by L K Harcourt
About to make his way down, it occurred to him that he might as well carry out his mission and put Felipe’s diary into his coat. Perhaps that act of decency might bring him good luck. But just as he was about to do so, he was struck with an idea – it was a crazy idea, but then this was a crazy situation.
CHAPTER 14
Instead, Dan pushed the diary back into the far corner of the shelf, took his fleece off and placed it on top. It was the safest place for Felipe’s precious jottings, given what he was about to do. Now for the crazy idea! He picked up the captain’s old coat, noticing its red lapels, gold lace and maritime insignia bearing the name of the ship Providencia. It was a proper sailor’s coat. It looked worn but had not noticeably deteriorated – at least not in poor light. The stable, dry climate on this subterranean rock shelf beneath the sea had proved a perfect storage location.
Dan slipped the coat on and did up the still functioning brass buttons. His trousers were dark and would pass muster but his training shoes were a giveaway. He slipped them off and gingerly pushed his feet into the captain’s sturdy leather boots which buttoned up to the top of his shins. The boots, which sported splendid large metal buckles, fitted surprisingly well. Now for the hat. He lifted it gently. It was a magnificent two-cornered bicorne with gold braiding around its edges which would not have looked out of place atop the likes of Nelson or Napoleon.
He placed it on his head in side-to-side position – from memory he was pretty sure that was how they were worn around the turn of the 19th century and most probably was how Captain Felipe would have sported his. He wished he had a mirror to check his appearance. Dan fumbled in his pocket for the chalk and crumbled it in his hands. He rubbed it briskly over his cheeks and forehead to make himself look as pale as possible. Reverently, he picked up Felipe’s cutlass.
And then with some difficulty, in footwear unworn for well over two centuries, he clambered his way as quickly and quietly as he could to the top of the ladder. He listened carefully for any sounds from below. All he could hear was the muffled conversation in the cave.
Dan left his torch behind on the shelf. He would have no further use for it and with a cutlass in one hand, he needed the other free. He inched himself stiffly down the ladder, preying he wouldn’t slip in those antique boots.
When he got back to the cave floor, while behind the hidden recess, he listened hard for Louise’s voice. He could scarcely believe it. Those revolting men were telling her tell to strip off and, incredibly, she was telling them to do the same! For a split second he was paralysed with doubt, as if this could not be the Louise he knew, but then the moment passed. This was a clever, if high-risk strategy on her part, to dupe them into thinking they had a chance with her and allow their lust and conceit to cloud their judgement. They were now being distracted by treasure of a different kind and with Dan on the loose, it gave them just a sliver of a chance.
Dan overheard one of them sneer that he and Jake were sensitive types and something about not wanting to be led on so she had better strip off first. Gingerly, Dan poked his head round to look into the cave. Louise was now towards the far side of the wall and the men were on either side of her.
‘Go on, let’s see if you’re for real,’ snarled Jake. ‘Step out of those clothes and lay yourself down on the floor.’
The look on Louise’s face shouted desperation. She had been bluffing her way through and her bluff had just been called. If she stripped off now they would be on top of her in seconds. And they could, quite legitimately, argue that’s what she had promised them in exchange for half the treasure.
Where on earth was Dan?, thought Louise. He should definitely have been back by now. Perhaps that was a good sign, that he realised what was going on and had avoided lumbering straight into the cave and being caught. That would suggest he had gone for help. Only help would not come quickly enough. She was to be raped and the treasure spirited away, never to be seen again. A double violation.
‘Well,’ snarled Zak, ‘do we ’ave a deal or not? I think the young lady’s ardour has cooled somewhat, Jake. I think she’s one of these flirts who get men all excited only to let ’em down. Come on, we’re wasting our time, let’s scoop up that booty and go out and find ourselves a real woman. We’ll be able to afford a good few now, I should say.’
‘Right,’ said Louise, in one final attempt to buy some more time. ‘Here’s what we’ll do. I will take my things off, but I will do so slowly, and make it more interesting. If I must have sex with you, at least let’s make it a bit more erotic.’
