12. Apologies

Marcel remained absent for a week. Marianne's fever went down significantly and for a while, things went smoothly. Dan and Gretchen were not pleased with how they had handled the situation and decided they had to find him to apologize. After some convincing and bringing hatchets, Hildegard led them to the Spectre. They gawked at the monstrosity before them. Hildegard couldn't take her eyes off of the skeletons.

Gretchen was un-phased by the grotesqueness and clambered onto the main deck. "C'mon! He might be up here." Hildegard and Dan followed her and began cautiously searching for the master of the vessel. He was nowhere to be found. As they wandered around the main deck, Hildegard tripped over a bundle of ropes. Gretchen and Dan exchanged looks and silently agreed to clean what they could while they waited for Marcel. After two hours, the main deck was sparkling and barrels and rope were put away. Gretchen was nearly done polishing the cabin when she noticed a tiny porcelain elephant on the table. She picked it up and examined it. It was beautifully painted with blue curls. She was almost tempted to swipe it but she knew it belonged to Marcel and the last thing she wanted was a pirate angry she had stolen something. She went to put it back but tripped on a loose board and dropped the little elephant. It broke in two.

The girls did not detect Marcel's return. He walked up to a gleaming Spectre. He never remembered it looking so clean before. "I..... I don't know what to say." Dan whirled around, startled. "Oh! We didn't hear you!" Hildegard walked up to him. "We are sorry for yelling at you." He blinked at the girl. "Yelling?..." Then he remembered. "Oh! Oh yes. Well, I hope the mademoiselle is better now." "She is doing much better, thank you." said Dan. "Is it just the two of you?" inquired Marcel. "No," said Dan. "Gretchen ought to be around somewhere." Marcel went to his cabin and walked in on Gretchen holding the pieces of elephant in her hands. "What are you doing?" Gretchen gasped. Busted. "I accidentally broke.... something."

"Something?..." He walked a little closer. "What, particularly?"

"Erm, this." She held the pieces out in her hands. "I didn't mean too! I was just admiring it and then I tripped. I'm sorry! Don't make me walk the plank!"

"Walk the- what does that entail?"

"Uh.... nothing." Marcel shook his head. As they walked out to the deck, Gretchen noticed disheveled state. "Blimey! What happened to you?!"

"I uh....nothing. "he said, mockingly.

"Ah c'mon. I can tell a liar from anyone."

"Well, it was those cannibals again. I had gotten lost while looking for tres- erm...what's another word for really good?"

"...very good?"

"Yes, very good materials for my repairs. I got caught in one of their fool traps again and was almost eaten. Fortunately they didn't get a good look at me till I was getting uh, prepared shall we say? I made a run for it and they thought I was some kind of demon or something and shot me with things." Gretchen stared, wide-eyed. "Good lord, man! Come with us! We've got plenty of medicine and bandages at camp!"

Dan spoke up. "Wait, why did you say 'again'?"

"They tried getting me before. I scared them away but I think the fear wore off. Something tells me they will try again. … which puts you girls in a dangerous situation. You are likely to be found when they get me." "We can beat em'!" exclaimed Hildegard. "Them," Dan corrected. "We will beat THEM.....can we?" Marcel rubbed his chin. "Hm. I don't see why not. We outnumber them quite a bit. Your weapons are more advanced...I have swords... would you be willing to set aside your manners for a while?"

"In what ways?..."

"To fight of course."

"Ladies do not fight!"

"Ladies who do not fight are eaten, mademoiselle. If you want to survive, you must learn to defend yourselves. There will be times when no one can save you and you will have to take care of it yourself. It may seem unladylike, but you cannot be slave to society standards and be expected to carry out actions that violate those expectations." The girls were silent. "I am not yelling at you. I am simply explaining to you that you need to know how to defend yourself." Dan was about to respond when Marcel hushed the girls. "Keep your voices down." he whispered. "What's wrong?" asked Gretchen. "If you sneak a look out that hole, you will see we have an observer." Sure enough, a small figure was seen perched at the top of a palm tree that had bent over. It was one of the cannibals and he was searching for signs of the enemy.

Marcel pulled everyone from the window and crouched down. He peered out the bottom corner and slowly reached for a peculiar instrument. Dan was entranced and equally confused at its appearance. "What is that?" "This, my dear, is a gun. I made some modifications to it as you can see." The gun in question was a 17th century flintlock that had been adjusted to fire like a dart gun. "Gretchen, hand me that pouch." Gretchen reached for a small, worn leather pouch and handed it to Marcel. He opened it and grabbed a handful of darts he procured from the cannibals as they attacked him. He loaded his gun and aimed. "I must protest against what you're doing." Dan whispered. Marcel shot her a look. "But, given the situation, I see this is necessary." She smiled. "Thank you for your approval mademoiselle. May I continue?" She nodded. He raised the gun and pulled the trigger. It fired with a small pop and the primitive lookout dropped from his tree like a fly. "We got him!" exclaimed Hildegard. "Quiet." he demanded. No one made a sound. The body continued to lay on the beach, unmoved. Then, another one came out from hiding, followed by three more. They examined the body and dragged it away. After awhile, it appeared the individuals were not going to return. Night had fallen and Marcel felt it was now safe for them to come out of their hiding place. This time, he insisted he go back to camp with the girls. He felt they would be in more danger going alone. As Lady Luck would have it, the four were gifted with a dark moonless night which provided the assurance of a safe return.