That night I slept better than I had in weeks. But I was abruptly awakened by Barrelhoop, who was shouting, “Ship! Ship!”

I stood and looked out to the horizon and could see the sails of a ship far in the distance.

“To the ship lads,” Captain Peanut Butter shouted.

As we got in the rowboat, the Captain said, “We don’t know if she is a merchant, naval, or pirate ship. No matter. We must sail quickly and find out. They have no doubt seen our ship also, and their actions now will tell us a great deal. If they flee, they are likely merchants rightfully fearing us as pirates. If they approach, they are likely pirates looking for prey, or military looking to capture pirates. Row lads, row!”

We reached The Jellyfish and climbed aboard. The crew rushed to get her ready to sail. Once that task was complete, we started out, pursuing the other ship. We followed it, keeping it in sight but not attempting to catch it.

Andelbert and I walked up to the railing and stood next to Captain Peanut Butter. The Captain was looking through his spyglass. He lowered the spyglass and turned to us.

“She is attempting to flee, which means she is likely a merchant ship. This is not a common merchant lane, and she has no naval escort. I suspect their Captain may be trying to beat the competition to its next destination to secure a better price on goods. Or he is lost. Or a fool. Perhaps all three. We will follow her for a while and watch her moves.”

“Why don’t you just approach her like you did the Sea Merchant II?” I asked.

“I know the Sea Merchant II on sight, and she knows The Jellyfish. This ship, I do not know. We must be cautious. Pirate ships will often fly false flags, or act like their ship is in trouble. Or even pretend to be naval ship to lure in prey. And while it very unlikely, it could also be a naval ship trying to attract pirates.”

We followed the ship for hours, slowly gaining on her to get a better look.

“Hoist the flag,” the Captain shouted.

The flag would let the other ship know we were pirates. They would need to surrender or be attacked.

“Will we have to fight?” Andelbert asked.

“No smart pirate wants to fight. Fighting almost always costs lives. You may not realize it, but many pirates began as unfortunate souls who turned to piracy out of desperation. New pirates are not usually trained fighters or even good sailors in the beginning.

Plus, merchant ships sometimes have former navy sailors on their crew who know how to fight and use firearms. Boarding an unknown ship with an unknown crew is incredibly dangerous. Neither ship wants to lose any of its crew. It is far better to scare the prey into surrender than attack.

Do you remember how Captain Desmet had set aside a portion of his cargo?” The Captain asked us.

“Of course. I thought it was very odd,” I answered.

“It is far more common than you think. When a merchant Captain knows he cannot outrun a pirate ship, the smart ones will not resist and attempt to bribe the pirate Captain to leave them unharmed. It is far better losing valuable cargo than losing your ship, your crew, or your life.”

I had not really thought about raiding other ships before that moment, and I am not ashamed to admit that the thought scared me.