Tainted Treasure (China Marine)

by Buzz Harcus

  Returning through Osa’s office, Hans picked up another sharp knife from the knife drawer and hurried into the galley. Quickly he bent to the task of freeing the crew from their bindings.

  Sigmund and Sven were first to venture out through the side door. In a matter of minutes they established that the ship was free of the pirates. They had most likely fled the ship and headed inland, most likely to Manila.

  Accompanied by chief engineer, Gueder, Sigmund made one last thorough examination of the ship’s hull to determine whether the vessel was salvageable.

  At the bottom of the gangway they found the lifeless body of Ace Dingman already awash in the rising tide. “Let the sea take him,” Sigmund said.

  Following another close inspection, the two concluded the vessel was a total loss. She was broken and a good hard storm would definitely send her to the bottom. Even now storm clouds were gathering on the horizon. The tide was already rising. The ship would soon be rocking to the action of strong waves. It was imperative they evacuate the ship immediately.

  Speaking over the ship’s loudspeaker, his voice choked with emotion, Sigmund gave the sad report that Nurad would never sail again. He ordered the crew to gather up what personal belongings they could carry and to leave the ship immediately in an orderly fashion. They would have to hike to the nearest town or village, and if they were lucky, they might get rides into Manila from the local farmers or local authorities.

  As First Officer, Sigmund felt it incumbent on himself to gather up the ship’s log, charts, and anything else he deemed necessary to salvage and take back to the home office in Stockholm. Sven, as Second Officer, also went through the bridge with a fine toothed comb checking and double checking. He assured Sigmund they had salvaged all that was necessary.

  Crewmen were already appearing on deck with suitcases, duffle bags, seabags and what ever else they could carry, and heading for the gangway. “Line up on shore,” ordered Sigmund.

  He did a quick sweep of his cabin, gathered up what he felt necessary, and started to leave, bumping into Osa as she left her cabin. She had a small valise crammed with clothing and jewelry and was wearing her blue leather coat. Sigmund smiled. Women.

  “Oh,” Osa exclaimed, stopping abruptly. “Just a minute. I‘ll be right back.” She dashed off leaving Sigmund standing outside her door. He shrugged; what was so important that she had to dash off?

  Harry’s cabin door popped open easily with her key. Osa stepped inside. It was quiet, eerily quiet, but she had to do what she came to do. Harry would understand. Her eyes grew misty and she quickly swiped at them. Be strong, she told herself. She strode to his closet, pushed clothing aside, and yanked the winter jacket off the hanger. She checked a couple of the Velcro-closed pockets. Yes, stuffed with money, lots of money! It was as Harry had said, hide it in plain sight, which brought a chuckle.

  Easing out of her blue leather coat she slipped the bulky jacket on, then pulled the blue leather coat on over it, snugging it about her. It was a tight fit, but she was a determined woman.

  “Thank you, Harry,” she whispered. “I miss you, and I’ll alvays love you. I know you’ll understand. I can use der money.”

  At the doorway she stopped once again taking one last lingering look back into the room, the bed they had shared so often, the kisses and laughter, but now she had Sigmund. “I loved you Harry, ” she whispered, once again, “I really did.”

  Sigmund broke into laughter at seeing her all bundled up. ”You’ll die of exhaustion in this tropical heat.” he warned.

  Osa smiled at him, and kept on going. She dared not show him the jacket. She would suffer the consequences for two million dollars.

  Slowly the crew wended their way ashore through the rising tide, then off the beach following a dirt road. A couple of old battered military trucks, now converted to farm use, stopped, and Sigmund ably negotiated a ride into Manila for them.

  Yes, one of the dark-skinned farmer’s said; he was sure there was a Swedish embassy in Manila. He would be happy to drive them right to it. And wasn’t it a shame about that big ship running aground last night. The sound of metal scraping on the reef had woken him up. Was there anyone on board the ship now?

  Sigmund shook his head no, saying they had had to abandon the ship. No one was on board; they were all here, and all headed for the Swedish embassy.

  He didn’t notice the gleam in the fellow’s eyes. The ship was his to plunder!

