Chapter 7: A Bump in the Night

Daylight was fading as the sun began to set to the west of Isle Haute. Captain William Salt and his three-man crew lay hidden in the sea-grass and blueberry bushes, quietly watching two ships anchored in the bay. Their own sloop, the Resolution, silently awaited their return. The other ship, the Adventure, was anchored a hundred yards away and appeared to be unconcerned with the smaller sloop. Sailors could be seen working on the decks of the Adventure, refitting sail on the fore mast. But William Salt was familiar with the Adventure, and he did not trust its crew.

“I don’t like it, Will,” said Spriggs, the Resolution’s first-mate. “That ship is not to be trusted. I can feel it in my bones.”

“I know, Spriggs,” said Will, “There has to be a way we can get back without having to deal with them. I’m not sure what it is, though. If we row back now, they’ll most likely hail us. If we don’t go back they’ll wonder why we’re avoiding them.”

Next to the four sailors lay an iron chest, still bound in chains. Within it they knew a fortune of gold was hidden, left to Captain Salt by his dead brother, Joseph. But Joseph had been a pirate, and the cold reality of this fact made them wonder if the Adventure might also be made up of pirates. What was the Adventure doing here? Had it followed them from Star Island? They wondered and tried to think of some way to leave the island without being noticed.

Spriggs’ youngest nephew, Jacob, spoke up, “What if we climbed the hill and lit a camp fire near the cliffs? The other crew would see the light from the bay. They might believe we were camping for the night. Then we could row back to the Resolution in the dark and escape before the morning.”

Captain Salt replied, “I like it. There isn’t much of a moon tonight, so they probably couldn’t see us rowing back. If they got curious and sent a party to investigate the fire, we could still get to our ship before they discovered their error. What do you think, Spriggs?”

Spriggs nodded in agreement. He was pleased that his nephew had thought of the idea. As a reward, the boys were given the task of climbing up the hill in the dark and lighting the decoy fire. It wasn’t much of a reward, but the boys enjoyed the adventure of it all. It wasn’t often they were engaged in outwitting pirates.

From the top of the hill, they could spy the lights of the Adventure rolling slightly in the dark waters of the bay. It took a short time to gather wood and light the fire. By the time they were finished, the noise of the other crew had died down. The boys knew they had to be quiet as they descended the hill and worked their way back to the shore.

Will and Spriggs were relieved when the boys arrived. They had seen the fire when it was lit, and they could only hope that this ruse would work. Together they loaded the chest onto the rowboat as quietly as they were able. They shifted the boat across the sand and into the cold waters of the bay. It seemed like a long time, but soon they pulled up alongside their sloop. In the distance they heard occasional sounds on the Adventure, but it appeared to have quieted down for the evening.

Working as quietly as they could, the men loaded their heavy find onto the sloop. At one point a chain slipped against the deck and they all halted and listened in the perilous silence. There was no sound from the Adventure. In a few minutes they each grabbed a corner of the chest and quietly bore it below decks for safekeeping. In the hold they all gently lowered the iron chest onto the floor. Someone breathed a sigh of relief. Then, a stranger’s gruff voice broke the silence from the darkness around them. “Why thank you, boys, we thought you’d never get back”.

And with that, there was a rush of movement all around them. Spriggs began to shout but was cut off. Something struck Will on the back of the head, and he collapsed, motionless on the deck.