To Philadelphia
Captain Peanut Butter • Chapter 35
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In the last chapter, a great sea battle ensued, resulting in the rescue of Britpop and Andelbert. Captain Peanut Butter asked Britpop to deliver a message to Ana at Ben Franklin’s house.
Elise, Ox, and I floated in the balloon basket until The Eternal Horizon came to rescue us. We boarded the ship, pulled the balloon from the water, and soon rejoined the other ships. We made our way to The Jellyfish, where we joined Captain Peanut Butter, Duke Dottydum, Andelbert, Maria, and Ben Franklin. There was much hugging.
“What a joy to see you alive and well, Britpop,” Captain Peanut Butter said.
“I feel the same,” I replied.
Then I turned to Ben Franklin. “Mr. Franklin, I am surprised, yet delighted to see you again. You may not remember, but we met at a cafe in France.”
“Of course. I never forget a fellow inventor,” he replied.
“But why are you here?”
“I am on my way back to France to persuade the King to come to the aid of the United States.”
“Where is Jennings?” Elise asked.
“Dead, by the hand of Captain Brun,” Dottydum replied.
“Captain Brun? I thought Jennings threw him overboard,” I said.
“He did,” Elsie replied. “We happened upon him as we chased Jennings. I considered leaving him to drown, but that is against the sailor’s code. So we fished him out and put him in irons.”
“When we realized we were going to fight Jennings’ crew, Brun begged to fight,” Dottydum added. “He wanted revenge, and I figured he would fight hard against his betrayers, which he did. Then he took the opportunity to stab Jennings in the back. We placed him back in irons. He will answer for his crimes.”
For some unknown reason, Elise still felt a measure of sympathy for Brun.
“He is an experienced sea captain. Could the Continental Congress enlist him to fight the British using Jennings’ ship? Perhaps it will allow him to atone for some of his sins,” Elise suggested.
“It is an interesting idea,” Franklin said. “You will have to discuss the matter with Congress. I cannot return to Philadelphia. I must continue to France, and sadly, I must leave you now. I bid you all farewell,” Franklin said.
We all said our farewells, and Franklin returned to the Reprisal.
“I must take Jennings’ ship to Philadelphia,” Captain Peanut Butter said. “You will doubtless need to restock for the voyage home. I kindly ask that you visit Ben Franklin’s house and tell Ana that I am alive and well and will see her soon.”
“Won’t you be accompanying us?” I asked.
“I cannot. My contract is to capture three ships, and then the crew gets a week’s leave. I have one more ship to capture before I can see Ana again.”
“I see. Of course, then. It will be our pleasure,” I replied.
While the crew of The Eternal Horizon restocked the ship, Elise, Andelbert, Maria, and I went to Franklin’s house. Deborah Franklin greeted us at the door.
“Mrs. Franklin, I am Baron Britpop Blastfurnace.”
A moment later, Ana squeezed past Deborah Franklin and hugged me.
“Britpop! What are you doing here?” she said as she let me go.
“It is an amazing story. May we come in? I have news from Jacques.”
Ana’s eyes widened. “Is he safe?”
“Yes.”
“Please come in,” Mrs. Franklin said. “And call me Deborah.”
We told them the story of our capture and the sea battle. Then I gave Ana the message Captain Peanut Butter entrusted to me.
“Incredible,” Deborah said.
“Indeed. But there is another matter I would seek your counsel on.”
“Truly? What is it?”
“We would like to talk to the Continental Congress about Captain Brun. We hope they will see the reason in giving him a ship and allowing him to fight the British. But we have little time.”
“Leave that to me. I will approach the proper person to make it happen.”
Without hesitation, she rose and headed out the door. We sat there looking at each other.
“She is quite the woman,” Ana said.
“I am getting that impression,” I replied.
True to her word, Deborah returned in an hour and told us we had a meeting with Congress the following morning.
As we stood outside Independence Hall, I took Elise’s hand.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes. He deserves to hang, but the thought of having him on my ship for another month sickens me. And if some good can come from it, then it is for the best.”
“Very well,” I said, and we entered the hall.
To my relief, Congress agreed that enlisting an experienced Captain for the war effort would be more advantageous than hanging him back in Kapri.
Two days later, we sailed for home.
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I welcome your thoughts, questions, suggestions, corrections, etc. Thank you.
Mark
🩷👍🏻
Captain Brun got better than he deserved!