The trip back to the Hound was more quiet than usual. Normally the boat would be filled with boasting and discussing plans for lewd activities once back on land. There was still some of that but it felt subdued to Nathaniel. Or perhaps it was all in his head. This was not be the first time the crew of the Hound had killed, Nathaniel himself had ended numerous lives over the years he had flown with pirates. It was easy enough to kill a man who was trying to kill him, even executing men was tolerable if it meant keeping himself and his crewmates from being executed by the Royal Navy. Throwing women and children overboard was always distasteful and this time it stuck with Nathaniel. He knew he would be hearing the sound of the children screaming for their mother in his nightmares.
"Switch!" Grimsby cried. Nathaniel took his place at the crank that drove one of the boat's propellers and began turning. The trip back to the Hound felt longer than the trip out. It would nearly be sunset by the time they met up with the rest of the crew. There would likely be a celebration on the Hound that night. The food and drink they looted was far richer than the salted meat and hardtack the crew would normally have. Captain Morris only allowed half of it to be taken. The rest would be left in the hold to go down with the ship when it was set ablaze. Pirates this close to civilized society needed to be careful. Plundered ships were always burned so that their wrecks could be explained as an accident, their passengers and crew's deaths would be seen as leaping to choose a quick death from striking the earth over the pain of the flames. Enough cargo left in the hold so that it would not be obvious to anyone who discovered the wreck that the ship had been plundered. If the Royal Navy heard too many rumours of pirate activity they would be forced to take action and the area could become very dangerous to make a profit in for years to come.
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What Captain Morris did insist on looting completely were the lockboxes and bags of money. A small fortune, far more than any one man should have aboard a small, unescorted vessel. "I would bet my share of loot for a year that this man was embezzling from someone whose bad side you don't want to be on." the captain had said. "The sorts of man who can lose this much money is not the sort who will be particularly forgiving to thieves."
The boat finally reached the ship and unloaded quickly. Medical supplies were safely stored in the galley since the Hound's cook also doubled as her surgeon when required. The food and wine would be consumed that night, it would not keep long enough to be worth rationing and the Hound would be restocked once they reached Robert's Anchorage.
A loud cheer went up as Captain Morris opened one of the lockboxes, revealing the coins inside. This was what the Hound's men sailed with her for. The captain and the quartermaster would count and divide the money, assigning each man a share according to his rank but would keep the riches inside the captain's quarters until the ship was safely docked and then men could disembark for ground leave. Men fighting and killing each other over missing coins would not be beneficial for the smooth operation of the ship.
The celebrations lasted long into the night. Nathaniel was not in a festive mood but forced himself to partake. The noise would not allow sleep to come easy and even if he did manage to ignore the sound and drift off he knew the nightmares would not make it restful. Eventually Captain Morris retired to his cabin and the celebrations turned quiet afterwards. Nathaniel, belly full and wine-warmed, drifted off into an uneasy sleep on the deck.