Time Ship (Book One): A Time Travel Romantic Adventure

by Ian C.P. Irvine

  Chapter 17

  Blue Emerald Bay Resort

  Puerto Rico

  The first of the two boats was just arriving back at the shore when Silver got to the beach.

  As the second wave of men poured out onto the sand, Silver ran down to the boat and sent it straight back to Sea Dancer, telling them to bring back as many empty barrels as possible to transport, water, food and grog!

  The men had already started emptying the stores they had found in the first building on the beach, and they were making good progress in piling it up on the sand near the water's edge. They now started to load the first boat.

  James Silver was scared. He had felt uneasy about coming ashore even before he had left the Sea Dancer, and now already one of his men had been killed by the devil's magic.

  As soon as they had what they needed and were gone from this place, the better!

  Just then, one of the men came running up to Silver, gesticulating wildly at something towards the wooden hut on the beach.

  "Fresh water!" he shouted. "I've found a fresh water spring! We will soon have all the water we need!"

  Silver followed the man back to the side of the hut, where he showed the quartermaster a metal tube coming out of the ground with a cross on the top: when you spun the cross around, water would start to shoot out of the tube, pouring onto the ground below.

  Silver stuck his head underneath the hole from where the water poured forth, and drank the water, gulping it down. It was sweet and fresh and deliciously cold.

  Filling his hat with water, he poured it over his head and face, washing away months of dirt and grime.

  Feeling immediately refreshed, he clapped the sailor on the back and told him to fill as many barrels with this water as he could. Silver was relieved not to have to go back to the lagoon where the body of Mr Wright still lay.

  By this time the men from the second boat were ready, and the full complement of men were now waiting for him under the trees.

  Silver could see the sky beginning to lighten on the horizon, and he knew the sun would soon be rising. They would have to make haste.

  Hurrying over to the trees, he signaled for the men to divide up into three groups, appointing two other leaders from the men, and instructing them to be back within the hour at the latest.

  "Follow me now, until I give the signal to separate. And then grab only what you can, and do not engage the locals. They are devils!"

  Silver set off through the trees, emerging beside the lagoon. Sprinting around it along the path, he quickly passed Mr Wright's body. The others followed.

  The path led past two other curved lagoons, surrounded by the strange, low-lying beds. As they ran along, it struck Silver as odd that there were so many beds, yet no one was sleeping on any of them.

  The path led back into some more trees, and then emerged in front of a set of buildings, the like of which he had never seen before.

  The buildings were three levels high, and built with beautiful workmanship. Silver could not make out if they were constructed of stone or wood, their appearance being smooth. Even though the sun had not yet risen, the dark of the night was cast away by more fire-sticks around the buildings, whose light illuminated them and showed that they had all been painted a light yellow.

  Wooden balconies were built into the walls, and empty seats and a table were positioned on several of the balconies that he could see.

  Brightly colored clothes and small, skimpy articles of clothing hung on pieces of rope that were stretched out across some of the balconies.

  But what struck Silver most were the big portholes that were spaced out regularly along the walls and set into the walls themselves: large pieces of glass covered the holes in the walls, the glass flat and transparent - and HUGE! He had never seen so much flat, clear glass in his life.

  As the pirates ran out from the trees onto a patch of beautiful grass, just in front of a row of these buildings, Silver gestured to the men, and the three groups split up. Each of the groups headed in different directions, leaving behind them a few good men to protect the path and their escape route back down to the beach.

  Silver contemplated smashing one of the huge windows and trying to climb into the room beyond to explore the building and see if there was food there.

  He and his men ran over to one of the buildings, and Silver tentatively reached out and touched one of the flat, smooth, yellow walls. He pointed at one of his men, indicating that he should kneel on the ground, and then Silver stepped up onto his back, looking in through of one of the windows. On the inside, a piece of hanging cloth obscured much of the view, leaving only a small gap through which he could see a large room and a bed.

  Silver's eyes opened wide.