  Swedish embassy personnel were quick to help the crew of the Nurad. First Officer Sigmund Helmstrund filed the necessary reports for the Philippine Coast Guard, the local authorities, home office and the Swedish Embassy. That very afternoon they were whisked away to the airport to catch a flight headed for Singapore, New Delhi, Rome, Berlin and Stockholm.

  Even as Nurad’s crew looked forward in anticipation to getting home, like an army of ants, local Filipino scavengers were already aboard the Nurad. Their leader cajoled his people to hurry before the authorities arrived.

  Anything that could be unscrewed or unbolted was taken. The bridge was soon naked, the wheel, radar, binnacle, Loran, and even the chart table gone. Brown skinned Filipinos roamed throughout the ship ransacking cabins of anything that could be stolen. The galley was stripped of pots and pans, cutlery and even Osa’s desk and record player.

  The ship’s stores and meat locker were emptied in short order. A line of people ran to and from the ship carrying all they could carry. It was a good day.

  Captain Andress cabin, Sigmund’s cabin, Osa’s cabin and even Harry’s cabin were stripped clean. The prized pipes and pipe rack that Captain Andress cherished were dumped in a bag along with several of his bottles of cognac. His favorite chair went to an elderly man wearing a big grin. Osa’s clothing brought on a spontaneous fight between four chunky young Filipino women—none of whom could possibly wear the tailored clothes. Harry’s closet was stripped clean, the desk, chairs, bunks gone, even his shower curtain and soap and towels—even his underwear, pants, shirts and shoes—everything. In the midst of their arguing, his prized banjo albums were smashed, the covers torn and littered across the deck.

  A Filipino man with a large screwdriver tried to undo the vent cover in Harry’s cabin but only succeeded in breaking the tip off his screwdriver. Before he could get another one, a whistle blew loudly throughout the ship. It was time to leave—the authorities were coming!

  Like a trail of ants, the brown-skinned locals exited Nurad and hurriedly fled across the reef onto the sandy beach, then silently disappeared into the jungle.

  Authorities who arrived a short time later found the ship stripped! Still, they did as authorities are supposed to do, and made a thorough inspection of the vessel.

  Senior officers examined the exterior of the ship. Yes. Unsalvageable. Perhaps they could get a crew of men down here with acetylene torches and cut the vessel into sections that could be salvaged. The most senior officer shook his head no. With a look at the darkening sky, he warned that a typhoon would soon be upon them. The ship was in too precarious a position. It would surely sink from being battered time and again by huge waves.

  CHAPTER 34

  The “ Devil May Care” Rides Again

  Convinced the two men were not intending harm, Judy left her gun with her husband and led the two to the engine compartment. When Karl asked about schematics of the engine, or any such papers, Judy recalled Captain Aynsworth had such papers in his cabin. A search of his cabin soon produced the papers.

  Karl and Harry stood knee deep in water as Karl carefully examined each of the twin engines. Harry held a flashlight while peering over Karl’s shoulder. As Karl continued his examination Harry learned a lot of Swedish swear words.

  “Der dumb puckos,” Karl swore. “Ven der idiots shut off der power dey shut off der automatic bilge pump. It is good Judy put in der plug. Now ve must start a bucket brigade and empty vater from der engine compartment.”

  “Any buckets aboard?” Harry called up into the cabin where
Judy knelt watching She dashed off and soon returned with a couple of buckets, sponges, and a mop. “Found ’em in one of the forward lockers on the main deck,” she grinned.

  Soon the three were sweating as they filled and dumped bucket after bucket of water from the engine compartment over the side Two hours later, his back killing him, Karl called a halt. Water was only ankle deep now.

  Harry and Karl welcomed the pause flaking out on the deck benches. Judy disappeared into the galley and in a matter of minutes she was back with refreshments. The three of them enjoyed a warm gin and tonic.

  Anxious to continue, Karl dropped back down into the engine compartment and continued his task of checking over the engines. Water hadn’t gotten as high as the spark plugs but he was taking no chances. Sniffing the air several times, and sure there were no gas fumes that might blow up the vessel, he carefully unscrewed all of the plugs and cleaned them. He called for Judy to press the ignition button. Nothing. ”Shit,” he muttered, “ve need light.”

