Palmyra Island Lost Treasure Adventure!

# 

# Book Five of the Luke Mitchner Series

by Michael M. Tickenof

Copyright © 2016 by Michael M. Tickenoff

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.

www.storynetadventures.com

# 

# Introduction - Beginnings

It was finally happening. All our sails were full and our 45-foot schooner, the New Song was performing perfectly well. We were sailing away from one great adventure and headed for another. The bow rose and fell, cutting a new path through soft blue seas and every good dream was coming alive in this one exciting scene.

Strangely enough, we were sailing away from a massive fortune, at least for now. Unexpectedly, my entangled inheritance had risen up like a Pacific cyclone and was overshadowing every aspect of our lives. At least for now, we were trying to stay free from the consequences of this impending wealth. We were temporarily free from intense schedules, endless social obligations and had been liberated from societal forces that had so wanted to bind us to a course of serious responsibility. It had been an on-rushing set of circumstances that had pressed enormous decisions onto our lives and we were not prepared for such weighty matters.

These determinations clouded our youthful compasses, which brought about an unsure course not of our choosing, even though it had become a true adventure, it still curtailed and almost choked off far too much of our creative abilities. In our haste to achieve solutions, we were seeking answers—to balance our lives with this staggering inheritance soon to be.

Far behind us now, the complexities of the Canadian court procedures were being untangled on my behalf. We had been sent away by our team of advisers to escape for a good year, to get out from under business and hide from the social pressures. We were to stow away from the overwhelming responsibility—what we called The Shadow.

Our response had been to form a subsidiary film company called the World Wave Watchers (WWW). Our first step in the get away took us from Newport California to Hawaii where we had filmed a half season of good waves and planned to sail across the Pacific to New Zealand for the other part of the big wave season. Then for some unspecified reason, not found on our charts, it never fails, we were sidetracked while chasing the big waves across the vast Pacific theater.

Our older but worthy schooner The New Song was now sailing like a galloping stallion, charging and running free, easily sliding through the deep blue ocean headed across another stretch of the South Pacific inner islands. The days were filled with promised blue skies, peacefully beckoning all available winds to work in our favor. Then the winds of change began to blow and we were found on an island that is now called Obscenity. We had used up six months of our precious film time, becoming entangled into one of the most bizarre bird—or should I say giant parrot—stories we could ever tell. This sail about, had us already bypassing our seasonal agenda of one-year two-hemisphere surf film schedule. Our adventure unexpectedly evolved into a new experience for all of us. So it had come to pass and we, so far, had endured.

The strange bird experience I speak of took place on an uninhabited island, subsequently named Obscenity Island. By extraordinary circumstances and unusual events we found ourselves living among a large scientific community which had gathered there from the four corners of the globe, because of a parrot named Beelzebub. Our task in capturing and rescuing the notorious bird Beelzebub, from the now famous Obscenity Island, had concluded somewhat in our favor. The giant parrot was famous for its ability to speak in multiple languages, landing there when its owner Captain Hades had shipwrecked several years earlier. But that wily parrot began to teach its fellow feathered friends how to cuss in a multitude of languages; and these innocent birds had been spreading the savory songs and phrases in X-rated languages throughout the Pacific.

To make a long story short, we found ourselves exposed to the world's media in the midst of this fiasco. I speak of we—our film team composed of Theo Vontempski, the head of the new film production team, then there was Amber and Crystal the twin Kaamin sisters who were our traveling managers, cooks, shipmate companions as well as production assistants, and myself Luke Mitchner. Later, we had Theo's older brother, Jay Vontempski join us as the Captain of our schooner, The New Song.

We managed to get ourselves right into the middle of this strange international episode and in time, we ended up capturing the huge parrot named Beelzebub. Beyond all the threats by unscrupulous advisors to kill this strange parrot we became its only friend and eventually its savior.

In time, our team retrained the parrot to learn a new and better language pattern and hence, it earned a new name called Goodwin. But Goodwin was gone now, cajoled away or guided away by a mystery companion, disappearing into a stormy golden sky. We had dedicated a great amount of our time and resources to the rehabilitation of this single bird; but in turn, we may have saved the world's bird population from losing its song. Now, we were once again on our way to Tahiti and then onto New Zealand to continue filming the big waves for our surf film.

Jay made sure we had come back to our senses of the sea and that the New Song was shipshape as we made our way back to our original course and into the open sea. It was good having a qualified man as our friend and captain. It was part of the relief we needed in carrying the pressures of sailing and making our way south through a thousand islands. Jay was the perfect man to take it from us; he knew his compass and jib. All our confidence was placed in his ability to safely sail around sunken reefs, then in and through the many chains of atolls and hazardous islands. Things were going so good, and as everyone knows that when things are going right, things had to soon go wrong. So it began.

It was a short time after escaping from Obscenity Island and after the magnificent parrot Goodwin's most unusual departure, that our schooner the New Song was slowly blown into another unexpected adventure. I shouldn't surmise that this on-coming experience was wrong; it was just another serendipitous chapter to our South Sea get away. However, as most of our experiences seem to transpire, we were too late for the big wave season in the south, thereby postponing our immediate filming expedition until the next wave season. Then Dustin Arrow, our team lawyer and my long-time editor back in California informed us that we were going to have to return to Hawaii for consultation, on settling my inheritances. Our call to return was predicated on the fact that our newly acquired friends, the entire Kaamin family (Amber and Crystal's family) which made up the Hearst Castle's Security Force, had used their influence to help secure the "Mitchner Millions" which the news tabloids were calling it. This involved making, not just a few major decisions but more than a few. These decisions would determine how I wanted my grandparents numerous humanitarian contacts and industrial enterprises to be set up and moved forward. It would be a hands-on deal. Important decisions involving many companies and people of all walks were going to have to be analyzed and considered. The past few years of my life had been emerged into the tragedy of my grandparents' deaths when their small plane went down in the Canadian Rockies. Years back, my own parents had perished in a storm at sea when I was only five. My grandparents had adopted me and my life had been rather easy, even though we lived a rugged lifestyle on the Mitchner Ranch in the Canadian wilderness.

The inheritance I speak of was a great fortune derived from my grandfather's mining operations, investments and ownership in various industrial operations and companies throughout the world. Over the years his fortune had grown into way more than I could comprehend. and now all this had landed on my shoulders.

My grandparents, Stewart and Gladys Mitchner, had set up various charities through their extensive holdings and had been funding many humanitarian efforts throughout the world. All this had come to me upon their demise. Once the slate was cleared, if at all, all these decisions would be put upon my own life. However, this massive fortune had become entangled in the Canadian legal system. There had to be at least a hundred lawsuits from every sort of company and out-of-the-woods characters had manifested and come knocking, determined to take a chunk of something they did not own nor did they deserve it. I had suddenly inherited cousins, brothers and sisters that I never knew I had, and with enough lawyers to start up a full-fledged university with its own supreme court.

Life has many twists to it. For only a year or so back, due to a strange episode on the San Simeon coast line, Theo my long time friend and traveling partner and I came into contact with the Hearst Castle Security Force. At first, we thought this to be a disaster but after our adventure took some strange twists, we ended up befriended by a Bobby Brookstone, the leader of the security team. Our incredible sail mates Amber and Crystal were the twin sisters in the Kaamin family patronage.

When my grandparents had perished, through those worst of times, I was fortunate to have several good friends that had been with me going back to our high school days. As true friends would, they were there for me during those regretful times of sorrow. Now this sailing adventure and film making escapade was an extension of what I thought was a never-ending legal battle.

Dustin and the Hearst Castle Security team had advised both me and Theo to get out of Dodge. "Go make your surf movie but stay low key and hidden if possible for at least a year. Unless you want to be hunted down by more unscrupulous lawyers, con-men and possibly those who might want your demise, due to the amount of funds and companies involved." They joked around a little, letting me know that now I was a great big fat turkey, ready to be plucked.

We could have lost the battles for my inheritance if we had not come to know the HC Security Force, the behind the scenes security enterprise which handled all of the Hearst Castle security needs. Theo and I had stumbled into a long lost treasure hidden away in a tiny smugglers cove from 80 years back. This episode on the beach led us into the heart of the Hearst Castle Security team owned and run by the Kaamin family.

It turned out that this security company was not only the head security for the Hearst family estate and their land trusts, but it was also a clandestine group of mercenaries who managed behind the scene operations to have captives, hostages and prisoners released. They were using the rare hidden treasure pieces to exchange for hostages. They were often hired or used by world governments to search out and get certain people released from under terrible situations and were successful at their work. This fact gave them the privilege of making connections and retaining favors that would soon be called upon in the release of my own inheritance.

There were several advantages to knowing this family. The best one so far was the two exceptional twin daughters Amber and Crystal. They had been placed and incorporated into our lives, managing a role in our on-going surfing movie. So far, they had been with us through thick and thin and it looked as if they were going to be with us, either as spies, protectors or eventually mates!

Our acquaintance with the HC Security Force inspired us to form our own special team. With some negotiations, we had secured their friendship and we were now working together in untangling the multitude of our lawsuits from the Canadian court system. They had connections everywhere and Dustin my lawyer and best friend was amazed at how they were able to extract favors and bring about unexpected changes as my inheritance seemed to be slowly releasing itself from what was once a sinkhole of tar and glue!

Our well-traveled schooner the New Song was in need of repairs. We had come near to the Equator, decided to stop over at Tahiti for the repairs, anchoring in Papeete harbor. This was the main city in the largest island in the French Polynesian group. The girls had been there on a previous tour with their family and of course, they knew the Papeete Harbormaster, which seemed to give us an open door to the island and first in line for needed work on the boat. Oh, it was nice to have connections. Tahiti is known as the Queen of the Pacific but our stay was limited so we could not fully enjoy the fabulous landscapes. We visited the top surf beaches, did some filming while the New Song was being made ready and again—our plans were changed.

While the days in harbor were passing by, we were contacted by Dustin. Our bird adventure on Obscenity Island had cut into our film schedule and we knew that the big wave season in the south was finished off for this year. Things had moved along faster than we had expected, so Dustin wanted us back to begin making these major decisions on how we were going to work with the charities and companies which were a part of my soon to be released inheritance. For within the month Brookstone and his team, along with Dustan would be tying up some loose ends with the Canadian Court system regarding the Mitchner family inheritance; and this would set the wheels of a new life into motion.

Dustin suggested that we get to civilization and fly back, or consider turning east and sailing back to Hawaii. There we would meet Dustin and our newly formed MAVIN Team along with Bobby Brookstone and his personal associates. All this was so we might facilitate and arrange and brain storm on how I wanted to set up all my grandparents' holdings as they were released from the courts' probate system.

The team I speak of here was so named the MAVIN Team. We used the initials from our first founders: Mitchner, Arrow and Vontempski with International tagged on the end. I had formed this team or should I say this collection of friends had been forced into existence due to circumstances. It proved itself to be a worthwhile endeavor, becoming a useful functioning unit over a period of time. Since its conception, it had grown to seven main members, and would most likely take in a few more associates as time and events moved along. I knew that I would one day need help with this vast inheritance and this team of hand picked friends were going to be there. We would be working together to facilitate and deal with the oncoming experiences I would be facing. This was not just a club membership type of arrangement; but it had evolved into a serious association, which would have to work with and guard millions in wealth, along with the many lives that came along with the responsibility of such an inheritance. There was no way that I alone could ever think to deal with this multi-layered conglomeration; nor did I want too.

The journey across the Pacific would give me time to consider the many aspects to the upcoming fortune. This was not going to be an easy task. As the court system released each holding or segment of a business or investment back into the new corporation (MAVIN) which Dustin and Brookstone had set up, we would have to make decisions on what to do with them. Each business or holding and aspect of these multi national operations had to be looked into and put back into a confident and trustworthy operation. For several years now, I had felt like a flea on an elephants back. There were so many decisions to make, it could not be done over satellite phone or conference calls.

Dustin suggested that since the wave season was pretty well finished in the southern seas for this season, we might change course and head back to Hawaii. In addition, the hurricane season was already blowing up in the southern seas and getting ready with the first small cyclone in the mid Pacific and in the Indian Ocean. Brookstone was a bit concerned about his two sisters Amber and crystal and if need be, he would send out the Navy to find them. However, both Theo and I had been smitten by these two very capable ladies and we weren't about to let any navy come get them.

We had been six months aboard the New Song and I was sure that the girls and Theo were looking forward to walking on something that did not move under them. The big wave film had to be put on hold. This was disappointing for Theo but we assured him that we could fly to New Zealand next season and catch the big ones yet. The vote was taken, so Jay reconfigured our course. We said goodbye to the southern hemisphere, and the New Song turned her bow in a north-east compass reading as a long return trip began to the Hawaiian Islands.

Depending on the winds and the possibility of running into a storm along the way, Jay determined that the return would take approximately 24 and up to 30 days of good sailing...with a big IF attached to his estimation!

Once on our eastern course and out of the main on-going chains of islands we began to make good 24-hour runs. Keeping a sharp eye on the weather patterns determined our course. Jay gave us navigation lessons everyday, also making sure the entire schooner was ship-shape. We were given assignments of cleaning, polishing, checking the rigging, setting sails, and this routine kept us from being bored. I had not realized it, but a sailing machine has hundreds of vital parts that make it a wind machine. We began learning the name of these parts, their places and their use. Jay explained that in an emergency, the word "gismo" would not do.

We not only had to double up on our watches, but Theo was put with Crystal and I was put with Amber as ship cooks. We took turns, quickly developing into a competition that came up with some interesting meals. About the only thing Jay didn't make us do was shave. By now, and after more than six months both sailing and living on Obscenity Island, our beards were beyond fussy: they were long enough for the girls to grab hold of and yank when we got out of hand.

The winds of change were about to blow; but how were we to know? For one of the most isolated islands on earth known as Palmyra lay ahead and we would soon find ourselves sidetracked again. This time it was more than an adventure—but a full, head on collision with intrigue, mystery, greed and strange characters!

# 

# Chapter One - The Rescue!

Captain Jay Vontempski brought forth a number of warnings. If any hurricane might blow up our way, we would have to try to skirt it. He must have known, or he was one of those special prognosticators, for it was not too much longer when during a blustery afternoon the waves from out of the North began a slow but increasingly sized rolling sea. Now the sea is very fickle; for often, a storm three hundred miles away could create a change in the surface waves. These waves might roll for hundreds of miles under clear skies; however, the major part of the storm could have already moved on or blown itself out, just leaving the aftermath of a great rolling sea. Jay with his expertise as a Navy Seal, his long days as a private sailing captain and a man of adventure, knew everything about the sea and its ways. He would never say' 'Told you so.' You just knew his knowledge bank was open for high interest loans.

Our schooner took these rollers at an angle. She would slowly climb perpendicular up the face of one of the giant green hills, skirt the smooth rolling crest and then descend like a sled sliding down the face of an ice mountain into the trough of the moving giant. The New Song would then slide, and in some cases drop, down into the valley of the wave to begin climbing the next roller. These waves came in perfect sequence, just forward of the starboard beam—most of the time.

Wherever these massive rollers were headed, the beaches they finally rolled onto would have some of the greatest waves ever seen. This is the type of waves we had been looking for —but there was nothing we could do other than film our never ending crawl up one wave and our swift sliding descent down the back of the other side. On and on, it was not only incredible, but scary as hell. We did not know how big the waves were going to get and we were hoping that they would not go out of sequence and turn slushy, especially if they remained so huge.

Theo got daring by making his way up the mast, and was perched in the rigging chair at the cross tree, holding on for dear life as he filmed. We were all watching him, listening to his whoops, and wows as the mast swayed back and forth. Jay finally told him to get back down, and with his descent, there were a few hold-your-breath moments, especially when a rogue wave hit us starboard and washed over the deck. Crystal was hanging onto the mast, ready to catch her man if he fell.

Suddenly one of our first mishaps occurred when Amber was washed along the deck, while I went chasing after her to make sure she did not go overboard. She was ok but ended up with a few bruises. Jay was irate at us for not having our lifelines on and now we knew their importance. At any time an out of sequence wave could slam us sideways and the first thing that might save you from being washed overboard was the safety line. Then if you did go into the drink, your life jacket would keep you on the surface so that the crew aboard would be able to watch you.

By evening we were all exhausted from holding our breaths and onto anything that would not break loose. Nevertheless, the waves continued growing, and by nightfall, the rollers had to be thirty and forty feet high. Theo, with his triangulating calculations judged this by the height of our masts, while Jay fought to keep the New Song's bow out of the face of the next wave. Theo was delighted to calculate sizes once we were down in the trough of a wave. Our top main mast often did not reach to the top of an on-coming wave; thus, we knew that some of these rolling giants had to be well over forty feet tall.

Each wave was miles in length, the surface looked like a massive washboard. There were times when the waves were confused, one of the out-of-sequence waves would broadside the New Song, and even a well built, forty-five foot schooner would be shaken like a dry leaf on a windy day by the wave's power. It did not seem possible that the schooner could survive any of the blasters, the name we gave those maverick rollers. If you were lucky enough to be downstairs, tucked away in your bunk you had to have pillows and jackets tucked around you and be holding on for dear life. It was way too dangerous to be on deck, even with a safety line. When a blaster did hit the New Song sideways, you just knew that the entire hull was going to cave. If the cabinet doors were not locked down, everything would come flying out and spill across the galley. The entire boat was under tremendous strain, groaning and creaking. Your prayers were that those shipwrights had used every one of their skills and put in those extra hundred screws and locking spikes to put this boat together. And that the old boat would remember those skills and stay held together. Funny what men pray for when they are in trouble!

One of my grandfathers old sayings came to me, "Don't expect thousand dollar answers when you have only given ten cent prayers!"

Theo and I tried to play the courage card for the sake of the girls who were scared with good reason. No one could be on deck during this angry ocean without a strong safety line and a life vest on. If anyone was washed overboard, that was it, they were goners! There was no way that even the most skilled helmsman could turn about and find someone already washed a mile away in 20 to 30 foot rollers! Sometimes the one at the helm could not get the bow turned up at the right angle to curl up and over the mighty wave, and tons of water would flow three or four foot deep across the deck turning the schooner sideways off course. One could see the compass needle turn 20 degrees to the North instead of keeping northeast.

Our weather reports informed us that rough waters lay ahead but we had missed the main storm, which by my dead reckoning was now headed for the island of Kauai. The night came and we were at the mercy of any light that filtered through the cloud. Just enough light allowed the helmsman to keep the boat from being bashed down into the deep dark troughs. These were the kind of nights you did not want to be out to sea but we had no choice; there were no Motel 8's around handy. By morning, the waves were dropping in size, but the white caps were being torn off the tops of the waves and blown away like blasts from a fire hose. By noon the sea had calmed down considerably and the winds were fast and strong, so we were making excellent time. There always had to be two people on deck. One stood staunch at the helm, steering and staying on course while the other stood watch at the bow, scanning back and forth, forever watching for hidden reefs as well as other ships and objects floating in the water. Thank goodness that Jay took the helm during this long two-day vigil and managed to keep us out of the grinding teeth of these smashers so that we stayed afloat!

But we did not go unscathed. Our first loss was a 50 gallon canvas gas tank and sadly to say, both mine and Theo's best surf boards were washed overboard during the night. This was a big blow to both of us. Theo's board was a new experimental sonic board that he had been promoting. There was nothing we could do about this upsetting loss. At least all of us made it through the massive onslaught and the boards could be replaced.

It was on the third day after the big rollers had come and gone, well beyond the last major chain of islands (which was American Samoa) and we were into open sea when Crystal came back and asked for the binoculars to check something out. She thought she had seen something off our port side some five degrees near the horizon.

Now beyond the beauty and sparkle within Crystal's eyes, she was gifted with extremely good sight. She was forever seeing things both tiny and distant, which the rest of us then strained to see. Over time we came to trust her sharp vision and uncanny sight and would call her up to take a look at something we thought we were seeing.

Soon she yelled back, "Hey, I see something out there over in that direction." I saw her arm pointing north east by east. I told her to keep watching, try and figure out what it might be. By now, Jay had come up and I called Theo awake and asked him to read our fix and check the charts to see if there were any sunken reefs or hidden surprises along this stretch. He shortly stuck his head up through the gangway and said that the navigational charts indicated that we were clear of any major islands but there would be a few small uninhabited islands like Johnston and the Kingman Reef, and further on another island reef area called Palmyra Island. We were not in any danger of obstacles as of yet until we passed Washington Island and then approached Palmyra. There were several high tide reefs, which lay submerged just below the surface that could wreck us if we were not careful' extremely careful!

Then Crystal's voice cried out above the hissing of the hull cutting through the water and the blasting of the white spume blown across our decks. She yelled out, pointing off to our port side. "There is definitely something out there in the water. I'm not sure what it is because the white caps keep hiding it in the troughs. But for a moment I thought I saw a life raft next to something floating in the water."

Her reference to a possible lifeboat caught our attention. Knowing the laws of the sea, and out of curiosity, Jay yelled down to Theo to come up on deck, we were going to check this out. Jay wanted more eyes on deck to see that we did not hit a reef or get entangled into something unknown. I handed the helm over to Amber and went forth to drop the main sail but left up one bow jib, just enough for maneuvering. Jay sipped his coffee and told Amber to keep the compass on 10 degrees northeast and to watch and listen carefully. We were sailing with a small crew and had to double up on watch and on lookouts.

Again, Crystal called out to us, "Yes, it is a tiny raft with some people in it. It looks like the raft is tethered to something bobbing in the waves, something floating upside down." She reluctantly added, "It might be a whale!"

Theo went forward and slid his arm around Crystal, so they would not slip in the on-splashing waves. Sure Theo, I smiled. He then took up the large naval binoculars to look for himself. Now Crystal had hold of Theo. Sure thing, in case he slipped; I had to laugh even louder. No doubt, there was someone standing up in the raft waving a towel or shirt to us. We began to wave back as we drew closer.

Jay gave orders for me and Crystal to drop the bow sail so we could begin our slow change of course to drift in as we approached. The New Song had a small four cylinder auxiliary engine for entering into harbors and getting around, and it was used under these type conditions. Theo soon had it ready to start up if need be, but so far the currents and waves were taking us directly towards this unexpected scene.

Another shipboard rule required by Jay, was that the girls would wear their jogging pants while up on deck with any kind of light long sleeved T-shirt or blouse. Loose jogging pants would protect them if they fell, and we also wore canvas deck shoes to prevent slipping on wet decks. He advised us that keeping our body covered would prevent sunburn and dehydration. He had to smile as he hinted that this would also keep certain eyes from looking at too much leg. He also asked every one of us to wear some kind of a hat that would offer protection for the same reasons.

Everyone was up and alert now, excitedly looking at what looked to be a disaster. Apparently, the storm which had created the huge rollers a few days back had caught this boat, bringing it down and over. As we came closer, we could see that it wasn't a whale. It was a boat, still afloat with its hull sticking out of the water like the back of a blue whale floating on the surface. The raft had five people in it, two women, two men and a younger teen kid. We could hear them yelling their hellos and gratitude to our arrival. We were not expecting this and had never rescued anyone other than ourselves, through our practice drills on nice calm days.

We began drifting towards them just a little at a time. The choppy surface was going to make this rescue a little dangerous. Jay surmised the situation, checked the winds, determined the drift. Taking the wheel he gave orders for the girls and myself to get several lines ready to toss to the raft that was tied to the submerged upside down hull.

Jay called to them through the ships megaphone, "Are you in need of assistance?"

I thought at first this was a ridiculous question. One could see that they were desperate, their boat was floating upside down, and they were all sitting in a tiny life raft and waving a towel for help. However, I guessed this was called the laws of the sea: you did not go barging into someone's territory without permission.

They all yelled "Yes" and waved even harder.

We did not know their circumstances and they could have another rescue ship close at hand. It was best to begin our rescue with an inquiry. Who knew, this could have been some kind of movie production and we were suddenly sailing up onto the stage. But I looked around and saw nothing but small whitecaps looking like thousands of prancing ponies on the surface of a green-gray sea.

As our drift came closer to the inflatable, we saw one tall, gray haired man, about 50 years old, standing there holding a line tethered to the sunken hull. He seemed to be the possible captain of the boat which was floating below them, bobbing slightly in the moving swells. He struck a proud pose, exuding an air of command while watching our approach with a suspicious eye.

Drawing closer, we could see that he was a rugged man of some authority, for the other four individuals in the inflatable waited for him to speak or act first. His wiry beard contrasted to his well-tanned face and his large silver-gray eyes followed us. He must have been nervous, for his bushy brows gave him away as they began to crawl across his forehead and then touch each other; I thought he might use a weed eater to trim them they were so bushy. He kept rearranging his cap, which turned out to be his symbol of authority' a real captain's hat. A second man was quietly sitting in the back of the inflatable. He too was well tanned, slim, tall, and from what I could make out, he was fair in build, with a wild cluster of blond hair hanging down to his neck. He had a nonchalant look of, "No big deal, we are rescued all the time."

There was another younger male sitting in the front. He had to be in his late teens or early twenties, built like a linebacker with wide shoulders and well muscled legs. He was a good looking kid, well groomed for the circumstances. Then there were two mid-aged women. They were very excited to see us on the scene of their disaster. They were in their thirties or a bit more. As the New Song glided up next to them, Jay told Theo to cast out the tie lines to the boat passengers.

Jay made the first contact, "What boat were you?"

The taller character replied back in an uneasy tone, "The Bye-Golly!"

We chuckled at this name The Bye-Golly, for it was surely that now. Jay's voice went out to them explaining how we were going to approach them from down current so we would not swamp them or run into the sunken hull. The four sitting individuals nodded in understanding but the taller older man sternly motioned for us to come around the down side of the raft.

