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damned islanders. When they found out who we were, they started hidin’ their young women.”
    “Maybe.” Gideon shot the stall-keeper an ingratiating smile that didn’t seem to mollify her one bit. “Confound the woman! Tell her I don’t want her cloth after all. What good does it do us if we can’t get any women?”
    Silas nodded solemnly as Gideon spun on his heel and headed for the docks. After muttering a few words to the stall-keeper, Silas hurried after Gideon, moving with surprising speed on his wooden leg. “So what do we do now, Cap’n?”
    “I don’t know. We’ll have to talk to the crew. Maybesome of them have had better luck today than we have.”
    “Maybe,” Silas said, though he didn’t look hopeful.
    They strode down the rock-strewn paths of Praia in silence. Gideon was barely conscious of the scowling man at his side. This whole scheme was pointless; he should have seen that from the beginning. It just couldn’t work.
    He was still telling himself that when Barnaby Kent, his first mate, rushed up the mountain path toward them. “You’ll never guess what’s come into port!” he cried.
    Barnaby was the only Englishman Gideon had ever allowed to join his crew, but he’d never regretted it. The man was a gifted seaman, even if he dressed like a dandy.
    “What is it?” Gideon asked as Barnaby drew to a halt in front of them, gasping. It must be something fantastic to excite Barnaby enough to hurry. The man generally strolled languidly about, surveying everything and everybody with a jaundiced eye.
    Barnaby bent over and planted his hands on his thighs as he sought to catch his breath. “A ship…has come into port…one that might interest us.”
    Gideon groaned. “We’ve been through all that, Barnaby. We’ve got enough blasted jewels and gold and silver to fill a warship. It’s women we need, not more prizes.”
    “Aye, sir.” Barnaby straightened, then took out his handkerchief and mopped his face. “And this ship has women. Lots of women. All for the plucking.”
    Gideon and Silas exchanged glances. “What do you mean?” Gideon asked.
    Barnaby had finally caught his breath and now he spoke quickly. “It’s a convict ship from England—the Chastity . It’s carrying women to Australia. There’s fifty or more women aboard, from what I could gather, and they might just fancy being rescued, if you know what I mean.”
    Glancing down toward the crowded harbor, Gideon rubbed his chin. “Convict women, you say? English convict women?”
    “I know what you’re thinkin’, Cap’n,” Silas put in, “but it don’t matter if they’re English. English women will do as well as any others. The men don’t all hate the English as much as you do, you know.”
    When Gideon glowered at him, he added hastily, “Not that I don’t understand why you hate ’em. I do. Truly, I do. But these here women…they ain’t like the kind of English you don’t like. They’re just poor sods like the rest of our crew, who got handed a raw deal from the first. They’ll suit the men just fine, much better than these uppish island girls who think themselves too good for a bunch of pirates.”
    “But we don’t have much time,” Barnaby said, wisely staying out of the entire discussion about the English. “The Chastity sets sail in the morning. She only put in here tonight for provisions.”
    Ignoring Barnaby, Gideon focused on his normally grumpy cook, who had no personal stake in the scheme. Silas disliked women and had sworn never to take up with one. “Do you really think this will satisfy the men?”
    “Aye, I do,” Silas said. “I truly do.”
    Barnaby straightened his cravat with a knowing look. “It’ll certainly satisfy me .”
    Gideon hesitated. But he really had no choice. This was the best opportunity to come along in the past few months. And a convict ship would be easy to take at sea. Convict ships were never well armed.
    “All right.” When his two closest friends looked