MUMBLY-PEG (Part 2)
Many years ago when the black-powder cannon
and the cutlass ruled the seas, there was a pirate you've never heard of named Mumbly-Peg.
This story is about why you have never heard of this desperate pirate and how he was
banished from the high seas.
The story started in a small village when the terrible news
of a pirate attacked reached the townsfolk. One young girl name Clara Grossman was
particularly upset to hear that the Beaumont, a ship that had been in port just days ago,
was attacked by pirates.
And although no one was really sure who they were or where
the pirates were hiding out, Clara found herself deep in the mystery.
While buying thread at the local general store, Clara was
asked to do some mending for a mysterious man who wandered into town. It was an easy task
for which young Clara was given several gold coins. As the stranger was riding away, a
small stuff bag fell from his horse. Clara tried to return the bag to the gentleman but
she was unable to get his attention, as he left in quite a hurry.
"Mrs. Pendlford?" Clara asked as she went back
inside the store, "the man who was just here, this dropped from his coat. Do you know
where I can find him?"
"Haven't a clue," the woman behind the counter
said without even looking up at Clara. Mrs. Pendlford was busy with some paperwork and had
no time for the curious girl. "That's the first time I've ever laid eyes on him, my
dear."
Clara walked back outside and into the busyness of the
village again. The stranger had gone in only one direction and the village small so it
shouldn't be difficult to find him. After all, she didn't have anything else to do on this
day.
As she walked down the wharf, Clara noticed a shipment of
gold being loaded aboard the Hammerschimdt. There was much activity all around her but it
was clear that it was gold and it was clear that the Hammerschimdt was ready to leave
port.
"Clara!"
The young girl wheeled around and came face to face with a
young boy. It was William, her older brother.
"Where have you been, Clara?" he asked.
"Just never you mind, William Grossman," she said.
"I've been engaged in something productive on this fine day. See?"
And she held out her hand containing three gold coins.
"My, oh my," her brother said as he picked up one
of the coins. "How did you . . . ? I mean, why did you get these?"
"A gentleman in the store," Clara said,
"asked me to do some mending for him. I believe you've met him before. He's a
stranger in these parts but I've seen him here several times. I first noticed him when the
Beaumont limped back into port."
"But these coins," William said, "they are so
new. And I've never seen any like them before. What was the name of the man who gave them
to you?"
"He wouldn't say," Clara said. "But I need to
find him. He dropped this stuff bag as he was leaving."
If Clara and William had continued talking, they certainly
would have discovered some very important information. Instead, there was a big commotion
on the deck of the Hammerschimdt which caused both of the young people to look towards the
wharf.
A man on deck was at attention and saluting an officer.
"All loaded and ready to set sail, sir," the man
announced.
"Very well, fire the signal cannon," the older
officer said.
"Aye, aye, sir," the man barked and then walked to
a very small cannon which was used as a signal when the sail entered and left port.
Boom!
The blast of the small cannon echoed throughout the village.
It caught William and Clara by surprise and made them both jump with fright.
"Don't let that scare ya', kiddies," an old man
standing next to them said. It was old Myron Castlemyer, the man who ran an import
business in the town. Mr. Castlemyer was always quick to offer his opinion and loved to
talk as much as he loved to make money.
"That was nothin'," he continued. "Doesn't
something seem a little strange here?"
Clara and William looked at each other.
Myron Castlemyer stroked his chin and looked over at the
Hammerschmidt with a sort of evil gleam in his eye.
"Consider this," the old man said, "what with
all the pirate activity in the waters around our village. Why would anybody make such a
big deal 'bout loadin' up a ship with gold? And firin' a cannon?"
"So maybe the pirates will know all about it?"
Clara asked.
"Aye, now you're thinking smart, young one," he
said. "But them pirates ain't as bright as you, young Clara. No, that ship is loaded
with cannonballs and black powder, not to mention three score men below deck armed to the
hilt and ready for them blood thirsty pirates. When that pirate ship saddles up next to
the Hammerschmidt, BOOM! She'll be spinning down towards the bottom faster than a river
rock tossed in the bay."
"But why are you telling us?" Clara asked.