Jay went against this suggestion, or demand, and did what he felt was safest, bringing the New Song right up to them. Even though the waves were lifting the raft up and down we secured the raft to our boat. Their line to the sunken hull stretched tight but they were now tethered to us so we could pull them around to the back transept diving platform at the stern where I had set the overboard ladder for them to climb aboard. They were haggard and worn out, but with a bit of help we brought them onboard.

The last man to come aboard, wearing the tattered captain's hat, had to be the captain of the sunken yacht. He introduced himself as Thomas Brewerton and immediately asked if we could pull the small inflatable raft aboard. This was done and we could see that there were quite a few things piled around in its bottoms. Soon the conversation started and we learned that the cyclone had torn their thirty-foot fiberglass Auburn sailing sloop to pieces. They lost their mast and then were swamped and began to take on water. Things got worse from there. In the middle of the night, one massive wave had broken their keel off and rolled them. They barely made it onto the little raft.

These few moments of talk created within me the feeling that you never have a second chance to make a first impression. The captain managed to impress upon me, a not so good feeling. Here they were floating around in the Pacific debris; they had lost their ship; and he was somehow and for whatever reason, acting proud and giving us commands. I felt this was more than odd.

One of the women was crying in gratitude and relief, her hands held over her face. We were still too busy fending off the sunken hull and securing the raft to pay much attention to anyone's tears. Thomas Brewerton got around to introducing his shipmate and partner, Timm Cogan, and the two women as Julie Warrenton (the one who was crying) and Gretchen Summerton. The younger kid was Mike James their deck hand.

The women seemed to be in shock. They were a little battered up with a few bruises. The older one, Julie, was holding her left arm as if it was hurt and she was somewhat blubbering about their experience. When she stood up, besides being sunburned, she was tall and skinny as a rail. In fact, I would suspect her of suffering with bulimia or not having eaten for a week or so. She was in her mid 30's and seemed rather dazed, trying to grasp the consequences of their ordeal. The women's hair was cut short and both wore baggy shorts that hung down to their knees. Gretchen was a head shorter than Julie but was a wiry figure, well proportioned, pleasantly so. She was certainly more active and she definitely had some meat on her bones. She slowly was awakening to the knowledge of their rescue' we could see this in her sparkling blue eyes. They both appeared to be some type of academics, yet rather rugged, as if they were adapted to the outdoors. They stood quiet, just calmly smiling at us.

Gretchen, yes, I saw competition for the twins here. She was what the movies would call, tall, dark and handsome. Already, within a few minutes, she was adjusting to her new environment. This could have been attributed to high intelligence or a woman's craftiness, looking for a safe landing and better opportunity. I guess I am a skeptic when it came to people. In my journalistic investigations I had to learn how to sum up characters and measure personalities, deciding that most of the time humans were lacking in sincerity and in honesty. Gretchen was a hard one to read, but she was making the right moves by befriending the twins right up front. She stood apart from her shipmates and appeared to be more than thankful for the rescue. It was going to be fun observing her. I saw some kind of a connection between her and Jay; why, I don't know, but time might tell another story.

Brewerton was the captain and the oldest. He gestured with long tan arms while moving about with a sleek and stringy build, having a professorial look, seemingly implied that he was in control of things. This stranger out of the sea let his eyes scan over all of us, trying to hide his summation behind his stubby gray beard. His tanned face would contort just enough to reveal some hidden anxiety. This could have been attributed to the loss of his vessel, but I had seen enough unbalanced characters to know that there was more going on inside this man than concern over his sunken ship. One of them was Etroid, the lunatic that I had met in my Green Bus journey across America, on his way to destroy the International Triple Moon Launch. He had a similar tweak to his facial expressions. My senses went on alert; I knew our rescue of this man and his crew could spell either danger or adventure for our crew.

Timm was more reserved, or maybe just dazed to the over all situation. He was an ordinary chap, his hair hung down to his shoulders, with a sunburn hat line running across his forehead. He was thinner than his partner but still well conditioned. He seemed to be a timid soul: quiet in response with a character of indifference. He was an observer, watching and seemingly measuring and sifting through his observations. He had a gentle manner about him, but time would tell. Toleration was written on his face. He appeared to be along for the ride, somewhat subdued by other personalities but with a concealed strength.

Mike, the young deck hand, seemed a friendly character, strong, well built and the perfect cutout for a yachtsman. He was already looking over the boat, almost nodding his approval. His face was more than tanned, burnt from being in the sun too long. He seemed a little nervous, with one large hand continuously making a fist around a short rope he had knotted. Being introduced as their deck hand, he knew his place and stood off to the side, out of the limelight. Yet, there was a boyish expression fixed on his face. His long hair was trimmed down to his neck line with a UCLA cap pulled down far enough to keep the sun out of his eyes. I wouldn't want to tangle with this kid but his mannerisms portrayed gentleness and his calm manner made me think of a happy go lucky man of youthful adventure with no harm intended.

Thomas, the captain, excitedly went on to explain that they had been in the storm for at least three full days and then adrift for another three days now and could not yet grasp the enormity of what had happened to them.

O boy, it didn't take long for the new rooster aboard to try and claim his authority and desire the ranking position. This man Thomas had to be around 50, and thought to use his stature to make his move with obvious intimidation and some useless bravado concerning his rank. However, it would soon become evident that he was a bit too sure of himself. With a sharp-eyed scan, he seemed to sum up our crew as youthful misfits. With challenging assumption, he soon desired to extend his captainship onto the New Song. I could only imagine, that because of his age or possibly his previous experience, which we knew nothing of; he might have felt it was his responsibility to take the helm. No doubt, he seemed to feel that his age as a captain gave him the rank and the right to begin telling what he expected to Jay. While delivering his half request, half orders he was fiddling with his captain's hat as if pointing out his rank.

Now our Jay was a wise 32-year young man of many skills, and over time we had been introduced to a few of them. We men wore beards for the duration of our voyage, and we did seem a bit scruffy and somewhat tattered; but in no manner whatsoever were we misfits. However, Jay was a near full blond (by birth and by the sun) with a long thick bushy mustache, enhancing his smile and setting off his near perfect white teeth. He was built solid, well muscled, having the appearance and stature of a prestigious movie personality. His soft gray blue eyes were almost hidden under his thick brows. But those eyes waited and watched and there was little that escaped their inspection. Jay, without trying, was one of those read-about captains in a magazine advertisement. He had an easy-going personality, yet stern enough to earn immediate respect, always well mannered, very capable of handling most situations with a confident persuasion. We learned not to take him lightly; for there was no doubt, he had attained and held several universities of experience in one hand, and years of implementation in the other. His well-rounded character made him the perfect candidate for the choice poster captain for the yearly calendar.

However, this Brewerton character apparently did not look upon Jay as any individual of authority, no less someone to take orders from. This to us became a source of needed entertainment. For one had to be blind not to consider Jay's stature and poise, along with his calm gestures of authority. Pride would do it every time' and dull the sharpest eye!

Thomas immediately pushed himself into Jay's realm of authority. This was most interesting to watch. Of course, he didn't get too far. Jay simply and rather direct said, "Mr. Brewerton, I have no doubt that you are a captain, one of experience, and I am sure, with approved qualification. However, I would like you and your crew to take a look at where you are standing; and then take a good look at your boat, out and down there!" Their heads followed Jay's gestures and they looked. Then Jay proceeded. "You are the sole and living captain of that ship there, the Bye-Golly I think you said," with this, Jay pointed again, down to the submerged hull. Without any argument, Jay had set the stage and arranged the characters on the new game board as he saw fit; and scene one was over.

Thomas looked at his boat, looked back at Jay and realized that Jay was letting him know who the boss aboard this craft was. Yet this was done without any fight for position or flamboyant arrogance. With one of his huge raised brows, Thomas seemed to reveal some respect for our captain.

I am sure that it was then and there that the seed of resentment against Jay, the younger captain was watered. Somehow, that resentment must have always been within this Thomas character, in one form or another but it took a challenge and a specific event to stir its growth. Jay had simply made sure that the older and visiting, and even rescued Captain was alerted to his place as a passenger, nothing more. Timm, first mate of the sunken boat, stood back with an absorbing look on his face while Mike the younger deck hand could not hide his smile of pleasure.

Thomas didn't even try to hide his arrogance. His body language spoke loud and clear. By no means did he like to be told that he was a rescued sailor off a sunken ship' one that he had captained! His face grew red, his eyes went into a blinking fit and his gray white beard did a great job hiding his facial emotions. Like it or not, this is exactly what just took place, and when I noticed him clinching his right fist I knew we would be dealing with his arrogance in other ways.

Thomas broke the moment of waiting and without much thought, began to order Crystal and Amber around. "Take Julie and Gretchen downstairs and possibly check out Julie's arm and maybe get them some dry clothes and some food!" I actually choked at this command, not believing my ears. But Crystal exhibited the classic act of obedience to the proper authority when she distinctly asked Jay what exactly he wanted? I was very pleased at her reaction, for it stopped me from opening my mouth and starting some trouble.

Jay being the compassionate captain, simply smiled and nodded to Amber and Crystal, suggesting that they might take care of the ladies and bring up some water and a few sandwiches for everyone. The girls took the newly rescued women downstairs while we listened to Thomas continue with their story. Soon Amber brought up some bottles of water and a plate full of sandwiches and cut fruit. Our newly rescued shipwrecked passenger's eyes lit up and soon Thomas, Timm and Mike ate everything on the plate, then chased it down with every drop of water. No doubt, they were hungry and humbled and most grateful. Ah, food for the starving will do it every time I thought.

On land or at sea, Jay cut a well-defined figure. He moved with grace, always sure of himself, and so far we had not seen him angry or overly frustrated. He definitely had the opportunity to yell or make his point of view known, but in his own way, he was rather reserved. This new man aboard was going to become a challenger to the New Songs working authority; I could feel it in my bones.

Theo had been waiting, and then inquired on how it all happened. Thomas asked, if they could get a little more comfortable first, "We have been a bit cramped together in that raft for a few days, my limbs need to stretch out."

We put out the deck chairs, arranging ourselves before Thomas began his story. "We arrived at Palmyra about three weeks back. We were anchored in a small coral inlet on Palmyra Island about twenty miles northeast from here, I'm guessing," he pointed off in the direction we were headed. "We heard the weather warning and knew that if we stayed anchored inside that little West Lagoon inlet our sloop would have been driven onto the coral shoreline. We discussed the situation, made the decision, then we stowed all our equipment and most of our supplies into the cement bunker shed we had fixed up as our working headquarters. We then made our way out beyond the reefs to stand off the island until the blow was over. The winds came first and within an hour or so the heavy rains started and the bad winds began to blow. We tried to get on the leeward side of the island but everything began to go wrong. We dropped as much sail as possible but the winds began to snap our rigging and we went adrift. Within a few hours the waves were up and rolling and in the middle of all this we scraped an offshore reef and this, I'm sure helped break or loosen our keel. We were hoping to maybe get shipwrecked back on Palmyra and had prepared ourselves for the worst, and the worst came. One thunderous wave picked us up and rolled us and the keel snapped off so that the boat could not right itself, yet we stayed afloat."

Timm and the young Mike sat there looking behaggled, probably remembering every moment of that disastrous storm. They kept silent while Thomas went on. However, I noticed Mike, their deck hand almost imperceptibly and carefully shaking his head in disagreement to the captain's explanation of what went wrong. "The heavy winds and big rollers blew us away from the island. Somehow, we managed to get the inflatable life raft open, aired up, and let it surface. In the dark I followed the rope up to the raft and climbed in. As soon as I had secured myself I tugged on the rope and Timm sent Mike and the girls up, one at a time. The winds were howling and everything was crashing down but all of us managed to get onto the raft. As long as the Bye-Golly stayed afloat, we did not want to undo ourselves from it. We felt that if we could last the storm out, we might be able to dive down into the boat and retrieve some food and water and things we needed."

I nodded my approval thinking that this is what I would have done. By now, the prancing white caps were smoothing down, and we asked them what they were doing on Palmyra Island.

"It's a long story but basically we were doing some research there," Thomas looked over at Timm and Mike as he explained.

"What kind of research?" Theo was immediately interested, for he was a science researcher himself.

Thomas politely asked again if they could get a little more water. I called down the hatchway to the girls to bring up some more water and something more to eat for our castaways. Soon Crystal came up carrying more bottles of water and a sliced pineapple. Thomas' eyes were certainly doing their research on Crystal as she came walking across the deck. While they refreshed themselves, Theo and I took a reading by satellite GPS and checked out the charts and found that the island of Palmyra was in deed ahead of us, just a little north over the horizon.

We explained this to our castaways, and with the storm abating, Thomas asked us if it would be possible for us to tow their sunken hull towards the island and let it wash up on the beach. Apparently, they still had plans on returning to the island, and this got our curiosity up.

After checking the drift and watching for the island to appear over the horizon, their request did not seem to be out of the realm of possibility. We did want to know the reason why they wanted to return to this uninhabited island, instead of sailing back to Hawaii with us.

Jay asked their deck hand Mike if he had the strength to go aloft up to the mast seat or perch on the main mast and keep an eye open for reefs or any type of obstacle in our path. "Sure, no problems," with this he arose, took up another sandwich and was soon climbing aloft on the main mast.

Theo yelled up, "And you should be able to spot the island within an hour or so, hopefully if this current and winds keep blowing our way. Please be careful." As Mike made his way up the main mast, Theo added, "Keep your eyes open for the changing colors of the water. This might clue us in on the shallow reefs that surround most atolls."

The New Song was well supplied, having plenty of size to accommodate these unexpected passengers. If they decided not to stay on the island, they would be welcome hands aboard to help us sail back to Hawaii. They seemed to be seasoned salts or yacht people and knew how at least to get around on a boat. It would be nice to have a few extra hands aboard to take some of the pressure off the rest of us. Oh well, we would wait and see!

# Chapter Two - Getting Acquainted!

As soon as Thomas and Timm seemed to have a bit of their strength back, Thomas turned to us and asked, "Since we are right here, still tied up to the hull, and in case it does not make it to the island, do you think that I might do a couple of quick dives and get down into her?"

I looked at Jay and shrugged my shoulders. Then Theo asked, "Do you have any diving experience?"

Thomas was seemingly taken back in consternation by this simple inquiry, "Of course, sure, all of us are qualified divers, not with tons of experience, but we are all certified." The inflection in his voice told another story; that they were above such inquiries by such a shabby looking crew.

"You do know that it could be dangerous if you get trapped into some of the gear and junk that might be floating around inside her," I mentioned.

"Yeah, sure, no big deal. That could be, but we still have some important things still aboard; it would be a terrible loss to us if they went down with her."

"Hey, nothing is as important as your life," Jay spoke up.

By now the ladies had come up and began to listen to our exchanges.

"True. But we have planned a long time for this trip, and to let everything go at this point when we still have a chance to salvage our research papers would be a real disaster," the recovered Julie spoke up.

"What would you like to retrieve?" Theo asked with some suspicion behind his words. For these peoples' lives were just spared and now they wanted to risk them for some paper work. Doesn't sound right, Theo contemplated.

Thomas curtly answered, "There are a few things: one is our ship's documents, our financial records including cash, then a water tight box inside a cabinet, and a few personal belongings." He looked over at the girls and added," We can't just be dropped off at Palmyra without any clothes or supplies."

Apparently, he was assuming that we were going to take them to the island. And I was guessing this was the general approval from our side. "It might not be too bad if one of us goes along with him to hang back and be there to assist if he needed help," I suggested.

Theo got a high eyebrow look from Crystal, indicating that he better ask more questions.

"What kind of research would you be doing way out here on one of the most isolated islands on earth?" Crystal went ahead and asked.

Timm the second survivor who had so far remained quiet spoke up, "We are making a documentary about the role that Palmyra Island played during World War II, specifically regarding the war in the South Pacific."

"O really, didn't even know anything about that," I answered, playing dumb.

Then Julie gave her reason for wanting to be landed on the island. "During the war, my father was stationed on Palmyra for three years. They built a landing strip for American planes which might have been in trouble, for bomb practice and for refueling. Besides this, Palmyra Island has a lot of history. My father found lots of Polynesian artifacts and some hidden tools and ancient native relics in ritual burial mounds, during his stay."

"Sounds like you're an anthropologist," Theo our science man mentioned with some enthusiastic interest. I say 'our science man' because Theo had to be a near genius when it came to things of science, especially in electronics and theoretical studies. Part of this trip was based on spreading the use and word for his latest Sonic Surf Board. This was a surf board that omitted a sonic signal into the surrounding waters to drive away sharks, and even whales if need be. His board had been tested by several Australian surfers and had been accepted as another step for mankind, but had been lost in the recent storm.

"In a way. Yes, my degree is in anthropology," she spoke up.

Gretchen thought to add a bit more enlightenment about their work, "This island as you say, is one of the most isolated islands in the world. But it seems it was known by ancient travelers, and was a crosspoint or a stopping place between the West and from the East. We want to make a documentary about this possibility."

Amber put forth a viable question, "What do you want to go to this island for if you can't get off without your boat?"

"Well, we set up our research camp in an old cement bunker. We have our radio there, along with our camera equipment and a good food and medical supply."

"What good is that if you're trapped there?" I asked.

"We have fellow researchers in Hawaii who will come out for us if we need to call them," Gretchen answered.

Jay, Theo and I consulted and decided that this was a viable idea for this crew. Jay nodded his agreement, saying, "Ok, let's first get this diving part over before the weather decides to change. By the time we get the diving stuff out of the locker, the chop should have smoothed out a bit," Jay was up and moving as he announced his decision.

Now and then a swell would come along, and together lift our boat and what was left of their floating hull. The bottom of the sunken Bye-Golly told a story of its own. Either the boat had not been built well or it had taken one hell of a blow to have its keel broken off like it was. With the hull floating upside down, the bottom curved up with the broken keel looking like a row of shark fins sticking out from the back of a whale. The hull had a long tear running back half way towards the stern and when water splashed over the hull, water must have been dripping or pouring down into the boat itself. The entire scene was sad, with overtones of depression. Many a good sailor had met their ends under similar circumstances. These people had been fortunate to have escaped such a storm, no less to have another boat come along in this vast stretch of no-man's waters to rescue them. They could have easily perished in this vast nothingness. These were not commonly traveled waters, but we were not the ordinary common travelers either.

Still, beyond the excitement within this rescue there was a trace of suspicion running through my thoughts. I seemed to detect within myself some misgiving towards this Thomas character. Due to the attitude brought onto our boat, a tiny breeze of suspicion reached a part of my brain and fluttered a warning flag to keep track of this near invisible feeling about the new passengers. Maybe it was better that we dropped them off at Palmyra instead of having them aboard for the next thousand miles. These were my thoughts, but I kept these feelings on the back burner for now.

Again, one of my grandfathers sayings rattled into my brain. "Never dive into anything you cannot see through, especially someone else's...smoke screen!"

#

#

# 

# Chapter Three - The Dive Into The Bye-Golly

Jay brought the New Song alongside the sunken hull of the Bye-Golly and tied up to its rudder from our stern cleats. With this I asked Thomas to give me a layout of the cabin area and where he might be looking inside the upside down hatch. There had to be trapped air inside the hull and once we got into the main cabin, we would be fairly safe, unless there was gas trapped inside. Also, the main hull portholes seemed to be intact and this would allow light inside. With this, we prepared ourselves for the dive.

I suggested we use the small breather packs, which allowed about thirty minutes of dive time. They were small and excellent for this type of confined diving. After putting on our gear I looked over the hull and said, "You know your boat best, but I suggest we go over, or should I say under, the back transit and enter through the main galley hatch door. This will, or should give us, immediate access into the main galley. From there you can move along into the center salon. We will tap our way around so that they know where we are and can keep an ear out for our movement."

"That sounds good, just what I had in mind." He pointed down to the floating hull, "We should end up in that higher area, that is the galley and salon area." He synced up his diving weights and aligned his diving mask.

As he was putting on his breathing unit, I noticed an interesting tattoo on his upper arm. It seemed as though he did not want me to see it and hurried to pull down the upper half of his wet suit. From my journalistic research, it was a jailhouse tattoo, but maybe I saw it wrong. Or it could have been some military symbol, but I did not see enough of it to tell.

I did a mental calculation of the unseen layout and inquired about possible hazards, like spilling fuels or oils. "The only thing I will say about going into your boat is that I will keep track of time, and as soon as I see that we are near to the end of our air I will wave us out, is that understood?"

"Sure thing," the tall lanky man acknowledged with a bit of irritation, as if he did not like to be told anything. He made one last suggestion, that I stay back and just let him go on his own.

Jay spoke up saying that this is the safe way to do it and no one should dive alone. Luke will go along and that was it.

I asked Theo to watch carefully and make sure to keep our boat separated and let no big waves come along and smash us into the sunken hull. In addition if there is any trouble, do not leave the girls alone. If you hear us pounding continuously send down another tank with one of the new visitors, if need be. Theo agreed, and gave the thumbs up.

Jay added, "Don't worry, if there is any trouble up here, we will start banging on the hull, that means to get out and back here fast."

Amber and Crystal looked a little hesitant about all this but there was not much they could do for now. I went over to Amber who stood half way down the galley stairs and pinched her cheek saying in a near whisper, "We do not know these people so keep and eye open for anything suspicious."

Her eyebrows shot up like half moons on a bright night, so much for incognito I thought. She then turned her lips to my ear and whispered, "Listen mister, this is bull crappie, I don't like it. What if that boat decides to go down while you're in it? You better be careful down there, I have gotten a little attached to your handsome body with a weak mind; and besides, you're the richest guy around."

I had to laugh at this, for at this moment, until I had my inheritance secured, she was way wealthier than all of us put together. Then she bit my ear and I pinched her butt!

Jay called out to me, "Enough of that lovey-dovey stuffs, let's go." Everyone looked over at us and Amber got a little embarrassed. We moved to the back stern ladder and slowly let ourselves down into the blue Pacific. The beautiful blue turned a deep purple as you looked down and slowly became a deep blue black as the depths consumed the light.

The water was a nice temperature, rather refreshing, but the chop was still up. This kept the sunken hull rolling back and forth. We swam around to where the rudder stuck up out of the water and Thomas nodded that he would lead the way as he put the regulator into his mouth and adjusted his mask, sinking down past the back transit; I followed. It took a minute to find our way into the back open area and no doubt, things were a mess.

The back storage locker was open with all types of assorted gear dangling down in one giant knot. There was plenty of light to see our way into this open cockpit area but shredded rigging crisscrossed the area like a spider web. Extra ship gear and anchors hung down into the depths, I thought we might cut these loose to release the drag on the hull. My fine edged blade soon cut all the dangling gear and the swaying anchors and away they sank into the depths. I watched them descend deeper and deeper into the black and knew that there had to be miles of pressure-crushing ocean below. Soon we found our way inside the main salon. Thomas disappeared into the dark chamber and I followed. We cautiously entered the main salon and eating areas. There was some light filtering through the portholes below us but it was black above where the trapped pocket of air was.

As soon as we entered the inside my inner voice began to question myself and of course, my imagination went to work. "Hey, I thought this was going to be easy? Never thought I'd be swimming through a huge kettle of churning spaghetti. Everything in this death chamber is afloat, tangled together inside the darkened cabins. Come on now, watch out for those ropes, don't they feel like snakes. Don't let those pillows or blankets get wrapped around your face now. Please keep those jackets and hats or whatever they are, from tangling up your feet. Hey, what is that, feels like a glob of grease got stuck onto your cheek, is that an octopus?" And so it went.

It was nightmarish. Each time the waves rolled the hull, the filtered light would shift while everything sloshed up and down and sideways, wrapping and entangling you into its mushy grip. It was as though we were swimming inside a turning kaleidoscope. Being in the midst of all this floating debris, one could not help but be worried if there were eels that had entered this new underwater home...looking to enter one of your orifices.

I kept telling my inner voice to shut up, leave me alone, I had enough to be concerned about without eels. It is strange to suddenly have your inner being or conscience or whatever one wants to call it, begin questioning your sanity. Many thoughts flashed through my mind. I almost laughed at one—here you are, about to become a filthy rich man, and actually swimming around in this sunken can of noodle soup, in the middle of the ocean, and for what? What if it went down and you drowned, and it became your coffin? Who would then get your inheritance? Hell, you haven't even made out your will yet!

We could hear the splashing of the chop hitting the hull and each time the hull rolled, water came dripping in from everywhere. The pressure of the trapped air inside was just enough to keep the boat afloat. Of course everything was backwards and upside down and it took a few minutes for Thomas to get his bearing. There were things floating everywhere; clothes, dishware, paper cups, rugs, ropes and several hats. I took one hat and put it on, Thomas smiled and nodded yes. He gestured towards the front and made a rectangle shape with his hands to indicate what he was looking for. There on the ceilings or what was really the floor of the boat was a locker fixed into the floor. It must have been part of a seat or small table area. He sloshed over to it and began tugging the lid open. Soon he popped the lid and a tangle of items began to rain down. There were what seemed to be the ships log book and various navigation instruments. Almost everything was neatly stored into waterproof plastic bags and various shaped boxes. Thomas waved me over and asked me to open one of the trash bags we had brought with us. I opened it and he began loading the different boxes and packages into the one I held. He gestured for me to open another and this time he put a larger pack into it and a few other items I didn't see. The hull suddenly rolled to one side, the shadow lighting dulled as the port holes went deeper. All the guts of the boat flushed against us, we both splashed into the water as it rolled and swished across the inside of the salon. This was getting spooky I thought, for you could hear the entire boat groan and as if give forth her last death warnings.