  On the bed, a man was making love to a woman. Silver gawked, pressing his face closer to the glass trying to get a better look.

  Beneath him the pirate groaned as Silver pushed the heels of his boot deeper into his back. The pirate swore loudly.

  Inside the bedroom, the woman looked up from her nuptial activities, saw the face at the window and screamed.

  Silver fell backwards off the pirate beneath, landing awkwardly on the ground and rolling over, before picking himself up and running with his men around the side of the building and deeper into the devil's lair.

  They ran along another path lined with ornamental shrubs, palm trees and fire-sticks, past more beautiful houses and another lagoon full of water.

  A man was coming towards them across the grass. He was dressed in black in tight figure hugging breeches and a tunic. As they ran down the path towards him, the man started waving at them, obviously scared by the sight of so many pirates running towards him.

  "Who are you?" he shouted at the top of his voice. "Are you guests here at the Resort?"

  As they came closer, the man pulled out a small black box from his breeches, lifted it close to his mouth and started speaking at it.

  Silver was only a few feet away when he heard the man say something about 'Intruders' and 'Terrorist Attack'. Then suddenly, there was a loud cackle and a voice spoke back to the man in English.

  The sound of the voice emerging from the little black box in the man's hand startled the pirates, and some of the men beside Silver slowed down. Silver sped on, the man now only a few feet in front.

  As he drew closer, he raised his cutlass above his head, and in a single, powerful motion, he swung it downwards, hitting the man across the jaw with the metal basket that surrounded his hand, instantly knocking him unconscious. The man fell heavily to the ground.

  Without stopping, or faltering, the men ran on.

  Suddenly a tremendous smell of food filled the air. Silver stopped running, and sniffed the air. The other men ran up behind him, sniffing the air too.

  Quickly Silver looked around him. Seeing a man walking away from him through a door about a hundred yards ahead, he followed after him, the open door being the obvious source of the smell.

  Eighteen pirates followed after him, pouring inside the building, their mouth's watering at the delicious aroma of food wafting through the air.

  They entered into a large darkened building, a spacious hall filled with empty tables and chairs. Large windows filled with the biggest pieces of glass that the men had ever seen surrounded the hall, with a view of the open sea and the bay on the other side.

  Outside the sun was just beginning to rise, a beautiful dawn heralding a magnificent day ahead. The view of the bay and the sea beyond was stunning. The pirates had never seen the like of such a building before.

  There could only be one explanation. This was the palace of a Spanish King!

  There was a sound behind them and the men turned around to see a man with dark black skin, carrying a tray of goblets filled with an orange colored liquid. He looked up at the pirates in surprise when he saw them, and then walked into the middle of the hall, put the tray down on a table, said something to them that nobody understood, and then walked back out of the h
all through the door he had just come from.

  On the right of the door through which the pirates had entered, there were what looked like several shops, their wares on display and open for anyone to help themselves to! The men streamed towards them. There were many different displays of food, some in colored boxes, some lying displayed on flat surfaces, with ice and green leaves surrounding them. There were also many different types of fruit, some of which Silver recognised, others which he did not. The smell of fresh bread filled the air, and Silver saw one display offering nothing else than what looked like thirty or forty different types of bread.

  Another display showed a banquet of meats, and eggs, and other things he simply did not recognise.

  Bottles of water and colored liquids lined one of the walls. There was a silver metal barrel on a table, and when he turned the lever that protruded from it, expecting beer or grog, boiling water poured out of it, the water splashing onto his hand, scalding him and making him jump back with shock.

  The men had never seen a banquet like this before. Slowly they edged forward until at last Silver started to pick up pieces of meat and eat them, the mission temporarily forgotten and hunger and greed getting the better of him.

  A second later the other men followed his example, the band of smelly, dirty pirates descending upon the King's feast and devouring it as if it was the first time they had seen food in years.

  Suddenly there was a loud shout, and a man dressed in a white suit with a tall white hat emerged from the door through which the previous man had disappeared.

