arson poked his head out from the doorway to the storage room where he and Radnor had hidden. It was dark with only the soft glow of a few wall sconces. He listened for sounds of men still awake but heard nothing. 

     He stepped out and shut the door, then looked around again before he moved. He crept silently along the passageway toward the galley, careful not to bump into doors and broken floorboards he had learned of during his many trips in the dead of night.

     As he entered the kitchen, he looked around. He felt as though he were being watched. The room was as black as pitch where the moonlight couldn't reach, so he couldn't see much of anything. He quickly, quietly pulled open the door to a cupboard for food. He gathered what he could in his arms and carefully shut the door with his foot.

     When he turned to leave, he found himself face-to-face with a member of the crew.

     "Gotcha!" the man snarled with a sickly laugh.

     Garson dropped the food and tried to fight, but the pirate wasn't alone. Two others held his arms as the first gripped tightly to his collar.

     "I knew we 'ad a rat! Jus' didn't know how big 'e was!" the first man laughed, and the others laughed with him.

     "I can't wait t' see wha' the cap'n'll do t' this one," he told them. "We haven't had a good keelhaul in a while!"

     Garson tried his best to break free, but all three were too strong. He had no choice but to be pulled all the way to the captain's cabin within the officer’s deck.

     "Look wha’ we 'ave 'ere, Cap'n!" called out the man who held Garson's collar.

     Captain Darragh turned from his desk to find three of his men enter through his opened door. They were dragging a boy with them, and he was trying his best to put up a fight.

     "Stowaway? On my ship?" wondered Captain Darragh in awe.

     He watched as the boy was forced to stand in front of his desk. Garson continued to look down so they wouldn't see his eye in the brighter light of the captain's cabin.

     "Are ye brave, lad, are just stupid?" Captain Darragh asked.

     He nodded to the first man and motioned with his finger to lift Garson's head hanging low. The crewman grabbed Garson by the hair and pulled back until everyone could see his face.

     As soon as Garson's white eye met the captain's, they all gasped in surprise. Captain Darragh's eyelids squinted as he watched his men move away from the boy and bless themselves with various religious motions. 

     Garson ignored their superstitious reactions and continued to glare at their captain, boldly rebuking such judgment. Captain Darragh grinned as he chuckled. He shook his head at the young stowaway's stubbornness. 

     "That ain't human!" exclaimed one of the men who let go of Garson's arm.

     "That's a demon eye, that," said the other in fear.

     The man who had pulled Garson's head up by his hair wiped his hands frantically on his clothes.

     "I'm cursed!" he yelled. "Dammit, I'm cursed!"

     Captain Darragh watched them a minute longer and shook his head.

     "Cowards, the lot o' ya!" he yelled. "Get out and send in Cian."

     The men ran from the cabin and hurried to report to the quartermaster.