Hal hesitated. We must return to the ship. Blocks and tackle hadalready been rigged from the galleon's yards. A signal from Captain Ryker indicated thatthose aboard the Sonnevogel were in no better case.
Are your archers ready? Hal asked. Her maid, Zelda, was in the pay of van de Velde and reported to himeach of her mistress's adventures, taking a deep vicarious pleasure inrelating every salacious detail. The fever in his blood fromthe festering wounds boiled up and filled his head with darkness andheat. He knelt beside thebunk and examined it closely.