  "Gentleman," he shouted. "Are you members of the hotel? If not, stop! Immediately. Breakfast is only for hotel guests, and we are not open for service until 6.30 a.m.!"

  Silver looked across at the man, his mouth stuffed with meats and eggs, and a strange looking fruit in his free hand. Without further thought Silver threw the fruit at the man. The man stepped aside, and the fruit missed. A guffaw of laughter went up from the men.

  The man raised his right hand, stepped over to the wall behind him, and pushed something on the wall.

  Instantly the hall was filled with the light of a thousand suns, the light so intense and bright that the laughing pirates dropped the food in their hands, bent and cowered on the floor and lifted their hands above their faces to shield themselves from the bright fires which burnt down on them from the roof above.

  Silver immediately fell to the floor, and crawled under one of the nearby tables, and he quickly shouted to his men to do the same. They immediately followed his command.

  "What devilry is this?" Silver shouted loudly, his mind flooded with fear.

  The man who had summoned the fires from hell, walked towards Silver. He was laughing. He was laughing at him and his men!

  Silver slowly stuck his head out from under the table, pulling his pistol free from his belt and pointing it at the man in white.

  "Devil, I command you. Extinguish your flames of fire immediately, lest I blow your head off with my trusty pistol. Do it now!"

  The man in the white suit turned towards Silver and knelt down, looking for the source of the voice. When he saw the barrel of the pistol pointed directly at him, he drew back, stood up, turned and ran.

  No doubt to summon his King and warn him of the pirate's attack.

  Silver knew he had to do something, but as he scuttled out from under the table he looked up at the fires burning from the roof covering their heads, and for a second he was blinded by their brightness. He whimpered in fear and pain, and hurried back under the table, his face buried in his hands.

  The pirates were trapped.

  They could not escape.

  If they moved from under the cover of their tables, the devil's fires would fall down upon them and they would burn in hell!

  --------------------

  Paddy O'Brian, one of the two pirates selected by James Silver to lead the other raiding parties, raised his musket and fired.

  The man in front of him fell to the ground, the little musket ball having entered his forehead and buried itself deep into his brain.

  The weapon that the man had carried and fired loudly in the air in warning, fell to the ground. Paddy hurried forward, and picked it up, turning it around and pointing it at the other men dressed in black that were now hurrying towards him.

  Paddy was a clever man. He had noticed that just before the dead man had fired his weapon, he had depressed a small lever underneath it. With his own musket now spent, he hung it across his shoulders on its strap, and took hold of the dead man's musket with both hands.

  As the other men in black ran towards them, he pulled the little lever underneath the barrel. The weapon kicked backwards like a horse, fire erupting from the barrel of the musket, its mouth roaring as loudly as three wild bears screaming at the same time. One of the oncoming men fell, and the others dispersed, disappearing into the night.

  Paddy was spun around by the force of the beast in his hands. In fright, he depressed the lever again, and once again, the weapon kicked and roared, and more fire erupted from its mouth.

  Two of the pirates beside him instantly dropped to the ground, blood pouring from their bodies. Paddy stared at the weapon in his arms in disbelief. He glanced back towards the two pirates he had just killed, then dropped the devil's weapon to the ground and ran.

  Thirty minutes earlier, Paddy had left James Silver and led his men around the side of a building and found themselves in front of a field covered by metal carriages. He had once been to London and had seen the most advanced carriages of the day, but none of them compared to these. Whereas the carriages in London were made of wood, these were made of shiny metal. Instead of wooden wheels, the carriages sat upon solid wheels with black rims as thick as a human arm.

  Lighted fires burned from several tall poles sticking out of the ground like ships masts, illuminating the carriages all around. There were green carriages, red carriages, purple ones, blue ones...every color you could image. Big carriages, small carriages, huge carriages with many, many wheels.

  All the carriages had large, transparent windows which let you see directly in, giving the occupants no privacy at all. Strangely, all of the carriages were empty.

