Agreen replied with an enormous grin. âA couple oâ days, tâ answer your question. I was aboard my brigantine, workinâ away, beinâ the good servant that I am, when I noticed this fancy topmast schooner prancinâ about the harbor. As
Iâm watching her Iâm thinkinâ her crew hasnât a clue how tâ handle her proper; sheâs bound to smash up there on the lee shore. So who else could be her captain if not my long-lost friend, Richard Cutler? And who else in his right mind would have the gall tâ paint such a beautiful hull yellow ? So I rowed over.â
âWhat you mean is, you got my letter.â
âWell, that too,â Agreen chuckled. âSo what brings you up here, my friend? To offer me a kingâs ransom tâ quit my employ and join yours, so I can fish up there on deck with your crew?â
âNothing quite so glamorous, Agee.â Richard motioned to the settee. âHave a seat. We have some catching up to do.â
The time invested in catching up was brief. After a few minutes, Richard said, âWe can talk more about this over supper. You can stay aboard?â Agreen nodded. âExcellent. Now, Agee, hereâs the situation. Falcon was launched a month ago. This is her shakedown cruise, as you know from my letter. For a destination I chose Falmouthâexcuse me, Portlandâfor reasons you understand and also because there was the outside chance I might find you here.â
âSo this hereâs a social call?â
âFar from it.â
âWhat, then?â
âI have a business proposition for you. I canât pay you a kingâs ransom, but I can pay you a fair wage if youâll agree to join me on Falcon âs maiden voyage.â
âWhere to?â
âAlgiers. With a stopover on the way at Gibraltar.â
Agreen whistled softly. âAlgiers. Jesus, Richard. Youâre takinâ her right into the lionâs den.â
âI am. Thatâs why sheâs painted yellow. Ben Hallowell recommended it. Dark paint absorbs heat and cracks a shipâs planking.â
Agreen nodded, his face grave. âI assume this has to do with Eagle ? Everywhere I go, people still talk about it. And theyâre still mad as hell.â
âAs well they should be. Itâs why the states acted as boldly as they did in Philadelphia. America is tired of being pushed around, Agee. Iâm going to Algiers to get Caleb and his shipmates out of there. This will cost my family a kingâs ransom, but itâs worth every piece of eight we have to pay.â
âAnâ youâre asking me tâ join you on this cruise?â Agreen asked rhetorically.
âYes. As Falcon âs sailing master. With the understanding that should you choose to remain in the employ of Cutler and Sons after we return home, youâll be awarded a vessel of your own, most likely this very schooner. Weâll have with us a crew of twenty-five men, the same men you saw up on deck. Each is skilled at more than catching fish, I assure you. And weâll be going armed into the lionâs den, Agee. Do you remember meeting General Lincoln when you were in Hingham? Heâs requisitioning six 6-pounders for us through our mutual friend Richard Dale,â referring to a fellow prisoner-of-war in England and Bonhomme Richard âs first lieutenant. Dale was one of the few former Continental Navy officers who retained meaningful connections with what remained of Americaâs military.
âCarriage guns, Richard? On a merchant vessel?â
âYes. And swivel guns. And not just on Falcon . Mr. Jay is calling on all American merchant captains to arm their vessels because we have no navy to protect them. There arenât enough guns to go around, so we had to act quickly to get them.â
Agreen reflected on that. âThatâs the reason for the reinforced planking I noticed on
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