A Ship Through Time

by Bess McBride

  I nodded.

  “Is there a pig running loose there? No, we are not in search of an animal.”

  “Don’t hurt them,” I said, referring to the men and women. “Can’t you just get what you need?”

  “We were attempting to do so when we discovered you wandering about in the darkness.”

  “So if you go find what you need, you’ll leave us? You won’t tell Kaihau that we’re here?”

  “We found the outrigger canoe that you stole. Several of my men rowed it back to the village. I believe you meant for Kaihau to think you dead? At the moment, he does.”

  “Thank goodness!” I said, breathing a deep sigh of relief.

  “You cannot hide on this island forever, madame. Kaihau will soon discover that you live.”

  Francois spoke then, in French.

  Captain Sebastian responded. I understood nothing.

  “How many of you are there?” Captain Sebastian asked again. “Francois has suggested that I offer you and your group passage to Tahiti, as I offered before. But I cannot take twenty men.”

  I hesitated. We could leave the island, all of us. Frankly, I was more convinced than ever that Captain Sebastian was a fair man, no matter what Daniel had heard about him.

  With the uncertainty about Kaihau’s authoritarianism and his arbitrary kidnapping of me, I doubted our future on Leakiki.

  “Four men, a boy and three women, including me,” I said promptly. “The other ladies are advanced in age. Do not even think about misusing them.” I narrowed my eyes and nodded toward the men.

  Captain Sebastian reared his head back, as if startled.

  “Madame! I take offense. We do not savage women.” A flash of teeth showed that he was more amused than angry.

  “So you’ll take us to Tahiti?”

  “Yes, safely.”

  “Why would you do that?” I asked.

  “I do not think you belong here, madame. These remote islands are not particularly hospitable to strangers.”

  “We don’t have any money. That I’m aware of.” I wasn’t about to offer up Mrs. Darymple’s money.

  “No need to pay for passage. It will be my honor to transport you.”

  “I still don’t understand why you would do that,” I said, scrunching my face. “I’m suspicious that you have ulterior motives, but I don’t know what they are.” Perhaps I was foolish for looking a gift horse in the mouth.

  Captain Sebastian reached out to move a lock of hair from my face. I flinched.

  “Don’t. I’m engaged to be married!” I blurted out.

  Captain Sebastian dropped his hand and blinked.

  “I meant no disrespect, madame. Felicitations. You are affianced to the man who took you from my ship, I presume?”

  “Yes.”

  I glanced at Francois, who looked away, as if uncomfortable. I returned my attention to the captain, who rose.

  “I am pleased to transport your entire group to Tahiti if that is your wish, but first we have business to attend to, and that business is near your encampment. We will either take your companions prisoner until we complete our task, or you may speak to your fiancé, and he can guarantee us that he will not try to interfere with our undertaking. Which would you prefer?”

  Captain Sebastian extended a hand to help me rise, and I took it, cinching my robe tightly around my waist.

  “I’ll talk to him. I can go back now.”

  “Yes, we would like to return to the ship before dawn so that we can set sail. We will accompany you, of course.”

  Francois called the other sailors. Without asking, he swooped me up into his arms and led the way back down the trail toward the encampment.

  “I can walk,” I mumbled.

  “We do not have time for what must be a painful endeavor, madame,” Captain Sebastian said. “Francois is pleased to assist. Unless you would rather one of the other men?”

  “No!”

  Francois’s lips twitched, but he said nothing. To his credit, he carried me the entire way in his arms without complaint, though I knew he struggled at times.

  Captain Sebastian walked behind us. Just before we reached the oasis, Captain Sebastian called out softly to stop. Francois set me down, lending me an arm while I struggled for balance.

  “Please warn your companions that we are not here to do battle, Madame Wollam, but if we must, we will. My men can just as easily kill them as not. Are they armed?”

  I didn’t know how to answer. I suspected Daniel, James, Frederick and Samuel would fight to protect us. Probably even young Thomas.

  “I’ll talk to them,” I said urgently. “Please don’t hurt them.”

  “Very well,” he said.

  “So should I go?”

  He nodded. “Yes, we will await you here.”

