by L K Harcourt
‘You know Jake, if it weren’t for the fact that there’s a ladder underneath and a lamp left up there, I’d call that a darn fine hiding place.’
‘Indeed Zak, but our friends ’ere, they’re not interested in hiding it from us, they wanted us to find it, that’s why they were good enough to blurt it all out in the pub last night and now they’ve even lit up the route,’ said Jake.
This was agony, pure and simple. The men were not only going to take that treasure from under their noses, right down to the smallest gold and silver coin, but were determined to play out a nauseating black comedy routine first.
‘Yep, I can’t fault ’em,’ said Zak, ‘although I don’t suppose the Spanish captain would ’ave been any too impressed. What year did you say it was kids when ’is ship came a cropper? 17 summat wasn’t it?’
The students, chilled at the extent to which they had been overheard in the pub the previous night, didn’t answer.
‘Aaah, silence is golden, if you’ll forgive the pun,’ sniggered Zak. Anyway enough chatting, without further ado let’s see what we’re dealing with. I’m dying to take a peek!’
He climbed the ladder the students had unwittingly left out for him and poked his head over the top. The gold ingots and countless hundreds of gold and silver coins obediently lit up under his torchlight.
‘Phew, will you just look at that,’ said Zak, in astonishment.
‘Yes I will,’ called up Jake. ‘Come on, my turn.’
‘Oh you really are a child at times, aren’t you Jake, can’t you just take my word for it? Come on, business before pleasure, let’s get those three drippy students sorted first.’
John, Louise and Emma all shuddered when they overheard these words. What did he mean, ‘sorted’?
‘It’s all right, youngsters,’ said Zak with a leering grin as he came down from the ladder and back into the main part of the cave. ‘We’re not gonna ’arm you, this isn’t some TV drama, this ain’t . . . oh what would it be like Jake, if this were a TV drama thriller? I don’t watch a lot o’ telly these days – it’s going out drinking most nights keeps me from being a telly addict you know. Anyhow, all as we propose to do is to tie you up while we take every last piece of gold and silver. Just don’t want you doing anything daft while we’re trying to concentrate, does that make sense?’
Unfortunately, it made perfect sense, and there was simply no way that one young man, even someone reasonably muscular like John, and two women could possibly resist those two great beefcakes. They didn’t like to think how they had come by arms quite as thick and powerful as that but you certainly didn’t acquire them strolling across the mossy cobbles and quadrangles of Oxford University.
Perhaps it was just as well they didn’t know more about Zak and Jake as the pair pounced, first on John, then the girls. John was no push-over and struggled a bit but was powerless to stop them. The men pulled his arms behind his back and then criss-crossed thick adhesive tape around his wrists. They pushed a piece of cloth in his mouth and wrapped tape round it. Emma’s eyes opened wide with fear as they turned on her next.
They saved Louise until last for a little extra teasing. ‘Now your turn, my dear, last but not least, so to speak,’ said Jake, leering horribly at her. ‘Mmmm, let me just grab another piece of that delicious backside,’ and he grabbed her buttocks and squeezed hard.
‘Oh that’s gorgeous, I could really do with some of that. Hey perhaps you’d like to stretch out a bit instead of being tied up? If you know what I mean,’ added Jake with an evil wink.
Louise wished fervently she could punch the last of his remaining teeth out, but that wasn’t an option. But Jake’s vile flirting had given her the germ of an idea. She had to think quickly to have any chance of saving the day. Also, if anyone ought to get them out of this mess, it should be her.
These men were strong but their weak point was vanity and their likely sexual frustration. When was the last time they had had a woman? Not for 20 years or more, she guessed, certainly not without paying for it. The pair of them most likely wouldn’t risk raping her or Emma – not unless they intended to ensure they didn’t live to tell the tale. That sort of crime was probably way out of their league. But would they attempt to take the bait if Louise appeared to offer it, and perhaps buy a few more seconds?
Their one big hope lay in the fact that Dan was at large and the men appeared too dumb to realise it. If Dan discovered they had been taken prisoner without being captured himself, then they just might stand a chance.
