CHAPTER 15 “Like a hurricane.”
The closer Renato’s ship loomed, the faster Andre moved. He was everywhere at once, checking gun emplacements and scouring the ship for powder and balls.
Shockingly, Lucinda’s hands had instantly deferred to his judgment. Andre had apparently earned a reputation as a master gunner, and these men knew it. To Bowie, this was akin to discovering a pig could fly.
Andre had formed three gun crews and insisted on practice sessions. He deemed Lucinda’s 6-pounders mere pop-guns compared to Renato’s, but vowed that if she went to the deep she would take a goodly number of pirates along with her.
After fifteen minutes of drills, Bowie had learned all he wanted of operating a cannon. Having no experience, he was assigned the job of Rammer, a task requiring only musc