  I nodded and moved past the men on the path to enter the encampment. I peeked into the huts until I found Daniel’s. Thomas lay next to him on a mat, curled into a fetal position. I knelt at the opening and tugged at Daniel’s booted foot.

  He came awake instantly, as if only half asleep, saw me and crawled out of the hut. He put his arms on my shoulders.

  “What is it, Maggie?”

  I started shaking then, adrenaline receding or surging, I didn’t know which. My voice shook, and I stammered, looking over my shoulder the entire time I spoke.

  “Cap...Captain Sebastian is he...here! He found us.”

  Daniel jerked as if to take action, and I grabbed his arms. “No, wait! He’s not going to hurt us. He wants something that’s around here. I don’t know what, a task. But he won’t hurt us if we don’t resist. He’ll give us passage to Tahiti. I trust him, kind of.”

  “Where is he?” Daniel looked over my shoulder.

  “They’re nearby, within sight. Please don’t do anything, Daniel. You’ll endanger the women, Thomas. He’s not going to hurt us. He just wants something.”

  “What? What does he want?”

  “I don’t know. Something around here.”

  “Do you expect me to allow him to march in here?”

  I nodded vehemently “Yes. There are about twenty of them, and they’re armed with knives and pistols.”

  Daniel pulled me into his arms and hugged me fiercely.

  “I am reminded once again that I cannot protect you. I cannot protect the others.”

  “He’ll give us passage to Tahiti, Daniel. I don’t think we’re in any danger.”

  “You are so naïve, my dear.”

  “Maybe. I have to go tell them everything is all right. They’re waiting.”

  Daniel nodded, his shoulders slumped. “I’ll awaken the others so they are not taken by surprise.”

  I turned away and headed back into the jungle. Captain Sebastian rested on a fallen tree. His men squatted on the ground. The captain rose as I approached.

  “Okay, Dr. Hawthorne is going to awaken the others and let them know.”

  “A doctor?” Captain Sebastian echoed. “I thought the man who stole aboard my ship must have been a mariner, a ship’s officer.”

  “He is, but he’s a doctor.”

  “A resourceful one.”

  “Yes.”

  “Let us meet your group then. Time flies, and dawn will come soon. I want to conclude my business before first light.”

  “Why?”

  “You ask far too many questions, madame. We must make haste, for I do not want the Polynesians to see my ship anchored offshore. They believe we left the island. It is not unusual for them to send canoes out to fish early in the mornings. I wish to be gone before then.”

  “So you’re hiding from the Polynesians?”

  Captain Sebastian put a hand on the small of my back to urge me forward.

  “Often,” he said with an ironic smile. “We have long used this island to...em...store things as we transit the seas, things we have collected along the way that we do not wish the French government to discover or appropriate. Souvenirs, you understand.”

  Befor
e I could reply, we stepped into the camp. The men and Thomas stood outside their huts. Daniel stood in front of the group, as if protecting them. I noted the women were missing.

  “Dr. Hawthorne.” Captain Sebastian almost purred.

  “Captain Sebastian,” Daniel responded. “Your reputation precedes you.”

  “I have heard of this reputation. Highly exaggerated, I assure you.” Captain Sebastian moved forward slowly with an extended hand, as if in a Paris drawing room instead of a moonlit jungle.

  “May I extend my congratulations on your engagement to Madame Wollam?”

  Daniel looked surprised but took his hand.

  “Thank you. Mrs. Wollam says you have some business in this area?”

  “Yes, we do, and I will dispatch my men to their task while we visit.” He turned and spoke to Francois in French, who moved away toward the pool with his men. I wanted to follow to see where the sailors headed, and in fact had turned in that direction, when Captain Sebastian called me back.

  “No, madame,” Captain Sebastian said. “For your safety, you must stay with us.”

  “What sort of business do French sailors have here, Captain Sebastian, in the dark of night?” Daniel asked.

  “The sort that requires the protection of darkness, Dr. Hawthorne. Did Madame Wollam tell you of my offer to transport your party to Tahiti?”