  The carriages - there were at least a hundred of them - sat in the field, waiting for the horses to be brought to them and attached.

  Paddy looked at the front of the carriages again: but where would you attach the horses to? Paddy could not see how this could be done.

  Paddy and the other pirates stood on the edge of the field of carriages, staring dumbstruck at what they were seeing.

  Slowly Paddy walked towards the first carriage. He looked inside. There was a small wheel at the front of this carriage, just in front of a seat.

  He walked to the next carriage. It too had a wheel. As did the next carriage, and the others beside it.

  In fact, as Paddy and the pirates advanced into the field and walked amongst the metal carriages, they saw that each carriage had its own wheel. It reminded Paddy of the helm of a ship.

  So, were these boats or carriages?

  The other pirates were peering through the windows of the carriages, some fascinated by what they were seeing, and others looking to see if there was anything inside that they should take back to the ship.

  One of the men quite close to Paddy saw something that fascinated him, lying on the back seat of the carriage. He wanted it. He raised his musket and brought the base of it down heavily against the glass, which broke immediately upon impact.

  Suddenly the air around them was filled with an incredibly loud scream, the like of which no man had ever heard before. For a second the pirates froze, staring at each other and looking for the source of the screaming.

  The car itself had begun to flash with light, little candles on the sides of the carriage burning brightly one moment, and then extinguishing themselves again, but instantly relighting themselves again. Over and over again.

  The pirates turned and ran, banging into t
he other metal carriages as they did so, which caused many of them to whine and scream and roar in sympathy with the others.

  Within moments, the air was filled with the sound of a thousand banshees screaming and wailing. Filled with terror, fear and surprise, the pirates ran and hid in the trees surrounding the field, prostrating themselves flat on the ground so that the evil screaming spirits would not be able to see them.

  From their position of concealment, they saw people in strange attire running out of the buildings towards the wailing carriages. The people - they were of many colors and appearances - talked excitedly together, whilst pointing their hands in the sky towards the carriages. Slowly the banshees stopped wailing, and the candles on the carriages stopped flashing. One by one the carriages went back to sleep, and the people began to disperse, disappearing back into the buildings from whence they came.

  After a while, Paddy stood up and motioned for the other pirates to follow him. Cautiously the pirates began to stand up too, and slowly they emerged from the undergrowth and the trees. Paddy was worried that time was passing, and that soon they would have to return to the boats. Time was running out, and so far they had not found any food to take back with them.

  The men crept forward, their cutlasses held out high in front of them in one hand, their muskets or pistols in the other.

  Paddy knew the other men were as scared as he was. But he also knew they were hungry. He could tell just by looking at the quality of the buildings around him that there were rich pickings here aplenty if only they could be found.

  Where would these people keep their food?

  There was no choice but to break into the living quarters of the inhabitants of this place, and take the food from their tables and their larders.

  He gathered the men around him and issued his instructions. There were thirteen people in his group. He split the men into six groups of two, and pointed at the buildings they should explore and attack. He would stand outside to direct and guide the men.

  "Do not harm anyone, lest they attack you first, or unless ye are in jeopardy. Those are Cap'n Rob's orders. We only want food, water, and grog. Jewels, coin and rich clothing we do not need. Take only that which we can eat or drink! And there shall be no womanizing or whoring! Any man that takes pleasure with a woman will be left behind. Is that clear and understood!"

  The men grunted agreement, separated and disappeared into three different buildings.

  Moments later, he heard the first of the men banging on the doors to the dwellings within the buildings. The banging was followed by screaming and shouting, and slowly people began to emerge from the buildings, crying and screaming, many in different degrees of attire: some naked, others with clothes wrapped around them, or wearing strange looking tight fitting trousers and jackets.

  The pirates soon followed, carrying meager amounts of rations, surprising Paddy in the lack of there being anything substantial. The pirates pushed through the screaming inhabitants, reporting back to Paddy with their insubstantial discoveries.

  A small and pathetic pile of food began to grow on the ground in front of Paddy as the men dropped what they had found and went back into the buildings for more.