Old Myron Castlemyer jerked his head around and stared at
the young girl. His eyes were bloodshot and narrow. Thin hair and a scraggly beard framed
his large head as he glared down at Clara. For just a moment, Mr. Castlemyer seemed lost
for words.
"Now see here," he said, "it's common
knowledge, you see, about the cannons and all . . . I mean, them pirates, and all . . . I
mean, well, who's to know? Anyway . . . just you never mind, young Clara. Just you never
mind."
With that, he walked away quickly until he came to several
other people upon which he stopped and began talking again.
"Now what do you suppose that was all about?"
Clara asked her brother.
"Old Myron Castlemyer?" he asked. "Who knows,
Clara? Nobody I know pays him much attention. Besides, I've got to get back to father.
We're working on a boat that needs to be finished by the end of the week."
"Very well," Clara said. "I can handle this
by myself, William Grossman."
"Oh Clara," he bemoaned, "go back to your
sewing and stay out of trouble."
But Clara was gone by now. She moved quickly and quietly
down the wharf to where old Myron Castlemyer was standing. Without letting him see her,
she made her way between bales of cotton and tobacco until Clara could hear the old man
talking.
"What with all the pirate activity in the waters around
our village," he said, "why would anybody make such a big deal 'bout loadin' up
a ship with gold?"
"And firin' a cannon?" another man asked.
"Sure, as if I wasn't wondering that me self."
Mr. Castlemyer nodded gravely.
"How 'bout I let you boys in on a little secret,"
the old man said. "The Hammerschmidt is filled with enough cannonballs to sink
France, she is! As soon as them blood thirsty pirates get close enough—"
Clara didn't need to hear anymore. It all sounded too
familiar anyway and she didn't have time right now to bother with Myron Castlemyer.
Besides, she needed to return the stuff bag to the stranger who was planning on leaving
town soon. One mystery at a time, she thought. One mystery at a time.
Clara moved quickly along the road that lead out of town.
She was certain the stranger had gone that way, too, because he was riding too fast to be
going anywhere in the small village. The late afternoon sun was hot and Clara noticed
herself slowing down in the heat.
Presently she came upon a farmhouse and found a well at the
edge of the property.
"Excuse me," she called out. "Is there anyone
about?"
No one responded so Clara dipped into the well and took a
long, cold drink. As she stood upright, a door on the farmhouse slowly opened.
"What do you want?" a voice from inside asked.
"Good day!" Clara called out. "I'm sorry. I
didn't know anyone was at home. I was asking about some water but I've already taken a
drink."
"Aye," the voice said, "now be gone with
you."
"Sorry to be of a bother," Clara said and then
began walking again. She paused and called back, "I'm looking for a man on horseback
with a heavy coat draped over his saddle. He may have come this way. He dropped something
in the village and I'm trying to return it."
"No," came a sharp reply from the farmhouse.
"No one like that's been through here. Now go back to the village, young girl."
Clara shot a puzzled look in the direction of the farmhouse
and then changed her direction.
"Thank you," she called out. "And a good day
to you, kind sir. Or madam," she said under her breath.
But instead of going back to the village, Clara walked down
the road only far enough be clear of the farmhouse. When she was sure she couldn't be
seen, Clara stepped off the road and circled back towards the farm using the bushes beside
the road as cover. She slowly made her way past the farmhouse and then looked into barn
where she found exactly what she thought might be there. A horse. But not just any horse.
No, this horse had a saddle on it. And draped over the saddle was the long coat she had
mended for the stranger.
"Just couldn't keep away, could you," a rough
voice said from behind her.
When Clara turned around she saw a man standing behind her
with twin muskets pistols trained on her.
"This is one time you should have gone back," he
said, and then motioned Clara to move towards the farmhouse.
More men were inside waiting when Clara entered the darkened
building.
"Who is she?" someone asked.
"Found her snooping around in the barn," another
man said. "Askin' a lot of fool questions."
"I'm sorry," Clara said, now truly frightened.
"You see, I did some mending for a stranger, on his long coat. He gave me three gold
coins but he dropped his stuff bag and I was just . . . I was just trying to return it to
him. I don't know what's in the bag."
Without thinking, Clara reached into the bag and pulled out
a big black piece of cloth, almost larger than a table cloth. There seemed to be some
white scraps sewn onto it so she held it by the corners and stretched it out. What she saw
took her breath away. It was the skull and cross bones of a pirate flag.
