Part Five: The End of the Beginning

Ben and I raced to the door of Jenna's quarters and found it locked. As Jenna continued to cry for help, and by the sound of it struggle as well, Ben pushed me aside and began throwing himself at the door like a crazed bulldog. But as strong as he was, the door was too well-made to give under his assault.

Everyone else came pouring out of the forecastle, a jumble of questions spilling from everyone's lips at once. Orde bellowed out over the confusion, “What in blazes is going on?!”

“Something's wrong!” I replied, stating the obvious. I jammed a paw toward the cabin. “In there!”

The captain grabbed hold of Ben just before the sea dog began his next charge at the door. “Save your strength, man. I'll handle it.” And so saying, he fished the key from his pocket and unlocked the door. With a rush, we threw the door open and charged in.

“What’s going on?” demanded Captain Orde. The question wasn’t really necessary. There was Jenna, now wearing a pale blue dress adorned with lace.  And with her, one arm entrapping hers to her sides and the other wound around her neck, was Steele.

“How did you get in?” demanded the captain.

He answered with a leering grin. “Next time you try to lock me up,” he spat, “You'd best pick someplace that hasn't got a window. Now, I’m taking what’s mine: the lady, the ship, and the treasure. Give me the keys to the brig.”

“Let her go, Steele,” I growled, feeling my fur rise. “We’ve got you outnumbered.”

He chuckled as he released his grip on her neck, pulled a pistol from his belt, and pressed it straight to Jenna’s temple. “Think so now?”

We stopped. Taking Steele on was one thing, but not with Jenna’s life at stake.

Luk mumbled something, which Muk meekly translated as, “What should we do?”

“Give me the keys and surrender control of the ship,” the pirate demanded. “I’ll give you to three.”

There were tears in Jenna’s eyes.

“One…”

“This is low, Steele,” spat Orde. “Even for you, this is low.”

“Two,” the sailor growled, cocking the pistol.

“Wait!” Reluctantly, the captain took the ring of keys from his belt and held them out. “Very well,” he submitted. “Now, release the girl.”

Steele grabbed the keys, but didn’t release Jenna. “One thing first,” he growled, pocketing the keys. He grabbed both of her wrists with one hand and stuffed the pistol into his belt before withdrawing a small object from his pocket. “I’m taking her up on her offer.”

Jenna struggled, but she was no match for him. But then, as he was about to put the ring on her finger, he stopped and stared at her hand. “What?” he cried.

Everyone stared in confusion.

Enraged, Steele flung his would-be-bride against a table and pulled the gun from his belt. “Who did it?!” he demanded. “Who…?”

“I don’t know,” came a voice from behind him. Jenna had something I couldn’t see pressed to the back of his head. “But if you don’t drop the gun right now, you’ll never know.”

Steele froze. “You couldn’t possibly…”

“I wouldn’t bet on it if I were you,” she snapped.

Raising his hands, Steele dropped the gun.

“Pick it up, Balto,” Jenna instructed.

I stepped forward and picked up the weapon, stunned at Jenna’s iron side. Would she really shoot Steele?

In answer to my unspoken question, she withdrew a wine bottle from behind his head and set it on the table. “And my mother always said those things had no earthly purpose,” she remarked as she walked past the pirate, giving him a wide berth lest he take her hostage again, and stood with us.

“Bind him to the mast,” commanded Captain Orde as we marched the fiend out of the cabin. “Hands tied good and tight behind it. We’ll decide what to do with him later.”

Once Steele had been tied securely to the mast and fitted with a rope muzzle, Squire Trelawney looked in confusion at Jenna. “What was it that so upset him when he tried to put that ring on your finger?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she admitted, looking at her left hand. Then she stopped, her face a mix of shock, disbelief, fear, a touch of sadness, and some anger for good measure. She held up her hand with the back to us. “This,” she replied.

Everyone stared. On Jenna’s finger, sparkling in the moonlight, was a ring. It was gold, studded with one large diamond. We were all silent until Ben asked the question on everyone’s mind. “Who put that there?”

“I did.”

Everyone’s eyes turned on me. “I meant no harm,” I added quickly.

Orde placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’d like a word with you in private. Now.”

I think I can safely say that the talk I had with Orde was the most awkward I've ever had in my life. He asked question after question, and finally brought me out without giving any indication as to his decision. He stood me in front of the whole crew, asking Jenna to stand front and center among them.

“Mister Hawkins has told me everything,” he stated. “And although what he did leaves some room to question his sanity, I find nothing strictly wrong that he has done.”

“What about this?” asked Jenna, holding up the ring.

“I’ll leave it to him explain that to you in due time,” he replied. Addressing the group, he went on, “As for the present, here is my verdict. Since he has done nothing against Jenna’s honor apart from the ring, I will not punish Balto for this. However, Jenna has free reign of retribution – within the boundaries of honor – as she sees fit.”

“What does that mean?” Muk whispered to Boris.

“It means that she can do anything she vants to him as long as it is not dishonorable,” Boris translated. After a pause, he added, “In other vords, he’s a dead dog.”

Orde cleared his throat, breaking off the side conversation. “Also, Balto is not to speak to Jenna for the remainder of the voyage unless she addresses him first or I say otherwise. And they are not to be left unsupervised anywhere except on the top deck. Am I clear?”

I nodded glumly. “Yes Captain.”

Jenna nodded too. “Perfectly.” She pulled off the ring, walked over to the railing, and threw it out into the sea. I guessed that must have been part of her “retribution,” because in a way I felt like she was throwing away a part of me as well.

When the Captain came in to bed down that night, I was rather surprised to see him carrying a hammock.

“Captain?” I asked. “You’re not taking a bunk?”

He smiled, looking a lot more cheerful than he had not long before. “Hardly,” he replied. “For my purposes, a hammock is far more comfortable.”

I watched in confusion as he tied one end of the hammock to a beam. The other end he took, tied a large knot at the end of the rope, and stuck it through the top of the door frame before pulling the door shut on it.

“What…?” I wondered.

His smile continued. “Jenna may not like you very much at the moment, but it’s my responsibility to see to it both of you get to shore with no question of honor.”

It took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about, and about half as long to grasp the setup he’d worked out. With the rope as it was, I couldn’t get out without giving him a very abrupt awakening in the process. “Don’t you trust me?” I asked, feeling insulted.

Easing into the hammock, he let out a chuckle. “I trust you,” he replied. “But as I said, I find this arrangement a great deal more comfortable.” His chortles were joined by laughter from the other sailors, even Ben. I groaned, wishing I could be so cheery about it.

Steele's trial was quickly arranged the following morning as the crew gathered around the mast where he stood bound. From the haggard look on his face, it seemed a night upright and exposed had not treated him well.

“Master Steele,” the captain said, addressing him formally, “You are in grave trouble. In light of your crimes: piracy, murder, mutiny, and attempting to take Miss Jenna here against her wishes, it would bring some question to my principles if I did not order you hung from the yardarm.”

Steele just growled. “However,” the captain went on, “In the words of Scripture, 'blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.' Because of this, as well as the fact that I think these young ones have seen enough death already, your life will be spared. You have been sentenced to a far gentler punishment.”  And his eyes turned toward the island.

Steele's eyes grew wide. “No,” he cried. “Not on this island. Darby's stll out there. He'll kill me!”

“We will leave you with adequate ammunition to defend yourself,” the Captain replied. “You have proven