‘Oooh, great idea missy,’ growled Jake, approvingly. ‘Hey Zak, I’ve always been a bit partial to a slow, sexy striptease. Grinning like schoolboys, Jake and Zak sat down on the floor, looking up expectantly at Louise.
‘Right,’ said Louise, ‘here goes.’ She knew she had to show them something if she was to stall things for any longer. She stepped out of her shoes and socks and then, taking as long as she could over it, pulled her T-shirt above her head. She was now naked from the waist up save for her white bra.
As the men cheered, Louise glanced miserably towards the entrance to the rear of the cave, willing help to arrive.
Her wish came true, although not quite in the guise she was expecting. Suddenly, at the back of the cave appeared the most astonishing, terrifying sight, just visible in the poor light. A man stood there, looking like a sailor of some kind but not one surely who belonged to the 21st century. He had a pirate-type hat on and what looked to be an old seafarer’s sword in his hand – yes – a cutlass! His face was a chilling, unnatural white; the colour of death itself, the colour of a ghost.
Dan managed to catch her eye, but there was terror in it because she did not recognise him. She had no idea who he was. He had to do something quickly to put her at her ease. He took off his hat and bowed to her. Then, cutlass and hat in one hand, he thumbed up with the other.
A look of puzzlement crossed her face, then finally, recognition. Oh Christ, thought Louise, it’s Dan, it must be! He’s got himself dressed up as the Spanish captain! Dan put his hat carefully back on his head. Now that Louise knew it was him, he could wait and pick his moment.
‘Come on,’ said Louise to Zak and Jake, ‘I’m down to my underwear now, why don’t you pair show willing and strip off as well. If you’re going to have your way with me, I might as well see the goods.
Well done Louise, thought Dan. She was using her feminine wiles to get the men undressed so they would be at their most vulnerable.
‘Fair enough,’ said bachelor Jake, flattered that a woman finally seemed to be taking an interest in him after so many barren years, ‘I’m game.’
‘Take off your bra first,’ said Zak, coldly.
Louise reached her hands behind her back and fiddled with the clasp. Dan, his heart thumping, watched in grim fascination as the garment sagged downwards and her breasts swung free. The men’s eyes widened at the sight. They had never seen such a perfect bosom beyond the pages of grubby magazines.
They started pulling off their clothing, until all they had on were pairs of white Y-fronts. Louise looked at them in disgust, glad that the light wasn’t strong enough to show up the inevitable yellow stains. A rank smell of mouldy oats and bacon filled the cave from the men’s unwashed clothing, now lying messily on the cave floor. No right-thinking woman would go within a hundred miles of this pair, thought Louise.
‘Now don’t leave a girl in suspense. Take those sexy pants off,’ she commanded.
‘Take your sexy pants off first,’ said Zak, a pronounced lump showing in his briefs.
Dan was nervous now. He didn’t want poor Louise to have to strip naked in front of them. But it would suit his purposes if she could get that dirty pair starkers. They would soon get the shock of their lives, and it would be good if they wore no more than their flabby pink skin.
Louise, emboldened by the apparent arrival of a ship’s captain from 1780, seemed more self assured. She looked the men in the eyes, making
sure she had their attention, then stuck her thumbs into her knicker elastic on each hip. With one swift tug, she yanked her knickers down to her ankles, then stepped out of them. She stood naked before them, like some Amazonian goddess, perfect breasts and long smooth legs, glowing olive in the dim yellow light of the cave, and in between, a perfect dark triangle of pubic hair.
She turned slowly round to show off the buttocks that Jake craved so much and then faced them again, her hands at her side, no attempt to cover herself up.
The men were now convinced they were in for a treat. They quickly pulled off their Y-fronts, their erections just visible beneath a salt and pepper forest of mangy looking pubic hair and a large car tyre of low-hanging belly. Dan started to move forward and Louise caught his eye. The moment had arrived.
