Scum of the Seas (eBook)

A Cape pirate adventure, Book 3

Gerrie Radlof, Pieter Haasbroek (Autoren)

Pieter Haasbroek (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
87 Seiten
Pieter Haasbroek (Verlag)
978-0-00-072734-3 (ISBN)

Infos

When ruthless sea raiders burn his world to ashes and steal the woman he loves.

A desperate captain must join forces with a man branded a pirate himself.

Plunge into the Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1720), where the treacherous waters of the Cape of Good Hope are just the beginning of a worldwide adventure.

On the smoldering African coast, Captain Gascon Dumont's life is torn apart. Betrayed by cunning corsairs, his fort lies in ruins and his beloved Minette has vanished. His only hope lies in Oloff van Wagenaar. A man hunted as a pirate, yet driven to clear his name from the very atrocities that plague the seas.

Bound by fire and betrayal, the two men forge a fragile alliance to track their enemies from the treacherous Deelen Bay to the deadly waters of the Indian Ocean. But as their chase intensifies, loyalties are tested and vengeance becomes personal. When Oloff's own love is taken, the hunt spirals into a vendetta that will push both men to the brink.

With every battle, the stakes rise. A powerful Count's capture could ignite war, and Oloff's reputation as a pirate may finally consume him.

Packed with swashbuckling sea battles, dangerous intrigue, and high-stakes drama, Scum of the Seas is perfect for fans of Rafael Sabatini's Captain Blood, Bernard Cornwell's naval adventures, and the intrigue of Black Sails.

Book three of the Oloff the Sea Pirate saga. Set sail today and plunge into a storm of revenge, betrayal, and survival on the high seas!

Textauszug

Chapter 2

Black smoke fumes rose from the smouldering ruins of Fort Louis. At its mouth, the Nantezi flowed calmly into the sea, and where the river met the salt water, there were foamy, rippling breakers that were tossed back and forth. The few ships and fishing boats that had been anchored in the harbour had been sunk. The large sheds and the buildings on the banks had been burnt to the ground. A strong sea breeze, like the hand of nature, which was eager to remove all signs of the devastation that human hands had caused, swept the smoke through the pass above Fort Louis into the interior. A few miles outside the harbour, the wind billowed the sails of a large ship taut. The black hull ploughed through the water, and the bow aimed down at the river mouth.

The fort, high on the slopes of the hill, from where the cannon barrels had protected the narrow entrance, was now nothing more than a shapeless heap of clay and stones. The dwellings against the hill had been destroyed. The outbuildings of the governor’s residence were black ruins, but the residence itself was still standing.

In the sitting room, the fallen lay scattered throughout the entire room. The house itself had been stripped of all valuable items. Apparently, this process had continued for so long that the pirates had not had the opportunity to set the house itself on fire.

One of the figures stirred. A moment after lifting his head, he lay deathly still as if he were trying to realise what the devastation around him now actually meant. Then Gascon Dumont let his head fall back again. Only his eyes moved.

He clearly remembered everything that had happened. It was as if he heard Minette de Rouxleigh’s last shriek echoing anew in his ears. Before his mind’s eye were the laughing faces of the two pirate captains. He could even now still see clearly how they had looked past him and had gazed with admiration at the beautiful prey behind him.

Dumont knew what the fate of the white girls was who fell into the hands of the reckless robbers. Usually, the end was that they were sold on the slave market in the East. He shuddered at the thought.

He tried to push himself upright on his arms. There was a pain beside his temple. He fell back to the ground and felt over his head with his hand. The blood had already hardened. He turned his head so that he could look out through the large windows. It was morning. He must have been unconscious since the previous day.

With difficulty, he got up. His eyes wandered through the room. He saw the lifeless body of the governor, the soldiers, and the bodyguard, but nowhere was his beloved, Minette de Rouxleigh. Even now, he had still hoped that she had died a merciful death here.

He turned around and stumbled down the winding staircase. Here and there lay some of the pirates who had been killed in the battle. He walked through the entrance hall, where the pieces of furniture lay scattered like the looters had broken them to get everything that was valuable out of them. The large front door was open. On the stoop, he stood still and looked around. The outbuildings had been burnt down. He went down the steps and struggled on in the direction of the gate.

Deathly silence reigned over Fort Louis. The crunching of his boots on the gravel in the driveway echoed loudly in his ears. He kept to the avenue along the trees. Suddenly, he stopped, for it was as if the air around him was filled with the murmur of voices. Hastily, he slipped behind a tree trunk.

A few moments later, a group of men appeared in the gate. They stood still and looked in the direction of the governor’s residence. From their attire, it would appear as if they were to be pirates, but there was something in their demeanour that surprised him. There was nothing of the crudeness, the barbarity that was usually noticeable at first glance with the rabble.

They walked up the path. He could now distinguish their voices.

“It is strange that the governor’s house has not been burnt down!” one exclaimed.

“Perhaps the thing is built of stone, and the flames did not want to catch,” another suggested.