  Harry had already eased past him sloshing further into the compartment. He ran the beam of his flashlight slowly around in the darkness. “I see the batteries,” he called after a minute, “and I think I see the problem. Some idiot yanked the battery cables loose from their terminals. Thank god they didn‘t cut them!”

  In a matter of minutes he had the cables re-attached to the proper battery terminals. The compartment suddenly blazed with light. The exhaust fan automatically came on ridding the compartment of any fumes.

  “Try it now,” Karl called up to Judy. “Press the starter button.”

  The ignition growled and water spurted from the plug ports. From his past experience with small boat engines, Karl knew the starter would eject any water that had seeped into the spark plug openings. He called for the same action two more times. No water. Quickly he replaced the spark plugs. “Now,” he called, “vun more time.”

  Judy pressed the ignition button. The engines growled, coughed, then caught hold. She revved them up several times. The throaty sound brought a round of cheers. “We have power, too!” she yelled flipping a couple switches on the control panel, and suddenly the lights came on throughout the boat.

  “You guys are wonderful!” Judy screamed jumping for joy. “We’re alive again!”.

  As Harry came up out of the engine compartment Judy threw her arms around him hugging him. “Oh, God,” Judy cried. “It’s a miracle! You two guys really are good Samaritans!” Happy tears streamed down her cheeks. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” When Karl emerged a moment later he was also greeted by a warm hug. “You guys—” and tears ran freely down her cheeks. “Thank you.”

  Karl crushed her in his arms, a look of pride on his face; he knew engines. The stupid pirates didn’t know what they were doing, just thought they’d sink the boat, and that’d be it. No boat, no survivors. “Der bilge pump is vorking now, too,” he added.

  “Our seawater to fresh water converter should be working then,” Judy said, looking from one to the other. “Anytime you two want to take a shower and get cleaned up, go ahead.”

  Karl looked at Harry, then roared with laughter. Her not so subtle suggestion was an obvious invitation to get cleaned up and look half-way human again. “Yah, ve get der message,” he chuckled. “Yah!”

  Judy stood looking at them, seeming to be measuring them. “I’ll get you some clothes that should fit you, Harry.” she said, then turned her attention to Karl. “You’re a big one, aren’t you.” She shrugged. “I’ll find something for you, I promise!”

  Showered and dressed in fresh clothing, although Karl’s pants and shirt were a little on the snug side, the two entered the galley a short time later to find Al and Judy there. Al wore his left arm in a sling. Judy had popped a bottle of wine and was pouring four glasses. “Cabernet,” she said, “for a toast to good fortune.”

  “Those engines are purring like kittens,” Al said. “We’ve got plenty of fuel on board. Captain Aynsworth had checked the tanks just before we were attacked, said we had more than enough to get us back to Sydney—”

  “To our meeting in the middle of the Pacific Ocean,” Judy interrupted, passing out the glasses of wine. Grinning, she raised a glass on high and they clinked glasses together in a toast. “And to your being what you said you were; good Samaritans.”

  They were soon into another bottle as they sat back talking. All agreed it was odd that, in spite of the danger they had faced in their own unusual circumstances, they would meet like this. “Strange world,” Al commented.

  “My turn at the shower,” Judy said jumping to her feet. “I really need a good hot shower,” and she dashed off leaving the three.

  “You haf a beautiful yacht,” Karl said, admiring the interior of the salon where the three men had adjourned for more libation. He was craning his neck taking in all the accoutrements and rich furnishings. Beautiful paneling, rich Corinthian leather upholstery and lots of chrome.

  “I bought the boat as an anniversary present, but I’m getting rid of it as soon as we reach land,” Al replied glumly. “This was not a good anniversary trip for us, not the romantic south seas cruise I had envisioned . . . nope, more like a trip from hell!

