stumbled as Constance, the ship's resident girl-turned-cat, wound herself around his ankles, her tail curling up his boot. "Jean, get this blasted cat "My sister!" Jean snapped, “the feline in question off my boots," Jack said.Jean shook his head, looking down fondly at the purring cat. Jean was the only one in the crew who was ever so adoring toward the ragged, ill-tempered beast. This made sense, as Jean insisted that the beast in question was his sister under a mystic's curse."I could pull her away," Jean said, shrugging, "but what good would it do? Soon she would return." Jean sighed. "I think she li kes you," he said in a singsong tone to Jack, blowing mocking kisses at his captain.Jack sneered back at Jean and his half-cat sister-thing.Within a few minutes, the island was close enough for the crew to make out details: the high mountains in the distance and the many palm trees on the coastline. Arabella grabbed Fitzwilliam's spyglass and surveyed the coastline."Jack, ye were right when ye guessed that the sheath was pointing to the Sword-- whether this island be Isla Fortuna or not," Arabella said, her face as serious as Jack had ever seen it. "Thank you," Jack said flatly, grabbing the spyglass from her and surveying the island himself. "And what, pray tell, finally convinced you of my great, underestimated wisdom?""Nothing. But now I believe in th e sheath's magic. Because that " She raised her hand to the horizon, her finger pointing at fluttering white outlines of sails."--that is the Cutlass. “Left -Foot Louis's ship?" Fitzwilliam said, leaning so far over the railing that he was in danger of falling overboard. Jack resisted the urge to boot Fitzwilliam in the aristocratic rear and help the process along. "How can you be certain?""See the flag? The skull and crossbones of the Jolly Roger are scarlet instead of white-- that's him. That's his symbol." Arabella hugged herself, looking sad and uncomfortable.Jack adjusted the spyglass to better see the Cutlass. Arabella's sharp eyes had not failed her. The blood-red skull appeared to be laughing eerily, as the flag flapped in the wind. A few figures moved about on deck-- Louis's crew--all busy with something or other.This was good news, as far as Jack was concerned. Left-Foot Louis was a notorious pirate. Evil and deranged--at best. But the crew als o suspected that Louis had the powerful Sword of Cortes in his possession. And the crew wanted the Sword of Cortes badly--to keep its power out of the hands of pirates, and to experience the freedom that power would bring."Sails down," Jack commanded, tucking the spyglass into his belt so that he could steer the ship eastward. "We need to make ourselves a little less conspicuous."Jean smirked. "I never thought I would hear you say you wanted to be less conspicuous, Jack.""Okay then," Jack said, "why don't we just send up smoke signals, alert them to our presence and invite them aboard for high tea?"Tumen and Jean nodded quickly and shuffled across the deck. They had crossed Louis once before. The pirate had sworn to kill t hem both and skin Constance the next time around. "No, there's really no need to see that brute or his crew again," Jean said."Aye, we'll see him again," Arabella said quietly. "But not until we're ready.""I like your style," Jack said, winking at her.Jack steered the Barnacle toward the island's main port, Puerto San Judas. The crew was tense as the Barnacle slipped away from the Cutlass, and even Jack felt a little stir of dread. Not that he couldn't lick Louis in a fair fight any day of the week, but the Cutlass had cannons. Large ones. Lots of them. The Barnacle was little more than a fishing boat. That sort of thing skewed the odds in Louis's favor.As soon as they rounded the sandy cove of Isla Fortuna, and palm trees finally hid the---- - As Jean and Tumen told the crew in Barnacle entirely, the crew breathed a collective sigh of relief. Jean and Tumen grinned at one another, and even Fitzwilliam's
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