickly and with determination.
De Martinet: Yes.
Broadside: Everything has to be done in a few hours. Time schedule: 8 o’ clock, war trial and conviction of the prisoners.
De Martinet: Yes.
Broadside: 9 o’ clock, execution of the prisoners.
De Martinet: Oh yes.
Broadside: 10 o’ clock, sinking of the Madonna.
De Martinet: Hu huhu, you can trust me, your honour. The time schedule will be kept.
Broadside: We have to. After all, we want to give the royal visitor a warm welcome.
Narrator: The Spanish prisoners are tired and exhausted. They are brought back to the canyon where a camp has been made for them by the soldiers. Captain Roger and his pirates are hiding in the bushes and behind the rocks. In the meanwhile they have made a lot of fireworks. They are also tired, but they are ready to fight.
Will: Captain, how long are we still going to wait?
Roger: Don’t be so impatient Will, in a moment.
Will: I hope everything works.
Popsy: Worker! Ahahaha.
Will: Quiet!
Roger: Come on men, we’ll give them hell! Fire!
Pirates: Fire! Fire! Fire!
(The fireworks are exploding.)
Popsy: egg dispenser! Señor, shiver my bones!
Narrator: The fireworks are exploding, howling and whistling and make an awful lot of noise. The echo of the canyon even intensifies it. This gives the soldiers the impression that they are being attacked by a superior force from all sides at once.
Will: At them! Take their weapons away!
Don Carlos: Flee compadres, to the Madonna. Yes to the Madonna!
Spaniard: Run! Run!
Juan: Flee to the Madonna.
Roger: Ha ha ha, take a look at this Will. The governor’s soldiers are running away. Your plan was great.
Will: The Spaniards are making it, they don’t need our help any more, captain. We have to get back to the Dark Shark.
Roger: Yes, you are right. We are retreating.
Narrator: The Spaniards are storming to the Madonna and immediately sail out to sea. Governor Broadside can’t follow them, because his soldiers are scattered to the winds. When lt. De Martinet finally succeeds at preparing one of the ships the Spaniards are long gone. The Dark Shark escorts the Madonna to the Pirate Island. Already the next morning the twos ships secretly throw anchor in a bay. There they float peacefully next to each other and everyone can relax a little.
Pirate: Up it goes.
Roger: Rummy!
Rummy: Yes, captain?
Roger: Where is Will? It has been hours since I have last seen the bosun. He shall come to me immediately.
Rummy: I have been looking for him as well. He is not on the ship.
Roger: Not on the ship? What is that supposed to mean?
Rummy: That Will didn’t get on board on Sabatina. Could be that the soldiers caught him. I don’t know exactly.
Roger: He is still on La Sabatina? I don’t hope so.
Rummy: If Broadside gets his hands on him it will end badly.
Roger: Yes, but he has to get through it on his own. We can’t do anything for him. Come on, we’ll walk over to the Madonna.
Narrator: Since the ships are right next to each other captain Roger and his helmsman are able to get over on the Spanish gold ship without any effort. Don Carlos greets them.
Don Carlos: I have been expecting you, señores. Unfortunately our capitán is not up yet. He is sick, and he feels very, very weak. That’s why I’ll give you your share of the gold.
Roger: Ha ha, that’s exactly why I’m here, Don Carlos.
Narrator: Captain Roger looks at Don Carlos with his twinkling eye. The gold fever grabbed him long ago. He didn’t even sleep for a second that night. And now he enters the belly of the ship with the Spaniard to receive his part of the loot.
Will missed the chance to get on board on the Dark Shark. He had to hide from a few soldiers, after that it was too late. Now he’s in Port Royal. He has watched how the 3 ships from the royal fleet have anchored. Now he stands alongside the fruit vendor Skip in the group of curious people next to the Cannonball.
Skip: Will! The royal visitor is walking off the ship.
Will: True, it’s the prince. He seems to be interested in the Cannonball. Broadside is with him, he is pale as chalk.
Skip: Someone must have given the royal visitor a tip.
Will: Right, otherwise he would not be interested in the Cannonball. Maybe it was one of the soldiers or someone from the shipyard who wants to get back at Broadside. Greedy people like the governor have lots of enemies.
Skip: You are right. He has a lot of witnesses and one of them must have talked. There! Broadside and the prince are getting on the ship and are going below deck.
Old man: Hahahaha, I’ll bet you, Skip, that the Prince knows exactly what he’s looking for.
Will: Yes, looks like he wants to take a look at the ballast of the Cannonball.
Skip: Ah, this is going to end badly for the governor. We should rather get out of here. Who knows how Broadside will react when he doesn’t find any gold down there, but only lead.
Will: I’ll stay, I want to know how this goes on.
Narrator: On the Pirate Island work is getting done. The pirates are helping the Spaniards repair the Madonna. The work is done, the gold ship gets ready to sail out on the long journey across the ocean, then a little sailboat sails into the bay.
Popsy: Shiver my bones!