  By now the inhabitants that had been displaced from the beds and houses were becoming less scared, and increasingly angry and more boisterous.

  Paddy ordered some of his men to remain and corral the people into a circle and force them to lie down on the ground, and to enforce order before they lost control.

  To set an example, Paddy lifted his pistol and fired a shot into the air. For a second, everyone fell silent, and all eyes were on him. Then once again the women started to cry. In response, the pirates pushed and prodded them to lie down, brandishing their cutlasses at them and prodding them with the tips of their blades, commanding them to be quiet and not to protest. Slowly order was gradually enforced.

  Unfortunately, the amount of food being recovered from their dwellings did not grow. Paddy was getting more desperate with every minute that passed.

  In desperation, he grabbed a woman from the group lying flat on the ground and pulled her up by her hair.

  "Woman, tell me where ye keep yer food? Explain to me why yer houses are empty? How do you feed yer men folk? Where do ye cook?"

  The woman looked at him blankly. She was shaking from head to toe, and as the pirate held her, pushing the blade of the cutlass against her cheek, she soiled her clothing.

  One of the men lying on the floor, slowly stood up, both his hands held up in an act of obvious submission, and requested to speak.

  Paddy beckoned for him to come forward.

  "Ye have something to say?"

  "Yes. Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear you asking the lady about food? You want to know where our food is? Food? You want to know where we get our food from? From the restaurants, man. This is a holiday resort. We don't cook any fucking food in our bloody rooms or villas. We just go to the restaurants and choose anything we want! It's All Inclusive. We don't..."

  "Take us to where you get your food from. Show us. Now!"

  Paddy didn't understand everything the man was saying. He was using strange words, whose meaning were not known to Paddy, but he understood enough.

  Paddy pulled out a ship's whistle and blew it, and within moments all the other pirates returned, emerging from out of their buildings and running towards him with pathetic amounts of food in their arms.

  He ordered several of the pirates to force several of the men they had captured to pick up the pile of food they had collected and carry it down to the beach. It was not much, but it would help.

  Then he instructed the rest of the pirates to form a circle around the inhabitants of the town that they had captured so far. Once everyone was ready, Paddy forced the man he had spoken with to lead them all to one of the 'Rest Orant's that he had spoken of.

  They had only managed to move a hundred yards when two men in strange black clothing appeared in front of them, shouting for them to stop, and waving muskets in the air.

  One of the men fired his musket at the sky, and it roared louder than any weapon that Paddy had ever heard before.

  Paddy had fought in many battles, and had killed men often, both in skirmishes at sea, as well as on land.

  He recognised the situation that was developing now. The other group of men with the more powerful muskets were vying for control. They looked well fed. Paddy's men were hungry and desperate.

  Paddy raised his musket and fired.

  The man opposing them fell to the ground. Dead.

  After picking up the man's musket and firing it himself, killing another of the enemy and two of his own men, those that wanted to oppose him vanished into the night. Out of shock, fear and confusion, Paddy dropped the weapon in his hands and hurried forward, prodding the man who knew where the 'Rest Orant' was with his cutlass, and waving for the other pirates to follow with their captives.

  Their captive led them to a large building that they entered through two palatial doors made of amazingly flat and clear glass. As they walked up to the doors, they opened magically by themselves, sliding backwards and receding on either side into the walls! Paddy stopped in his tracks, speechless with fear and wonder. He grabbed the man by the arm and instructed him to step backwards out of the building.

  The doors closed before them.

  This time Paddy took a step forward by himself and the doors slid open again, once more disappearing into recesses in the walls on either side, and allowing him entry.

  Paddy stepped inside and quickly looked around to ensure that there were no servants or slaves on the inside who had opened the doors without him seeing them. There were none.

  "What manner of trick is this?" Paddy asked, prodding their captive with his cutlass. "How is this done?"

  "C'mon man. Don't be stupid. They're electric doors! What, like, you've never seen electric doors before?"

