‘Look, drink your tea,’ said Dan, a touch brusquely, ‘and get Louise down into the lounge by 10am. Then we really must get going.’
~~~~~
‘Bloomin’ ’eck Zak,’ huffed Jake. ‘I’m losing the will to go on with this. Four solid hours and we’ve managed to make a hole the size of a grapefruit. At this rate, we’ll be here all week.’
‘We don’t need to drive a bus through it you oaf, just make it big enough to crawl through. If you ’adn’t got such a big beer belly, it would be a sight easier,’ retorted Zak. ‘Here, give me the ’ammer, let’s ’ave another bash. We’ve got to keep worrying at that hole, chipping away at the sides, and we’ll be through.’
‘My belly,’ countered Jake, offended, ‘ain’t no bigger than yours. Maximum capacity one gallon, I think you might say.’
‘Then piddle it all up the wall,’ chuckled Zak. ‘I tell you this, the amount of money we get through, what with my boozin’ and all what me missus wastes down the ’igh street, I could do with a good few gold and silver coins like those twerps were parading around last night. That’s why it’s worth a bit of elbow grease this morning. We’ve got to hope we’re in time. Hey now take a look at that, is it my imagination, or has that ’ole just got a good deal bigger? Shine your torch in Jake, what can you see?’
‘Hmmm, we’re definitely winning Zak, if we weren’t so cuddly we’d be crawlin’ through already,’ said Jake.
‘We’re as God made us,’ said Zak, pointing upwards with the lump hammer. ‘Him in the sky far above and the alehouse down the road, you might say. Point is, we ain’t got time to diet our way into that hole, we’ll have to keep smashin’ and bashin’ till it’s wide enough and I don’t wanna get stuck ’alf way.’
Chapter XI
‘Right,’ said Dan, as the four of them drank coffee around the kitchen table. ‘It’s 10am and the sooner we get moving the better. I think it would be wise to draw up a quick checklist of what we need to take with us, to save any delays.’
They thought carefully.
‘Ok so I’ve written down: torches, spare batteries, the small ladder, and a couple of empty crates that we will need to transport everything,’ said Dan. ‘Anything else?’
‘I nearly forgot to mention – chalk to mark the walls to and from – in case there’s any chance of accidentally wandering into different tunnels,’ said Emma. ‘I bought some yesterday from the hardware store.’
‘Fantastic, that’s a great idea,’ said Dan. ‘The tunnel leading to the nearest cave is fairly straightforward as we found out yesterday, but it’s best not to take any chances.’
‘Another thing,’ said Emma. ‘I know we’ve got torches, but what about a couple of lamps to place on the ground or on the ledge?
‘Yes, good point. We forgot to buy any. I suppose we can take a couple of oil lamps, can’t we Louise?’ said Dan.
Louise nodded. ‘Shall we take some snacks or anything like that?’ she asked, a touch flippantly.
Dan detected the hint of a smirk and he snapped at her, ‘Louise please try and take this seriously. Either we fetch that treasure from the cave or before long, somebody else will and it will be too late.’
Dan suspected that beneath her cavalier attitude, Louise was embarrassed about her loud and boorish behaviour the previous night – and rightly so. They had all been naïve and incautious but Louise was by far the worst offender.
The important thing now was to make sure the safe removal of the treasure went to plan. There was only so much that he could do without appearing rude. They were Louise’s guests, and when she insisted on having another round of coffee, he had no choice but to sit there and drink it.
‘Dan, don’t pull faces at me,’ said Louise, reproachfully, spotting his irritation. ‘I’ve got a stonking hangover and I want to try and cure it with caffeine and pills before I go plunging down tunnels.’
Eventually, with the clock ticking towards eleven, the four of them finally emerged from the lighthouse and walked to the outbuilding.
‘Blow, I’ve forgotten the key to the door,’ said Louise. The others glared at her. She hadn’t got her head on the right way that morning at all. She scurried to get it and opened up. Dan was relieved to see that everything inside looked as they had left it. Clearly no-one had attempted to force entry over night and that was reassuring.
‘Right folks, our best bet is for two of us to go to the bottom of the shaft, one to wait half-way down and we play pass the parcel with all our stuff,’ suggested Dan. ‘When we return with the treasure, we’ll try and tie it with rope, then winch it up.’