Roger: Popsy you idiot. How often have I told you, its shiver my timbers.
Popsy: Idiot! Captain bonehead!
Don Carlos: I fear that the parrot won’t learn it, capitán. Or maybe it’s an especially smart animal. Hu hu hu.
Roger: Argh, he is a feathered devil. I will tell Flashfork to roast the bird.
Popsy: With garlic sauce.
Roger: Exactly. Flashfork…
Rummy: Captain! Will is here! Our bosun has arrived!
Roger: What? Sorry Don Carlos, these are the news I have been expecting for 3 days. Come.
Narrator: The pirates are gathering, everyone wants to greet Will, because he is loved by everyone. They are all thrilled that he made it to the Pirate Island.
Popsy: Honey, is it you?
Roger: Yes Popsy, it’s him. He’s one hell of a guy, he actually made it.
Will: Ahoy captain! Do you still have some use for a bosun?
Roger: Come on the ship Will! Boy have we been waiting on you!
Narrator: Captain Roger is overjoyed; he loves Will as if he was his own son. So he can barely wait for the bosun to get on the ship. Then he gives him a big hug.
Roger: Will, lad, I was afraid you weren’t going to make it.
Will: Ha ha ha, captain, I just wanted to see how the story went on in Port Royal. That’s why I stayed a little longer.
Don Carlos: I fear that governor Broadside had a hard time.
Will: You be he did. Ha ha, you won’t believe it, the royal visitor inspected the Cannonball, and broadside was pretty darn pale.
Roger: Ha, I can imagine that.
Rummy: Ho ho ho, I’ll let him have it.
Roger: Tell us, what happened?
Will: The royal visitor must have learned of the attack on the Madonna. He went into the Cannonball because he obviously expected to find gold there.
Roger: And Broadside?
Will: He was sweating blood and water. He was certain that he would experience the horrible end of his career and lose all the gold.
Roger: And? Keep on telling!
Will: Broadside saw hundreds of red bags lying in the Cannonball. But then someone opened one of the bags and found only lead in it.
Roger: Yes, and Broadside?
Will: His position as governor was saved, but he was probably close to passing out. I saw how he came out of the ship, a little more and he would have been leaning up against the royal visitor.
Pirates: I should have seen that. Broadside is finished.
Roger: Ha ha ha, the worst part is, Broadside probably doesn’t know where all the gold went.
Will: Ah, I still have something to say about that. Shall it tell you about it?
Pirate: Yes, tell already, Will!
Will: Listen up. I snuck through the hole you know in the wall around Fort Rasselsword and talked to Camilla. I met her in the palace garden.
(Flashback)
Camilla: Will? How dare you still come here? It is way too dangerous.
Will: I had to come, Camilla.
Camilla: Why? What is so important? My uncle is in a rage, he just barely manages to say goodbye to the royal visitor, and then he retired to his quarts and has been moping ever since.
Will: Even better. Then we can talk with each other in peace.
Camilla: No, we can’t. Lt. De Martinet is also brimming over with rage and disappointment of course. He should have been promoted, but now he knows that that won’t happen.
Will: Your uncle is blaming him for the affair. And I’m actually the one to blame.
Camilla: Yes, I know. But how on earth did you manage to make all that gold disappear?
Will: That, my dear Camilla, I have written down for you here.
Camilla: Oh?
Will: Read it and put in on the governor’s desk.
Camilla: Wait a minute, I have to take a look at this. You did…ahah! But that is unbelievable. Fantastic, what a prank!
Will: And it is an even bigger prank to now tell the governor how we tricked him.
Camilla: You are right, he has earned it. I’ll put the letter on his desk, he must read this.
(End of the flashback, the pirates are laughing.)
Narrator: Don Carlos, captain Roger and there others are shaking with laughter after they have heard Will’s story. Now they really think this raid has been a lot of fun.
Roger: The governor? Tell us Will, did he read the letter? Does he now know how we took the gold from him?
Will: You bet he does. I saw how he ran to lead vault at the shipyard. He ran as if the devil was chasing him.
Roger: Then he must have seen the hole in the floor.
Will: Yes, he knows. He didn’t run as fast back to the palace.
Roger: And then?
Will: He rages, he yelled and threw plates around.
Roger: It’s a pity that the people of Port Royal don’t know how badly we have tricked Broadside.
Will: Why do you think that they don’t know it?
Roger: They know it? From who?
Will: Captain, you still don’t know me? I made sure that everyone in Port Royal gets to know what has happened. They have never laughed as much as they do these days. Broadside is embarrassed beyond belief.
Don Carlos: Excellent, señores, I am happy to have met you, even if it did cost me a lot of gold.
Will: And we wish you a good journey home, Don Carlos.
Roger: Bring the gold to Europe. Or should we take it under our protection as a precaution?
Don Carlos: Not necessary, capitán, we’ll set out to sea. It’s about time that we return to Spain and there I will report what happened here.
Roger: To that señor. I’m sure all of Europe wants to, ha ha, laugh at Broadside!
The End.