"Now, you shouldn't have done that," said a voice
from across the room.
"You!" Clara said as the room suddenly became
silent.
The crowd of men parted and the stranger, the same stranger
Clara had done the mending work for, walked across the rough, wooden floor of the
farmhouse.
"You should have left well enough alone," he said.
"What do we do with her now, Mumbly-Peg?" one of
the men said.
"I should have known it was you," Clara said.
"Mumbly-Peg the Pirate. I should have known from the first time you spoke to
me."
"My name is Jonathan Andersen," he said,
"better known in these parts as Mumbly-Peg. And you, Clara Grossman, should have left
well enough alone. You're in too deep now. The rest of you men, aboard ship. I'll take
care of the girl."
The men, now numbering two dozen, quickly filed out of the
farmhouse.
"Do you like it?" Mumbly-Peg asked. "I bought
the farm about a month ago, cash on the barrel head. It seemed like the perfect place to
hide out until it was time to leave. I always wanted my own farm. I guess I wanted a place
to settle down and live once I finished with the seafaring life."
"You're nothing but a pirate," Clara said,
spitefully.
"A pirate," he said. "Nothing but a pirate.
You know, I would have to agree with you on that one, young Clara. I am a pirate. Not a
very honorable profession, is it? And if the officials in your village found out, I'd be
hanged as soon as the next sunrise rolled around."
"And well deserving it," Clara said.
"Is that right?" Mumbly-Peg asked. "Well, we
won't be finding out, now will we. The Hammerschmidt is leaving tonight. My crew and I
were going to pay a little visit to that ship but now it sounds too dangerous. So we'll
set sail and wait for another ship to cross our path. One more—"
"The Hammerschmidt?" Clara asked. "What about
the Hammerschmidt?"
"We have word it's a trap," the pirate said.
"All this time I thought it was a slave ship."
"A what?!" Clara asked.
"A ship to transport slaves," Mumbly-Peg said.
"But while in town, a fool of an old man told me all about it. Said it was filled
with fifty cannons below deck and thirty men just waiting to slit the throats of any
pirate who dared attack."
"That can't be," Clara said. "That's just not
possible."
"Why?"
"Because," she continued, "it sailed out into
the harbor just this afternoon. And the ship sat very high in the water. There wasn't
anything aboard that vessel except the crew."
"Then why—?" Mumbly-Peg tired to ask but
couldn't get the words out before Clara interrupted him.
"Old Myron Castlemyer, the slave trader. That's
it!" she shouted. "He told us the same thing, William and me, that the ship was
loaded with gold but really a trap for the pirate, Mumbly-Peg. That's you. But it couldn't
be. If it was truly a trap, then Myron Castlemyer wouldn't dare say a word about it to
anyone. Just a few minutes later, I found him doing the same thing to two other men. That
boat is no trap, Mr. Peg."
"Call me Jonathan," the pirate said with a smile.
Clara continue speaking and thinking out loud: "I can't
believe it. All this time I though Mr. Castlemyer was an importer of manufactured goods,
not humans. This is despicable. What can we do to stop him?"
"We?" Jonathan Andersen the Pirate asked.
"Just a few minutes ago you were ready to hang me from the yard arm at sunrise."
"Promise me one thing," Clara said, "that
you'll stop after this one. The Hammerschmidt deserves to go to the bottom and I'll help,
Jonathan."
"Help?" he asked. "What help can you offer?
You're just a young girl. A ship like ours is no place for a girl."
"You've got to take me along," Clara said. "I
know too much. You can't set me free because who knows what I'd do."
"Then maybe," Mumbly-Peg the pirate said, "we
should throw you overboard after we set sail. Pirates are not very gentle folk, young
Clara, and my crew is filled with dangerous criminals."
"But you are a civilized gentleman," she said
looking directly at him. "You're different than the others. Besides, this pirate
business is not what you want to do. Otherwise you would never have bought this farm. It's
time to do the right thing, Jonathan."
It was nighttime now and Clara followed Jonathan down a path
that lead to the water. Looming in the weak twilight was a huge ship anchored in a bay
that was hidden from other ships on the ocean. It was all part of the farm Jonathan had
purchased with gold taken from other ships.
