La Espada Negra

by Jim Guy


Episode #311

Part Two of Six

They didn't have to wait until morning as Colonel Montoya and a squad of soldiers arrived at the hacienda with Tessa's horse within the hour.

Tessa rushed out when she heard the horses ride up.

"Coronel Montoya, thank goodness you came here. I have been robbed!" cried Tessa before Montoya could even come to a complete stop.

"Señorita, was a horse stolen?" asked Montoya.

"A horse? No, five horses. I heard a noise and when I came out I saw that five of my horses had been taken out of the corral and the thieves were riding away. I was going to send one of my ranchers into town in the morning."

"I can save you the trouble, at least for one of them. The others got away, I am afraid," said Montoya.

"Do you know who they were? How is it that you only recovered one?" asked Tessa.

"One of them was shot and knocked off the horse. The Queen of Swords rescued the one while the others kidnapped Doctor Helm," replied Montoya.

"Oh dear. The robber was shot? Was my horse injured?" asked Tessa as she rubbed her throat with her hand.

"Your horse is uninjured," replied Montoya. "Interesting. You are more concerned with your horse than Doctor Helm."

"It costs a lot of money to keep a good horse, Colonel. I am sure that Doctor Helm will be rescued by you and your men," replied Tessa as she took the reins from Montoya.

Montoya nodded and then led his men away.

As Tessa walked inside with Marta, who had stayed by the door, Marta took her arm.

"Don't look, Tessa, but Montoya left a soldier up on the hill," whispered Marta.

"Yes, I caught that. I hope our visitor wakes soon. We will leave the windows and shades closed in case our unwelcome guest on the hill decides to snoop," said Tessa.








Captain Milan sat at her desk in the Captain's Quarters, which she shared with the Ship's Master, Maril. She took off the glass from the hurricane lantern and trimmed the wick before replacing the glass. The lantern lit up the room with a yellow glow and reflected in the mug of rum on the desk.

The door opened. Maril walked in and tossed her cutlass on her bed. She sat down on the bed and removed her boots and sash.

"Don't worry, Margie, Angelica will be all right."

"She went to get a Doctor and got shot. Now, we have two people down and it's my fault."

"Your fault? How is it your fault? It wasn't your fault that Suzanne fell from the yard arm. Nor was it your fault that Angelica got shot."

"I am the Captain. It is my job to protect my crew," said Margie as she nursed her drink.

"You have been protecting this crew since the beginning. If it weren't for you, we would all be slaves for some fat old Don in Vera Cruz or working as putas." Maril walked to her sea chest, opened it and took out a finely-tooled sword with a plain hilt and guard.

Margie looked surprised. "Where did you get that?"

"Do you remember when we landed in Boston that time we returned the five girls that had been taken?"

"Yes, you said you had something to do and took off. You were gone two weeks and I thought we had lost you," said Margie.

"Margie, we have sailed together for three years and we never really talked about our pasts. It does seem odd that we never did."

"I have never pried into the lives of my crew. What I know was voluntarily told to me privately. I don't normally tell anyone what has been told to me confidentially," replied Margie.

"That's why the crew respects you, Captain," replied Maril. She went back to the sea chest and took out a blue uniform coat of the Continental Army. "This was my father's. After we took the women home, I went to my old home, to visit the grave of my father who fought at Brandywine, outside of Philadelphia in 1777. He survived the battle but died of Yellow Fever in 1793 when he was 39. Five thousand people died of Yellow Fever, but my mother, who was carrying me, was lucky. I was born four months later. My mother died when I was five years old and I went to live with my Uncle and his wife. They were very good to me. We moved to Cape Hatteras when I was eighteen."

"You lived at Hatteras? I'll bet you heard of the legends of Bonny and Read then," said Margie.

"That I did. My cousin Philip and I were the same age and what he did, I was allowed to do. We wrestled, rode horses, fired muskets and learned the use of a sword. After I visited Dad's grave, I stopped to see Philip. He gave me the sword Dad wore when he was in the Army."

"Philip didn't give you any trouble?"

"Are you kidding? I can out-fence him anytime, but he is a better marksman," Maril grinned. "If we fire ten times, he has ten shots in the bullseye to my nine. He is also a better rider than I am."

