Under the strong and steady blowing of trade winds (also known as trade winds) blowing from the subtropical high pressure zone of the northern hemisphere to the equatorial low pressure belt at low altitudes, and under the long-term sunshine, Isabel Walton from a noble family in northern England led four armed merchant ships all the way to the deep sea outside Punta du Sole, a small fishing port north of St. Antão Island.

According to the approximate figures given by the navigator, Cassiano, her fleet is now less than 15 leagues (about 44.8 nautical miles, 51.6 miles) from the port of Talafal, southwest of Sant'Antão Island. Such a short distance, under the influence of strong trade winds, allowed her fleet to reach the outside of the port very quickly.

At this time, the Portuguese Clark cargo merchant ship, which was 4 leagues away from her fleet, was unable to reach her speed at all due to the defects of its own hull. In this case, Isabel hurriedly ordered the boatswain Brady to have the sailors immediately slow down the ship. Then, he asked the flag bearer to run to the highest point of the aft tower and waved the flag to Captain Hawkins behind: "Slow down." ”

As the Nemesis slowed down, she called Captain John Hawkins to her side, "John, how are you learning to read and write in church?" ”

John blinked as he looked at her and replied honestly, "Well, I've learned a lot of English and French words, as well as some Spanish and Latin words. ”

"Very well, follow me."

"Yes, Captain."

As the two of them approached the small staircase in front of the aft lookout, Isabel looked at Brady Hawkins, who was standing on the open deck, "Boatswain, the Portuguese ship will report to me as soon as it overtakes us. ”

"Yes, Captain." Brady nodded at her and readily agreed.

Afterwards, Isabel and the others went to the captain's cabin under the observation deck. As Isabel closed the hatch, the navigator who had rushed into the cabin raised his jaw, "John, I need you to write a letter to your father at once. ”

Isabel felt that if she did not tell Captain Hawkins all her thoughts and measures at this time, Captain Hawkins would probably be eager to plunder the Portuguese merchant ship, which might not have any cargo on it. John sat down at the captain's desk and picked up her quill pen, carefully laid out a piece of white letter in front of him, and looked up at Isabel who was standing behind his right, "Captain, I'm ready." ”

Isabel walked across from John and sat down in her captain's seat and looked at the serious navigator, "I say, you come and write." ”

With the rustle of John's quill pen as he wrote on paper, Isabel took a sip of wine from her glass and whispered what she was going to tell Captain Hawkins. John's right hand was writing quickly on the paper, and from time to time he looked up at his aristocratic female captain.

When his captain stopped talking, John had almost finished writing the contents of the letter. Gently put down the quill pen, pick up the letter paper with both hands, and gently blow every word of the ink that has not dried. As Isabel put down her glass, she said to him, "John, roll up the letter and tie it up." ”

"Got it, Captain." John looked at the letter with his hand and rolled it up.

At this moment, Isabel walked to the cabinet on the left side of the captain's cabin, opened the cabinet door, took out her longbow and a heavy arrow, and turned to look at him, "John, tie the letter to the shaft of the arrow." ”

Just as the two of them were about to step out of the captain's cabin, Brady stood outside the cabin and knocked lightly on the door, "Captain, the Portuguese ship has reached the sea outside the fishing port. ”

Isabel opened the door and looked at the boatswain standing in front of her, "Well, now, all you and your men have to do is follow the Portuguese." ”

Brady agreed and turned and ran to the open deck, and Isabel took the captain to the highest point in the stern and asked the flag bearer to wave the flag to Captain Hawkins again: "Letters." ”

When Captain Hawkins' standard-bearer responded with a flag, Isabel placed the arrow tied to the letter on her longbow. The foremast of the merchant ship aimed at Captain Hawkins was shot with an arrow, and the "......" arrow hit the mast steadily......

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Captain Hawkins, after reading the letter Isabel had written to her, handed it to the adjutant of the Maritime Officer, who was standing on the side. The Adjutant Marine glanced at the contents of the letter and looked at Captain Hawkins with a smile, "Captain, Miss Isabel has really thought it through. If we had attacked at this time, we would probably have only plundered an empty ship. ”

Captain Hawkins sighed softly and smiled self-deprecatingly, "It seems that what the Hawkins family lacks is not only upbringing, but also more important education. It is indeed not easy for my son to become a nobleman. ”

"Captain, it's not too late to deal with your troubles when this voyage has served our purpose."

"Well, tell the navigator and boatswain to keep an eye out for the Nemesis' flag."

"Yes, Captain."

At this time, Isabel led the fleet and followed slowly behind the Portuguese cargo merchant ship. When the Portuguese merchant ships sailed south along the western coast of Sant'Antão Island to the port of Talafal, she had her sailors anchor their ships about 0.5 leagues from the port.

When the boat stopped, Isabel sat down on a seat on the aft lookout near port side, and took a sip from the small table next to her. He looked at the sea outside port side with a relaxed expression, and then turned to look at the navigator standing on the left side of the lookout, "John, go and ask the sailors on the observation deck what they see." ”

The sailors who were on duty at the observation station of the main mast, which was the highest position in the whole ship, later reported to John: "There is a market on the north side of the harbor that resembles a cattle and horse market, and there are very many very dark-skinned people in it. To the east of the market, there is a small stone fortress facing the sea, and houses are built on the left and right sides of the fortress. ”

John Hawkins, who was standing under the mainmast, tried to tilt his head to the maximum angle to look at the observatory, put his hands to his mouth and made a trumpet and shouted, "Artillery! ”

The sailors in the observatory looked again at the fortress on the shore of the harbor with wide eyes, and then leaned down to look below the navigator and waved his hand widely. John had no choice but to retract his raised head and muttered as he walked towards the stern, "Did you not see it or did you not see it?" ”

As Isabel was about to finish half a glass of wine, there was a cacophony in the market on the shore of the harbor, accompanied by the screeching of whips on the skin of animals or humans. Soon, innocent blacks, chained together in wooden shackles, shackles, and chains were escorted out of the market by several Portuguese men.