The Black Swan

12:00!

12:00 and all is well!

The night is fair!

The wind is down!

And the commander's daughter has recovered from the sickness!

12:00!

12:00.

and the people of Guadela are grateful for a night of peace!

God be thanked in his heaven

that midnight strikes and all is well!

12:00!

12:00 and all is well!

12:00!

A poor haul, but an easy one.

We'll do ourselves better in Maracaibo.

What are you moping about?

Here. Drink this.

No?

It was an easy scuffle, Jamie-Boy.

Aye, it was.

Hey, what are you rubbing your nose for?

- I'm thinking on something. - Out with it!

They're hanging Captain Morgan this week...

hanging him on the docks in London.

- That's what I'm thinking on. - Anybody lets himself get...

caught and hung is nobody to drink to.

To Captain Morgan, I say!

Hanging or walking, he's a better man than the pack of us.

Give me that comb.

Let go of that, you! Blast it!

I must drink to this occasion, Captain Waring.

We are not often honored by such a distinguished visitor.

What a magnificent record.

Second in command to Henry Morgan...

in the raid on Panama...

the sack of Maracaibo, Portobelo, Trujillo!

Quite a busy little cutthroat we have here.

But there is no mention of you at the attack on Granada.

I was there... killing Spaniards.

The English dog still barks! Is your memory improving?

Have you remembered where...

- Captain Morgan is? - Perfectly.

- Where is he? - In England.

You lie.

I grant you England is where he should be...

hanging from a gibbet with the rest of you scum of the sea!

But I have word from our ambassador...

that he escaped.

Your news delights me, Don Miguel.

Oh. And perhaps this will delight you too.

A quarter of a turn!

Where were you planning to meet Morgan?

On the far side of the moon.

Where is his ship?

Hull down and sailing through your whiskers, Don Miguel.

A full turn!

Speak, you devil spawn, before I quarter you!

- What is that? - The devil looking after his own.

Easy, my brave bag of wind!

Tommy Blue! Welcome to Corrientes!

Be with you in a minute, Captain Jamie.

Hand over that sticker while I'm...

in this loving mood. March!

Ho-ho! You're outnumbered. Me and Jamie...

could outnumber your whole empire!

Take those stickers away before they hurt themselves!

Came into the harbor to get a barrel of water...

and says to a fellow, says I...

"How's me old friend Don Miguel?"

"Well," says he, "the noble Spaniard is entertaining people."

"Who?" says I. "Well, among his guests,"

says he, "is Jamie Waring."

"Well," says I, "that's a party I've got to attend."

- So up we came. - Ah. I'll thank you later.

But tell me, Tommy, who's with you?

- How many ships have you got? - Oh, two pretties, Jamie.

The second one's tacking in, but let me tell you the good news first!

Never mind the news. Get me that bottle of wine.

- Huh? Oh. - Quick.

There's nothing like a stretch on the rack to raise a thirst.

Would you want to be laying down a minute, Jamie?

No.

Keep a clear head, Tommy. We've got work to do...

Nice, pleasant work.

I'm a better man drunk than sober for any kind of work!

You were admiring my bark, Don Miguel.

- We'll see how you like my bite. - But I'm unarmed.

It's lucky you are. If you had a sword in your hand...

you'd be dead by now and stiffer than the devil's tail.

Give me a hand! Put him on the rack!

- Here. - Move! Get a move on!

Go on!

Have mercy, senor! What are you going to do now?

I'm eager to return your hospitality, Don Miguel.

- On the rack! - Oh, no, no. Please, no.

You'll hang for this! You'll hang for this, all of you.

Your English governor...

In the name of God, let me go! Let me go!

- Lord Denby! Lord Denby! - A musical fellow, ain't he?

Your bark, Don Miguel, is a little louder than mine.

Turn the wheel, my lads.

What say the poets? "One good turn deserves another."

Stop that, you bloody thieves!

Unchain this man! I command you in the name of King Charles.