"Where is he now?" asked Margie.

"In 1814, he fought with Captain Coryell's Pennsylvania rifleman and guarded the Delaware Estuary in case of a British attack after Boston and Washington fell. He took up the cloth and is preaching with Frederick Plummer near Carversville, Pennsylvania."

"Soldier to preacher. That is unusual," replied Margie.

"Not really. He saw many things in the war and he figures that he went from a soldier in a man's army to being a soldier in God's army."

"He does have a point," replied Margie as she walked over and examined the sword.

"Do you remember whose idea it was to have a pink flag?" asked Maril.

Margie laughed. "Idea? It was a total accident. Angelica was doing some wash and accidentally dropped a red wool shirt in the water and walked away. When she came back the white sheet was pink."

"Is that why you made her Bosun, so she wouldn't do the wash?" asked Maril.

"Hell no. Angelica can take care of herself."

"True," Maril said thoughtfully. "And she had help in Santa Elena."

"Help? Who helped her?" asked Margie.

"A woman who dresses like us took on a circle of soldiers and rescued Angelica."

"Does she have a name?" asked Margie.

"Well, one of the soldiers yelled 'the Queen of Swords' just before he shot.

"Well, let's drink to the Queen of Swords," said Margie as they raised their mugs on high.



Act Two

Just before dawn, the wounded Angelica awoke.

"Just lie quiet," said Tessa. "The Queen of Swords brought you here to my home."

"Gracias, Señorita," replied the woman with an English accent.

"I am Tessa Alvarado and this is Marta," said Tessa nodding to Marta who was asleep in the chair next to the bed.

"I am Angelica. I was slightly awake until you started stitching me up. I know who you are, but don't worry, you saved my life and I owe you."

"Okay, Angelica. Who are you? Why are you dressed as the Queen of Swords and why did you kidnap Doctor Helm?" demanded Tessa.

"I am the Bosun of the ship La Espada Negra. One of our crew fell from a yardarm during a squall and was injured. She was in need of a Doctor. We hadn't expected any trouble until the soldiers started shooting. We hadn't done anything."

"In this pueblo, the Queen of Swords is a hunted vigilante. If you dress like the Queen, you get shot. But that doesn't answer why you were dressed as the Queen. Did you say 'she'?" asked Tessa.

We are not as famous as Anne Bonny, although one of our young women also goes by that name. We aren't even as famous as Mary Read, nor even Mary Rose. We all wear the same clothing and wear masks when we fight."

"You are pirates?" asked Marta who had woken during the exchange.

"Please, we prefer the term 'buccaneers', but I guess that is what we are," replied Angelica.

"So, a bunch of women decided to become pirates," said Tessa. Angelica nodded.

"How many ships have you attacked?" asked Marta.

"Actually, we never attacked anyone, but we have been attacked twice. Our gunner Raquel was very persuasive. She took out their main mast with the first shot. Then, she proceeded to take out the rudder and punch three holes in the hull at water level. She is very good," beamed Angelica.

"Tell us about the Captain. One can tell a lot about the crew by knowing the Captain," said Marta.

"Our Captain is Margarita Milan, but we call her Margie. The Ship's Master is Maril, and Jo is the First Mate. We decided to dress like this and wear masks so we couldn't be identified. Our flag is a pink Skull and Crossbones. Many ships see the pink and think it is the Red Flag that signifies no prisoners. Scares the hell out of anyone who comes to close."

Tessa suddenly started laughing. Marta gave her a confused look.

"What are you laughing at?" asked Marta.

"I was just imagining the look on Montoya's face when he saw six Queens riding through Santa Elena. Now he is out looking for them and might just find forty Queens. I was also thinking of the pink pirate's flag."

"What about Doctor Helm?" asked Marta.

"We aren't bad people. We needed a Doctor and came and asked him for help. We didn't kidnap him," said Angelica.

"How did you become a pirate, I mean, buccaneer?" asked Tessa.