By now everyone was aware of the groaning of the boat; it creaked and groaned, in its last death throes. After the hull had returned on its back roll, we both popped out of the water. I tapped our location on the hull so they knew we were OK. Thomas was trying to undo a nest of fishing line from off his face, I helped him untangle himself and we went back to work.

I pointed down to my watch and said, "Seven minutes left."

Thomas nodded back his OK. Even though it was hard to understand each other I heard him say that he wanted a few minutes more to go up front into the sleeping areas and collect one or two more things. I looked around and even though we were breathing in the trapped air, there seemed to be fumes and I did not like this. I gestured my OK to go and I would keep an eye on him. Soon he pushed his way through the open door area, which led past the heads and storage cabinets then into the two sleeping areas up front. He soon dipped down into the water and disappeared. I could see the bubbles from his regulator and time seemed to be running out. Soon his head popped up and he was holding a couple of duffel bags. He floated them out to me and gestured for him to have one more look around. I knew he was looking for something and I could not blame him. Most likely everything that was important to them was now under water.

While he was under, the hull rolled again but this time it was worse. I was braced against one head door when suddenly the cabinet door across from me sprang open and half a kitchen of pots and pans came tumbling out. However, at that moment I received one of the greatest frights ever in my life. Something came leaping out of the cabinet and clutched onto my head. The hat I had on slid off and then I was being clawed— but by what? I freaked. At first, I thought it to be a huge rat and made a grab for it to pull it off my head and shoulder. It was soaking wet and kept tearing at me and actually tore off my regulator hose. I let go of the duffel bag and reached up to grab the thing I thought was a rat, but when I finally broke it loose, its claws tore into my ear and neck. I went to throw it away but suddenly it let out a wild frightened screech—it was a cat—a freaky slopping wet no-good cat!

A stinking cat, a dirty rotten cat, sopping wet and plenty freaked, but not more than me! I grabbed it off my head and it thrashed around in my hand as I squeezed it away from my face. Its claws were scratching, digging and it was fighting for its life and so was I. Once I realized it was a cat, I did not know what to do with it. I didn't want to drown it, even though I could have easily done this. Although it was scratching and clawing for its life, I suddenly took the duffel bag and jammed the cat into it, followed by some clothes and whatever else was floating around, then managed to zip it up. It thrashed around but soon calmed down. I was washing off the blood from my ear when Thomas popped up. The hull rolled way over this time, almost sideways, telling us it was time to get out. He had another full bag and gestured for us to move back to the salon.

As the hull rolled we both slipped and were swished to the far side. I had tied knots in the plastic bags and they almost floated now, but I lost the grip on the duffel. Thomas came up choking on water, but indicated that we better get out. I took hold of the duffel and we made our way back towards where the light was filtering in at the main entryway. We replaced our regulators and ducked down, then began pulling our way to the back. I went first, clearing the way, and dove down and under the back rail. Within a few moments I broke the surface. A few chops pushed me against our own boat and hands came down to collect the plastic bag and duffel. I waited and Thomas surfaced a few feet away and we were soon back aboard the New Song.

The girls were there being concerned and Amber saw the scratches on my neck. Amber reached over my shoulder and tugged something off my neck and held it up for everyone to see. "Been messing with those sunken island girls again, huh? Can't leave you alone for a minute without you getting clawed up by some Polynesian honey, or was it a mermaid this time?" she mocked, holding up a thin pair of bikini panties, as she began her examination of my latest wounds.

I nodded with a smile, and just sat down and asked for something to drink.

Thomas had immediately stepped to the hatchway with his duffel, telling Julie to put it under his bunk. I looked over at Jay, thinking he would have said something about this, but he was looking overboard studying the possible towing job.

Gretchen and Timm were untying the bags looking to see what we might have saved, while Jay and Theo were rigging a few tow lines onto the rudder and had set a smaller jib sail, which had kept us from bumping the sunken hull. Theo asked if we should try to start towing the hull near the island.

"How far might it be?" I asked.

"According to the GPS we are only about eight miles due west before we get into the area of its outer reefs."

"Maybe start the engine, and let's see how the tow might go first," Jay advised.

Amber and Crystal were there to stow the diving gear and suddenly Crystal jumped back letting out a little cry of fright. We all looked over at her and saw her pointing to the duffel bag which was now moving around. Everyone stood back, wondering what the heck was going on. Immediately I remembered that dam cat and bent down and unzipped the duffel.

Wham, scram, out flew a really bad looking cat! It was slicked down wet, and seemed blinded from suddenly being in the bright light. The cat shot out like a bullet, bounced off the wall, hit Crystal's leg, she jumped back with a yelp and then that flash of a cat darted straight into the downstairs salon. Our two castaway guests let out cries of delight, "That is Dandy, our cat!"

"I can't believe it survived, where did you find it Thomas?"Gretchen went after it.

"I had no idea where it was," Thomas looked over at me more than surprised.

"When you were up front in the bed area the cabinet sprang open and that dam beast flew out onto my head and began scratching the living crap out of me." I pointed at the scratches on my neck, indicating that I was not a happy sailor. I went on, "The only thing I could think of was to jam it into the duffel and I forgot about it in all the getting out."

"Good heavens, is that where all those scratches on your ear and neck came from?" Amber asked.

"Yeah, here we were in one of the most dangerous situations, swimming through a sunken wreck being tangled in ropes and caught with every floating thing imaginable and I get hurt by a stinking cat, a lousy cat!" I looked over at Thomas and said, "You could have warned me that there was a lion hiding aboard."

"Hey Luke, thank God it wasn't one of those aggressive sharks that are known throughout this area. Then just think about it—you dove on a South Pacific wreck and came back with a cat and a pair of panties." Theo just had to toss in his half funny, half serious remark.

"Ha, ha, wonderful," I mumbled. I also thought that Theo was turning out to be another Crystal in his oddball humor.

Amber cloyingly put her hands on her hips and snorted, "At least it wasn't one of those island honeys or maybe a mermaid!" She then bent down to look at my claw marks, murmuring, "A lion. Really now."

As bad as it was for the rescued crew, everyone was smiling as Amber applied salve on my scratches. Julie and Gretchen had gone hunting the cat and Timm had followed.

Just then, we heard a loud voice, "Island on the horizon, there she blows!" It was their deck hand Mike, up on the mast perch; we had almost forgotten that he was up there. He shouted a few more times, excitedly gesturing off to the port side, "There she lies, about seven miles just off the horizon!"

By then our small four cylinder engine was purring and the tow lines had gone taunt. The New Song was now pulling the Bye-Golly and we were headed for Palmyra Island. There was no guarantee that the lines would hold or that the sunken hull would withstand the incoming waters. But we could only try.

Now as our sunken yacht towing service moved towards the distant island, I wondered if there might be a fitting saying that might capture this moment:

Even though a man be wise and builds a strong ship,

One breath from nature...can send it deep if it be

TOO PROUD! — the Titanic

# 

# Chapter Four - Arrival at Palmyra

The winds were blowing in our favor. A good northeasterly was beginning to blow up, while the currents seemed to be moving in our favor as the tow lines were doing their job. It was late afternoon when the island reefs appeared on the horizon. Thomas unfolded a chart that he had retrieved in the dive and pointed out the various reefs, the small beach areas and the West Lagoon anchorage. According to Thomas, it would be best to let the Bye-Golly go adrift on the southwest stretch of the island. We motored up to the beginning of the outside swells, where we could look down and see the bottom. There we undid the towlines, letting the sunken hull float away. We stood off and watched the hull slowly be taken by the drift into the rolling swells to begin its last journey towards the distant shore. It was the beginning of high tide; we anchored beyond the reefs and watched the swells that were rolling towards the beach. We were hoping that the waves would carry the sunken sloop onto the shore and then onto the beach if possible. There was really not much else we could do but stand off, observe and wait. The small channel where we wanted to get through was around the west end of the island, but it was too late for us to sail around and attempt to get through the waterway and not get hung up on the coral. We first wanted to see what might happen to the last of the Bye-Golly, now an abandoned drifting hull.

Thomas was quiet and had gone up to the bow and stood there by himself. Julie had seen him and eventually joined him. It was obvious that he, being the owner of this boat, was grieved. For even though a boat is nothing but an ocean going machine, it still takes on a life of its own. It was not just the cost involved, but the actual loss of a companion and maybe even more. We let him alone as the Bye-Golly twisted and turned in the rollers that carried her remains toward this desolate island.

As the sun sizzled itself into the western horizon, we sat around the main table in the salon. Both Julie and Gretchen seemed to have dried out, and after being fed they had a little more life in them. There was one thing I took notice of and that was of a very old but most intricate brooch now hanging from Julie's neck. For when they first came aboard, she was not wearing it, but now it was obvious that she had a dear claim on it. My curiosity came to the forefront, and I inquired, "That is a very nice brooch you're wearing Julie, where did you get such a thing."

For a moment she went silent as her hand went up as if guard it. "Oh, that was one of the things that Thomas retrieved for me in the sleeping area."

Thomas shot her a dirty look, almost saying that this was nobody's business. I thought this to be a bit strange. It seemed, as there were more important things that Thomas could have retrieved than some old brooch, but each to his own, let it be. Then one of my grandfathers sayings came to me, "CONSIDER the BEE, think about the stinger before you reach for the honey, so with sweet secrets!" With that thought I left well enough alone.

It was time to eat. I had requested strangely enough, that they not serve spaghetti and they were somewhat puzzled at this; I just told them it was a deep touchy story. The girls prepared a welcome meal and after we had our fill, we sat there listening to their story come forth in broken chunks. Some of it made sense but there was an element to this tale that did not fit. Because I felt that my first responsibility was to our crew and to the New Song; my thoughts kept jumping around their explanation, while seeking more answers. I knew enough about life to know it's better to inquire and ask questions up front and get a good hold on things before just accepting any thing and being caught into greater troubles later. Besides, I was an investigative journalist, questions were my business. I had often dug my own pit by asking the wrong questions, but this was a built-in part of my inner machinery—and it was still functioning.

The Arabs were masters in developing the art of eye watching. In fact, they were seldom without sunglasses while making important deals, hiding their eyes, for the eyes told way more than a story. In addition, I had become a fervent believer in this skill over the years. I had once taken a course on reading faces and gestures, which included eye reading. This was an essential tool for all poker players, especially for the police, and for investigative journalist. I now observed Thomas' eyes actually dart around like a gazelle running from a lion when he gave forth some of his answers to our simple inquiries. Then it was Julie's eyes that could have been a show of tall tales in and of themselves. There was definitely a conflict of stories and answers taking place. Timm and Gretchen seemed to just sit back and let their shipmates tell the tale. But when they did speak, I did not see any out of the ordinary eyeball dancing or fast pupil shifting. Out of pure curiosity we continued to listen and to ask our questions, after all, these people were now going to be passengers aboard the New Song and we wanted nothing less than a safe and sound passage home.

My grandfather once told me a story. Back long time past there was a young man who lived in a village. This man needed a wagon to conduct his business because his harvest needed to be taken to the city and sold. He heard of one man at the far edge of the village who might have just what he was looking for. The man in need located the old man on the outskirts of the village, and on his visit he saw a nice looking freight wagon parked under one old oak tree. He got to talking with the old man and decided to buy the wagon. To begin with they sealed the deal by drinking a few cups of the old man's brandy. The deal was struck, and the monies for the wagon was handed over and they shook hands. Then the buyer went out to hook his horse up to the wagon to take it home, and when he looked, he saw that the two wheels on the other side of the wagon were not there. The wagon had been leaning up against the tree. The new owner asked the old man where the wheels were. The old man told the younger man that the wagon had no wheels! The young man said that this was ridiculous. Every wagon has four wheels. The old man told the new owner, "Listen, you were right here, you looked at the wagon from this side and decided it was what you wanted. You drank my brandy and we made a deal. I cannot help it if you wanted a two-wheeled wagon."

The young man became furious but there was nothing he could do. He realized that he should have walked around the wagon and examined it completely. What a fool he had been! Now he had to go buy two wheels which were hard to find. This began a long lasting feud within the village and the story has been told ever since. The moral here is to always look at the other side before you buy!

Now, even though our visitors told us that they were doing research and maybe going to write a book about her father's time on the Island, there was something else going on. I didn't know if we would have time to dig it out of them before we would anchor at Palmyra, and besides they were still shook up and somewhat emotional about their stormy loss. In one way, I felt sorry for their great loss, but that did not mean we had to jeopardize our well-being for them. On the quiet, I suggested to Theo to keep an eye open and look twice. Just be alert for now, and keep an eye out for that dang sneaky cat.

By evening the tides had changed and larger swells were rolling towards the beach. We were curious to see where the wreck would end up but it was past sunset when Jay finally had us anchor further off shore. The night was spent going over the charts of the area, noting the depths and the locations of the outer reefs. From their story we learned that this island itself had a lot of history. It had become a tiny airstrip and resupply post during the war. With the building of the airstrip, there were outbuildings, bunkers and in general, it was a lonely isolated island far away from the real action of the Pacific war. Yet it had been shelled once by a Japanese submarine but that was about it for live action. During the Pacific atomic bomb tests, Palmyra had been the home to a hundred scientists who were following the atomic blast just southeast of the island.

What really caught my attention was something Amber told me. She had come up to the bow where I stood watch and said that she had been talking with Mike the young deck hand. During their conversation he had casually mentioned that they were not only doing research for a book about Julie's father while he was stationed there, but about searching for a pirate's treasure.

"What are you saying here Amber?"

She took a moment and looked around. "The kid told me that there is a possibility that an ancient pirate treasure was buried there a couple hundred years back. As usual, the only survivor off the island gave the information to a whaler's ship that had rescued him out to sea."

I told Amber to keep this to herself for now; I wanted to see how their story might come to reveal more of their purposes than they had been telling us so far. I passed this tidbit to Theo and he replied, "Wow, no wonder they want to get back, a treasure!"

As the night wore on it was not only me, but Amber made mention to me that she had a strange feeling about them and this island thing. I had learned to listen to her feelings. She was not one to play games with these things and had already shown me that her feelings had something to them. So I slyly mentioned this to both Theo and to Jay, just in case. We had learned to always error on the side of caution, especially with total strangers you have just rescued out of the ocean.

My investigative brain went into gear now and with this thought in mind, I decided that it was a good idea to report into Dustin. I could have done the research through our satellite connection but for some reason we had bad reception. I figured that being a thousand miles south of Hawaii in one of the remotest areas on earth and maybe, just maybe, too close to what was known as an underwater atomic dump in this area, there was a natural disconnect. I made a satellite call to his cell, knowing that the office was already closed. He finally answered after about five rings. Sounding half-asleep and full time grumpy he stated, "This better be good!"

I laughed and said that it could be. Without much ado, I proceeded to give my quick greeting and told him to take notes. I gave a short report to him on our whereabouts and what was going on. After taking down the pertinent information I finally added, "By the way, hey there, how's it all going?"

"Mitchner, just for once, can't you and your gang ever get to where you are going without being side tracked," my friend and lawyer mumbled and indignantly complained.

"Honest, honest, we were really doing good until this huge storm blew the living daylights out of us and then presented a sunken boat with some weary survivors hanging around. What you want us to do, just sail on by and wave good luck?"

"Nah, the law of the sea does not allow this, but why you guys, forever you and your gang?And what may I do for you now?"

Just as I began, he interrupted me, "First, let me say, while I've got you on the phone, I'll clue you in a bit" and he began doing his lawyer thing.

He began by telling me that he had to make his third trip into Canada with Brookstone. After a full five minutes of him explaining much of the details of the Canadian mess and what a great stroke of luck we had in joining with Brookstone and the Hearst Castle Security Team (HC Security)—he was saying, "Those guys don't mess around. WOW is all I can say."

I finally got my chance to say something, and quickly informed Dustin with more details of our rescuing the five from their sunken sloop and our detour to Palmyra Island. That I needed all the information he could come up with on the sail boat the 'Bye-Golly' and its owner Thomas Brewerton, out of Honolulu. "It is, or was, a 30-foot fiberglass Auburn sailing sloop. Then there is a Timm Cogan, a Julie Warrenton and a Gretchen Summerton."

"I thought you said there were five."

"Oh yeah, a younger deckhand named Mike, but I do not remember his last name."

I went on, "Also, whatever you can come up with about this island of Palmyra. I need its history and what role it plays, who owns it and if there's anything that we should know about the place. You can reach us by radio but don't say anything until I ask, the deck might not be cleared." I said my goodbyes and cut the call off and went back downstairs.

As we waited for the morning, we thought we saw several flickering lights on the island. Thomas became somewhat bothered by this, because he said that there was no one else on the island. Now earlier in their story, Gretchen so happened to mention that there is a rumor that the island is haunted, and she laughed.

With this, young Mike the deck hand opened up his feelings about what he had felt on the island, "Look, I've been on many small islands and atolls, but this Palmyra Island for some reason gives me the creeps. There is just a lonely odd feeling there. I don't know what it is, but I do know that something strange most likely took place there over the years. Maybe it was some Polynesian burial ground or something, it just has that weird feeling for me."

Julie added to the story, "I will say that it is unusual to find burial mounds on these islands. So far there must have been some type of battle or maybe it was a stopover for the ancient Polynesian meanderers traveling to Hawaii, but there are all types of bones buried here and there."

Everyone added in their speculations and the story grew in size, but there was still something lurking in the shadows of this adventure. It was a dark night and the waves continued to roll and crash onto the distant beach. For now, until the moon came up we could not see if the hull was being carried into the shore or not. We would have to wait and see. So we found places for our new arrivals to sleep and the night wore on.

The day came alive with surprises. I had slept on the deck and was suddenly awakened by the snap of our fishing line. We always ran out a lure on a secured pole with its 50-pound test line held into a snap. When we were sailing or just anchored, we would have a line in the water. If anything hit it, the line would snap out of the catch with a sharp snap. My sleep was broken by this snap, and out of habit, I jumped up and took up the short pole. Sure enough something big had taken the lure; I set the hook. We were about a half mile off shore just riding the gentle swells. Whatever had taken the bait was now running and seemed to have no intentions of stopping. Normally we would catch a few nice eating fish but this was something else. Everyone was still asleep as I fought the fish.

The sunrise had painted the eastern horizon with a beautiful swish of pink and lavender overlaid with long floating clouds. The sun began forcing up reds and yellows and soon the brilliant globe appeared. By now I figured that this thing had to be something pretty large; I was hoping for a tuna or a blue sword. Soon Jay came out on deck and asked me what the heck I was doing.

"Just getting my morning exercise. Can you take over and bring it close so I can either gaff it, or see what it might be."

"Sure, let me have it."

I handed the pole over to Jay and stood on the side, as he pulled and reeled the thing closer to the boat. "I'll tell you right now that this is a shark, nothing but an aggressive gray shark," Jay stated matter of factly.

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"You can tell by the way it swims and thrashes, but it might be a good sized one."

"If it is a shark, should we even waste our time bringing it up?" I watched and asked.

"At least let's see if I am right."

Then after a few more minutes, the beast came out of the water and splashed us. It rolled and sure enough, it was a gray shark and rather upset of having its morning put into a fight. "Forget the gaff, we don't want to mess with a shark," Jay grunted as he pulled the line taunt, just as it snapped and zinged.

All this racket had awakened our crew and our guests, and they had come up on deck to see what was going on. "Nothing but a shark on line," Jay was resetting the pole as he spoke.

"You mean there's sharks this close in?" Gretchen exclaimed with a worried voice.

"Sure thing Ma'am, this island is so secluded that it must be a haven for sharks and all other types of fierce creatures," Jay answered.

"Why's that?" Julie asked while looking into the waters.

"Because of its isolation. There are few reefs in this mid-Pacific area, so the sharks breed and stay where there is food for them. Otherwise they would have to travel a thousand miles to Hawaii to eat from the reefs."

"You mean that we have been floating around for three days in shark infested waters," Gretchen asked with a bit of fright in her voice.

Jay was hesitant but felt he had to let everyone know, "Sure thing, as far as I know, this Palmyra area is famous for the aggressive gray reef sharks, and if I remember my studies of these isolated atolls there have been quite a few shark attacks—and one known death. So I highly recommend that you watch where you swim and never dive alone."

The sun was well up on the horizon by now and we lined the rail to see where the Bye-Golly hull might be. The tide was running high so there was a good chance that the waves had moved it near to the shore. Sharp-eyed Crystal was the first to spot it, "There she is," and was pointing way off to our starboard. Sure enough, there it was about a half mile inside the breakers. It had been pushed down the shoreline, to the east from where we were, and it now lay on its side. It was still out in the low waves but at least it was close enough to shore where they might wade out to it and retrieve some of their belongings. It was sad to see a shipwreck. There was so much work that went into building a good boat, not including the costs. But it lay beached like a dead wasted whale, just waiting to rot its craftsmanship into nothing. Everyone stood there quiet. Both Julie and Gretchen had tears running down their faces. Even our crew stood in serious contemplation, knowing that this could have been us, and even maybe it would be us one day.

Jay broke the serious moment in the morning light by asking the girls to put on the coffee, announcing, "OK men, time to rise and pull anchor and sail around this island to find that inner lagoon."

We were soon moving along the outside reefs skirting the southside shoreline. We had put young Mike back up on the mast seat to watch. Theo and I stood watch on the bow and upper cabin, watching for any reefs or coral heads that might lay in our course. The waters were absolutely clear and one could easily see fifty feet down and watch the bottom move on by. We sailed with only one bow jib sail up. The morning offshore breeze was just right and gave us enough steerage to keep away from the shallows.

The waters seemed to be teeming with fish. Often a flash came flying up and landed on the deck. They were flying fish and for now we tossed them back into the water. Seagulls and other birds were doing their morning hunting along the shoreline. It was nothing less than a perfect day for a new adventure.

Soon Amber and Crystal came up with some coffee and a few peanut butter sandwiches. It was one of those classic moments, standing with a great cup of coffee, with two beautiful girls looking out at this interesting island. There we were, awed at the moment, as the cool morning breeze began tussling our hair. Then came the porpoises, suddenly leaping in formation in and out of our bow wave. First one or two, then more and more, and it was as if they were rejoicing to have someone to play with. Their entire community came out to greet us.

The spell was broken when Jay turned the New Song on a northern tack moving outside the obvious reef breaks and skirting the eastern end of the island. He told us to keep alert. For the charts noted that there were long shallow reefs, full of danger, reaching out from the island around the eastern end of the island and we could now see the bottom come alive with what seemed to be an exploded paint gallery. The colors alone began to mesmerize us and we began to warn Jay to move out further, for the jagged reefs were reaching up for our hull.

Small islets ringed the main island, interconnected by sandbars and placid lagoons. Thomas came forth and began to point to an opening in the reef, marked on the charts as the channel leading to a small anchorage inside the coral hills, called the West Lagoon. Jay told everyone to take up positions around the deck and stand watch for coral heads and anything that might cause us damage. All sails were stowed and Jay started up the auxiliary engine as we began to motor into the channel. The channel made narrow turns back and forth, slowly widening into what we could see as an inside lagoon. This was nerve-wracking and dangerous. Jay told us to keep watching for coral heads. These were pillars of coral that grew up out of the bottom reefs; we had to make sure we did not run into them. Theo stood on the bow yelling out to Jay, "Five degrees to the port, then 10 degrees to the starboards," he was guiding Jay around the pillars. It was amazing; these pillars were huge coral pillars full of jagged colors reaching down some fifty feet or more. They were everywhere below us, it was a panoramic kaleidoscope of brilliant colors. While Theo stood shouting directions back to Jay, the girls were oohing and ahhing while Jay maneuvered the New Song around and over the coral heads. It could not be helped; we had a deeper draft hull, which made it even worse for our moves into the channel. It was bound to happen. Once the boat was moving in the water, even though it was barely moving through the clear waters, Jay was not able to avoid every coral head—and crunch, the New Song would grind onto it and there we would be stuck!

There was no worse sound out to sea while aboard a sailboat, than a grinding crunch. The sound was magnified a thousand times vibrating through the fiberglass hull—and this is how it was at that moment. We thought for sure we were ruined. The women began freaking out, knowing that those sharks were soon to feast on their lovely bodies. But Thomas immediately explained that this coral was super soft and might not do much damage.

Jay seemed to know what to do, by reversing the engine, then all of us would move to the back and rock our way off the coral heads. Each time this happened it sounded as though our hull was being torn apart. After five or six of these hang ups, we finally entered the inner lagoon. O what a surprise awaited us.

It was a beautiful scene, pleasant and peaceful; but something totally unexpected greeted us. There lay at anchor off to one side another small cache. It was a 25-foot San Francisco Flyer with no one aboard. It was a compact but well designed single masted cache. Thomas and Timm came over to our side, dumbfounded that another boat would be anchored here.

Thomas pulled on his mustache and was muttering something to Timm who just stood there staring. "What the heck, who could this be?" Julie came up pointing and asking her companions.

"I have no idea, it must have arrived right after the storm had passed," Timm gave his opinion.

"Oh boy, I hope this isn't trouble. We have all our gear stored in the bunker and they better not have touched it," Thomas spoke up with serious concerns.

Jay told us to drop a bow anchor and this halted our forward movement. The New Song then began to turn and face back down the channel and Jay ordered a stern anchor to be dropped. This would assure us from floating around in circles and keep the New Song ready to sail out to sea if need be.

Jay gave orders for us to gear up the boat, meaning to wrap down the sails, coil the lines, secure the mainsheets and all the halliards and stow any gear lying around. He also told the girls that they could undo their safety lines now and make ready for a shore expedition.