‘Aaaaagh,’ screamed Louise, pointing behind the men. They wheeled round and were struck dumb by what they saw. A ghost! It had to be! They had often heard it say that these tunnels were haunted. Zak and Jake looked in horror at the terrifying figure of an 18th century naval officer in buckled boots, bicorne hat, long-skirted black coat, and cutlass held aloft. And his face was an unearthly white. No human had skin of such pallor.
And then the phantom spoke, and a spine-chilling cry rang out, first in Spanish then repeated in English: ‘Who tramples upon the final resting place of Felipe, captain of the Providencia! Am I to have no peace? Do you dare to fornicate on my grave and rob me of my last few possessions? You must die for this desecration!’
Dan towered over the naked men now cowering on the floor, his cutlass held aloft.
‘Oh forgive me, señor,’ whimpered a blubbering Jake. ‘We meant no offence. We had no idea this was your place of eternal rest. I’d never believed it when folk said these tunnels were haunted but I do now. Please dear captain, Zak and I, we are both sea-farers like you. Spare us and we will never disturb your peace again.’
‘Be gone!’ shouted el capitano and the men staggered to their feet and fled unclothed from the cave back down the tunnel towards the shore. Dan grabbed an oil lamp and ran after them, holding it above his head in one hand and brandishing the cutlass like a demented grim reaper in the other, yelling blood-curdling threats in Spanish.
CHAPTER 15
Once he was satisfied he was rid of them, Dan turned and raced back to the cave. His cutlass quickly hacked through the tape binding the wrists and mouths of first Emma, then John. Emma crumpled into his arms and embraced him, tears welling in her eyes. Dan kissed her fondly on the forehead. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘We’re still in danger and so is our treasure. Those chumps may realise they’ve been duped and return. We need to act fast.’
‘Aye aye cap’n,’ said Louise, quickly pulling her clothes on. ‘Let’s get moving.’
‘Girls, you go up the ladder onto the shelf and start handing things down to John and me,’ instructed Dan. ‘We must pack things into the crates we brought as quickly as we can and take them back. Start emptying the chest containing the gold and silver. Then anything else worth taking.’
‘What about those men. What if they get out or get people to ambush us on the island?’ asked Emma.
‘They’re stark naked remember – they haven’t got a stitch on, or any means to communicate,’ said Dan. ‘My guess is they will lie low until nightfall then sneak out under cover of darkness, or possibly come skulking back here for their things eventually. But for now at least, they will be far too scared of bumping into a very angry ghost.’
Louise and Emma went up the ladder and got onto the shelf. John came up behind them with a crate and the girls started scooping up the coins and ingots. John strained to lift the heavily-laden crate down the ladder. Dan meanwhile, stayed below, cutlass at the ready should the men return.
They filled their two robust crates and John and Dan then staggered off with one down the tunnel. The girls came too, carrying lighter items. When they got to the foot of the shaft, John and Dan carefully tied the crate up with the rope. John, being the strongest, then climbed back up into the outbuilding and hauled it up, helped by Dan pushing it up from below. It was surprisingly heavy, time-consuming work. They repeated the process with the second crate and the four of them all climbed up the shaft into the outbuilding.
‘Is there anything left worth bringing?’ asked John.
‘I don’t think so,’ said Emma, ‘there are a few small items from the ship but nothing that would be of much use to Jake and Zak if they return. They might get a few pounds for them on eBay, but that would be all and I don’t think it’s worth the risk of going back down there to get them.’
Dan smiled and said ‘well then let that be their miniscule consolation prize!’
‘Fine,’ said John, ‘well look, why don’t we get these crates safely back to the lighthouse and then have ourselves a well deserved cup of tea? I’d suggest something stronger but for our over-indulgence last night.’
The others agreed. Even without slightly fuzzy heads, a mug of strong, freshly-brewed tea sounded perfect after their adventures in the tunnel.