“Possibly, there are still defenders. Perhaps they held out,” said a third.

“We had better wait. Perhaps we should report to Oloff,” said the first.

Gascon Dumont stiffened. Oloff! He had often heard that name. Oloff the Pirate, the most feared man of the scum of the sea!

There was a wry smile on his lips. For a moment, he had hoped that these men could be of assistance to him. Now he had to discover that they were also pirates, most likely even the ones who had carried out the attack. But then he reconsidered. They themselves were surprised to find that the governor’s house was still standing. So, it could not be them who had launched the murderous attack on Fort Louis. Yet they were Oloff’s men, and they were more dangerous than any others.

While they were passing him, he moved behind the tree so that he would not be seen. His foot landed on a dry twig, and it cracked loudly. The men in the path came to a halt.

“There is someone behind the tree!” one exclaimed.

“Come out, or I’ll shoot!” another shouted.

Gascon did not wait. He stepped around the tree trunk.

“Who are you?” asked one of the pirates.

“Captain Gascon Dumont. Captain of the fort before it was crushed.”

For a moment, they looked at him silently. Then the one who had spoken first laughed.

“Captain of the fort!” he exclaimed. “And you are still alive? Have you been hiding the whole time?”

“I was wounded and lost consciousness.”

“Who attacked you?”

“Two ships. Two privateer ships.”

The man turned around and conversed in a whisper with his comrades. The one next to him nodded. Then the fellow turned back to Dumont.

“A few of us will go and investigate in the meantime. The others will take you back to our captain. Come.”

Two of the men stepped forward. Dumont did not offer resistance. He realised that it would be futile. They walked out of the gate. From here, he could see down the hill. At the wooden quay lay a magnificent ship at anchor. It was one of the very latest models. Between the fore and aft, there was a single continuous deck. Over the bulwark, protruded the barrels of twelve cannons. From the gunports on that side, there were another twelve. Twenty-four on one side, indeed a floating fort!

They did not walk too fast. It was as if the two pirates could see that Gascon was weak from the loss of blood.

They went between the smouldering ruins to the wooden quay. The robbers shouted to a guard on the ship, and a few moments later, they were on board. Gascon was ordered to wait. He looked around him.

The deck was clean. The crew was well dressed, and although they were wearing the colourful attire of pirates, there was a spirit to be detected that he had not expected from pirates.

Then he was led to the quarterdeck. They went below, and a passage led them to the large captain’s cabin that looked out over the bay.

At a table against the wall sat a young man. He looked up when they entered. His bright blue eyes were friendly but sharp. They stood out sharply against the red hair, which was combed back unpowdered and tied with a single ribbon behind his head. The slightly pointed nose above the well-shaped mouth showed a trace of nobility.

“Ah, Captain Dumont!” the young man exclaimed while jumping up and coming closer. “I see that you are wounded. Sit. That will be all, thank you, Karelse,” he said to the sailor who had brought Gascon in. “You can go now.”

Gascon Dumont sank into a chair. His shoulders hung limply, and he looked listlessly at the ground in front of him. Behind him, the door closed.

“Then you escaped,” continued the pirate captain. “How did it happen?”

“What does it matter?” answered Gascon. “Why are you interrogating me? Why don’t you put an end to this charade?”

The pirate laughed.

“So, you know who I am?”

“You are Oloff the Pirate.”

Again, the man laughed.

“You say it as if that is all there is to say.”

“Of course!” exclaimed Gascon. “The world knows you! Of all the privateer ships, your Seewraak is the most notorious. There is not a merchant fleet or a company that would not pay a fortune to see you at the bottom of the sea.”

“And yet, my friend,” answered Oloff slowly and with sudden seriousness, “can you name me one incident where there was solid evidence of my crimes?”

“You are talking nonsense,” said Gascon Dumont. “What good does it do you to stand and jest here with a helpless prisoner? Hundreds of eyewitnesses have already seen the Seewraak at the wrecks of innocent merchant ships.”

“It is strange that you put it that way,” said Oloff. “Indeed, very strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“Wait.” While Oloff was speaking, he turned around and knocked gently on a door that led out of the cabin. A moment later, it opened, and Gascon’s eyes stared intently at the most beautiful young woman he had ever beheld.

Her golden hair was well-groomed. Her blue eyes looked questioningly, but kindly, in his direction. Her delicate features testified to a good upbringing and thorough care.

“This is my fiancée, Miss Anna te Hoogen,” Oloff introduced. “I myself am named Oloff van Wagenaar. This is Captain Gascon Dumont, Anna,” he continued. “Apparently, he escaped from the pirate raid. He was captain of the garrison in Fort Louis.”

She nodded. Then she came quickly closer with an expression of concern in...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 27.8.2025
• Übersetzer: Pieter Haasbroek, Ai
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-10: 0-00-072734-2 / 0000727342
• ISBN-13: 978-0-00-072734-3 / 9780000727343