No doubt, everyone was excited and worked as though some sugar Daddy was going to take them to the big shopping mall and treat them to a surprise. O yes, big surprise they wanted, and so they would soon come to get it, and more!

# Chapter Five - West Lagoon Anchorage

After the New Song had been secured, it was suddenly quiet except for caws and chirps from the tropical birds and the sound of the distant breakers. We were almost still in the water, and this was strange, for we had been moving constantly for nearly two weeks now. There didn't seem to be anyone aboard the cache nearer to the coral shore, but we saw a small dinghy lying upside down on the sand above the high tide mark. We were not sure what to do, but Jay asked all of us to be as quiet as possible. We wanted to consider our moves here.

After a time Jay asked me to take a quick dive overboard and see if there was any serious damage to the hull. "Check it out for any damage we might have gotten on those damn coral pillars. And Theo, go down through the galley and check out the bilge to see if there might be any leaks."

I got out my snorkel, fins and mask and slid into the water. This single experience of real tropical snorkeling was beyond all that I had known before. As soon as I hit the water, an explosion of colors like never seen burst into my sight. Brilliant blues, purples, greens, yellows, reds, lavenders, oranges and bright gold of every shade greeted me. Thousands of colorful shaped objects rested, hung and perched everywhere around me. This is how a psychedelic experience has been described. It seemed like a miniature city on a distant planet...oh, and wow is my memory at this moment!

Tropical fish of every shape and size swam up to me to take a look and I was so awed at this vision that the crew became a little frightened that I did not immediately come up reporting. Soon I came up gasping in excitement over this majesty and wonder, and began telling everyone to get into the water. However, practical Jay told me to get my rear end under the boat and look for damage. OK, so I got a little carried away with this underwater rapture, but finally went looking for our hull troubles.

Yes, the hull had a few deep gouges and several long scratches where bits of coral were pressed into the fiberglass but nothing bad, as far as a journalist could tell.

My examination of the New Song's hull ended and my awe was suddenly terminated when several large shadows passed very near to me, yes, they were sharks! In addition, if you could read the bubbles you would read—Ah Sheeet!! So often, we pontificate about adventure and cannot wait until we can go there. Now here it was adventure at its best and somehow my idea of adventure went from a dream to a nightmare. It was more than exciting; I would classify this as an all out, full-fledged psychosomatic moment titled, Terror!

Those dang black tip sharks were as if licking their jaws, trying to figure out how they might get their rows of jagged teeth into my skinny butt. Think I stayed down there any longer, no way! In an instant I swam around the opposite side staying close to the hull but there they were still. As soon as they passed, more long shadows came a searching for good old Luke. In one swift kick of the fins I leaped up the ladder and bravely told my story! This was my first experience with seeing sharks by the dozen, so close. It took the fun out of further swims for all of us.

I found out later that the coral reef and lagoons at Palmyra are a breeding ground for gray and blacktip reef sharks. Their aggressiveness is well known throughout the Pacific and has been duly noted by every observant person who has ever ventured to the island, some suffering with fatal consequences. Many visitors to the island found that swimming and even wading in the island's lagoons was completely out of the question, because of the large shark population and their aggressive nature. Also, although an abundance of fish live on the reefs and in the lagoons, many of them are poisonous and inedible because of Ciguatera, a type of algae that grows on coral, which the fish contain in their flesh. When I wanted to spear some of the fish for a good cook up, Timm the chemist, the more knowledgeable in these matters, and Jay, with his experience, warned us off.

Thomas and Timm, along with Julie and Gretchen, became anxious in wanting us to put them ashore, so they could check out the bunker and supplies they had left behind. For some reason, I had an uneasy feeling about this unexpected enthusiasm. It might not be so much directed at us, but it certainly could have an impact on the shipwrecked crew of researchers. Whatever it was, it had to play out.

We untied their inflated raft and helped them organize a few of their belongings and helped them onto shore. For now, they left most of their items aboard until they knew what might be going on with the unexpected intruders.

We ourselves were anxious to get ashore. First, our favorite skipper Jay, who was turning out to be a real strong-arm captain, made us check the New Song out to make sure she was shipshape. We all began to complain and joke about his tactics, but he would not relent or budge on his order-request. He tried to explain to us lame-brains, "This was a dangerous anchorage and we could easily be trapped here. If a heavy blow came up and the tides were low, we could be driven onto shore." He went on reading interesting bits of information about the island from one of his Pacific Nautical Books. One tiny section had a condensed section of oddball facts about Palmyra; that there was once a terrible rat population that had arrived here with the shipwrecks. These rats were slowly destroying the bird population and even many rare trees native to the atolls. The government had sent in a team to kill off the rat population a few years back, but the poisons they used to kill the rats had polluted and poisoned many of the birds.

Jay wanted us to know exactly where we were and explained to the girls especially. "Palmyra is one of the Northern Line Islands, southeast of a sunken reef area called Kingman Reef and north of Kiribati. We are now located almost due south about 1000 miles of the Hawaiian Islands, roughly halfway between Hawaii and American Samoa, about six degrees north of the equator. The atoll consists of an extensive reef, two shallow lagoons, and some 50 sand and reef-rock islets and bars covered with various shrubs and vegetation. As you cross the main part of the island, you will see a good number of coconut trees spaced out in patterns. One enterprising soul thought to start up a coconut plantation. Most of the shoreline trees are coconut, but you will see Scaevola trees and the taller ones are known as Pisonia trees."

"Did you say that the tall trees are poisonous trees?" Crystal, the wise cracker, sounded up.

"No, I said, Pisonia tree, don't worry."

All this was interesting but we were still anxious to get exploring on our own.

Before we ventured ashore, I sent Dustin a contact message over our satellite phone, asking him to report his findings. I let him know we were at anchorage on Palmyra Island in the West Lagoon and to stay in contact, if possible.

Jay would not go with us. He insisted that there had to be at least one person left aboard in case anything might happen. Young Mike volunteered to stay aboard too, hinting about eating. "Besides I have already been all over the island," he stretched, as to show us he wanted to maybe sleep.

We untied the dinghy and loaded a few things that we thought we might need and rowed ashore. The beach consisted of crushed coral of every shape and size. We pulled the dinghy up above the high tide mark, tying it to an overhanging shrub. We had studied the aerial view of the island and with Thomas's directions we set out across the island, headed for their bunker.

We weaved our way through the shoreline coconut palms and through the over shadowing Pisonia Trees. There were all kinds of birds singing their songs along with mosquitoes seeking the new feast that had come their way. The further we got away from shore the hotter it became. Assorted shrubs and bushes grew thick and thin. We would come to wide open areas where tunnels and pits had been dug. We assumed that years of military occupation must have forced men to dig fox holes and places to hide from any enemy if there were to be any. We came out on a wide-open flat area, which had to be the original airstrip built by the military during World War II. It was cracked everywhere, with trees and bushes pushing their way up through the pavement. Off in the distance we caught glimpses of the offshore islets and palm covered atolls rising up out of the lagoons. There were signs of a once inhabited island, and knowing that the navy and marines once lived here, many of the scrap-rusted objects were still half buried in the sand. There were several crudely built huts and what looked to be a raised garden area. We crossed the old air strip and descended downward and around a sand dune, making our way around another cluster of palm trees and mounds. As we came through the tall leaning palms, we began to hear voices. The further we went the louder the voices became.

Finally, I put my arm out and stopped our foursome from going any further signaling everyone to be silent. We could hear Thomas's voice arguing with someone. It sounded rather intense; now and then one of the girls would speak out. We moved up closer and remained out of sight. We did not want to walk into something when we had no idea of what might be going on. Another louder voice bellowed, shouting down Thomas and Timm together. It was no longer a shouting match, but sounded like a few punches and some shoving were now going on. We rounded the last few trees to see the group standing face to face in front of their research bunker.

I was not sure what to do, but tried to take measure of the scene before us. We saw two large dark skin men standing over Thomas and the girls, with what looked to be Timm sitting on the ground. I assumed that these two others were the new comers to the island, and already had Timm sprawled out on the sand. The one larger man had his massive foot ready to come down on his head, and was preparing to possibly put Thomas on the ground. No time was left to watch, I told Amber and Crystal to stay back for now. Theo and I stepped out, yelling, "Hey, what the hell is going on here?"

Immediately we got some attention. There were two very large men, either very tanned or a Polynesian-African mix, who were ready to do some damage to Thomas, who was carefully backing away. Julie and Gretchen bowed down over Timm trying to help him off the ground. Their heads snapped around, and everyone went silent, until one of the new-comers barked out, "Who the hell are you?"

For some reason, and these type of things often took place with me, I barked back like a sergeant drill instructor, "We are the mean Marines, and it's time to back down boys!"

At this, we came walking up with everyone standing there, mouths open. The larger of the two giants laughed aloud, with what could be described as a rumbling choke, "Marines! You look like panty salesmen, if that!"

There is that old saying,"You never have a second chance to make a first impression." Well, any chance at a hundred follow up impressions would not have erased this first encounter with Bubba and Bongo. At least that's what we named them.

These two men had enough tattoos showing on their muscled bodies to win first place in the New Guinea cannibal tattoo Olympics. Now as of yet, I do not or have not equated tattoos with evil, but I guess the indication might arise with the message of the tattoo. When you see "My Mother is Satan, and my Father is her Pimp" on someone's forearm, well, you might get the feeling of unwholesome attitudes connected to this being. And when you see a person's eyes blink, and on one lid there is a black widow spider and on the other eye lid there is a scorpion, well, once again, I'm guessing strange attitude here folks.

We knew that Amber and Crystal were no sissies to men and their macho foibles, but even they were taken aback by these walking tattoo advertisements with humans attached to them. Snakes, skulls and vultures oozed out of every pore and opening, nothing left to the imagination. Enough of that, were there redeeming qualities recognized after a few moments—absolutely not!

I broke the silence asking, "What might be the problem here Captain Thomas?"

"Oh, we were just discussing and trying to explain to these two anim..." He was about to say animals but decided to use better tactics, "I mean fellows here, that this is our bunker and research lab."

Then Julie, the little wiry scientist, stepped up saying, "Yeah, they broke into it and tore everything to pieces. Then made themselves at home, and have told us to get lost, they are now going to use our equipment and all our tools for themselves."

"Really? Did you explain to them that you have been sent here by the United States Government Interior Department to do your work?" why I said this, is again, one of those inserts I have used to distract and counter opposition. It's a tactic I learned in my investigatory journalistic career—"Fake it for now, figure it out later!"

This is one of my favorite distractions, toss out a bombshell and stop the action for a moment. Then think of another tactic before time catches up with reality. The results of this little statement of authority must have hit home because wide-eyed fright and unsure worry appeared on their large faces.

Timm and the girls were a bit slow; they stood there with their mouths wide-open catching flies. But Thomas caught on immediately, "I was about to tell them this, but we never got to our official purposes for being here."

"Official purposes my ass," the larger man spoke up as his fist came down and his huge leg that had earlier been poised to come down on Timm's face thumped onto the ground next to him.

"You darn right mister; our work was interrupted by that cyclone that blew through here last week. That is why we locked everything up and left," Gretchen said, helping Timm up.

"Hey shit brains, we're not stupid. But your so-called lab is full of chunks of coral and a few interesting things, not yet broken down," the smaller guy said, toying with a gold chain that hung around his neck.

"Much of that stuff was already here, and part of our work is to try and determine how much live ordinances are still on or near the island," Gretchen clarified something, but we remained in a shadow and did not know what stuff they were speaking of, as of yet.

Theo decided to use his diplomatic abilities, which were sometimes even surprising to me. He interjected, "Gentlemen, we are not here to push anyone around, but this team of scientists are here by permission of the US Government. Within a few days the United States Coast Guard will be re-supplying and checking up on them, you know how that dang government is, forever following and checking up on us. We know that this bunker has been assigned to them for their work and there really is no need to cause trouble over this small misunderstanding."

The two tattooed giants stood there staring at Theo as if he was gooey bubble gum that got stuck on their beach sandals. "Well, well. We say, finders keepers, losers weepers. What do you want us to do about this misunderstanding, as you say?"

"Tell you what. It is obvious that they were already here before you and had possession of the bunker. There are a few other bunkers down on the far northwest beach, and we'll help you move your things over there," Theo suggested.

The two tattooed giants rubbed their chins, expressing that they did not like the sound of any authorities coming to visit. But they looked around and decided that this could be a good way to back out of this situation. The big one turned towards us, and with a sly look, like an ape playing poker for the last banana tree, he stuck out his hand, "My name is King Toby Shag Tomas and this is Leo da Vinci, like that artist guy," pointing to the numerous tattoos covering his buddy's body.

We had no choice but to shake hands. Amber and Crystal had stayed back, and remained quiet during this exchange, taking measure of the situation. I will say that it was not easy to give my hand over to these guys. Their hands looked like huge grappling hooks that might hook into you and not let go.

Since Theo had opened up the negotiations, he stepped up first. As I saw his hand disappear into King Toby's massive grip, Theo as he sometimes does, cracked a smile and came out with, "Wait a minute, you're not that King Toby the famous wrestler from Hawaii are you?"

I could almost hear the bones in Theo's hand grinding together as the tattooed giant hesitated, then nearly started dancing that someone actually recognized him. "Yeah, that is me. The famous King Toby Shag Tomas!"

His partner Leo suddenly got into the act and beamed with obvious pride for his buddy, also sticking out his ten pound hand with fingers as large as bananas. As I was shaking hands with them, I was hoping that these guys did not think we were going to feed them; they looked like they could consume all the supplies on our boat at one meal.

Then Mr. King Toby looked over our shoulders and asked, "O yes, who might those lovelies be there standing so timid?"

No doubt, this huge hulk of a man had a good eye, as he glowed whatever charms he thought he had at the girls. For his eyes danced with sparkling delight and a massive smile spread across his platter-shaped face, flashing his white teeth, at least what was left of them.

I turned and introduced Amber and Crystal. Wisely they stood their ground, nodded and stood their places like rare violins being reached for by two hairy apes.

After the initial scene of near disaster had past, we turned to Thomas and his crew and asked them if we could help.

"No, no, that's fine, we just have to set things back up and get our tanks refilled. We'll be back this evening to see you guys, but thanks for the offer." The women were already stepping into the concrete bunker to get started as Thomas hesitantly thanked us.

With an obvious angered up attitude, King Toby reluctantly said that they would begin removing their things as soon as they relocated down the beach to another bunker. With this, King Toby jerked his head down the beach towards more sand filled structures and turned away with his tail guard following a few steps behind.

#

# 

# Chapter Six - Surprise Hut and the Big Deal

Our expeditions up and down the beach gave us a good idea of the general layout of the island. The afternoon had heated up; it was time for us to head back to the New Song. We said our goodbye to the 'Bye-Golly' crew, went around, heading back a different way so we might get another view of the island. The highest point on the island was only about seven feet but there were small hills of sand and coral with many larger trees growing around their edges. We weaved our way around several of these hilly formations, which were spotted with rain filled ponds and plenty of mosquitoes.

We wanted to get orientated with the island, with a simple investigation of most of its past. The island measured approximately a mile and a half in length by a half mile wide. Local fauna consisted of mosquitoes and other insects, lizards, land and coconut crabs, a huge bird population, palm and coconut trees and mangrove bushes. The interior was thick jungle. It sat six degrees above the equator and consisted of about fifty islets covered with dense vegetation, coconut trees, and balsa-like trees up to 30 meters tall.

What was so strange about this island, it was just there! No volcanic activity existed, no mountain peaks, just a bulge in the middle of the sea. What forces had pushed this tiny piece of sand and coral out from the bottom of some of the deepest oceans on earth was puzzling. It was one of those geological phenomenon that probably would never be answered, unless the Creator Him or Herself decided to tell someone why.

Ancient Polynesian legends told stories of their gods setting out stepping stones as they migrated across the vast unknown sea. Palmyra Island certainly fit that story, it had to be a sight for sore paddlers searching out the land of the rising sun!

We knew that Palmyra had become a base of operations for air attacks against Japan from 1942 to 1945. It was known that the famous bomber the Nola-Gay had stopped there, on its way to deliver the world's first atomic bomb on Japan. As a result of this islands use, military relics were often found scattered in abundance. We were amazed, for it was easy to find old gun emplacements, live ammunition and empty fuel dumps, abandoned war equipment, machine-gun bunkers, underground tunnels and buildings, as well as what is left of the old landing strip, lending a timeless and ghostly feeling to the place. During the 1940, the U.S. Navy stationed six thousand sailors in the atoll. They dredged a seaplane runway which merged the atoll's two western lagoons into one. A causeway was built on the remaining reef. At the same time, the sailors joined three of the islands into one and built a land plane runway about one mile long, which the U.S. Air Force used until 1961.

As far as we knew, the last military people that visited this place were scientists who set up testing antennas in the early 50's, to test the fallout when American and French atomic bombs were set off on Johnston Island west of Palmyra.

Walking along the shore we were able to look over the various little islands and atolls scattered here and there, off this side of the main island. Without a topographical map of the area, it was nearly impossible to determine the names and locations of the islets nearest the main island. Palmyra stands but six to eight feet above sea level, but dense vegetation rises to a height of seventy-five to ninety feet. Surrounding the islands and the lagoons is a platform of coral and hard sand. We could walk upon this platform from one island to another, even at high tide. At low tide parts of the sand causeways are dry. The lagoons are separated by arms of the platform reef. They reach depths of from one hundred twenty to one hundred sixty feet and offered the New Song a good anchorage if we could find our way into them.

The information that Jay had rattled off to us was now helping us to grasp the layout and follow the geography of the island. The coral beach weaved itself in and out of the palms and shrubs and around shallow inlets. We made our way over and through groves of overhanging trees. We came to one wide open area, which faced south and was raised high on a cleared mound area. Even though it was overgrown with years of shrubs, it had the feeling that someone had once spent a lot of effort to make it their home. We moved along in silent awe. Here we were, exploring a deserted island and not just any island, but possibly a treasure island. Now that is what dreamers have dreamed about forever; and here we were, actually fulfilling such dreams. The shore that faced the open sea was littered with debris of all sorts. Tons of seaweed and driftwood lay scattered from the distant beach clear into the trees. This island seemed to be a catch-all for whatever might be floating in from the thousands of miles of open sea. Well into the trees, in a dense protected area, we stumbled into a clearing. Buried half way into the shrubs and trees was an old planked shack or what seemed to be a small hut. Branches had pushed their way through the walls and old raggedy strips of canvas hung among the wall planks. Above, in one of the trees we saw what might have been the remnant of a tree house or maybe a lookout, with old rotted ropes still holding what appeared to be curved ship planks. Back off to one side, nearly hidden in the undergrowth, Amber spotted something that brought reality to our venture. There in and among mounds of sea shells and rotted shrubs were two worn wooden planks pressed down into the undergrowth. They were leaning and nearly buried, but they appeared to be old headstones made from the same ship planks as the sea shack. They were stuck into a mounded area but all recognition of dates were long worn off. We stood there wondering how long ago this final resting place became a Palmyra grave yard. From a glorious walk under turquoise blue skies, we were now immersed in dark shadows. An unusual feeling hung thick in the air.

We took a few minutes to poke around in the rubble of the old hut which seemed to have an invitation for discovery written all over it. Here we were on a distant deserted island, one with all kinds of strange history and here, right in front of us was a real part of its secrets. Theo, the ever probing mind got excited when he found what seemed to be a list of names scratched onto the backside of one strip of old worn canvas. He took his knife and cut the strip off and rolled it up and carefully placed it into his shoulder pack. I just stood there trying to imagine how it would be if we were shipwrecked and this was to be our dwelling...lonely, and a woe came to my mind. This was a strange shadowy hideaway, thick with its own creepy feelings hovering there. For some reason I wanted to move on, but Crystal, forever the curious one, used her walking stick, tilting one thicker board out of the undergrowth and coral. Stepping over the piles of shells and trash, using my own walking stick, I pried up the board into the light. After clanking the plank against one of the grave markers, trying to clear off the dirt and sand, we could make out several faded words, maybe names and dates worn into the surface. We needed to clean the hardened coral and cemented sand off in order to see what might have been carved, so we thought to take the crude board back to the New Song and let Jay, with all his expertise, read more from its secrets.

Back on the New Song Jay sat back and listened to all that had gone on and was rather bothered by the two troublemakers. However, he was excited to receive our gift of the old worn plank with the carvings in it. He took a deck brush and softly began to clean away the coral and sand that was nearly cemented into the cracks and cuts of the board. While carefully working his magic on the board, he thought to inform us that Dustin had called on the satellite phone, giving some very interesting information about this island.

We set up the deck chairs, eager to hear what Dustin had to say. Jay worked the plank as he explained. "Dustin told me all this, but it was Wally who did the research. This little bit of sand has quite a history going way back. Many that had visited, felt that it had a haunting history." The words of Mike about his ghostly feelings came back to me. "There had been several known shipwrecks on the reefs. Some were known and others discovered later in time. Native relics from long back had been found, along with skeletons and broken hulls that have been washed up on shore. But the actual discovery of the island itself is what set the idea into motion, that this island has strangeness to its existence."

Jay went on relaying the history of what Dustin had passed along. "Palmyra was first sighted in 1798 by Captain Edmund Fanning of Stonington, Connecticut, master of the American merchant ship called the Betsy. This was on a voyage to Asia from the Peruvian coast. Fanning had woken three times during the night before. He had gone up on deck to check with his first mate to see if all was well. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, so he went back to his cabin and fell asleep. Again, he was awakened with an odd feeling that something was amiss. He went back up on deck and once again inquired with the crew if all was well. They advised him that all was well, they were on course and the ship was in top condition. After the third time, he took it as a premonition, and he ordered Betsy to heave to for the rest of the night. The next morning, the ship Betsy resumed sailing, but only about a nautical mile further on, she reached the reef of Palmyra. Had the ship continued on her course at night, the ship would have been gutted and wrecked, at least on the outer reefs of these small islands, if not on the island itself."

Jay held the plank up to the wind and blew the sand out of the indentations, studied the worn down incurvatures for a moment, trying to see what might be there. "Then in November of 1802, the USS Palmyra under Captain Sawle was shipwrecked on the reef, which was given the name of that vessel. These were the reported shipwrecks, but there had to be many others through time. For over the years, sunken wrecks have been found broken and scattered on the outlying reefs. In fact there is one navy vessel sticking up off one of the reefs right now," Jay pointed off to his left. "Over the years and even the centuries, there had to be survivors who had lived on the island and this might account for the graves and skeletons that are found now and then."

Once again, Jay held the old plank up to the light and speculated. "With all the debris that washes up on this isolated island, this plank could have found its way here long back when. The finder could have then placed it into the grave area—if it is really one."

With a short explanation, Theo unrolled the old piece of canvas for Jay to take a look. Jay held it up to the light and squinted at the faded out words or names. "This is interesting, but I'd need to use some special treatments on this canvas to bring out the scratches on it. But they do seem to be a list of possible names. The only one I can make out is A, and with an odd squint he looked up and said, 'A Mitchner'!"

I jumped up saying, "What?"

Jay laughed and said, "Thought I'd get your attention on that one Luke." He waved the canvas in front of us and went on. "It appears to be a Pelton or something close to that, let's put this in a safe place and when we get back to civilization, I'll extract all the names off the canvas. This could be very interesting; who knows where it might lead. Especially if it goes back to pirate times."

Just as the story was getting good, we saw Thomas and his team sliding their raft into the water and paddling back out to the New Song. They were happy to be aboard, and even though they looked a bit be-haggled, they were talkative about all that had taken place that day. They gave thanks to us for our perfectly timed arrival and for our spirited intervention and especially for dropping that line about the Department of Interior, pulling their butts out of the fire. Timm's jaw was swollen, it was obvious that he was not a happy sailor, but still he didn't do much complaining.

Amber and crystal took the ladies downstairs where they began preparing a shipboard meal. The sun was now low on the horizon and of course, it was one of those incredible South Pacific sunsets. We finally were called down into the galley where a tasty spaghetti meal had been prepared. Afterwards, the girls put on coffee, and this is where we had to get a little serious. During our exchange with the giants, Toby and Leo, something unusual had been said or hinted at, and I wanted to know more about what had been mentioned by good old King Toby. I guess these four were shaken up enough to come clean on their real mission to Palmyra Island. Now this was getting interesting as their story unfolded.

It began with a surprising confession that Julie was not only an anthropologist but also a well-known marine biologist. Then we learned about Gretchen, who had her Doctorate with the Scripps Research Institute at La Jolla. In addition she was an oceanographer with a background in marine archeology. The two women had known each other for ages and had worked on various underwater projects both in Hawaii and along the California coast. Thomas and Timm were the owners of the 'Bye-Golly' and had become involved in this so-called research project when the girls met them in the islands. Now this is where it got real interesting, and Julie took over the story from here.

"My grandfather was an engineer in the Navy during World War II. He was stationed here on Palmyra Island, put in charge of constructing the airstrip and setting up a fuel supply area. Now my grandfather Yancy Wallenton, was not a man to sit around and do nothing. He was bored to death on this tiny atoll. In time he read the history of these nearly forsaken atolls, became interested in buried treasure. When he found out that a pirate ship, the Esperanza, had once shipwrecked here on Palmyra and the survivors had unloaded their stolen treasure and buried it under one of the trees or somewhere on the island; his stay here became his treasure quest."

