Chapter 6: Isle Haute
It had been five days since they had quietly stolen out of the port at Star Island, skillfully avoiding the menacing crew of the Adventure. Captain William Salt and his small crew now sailed briskly upon the Atlantic as they made their way north. They scanned the horizon, laboring to pick out the island on their map from among the many that dotted the rocky coastline. On this day the sky was clear and the sun was shining, which made the task easier.
It was almost noon when Captain Salt’s first mate, Spriggs, cried out and gestured towards the northwest, “Aye, Captain, she’s off the port bow!”
William Salt, Spriggs, and the mate’s two nephews eagerly looked across the bay at the cliffs of Isle Haute, which seemed to rise up out of the water as they grew nearer. In an hour’s time they had drawn up close and anchored offshore at the north end of the island where the land was closer to sea-level.
They all climbed into the sloop’s rowboat and headed into the rough beach. William brought the map which his dying brother had left him. The tide was out, so they pulled the boat up high on the sand and then climbed up through rocks and brush about ten yards to where the land leveled out. There were blueberry bushes, tall grass and scattered boulders which littered this level spot. To the south also lay a small clearing, which on further inspection proved to be a tiny pond.
The spot matched the map perfectly, and it all made sense. Treasure was heavy, and the pirates would not have labored to carry it up the cliffs on the south side of the island. They could arrive here at any time and, under the guise of gathering wood and water, secretly retrieve their treasure from the spot. The water and boulders made ideal landmarks, and it did not take Salt and his crew long to match them to the marks on his brother’s map.
With nervous excitement they noted their position on the map and paced off the distances from the landmarks. Ten yards northwest of a great rock and twenty yards from the pond’s southern edge they found a spot of curiously disturbed ground. Eagerly they broke ground and began to dig. It did not take long to move the sandy earth. In no time they struck something hard and began to unearth a box-shaped object. They had found Joseph Salt’s chest, still bound in locked chains! The excitement was palpable as all four men strove to lift the dirt-covered, iron box out of the pit. As it settled on the ground next to them, they all took a short break and congratulated themselves heartily.
“I don’t believe it, Will, but we’ve done it!” said Spriggs. Spriggs’ nephews were dumb with amazement.
“I can’t believe it myself,” said Will. “Let’s get this thing back onto the sloop where we can examine it more closely.”
It was almost noon when Captain Salt’s first mate, Spriggs, cried out and gestured towards the northwest, “Aye, Captain, she’s off the port bow!”
William Salt, Spriggs, and the mate’s two nephews eagerly looked across the bay at the cliffs of Isle Haute, which seemed to rise up out of the water as they grew nearer. In an hour’s time they had drawn up close and anchored offshore at the north end of the island where the land was closer to sea-level.
They all climbed into the sloop’s rowboat and headed into the rough beach. William brought the map which his dying brother had left him. The tide was out, so they pulled the boat up high on the sand and then climbed up through rocks and brush about ten yards to where the land leveled out. There were blueberry bushes, tall grass and scattered boulders which littered this level spot. To the south also lay a small clearing, which on further inspection proved to be a tiny pond.
The spot matched the map perfectly, and it all made sense. Treasure was heavy, and the pirates would not have labored to carry it up the cliffs on the south side of the island. They could arrive here at any time and, under the guise of gathering wood and water, secretly retrieve their treasure from the spot. The water and boulders made ideal landmarks, and it did not take Salt and his crew long to match them to the marks on his brother’s map.
With nervous excitement they noted their position on the map and paced off the distances from the landmarks. Ten yards northwest of a great rock and twenty yards from the pond’s southern edge they found a spot of curiously disturbed ground. Eagerly they broke ground and began to dig. It did not take long to move the sandy earth. In no time they struck something hard and began to unearth a box-shaped object. They had found Joseph Salt’s chest, still bound in locked chains! The excitement was palpable as all four men strove to lift the dirt-covered, iron box out of the pit. As it settled on the ground next to them, they all took a short break and congratulated themselves heartily.
“I don’t believe it, Will, but we’ve done it!” said Spriggs. Spriggs’ nephews were dumb with amazement.
“I can’t believe it myself,” said Will. “Let’s get this thing back onto the sloop where we can examine it more closely.”
They all agreed and decided to move it back to the ship. It was heavy, and even with all four of them it took a lot of effort to move, but after some hard work they were able to get it to the shore. When they arrived at the rowboat, however, they gasped at what they saw. The rowboat was where they left it, but out in the bay there were now two ships riding at anchor: their sloop and the rogue-filled Adventure, which they had hoped they would never see again!
posted by Cornelius Quick at 5:02 PM
1 Comments:
Hi Admiral Benbow, I just saw this comment. Yes, you are correct. I keep backdating htem so that they will appear in order of chapter top to bottom. SOmeone complained about the order or appearance in Tarpaulin Cove so I figured I'd try it this way for A Maritime Tale.
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