So it had continued long into the night. Atiba had no choice but to wait until the elders decided. Finally they agreed that Ogun would have them go to war only if they had weapons to match those of the branco. That was the message in the gunfire that had erupted the moment the cowries were cast. Atiba must assure them he could find muskets, or there would be no rebellion. . . .
He stroked silently on through the surf. Now the dark outline of the branco's ship loomed above him, still, deserted. Soon he would find what he had come to learn.
He grasped a salt-encrusted rope ladder which dangled from the side and pulled out of the water. He did not bother using the rungs; instead he lifted himself directly up.
His feet were noiseless as he dropped onto the deck. A quick reconnaissance revealed only one sentry, a fat branco snoring loudly in a chair on the high deck at the back of the ship. He slipped up the companionway, gripping each weathered board with his toes, and stood over the man, wondering if he should kill him, lest he waken suddenly and sound an alarm.
Then he remembered the words of Shango that night in the mill house. It would be a bad omen to spill innocent blood before the rebellion even began. Shango had declared he would only countenance the killing of men who threatened harm. Also, lying beside the man was an empty flask, which surely had contained the strong wine made from cane. This snoring branco would not soon awaken.
He turned and inched his way back down the companion- way. The only sounds now were the gentle splash of surf against the side of the ship and the distant chirp of crickets from the shore. He moved stealthily along the creaking boards until he reached the locked door at the front of the ship, the place where the branco captains stored their weapons.
He tried to still his heart, feeling it begin to race with anticipation. If there were weapons here, muskets or pikes, they would be easy to seize when the moment came to rise up. There would be no need to storm the plantation houses for guns and spears, and their plans could proceed in total secrecy till the moment the branco slaveholders were surprised and cut down.
He recalled the rumor that the branco who owned this ship had bought and freed two hundred white slaves, and then had given some of them weapons to fight the warriors of the Ingles fleet. Surely he had more muskets and pikes than any of the branco planters. How many would be left?
He slipped the machete from his waistband and wedged it silently under a hinge on the heavy wooden door. The wood
was old and the nails pulled easily. When the three hinges had been removed, he laid the machete on the deck and lifted the door around.