After such a harrowing chain of events, the crew were anxious to begin shore leave. While the Captain tried to obtain an audience with the governor, I found myself in the company of a wealthy Danish beauty, spirited away to her palatial home for an evening of revelry. I had not had as much fun since I left France. Mr. Hammer spent the evening drinking large quantities of rum and regaling tales of our escapades, gathering followers wherever he chanced to go.

The next morning, I returned to the ship to find that our crew had grown tremendously. Hammer’s night of revelry had netted over 60 crewmen. Combined with the remaining crew’s recruiting efforts, the little Felucca was bursting at the seams with men wishing to join our cause. Our crew numbered over 200. Captain O’Harrigan had even brought a young Serbian tailor, Tomasevic, on board. A good omen, young Tom carried with him a symbol of his country, a Serbian flag. Seizing the moment, the Captain declared we would sail under the Serbian flag and become known throughout the Caribbean for our daring deeds. The cheers that followed this announcement gathered a large crowd on the shore to see if a ship was on fire.

Our revelry continued through the evening. I found myself again at the home of my Danish beauty, this time in the company of her husband. It was a pleasure to dance and dine in a lady’s gown again, even if it was only for a night. Perhaps I would retire here to the beautiful island of St. Thomas.

The return to the ship in the morning yielded no new surprises. Repairs had gone well and we were able to be on our way. While we all had concerns about the size of the crew, it soon proved to be a worthwhile decision. "Sail ho!" was the word from the tops, "And she’s Spanish!" We raised Tomasovic’s flag and proudly raced to the side of the little Spanish Felucca. As we moved to broadsides, we let them know just what we had planned. "Presente!" Out ran the guns. And as they scrambled to their stations, "Fuego!" The grapeshot riddled their decks and our crew of 200+ cheered and prepared to board.

The Captain of the Spanish ship immediately signaled surrender, exclaiming, "How do you get so many men on such a leetal boat?"

Not wanting to gain a reputation for cruelty, we dropped the Spanish on the next island and headed back to St. Thomas. Luck was with us that trip. Another Spanish ship, a small Boyer, crossed our path and was subdued with minimal damage. With two to one odds, we were able to broadside it with both Feluccas. Again we put the survivors off on a nearby island. The booty from these two ships enabled us to purchase larger cannon when we returned to St. Thomas, but it also garnered a few enemies as well.

We spent the day debating whether to sell the Boyer and second Felluca or whether to start a fleet of "Serbian" ships. Tomasovic was already at work on more flags. During this debate, the Captain received an invitation from the Governor inviting him and his officers to dine at the Governor’s home that evening. We graciously accepted the invitation and began our preparations for the evening, deciding which weapons to take (and not to take) and what clothing to wear.