True Treasure: Real - Life History Mystery (20 page)

The surgeon held the baby upside down by his ankles and gently smacked his derriere.

The baby started to squall as Bennett proudly said, “Mary, he is a boy.”

“Blanket,” the doctor said as he gestured toward it lying on the table.

Bennett picked the blanket back up.

The doctor placed the baby, still slimy and covered in white patches, into the blanket draped across Bennett’s arms. Once Bennett had a good grasp of their son, the doctor tied another piece of string tightly around the long knotted remaining cord on the baby, about an inch away from his tiny belly, then cut the cord much closer to his skin.

“Push again Mary if you get the urge. We still must deliver the afterbirth.”

“Can I see our son?”

Bennett was busy gazing at their son. The babe reached out and curled his little fingers around Bennett’s one. The baby’s eyes were closed as it mewled. He brought the baby over to Mary, and sat on the bed next to her. He leaned over and kissed Mary on the cheek, then the baby on his forehead. The doctor finished and rolled up the mess in sheets. “I’ll leave you two—three—alone now. Congratulations.”

Bennett reluctantly let go of their son into Mary’s arms. She cooed and whispered to the boy, “You are so loved our precious son.”

The baby promptly went to sleep in his mother’s arms. Bennett held Mary and the baby, as they both just gazed at the most amazing miracle they had ever witnessed in either of their lives.

A faint cheer from the camp echoed back to them and the sleeping baby.

***

The next day Bennett called a meeting with the officers. “We are overdue to get the news from the King, whether he has pardoned us, and taken our side and will address the King of Spain as a misunderstanding, or whether there is still a bounty on our heads. We have two options ahead of us. One, we send a small party into town to receive the news. If we do this it must be men who know how to fight so they can make it back safe if the news is not favorable. Heading out on a windy day in a small pram would be best. Not many men on shore could catch our most skilled sailors.”

An alternate plan would be to risk taking the ship into port. If there is still a bounty on our heads, we risk
all
of our lives. Even if we outrun any followers there is a good chance they will find us and we will be in for a battle or immediate surrender.”

Mr. Gregory spoke up, “It is only logical sir that we take a small crew to town. We should land outside the port and walk into town for reports. We need men who can read, fight, sail, speak Spanish and Portuguese, and can blend in with the natives. We can take in a load of fruit to sell in the market, and catch up on the rumor of the pirates.”

Captain Graham nodded his assent. “Which men do you recommend and who will lead this dangerous mission?”

“I will, sir,” said Lieutenant Cullen.

Lt. Toussant added, “I recommend taking the carpenter David Charles, he can pass as a native with his tan skin and rough hands. He knows Spanish and some passable Portuguese. Also, Jim Brownlee, he is the best fighter and sailor in the group. He’s also proven to be a powerful swimmer. His Spanish is fine in common phrases and cuss words, sir.”

“Whom
else? We need one more.”

“The cabin
boy, Joseph, sir. He is stronger than he looks and can pass as Brownlee’s son. He’s also an excellent shot and can throw a knife. He knows the ropes and has been sailing the pram everyday. No one lands it as well as he does, sir. He’s a natural sailor.”

Bennett nodded. He rested his fists on the table.

“Leave tomorrow well before dawn. Farmers come to town at dawn. Sell your wares first, hit a tavern in the afternoon. Here is a note to take to the constable. Let Joseph take it. It is obvious he is not a soldier. He can say a stranger paid him to take the note. Have him ask for a note to take back to his village in return. Have him return up the mountain, and when he is sure he is not being followed, have him cut back to the shore.”

The men nodded that they understood.

“Let them think we have taken to hiding inland in the small villages of the north. I have prayed the King will see things as they are. But as a man who has seen many battles for ships against Napoleon and the French, then against the revolting colonies of the Americas, I have not much faith in the course of truth mattering. It is a serious matter when so much treasure is at stake and men who are swayed by riches are convinced that all men are thieves. They believe a sailor’s honor melts before gold. They cannot comprehend that honor might have more value to men than any earthly riches ever could.”

***

Randall walked Bennett back to his quarters. “Have you thought of a name for your son?”

“Yes, we have. ‘Bennett Decus Graham.’”

“Let us have a toast,” Randall suggested as he went to the sideboard and poured three fingers of scotch for both himself and Bennett.

“Aha, the Latin word for honor, Decus, a fitting choice.”

“Mary insists on his taking my name. The least I can do is remind him that he is honorable no matter what the world will think of his father.”

“To Bennett Decus Graham,” Randall said as he lifted his glass. “Here, here!” Bennett answered as he clinked his glass with Randall’s, and they drank.

“Do not give up hope yet. There is time to clear your name as long as you have breath.” Randall retrieved the bottle, and poured another splash into each of their glasses.

“I planted among the treasure an account of what happened before these accusations arose. It was a precaution in case a storm or enemy took our ship, and the treasure was found by honorable people. The truth will come out someday. If the worst happens, and we are treated as criminals, I expect the treasure to stay where it is, perhaps forever. The lives of my men cannot be sold for gold. They are worth more than that. I am sure they will receive a heavenly trove of untold wealth so if the earthly treasure must remain hidden, it will. I will only reveal its whereabouts once our names have been cleared. The treasure will go into honorable hands, or none at all. Are you with me?”

Randall raised his glass again, “To death.”

“To death,” Bennett answered as they toasted again.

*

***

*****

***

*

CHAPTER 7

Joseph, the cabin boy, had heard about India, Africa, and other lands that had no name yet. Having met men in the ports with black, brown, red, and yellow skin he was eager to know if there were more. He bet there were.