‘What are you suggesting?’ Louise asked Jake.
‘I’m suggesting that you and me, you know, get jiggy on the cave floor?’ he replied.
‘Well, aren’t you the romantic one,’ replied Louise. ‘Look,’ she said, desperate to stall the men in whatever way she could. ‘This treasure belongs to me and my family because we are the ones who found it in a tunnel running directly from the island my family owns.’
‘Aaah, my pretty one,’ interrupted Zak, ‘but we overheard you say down the boozer last night that you weren’t sure whether you owned this tunnel, and that it might belong to the Crown. And what’s more, while you lot may ’ave found the treasure yesterday, Jake and meself ’ave come along and found it today.
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ said Louise, ‘under the law of treasure trove we are the finders of the treasure and therefore have an automatic entitlement to be awarded a substantial part of its value. You two are just a pair of opportunist crooks eavesdropping on conversations you had no business overhearing. The coroner will have to be informed and will almost certainly call an inquest to decide the matter. Then, it is a question of awarding the market value of the treasure to those deemed to be the finders – in other words, us.’
This was a useless discussion to be having with two men who Louise knew perfectly well planned to clean out every last ounce of gold and silver from this cave, regardless of who found what or what the ancient law of Treasure Trove did or did not say.
But the others, unable to speak with their mouths taped up, listened to her mixture of knowledge and bluff in admiration – they knew her game, it was a delaying tactic, pending Dan’s return. Unfortunately, they strongly feared that Dan would most likely blunder straight into the cave and be trussed up alongside them. And a cold chill ran across all of them when they realised that if that happened, there would be no guarantee that these men would ever let them free. Would they be left down here to rot? It didn’t bear thinking about.
Meanwhile the men, content they had the upper hand with John tied up, were happy to toy with their remaining pretty victim a little longer. The pair of them looked hungrily at her young, lithe limbs. Those skimpy leggings she had on under that long jumper showed off her tapering thighs to perfection.
‘Right then missy, well you’re clearly a spirited lass aren’t you?’ said Zak. ‘And I’ll concede you seem to know the law somewhat better than the pair of us. All credit to you for that. Now our problem is, not wishing to cut corners like, but we don’t really give a stuff about the finer legal points.
‘Sloppy I know, but that being the case, why don’t we just get you bandaged up too along with your mates and then we can get all this junk out of your way. Just think of us as a sort of removal firm or rag and bone men getting rid of your unwanted scrap metal.’
‘We do want it, we have a right to it and you have no right to take it,’ said Louise, her eyes blazing at him. ‘Now listen, you set us free and I tell you what we’ll do, we’ll allow you a cut of what we have found on condition you clear off and leave us alone.’
‘Oooh right, now you’re talking, ain’t she Jake?’ said Zak. ‘What do you make of this, it’s fun when they negotiate ain’t it?’
‘Oh definitely, shows a lot of initiative,’ replied Jake with his trademark toothless grin. ‘Ok, well in exchange for setting you free, what about we say half the loot for Zak and myself plus a little carnal satisfaction, missy. And we really should like to know your name if we
’re going to make love. Zak and I are old-fashioned like that, we’re not the sort of chaps who ’ave one-night stands and don’t even know the lady’s name. That ain’t right, is it?’
The others shuddered as the conversation moved from treasure towards a disturbing sexual interest in Louise. If they weren’t gagged they would have screamed at her not to negotiate with the men who undoubtedly had no intention of splitting the find with them.
Louise knew that of course. She knew that they were humouring her – pretending to agree to an equal division of the spoils in exchange for sex – then when they had finished with her, they would take the lot anyway. But the stakes were unbelievably high – their liberty and their fortune. Louise felt there was no choice but to gamble.
‘I’m not telling you my name,’ she said. ‘That’s none of your business. However, I’ll agree to your terms on the strict understanding that we get half the treasure and after you’ve had your fun you let us go and leave us in peace to enjoy the rest of our holiday.’