  “We were having a great voyage. Good seas. Great crew. The guys bent over backwards to make sure our anniversary cruise was perfect. It was on our fourth evening out that we spotted that damned small native boat. It came in close. I could see the native bric-a-brac they held up. Ideal souvenirs to recall our cruise. We slowed down, never even gave any thought to danger as they pulled along side. Two natives rose up holding machine guns and opened fire. Captain Aynsworth and his crew were dead in the blink of an eye. Judy and I ran for our stateroom but the bastards were already on deck and after us. They broke through the door and attacked us. The guy, who I guess was their leader, shot me. Thinking I was dead, he turned to join the other two attacking my wife. Like I said before, I grabbed my pistol and shot him. Well, you know the rest of the story.

  “Pirates! They were damned pirates! Damned killers! Blood was everywhere. Carpeting and deck stained. Terrible. No. I have to get rid of the boat. And I have to account for the loss of my crew to their families. That will be the hardest thing to do. The damned heathen threw their bodies overboard. They didn’t deserve to die like they did. No, this has not been a good anniversary trip!”

  “How long have you and Judy been married?” asked Harry.

  Al looked at Harry for several seconds before answering. He’d caught Harry earlier looking at him, then at his wife, probably wondering about the age difference. “She’s my second wife,” he answered. “I’m quite a bit older than her. Judy used to be my secretary. Wall Street investments. She knew more about my business than my wife would ever learn.”

  He caught the frown on Harry‘s face. “Yes, I divorced my wife to marry Judy. Best thing that ever happened to me.”

  “How long?” Harry reiterated.

  “Ten years.” Al shook his head at the doubting look in Harry’s eyes. “Don’t feel badly for my first wife. She was a gad-about, always in the society pages, always on the go, flitting off to Paris, London, or Hollywood to guest at a leading actor’s estate, and on and on. She was happy to settle for four hundred million dollars.”

  Harry’s eyes flew wide. Karl nearly choked on his drink. Had they heard right?

  “You heard right gentlemen,” Al laughed watching the two. “But not to worry; she didn’t leave me penniless. I don’t like to brag, but I was one of the best investment brokers on Wall Street. When I quit Wall Street I walked away with a sizeable chunk of money. Judy and I married and fled New York. We wanted to get as far away as possible. We visited Sydney, fell in love with the town and the people and settled in. Judy and I are very com

  fortable there—” He winced momentarily.

  “Wound bothering you?” asked Karl at the sudden flinch.

  “Yes. I’m afraid I might have infection from the bullet.”

  “Let’s go out in de
r sunlight so I can see der vound better.”

  The three stepped out on the after deck. Karl sat Al down, then uncovered the wound. Al winced at the gentle prodding. “Do you haf a first aid kit on board?”

  “Yeah. In the forward stateroom—our room—”

  “Harry. Go fetch der first aid kit,” Karl ordered. “und be qvick about it.”

  “Aye. Aye, Captain,” Harry retorted snapping off a halfhearted salute which brought a grin to Karl’s face. Raft partner Karl had suddenly become Captain Karl Andress again, and in command. Harry took off on the double.

  Leaving Al for the moment, Karl stepped back in the galley, perused through Al’s supply of booze and picked out a bottle of brandy. Returning to the afterdeck he handed the bottle to Al. “Drink. Ve need you loose.”

  Harry had hurried down below and right into the couple’s stateroom not thinking to knock. “Harry!” shrieked Judy as he bolted into the room. She stood naked, her body glistening wet from the shower. “Get out! Get out this instant!” she screamed grabbing up her towel. She turned away so her back was to him as she wrapped the towel about herself. “What the hell are you doing here?” she yelled.

  “Uh—uh—I came for the first aid kit,” he blurted. “I-I’m sorry—”

  “In the head,” she snapped. “Get it and get the hell out of here!”

  Harry dashed into the head, fumbled through a couple of drawers, found the kit and dashed off, eyes straight ahead as he offered a half-hearted apology.

  On deck, Karl and Harry sat back watching and waiting. At Karl’s insistence, Al had drunk at least a half pint of brandy and was now in a stuporish frame of mind. “Thish is th‘ way I saw them do it in them weshtern movies,” he slurred, then hiccupped. With a big sigh, he collapsed back in his chair, and the surgery commenced.