"The treasure consisted of Spanish coins, Inca gold, Indian icons, fabulous pieces of jewelry and precious stones all captured from Spanish galleons sailing to the Far East. The pirates all perished except for three of them who lived here for one year. Over that year, they salvaged the treasure off the shipwrecked Esperanza and buried it under a cluster of palms where it lay hidden. They finally built themselves two get-away rafts and set sail for the American coastline. A whaling ship eventually rescued two of them. One man died right away while the other lived long enough to tell the tale. Of course, there was no known island as such at the time, and the story became one of those mystery treasure tales."

We all sat there sipping coffee, thoroughly enthralled, watching the incredible sunset while this fascinating story rose up to fill our imaginations. Julie continued, all the while fingering the necklace which held the brooch that hung around her neck. "Now when my grandfather was stationed here, he decided to look for that treasure. He was in command of a troop of navy engineers and had them start digging what they thought were fox holes and shelters in case the Japanese invaded. For they did have one incident where a Japanese submarine surfaced and began shelling their buildings. They quickly began firing back with one of their shore guns, and the sub disappeared—that was it for their action during the war. He had to coordinate munitions supplies, bombing runs and set up various targets on the outer islands. The incoming planes might practice dropping their bombs or testing their guns out on these targets on the outer islands. One of the things they had to do was to go to the target areas and rebuild the targets and explode any of the bombs that did not blow. This was dangerous work and several men were killed trying to disarm some of the bombs. Now one day while setting up new targets, my grandfather found something very interesting. It appeared that during one of these bomb runs, one bomb had exploded and blew down a few palm trees. Inside this crater area he began to find odd pieces of jewelry and a few precious stones. He decided to keep his men busy on another atoll while he began digging around in this crater. The one thing was that the crater had been opened up so deep that the ocean had broken through the reef, and that area of the island was now under water. While he was trying to figure out how to dive down and extract more of the gold, the war ended and they were removed off the island. He came home with the story and made plans to return, but he died before he was able. His story went to my father, along with this very necklace and this brooch." She held out the brooch in the palm of her hand, showing it to us. "This was only one of the pieces he retrieved; it went to my grandmother who left it to me. His small pieces of the treasure helped pay for my college education, and I have always dreamed of coming to this island and concluding my grandfather's dream by finding the rest of the treasure."

Birds of the night were chirping and searching out their mates while the lagoon's surface was broken by jumping fish. Everything seemed so alive around us as we sat there intrigued and waiting for more of the story. Finally, Amber asked, "So how far did you get before the storm drove you off the island?"

Gretchen answered with a simple explanation. "First of all it took us several weeks to organize and lay out our plans on how we were going to find where exactly this small target island might be. Yancy did not give any idea other than it was one of the offshore islands used for bombing. We researched the navy records and read back through his letters home and any other records we could find. We narrowed it down to two possible atolls."

"So without any actual map, how did you narrow it down to only two of the tiny islands? There's got to be thirty of them out there," Theo asked.

Then Thomas cleared his throat as if wanting to get involved in this exchange, "After looking at all the aerial maps and the satellite photos we determined that the bomb runs would not be in a location that might be overshot and do damage to the main island facilities. So there were two islands, now called Cooper and Quail, that seemed to offer the ideal place for a target set up. They would be easy to get to, because these islands are connected by sand bars, making it handy for men to cross and rebuild targets. Even though some seventy-five to eighty years have gone by and much new growth has occurred to the smaller islands, we started our searches there."

"Oh yes," Gretchen added, "The satellite photos indicated several lagoons, somewhat on the edge of the inlands, which were a bit unusual, knowing the usual shape and manner on how natural lagoons were created. These had all indications that forces other than nature had helped form them."

"Probably the navy dredging operation when they built the runways across two or three of the islets," Jay inserted this thought.

Timm, the quiet one, now sat forward, rubbed his jaw and began arranging cups, napkins and utensils into a design of the island to better illustrate his points. He pointed things out and said, "It took a week of diving in these other areas, but it was here in this area where we began to find coral with iron and bits of silver and gold embedded. We would bring back chunks of this coral and in our bunker begin to chip away at it. Then one day we scored, and found a few Spanish silver coins embedded into the coral. This was the link we were looking for. Those coins were the bridge between an old sea fable and the real thing, and we had found it. This then, narrowed our search down to one lagoon, and we began to find more pieces of interest. All things indicated that there was once a treasure in the area. But the area had filled in with coral and roots and pieces of bomb material."

Thomas finished the story with, "Just as things were looking good for us, as we were beginning to harvest bits and pieces of the treasure out of the sand and coral, the hurricane blew up. We had to get the Bye-Golly out into deeper water. We took the pieces that we had chipped out of the coral, leaving the rest of our things and chunks of coral inside the bunker."

"Wow, that sounds promising." Jay had become really interested when they mentioned the Spanish coins. For he was not only our captain, but he was an expert in rare Spanish and Indian antique artifacts. In fact, his own boat, the Serendipity, back in Balboa was often hired out to divers who went after treasures and sunken ships. Theo had told us before that Jay had purchased his boat with Spanish coins he had retrieved from a wreck off Baja California. Both Theo and Jay's parents were major collectors and owned one of the most prestigious rare art and antique shops on Balboa Island back in California.

Jay had gained his knowledge from his well acknowledged parents. He was no dummy when it came to Incan and Mayan artifacts. He leaned forward and asked Julie if he could examine the brooch. At first she was hesitant to take it off but after Jay explained about his expertise, she handed it over.

The brooch itself was made up of hundreds of hair thin strands of fine wire gold, overlaid and woven into a beautiful pattern. In the pattern itself you could see tiny images of birds and animals. But the entire brooch took on the shape of a leopard face. He pointed this out to Julie and she became amazed. For all this time she had never noticed this. In fact Jay showed her that someone had actually connected the gold chain to the wrong end of the brooch. He pointed this out and then the image of the leopards face became visible to her. He pointed out where the brooch had been damaged; one ear of the leopard was missing. Everyone was amazed at Jay's astonishing knowledge, as he nodded that this brooch was truly an Incan work of art. The only real disappointment was that the eyes of the leopard were missing. The precious stones had been removed. They were not large, but most likely very rare.

Julie sat up more than surprised with a strange long past look on her face. She said, "I wonder, my father just might have removed those stones and had them put into my mothers wedding ring, for she did have a very rare setting in her ring that many jewelers offered her big time money for, but she would not ever part with it. Eventually that ring went to my older sister and I got the brooch."

Theo ran his fingers through his straggly blond beard and said, "This is all exciting and most incredible, it seems that Luke and I are always stumbling onto some kind of treasure." Of course he was referring to the Hearst Castle treasure that we had found on the San Simeon coast line. The one that led us to our meeting of the Hearst Castle Security Force and our two new traveling companions, Amber and Crystal, who were now sitting back enjoying this new treasure story.

It only took a split second for Crystal to say, "Yes, Mr. Vontempski is referring to Amber and myself, the real treasures they stumbled across." With this, everyone broke into laughter.

But after more coffee and a few dabbles of brandy was poured, Theo went on, "Now with all this success and failure in your path, what do you folks want to do now?"

Things were quiet for a few moments and the three looked over at Thomas as if to make some sort of presentation. And so he cleared his throat and began. "We were talking things over today. With that episode with the two giants today, Bubba and Bongo, we do not feel comfortable being alone on this island with them. So we are making you guys a proposal."

Jay nodded, "Sounds interesting."

"With the loss of our sloop we are stuck here. It would take at least two weeks for any help to reach us if we had to make a getaway. We are not armed, and as you can see, we are rather at a disadvantage having to protect two ladies against those brutes." At this statement, Timm rubbed his swollen jaw.

Theo nodded agreement, "Yeah, that seems about right, and to tell you the truth we would not advise you choosing to be left behind. Maybe return with us and plan another trip in the future."

"No, first let us present our proposal to you," Julie spoke up.

"OK, go for it," Theo agreed.

"We are asking that you would become part of our hunt and retrieval partners. We will divide up into thirds, whatever we might find. One-third for us, one-third for you guys, and girls of course, and one-third goes back towards the replacement of Thomas' loss of his boat and all his equipment."

The evening breeze stirred the waters and the New Song pulled on her anchors as the surface rippled with the tide change. "How long do you think this might take," I asked, knowing that we had a schedule to keep back in the islands.

Thomas looked around, ran his fingers through his graying hair as if contemplating what to say. "Well, we pretty well know where the treasure might be, we could concentrate right there in that one lagoon for a week or so and see what we might come up with. If things begin to show, we are guessing that two or three weeks would do the trick for at least a good portion of stage one's collection," Thomas explained all this with precise references to time and schedules.

Thomas arose and took out the duffel bag from under one berth and in a moment pulled out a canvas bag and handed it over to Jay. "What might this be?"Jay inquired.

"It is one of the things I went after when Luke and I dove on the Bye-Golly. I did not know if the boat would stay afloat and really wanted to save some of our hard earned work. This is part of what we have already recovered."

With this, Jay undid the bag and slowly poured out the contents onto the table. There came forth a variety of objects. There were gold and silver coins, small statues of animals carved in jade and precious stones, a few gold crosses, and a cluster of shiny stones that had not yet been completely separated from a coral shell. We all gawked at the beauty of some of these objects. There had to be a small fortune right there on the table. Thomas went on, "We are willing to hand over one-third of these things to you right now if you will join us in this treasure hunt."

No one said anything and then Theo looked up, "This is incredible but I don't know if we have an extra three weeks to spend here. Plus, hurricane season is already here, as you so well know, and that adds to our danger."

"Listen, let's try and work something out. At least stay with us until we extract enough to replace the boat and all that went down with her," Julie spoke up.

Well now, Dustin's mocking words popped into my thoughts—here we were again, being side tracked—and bought off! We were on our way home to finalize my inheritance which was worth a thousand times more than any of this treasure, but we could not tell them this. It was more a moral obligation that we were giving ourselves over to, not a financial gain. I suggested that we sleep on this decision and consider all aspects to this adventure tomorrow. Jay was more than enthused about the idea of ancient Incan treasure and then there was the adventure of it all. I also wanted to talk with Dustin and see if our schedules could be rearranged.

Theo had gone up on deck to relieve himself. While standing there at the back rail, watching the rising moon, listening to the offshore breeze ripple the water, he suddenly noticed a dinghy with two figures in it, moving away from the New Song. Apparently, it was Bubba and Bongo, quietly sneaking away. They had apparently been listening into the night's conversation. How much did they actually hear?

Theo came back down into the galley, reporting what he had seen, and this brought a new concern to our decision. With Theo catching the two giants Bubba and Bongo, actually sneaking up on us and listening to our conversation, we knew for sure we had to watch out for them, more than ever. For now, they must have heard Julie telling the story of finding the treasure. Either we left, taking the Bye-Golly crew with us, or joining with them and staying around for another few weeks.

Amber was leaning over and whispering to Crystal before turning to me and Theo, "We know that you guys are the big treasure hunters, and it ain't no big deal to you, but Crystal and I would like to stay around for a time and find some of that treasure for ourselves. This is a real treasure hunt, it doesn't get any better than this. It's like being in a Treasure Island novel—the diamond on the peak of the highest mountain! We are sure we can have the meeting postponed in Hawaii with our brother Brookstone and your team for a week or so."

Before I had a chance to answer, Jay laughingly announced, while pointing at Theo and myself, "They ain't got any choice!" Then he went on, "And I'm not sailing out of here until we get our hands on some of that Inca gold!"

Theo sighed, as if giving into the inevitable, "Treasure Island novel, hope it doesn't turn out to be a war with Captain Hook and his pirates and a cave full of skeletons."

I had to smile to myself. Those two girls always managed to get their way. Theo didn't stand a chance—but then I had to include myself caught in their sly manipulations.

Thomas, Timm and the girls clapped their hands, excitedly responding, "All right, let's do it!" The next minute, we were all shaking hands as if sealing the biggest deal in the world.

In one sense, I think that Amber and Crystal had taken a liking to Julie and Gretchen and had a lot in common. I think they wanted a little female company and maybe, just maybe, a bit more intellect than what Theo and I had to offer them at present.

Theo looked over at me and together we both shrugged our shoulders as if to say, "It's out of our hands now!"

With this Thomas pointed down to the pile of booty on the table and said, "OK partners, go for it, pick out one-third of your share right now."

We weren't expecting this but Jay did not waste any time. Apparently he had his eye on a few of these ancient Inca treasures and began sorting out what he felt was our one-third. This was Jay's call. He knew more about this stuff than anyone around, so we just watched our share collected by expert eyes and a knowledgeable mind. I noticed Julie lean forward wanting to say something about this fast give away. The look on her face showed her disapproval. She almost groaned each time Jay's fingers separated out a piece of the treasure, but used extreme restraint and decided to keep quiet—at least for now!

Later, on their watch, she tore into Thomas saying, "Why the hell did you allow that Jay bird to choose out their one-third first. He knew how to choose the finer pieces right up front. He's no dummy, that's for sure."

"Come on Julie, what better way to win their confidence but by giving them the first pick. The game ain't over yet dear, we'll get more than our share when everything is divided." He looked around, "If it is ever divided."

"Oh, so you got some plans cooking in that brain of yours?"

"You bet your brooch."

# Chapter Seven - Partnerships, Stories and Decisions

With our newly established friendships, or going so far as to call it an apprehensive partnership, in the Palmyra treasure hunt, Thomas opened up more about himself and Timm. They were ex-pharmaceutical industrialists, both fed up with the Midwest life style. After some bad experiences, they left the Chicago area and had come out to Hawaii to get away from it all. Strangely enough, they started a chemical company. Timm was more the scientist or chemist between them, but Thomas was the business end of things. He explained how they had produced a variety of pharmaceutical products and laughed, as he asked If we had ever seen their pineapple scented charcoal lighter.

I had to admit that I saw it in one of the hardware stores in Honolulu. I had laughed when I saw it, saying to myself, What the heck are they going to come up with next—pineapple scented toilet paper? Why not? I thought.

He went on to tell of their various perfumes, fiberglass glues, and a scented solvent. Their company was doing fairly well and Thomas insisted that they buy the sloop the Bye-Golly, for recreation and tax purposes. Thomas was the more adventurous one, the motivator, getting them into the inner island yacht races, and going diving for black coral. Timm was the serious thinker and the intellectual inventor who came up with the concoctions for their chemical business. It seemed to be a good combination of brains and intellect, at least on the surface.

Theo's ears perked up after hearing this. For he himself was a behind-the-scene inventor and was curious about the fiberglass glue that Timm had come up with. Theo explained about his water sports shop in Newport California and his latest sonic surfboard. I saw Timm light up like a high intensity light bulb and knew that Theo had a friend for sure. For when it came to inventions, Theo was a perfectly prepared piece of ground to plant an idea into. I had the feeling that once my inheritance was freed up, Theo and Wally, our other inventive team member were going to put their ideas to work. Actually, I was a little bothered on what those two guys might come up with, and now with this third add-on friendship with Timm—everybody better watch out!

Amber inquired, "Thomas, you said you go diving for black coral, isn't that illegal now?"

He smiled a little, rubbed his neck even more and shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to say more. We had one of those mixed feeling moments. For black coral harvesting was forbidden in Hawaii and it could cost someone dearly if they were caught. I knew that black coral is rare and worth its weight in gold. It had become one of those protected species; I was wondering if this is what Bubba and Bongo had found inside the bunker.

There were already a lot of unread pages to their story, but now the reason for the strange feelings were piling on. Gretchen, a marine archaeologist, in her own way added the final touch to this adventure, "Before you get to excited about this partnership it is only fair to tell you the whole story." With this she began.

"Let me tell you the tale of this distant piece of sand and coral. Many ships sailing in these very waters have disappeared without a trace. It was not until the early 1800 that these uninhabited atolls and islands became known to the sea farer. Long after the discoveries of the ships, and in our modern times, up until the underwater diving equipment came into play, were some of the secrets of these long lost ships brought to light. These reefs and small islands kept the secrets of those many lost ships. Sunken hulls and leftover relics of the past decades have been found, and there are still more to be found."

We were all listening now. "Within the seafarers records, stories and mysteries abound. With visitors to this island and fortunate survivors telling of skeletons, names and dates carved into trees, huts, caves, fire pits and ancient anchors along with scattered iron were found buried in the sands and locked into the reefs. Canons and chains from the pirate and galleon era were found near to this very shore. Believe it or not, these hidden and long lost islands hold many secrets to lost lives and treasures still to be found."

Wow I thought, we had just found some of this stuff back in that old broken down hut. Jay had not yet told us what he had found scratched into the old ship plank. This story was weaving itself into a colorful tale that might make a really good article. I thought I'd better start taking notes.

She went on. "Do not discount those haunting feelings. They are surely due to the deaths and sorrows that came to those who were marooned here and had to spend the rest of their lives on these bumps of coral, dropped into the greatest vastness on earth. Then there were those left behind by captains administering justice and by mutineers who forced good men to live out their lives in loneliness and die slowly in this beautiful but harsh environment."

Then Julie decided to toss in the time lines around the period when her grandfather was stationed here. "During the war, several strange plane crashes occurred right off these atolls. The planes and pilots were never found, even though extensive searches were made for them." She let that sink in—and it did!

"Do you think that all these holes were dug by men digging shelters? No way, many of them are pits dug in search of hidden treasures from the pirate ship wrecks. We have heard of interesting finds of old Chinese statues and stones with Chinese writings scratched into them. There were even the remnants of an old warrior canoe, probably part of a burial rite, found in an underground cavern; so we are in the middle of a very rich island of antiquity."

I guess all of us were intensely listening now. This was better than a National Geographic special; we wanted to be a part of this ancient story. We were here, right here and now and we were living it. With this, Thomas added a bit more intrigue, "Then there are strange lights often seen coming from these islands when no one is here. They say that the ghosts of ancient Polynesians haunt this island. Ship wrecked sailors died here, and there is evidence of cannibalism and violence and even executions that took place here."

Young Mike now spoke up. "I will say that many nights I actually saw lights on the island. I investigated the next day but could not find any trace of anyone else being on the island. I have searched every inch of this atoll and have been in almost every trench and hole and cavern and there is no way a light can run or shine on its own in the middle of the night."

Amber had scooted her chair next to mine and had her arm tucked under mine. I had to laugh, but at the same time had chills run down my back. I was sure that Theo and Crystal were feeling the same chills; maybe these chills were the lights that people could see—Huh!

Everyone's voices got low and sort of spooky, just like one of those nights around the camp fire in the woods. Timm got into the scientific aspect and various expeditions to Palmyra saying, "Even the atomic age reached here when scientists came and lived here during the above ground atomic blasts at Johnston Island. Those observers lived here while they studied and took measurements and collected fall-out samples."

Gretchen realized that this was a lot of information being delivered to their new partners in this work, and thought she might save the rest for later,"Yet, there is even a worse story to tell, but maybe it is best we tell that another day."

"No way," Jay spoke out. "You brought us right up to the edge and now you're gonna just leave us hanging? I guarantee that no one is going to sleep tonight anyway, you might as well tell it all!"

Crystal, in perfect timing came up with a full pot of fresh coffee and Thomas added just a tiny bite of some French Brandy to each cup while we waited for Gretchen to continue.

"OK, OK, but don't have nightmares after I tell it. The worst story was the murder of the elderly Gramm Couple back in 1974. Here in this very lagoon, the Island of Palmyra became the site of the double murder of a wealthy San Diego couple, Malcolm "Mac" Graham and his wife, Eleanor "Muff" Graham. Even though this took place some 40 years ago, there was a news-making event known as The Sea Wind murders. It had actually taken place right here and possibly in this exact spot where we were now anchored. This grizzly murder was noted in the FBI files, had been written about in several major magazines and a book had been published about it. A vagabond hippie-looking couple, Duane Buck Walker and his girlfriend, Stephanie Stearns, had arrived here on Palmyra and befriended the elderly couple. Apparently, Walker ended up killing them and taking possession of their yacht. They were arrested in Honolulu in 1974 after returning from Palmyra aboard the Sea Wind, the yacht stolen from the Grahams. Because no bodies were found, Walker and Stearns were convicted only for the yacht theft. But then several years later, in 1981, a subsequent visitor to Palmyra Island found the skeleton remains. A partially buried corroded chest was mysteriously found when it, strangely enough, washed up on shore, somehow managing to rise up off the bottom, containing Eleanor Graham's remains. The bones had fallen out of an aluminum box found open on the beach. The skeleton was identified as Muff Graham, and she died in very grisly fashion—hit over the head, dismembered, and her face burned with a welding torch. Her body was stuffed inside the metal container and weighted down to sink in the lagoon, but had floated up just at the right time for a long past friend to find it. It was as if this island could not allow this unspeakable act to go unpunished. It took about six years for justice to shake the tricky hand of fate—but it did!"

Gretchen was proving to be quite the story teller and because Dustin had forwarded some of this information to us already, we knew she was telling the truth; but we were hearing it in graphic detail.

"This is the really weird part of this crime. Somehow and strangely enough, the two perpetrators of this hideous crime were caught and brought to justice when the sea eventually gave up the forgotten corpse of the wife who managed to wash herself up onto a lonely beach of broken coral. There came a moment of perfect timing when this long sunken coffin mysteriously washed ashore on one high tide and oddly enough was unexpectedly discovered by a friend who wanted to know what might have happened to her old friend, Eleanor Graham. The wires that once bound the aluminum case had been cut and were just lying there and a skull was protruding out of the sand filled coffin. The husband was never found and assumed to have been killed and tossed into the lagoon, then eaten by sharks."

"What was really beyond strange was that the wires on the aluminum chest had been cut and just lay there. It was as if the coffin had been lifted off the bottom and lay waiting right in the path of an old friend. How could this have happened? There was a search for another aluminum box but there was no sign of Mac's body."

All of us sat glued to the edges of our chairs while this well-informed woman added further detail to the grizzly story. "Walker and Stearns were arrested in Arizona for murder. Walker was convicted in 1985. But Stearns was acquitted in 1986. Walker served 22 years in the United States Penitentiary at Victorville, California before receiving parole in 2007. Walker died on April 26, 2010; almost on the same day he had committed the murders on this very island."

Everyone was quiet as she finally concluded the literal telling of this true event. "The story had been published in true crime magazine, and a book 'And the Sea Will Tell' had been published. The book led to a CBS television miniseries by the same name starring James Brolin, Rachel Ward and Hart Bochner."

Talking about creepy! No wonder there were so many haunting feelings that we had been feeling. This news made us decide that we would remove ourselves out of this anchorage in the morning and sail around the island and anchor near to the little island called Cooper. It would be a safe enough anchorage as long as the weather did not go drastic on us.

After all of us sat there stunned over what we had just heard, Jay stood up and asked all of us to come up on deck. We asked why but he just said, "Wait and see."

The night sky was filled with billions of crystal bright stars, which were reflecting into the calm waters of the lagoon. The heavens glowed in their full magnificence while the surface of the lagoon lay still as a black mirror. It was as though we were floating on a steel mirror, which lay over a beautiful vault of mystery. It might have been a secret chamber of wonder below us but we knew it to be a living amphitheatre, filled with both death and beauty. The night in this lagoon of death was both haunting and spectacular at the same time. Jay went into the back sea locker and came out with a long tube-looking device. I knew this to be the schooners flare gun for emergencies or for sending signals. He soon attached it to the back transit rail, opening the breach, and loaded a short flare into it. He told us to stand back and watch, bent down, then pulled a trigger handle. Suddenly, there was a hiss and then a boom, and out shot a flash that almost blinded us. It rose up into the night and about a hundred feet into the night sky it exploded as a massive glow of light burst forth. The entire area became a black and white stage of silhouettes. The light floated down slowly and we all stood there watching, dumbfounded. The thing was, that Jay had aimed the flare burst to come down near to the other vessel anchored nearer to the shore. All of a sudden, we heard someone yelling, "Hey, what the hell are you doing?" It was king Toby himself bellowing out in fright and in anger.

Jay bent down again, reloading the tube and again, pulled the trigger and this time a red flare burst into the sky. It slowly rose high into the night and then floated down near to Bubba's and Bongo's cache. Another burst of yelling came forth and Jay then loaded up another set of flares and lowered the tube and aimed it towards the channel that led into the lagoon and fired. Boom, Boom, this time the flares flashed like cannons across the waters and landed in the waters a hundred yards into the channel. The only thing we could do is to gasp out our, "Wows!"

Jay our captain, turned to us and said, "That should give those two over there a bit to consider, in case they are thinking to cause us any harm. I just wanted to let them know we do have a bit of protection, at least the bit I want them to see. For sure, we are not going to end up like that Graham couple."

Thomas had to laugh at Jay's logic and show of flare power. It was obvious that these flares could do damage if need be. But Jay had much more up his sleeve if need be. And for now, it was best that his inventive secrets were left in the closet or in his sleeve.

With this show of bravado, Thomas began wondering where his second pistol had gone too. He had recovered one on the dive but told no one. They had gone down with the Bye-Golly, but with the hull now being so close to shore, maybe he could recover the second one. They might come in handy and assist him in securing their treasure and maybe even establishing his authority.

We all had a hard time sleeping that night. In fact, both Theo and I decided to sleep on deck and take four-hour watches—just in case!

#

#

# 

# Chapter Eight - New Feelings and the Move

The new day brought us to another moving decision. The night's strange talks and incoming news, established a disturbing feeling, replacing our enthusiasm for treasure with this isolated island's frightening history. The one thing we definitely learned is that no one should be fooled by a picture of paradise. For paradise could be easily made into a hell. Our opinions had changed after listening to the stories from last night's true crime narratives.

