1636: Seas of Fortune by Iver P. Cooper Page B

sensible.” Prudentia didn’t sound convinced.
    “By the way, who’s that kid that’s been making googly eyes at you at Dinner and a Movie?” asked Maria.
    Prudentia blushed. “His name’s Jabe, and he’s not a kid. And he’s not making googly eyes. In fact, he can hardly look at me.”
    * * *
    Maria was walking down Buffalo Street, on her way to Hough Park. She stopped suddenly. Wasn’t that Rahel’s friend Greta in front of her? And the guy she was with was, what’s his name, Karl? He was handsome, but Maria had heard bad things about him. Should she join them? No, that probably wouldn’t work. She could follow them, but what could she do if there was trouble? She was no martial arts expert.
    Then she saw Philip on a side street. The answer to her prayers. “Philip, come join me.” Philip was brawny—he played American high school football—and knew how to fight.
    She linked arms with him. “Walk with me,” she commanded. “And talk.”
    “About what?”
    “Umm. Coconuts. Pineapples. Tropical stuff.”
    “Okay.” She let him drone on while she kept her eyes on Greta and Karl. At last, Greta and Karl parted—not without some squirming on Greta’s part—and Maria breathed a sigh of relief.
    “Did you say something?” asked Philip.
    “Thank you, this was lovely. Sorry, but I have to run. Bye!”
    * * *
    If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. The latest problem was a political one. The Company had been chartered under the laws of the New United States, which, at the time, was a sovereign state. But now the NUS was merely a part of the United States of Europe. So was the charter still valid? And if the NUS prohibited slavery on its soil, but the USE had yet to speak on the issue, was slavery forbidden in the colony?
    The lawyers whom David consulted gave him an extremely learned, expensive and authoritative “maybe.”
    * * *
    When David arrived in Hamburg, where his ship was docked, he discovered a letter waiting for him. He opened it. It read, simply, “Bring back bauxite.” The letter was unsigned.
    But he recognized the handwriting. It was that of cousin Jan. Who, last David heard, was in the employ of Louis De Geer. Mr. “I-am-sending-ships-to-the-Davis-Strait-to-hunt-whales-and-maybe-mine-a-little-gold-in-Greenland.” Even though he was a metals magnate, with no previous interest in whales. And even though the up-time books said nothing about gold in Greenland.
    But they sure said plenty about Greenland being the only source of cryolite. The critical flux for making aluminum from alumina. Which in turn was made from bauxite.
    David decided to buy some more shovels and picks. Right away.

    North Sea, December 1633

    David and his band of sailors and colonists left Hamburg on a blustery, rainy December day. It was an uncomfortable time of year to venture out on the North Sea. But that was an advantage, too; the Spanish war galleons weren’t especially seaworthy and tended to spend the winters in port.
    David was once again captain of the Walvis . As its name implied, it was a whaler, but it was also a licensed privateer. And, just as on his last journey, the Walvis was accompanied by the yacht Eikhoorn .
    The Company had doubled his force by adding the Koninck David , a two-hundred-tonner with fourteen guns, and a second yacht, the Hoop .
    It was the ideal combination of ship types for making the dangerous run south to Africa to pick up the trade winds for the Atlantic crossing. The Barbary corsairs ranged from the English Channel to Cape Verde, always hoping to capture an imprudent European ship. If they did, all aboard, crew and passengers, would be held for ransom, or simply sold as slaves at the marts of Sallee or Algiers.
    The yachts could scout ahead, warning the flotilla of danger, and in turn they could shelter under the big guns of the fluyts if they encountered any formidable foe. They would come in handy in the New World, too, being ideal for inshore work.
    Some investors in