‘Oh hang on,’ said Dan, his brow furrowing as a thought crossed his mind. ‘Captain Felipe’s diary – did either of you girls pick it up? If you remember I had intended to place it inside his jacket which I was going to leave there with his personal effects. But because I ended up wearing his things, to scare the men off, I pushed the diary to the back of the shelf where it would be safe. Now that most of Felipe’s stuff has been brought to the island, I don’t think I should leave it abandoned down there. It doesn’t seem right somehow. I think I threw my fleece on top of it, which I took off before putting on the jacket.’
‘I’m sorry Dan,’ said Emma. ‘I picked up your fleece, it’s here look, but I never noticed the diary under it. It was just very poor light and I didn’t see it.’
‘Oh don’t worry about it now Dan, it won’t come to any harm,’ said John, ‘let’s not take unnecessary risks. We can fetch it another day when we’re certain those men have gone.’
‘But they might find it and take it,’ objected Dan. ‘It’s a valuable historic document which ought to be an integral part of the collection – after all, without it, we would never have found the treasure. Somehow I just can’t bear to leave it down there. I feel that it belongs with Felipe’s things and as we have gathered them all up, I shouldn’t just leave that diary by itself. I really do feel I ought to pop back and get it. I won’t be long. After all, we haven’t brought the ladder back, have we?’
That was true, they had left the ladder where it was – but precisely because it wasn’t worth the risk of going back to fetch it. Even Emma was struggling to empathise with Dan on this occasion. She really didn’t see the point in making a further unnecessary journey down the tunnels after all that had happened. She knew Dan had a sentimental attachment to Felipe’s diary, but the risk wasn’t worth it. But if his mind was made up, the sooner he went and got it the better.
‘Be as quick as you can Dan,’ she said to him, looking into his eyes and adding, ‘please’.
Realising he wasn’t to be dissuaded, John said to him, ‘ok, the rest of us will wait here for you then, and as soon as you return, the pair of us must close off this shaft so it can’t be accessed from below and get the treasure moved into the lighthouse. None of us are going to leave this outbuilding until you are back safely. But please don’t hang around.’
Dan nodded. He cut an incongruous figure standing there still dressed as Captain Felipe with his Admiral Nelson-style hat, cutlass, and chalk-streaked face. ‘I’ll be quick, I promise,’ he said.
Then, cutlass tucked under his arm, he climbed back down the iron rungs of the shaft. When he got to the bottom John threw him a torch down.
Right, here goes, Dan thought to himself, wishing with all his heart that he wasn’t back in the tunnel again. Being on his own this time, he felt strangely vulnerable. But he’d scared those men witless, surely they wouldn’t be so foolish as to return to the cave haunted by the angry and
restless ghost of a Spanish naval captain who had lost his ship and crew?
Mind you, not having a stitch of clothing to wear can do funny things to people, mused Dan as he strode along. If sheer embarrassment at their unclothed state, not to mention feeling jolly cold overcame their fear, they might return. And there was always the possibility that having calmed down and recovered from their shock and unsatiated lust for Louise, they might realise they’d been hoodwinked.
None of it mattered, so long as he had time to get back up to the shelf, retrieve Felipe’s precious diary and return. It was something Dan simply had to do, before he could relax and feel pleased about their amazing find. He shone his torch along the tunnel walls for the reassuring chalk lines although he knew the way perfectly by now.
He turned into the cave and looked about. A lantern left down there still emitted a suitably ghostly glow. He climbed quickly back up the ladder to the shelf.
It looked strangely bare and forlorn now that there were no coins and ingots smiling cheerfully back in the torchlight. Dan put the cutlass down and crawled on all fours into the far corner where the rock shelf met the sloping roof. The diary was there, just where he had left it. He picked it up gratefully and pushed it into the inside pocket of Felipe’s coat, where it belonged – where, perhaps, the Spaniard himself had often secreted it.
Dan flicked the torch around briefly to see what was left. There was nothing of any great value. If Jake and Zak eventually took it, it would be of little worth to them. Dan ran his hands over the tapering cave wall above him, and whispered softly, ‘I’m sorry we plundered your things in this way Felipe, but it was better than for your wealth to fall into the wrong hands. We will take good care of everything.’
