He lowered the centreboard and Amazon stopped slipping sideways and her wake lengthened astern of her.
“All right, Titty?” he asked.
“Fine,” she said. “I mean, aye, aye, sir.” With her mouth a little open and her eyes earnestly on the sail she was steering Amazon for the first time. It was no wonder that she used the wrong words.
In the fresh morning wind the fleet moved towards Wild Cat Island, Swallow a little ahead.
Mate Susan called across the water, “Shall I make straight for the harbour? I can do it easily on this tack.”
“No,” called Captain John. “We’d better sail to the lookout point, and ask them what they mean by that blanket.”
“I’m certain it’s a white flag,” said Titty, without shifting her eyes from the sail.
“We’ll make sure of it, anyway,” said Captain John. “They might try to rush the Amazon as we bring her in.”
At the lookout place, under the great flapping blanket that hung on the lighthouse tree where the lantern had hung last night, were the Amazon pirates. They were not standing still. They seemed to be dancing.
“What are they doing?” said Captain John.
“That’s Captain Nancy, the one who’s jumping up and down,” said Titty. “Perhaps she’s dancing with rage.” Titty could not afford to take more than a short look out of the corner of her eye. She was sailing their ship, and she wanted them to see that she could do it. She wanted to leave a wake as straight as theirs.