She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. She looked directly at first Jake and then Zak, her vivid green eyes piercing theirs.
Zak returned her gaze and narrowed his eyes. Something about her agreement to their vile offer made him slightly suspicious. Was she playing games with them? He would soon find out.
‘If you’re for real missy, take that jumper off, let’s see those lovely pins and ass in those skin-tight leggings,’ commanded Zak. The others looked on in horror as Louise pulled her jumper over her head and stood there in front of them. Her lime green leggings, a clinging mixture of cotton and lycra left little to the imagination.
‘Hey, will you just look at that,’ exclaimed Jake. ‘Lovely ass, lovely pins and, I hope you don’t mind me being clinical missy, but a lovely little pussy in there as well as far as I can tell in this light.’
Just to help him, Zak got his torch and shone it at Louise, first on her ample breasts, clearly defined beneath the T-shirt she was wearing, and then slowly down her body to her abdomen, hips and thighs. And then, like some macabre piece of theatre, he trained the powerful beam directly on her crotch. Her pubic mound and cleft of her vagina were clearly defined under the spotlight.
It was miserably embarrassing and humiliating for Louise but she knew she had to get them focussed on her, and forget the treasure for a while.
‘Now ain’t that pussy a sight for sore eyes,’ enthused Jake. ‘Hey you pair,’ he said, addressing John and Emma, don’t that pussy look gorgeous sittin’ atop those long pins? Bet you wish you could ’ave some of that.’
‘Look I’m not some exhibit in a zoo,’ said Louise. ‘If you’re going to do something, can we go to the back of the cave so we’re not in full view of the others.’
‘Ok, that sounds reasonable to me,’ said Jake. ‘There’s a nice smooth, flat bit of floor we could rest you on missy. I’m sorry, if we’d thought, we’d ’ave brought you a mattress to lie on or something.’
‘Yeah, we’ll be more organised next time,’ said Zak.
‘Right then,’ said Louise. ‘Well let’s get it over with. You had better take off your clothes then hadn’t you.’
‘Ooh she’s keen this one Jake. Ain’t she the little vamp! We’re worth it of course. But let’s not forget our manners. Ladies first, missy,’ said Zak. ‘You strip off first, that way we know you’re for real and not leading us on. Cos we’re sensitive types, Jake and me, we ’ate being led on and flirted with only to be left disappointed.’
~~~~~
Dan glanced at the chalk marks he had made on the walls of the passageway as he returned clutching Felipe’s diary. It had been an unnecessary trip but somehow he felt it important to reunite it with his personal effects – a simple act of decency before they took away the captain’s most valued possessions.
He was feeling happier now. If any criminal interest had been aroused last night in the pub, they would almost certainly have arrived by now and accosted them, he surmised. Their fears were clearly groundless and they should consider themselves fortunate.
Nonetheless, as he approached the entrance to the cave where he had left the others, he switched off his torch and tiptoed forwards slowly. No reason, save for pure instinct and his natural caution. He listened intently for the familiar voices of his friends.
That, unmistakeably, was Louise’s! Calm, assured, authoritative, as she discussed the legal intricacies of treasure trove as if continuing the conversation in the pub the previous night. He smiled as he heard her say, with apparent expertise, ‘under the law of treasure trove we are the finders of the treasure and as finders we have a right to be granted the value of at least half of . . .’
Dan was about to jump into the cave with a cheery, ‘I’m back,’ when again his instinct reined him in. Louise’s voice – no, it wasn’t quite right somehow. Dan detected a slightly quavering, almost strangulated note in it. It sounded tense, strident, somewhat discordant. Why would she talk in that tone, so cold and aloof, to John and Emma?
And then he realised why. The voice which responded did not belong to either of them. It was mean-sounding in a rough, uneducated Cornish accent. While he had disappeared in search of that diary, his friends had been caught! How could he have been so stupid! He had feared that they had been overheard in the pub.