It took longer than expected to get to the caves having to lug baggage and equipment along the tunnel.
Dan used the chalk that Emma had bought to carefully mark a line along the walls. It wasn’t a complex route but it was better than risking getting lost. For all they knew there might be a network of underground tunnels.
‘Ok,’ said Dan, looking at his watch once they were safely inside the cave. It was midday – far later than he had intended. He placed the small ladder against the lip of the shelf in the hidden recess and climbed up, taking an oil lamp with him which would allow him to keep both hands free.
Nothing whatsoever had been touched. The gold and silver looked understated in the dimmer lamplight but everything was still there as he had left it – indeed, as Captain Felipe had left it, all those countless years ago.
‘Everything’s fine,’ he shouted to the others down below.
‘Hey Dan,’ said Louise, ‘I know I’m being a pain, but do you think, now we’ve got the ladder, that the rest of us could possibly come up one by one and have a look before you move it?’
Dan cursed inwardly, drat you Louise! Nonetheless, it was a fair point. The others were bound to want to see the treasure in its original state and indeed, he ought to take two or three photographs of it with his mobile phone to show the archaeological people. It occurred to him that the authorities would probably prefer them not to shift the hoard at all as an historical site. Too bad, it would be far too risky to leave it down here now. They had to recover it, and he would not sleep another wink until they did.
‘Ok,’ he said, reluctantly. ‘If you’re careful, we can all squeeze up here, I just don’t want us to take too long over it.’
The other three went up the ladder, anxious to see the precious belongings of Captain Felipe in their natural state, as he had left them.
‘Look,’ cried Dan, noticing something he’d not spotted before. ‘In the far corner, some sort of clothing!’ He aimed his torch to the rear of the ledge. ‘A jacket, and boots – was this Felipe’s spare set perhaps? What’s that alongside? Crikey, an old sailor’s hat, look at it – the old-style two-cornered sort like Admiral Nelson would wear! And would you believe it – a cutlass, a real sailor’s cutlass!’
The others were so overcome at the sight of gold and silver coins and ingots that they glanced across before turning their attention back to the treasure chest.
But for Dan, this was an emotional moment. He felt a lump form in his throat. In one sense, finding the captain’s clothing stored here pending his safe return, was the most astonishing thing of all. He felt again, a powerful connection with the past and to this unfortunate sea captain who preserved all that was of value from his wrecked ship, hoping to return one day. Only he never did and his secret died with him.
Here they were, the four of them, effectively plundering a site that in a sense ought to be considered a shrine to Felipe and his crewmen, all of whom undoubtedly lost their lives either through drowning or possibly, a worse fate ashore.
‘The poor buggers,’ muttered Dan, under his breath.
‘Are you ok, Dan?’ asked Emma, realising he was struggling with it all.
‘I’m fine,’ he replied, softly. ‘I just had a moment that’s all. You know, I don’t think we should take everything. Let’s take the treasure, because after so long, we are the legitimate finders of it and it’s too d
angerous to leave it here. I don’t wish to take his personal effects. Let’s leave his long black jacket, and his boots with those amazing buckles on and this incredible Spanish seafarer’s hat and cutlass.’
‘Of course, Dan, we should leave his personal effects as a memorial to him and to the crewmen who perished,’ said Emma, pleased that her new-found love should be so sensitive about such matters. ‘Why don’t we take a coin each, you and me, make a wish, then place them inside his jacket pocket, as an offering to him?’
Dan rubbed Emma’s arm appreciatively, she understood him, that’s why they were so good together. They both chose a coin, blessed it, and placed it in one of Felipe’s pockets.
‘You have given me an idea, something I would like to do for him,’ said Dan softly. ‘You know, I would like to nip back to the lighthouse and fetch Felipe’s diary that he took so much care over and which clearly meant so much to him. I’d like to place it inside his jacket so that it is somehow reunited with him. Does that make sense?’
‘Yes it does, it’s a wonderful idea, he would be so touched by it,’ said Emma.
‘I’ll get it now if that’s ok, I want to do right by him before we help ourselves to that treasure,’ said Dan stepping from the ledge onto the ladder.
The others fell silent at Dan’s words. John and Louise did not fully get Dan and his need for such reverence, although they respected the sentiments behind it. But now they were finally on the case and their hangovers had virtually disappeared, they were keen to get on with things. They were getting stiff on the cramped shelf and followed Dan down the ladder. Emma offered to return with him to the lighthouse but he pointed out that he would be quicker by himself. She and the others went to sit in the cave while they waited for him.