Since Thomas and the researchers knew the general whereabouts of at least a portion of the treasure, we felt it best to move the New Song around the island. There we could find a safer and better working anchorage near the smaller islands in the treasure lagoon. It was obvious that we could not leave the New Song on its own or floating near to these unsavory characters. We did not want to invite further troubles by offering up temptation to anyone that we could not trust. This was especially important on this isolated island, where anyone might do whatever they so wanted. In addition, as we so learned from the past events, it was better that no one venture forth on their own.

As the sun rose and brought light into the coral channel, we motored out of the lagoon into the narrow passage and set sail beyond the rolling breaks. The strange goings-on at Palmyra atoll were remarkable enough to spawn a legend about the island being unlucky. To this very day, you'll still hear Pacific travelers talk about the Palmyra Curse. There are evidently makeshift memorials to the Grahams on the island, which is private property and illegal to trespass upon, but naturally being so remote is difficult to police. We made our way out of the narrow channel and moved out into deeper waters, safe from the dangerous reefs. Jay, with the help of his excellent crew, raised one jib sail and cautiously sailed around to the northeast side of the island.

Thomas was in his element and began pointing out various areas along the reef where they had previously explored. The working bunker came into view along the upper beach and after a few minutes, Thomas studied his handmade charts and consulted with Timm. Thomas guided Jay along the reefs and finally brought the New Song into a deeper cut in the outer reef. He explained that the Navy most likely had bombed and then dredged this cut through the outside reef. We could now see that the waters were blurs of deep blue, then light green and turquoise and nearly transparent where the sand bottom would appear. It was obvious that this entire area had been used for practice bombing, with huge round craters interconnected, and we carefully motored over them. Young Mike was up on the mast seat pointing out any and every danger, doing an excellent job of guiding us into a nice close-in anchorage. The anchorage on the southeast side was not as protected from the winds and possible freak waves, but it offered a good depth. After finding a good place, we made our turn about and set out three anchors to hold us from any drift. Thomas noted that this was almost the exact spot they had anchored in before.

After double-checking the anchors and stowing the gear away, Jay sent Mike and Timm in the dinghy to set out solar-lighted floats to mark the entry channel into the anchorage. As they moved along the reef, setting out the floats, Jay was making notes in a book, working out a diving schedule for Thomas, Timm, the two women along with Theo, Amber, Crystal and myself. Thomas once again began questioning Jay about what to do and how they were going to do it. But without even looking up, Jay stated very clearly,"So you fully understand and grasp the fact, I am the Captain of this boat, and I am responsible for all its crew and passengers. This includes allowing my deck to be used for any exploration. I have to use every precaution to make sure no one gets hurt or caught into some dangerous situation on deck or under water. Do you have a problem with that?"

Thomas was taken aback, not used to being put into someone else's schedule. He might have nodded in consolation, but it was obvious that he was more than pissed.

Jay went on to consulted with the new partners in the treasure hunt, and both Julie and Gretchen were quick to point out the larger crater about a hundred feet beyond a spur reef which rose up from where they lay at anchor. They pointed out the area along the cut down shore edge where they had been finding most of the jewelry and silver coins. It was easy to imagine that a lot of bombs had been dropped onto this smaller target island, blowing away the palm trees, leaving a huge crater instead, and at the same time exposing the buried pirate treasure. Timm sketched in more detail of the sand bars that connected the two outer islands with the main island. We began calling the second attached island the Target Island, this would do until we learned the official name. It was decided that Thomas and his team would go into shore to the bunker to set up shop and make sure their equipment had not been damaged by Bubba and Bongo. In the excitement everyone had almost forgotten about those two odd intruders; but what could they do being left behind in the West Lagoon?

So our new treasure expedition was soon put in motion. Jay for now would stay aboard the New Song with young Mike who would ferry the coral chunks across to the bunker and return to the New Song. We would try to do most of the rough cleaning first. Since our time was short, we sought to first bring back those things that did not need separation from the coral. Our diving teams would be diving. Thomas and Julie, Theo and Crystal, and then Timm and Gretchen, along with Amber and me, would take turns in sequencing dives. The crater was not more than twenty-five foot deep and with the water being clear, the submerged divers could be easily watched. The diving teams would dive and collect for their allotted times, bringing up their canvas satchels of coral to the dinghy and change places with the other watching teams. The initial cleaning would begin there in the dinghy. The waiting team would examine each piece and determine if it could be extracted without damaging it. If it was too embedded or encrusted with hard coral then it would be sent to the bunker for hands-on work. If good clean individual pieces of the treasure would be found, they would be sent back to the New Song and stored there. But if there were chunks of coral that had coin or jewels imbedded into them, those would go to the bunker, where Timm and Gretchen would work on them. The teams would be rotated everyday, so to give everyone a fair chance at discovery.

We decided that we would use our own on-board air compressor to refill everyone's diving tanks. We did not want to call too much attention to the bunker work where much of the Bye Golly's ship instruments and tools were stored.

We loaded up the inflatable raft and Mike took Timm and Gretchen around the first barrier reef, which at low tide was hissing and foaming with surging surf. Mike then crossed the inter-connected craters, paddled over the shallow sand bars along what was known as Cooper Island and reached the shore below the raised area where the main block bunker stood. We watched through binoculars and saw the doors open, and slowly a work station was set up. They waved, that all seemed to be going well, and Mike returned to the New Song. By now our diving teams had the dinghy loaded up with our tanks and diving equipment. Jay gave all of us his last instructions for safety and he wanted a clear and precise report of what was going on and what exactly the teams would locate in their areas.

Thus, with everything double checked, Jay gave his blessing to our success, declaring, "Mission is a go—one small step for adventure and one giant leap for treasure!"

# Chapter Nine - Mike's Story!

As the dinghy moved into position in what we now called the treasure crater, Jay moved his favorite deck chair to the top of the main deck cabin and faced the activity now beginning in the distance. Jay sat back watching and working on the old wooden plank he had found before, when he saw Mike, the Bye-Golly's deck hand, observing him. Jay said, "I thought you wanted to sleep?"

"I did, but lately I am having a hard time doing anything, including sleep," Mike answered.

"Why is that my young friend?"

"It's a long story and don't think there are many people who want to hear it," the young Mike answered in a nonchalant tone.

"You might ask yourself if it's really worth telling, or if you're sure you want to tell it," Jay casually said, as he brushed out the various grooves in the old plank.

Mike came up closer and sat down in one of the deck chairs, and just leaned over with a heavy look on his face. He quietly spoke, "I have been watching you and listening, and feel that you are a person who can be trusted."

"I might be, but be careful who you end up trusting. What is it? If you want to talk, go for it. It's just you and me here and I am a fair good listener. But only time will tell you if I am trustworthy."

Jay was no dummy when it came to trusting others, especially new deck hands off sunken boats. Without Mike knowing it, Jay had arranged his chair so that no one might sneak up from behind. He had a few tricks waiting, if need be.

"OK, but please, you got to promise me not to repeat or tell anyone this story," Mike earnestly said, with a pleading in his voice.

Jay seriously looked up at Mike and then across to the diving crew and their anchorage saying, "Well now, I don't know about promising anything until I know what I'm giving my promise too. And I'm good at keeping my word and unless your story involves hurt or harm to anyone aboard my boat, no way can I keep the story silent."

At first, Mike balked at this reply but thought it over, "That's fair. You will have to be the judge on this one." Jay continued to lightly brush the cemented coral out of the carved grooves in the plank, as Mike began his story.

"I've watched you and listened to you and feel that you are a fair and honest person. I have not run across too many of those kind of people, but I think it's time for me to share this with you, or at least someone who might understand. Once you hear the story, you will see where I am coming from, with all the secrecy and wanting to find the right person to tell."

"Go for it Mike, you got my curiosity on the edge of a promise," Jay stated.

"A few years back, I was a first draft football halfbsack for UCLA. Then my life went to hell. On the first physical exam they found something they didn't like. I was sent to a specialist and soon discovered that I had a rare blood disease. This disease is called Moschcowitz syndrome but the worst cases move or progress to something called Upshaw Schulman syndrome disease. This is a fatal non-stoppable disease. They gave me about two years to live at the most. Of course, this ended my football career and my schooling. I was shocked beyond common understanding and my family was devastated with this news. My doctors told me that the only thing I could do was go forth for the next year or so and enjoy life to its utmost. Nothing could be done."

Jay was now staring up at this young man trying to discern if he was telling the truth or just playing a game of sympathy. All indications were that he was sincere, and Jay asked a few questions and began expressing sincere sympathy towards this young man. "I wished you were kidding me, but it appears that you are speaking the truth. Whatever disease you do have, we will try and help you in every way we can." Jay really wanted to hear the whole story, so told him to continue, knowing that there was plenty left to this kids tale.

In a rather sad tone, young Mike thanked Jay but said that as far as he knew, there was nothing that could be done to stop the progress of the disease. It was evident that with this great burden on his limited life, he just wanted to accomplish something for others. His family had spent everything trying to find a cure or at least prolong his life, but it was hopeless. This treasure hunt might have given him the means to do just that and Jay was impressed.

Mike continued. "I love to surf, I know how to dive and have been to Hawaii a few times and so wanted to come back and just hang out for a few months. While on Maui, I met Thomas and Tim. They needed a deck hand for an inner island yacht race they were in and asked me to come along. Somehow they took a liking to me and asked me if I wanted to live aboard their boat the Bye Golly, which was anchored in the Ala Wai yacht harbor near Waikiki. I became the deck hand, watchman and caretaker. One day while doing some research in the public library I over heard Julie and Gretchen doing their own research on Palmyra. One thing led to another and I invited them on one of our sunset sailing trips with Thomas and Timm. They connected, and soon Thomas and Timm were involved in the Palmyra treasure hunt. Of course, I was asked to come along; so I did. This was a dream of a lifetime and something that I thought would round out the last year of my life."

Jay interrupted, "Did you tell them about your situation?"

"No, they would have most likely left me behind; so no one knows other than you, as of now."

"So then what?" Jay asked.

"After arriving here, we did our searches and they dove into the craters which had been blasted into the smaller islands. Eventually we located a few items that indicated the once buried Spanish treasure."

Mike cleared his throat, looked around as if to check if anyone was listening and went on. "We moved our anchorage from one place to another until we found this inside area which became a perfect location, almost next to the treasure crater. They cleaned out the bunker and began to bring up chunks of coral, extracting coins and jewelry that had been embedded into the coral over the years. I was left aboard the 'Bye Golly' in case of any weather change and I would then move the boat out into deeper waters if need be. This became boring for me and I decided to do my own diving each day. As you can see the water depth here is only about 20 feet and I could see some unusual formations down below. I pointed them out to Thomas, but they did not seem interested. I decided to just snorkel along the reefs, do some spear dishing, and check some of these odd shaped things out. Then one day along a drop-off area, just right around that bend in the reef," he pointed to the right, but the sun was reflecting onto the surface and Jay could not really see much. Then Mike quietly said, "I found something."

Jay was listening with both his ears open. "I found a cluster of old bombs and broken crates of ordnances. There were a lot of them, almost like someone had dumped them off of a barge. They were stuck into the slanted drop-off and piled on top of each other just below the surface. Only at low tide could you see them but they were over-grown with coral and looked like part of the reef. This scared me, but after checking this out, I saw something else. In this slope area under the cluster of bombs, there was a sizable collection of old beams and rotted planks. Everything was coral incrusted, but I could tell that whatever it was, it was old. I was careful and began to dig round in the sand-coral hill. After a few days I found an old cannon, and then began to find iron nails, spikes and hoops and rusted plates. I had no idea what this was and did not say anything to Thomas or the crew, as I called them."

Jay was very interested. He looked around, set down the old plank and leaned forward, encouraging Mike to tell more.

"Then one day after I had dug into the hillside, I pried open a few thicker planks and there was something inside this area. At first I thought it was a huge sea snake or a large mouth eel and backed away real quick like. But after poking around inside with my spear gun I realized it was a ships anchor chain; at least this is what I thought it was. Finally, and even though this entire area was over-hung with bombs and debris, I reached into the box-like area and took hold of what I thought was a chain. It was heavier than hell, and each time I pulled on it, I waited, thinking for sure the whole side was going to come tumbling down on me. But there was something more to what I was pulling on than just an anchor chain. Finally, I worked or pulled the chain to the edge of the planks and all I could say was Wow!"

"Was it a serpent or what?"

"No way. It was a chain. But it was not iron or lead. It looked like a chain made of gold."

"You're kidding me Mike," Jay exclaimed with some sardonic laughter.

With excitement Mike spoke out, "No, I'm not kidding, not at all!"

Jay locked his rough hands onto his knees, asking, "So what then?"

"Well, the only thing I could do and not bring the entire pile of bombs down on me was to bring a hack saw and cut off one of the chain links and see for myself what it was."

"I can't believe the danger you put yourself into. O well—ok, did you cut a link off?" Jay had a simple lock-sized chain in mind. Something along the size of a garden chain that one might lock up his gate with.

"Yes, while Thomas and the crew were doing their diving in the crater near the other lagoon, beyond the boat I was using a small dive tank and would dive down and began to cut one link off. It took me a few tries but I finally got one off."

"So what did you come up with? And what did the crew have to say?"

"I brought up one link, and as far as I know, it was pure gold—but," and Mike hesitated, "I did not tell Thomas or the crew anything."

"Why not? That had to be an incredible find. And they had brought you along."

"True, but I was just a deck hand. I had my reasons for not saying anything."

"I got to hear this. What was your reason, Mike?"

"As I said, I only have a year to live. This is a rare disease and I was thinking that I might take my gold, sell it and establish a research fund or something for science and upcoming doctors to find a cure, or at least help others have a better life."

"That is admirable," Jay nodded his approval. "But don't you think that your mates would have considered your ideas?"

"I'm not sure. They call themselves scientists and have talked about giving everything over to some museum and to the governments. They were already talking about having to give up the treasure to Spain or Peru." Mike paused, as if thinking if he should say more. He continued, "I do not trust them, especially Thomas and Julie."

This caught Jay's attention. "Why not?" Jay inquired, wanting to know more on this mistrust thing.

"I have been with them for nearly six months now and there is something about Thomas and Julie. They are sneaky. I am sure they have something else in mind about the treasure. It's like they have another agenda, one that Timm and Gretchen are being left out of." He paused and looked around before saying more. "Thomas was lying through his teeth about how he lost the Bye Golly." Jay waited for more to come forth and it did, "Thomas had to be high on something the evening we lost the boat. He made enough mistakes to fill this sloop and have plenty left over. He insisted that we run full sail, but that was not necessary. He brought us too close into the reef areas and we ended up hitting one pretty good. I'm no dummy when it comes to handling a boat and he would not listen to reason. Heavy winds began to tear our rigging and drive us into another reef. This time I heard the keel creak, and the boat would no longer handle properly. We finally dropped the main sails, leaving the front jib up, moving out into deep water. We were safer from the reefs but now the heavy winds began battering us. With a few good-sized beam waves, the Bye Golly rolled and the keel separated. The wind then had its way with us and a few larger beam waves rolled us over so that the boat could not recover. This could have been prevented, if he would have had his sea wits with him."

Jay was listening carefully now, for his own feelings about Thomas had been aroused by several odd comments. He asked Mike to expound on his observations, if he could.

"It was over, the Bye-Golly was done for. It was Timm and I who had to release the inflatable, and we took as much as we could to it. We helped the women into the life-boat and tethered it to the hull until we knew what might happen. We all knew that it was Thomas' fault; he had panicked and mishandled the entire event."

"That is a sad story, but nothing unusual. Pride and self-exaltation will always lead to mishaps and disasters; you can count on that Mike. So you think he might have been stoned on something?"

"Stoned for sure. Thomas and Julie had been getting high ever since we left the Islands. Timm and Gretchen know this too; we all have to do double duty and worry about their mood swings. I'm not sure, but I think, or I got a feeling, that Thomas and Julie are plotting something that does not include Timm or Gretchen. Whatever it is, I don't know, but I am pretty sure, if I gave up those gold links, I'd never see them again. That is why I don't trust them."

"Humm, is that it Mike?"

Mike took a deep breath, sipped out of his water bottle, and quietly said, "Now that we found the treasure, or at least part of it, I have a feeling that Timm, Gretchen and I will never see any of it again—if we even make it back to Hawaii."

Jay stared over at Mike, while contemplating this young man's words. "I'll have to keep an eye out on your observations. They are strangers to us and it is not wise to hand over too much trust to just anyone. I can see your point. So what did you do with the pieces you retrieved?"

Mike felt more confident by telling Jay his incredible story. He said, "I have some of the links buried on the island. I'll go get a few of them for you to look at. There is some odd lettering and numbers scratched into each link, would you like to check it out?"

Jay almost fell off his chair. He nodded, "For sure, you take the raft and go and bring them back. I'd like to see this for myself. It might not be what you are thinking, but let's make sure first, before we decide what to do."

Jay told Mike to make his trip worthwhile and keep everyone's curiosity down. "Take a few bottles of fresh water and some food out to the diving teams, collect what they might have brought up. Then go to the bunker and give them some water and see what they are doing. After that, take a walk and collect your links; bring them back in a gunny sack."

Mike prepared the inflatable raft with water and some food. As he was ready to push off, Jay told him that when he returned, he would be interested in seeing the chain area for himself. Jay watched like a hawk and everything seemed to be going well. Both teams reported in on their portable radios that all was going better than they had expected.

Jay accepted Mikes explanation of the older captain's behavior and would make sure to keep an eye on Mike, Timm and Gretchen. They seemed to be honest souls who could be vulnerable to sinister plots, especially when it came to sunken treasure. Jay watched Mike paddle out to the two diving teams first and then go to the bunker, deliver some water, then make his way into the trees. After some time he saw Mike coming out of the trees, dragging a couple of sacks. Soon the raft was moving along the shore line, returning back to the New Song with the collected goodies. Mike tied off the inflatable and handed up the collected bags from the dive team and from the bunker. These were the first collected items of what was hoped to be rare Inca treasure. The last two were extremely heavy and Jay knew that these were the ones that Mike had buried. Jay took hold and sure enough it was more than heavy.

As Mike climbed aboard he was excited but at the same time a bit worried. Jay asked him if everything was OK. "While I was working my way around the island where I had buried my links, I saw those two guys climbing all over the Bye Golly."

"O boy, that might cause some ripples in your crew."

Mike went on, "They had their inflatable, right up to the hull and the smaller guy was handing out things to the big guy named King Toby. Looks like they had a bunch of stuff piled on the beach already."

Then Mike stepped around the canvas bags that held all the coral and things from the dive team, took his two canvas sacks and dumped the six large links onto the deck table with a clunk. Jay was taken aback. For he had imagined small sized links but these hit the deck table with a loud clunk! He just stood there for a moment, as if expecting something to happen. Then he bent down and moved the links around. They had to be about eight inches in length and six inches across. The links themselves were about four inches thick. Jay, with curiosity written all over his face, hefted one link up, and no doubt, the sucker was heavy. It had to weigh about thirty or forty pounds. He rolled it over and just stared at it with a quizzical look spreading across his tanned face. This went beyond his imagination.

Jay was excited. Within a minute, he was rubbing at the inscribed numbers on the flattest part of the link. He noticed a row of odd figures also carved into the link above the row of lettering and numbers. From experience, he understood this to be a measurement of Spanish weight and a specification number. However, the strange carvings had to be of Incan or Mayan origin. They were familiar birds and animals which represented something—but what, he had no idea.

Jay sat back and said, "No doubt. That is gold for sure. And I think you got yourself one hell of a find."

Mike just stood there like a statue, almost numb with this verification. For up until now, he had his doubts of what this might be.

Jay went on to tell Mike that he knowledge of Spanish gold and Incan and Mayan treasures. His parents were rare art and antique dealers, and he had done several exploration and treasure dives off the coast of Mexico and Peru. He had found some interesting items, but nothing as incredible as this.

"That is fantastic, but now what?" Mike asked.

"I'm not sure. But there is no way we can keep this discovery from your Bye Golly mates, nor from ours."

Mike stepped back, not sure about this. But Jay went on to explain the dangers, and that if Mike only had a year to live, there was no way he could just leave this treasure behind and try and return on his own later—to retrieve it. "No, there's got to be a better way," Jay said, his mind running in high gear. For some reason he went to the Hearst Castle Security team, thinking how they traded rare treasures for the release of captives. Now these links could be a part of one of the greatest gold stories ever told, right out of that troubled area. They might be willing to pay Mike, or establish a grant for research in exchange for the gold links. Then he thought of Luke and his inheritance, and all the charitable groups that his grandparents had set up. Why not one for researching Mike's rare blood disease—why not indeed?

"Mike, how much of the chain did you get?"

"So far, or up until we had to leave, I only got eight of these links up and buried. This is the first six of them, they were too heavy for me to bring more."

Jay went into another one of his thinking modes, "I'm trying to recall an ancient Spanish story from the days of the invading conquistadors in the sixteenth century. When the Spaniards invaded Mexico and Peru and the South American coastline civilizations. They went through all the mountain cities and villages of the Inca civilization searching for gold and riches. They took the Inca priests and leaders and imprisoned them until the natives brought them massive amounts of gold and precious stones. It was rumored that the natives of one mountain town had made a chain of pure gold. They said it was two hundred feet long and would take three hundred men to carry it around. It was brought out only on special occasions. The chain represented a long religious serpent or something like that. The Spanish conquerors killed thousands of native Americans trying to get their hands on that chain. It was said that it was found but then disappeared and no one ever was able to find it again. Some say that the Catholic priests cut it down to size, melted it down into crosses and coins and sent the gold back to Spain."

"Whoa, do you think that this could be that chain?"

"It might be part of it. It does have Spanish markings and what appears to be Inca symbols on one piece."

They were silent for a time when Jay asked more questions about the chain. Mike gave as much information as possible but he said that it did not appear that there was much left of the chain, or it was buried deeper into the reef. They speculated that the bombing runs could have broken the chain to pieces or buried it deeper into the coral sand. Or that the old sunken pirate ship was the foundation of that reef. In time, the ship had settled there, coral formed over it, and the ship itself became a reef. Then without realizing it, the Navy could have dumped all their old armaments onto the reef without knowing that an ancient pirate ship lay there.

Jay sat back contemplating this amazing situation. If he were a thief, he could have the key to millions right here. But he had been counted on by this young man as a trustworthy person, and his intent was to remain trustworthy. Jay told Mike, this rich young man with a sad story, to put the links back into the canvas satchel and, maybe for now, stow it away in the stern equipment locker. "Let's think this through and consider what might be the best thing to do. However, I do think that we are going to have to share this find with your shipmates. I think they will understand and deal fairly with you, even going along with your wish to donate everything to a fund for scientists to find a cure to your disease. No matter their personal wants, we will make sure that your chain of gold does not get lost again. Things will work out, you'll see."

"Where exactly, should I put it now?" Mike asked.

"For now, just put them into the back end of the stern storage locker with the odd ball anchors and other gear, no one ever goes in there and digs around."

After this was done and the canvas bags were stored below, Jay suggested, "Mike, it might be a good idea for you to row me where you found the chain, I'd like to check the area out first. You do know that you broke one of the diver's most important rules—right? That is to never dive alone, no less dive alone in dangerous places."

Mike just shrugged his shoulders and nodded that he understood.

Mike was more than happy to be able to share his find with someone, and they were soon floating over the clear sand bottom, headed for the odd-edged reef that stuck out into the channel. "Right down there," Mike pointed into the depths just around the point of the reef.

Jay took his time and scanned the depths, looked over the upper part of the protruding reef and was able to see what Mike had been telling him. There seemed to be a cluster of planks and odd shaped pieces of coral, but unless he dove, he would not be able to tell what it was. However, what he did see scared the crap out of him. Those odd shapes of coral looked like a pile of large bombs mixed in with metal boxes, which surely could have been abandoned or dumped military supplies. It was known that when the Navy abandoned the island at the end of the war, they dumped or buried tons of military ammunition into the sea—could this be one of those places?

He asked Mike if anything had shifted while he was diving. "Well, once I got into the chain area I did notice that sand had begun to fall down into the area I was digging in, and I had to keep shoveling it out."

Jay just shook his head, saying, "You were lucky my young friend, that whole area looks like a dump site for unexploded armaments."

Mike's face turned white under his tanned skin, but had the look of what difference does it make.

"OK, let's get back to the boat and we'll decide what to do when everyone gets back."

"You mean you're gonna tell them?"

"I got no choice, this place is an explosion ready to blow, and besides, I think you will be surprised at the help you might get from the dive teams and researchers." Jay patted mike on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, no one is going to take your treasure, but don't think that I'm gonna let you stick your thick head back into that armament dump!"

***

As the day wore on, Jay asked Mike to stay aboard and listen to any radio calls, "Pay close attention to the weather station, I feel a change in the air. Blow the signal horn if there is any trouble whatsoever." Jay dug into the stern locker and came up with a steel pipe. "If there's an emergency put this pipe into the water and beat on it with a hammer or wrench. That sound will echo a warning to anyone underwater and we'll come a paddling." Jay then floated off in the raft to check on the dive teams. They were not too far away in distance, but getting around the protruding reef at low tide forced everyone to return by a narrow opening in the reef, next to a deep crater hole. During tide changes, this narrow cut was dangerous and became the opening for the sharks to pass through.

"Hey you people, how is it going?" Jay shouted out his approach to Theo and Crystal who sat watching in the dinghy.

They turned to see Jay paddling across the open area and were happy to see him. "All is well, it is a little tough down there, even though it is shallow water," Theo announced.

"What makes it so tough?" Jay asked.

"There's some kind of stinging coral, plenty of eels; a few reef sharks come in now and then and the worst thing is that there are plenty of bombs and odd shaped things that I'm sure are some kind of dumped munitions."