  " 'Electrik' doors? And who opens them? Tell me this?"

/>   "You do, man. You step on that mat, and the doors know you want in, and the electric motors open the doors for you. Listen, I'm not a bloody engineer. They just work, okay. Accept it, this is the Twenty-First Century, man!"

  The man laughed, and stepped through the doors and walked past Paddy. Immediately the doors closed again.

  The other pirates were hesitating outside, too scared to walk through the doors.

  Paddy waved at them, but none came forward. So Paddy swallowed hard and stepped back towards the doors, and they opened again. Paddy stared at them, and laughed nervously.

  "This is powerful magic, indeed!"

  He reached back and grabbed the arm of the nearest pirate, dragging him forwards. "Hurry men. Bring everyone inside. You stand here, Levi, and don't let the doors close again."

  Paddy hurried after the man who had gone inside.

  "Hey, Mister. Tell me what your name is!"

  "Sandy Weiss."

  "What century did you just say this is? And don't lie to me, lest I let you feel the cold of my steel as I run you through!"

  "The Twenty-First Century, man. And like as if you didn't know!"

  "The Twenty-First? Are you mad? This is the Seventeenth Century. The last year of the Seventeenth Century!"

  "Yeah, right. Sure is. Whatever you say so, man. And when you get back to the real world, this year, in 2014, do you still want me to show you the restaurant, or what?"

  "2014? Anno Domini? You jest!" Paddy said, prodding the man with the cutlass.

  Sandy winced, immediately feeling his body to see if the blade had actually cut him or not.

  "I kid you not, man! And what's with, like, all this funny speech, business? What country are you from anyway?"

  "England."

  "No kidding, man. My friend went there last year. He loved it! Do you know a Mr Carter? My friend stayed at his hotel in Poole?"

  Paddy was taken aback. Actually, he did know a Mr Carter, but he was sixty years old, and he had never lived in Poole. "I don't think so..."

  "Fine. Just thought I'd ask... Anyway, here is the restaurant. It won't be open for another ten minutes though. They are very strict..."

  "Go in. Take everyone in with you. We need to find food now!"

  Paddy stood aside and helped usher all their prisoners deeper into the building. The pirates filed in after them, brandishing their cutlasses menacingly to keep their captives moving forward in order.

  As Paddy followed Sandy through another doorway into a massive hall, bigger than he had ever seen before, he was temporarily blinded by bright fires which shone down on them from the ceiling of the hall. The other pirates hesitated before going in, gathering at the doorway, and just pushing their prisoners in before them.

  "Is that you Paddy O'Brian?" the voice of Mr Silver surprised them, coming from somewhere inside the hall.

  "Silence!" Paddy shouted at his captives, who were all talking loudly inside the hall.

  "Mr Silver? Is that you? Where are you?"

  "We are under the tables. Command someone to extinguish the fires in the ceilings, immediately, so that we can come out. We are trapped!"

  Sandy laughed, turned and stepped back towards the wall on the inside of the entrance to the grand hall. He pushed something on the wall, and the fires on the ceiling were instantly extinguished.

  "What...?" Paddy said, stepping forward, and studying Sandy, reappraising him. "You have powers over the fires from hell? How did you manage this feat?"

  "I just turned the bloody electric lights off man!"

  "Elektrik Lights? Who is this god 'Elektrik' that can perform all this magic?"

  "It's just lights man. Just lights. Look!", and Sandy reached forward again, switching the lights on once more. Immediately there were cries of shock and pain, as the pirates who were now emerging from under the tables, dived back down for more cover, some banging their heads in the process.

  Paddy recoiled, looked up at the roof from where the fires burned, and then still watching them, he copied the actions that Sandy had just done: he pushed the little levers on the wall. The fires went out.

  "Thanks be to God!" Silver shouted. "We are saved..."

  But Paddy wasn't listening to Silver, and in amazement at his new found powers he pushed the levers on the wall one more time and once again the fires burned bright.