Yet despite this he had acquiesced as they had blundered slowly along, making mistake after mistake and taking half the day to get back down here. Then, to cap it all, he – the sensible one – had gone and cleared off on a ridiculous, sentimental errand all so he could feel a little less guilty about plundering the long-hidden hoard.
But there was no time to beat himself up about it – that would have to wait until later on – if later on was ever to come. For now Dan had to try and get them all out of this mess.
Whatever was he to do? Should he flee back down the tunnel and get help? But would help come in time? I mustn’t panic, he told himself repeatedly. I must stay calm and keep a clear head. Going back was a good option, a sound option. His mobile phone wouldn’t work down the tunnel but as soon as he was out of it, he’d get a signal and could call for help.
Dan pushed Felipe’s diary into the pocket of his fleece and inched further forwards along the passageway. He peeped into the cave. He could dimly see John and Emma tied up and gagged. Only Louise was free so what was going on?
As he listened, he realised with mounting horror, that the men planned to have sex with her and there was absolutely nothing that John or Emma could do to stop them. He had to act quickly. But do what? Someone slight and slim like him wouldn’t have a hope of overpowering those two brutes. Nor would he be able to raise the alarm in time to stop them forcing themselves upon her. An anger welled up inside him – anger at them and anger at himself. He felt like bursting into the cave and demanding that they keep their dirty hands off her. But they would simply tie him up too and no doubt force him to watch. That would help no-one.
Seconds passed, agonising seconds, in which Dan simply stood there, frozen like a rabbit in headlights. What about a weapon, was there anything he could use? He felt in his pockets, and pulled out the piece of chalk Emma had given him. He smiled bitterly.
What about the treasure, hard cold ingots, and countless coins in a big chest, could he haul it down from the shelf and cosh one of them with it? Even if he did, he would then be seized by the other. What else was up there? Yes of course, there was a weapon – the captain’s cutlass! The cutlass which lay alongside his old jacket and boots and sailor’s hat. He could take that and brandish it at them and order them to keep away from Louise. But would they take any notice? Even if he manoeuvred them away from her he could not stop two big, burly men like them from going back up the ladder to spirit away their precious hoard.
The ladder – he could remove it and hide it somewhere. But that would do no more than impede them from getting up there and making off with it – it wouldn’t stop them. After all, with John’s help he had got up to the sh
elf the day before. And right now it wasn’t so much the treasure he was worried about but the welfare of his friends and in particular Louise who seemed about to be attacked.
He might as well arm himself with the cutlass, concluded Dan. It would be better than nothing. Silently, glad he was in soft trainers, Dan padded into the cave, keeping himself pressed against the rear wall. Fortunately, no eyes were looking in his direction – it was poor Louise under scrutiny. She had taken her jumper off and was currently having her crotch examined through her skin-tight lime green leggings. Dan resisted the urge to run at the men, he had already decided it would achieve nothing.
He guessed from Louise’s apparent co-operation with the men that she was playing a desperate stalling game – no doubt in the hope that he would return, realise what had happened and find a way to help them. But how?
By keeping close to the rear wall, he slid naturally into the hidden recess. He could see the dull gleam of the ladder from the nearby lamp on the cave floor. He did not dare flick on his torch. He must climb up slowly, carefully, silently. The slightest error and he would slip and send the thing crashing to the rock floor and the game would be up.
Dan mounted the ladder like a spider, smoothly and noiselessly. He might not have John’s physical strength but he was light, agile and nimble. He stepped out carefully onto the shelf and crawled on all fours into the middle. Only then did he dare switch on his torch, pointing it carefully to the rear wall.
The gold and silver lit up on cue. It was a wondrous sight which Dan ignored completely. He crawled to the back of the shelf, where Captain Felipe had carefully laid his personal belongings. He reached for the cutlass and examined it. It still looked sturdy. This shelf was clearly bone dry, the metal had not deteriorated at all. It was a proper, functional short-bladed sword, still with its hilt and hand guard. Dan ran his fingers along the curved blade, it was reasonably sharp. He would take it with him, it would be better than nothing – a means of defence, if not of attack.