"I have sailed with the Captain for three years. Before that, I lived with my parents in Boston. My father was a very wealthy man. Our land was over three hundred acres and we had beautiful horses. I used to ride with my brother and, much to my parent's chagrin, he taught me how to shoot and use a sword. He always said that I never knew when I might need to defend myself. My mother died of cholera when I was fifteen and when I was eighteen, my father took my brother and me to North Carolina, but they died there. After that, I joined Margie and her crew."

Angelica stopped for a moment and Marta gave her a glass of water.

"That was two years ago. Since then, we have made it a point to attack known pirate bases where they held women captive. We would land and free the women during the night. We freed forty and returned all but ten to freedom."

"Why not all of them?" asked Tessa.

"They had nowhere to go and decided to join us," replied Angelica with a yawn.

"You need your rest. Go to sleep and we will talk some more in the morning," said Marta as the two women left.








Doctor Helm and the pirates rode up to the shore as a longboat rowed towards them. Helm dismounted and climbed in as soon as the boat came close. One rider took the horses and found a place to picket them and stood guard. A few minutes later the longboat pulled alongside the ship.

Helm found himself taking stock of the vessel. It was a two-master with five cannon on the side that he could see. He assumed a like number were on the port side. He could see the furled two mainsails, two topsails. A fore staysail, a jib and a flying jib were attached to the bowsprit.

As he climbed the rope ladder, two sets of hands reached up and pulled him on board.

He stared at the two lovely women who had helped him board and he watched as the women looked him over like a side of beef.

"Doctor."

Helm turned to the voice to see a very shapely red-haired woman of about five foot six inches in height and obviously in charge.

"I am Margie, the Captain of the Espada Negra. Thank you for coming. I hope Josephine didn't scare you."

"I seem to attract masked women with swords," laughed Helm. "She did say you had an emergency."

"Right this way, Doctor. We had to move her to the Foc'sl or she would have been washed overboard."

As Helm walked to his patient, he noticed that all of the women were very shapely and lovely and they all wore swords and dressed all in black with a red sash.

"Doctor, this is Maril and Susan," she indicated the two women by the patient.

"You all speak English?" asked Helm.

"Long story, Doctor. We were captured as we traveled the seas and we are all English or American, all except for Raquel who is Spanish; said Margie.

Doctor Helm went to work checking over his patient after he motioned to the women to leave them alone.








"The Doctor is quite handsome, isn't he?" asked Maril as she and Margie went to the Captain's quarters.

"Can we keep him?" asked Josephine as she walked a pace behind.

"He is probably married or has a sweetheart," said Margie.

"I have an idea I know who," said Josephine.

"Who?" asked Maril.

"The Queen of Swords," replied Josephine. "His exact words were 'Why is it that masked people always wake me up in the middle of the night?' so I presume he knows the Queen of Swords."

"Then, you had better keep an eye on him," said Maril.

Jo followed Helm with a grin on her face. "I will be happy to," she replied. I will be happy to keep him out of trouble, she thought.








"Dóctor," said a female voice in Spanish that stopped Helm in his tracks.

"Sí, Señorita," replied Helm "Qué es?"

"I burned my hand. Can you help?" she asked showing him her right hand.

Helm looked at her hand and turned it over.

"Cuánto tiempo hace? (When did it happen?)" he asked.

She smiled seductively. "A month ago," she replied.

"Well, it seems to have healed. Why did you ask for help?" he asked.

"So I could get close enough to do this," she replied as she suddenly wrapped both arms around his neck and pulled his lips to hers.

Helm started to resist, but the sensuous way she forced her tongue between his teeth made him lose himself in the moment.

"Gunner, let the Doctor alone," shouted Jo.

Raquel slowly released Helm.

"Damn," she muttered. "Boy he sure can kiss."

Helm blushed as Jo came up to him and took his arm.

"I will escort you, Doctor, to protect you from the crew," she said with a devious smile.

Who will protect me from you, thought Helm. "Muchas gracias, Señorita," he said in Spanish out of habit.

He went back to his patient and checked on her condition. Suzanne was running a fever so he took a damp towel and started wiping her face.

In the morning, Josephine found him fast asleep on his knees, with his head on Suzanne's bed. She took a blanket from a chest and gently placed it over his shoulders but did not wake him.

Continue to Part Three







If you have missed any episodes so far, you will find them in the Season Three Archives section .



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