Once they reached the shore, they would take down the mast and hide the boat under fronds or behind a dune. They worked on a story of where they were from and how they were related in case of questions. They planned to keep to themselves, be polite, and listen just like the natives would. Joseph would break off after the produce was sold and go to the constable’s to deliver his notes. He would leave at a run and angle up the mountain until he was sure he was well away from prying eyes, then angle back down to the boat.

They were excited to be going into town for some of the luxuries they could not get on the island. But as the lieutenant warned, to not get anything that was strictly an English luxury, but stick to the simple ones peasants would want. Maybe new sandals or tobacco.

Joseph was eager to go into town to deliver the message from the captain. He hoped for good news as he had signed on this leg of the journey to travel the world. Costa Rica was fine, but what of the more exotic lands or even undiscovered ones? With being on a survey ship, he had hoped for a more exotic location. Not one that was already settled by colonists from England, Spain, and Portugal.

The men loaded up the pram with three heavy branches of plantains, and took one of the carpenters roughly made wooded wheel barrels for the coconuts. They hung the bunches of plantains from a stick the two men would carry on their shoulders to take the produce into town. They left at the fourth watch in the middle of the night. This would give them time to push the cart up to one of the roads to come down into the town from the land side. They would be tired and dirty and not have to act.

***

In town they set up their cart between a vendor of coffee berries, and another with a variety of tubers and roots. The shoppers came to barter and buy, and soon the town was filled with busy nanas, mamas, servants, and cooks looking for the foods that would comprise or supplement their meals for the day. By midmorning most were gone, and they traded what they had left for various wares from the other vendors. Joseph asked, “Where can I find the constable?”

The root vendor told Joseph down which street he could find him. Joseph ran all the way. He knocked on the door when he came to it, then let himself in, “Constable? I have a message for you from a man visiting the town. He said I was to get an answer and bring it back to him.”

“Yes? Hand it over.” He held out his hand to take the letter. He broke the seal and quickly read. The constable shook his head. He walked over to the fireplace, struck a match, lit the note, and threw it in. He sat behind his desk, took his quill, dipped it in his ink, and wrote a note. When done, he held his wax stick up to the candle, dripped the melted wax on the letter, and pressed his ring in.

“Tell him, I am sorry.”

Joseph raised his brow, “Yes sir.” He took the note and ran all the way up and back up the mountain a ways before heading back to the beach. He knew no one was following him. He had the feeling from the expression on the constable’s face that he was genuinely sorry. Joseph thought, he had wanted an adventure, and now he would get one. One that might last his whole sorry life no matter how long or short that would now be.

At the beach the others were waiting. Joseph wiped at a tear from his eye while he jogged to the men. When he was close enough to see the look of hope on their faces, he shook his head slowly,
no
.

Their expressions went from one of hope to shock, then resignation.

The lieutenant looked at his men and said, “Well, that is it then.”

They took the fronds off the pram, turned it over, and put the mast back in. They silently loaded in their supplies. The men shoved the small boat off the beach and jumped in. They put the sail up and sailed back quietly. No one was in the mood to talk.

***

The pram approached the island. Lieutenant Randall Cullen knew where to look for signs of the inhabitants, but even so, no signs of life could be seen. He realized what a great job the captain had done in picking this island as their hiding spot.

As they entered the cove, David, the carpenter, spoke up, “What are the chances anyone will come looking for us?”

Lieutenant Randall answered, “With seven hundred prams full of a king’s gold missing, and a Vengeur class ship only six years out of the shipyards missing which has one
hundred and twenty guns, and close to three hundred men?”

The men didn’t answer so the Lieutenant continued, “If the navy finds us, the officers and some of the men will be hung by our necks until dead, and the rest will be sent to prison where they indeed may wish they had been hung by their necks.”

Jim bit at a nail and spit it into the sea, “If pirates find us we have a fighting chance. They want riches so much they are willing to kill to get them. Not to mention switching to a fine ship like ours. The Devonshire would make them nearly invincible on the high seas.”

“We are about to embark on the adventure of our lives which includes hiding to stay alive.” Joseph said as the grown men around him maintained their silence.

“Where we are now is as safe as we can be.”

“Until we are discovered,” David said looking glumly to the Devonshire ship as they passed it on their way to the beach. They steered around to the far side. The two men in the front jumped out and pulled the skiff up onto the beach. They unpacked the supplies they’d brought: coffee, flour, and sugar, along with four crates packed with chickens and one rooster.

Randall spoke as they unloaded their supplies. “Do not fear though, because Captain Graham has been planning where we will go from here. To Tahiti or beyond, to keep the crew safe. Or to the north to the land attached to the territory of the United States might be a possibility.”

Jim Brownlee spoke up, “We need to hide and avoid as long as we can. Taking to the seas will lead to discovery by someone eventually. I do not relish our options, but our fate is better than those aboard the treasure ship we boarded.”

“I’ve learned one thing,” David said as they walked hidden by the tree line on a small path they had cleared so they could see the beach but not be seen by passersby, “life is not fair.”

Jim added, “And death is no respecter of men either.”

***

Lieutenant Randall handed the letter to Captain Graham, who read it and placed it on his desk. He pressed his lips together and nodded. “Break out the kegs tonight, the men should have a reason to celebrate. Round them up now. I have kept the men wondering about their fate too long. They deserve the truth.”

Randall looked at his boots and nodded.

Graham shrugged into his coat, and buttoned it up. He put on his good boots, something he hadn’t done in many months. “I will meet you out by their camp in five minutes, then we will take the pram out to tell the men on duty onboard the Devonshire.”