Chapter five
Hatteras Inlet, North CarolinaThe Connecticut should have put out to sea that morning, but it didn’t look anywhere near ready to go. Now, Robert Carlisle was concerned about morale — his crew’s as well as his own. He wanted the ship out and hunting pirates.
One of the engine mechanics, smothered in grease from his face down to the rolled cuffs of his blue coveralls, stepped from the ship to the pier. Carlisle approached him.
“How much longer?”
The mechanic shook his head. “Not today, sir. Not for a few days. We need some parts from the mainland.”
Carlisle turned in the direction of the officers’ quarters on the rise and pounded away on his stump. “What a piss-poor way to run a navy,” he said to himself.
* * * *
The BahamasNavigator Ben Woodson rested his leg on the fram
