Santo Domingo, January 1651: The crew of the Fortune's Folly return to the Lopez plantation after their midnight struggle against the unquiet dead...
At the plantation, Affonso has in the meantime coordinated a salvage and stripping operation, and three large groups of freed slaves are busily preparing to leave as the pirates guide their wagon up to the great house:
- the hardliners, who have been gathering weapons while waiting to see if the pirates kept their word to investigate their missing family members, are preparing to disperse into the forests in their ones and twos
- the maroons led by Affonso, who have salvaged farming implements and trade goods and who are preparing to relocate to a hidden mountain sanctuary, and
- the prospective pirates, who wish to join the crew of the Fortune's Folly and seek their fortunes at sea
As the new recruits unload the haul of Turkish treasure and begin to carry it down the forest trails to the beach, Oman and Carmen are taken aside by Affonso, who expresses the hope that they will all see each other once again soon and gives them an important piece of information: the secret route to the Place of the White Tree, where the maroons intend to found their hidden settlement. Meanwhile, Eve takes possession of a particularly fine scimitar from the treasure pile.
Upon reaching the beach just before dawn, the pirates are surprised to see most of their fellow crew hiding in the dunes rather than working on refloating the Folly. Old Jemmy explains that a ship's bell was heard in the early hours of the morning, and a flash of light spotted; they fear that there is a ship out in the darkness waiting for first light to attack them. Only Zandoz and his fellows are still on the ship trying to get it unstuck.
Joe, swathed all around in bloody bandages, is able to rally the beach party back to their tasks using some choice words, and with the added musclepower of the new recruits the Folly is pulling out of the cove just as dawn breaks. The ship is revealed to be the Aquila, a single-masted vessel flying no flag. The Folly hoists Spanish colors, hoping to seem innocuous, and while the mystery ship does the same it does not alter its posture to a more peaceful one. The Folly turns east and attempts to flee; the Aquila follows under full sail. The chase is on!
The two vessels chase each other for most of the day, while the pirates work hard to shake off their pursuers. However, Red Knife - despite his best efforts - is not able to outclass the Aquila's helmsman and sailing master, who are clearly seasoned sailors and who are steadily closing the gap between the vessels.
Meanwhile, based on meticulous long-range observation from the crow's nest, Guillaume and Carmen are able to deduce that the Aquila is lightly crewed, counting on its cannons to beat the Folly in a straight fight. This inspires Red Knife and Joe to propose a risky strategem: break line-of-sight with the Aquila, pull into a sheltered cove, and spill the wind from the sails until their pursuer catches up - then surge out of the cove into boarding range before the Aquila can use her guns. The plan works, and the crew of the Folly pour over the Aquila's gunwales before the Spanish gun crews can fire their broadside.
The fight that follows is short and decisive. The crew of the Aquila deploy a swivel gun to deadly effect, but Carmen leaps from concealment to kill its crew before they can fire a second salvo. The more experienced Spanish sailors begin to break the momentum of the pirate assault through superior formation and discipline, but Red Knife keeps up a fusillade of musket fire which helps the Folly's crew bring their greater numbers to bear. Soon, the crew of the Aquila - which is revealed to be a guarda costa ship, or private ship hired to perform coast guard duties - are forced to surrender. The crew of the Folly have taken their first prize, including the Aquila's small cargo of confiscated cacao!
A brief meeting of officers is held in the wake of the battle. The Spaniards are permitted to escape ashore, and Zandoz is given command of the Folly and its crew of fresh recruits, while the characters and all the experienced pirates move to command the Aquila. In doing so, the characters hope to contain Zandoz's obvious ambitions to be captain - they have given him a crew that is primarily loyal to them, and they have split him off from the four or five members of the crew who he might have counted on for support. Thus divided, the company set off towards St. Martin and the adventures that await them there...
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