‘Shall we make a start boxing up some of the booty?’ asked Louise.
‘No Louise,’ replied Emma, sharply. ‘Have some sensitivity. Dan wants to get the sailor’s diary first and place it inside his jacket before we begin plundering.’
Emma hoped Dan had not entirely lost his sense of urgency. While she deeply respected his wish to do the right thing, she also felt it would be good to complete their mission speedily and get out of there. Seeing him leave the cave and disappear made her feel vulnerable and uneasy.
She, John and Emma sat around on the cave floor. They avoided the temptation to sit on the old crates which still looked sturdy after years in perfectly dry, stable conditions – but probably weren’t.
Louise held aloft two gold coins which she hadn’t been able to resist pinching from the chest. Emma frowned at her and reflected on how infinitely better suited someone like Louise would be to a character like John, than someone like herself. How strange that it had taken her so long to appreciate Dan’s qualities.
‘Oh you beauties,’ called out Louise, staring in admiration and wonder at her coins. ‘You glittering pair of beauties.’
‘Well now, it’s a long time since anyone has called us that, ain’t it, Jake?’ came a harsh, uneducated voice behind them.
Chapter XII
‘You betcha Zak my man, but hey, it’s nice to know we can still turn ’eads. It does wonders for your self confidence don’t it?’ said another voice.
John, Louise and Emma swung round in horror.
‘Sorry we took a while getting ’ere but some fool ’ad gone and blocked up the other end of the tunnel,’ said Jake, grinning a toothless grin that looked ghoulish in the dim lamplight.
‘Anyhow, thanks for waiting for us, we were worried you’d ’ave been up and cleared the place out hours ago. But I daresay it took y’all a while to sleep off that skinful you had last night, ain’t that right missy?’ he said, grinning at Louise. ‘Hey, I hope there’s no ’ard feelings about me squeezing that nice ass of yours as you walked past last night, it was too hot to resist.’
‘He’s always been one for the ladies, ’as our Jake,’ said Zak. ‘And he loves a nice shapely bottom. Now I go more for boobs, but Jake ’ere, he likes to get his hands round a good firm backside. In fact,’ Zak said, eyeing up both Louise and Emma, ‘did you pair want to have a little fun together down ’ere before we take away the long-lost treasure? It’s kinda romantic under the soft lamp light, wouldn’t you agree?’
The students stared in silent dismay at the sickening sight of Jake and Zak. Each of them felt angry and stupid to have been so foolish. Louise felt like hurling herself from the top of the lighthouse. Emma sat trembling.
‘Talking of the treasure,’ said Zak, looking around, ‘where is it exactly?’ He strolled around the cave, shining his torch in all directions. He noticed the lamp placed in the recess and walked over. ‘Aah,’ he said. ‘Jake, come ’ere a minute. Ain’t it strange the way the cave extends like this – it’s like a fake wall ain’t it? Then if you look up there, above that ladder our friends have put up, there’s a natural shelf in the rock.
‘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 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.
‘Aah, 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 piles of ingots and coins obediently lit up under his torchlight.
‘Phew, will you look at that,’ said Zak, in astonishment.
‘Yes I will,’ called Jake. ‘Come on, my turn.’
‘You really are a child at times, Jake, can’t you take my word for it? Come on, business before pleasure, let’s get those three drippy students sorted first.’
John, Louise and Emma 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?’
It made perfect sense, and no way could one young man, even someone reasonably muscular like John, and two women could possibly resist those two beefcakes. They didn’t like to think how they had come by arms 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 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 but was powerless to stop them. The men pulled his arms behind his back and 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. ‘Mmm, let me help meself to another piece of that tasty backside.’ He grabbed her buttocks and squeezed hard.
‘Oh that’s gorgeous, I could 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. Yet 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. 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 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 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, they 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.
‘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.’
‘Aah, my pretty one,’ interrupted Zak, ‘but we overheard you say in the boozer last night that you weren’t sure whether you owned this tunnel, and that it might belong to the Crown. What’s more, while you lot may ’ave found the treasure yesterday, Jake and meself ’ave come along and found it today.’
Wreckers Island (romantic suspense) Page 9