And who may you be, you bellowing rabbit?

I'm Lord Denby, governor of Jamaica. Oh, Lord Denby.

You're the gentleman who brought Captain Morgan to trial.

I'm delighted to meet you.

And I'll see you hanging on Wapping Executional Dock beside him.

- I'm laughing me sides out! - March out, you renegade louts!

Renegade! You yellow turncoat!

Befriending the Spanish and hanging your own countrymen!

Lay down your arms! England and Spain...

are at peace. A treaty has been signed.

Where was it signed, Lord Denby, on that rack?

Men, here's a rope-maker for your necks...

the little English hangman from Jamaica.

Up the rope he goes! Up he goes.

Oh, I'm glad to see Jamie is here.

- Give me a rope, somebody! - No, no, Tommy.

- No rope for him. - Oh, let me hang him, Jamie.

No. The rope's for gentlemen with brave hearts.

The vault's the place for this English traitor.

Lock him away with all his Spanish friends.

You'll hang, all of you!

March him off! Chain him to the wall!

Let him rot in the Spanish damp.

You sea rats! I command you in His Majesty's name!

Your commanding days are over, my lord.

I'm laughing me sides out!

Put away that bottle, Tommy. There's treasure to load.

This is a ripe and juicy castle.

Here, you guzzler! Take this!

Make yourself a pretty pair of drawers!

Two ships, you said, huh? We can load 'em both from this castle...

and sail for Maracaibo!

Gut the whole Spanish Main strip it and leave it like a...

horse's skull on the desert.

Look at him.

Look at him.

He's fainted.

Or is he just bored with our presence?

- Close your eyes, Don Miguel. - Father!

- The devil's asking for you. - Father?

Where's my father?

The captain's share, gentlemen. I bespeak it.

Where is he?

Stay away or I'll shoot! I'm Lord Denby's daughter.

Ohhh. This is a windfall. Lady Margaret, eh?

- Who are you? - A sea rat...

a bit of ocean scum doing His Majesty's dirty work...

killing the Spaniards to make room for...

fat Englishmen and their nasty daughters.

Waring is my name, but those who...

love me call me Jamie-Boy.

I'm not afraid of you gallows dancers.

"Gallows dancers"? A pretty phrase, milady.

Yes. I've seen your kind dancing in the wind...

with their necks stretched like a lot of geese flying.

And I'll see you that way too!

Where's my father? Tell me or I'll shoot.

Your father is ornamenting a dungeon wall, milady.

But you'll forget about him as soon as you learn to...

call me Jamie-Boy.

Let go of me, you brute!

I always sample a bottle of wine before I buy it.

Let's have a sip, see if you're worth taking along.

Oh! You wench! Bite me, will you?

Strike me blind! It's a ghost.

- Hello, Jamie-Boy. - Captain Morgan!

Don't stand there gaping like a halibut on a pier.

Henry! What in the name of thunder?

- So you weren't hanged! - Not successfully.

You escaped!

No. A king's pardon and more.

I'm swooning like a bride. I was telling you,

Jamie, I had news for you.

Aye, a packet of news it is, me boy.

Now put your shirt on. You look much too naked for a decent Englishman.

And now find me my great admirer...

the so-called governor of Jamaica.

And if this sad little wench be his daughter, fetch her...

some smelling salts.

And you, Tom Blue, tell all me old captains...

- to meet me tonight at the Porker's Sterne. - Aye.

- But I... - Jamie-Boy, I got a lot to tell you.

Silence!

Now listen to me.

If there's anybody wants to tell me different...

let him stand up and get his head broke in.

I say Captain Morgan's a king's spy.

He bought his life by offering to put all...

his old cronies on the end of a rope.

I say Morgan's a yellow dog!

Now, wait there, Captain Leech. We ought to hear what...

Morgan's got to say.

Are you calling me a liar?

No, but I'm saying we oughta hear Morgan out.

And nobody's calling me a liar.

Now, then, anybody else want their head broke in?