At the water's edge, Clara stepped into a small row boat and
Jonathan Andersen, the pirate also known as Mumbly-Peg, pushed the boat off into the calm
waters.
"You are to do no talking to the crew while on
board," he said sternly. "Do you understand?"
Clara nodded and gazed in wonder at the pirate ship ahead of
them. It looked no different than any other ship Clara had ever seen. If it wasn't for the
black flag with the skull and cross bones still in the stuff bag at her feet, Clara would
never have known what was going on.
Once on board, Jonathan Andersen quickly changed into
Mumbly-Peg the pirate. He snapped orders to the crew and tolerated no disobedience from
anyone. The sails were quickly raised and the ship moved swiftly out into the open waters.
In less than an hour they had caught up with the Hammerschmidt.
"Clara!" Mumbly-Peg barked, "get below deck
and stay there."
"Sorry," she said. "I want to see this."
"Clara," he mumbled this time.
His crew knew when Mumbly-Peg began speaking his orders
softly that he was very serious.
"This is my one chance," Clara said, "to see
a pirate ship in action. Please?"
There wasn't time to say anymore as the attacking ship drew
close to the Hammerschmidt. As the cannons were loaded, Clara did her best to stay out of
the way. Someone on deck of the Hammerschmidt finally noticed the pirate ship closing in
on them and sounded an alarm. But it was too late. The roar of the cannons all firing at
once caused Clara to jump clean off her feet. It was louder than any sound she had ever
heard. The Hammerschmidt bucked and pitched to one side as water began pouring in where
the cannonballs had smashed.
"You only have enough time," Mumbly-Peg shouted to
the crew of the Hammerschmidt, "to put in your lifeboats and make for the shore
before we fire again. And believe me, Mumbly-Peg the pirate, that my crew is now reloading
the cannons. Make your choice or die!"
The Hammerschmidt was floundering now and four or five brave
sailors stood on the deck with their cutlasses in hand.
"Come and get our gold!" one of them shouted.
"Your gold?" Mumbly-Peg laughed. "Your gold
and your three score men below deck armed to the teeth can go straight to the watery grave
you deserve. Anyone sailing a slave ship is beneath contempt. We'll fire our cannons as
soon as they are reloaded.
The sailors on board looked at each other and then scrambled
for a lifeboat just as several cannons fired again. The Hammerschmidt shuddered as the
cannonballs tore more holes in the hull of the boat.
"Keep firing," Mumbly-Peg said softly between the
shots of the cannons. "Keep firing till she's blown apart, mates!"
"But what about the gold on board?" one of the
pirate crew asked.
"Not this time," Mumbly-Peg said. "This one
deserves to drown with its gold."
"Mumbly-Peg's gone stark raving mad," another
pirate said.
"That's right!" the first pirate shouted.
"We're in it for the gold! We're not out here risking out lives just to do
good."
"You'll do as I say," Mumbly-Peg said, "until
the Hammerschmidt sinks to the bottom. Then you can have this ship and everything aboard.
I don't care."
The cannons fired one last time and blew the Hammerschmidt
cleanly in two parts before the parts twisted and splashed beneath the waves.
While the crew on the pirate ship was celebrating their
victory, Mumbly-Peg grabbed Clara's hand and pulled her towards the back of the ship.
"Climb down to the water," he said. "I left
the rowboat tied to the ship. We'll head back to shore in the darkness."
Once safely in the boat, Jonathan began rowing quickly and
silently through the darkness. When they were far enough away from the pirate ship, he
began talking.
"We did it, young Clara," he said. "We sent
the Hammerschmidt to the bottom where it belongs. And now my pirate days are over. I've
only one thing to ask you: will you keep your silence about all this?"
"Yes," she said, and nothing more was ever said
between them about the pirate Mumbly-Peg. Jonathan Anderson became quite a respectable
farmer in the area and Clara grew up to be well known in her community. She continued to
sew and was very respected for her ability with a needle.
Over the years, Clara Grossman and Jonathan Andersen became
very close friends and as far as anyone knew, Mumbly-Peg the pirate was never seen or
heard from again.
The End |