  “She did. I have not discussed it with the other members of our group, but I suspect that would be most welcome. I would need assurances from you that our group would be unharmed and free to leave upon arrival in Tahiti.”

  “Of course,” Captain Sebastian said with a bow. “Assurances, though, mean little.”

  Daniel stiffened, and I gasped.

  Captain Sebastian laughed. “I am jesting, of course. I honor my word. I have no need of extra crew, especially those who do not speak French, so do not fear conscription.” He nodded toward Frederick, Samuel, James and Thomas.

  “We have no money,” Daniel said. “Why would you offer us passage?”

  No one suggested that Mrs. Darymple had offered money earlier.

  Captain Sebastian looked at me and shook his head with a grave smile.

  “It is small wonder that you asked Madame Wollam to marry you. The pair of you think alike.” In a voice of exaggerated patience, Captain Sebastian repeated his earlier comments to me.

  “Well then, we must gratefully accept your offer,” Daniel said. “This island has not been kind to Mrs. Wollam, to say the least, and I do not know what the islanders will do if they find we still live on their island.”

  “Yes, I wonder the same thing,” the captain responded. He heard a sound and turned. We all followed suit to see the men returning. Francois led the procession as the eight men, working in pairs, carried four wooden trunks.

  “Treasure?” Daniel asked, his voice faint.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I like to think of them as souvenirs.” Captain Sebastian laughed. “We must return to the ship. Are you prepared to leave?”

  Daniel looked over his shoulder toward the hut where Mrs. Darymple and Mrs. Simpson must have continued to sleep.

  “Give us ten minutes, and then we will follow you.”

  “Very well. Do not delay. We sail before sunrise.”

  They left, and Daniel turned to me.

  “Maggie, could you please arouse the ladies and apprise them of what is happening?”

  “Do you feel better after meeting him?” I asked.

  “I do not think we have a choice. He seems prepared to leave us here without compunction, but I have wondered how long we can survive if the islanders discover us, if they decide they do not wish to share the island.” He looked over at the men, waiting.

  “And this is no life for healthy men...or Thomas,” Daniel continued. “They must have opportunities to marry and father children.”

  “And Thomas’s family probably thinks he’s dead.”

  “Yes, that is true, though I do not believe he has written to them since they gave him to the captain.”

  Daniel gave me a gentle nudge. “Go now. Awaken the ladies. Their capacity to sleep through this amazes me.”

  I moved toward the ladies’ hut and peeked in. Mrs. Simpson, lying on her side, snored loudly. But Mrs. Darymple sat up.

  “I heard everything,” she said. “So it seems we are to leave paradise and sail away with the French.” The note of disappointment in her voice was unmistakable.

  “Yes, I think they are somewhat trustworthy.”

  Just then I heard a crashing through the brush, and I swung around to see the pig running across the encampment and jumping into the jungle on the other side. The men jumped out of the way with curses of surprise. Thomas seemed poised to run after it.

  “No, Thomas! Let him go!” I shouted. “He belongs here. We can’t take him with us anyway.”

  Thomas turned back without complaint. I asked Mrs. Darymple to awaken Mrs. Simpson and returned to Daniel’s side. With nothing to pack and nothing to carry with us, we waited for the women, who weren’t long. Mrs. Simpson emerged from the hut, appearing fairly confused while Mrs. Darymple spoke to her in a low voice.

  “No, I am certain that I do not understand, Mrs. Darymple, but if we must move again, then we must.”

  I suspected that Mrs. Darymple hadn’t had the time to explain the situation fully to her companion.

  “Shall we?” Daniel asked the group. He slipped an arm under my waist to help me. With nods of ascent, the group followed Daniel down the trail back toward the beach. I threw one last look over my shoulder toward the pool, wondering where the French had hidden their treasure.

  The little boar emerged into our encampment, watching us walk away. I gave it a small wave and turned my head forward.

  The sky lightened as we walked, our progress slow because of me, and by the time we reached the beach, a hazy gray sky greeted us, filled with unshed moisture. Francois awaited us by one of the boats, two of the chests aboard. Captain Sebastian had already shoved off from shore with about four of the sailors. He had apparently left us two men.