"Oh sheeet, that ain't good at all," Jay expressed his concerns.

Just then, Luke came up with Amber popping up next to him. He pulled off his mask and helped Amber up the side ladder into the dinghy before hurrying up himself. He handed a rope over to Theo and said, "It's all yours, pull it up."

Jay Saw Theo hauling up what came to be several canvas sacks full of coral rocks and odd shaped pieces of iron and metal.

"That is a nice system you got going, that should save us time," Jay spoke up.

"Yeah, better than having to swim up with a heavy load and let your legs dangle out there for a hungry shark to come along and take a bite," Luke emphasized when he kicked off his swim fins.

"The watch team above has to really pay attention; they can see the sharks way before we can. They will slap the surface to alert us that there are dark shadows swimming around," Amber spoke out the fear that went with this dive.

"Have any sharks bothered you yet?" Jay asked with some concern.

"There was one larger one that was snooping around earlier, but one poke with my spear gun got it to stop sharking us," Theo explained.

"Maybe let us call it a day. You guys go back to the New Song and I'll go get Timm and Gretchen from the bunker. This way we might assess what we got and have lunch with a think session, on how things can be done safer."

"OK, but we have to wait for Thomas and Julie; they still have about ten minutes on their tanks," Theo looked over his shoulder into the deeper water as he spoke.

"That's fine. I'll go to the bunker and pick up Timm and Gretchen. I think we might have a brain session on how best to get this job done," Jay said and began paddling towards the sand bars and the shoreline.

Paddling along the sand bars, Jay was alerted when he spotted several small stingrays lying in the sand, seemingly enjoying the sunshine and the warmer water. He marked this as a sure mention to the crews so that no one went walking on the sand bars without taking a stick along to poke the sand ahead of them—so much for paradise! Gretchen was the first to see him and waved. Jay could hear Timm clanking a miner's hammer and a chisel to break away the hardened coral off the pieces of iron and pottery.

"Hi Jay," Gretchen spoke up in a welcoming voice as Timm laid down his tools.

"Hey, I come to collect you archaeologists of the sea."

"Just in time, my arms are killing me with all this hammer work," Gretchen laughed as she held her arms up.

Jay pulled the raft onto the shore and walked up the incline to the bunker and took a look at their accomplishments. "Wow, you guys have opened up a real treasure; look at all those pieces." His eye was immediately drawn to a silver cross about eighteen inches high. Holding it up to the light, he began narrating his thoughts, "Many times the Spanish priests would melt precious silver or gold works of art down into crosses or other Catholic relics. Always thinking that God would find favor in them if they turned heathen Indian icons from devil worship into what they considered to be a godly icon."

"That's true. That silver cross that is now barely worth its weight in silver was once a fantastic work of art that would be worth millions today," Timm spoke up with disdain.

"Not much we can do about it; but let's gather all this up and get back to the boat. We got a lot to talk about and to see what kinds of treasure, or how, we might extract in the next few days. For it looks like another tropical storm just might be on its way."

Jay began helping fill up more canvas sacks with the pieces they had chipped out of the coral. There were still a lot of larger chunks of coral and what seemed to be rock, when Jay said, "Did you guys see this?"

They both looked to see Jay pointing at a long tube-looking object embedded into a pink coral chunk. "What is it?" Gretchen asked.

"That, my friends, is a very large high caliber bullet. It's, I'd guess, from a 103 rapid fire shore gun, most likely from a cannon type gun used to fire at submarines; but it is nothing to be pounding on."

"What do you mean Jay? Could it still be armed?" Gretchen asked as she simultaneously moved back.

Timm was pointing to the chunk of coral rock, "Wow, I didn't even notice that. That was my next piece, and I was going to be pounding on it without even considering that it could be a live piece of ammunition."

"Thank god you came along Jay!" Gretchen expressed her honest thanks, but meanwhile she was laughing to herself, this Jay is forever trying to strike fear into our hearts, here he goes again with another Boom-Boom warning!

"Well, for now, let's gather up all the safe looking pieces you have worked on and put the rest into the bunker for tomorrow."

Jay was getting a good idea of what they might be facing in this treasure dive. It never failed, every treasure had its challenge! The challenge here was that it appeared that the treasure had been blown apart by bombs, which made it harder than ever to find, for it seemed to be lying under the island's major ammo dump. Any bump or shifting could explode one bomb, which would set off a chain reaction and blow all of us to smithereens. This was going to be the major discussion this night—Jay could not ignore what he was seeing.

Jay saw that their arms were speckled with red dots and bumps and asked them what that might be.

"We are getting into some poisonous coral, and the chips get onto our arms; apparently it is still alive and well."

"Crap, I didn't even think of that, you guys are going to have to wear long sleeves and goggles to protect your arms and faces," Jay stated.

They locked up the bunker shed and soon were paddling back out to the New Song. The high tide was rushing in now and the inner lagoon was swirling with incoming waters and those lurking shadows.

They saw that everyone was back aboard sitting around drying off. As they came up to the New Song Gretchen dove into the clear water and swam to the ladder. Jay was taken back because of the shark worry, then Timm went over and washed himself off. Jay told him to hurry and get up the ladder, this was no time to be taking his shower—it is tide change, when things begin to prowl around.

Gretchen said, "Sorry Jay, but there was no way that I was going to remain covered by all that coral dust."

"I understand, but let us know, so we can stand watch for one another."

Just then, Mike yelled out, "There they be! Sharks—at least two big ones inside the lagoon area. All beware!"

Everyone watched the fins cruise around the lagoon and come right up to the boat. We all stood there realizing that there just might be some danger to watch out for. Jay took the pipe out and lowered it into the water and began to clang on it. It seemed to work, the fins actually sped up and went back out the reef channel. The girls stood off to one side talking about the sharks and their day, and eventually went down to the galley to prepare a good meal. Everyone was hungry, and the good day of diving had to be celebrated. Jay looked around at all the bags stacked up along the port rail and wondered how much of the treasure they actually retrieved. According to Thomas, they had barely touched it. In fact, he went on to say that they were now digging into pockets of coins and jewels. A little later Julie explained that much of the treasure must have been packed into leather bags that were scattered during the bombing. The leather satchels had rotted away and left pockets of treasure in small areas. The coral had grown around and over it; over the years each chunk of coral was like opening an oyster shell and finding a rare pearl.

It was Gretchen the marine archaeologist who really put things into perspective for all of us, "You must understand that a pirate ship was not just a toy. It was sometimes as large as the galleons they would attack. If one pirate ship took two or three Spanish galleons, can you imagine the amount of treasure that would add up to? One of those sailing ships could easily hold the New Song inside her belly with room enough for more." She waited for this idea to sink in, then went on, "Did you ever hear about Francis Drake the English pirate who captured the famous treasure ship named the Conception, along with several Spanish galleons? His ship the Golden Hynes could not handle all the tonnage. He had to dump tons of the silver overboard on one of the South American islands. That is another treasure story in the record book."

"Do you think the Spanish pirate ship, the Esperanza, was that large? And was it fully loaded to its capacity?" Theo our science man asked.

Gretchen had to speculate here, but even in smaller terms, we had to be amazed at what the Esperanza treasure ship might have been carrying when she went down.

"Even if the pirates only got away with one shipload of Inca treasure, it still would have filled a cabin larger than our galley and saloon put together; and that is tons!"

We all looked around and made mental calculations of how much this might have been. It was nearly impossible to realize that there was even that much gold in the world, much less aboard one pirate ship. I imagined, not just gold but beautiful works of art: crowns, sundials made of pure gold, boxes or even chests full of precious stones, carvings overlaid with gold, magnificent statues of animals and Inca deities of all sizes, and chests of coinage, both silver and gold.

My reverie was broken when Gretchen went on to say, "Now when the Esperanza went down somewhere right near here, there were only a handful of survivors. Those pirates who managed to survive the battles, and eventually the shipwreck, were not fortunate. I'm sure that many of them sustained wounds during the wreck. However, and good for us, before the ship was completely destroyed by storms and waves, the survivors managed to transfer a good portion of the treasure onto the islands. We'll never know just how much." They could have also transferred more of it to the main island over time, but many have searched, and who knows what has already been found."

Julie added to this discussion by saying that the pirates first concern was their survival. "In reality, treasure of that amount would not have any value to them if they did not have food or water to live on. They certainly were able to salvage some barrels of water and quantities of food off the wrecked ship first, and then came back for the treasure."

At this time Mike came forward and said with some apology, "Jay, I forgot to tell you that your buddy, the lawyer Dustin, called on the satellite phone and said that he would call later."

"Did he say anything to you that you do remember?" Theo asked sarcastically.

"Only something about that King Toby guy, we should do everything to avoid him and he would tell more later."

"O boy, I forgot something myself, or just didn't want to tell you guys yet. Didn't want to upset your dinner," Jay sipped his bottle of water and held everyone in silent anticipation. "Mike did some looking around on the island for me today and reported back that he saw Bubba and Bongo unloading all kinds of stuff from the Bye Golly hull."

Thomas jumped up looking towards the island, ready to go. But it was already getting late, Jay told him to calm down: there was nothing anyone could do other than ask them for your things. He went on to say that the hull was a wreck and that meant that anyone could go aboard and take what they wanted, "Who was there to stop them? Besides, you four should have gone to the hull the first day."

"They knew that was our sloop, they knew we would be getting into it," Timm spoke.

"True. But really, is there anything worth saving at this time?" Jay asked.

Thomas was angry by now and said, "Of course there is!"

"Like what?" Jay asked.

"We all have some personal things aboard. I have my navigation instruments and a few pistols. We had our cameras and film in sealed lockers."

"Pistols, you mean like guns?" Theo wanted to know.

"Yes, of course, everyone carries some type of weapon when out to sea. Just think of the Grahams couple."

"O man, hope those two didn't get their hands on them," Theo shook his head.

"Get real, didn't you get a look at those two? They look like they own their own gun shop and a shooting range; probably eat guns for lunch and chew on bullets instead of tobacco." I had to put in my simple common sense and everyone smirked, except for Jay.

Jay was a little upset that Thomas didn't tell him about guns aboard. He would have retrieved them during their first dive. Now it was possible that the bonker boys might have them. "Everyone calm down, let us think things through here. I think we better take a few minutes to talk a few things over," Jay said.

"O boy, you sound serious," Julie moved over, getting closer to Jay.

"Well, I think I am, but it is my job to be serious."

Everyone was tired but still excited over the idea of so much gold, but Jay began to put things into perspective for us. "It appears that this entire area..." he moved his arm around, taking in the reef areas where we had been diving, "I did a bit of looking round while you were diving, and I hate to tell you treasure hunters, but this entire area here, must have been the Navy's official ammo disposal dump. For there are literally piles of bombs, fully loaded howitzers, small cannon shells, all the way down to boxes of old ammo down there. This stuff is not only piled around and overgrown by the coral, but some of the pieces you have brought up have larger caliber bullets stuck into them." With these sobering words, Jay brought out the chunk of coral that still had the large103-shore gun bullet embedded into it.

"What the heck is that?" Theo asked.

"That my friend is a good sized bullet shell used to shoot down airplanes or sink submarines. It is, or looks like it is, still loaded and I cannot tell you if it will still explode or not. But from what I heard, this ammo remains live for a long time, even under water. But what makes it really bad, is that there is so much around us. If someone were to bang or drop one of the bombs onto something, it could explode. And that would set off an entire chain reaction, without a doubt, a very big boom."

"Ah come on Jay, aren't you going a bit far?" Thomas immediately offered his protest.

"Not so, my friend. You are now diving in a crater blown out by one good bomb. And that crater or those many craters may have been used by the Navy to dump their stored bombs and cache of armaments and ammo. Imagine if five, or maybe ten, of those bombs went off, this entire area would no longer exist. I would guess that this Cooper and Target Island would cease to exist. They would vanish, right along with all of us, if we accidentally set one of those suckers off! In this soft coral, a five hundred pound bomb could easily blow a 30 foot deep and 50 foot across crater, pulverizing this coral into sand."

"I hate to tell all of you happy kids and our new partners in this treasure hunt, but I have a little more news. News that you might not like." Jay tried to smile as everyone groaned.

"Beyond the two gun toters out there," Jay pointed to the main island, my real concern is that this area was used for a munitions dump by the Navy, I want all of us to spend a day or so going over everything with a fine tooth comb. It is only prudent that we know what we are dealing with. We have time as of yet, and we already know where the treasure is basically located. Tomorrow I want all of us to map these two reef areas out and plot them onto a chart. And if you don't think that there is any danger of this stuff blowing up, I beg to differ. I can tell you of several stories that might shed some light on our doubts. There was a blacksmith, by trade, in one of the Eastern European countries. After World War I, he had to rebuild his blacksmith shop. Starting over, he went about collecting all sorts of leftover war materials. It was nearly ten years later when he was pounding out a horse shoe on the end of one of his favorite anvils. Suddenly there was a horrific explosion and half of the village went up in pieces, along with the village blacksmith. After the smoke had cleared and the survivors made their way back into the wreckage, they determined that their village blacksmith had secured together three large iron cannon shells to form his anvil. It worked well for years, until that fatal day when for some reason he struck the firing mechanism just right, and the three cannon shells blew. They had been buried in the ground for at least ten years, then supposedly defused and soaked in water. The blacksmith was sure there was no danger."

We were all contemplating this story when Jay went on, "Now, for us, there may be a lot of armaments dumped below us, and I am going to make sure we, or at least my ship here, the one we are depending on us to get us back home—is not blown to bits."

"Listen Jay, couldn't we at least let one dive team work the open area in the Cooper crater while the rest go on your survey?" Thomas suggested.

Jay thought this over and said that this made sense as long as the divers stayed away from the reef edge and only sifted the open sand areas in the center of the treasure crater.

I myself was thinking how stupid I was. This very day I was breaking out chunks of coral with a crowbar and banging on pieces of iron that I saw. What if I had hit the wrong thing and Bam! We would all have gone up in one big sheet of coral dust!

Jay finished the discussion by saying, "We'll begin first thing in the morning. We will begin on the edge of this outside reef and follow it along across to Target Island, then to the Cooper Island reef and up to the sand bars. I don't want anyone to take this lightly—our lives could be at stake. Now let's get a good nights sleep and be ready for tomorrow."

# Chapter Ten - The First Official Dive

As the day wore on, Jay asked Mike to stay aboard and listen to any radio calls, "Pay close attention to the weather station, I feel a change in the air. Blow the signal horn if there is any trouble whatsoever." Jay dug into the stern locker and came up with a steel pipe. "If there's an emergency put this pipe into the water and beat on it with a hammer or wrench. That sound will echo a warning to anyone underwater and we'll come a paddling." Jay then floated off in the raft to check on the dive teams. They were not too far away in distance, but getting around the protruding reef at low tide forced everyone to return by a narrow opening in the reef, next to a deep crater hole. During tide changes, this narrow cut was dangerous and became the opening for the sharks to pass through.

"Hey you people, how is it going?" Jay shouted out his approach to Theo and Crystal who sat watching in the dinghy.

They turned to see Jay paddling across the open area and were happy to see him. "All is well, it is a little tough down there, even though it is shallow water," Theo announced.

"What makes it so tough?" Jay asked.

"There's some kind of stinging coral, plenty of eels; a few reef sharks come in now and then and the worst thing is that there are plenty of bombs and odd shaped things that I'm sure are some kind of dumped munitions."

"Oh sheeet, that ain't good at all," Jay expressed his concerns.

Just then, Luke came up with Amber popping up next to him. He pulled off his mask and helped Amber up the side ladder into the dinghy before hurrying up himself. He handed a rope over to Theo and said, "It's all yours, pull it up."

Jay Saw Theo hauling up what came to be several canvas sacks full of coral rocks and odd shaped pieces of iron and metal.

"That is a nice system you got going, that should save us time," Jay spoke up.

"Yeah, better than having to swim up with a heavy load and let your legs dangle out there for a hungry shark to come along and take a bite," Luke emphasized when he kicked off his swim fins.

"The watch team above has to really pay attention; they can see the sharks way before we can. They will slap the surface to alert us that there are dark shadows swimming around," Amber spoke out the fear that went with this dive.

"Have any sharks bothered you yet?" Jay asked with some concern.

"There was one larger one that was snooping around earlier, but one poke with my spear gun got it to stop sharking us," Theo explained.

"Maybe let us call it a day. You guys go back to the New Song and I'll go get Timm and Gretchen from the bunker. This way we might assess what we got and have lunch with a think session, on how things can be done safer."

"OK, but we have to wait for Thomas and Julie; they still have about ten minutes on their tanks," Theo looked over his shoulder into the deeper water as he spoke.

"That's fine. I'll go to the bunker and pick up Timm and Gretchen. I think we might have a brain session on how best to get this job done," Jay said and began paddling towards the sand bars and the shoreline.

Paddling along the sand bars, Jay was alerted when he spotted several small stingrays lying in the sand, seemingly enjoying the sunshine and the warmer water. He marked this as a sure mention to the crews so that no one went walking on the sand bars without taking a stick along to poke the sand ahead of them—so much for paradise! Gretchen was the first to see him and waved. Jay could hear Timm clanking a miner's hammer and a chisel to break away the hardened coral off the pieces of iron and pottery.

"Hi Jay," Gretchen spoke up in a welcoming voice as Timm laid down his tools.

"Hey, I come to collect you archaeologists of the sea."

"Just in time, my arms are killing me with all this hammer work," Gretchen laughed as she held her arms up.

Jay pulled the raft onto the shore and walked up the incline to the bunker and took a look at their accomplishments. "Wow, you guys have opened up a real treasure; look at all those pieces." His eye was immediately drawn to a silver cross about eighteen inches high. Holding it up to the light, he began narrating his thoughts, "Many times the Spanish priests would melt precious silver or gold works of art down into crosses or other Catholic relics. Always thinking that God would find favor in them if they turned heathen Indian icons from devil worship into what they considered to be a godly icon."

"That's true. That silver cross that is now barely worth its weight in silver was once a fantastic work of art that would be worth millions today," Timm spoke up with disdain.

"Not much we can do about it; but let's gather all this up and get back to the boat. We got a lot to talk about and to see what kinds of treasure, or how, we might extract in the next few days. For it looks like another tropical storm just might be on its way."

Jay began helping fill up more canvas sacks with the pieces they had chipped out of the coral. There were still a lot of larger chunks of coral and what seemed to be rock, when Jay said, "Did you guys see this?"

They both looked to see Jay pointing at a long tube-looking object embedded into a pink coral chunk. "What is it?" Gretchen asked.

"That, my friends, is a very large high caliber bullet. It's, I'd guess, from a 103 rapid fire shore gun, most likely from a cannon type gun used to fire at submarines; but it is nothing to be pounding on."

"What do you mean Jay? Could it still be armed?" Gretchen asked as she simultaneously moved back.

Timm was pointing to the chunk of coral rock, "Wow, I didn't even notice that. That was my next piece, and I was going to be pounding on it without even considering that it could be a live piece of ammunition."

"Thank god you came along Jay!" Gretchen expressed her honest thanks, but meanwhile she was laughing to herself, this Jay is forever trying to strike fear into our hearts, here he goes again with another Boom-Boom warning!

"Well, for now, let's gather up all the safe looking pieces you have worked on and put the rest into the bunker for tomorrow."

Jay was getting a good idea of what they might be facing in this treasure dive. It never failed, every treasure had its challenge! The challenge here was that it appeared that the treasure had been blown apart by bombs, which made it harder than ever to find, for it seemed to be lying under the island's major ammo dump. Any bump or shifting could explode one bomb, which would set off a chain reaction and blow all of us to smithereens. This was going to be the major discussion this night—Jay could not ignore what he was seeing.

Jay saw that their arms were speckled with red dots and bumps and asked them what that might be.

"We are getting into some poisonous coral, and the chips get onto our arms; apparently it is still alive and well."

"Crap, I didn't even think of that, you guys are going to have to wear long sleeves and goggles to protect your arms and faces," Jay stated.

They locked up the bunker shed and soon were paddling back out to the New Song. The high tide was rushing in now and the inner lagoon was swirling with incoming waters and those lurking shadows.

They saw that everyone was back aboard sitting around drying off. As they came up to the New Song Gretchen dove into the clear water and swam to the ladder. Jay was taken back because of the shark worry, then Timm went over and washed himself off. Jay told him to hurry and get up the ladder, this was no time to be taking his shower—it is tide change, when things begin to prowl around.

Gretchen said, "Sorry Jay, but there was no way that I was going to remain covered by all that coral dust."

"I understand, but let us know, so we can stand watch for one another."

Just then, Mike yelled out, "There they be! Sharks—at least two big ones inside the lagoon area. All beware!"

Everyone watched the fins cruise around the lagoon and come right up to the boat. We all stood there realizing that there just might be some danger to watch out for. Jay took the pipe out and lowered it into the water and began to clang on it. It seemed to work, the fins actually sped up and went back out the reef channel. The girls stood off to one side talking about the sharks and their day, and eventually went down to the galley to prepare a good meal. Everyone was hungry, and the good day of diving had to be celebrated. Jay looked around at all the bags stacked up along the port rail and wondered how much of the treasure they actually retrieved. According to Thomas, they had barely touched it. In fact, he went on to say that they were now digging into pockets of coins and jewels. A little later Julie explained that much of the treasure must have been packed into leather bags that were scattered during the bombing. The leather satchels had rotted away and left pockets of treasure in small areas. The coral had grown around and over it; over the years each chunk of coral was like opening an oyster shell and finding a rare pearl.

It was Gretchen the marine archaeologist who really put things into perspective for all of us, "You must understand that a pirate ship was not just a toy. It was sometimes as large as the galleons they would attack. If one pirate ship took two or three Spanish galleons, can you imagine the amount of treasure that would add up to? One of those sailing ships could easily hold the New Song inside her belly with room enough for more." She waited for this idea to sink in, then went on, "Did you ever hear about Francis Drake the English pirate who captured the famous treasure ship named the Conception, along with several Spanish galleons? His ship the Golden Hynes could not handle all the tonnage. He had to dump tons of the silver overboard on one of the South American islands. That is another treasure story in the record book."

"Do you think the Spanish pirate ship, the Esperanza, was that large? And was it fully loaded to its capacity?" Theo our science man asked.

Gretchen had to speculate here, but even in smaller terms, we had to be amazed at what the Esperanza treasure ship might have been carrying when she went down.

"Even if the pirates only got away with one shipload of Inca treasure, it still would have filled a cabin larger than our galley and saloon put together; and that is tons!"

We all looked around and made mental calculations of how much this might have been. It was nearly impossible to realize that there was even that much gold in the world, much less aboard one pirate ship. I imagined, not just gold but beautiful works of art: crowns, sundials made of pure gold, boxes or even chests full of precious stones, carvings overlaid with gold, magnificent statues of animals and Inca deities of all sizes, and chests of coinage, both silver and gold.

My reverie was broken when Gretchen went on to say, "Now when the Esperanza went down somewhere right near here, there were only a handful of survivors. Those pirates who managed to survive the battles, and eventually the shipwreck, were not fortunate. I'm sure that many of them sustained wounds during the wreck. However, and good for us, before the ship was completely destroyed by storms and waves, the survivors managed to transfer a good portion of the treasure onto the islands. We'll never know just how much." They could have also transferred more of it to the main island over time, but many have searched, and who knows what has already been found."

Julie added to this discussion by saying that the pirates first concern was their survival. "In reality, treasure of that amount would not have any value to them if they did not have food or water to live on. They certainly were able to salvage some barrels of water and quantities of food off the wrecked ship first, and then came back for the treasure."

At this time Mike came forward and said with some apology, "Jay, I forgot to tell you that your buddy, the lawyer Dustin, called on the satellite phone and said that he would call later."

"Did he say anything to you that you do remember?" Theo asked sarcastically.

"Only something about that King Toby guy, we should do everything to avoid him and he would tell more later."

"O boy, I forgot something myself, or just didn't want to tell you guys yet. Didn't want to upset your dinner," Jay sipped his bottle of water and held everyone in silent anticipation. "Mike did some looking around on the island for me today and reported back that he saw Bubba and Bongo unloading all kinds of stuff from the Bye Golly hull."

Thomas jumped up looking towards the island, ready to go. But it was already getting late, Jay told him to calm down: there was nothing anyone could do other than ask them for your things. He went on to say that the hull was a wreck and that meant that anyone could go aboard and take what they wanted, "Who was there to stop them? Besides, you four should have gone to the hull the first day."

"They knew that was our sloop, they knew we would be getting into it," Timm spoke.

"True. But really, is there anything worth saving at this time?" Jay asked.

Thomas was angry by now and said, "Of course there is!"

"Like what?" Jay asked.

"We all have some personal things aboard. I have my navigation instruments and a few pistols. We had our cameras and film in sealed lockers."

"Pistols, you mean like guns?" Theo wanted to know.

"Yes, of course, everyone carries some type of weapon when out to sea. Just think of the Grahams couple."

"O man, hope those two didn't get their hands on them," Theo shook his head.

"Get real, didn't you get a look at those two? They look like they own their own gun shop and a shooting range; probably eat guns for lunch and chew on bullets instead of tobacco." I had to put in my simple common sense and everyone smirked, except for Jay.

Jay was a little upset that Thomas didn't tell him about guns aboard. He would have retrieved them during their first dive. Now it was possible that the bonker boys might have them. "Everyone calm down, let us think things through here. I think we better take a few minutes to talk a few things over," Jay said.

"O boy, you sound serious," Julie moved over, getting closer to Jay.