  There were more sounds of anguish as the pirates dived under the tables again.

  "Enough! Stop!" Silver shouted.

  Paddy extinguished the fires once more, a smile growing on his face. He burst into laughter. Hurrying across to the table under which Silver was hiding, he laughed again loudly and said, "Mr Silver. You may come out now. I have conquered the fires of hell, and I have saved your wretched skin!"

  Sandy stepped up beside Paddy, offering a hand to help up Mr Silver from his kneeling position on the floor.

  "Are you guys for real?" he asked, half in amazement and half in confusion.

  "For real, what?"

  "Like, this is for a TV show, or Candid Camera or something?"

  Silver and O'Brian looked at each other questioningly.

  "I have no comprehension of what you speak, Mister." James Silver replied. "But I will tell you only that we are from the Sea Dancer, and that we seek food and water and grog. And you will help us find it, if you want to remain alive!"

  "Look in the kitchen, then!" Sandy replied, pointing to the kitchen doors. "That place must be stuffed with anything you want."

  "Wait! We will go together." Silver ordered, then shouted a command at the other pirates, telling them to push aside the tables in the center of the room, gather all their prisoners together, and make them all sit cross-legged on the floor, with their hands underneath their legs. Then Silver followed Sandy and Paddy through the door into the room beyond.

  The smell of cooked meat and food assailed their nostrils immediately they stepped through the door. A couple of men in white hats and white suits looked up, saw them come in and dropped their pots and plates on the floor, and ran out a door at the back of the kitchen. Silver walked after them, and noticing bolts on the door, he pushed them closed, locking the others out.

  Paddy and Silver walked around the kitchen, marveling at the banquet of food that was being prepared. Sandy had entered the kitchen behind them with several of the other pirates, and was watching them with a combination of amusement and wonder.

  Silver turned to Sandy Weiss. "Which King is this feast being prepared for?" he demanded to know.

  "King? What the hell do you mean? This is just the breakfast buffet for everyone at the resort. Honestly, where are the cameras?"

  "Breakfast? All this is to break your fast?"

  "Absolutely. This is a five-star resort. It ain't free. We're paying for it."

  Paddy was exploring the rest of the kitchen behind Silver, when he let out a triumphant shout. "Here! Over here...See what I have found!"

  Silver hurried over to Paddy. He had opened a door at the back of the room and was staring inside. The room was a massive larder, containing many boxes full of a large selection of fruit and vegetables, many of which they had never seen before. At the back of the larder there was another door, and when Paddy pulled it open, he discovered that it was another large chamber, but the air in it was incredibly cold. Freezing cold mist rose from the ground as he stepped inside and discovered that it contained shelves laden with boxes and boxes of meat, all of which were frozen solid. Sandy reached out to touch some, and his fingers almost froze to the boxes as he did so!

  Inside the kitchen, another pirate had opened another door, and discovered a large cupboard full of food which, although not frozen, was cold to the touch.

  Silver was ecstatic! They had hit the jackpot. Everything they needed, everything was here! Now all they needed to do was to transport it back to the ship.

  He walked back to the door from the kitchen to the great banqueting hall, surveying the scene before him: thirty-two pirates standing in a circle around
about a hundred people who were all lying or sitting on the floor in the center of the palatial hall.

  So far, they were remaining in control, but how many others were in this palace, and how long before their soldiers came to rescue their prisoners?

  "Paddy, quick, we need reinforcements from the ship. It's only a matter of time before the palace guards arrive and we have a fight on our hands. Somehow we have to get all this food back to the beach and to the Sea Dancer, but I can't spare any men just now to help you. I want you to run as fast as you can back to the beach, and send a boat back to the Cap'n, and tell him to send as many men as he can. Give him a full report and tell him we have found all the food we require...We just need to get it out of here!...And by the way, if you come across Mr Tyler, tell him to get his men here as fast as he can!"

  Chapter 18

  Blue Emerald Bay Resort

  Puerto Rico