  “We do not wish to overload the boat. Your men must row,” Francois said to Daniel.

  “Yes, of course,” Daniel replied. “I will row as well. Mrs. Darymple, Mrs. Simpson, if you please?” The older women were lifted over the side of the boat and settled on a bench in the middle, behind the two chests. Daniel picked me up and set me down inside the boat next to the ladies. I turned to study the chests, two plain unassuming boxes of unvarnished oak with metal locks securing them closed.

  Thomas climbed in behind us, as did Daniel to grab an oar. The rest of the men pushed the boat into the water, and we followed Captain Sebastian toward his ship.

  A patter of rain began soaking us, to Mrs. Simpson’s dismay. However, the coolness of the night had passed, and the rain refreshed.

  We reached the ship in fifteen minutes and spent the next half hour getting the ladies up the rope ladder. It necessitated that each woman climb onto the backs of Frederick and Samuel.

  No matter how much my feet hurt, I wasn’t about to ride piggyback up the rope ladder, and I managed to successfully reach the railing of the ship, with Daniel right behind me. The front of my robe flapped open as I climbed over the railing, and I grabbed at it with one hand. I lost my grip on the railing and fell onto the deck, bouncing my head on the hard wood. The pale light of dawn grew dark once again as the world swirled before me.

  I didn’t know how much time passed before I opened my eyes. I lay upon a canvas chair on an outside promenade deck on a modern-day cruise ship. The orange-and-white lifesaver hooked to the railing proclaimed the ship as the Century Star. The back of my head smarted, and I raised a hand to massage it.

  With a gasp, I scrambled to my feet to search the deck. A wave of nausea hit me. People strolled by, the women dressed in shorts and knee-length yoga pants, the men in light-colored deck shorts and island shirts. I barely noticed the odd looks thrown in my direction
.

  No, I was definitely back in the twenty-first century. I clutched my robe closed and ran on tender bare feet down the length of the deck and into the elevator. For a moment I couldn’t remember where my cabin was. It seemed as if years had passed since I’d been there.

  I emerged from the elevator and ran down the carpeted hall in the direction of my cabin. Along the way, I had wondered how I was going to get into the room, but thankfully, a cabin steward pushed a cart nearby, and I coaxed him to unlock the door. I rushed into the room and stopped short, wondering what to do next.

  I should have known better than to return to the French ship. I had known better, but I hadn’t had a choice. If nothing else, my theory that I traveled through time on ships, but not small boats, had certainly been proven. And apparently, I didn’t really have to sleep so much as be unconscious in one form or another.

  I moved to the balcony and opened the sliding door, regretting that I hadn’t asked the cabin steward where we were. A crisp blue sea drifted past the ship, whitecaps shining under the sun. No land was in sight. Returning to the cabin, I noted it was 11:00 a.m.

  I sank down onto the bed and contemplated forcing myself to sleep to see if I could get back to Daniel. I knew Daniel would realize what had happened to me, but I couldn’t imagine how he would explain my disappearance. Where was he now? On his way to Tahiti? Where was I?

  I looked down at my filthy robe. If nothing else, I needed to shower and find food. As I had before, I called room service and stepped into the shower. I shampooed as if it was the last time I would ever experience hot and cold running water, then emerged to rummage in my luggage for something that would last me a lifetime.

  I selected my favorite sports bra, then grabbed another and slid it on over the first bra. I would have grabbed a third but could barely breathe in two of them. Three pairs of panties later, I contemplated my selection of cruise-appropriate clothing. T-shirts and shorts, plus one pair of black yoga pants. I pulled a pair of shorts over the yoga pants and had just slipped into my third T-shirt when a knock at the door announced room service.

  Following a delicious last meal of a hot sandwich and fries, I stood, feeling like the Pillsbury Doughboy, swaddled in clothing as I was. Waddling over to my luggage, I surveyed my shoes. I slipped into a lightweight pair of athletic shoes and picked up my last pair of flip-flops to shove into the back of my multiple waistbands. After pulling my still-wet hair up into a ponytail, I stuffed a few extra ponytail holders into one of my shorts pockets and returned to the main cabin to close the balcony curtains.