Several tightly bound pirates lay on the ground like dogs, their hands tied, able to reach the black bread on the floor only with their mouths. Ignoring the dust on it, they tore off huge mouthfuls, muffled swallowing noises coming from their throats.
Even "Whirlwind" Igor, after a brief and painful internal struggle, abandoned his dignity as first Sailor Chief and crawled over to a piece of black bread, wolfing it down.
Even if they had to die, they would not die hungry.
Clearly, these men were truly desperate with hunger.
They probably had not eaten their fill in over a month.
Lorne and the others stood to one side, watching them at their leisure. Danitz was the most enthusiastic of the lot. With his arms folded, he stared unblinkingly at Igor. If he had a camera, he would have loved to press the shutter right then and preserve the scene forever.
Once word of what had happened aboard the Black Death got out, the story of him, "Flame" Danitz, hanging upside down from a mast, exposed to the wind and rain, would probably make the rounds among adventurers and pirates for quite some time, turning him into a laughingstock.
But if news and photographs emerged now of "Whirlwind" Igor, Vice Admiral Dusk's first Sailor Chief, lying on the floor like a dog and fighting for scraps, perhaps some of the attention would shift away from him!
After all, they were both famous pirates.
A few minutes passed. The bread on the floor had been devoured, even the crumbs licked clean. The pirates had regained a little strength and no longer looked as though they might faint at any moment.
"All right, you've eaten." Lorne cleared his throat and looked down at them. "Tell us what happened to you in