"Well, I think I am, but it is my job to be serious."

Everyone was tired but still excited over the idea of so much gold, but Jay began to put things into perspective for us. "It appears that this entire area..." he moved his arm around, taking in the reef areas where we had been diving, "I did a bit of looking round while you were diving, and I hate to tell you treasure hunters, but this entire area here, must have been the Navy's official ammo disposal dump. For there are literally piles of bombs, fully loaded howitzers, small cannon shells, all the way down to boxes of old ammo down there. This stuff is not only piled around and overgrown by the coral, but some of the pieces you have brought up have larger caliber bullets stuck into them." With these sobering words, Jay brought out the chunk of coral that still had the large103-shore gun bullet embedded into it.

"What the heck is that?" Theo asked.

"That my friend is a good sized bullet shell used to shoot down airplanes or sink submarines. It is, or looks like it is, still loaded and I cannot tell you if it will still explode or not. But from what I heard, this ammo remains live for a long time, even under water. But what makes it really bad, is that there is so much around us. If someone were to bang or drop one of the bombs onto something, it could explode. And that would set off an entire chain reaction, without a doubt, a very big boom."

"Ah come on Jay, aren't you going a bit far?" Thomas immediately offered his protest.

"Not so, my friend. You are now diving in a crater blown out by one good bomb. And that crater or those many craters may have been used by the Navy to dump their stored bombs and cache of armaments and ammo. Imagine if five, or maybe ten, of those bombs went off, this entire area would no longer exist. I would guess that this Cooper and Target Island would cease to exist. They would vanish, right along with all of us, if we accidentally set one of those suckers off! In this soft coral, a five hundred pound bomb could easily blow a 30 foot deep and 50 foot across crater, pulverizing this coral into sand."

"I hate to tell all of you happy kids and our new partners in this treasure hunt, but I have a little more news. News that you might not like." Jay tried to smile as everyone groaned.

"Beyond the two gun toters out there," Jay pointed to the main island, my real concern is that this area was used for a munitions dump by the Navy, I want all of us to spend a day or so going over everything with a fine tooth comb. It is only prudent that we know what we are dealing with. We have time as of yet, and we already know where the treasure is basically located. Tomorrow I want all of us to map these two reef areas out and plot them onto a chart. And if you don't think that there is any danger of this stuff blowing up, I beg to differ. I can tell you of several stories that might shed some light on our doubts. There was a blacksmith, by trade, in one of the Eastern European countries. After World War I, he had to rebuild his blacksmith shop. Starting over, he went about collecting all sorts of leftover war materials. It was nearly ten years later when he was pounding out a horse shoe on the end of one of his favorite anvils. Suddenly there was a horrific explosion and half of the village went up in pieces, along with the village blacksmith. After the smoke had cleared and the survivors made their way back into the wreckage, they determined that their village blacksmith had secured together three large iron cannon shells to form his anvil. It worked well for years, until that fatal day when for some reason he struck the firing mechanism just right, and the three cannon shells blew. They had been buried in the ground for at least ten years, then supposedly defused and soaked in water. The blacksmith was sure there was no danger."

We were all contemplating this story when Jay went on, "Now, for us, there may be a lot of armaments dumped below us, and I am going to make sure we, or at least my ship here, the one we are depending on us to get us back home—is not blown to bits."

"Listen Jay, couldn't we at least let one dive team work the open area in the Cooper crater while the rest go on your survey?" Thomas suggested.

Jay thought this over and said that this made sense as long as the divers stayed away from the reef edge and only sifted the open sand areas in the center of the treasure crater.

I myself was thinking how stupid I was. This very day I was breaking out chunks of coral with a crowbar and banging on pieces of iron that I saw. What if I had hit the wrong thing and Bam! We would all have gone up in one big sheet of coral dust!

Jay finished the discussion by saying, "We'll begin first thing in the morning. We will begin on the edge of this outside reef and follow it along across to Target Island, then to the Cooper Island reef and up to the sand bars. I don't want anyone to take this lightly—our lives could be at stake. Now let's get a good nights sleep and be ready for tomorrow."

# Chapter Eleven - Girls Episode!

The next day the morning broke clear and bright. Early before the heat would rise and burn hot, Jay thought it best for the dive teams to get to their diving. For safety reasons he thought it best that the work at the bunker shops be shut down. However, Julie began the morning with her protests and requested that they be allowed to at least go ashore and retrieve the needed tools and equipment to continue their work aboard the New Song. After setting up the new workstation, and under pressure from the girls, Jay allowed the girls to go and collect whatever coral and tools that remained in the shed. In a hurry, they scrambled and got ready to go to the bunker and collect the last of their gear. The guys would stay busy checking out the dive equipment and making a few repairs to the air compressor and getting ready for the day's dive.

Having prepared a quick breakfast, trying to stay out of the guys way and before the dive day began, the girls set off on their bunker expedition. Jay felt that with the four of them, they were going to be safe for the couple of hours they would be gone. The New Song's dinghy soon made it through the gap in the reef and came to shore near the bunker area, just beyond Cooper Island. The shed was unlocked, and after taking a quick inventory, the inflatable was soon filling up with extra diving tanks, a variety of cleaning tools and a number of bags of coral, not yet cleaned. The four girls, Amber and Crystal from the New Song, Gretchen and Julie from the Bye-Golly, made good time as the morning heat began to beat down. They were shuttling back and forth, filling in the final spots in the waiting dinghy when Bubba and Bongo slipped out of the trees and slowly crept up, waiting their chance. Shortly thereafter, the women had everything loaded up and were back in the bunker, checking for the last items, when the two men stepped into the doorway of the bunker, completely surprising them.

"Now, now, Oh me Oh my. What do we have here?" Bubba was grinning as he faced the four women standing inside the bunker, shocked and at full alert.

"What matter is it to you, Mr. Shag? Or whatever your stupid names are," Julie replied with a smart-ass twang. Amber shot Julie a warning look, deciding that for sure, this was not a good way to stay incognito, not with these two giant cretins.

"Oh, there is a difference—there is a matter that counts, and we are here to maybe, just maybe, get our hands onto what really matters," Bubba snarled back—angered at her remark about his name.

Crystal and Amber noticed the huge hands of Bubba, flexing his fingers as if getting them ready to break bricks. "Listen Mr. Toby, we are leaving this bunker to you, make yourself at home, we're out of here, it's all yours. The Coast Guard has warned us of another storm and they'll be here soon to escort us away." Gretchen tried smoothing out Julie's nail scraping answer, by giving them a better response and added in a tiny fib.

Amber and Crystal, being from a family whose job was dealing with sordid troubles, instinctively knew that these two giants were nothing but bad news. Julie in her stupidity had already turned the bad news headlines into a possible horror story. As nice as Gretchen tried to be to them, Crystal felt that they already had an ill willed agenda. Amber was perturbed at Julie's abrupt attack and foolish answer to the giants and was rather upset that they had been trapped in this bunker, at least for the moment.

My gosh, who knew what was transpiring with these two oddballs. One thing for sure, you didn't want to rile them in any way. They have enough bulk and muscle between them to crunch the four of us like bugs, Crystal thought. That very message slowly came across in Bubba's massive hungry smile.

Leo, or Bongo, stood there tossing one gold coin into the air. The light hit it as it spun and the girls knew that Leo wanted them to know that they had found a tiny bit of the treasure. He said in a smoke-ravaged voice, sounding like he had been forced to suck on a blow torch for the last twenty years, "You so-called researchers have been finding treasure," the coin continued to spin into the air and land back into his plate sized palm. He went on, "We helped ourselves to a few pieces of your research, but we want to know where the rest of it might be?"

"Yeah, that is the first matter," Bubba added with a huge white tooth smile that looked like a picket fence with a few pickets missing.

Apparently, they had been watching the girls load up the dinghy and knew that the last canvas bags had been removed from the bunker. Bubba told his half-sized partner, to go down to the boat and get those last bags and bring them up here. Leo stopped flipping the coin and waddled down the beach towards the dinghy.

Suddenly and completely unexpected, Bubba reached into his belt and came out with an intimidating pistol and there he stood. Julie and Gretchen gasped in shock and moved back but there was nowhere to move to. The bunker had a table which was piled with broken coral. With Amber and Crystal there, they were all bunched up.

"Hey, that is Thomas' gun, where did you get it? You better give it back to us," Julie fired out with her ridiculous command.

A roar like a hippopotamus came out of Bubba's mouth. His mouth did resemble a huge hippo declaring its ownership of a river, Amber thought as the girls shrank back.

"Simple enough. Off the hull near the shore. We got tons of your stuff in our camp now. This little beauty is only one of the guns," with this Bubba waved the pistol sideways, as if measuring them into a tight group.

"OK girls, we want, maybe to have a little more fun before we run. Stand back and remove your tops to begin with," Bubba ordered as he took aim at Julie with his pistol.

"What the heck you thinking you're doing? Our men out there will be all over you like stink on pigs," Crystal stated firmly.

"Nah, they can't see a thing from here, and besides, this won't take long. Just do what we say and you'll be OK. Now get those tops off."

Just then Bongo came up dragging two of the canvas bags with one laid over his shoulder. He set the two down just behind Bubba. He turned to see his buddy holding his gun at the four ladies, "What's up Toby, got something in mind?"

"Yeah, might as well have a bit of fun before we run," he laughed at his little rhyme and waved the pistol back and forth as he gave his order.

This was bad! For, earlier that morning, before paddling to the bunker, the girls, knowing that they had to be dealing with the last bunker items and the heat, none had over-dressed for the occasion.

"If we don't, what are you going to do?" asked Amber.

"To begin with, I'll shoot one of you in the leg, just to show you that we mean business." With this, Bongo joined in, laughing out loud in his agreement.

"Come on, get it off," demanded Bubba in an excited but in a crazed chuckle.

"That sounds fine with us, but can we at least step outside in the shade and we'll then conform. After all, it is awful crowded in here and the light is really bad in here. You do want a good look, don't you boys?" Amber teased in a sexy voice.

Then Crystal joined in, "You don't want to look at four really stinky and sweating ladies, do you now?"

Bubba hesitated and could see that the girls were definitely sweating, just standing in the metal and cement bunker. And they were dripping wet from working and walking back and forth to the dinghy. These women's suggestions made good sense, Bubba thought. Wow, were they ever being cooperative.

Amber very cautiously suggested that we all begin ambling towards the outside, pretending to remove our tops for now. Let's see what might be, and then we'll take the next step. Somehow, she managed to put a slight twist on the word step, hoping Crystal got the message.

Bubba and Bongo were chattering back and forth between themselves and were not quite paying attention. But Julie and Gretchen were shocked at Amber's suggestion, not knowing in the least, the idea being formed between Amber and Crystal. "Right now, it's only flesh, I'm sure someone else in this world has seen your boobs. Our lives might be in danger here, and besides I need a distraction," Amber mouthed these words to the others.

Crystal knew exactly what Amber was doing, and was smiling at Julie, "I only hope you got enough of a chest to at least cause a second or two of reasonable distraction." Julie turned red and shot a dirty look to Crystal, totally insulted.

Bongo stepped back, and then Bubba waved his gun towards the girls, gesturing for them to step outside and move around the edge of the bunker where Amber had remembered that the morning shade would be. But they would also remain out of sight from the New Song.

Bubba stepped back and let them through saying, "Scream and I'll club you down like dogs!"

Bubba was really getting serious and you could see he was getting excited. He soon aimed his pistol at Julie and said, "You're first, get undressed."

Julie began to complain, "Why me, if you want to see big breasts, take a look at hers," and she pointed over to Crystal.

Crystal was shocked at this lady's audacity with a switch the view to the better tit idea, but Bubba said, "No, you got the big mouth so you're gonna go first!"

Then Bongo added, "Yeah, we'll work our way up to the better stuff!"

Amber spoke quietly to Julie, almost whispering, "Just do what they ask, that will give us a few more minutes to figure out something."

Amber knew that this whole thing was insane. Imagine someone going utterly crazy over milk glands, and she had to laugh! She also knew that if they removed their tops for them, it wouldn't stop there. These perverted nut cases were already foaming at the mouth, with their eyes glazing big as platters.

Now the only person to know the qualifications of Amber was Crystal. They both had grown up in the Kaamin family with five really tough brothers. The Kaamin family was the Hearst Castle's Security Force. On the far north edge of the Hearst Castle ranch was a compound where the HC Security Forces lived, trained and practiced. Both Crystal and Amber had grown up in this security family and were well qualified in most of the known arts of self-defense. In fact they had been involved in an incident back in Hawaii that had revealed their skills to both an astonished Luke and Theo.

Filming their surf movie with Luke and Theo, during one of the location shots on a north shore pipeline beach, a group of local islanders demanded payment for the use of the beach. They were going to hold Theo's cameras for payment when Amber stepped up, and had to handle the situation with a take-down to the leader of the gang. After this, Luke and Theo had become the girls on-going students in the art of self-defense.

But now, smooth like, Amber had slowly lured these two giants into a position that she and Crystal found more advantageous for a possible move on them. They had been trained to handle such situations as long as they were given half a chance. Guns, fighting, and dirty games were not unfamiliar to Amber or Crystal.

So, when ugly over-muscled idiot Bubba or Mr. King Toby Shag made the final mistake of telling Julie to take it off, Amber nodded to Julie to follow his instructions.

Of course this did not go over well, she was near a faint, but with a gun pointed at her stomach, she slowly unbuttoned her blouse and let it fall open. She hesitated for a moment and then Bubba in his excitement demanded that it all had to go. Amber assured Julie that this would be all right, if she would at least fulfill this crazy man's demands, there would be a chance for all of them. Amber managed to put a guarantee into her voice and somehow Julie, out of terror decided to agree.

So Julie undid the top part of her beach apparel and let it fall. Bubba was gasping with pleasure while Bongo's eyes were lighting up while staring and starting to drool. Bubba's face soon twisted in disappointment though, for what he imagined to be something exciting, turned out to be a laughable quandary. Crystal almost laughed herself, for Julie was well shy of being endowed, there was almost nothing but two brown dabs on pancakes she thought, while shaking her head at the ridiculous excitement that was now evident in the two idiot gawkers. Crystal realized that part of Julie's hesitancy was actually having to reveal her flat chest.

Amber's eyes were targeted on Bubba's eyes and she waited until his pupils were fixed on the near bare chest of Julie before she made her move. Distraction was the name of the game. This was part of her training with the Hearst Castle Security team, and she had seen Luke use it on many occasions and with distraction—struck! Sorry bubba, too late, Amber had quietly made her way over, as if to be next. Then, as fast as lightening her right hand shot up and out to chop Bubba's wrist so hard he let out a yelp. The gun went flying off and landed in the sand, but Crystal had been anticipating this move and grabbed up the gun. But the show was not over yet, Amber flipped herself into the air in a horizontal position and with a swift toe-kick to Bubba's neck and throat nearly finished him off. He grabbed his throat as he began choking and gasping for air. His hands were at his throat trying to get air down his windpipe when a swift kick to the groin doubled him over. Then a back-armed elbow nearly spun his head around and he was on the ground, writhing and choking. It was an ugly thing to see—this huge man lying on the ground, turning purple, hoping not to die.

The sound of him trying to suck in air, choking and then vomiting was frightful, but the girls stood back astonished, watching while Bubba lay choking on his own vomit. His buddy Bongo was backing up with his hands in front of him. He fell backwards and soon was crawling away like a beached crab running for its life.

Meanwhile, Amber told Julie and Gretchen to pick up the bags and the last of their belongings and get into the boat. Crystal was tempted to shoot Bongo in the rear but thought better of it, just firing a few shots around him.

Amber actually had to yell at Julie and Gretchen to get moving, because they stood there in shock. They had just witnessed this 130-pound woman completely level a 300-plus-pound, muscle bound giant to the ground. There he lay, writhing and dying and she did not have a scratch on her! Gretchen could only think of a diving hawk striking its prey. With ferocity and feathers flying, it was a scene she would not forget.

In a moment, Gretchen helped Julie recover her top and they were back to their senses, running for the dinghy and soon heading back out into the lagoon. They looked back and saw Leo helping his giant partner up and together they staggered away. Gretchen made the statement that all of them knew to be true, "I think we just hacked down a hornets' nest. Those guys are pissed and not done yet." She looked over at Amber and asked, "Do you think you can teach me how to do that trick you did?"

Amber just laughed and said, "Sure thing, if you got a few years to spare."

When the girls had returned to the New Song, the guys were gathered at the rail already asking questions. "We heard shots, what the hell was going on out there?" Jay fired his questions.

"O, Bubba was being a nice guy and just wanted to hand...the gun back to us," Amber emphasized the word hand as she spoke up first, before anyone else could say a thing.

As they climbed aboard, Crystal handed the pistol over to Jay. "O yes, and you know how Amber is—forever thorough, wanting to make sure that it still worked, while practicing a little bit of her famous distraction."

Theo was helping Crystal aboard as she was seriously explaining their ludicrous episode, but while mischievously smiling.

"Sure, sure. We saw Bongo helping his buddy walk away. What kind of distraction did she practice? Are they OK?" Timm inquired.

"Oh sure. They're just fine. Just had their eyes opened a little too wide and got to see first hand, a set of great distracters." Crystal was smiling as she hinted that something unusual had taken place, but for now, didn't want to say too much. With this, Julie stomped down into the galley and everyone was left wondering. She was mad as hell at Crystal's remarks, and at Timm and his stupid concern for Bubba, instead of her!

From that moment, a new respect for Amber and Crystal, the two seemingly dumb twins, was firmly established in the minds of the two intellects. The story would fully be told later.

Thomas reached out for the gun, "I believe that is mine. I'll take it now if you don't mind."

Jay looked at the 38-special and said, "I don't see a need for you to have a weapon aboard." Thomas went to protest, but Jay cut him off saying, "I'll put it in the safe for now and hand it back to you when we land, or unless we run into some pirates."

I thought Thomas was going to become unhinged. He was furious that Jay would not give him his gun back. I knew that the tension between these two men was slowly building and I was sure that in time, something would set it off. It was a good thing that Jay decided not to give the gun over to this strange man, who seemed to be weighing out on the side of dangerous.

On one side, trust had been born; but on the opposite side, distrust had emerged onto the scene. Tension swam around us like a hungry shark while everyone knew of its waiting attack.

The day was well on its way and it was time to get diving for treasure. We set our feelings aside and worked around the tensions, at least for now.

# Chapter Twelve - The Munitions Discovery

Despite the earlier mishaps it was still another beautiful morning in the Pacific, and we were thankful for this. Because Jay did not want any of the women to be diving without a man, he paired everyone up the best he could. He put Theo and Crystal on the first dive for mapping the specified treasure crater. Then Amber and myself would start at the end of the sand bars and work outward, while Thomas and Julie would work along the Cooper reef above Theo and Crystal. Jay and Gretchen would explore the outside reef area near the boat. Because of yesterday's near disaster with the Bongo brothers (what we were now calling them) the girls were no longer allowed on the island without being in a group or without an escort. Jay sent Timm and Mike to the bunker to retrieve the leftover treasure and coral pieces the girls had been forced to leave behind. They were to return to the New Song and set up a new cleaning operation on-board with the encrusted pieces of treasure.

Everyone would keep an eye on one another, but still take notes and make sketches of every anomaly, or type of ordnance they might find. Jay stressed the importance of not leaving anything out. Gretchen with her marine archeology background gave everyone pointers on how to search an area and map things out with co-ordinal codes which she fixed. We all checked our watches and Jay reminded us to keep an eye out for sharks or any other dangers. So we began our second day of diving.

Life is very different if you manage to take your eyes off 'all that glitters' and look at the things that hold it all together. Right away Jay realized that the coral which had grown into millions of speckling living colors was the sparkle of this reef. But soon, all of us would come to see the very foundation, and it didn't have the same wonderful sparkle to it.

Jay and Gretchen began to explore the area where Jay and Mike had been the day before. Only this time they were looking with serious eyes, not blinded by the excitement of treasure. Within a few minutes of their dive towards the old planking and cross beams, they began to see beyond the coral blossoms and observe something different from gold.

Jay would carefully pry into a crevice which had been washed clean of sand by the changing tides, immediately pointing out to Gretchen what seemed to be long rounded tube-like objects piled on one another. Jay carefully scraped one object clear, realizing that he had been right about a munitions dump. The thing was, it got worse. The longer they searched beyond the glitter and beauty of the reef, their concern grew. They would return to the New Song and make notes, draw a diagram and plot measurements of depth, estimate quantity, and possible explosive powers. It was on the third dive and further along the reef that they really came into a fright. It first appeared as a cluster of huge coral blooms or unique coral bushes, like underwater shrubs. But after closer examination, Jay shoved Gretchen back out of the area and they swam back to the boat. "What is it Jay?" Gretchen snapped out as they came to the surface.

"Those round bush-like coral pieces are not coral clusters but are underwater mines. Mines were used for guarding entryways into harbors, or putting them adrift and letting them go into enemy shipping lanes. Just one of those damn things could sink a battle ship!"

Gretchen and Jay were sitting aboard, considering the ramifications of having tried to dig into one of the coral bush-like objects, thinking there might have been treasure in them. Jay was fuming; he was really pissed. Riled royally at the military and their recklessness in dumping their death weapons into these beautiful lagoons. They had to know that in time the sea would eat its way into the chemical canisters and every other bomb. It would only take one mishap to set off an explosion for the entire area to evaporate!

Then Thomas and Julie came swimming up and climbed aboard. Thomas ran his fingers through his hair, not knowing exactly how to say this, but it was Julie that blurted out, "O mother of dangers, Jay. It is worse than you even imagined!"

"I know, I know. But tell me what you found."

"It's as if that entire Cooper reef area is one huge waste dump for bombs, shells, and, I'm not sure, but I think we found a stash of twelve foot torpedoes below Target Island!"

"Torpedoes!" Timm bellowed.

"Yeah, long ones. Maybe twelve footers, and they look nasty bad," Thomas exclaimed, not holding back his concern.

By the time everyone had returned, bad news piled itself onto the already depressing revelation of sitting on a munitions dump. Timm and Mike reported that the bunker had been broken into. Everything, and they meant everything, had been taken. They followed the path of those who had dragged and carried the canvas bags away, and it was apparent it was Bubba and Bongo. "They didn't even try to hide their trail. It went right to the West Lagoon where we saw them aboard their boat." Again, Thomas and Julie were the most upset because much of those canvas bags had treasure still embedded into the coral pieces. They wanted all of us go over to the west lagoon and retrieve their bags.

Jay shook his head saying, "No, right now, it is better to figure out what we are doing. We might be able to collect ten times the amount of treasure right here, in the time it would take to get back a few bags of coral chunks, without putting ourselves into further danger."

I spoke up, "Besides, we don't know if they are armed or not. Why mess with them and maybe get shot?"

This damped down the zeal for retribution. We went on with our meetings.

But the compilation of each dive team painted a grave picture of what we were facing. Thomas, who seemed to be the most familiar with the Navy and its practices of dumping unused war armaments after the Pacific conflict, told us his conclusion. "It seems as though all the munitions and armaments that had been stored here during the Pacific war have been dumped into this open area. By the shape of this lagoon and its cut-open channel it was an inside anchorage for smaller ships. After the bunkers and stock piles had been brought out to the smaller island, everything was dumped here. Then the Navy dredged up these areas where we are anchored and covered the munitions. The coral eventually grew into one reef and hid the bombs. But I would guess that massive storms hit this side of the island and tore away some of the reef, exposing the armaments."

I spoke up, "You know, Amber and I found large slabs of flat concrete partly broken and buried along the sand bars. The slabs had deep grooves cut into them, running parallel, almost like tracks. It looks like the Navy engineers laid down a cement path with grooves like a railroad to cart the bombs and armaments out to the edge of Cooper Island where they were dumped into the lagoon."

"Yeah, that sounds like exactly what they did, but we found something even worse," Julie half mumbled in a disheartened tone. She explained that they had also found metal drums that must have chemicals in them. A few were smashed and broken open with all their contents washed out onto the reef.

Jay immediately had a flash of insight. He asked Timm and Gretchen to step up and show their arms. Everyone looked at each other, asking in silence what this was all about.

Timm stood up and pulled back his sleeves. There on his arms and hands were blotches of red welts, some festering. Gretchen did the same and her arms were even more swollen.

Amber and Crystal bent over looking at the red welts, "Why didn't you say anything about this?"

"We didn't think much of it. Just put on some skin lotion. We thought it was some type of coral sting and would go away," Gretchen said.

"No way. It's a chemical burn that came from the coral pieces you've been chipping on," Theo said, and Timm nodded his agreement.

"I bet it 's from those barrels that have broken open and spread their poison onto this reef."

"You know, that might be it. We haven't found hardly any fish or even any eels in that area of the reef," Gretchen added.

Jay was listening and making a decision while everyone gave their reports. But then Theo and Crystal spoke up, "Hey, we have some good news. In our assigned area, in the bottom of the open sand and coral crater we sifted down a few feet and came up with a few things that might put smiles on your faces." With this, he dug through a few of the recently collected canvas bags stacked on the back deck. He lifted a heavy canvas diving bag and dumped a pile of silver and gold coins, along with a few gold bars, onto the deck.

"Wow. Finally some good news," Thomas clapped his hands and laughed aloud.

Everyone put their hands out and took hold of a few coins to see what they might read. Gretchen was first to announce her findings, "These are definitely old Spanish coins and without a doubt a part of lost pirate treasure."

"Yep, those are definitely Spanish markings, and still in good condition," Julie spoke as she examined several pieces.

Jay told everyone to take up the coral pieces that had been brought aboard, put them into canvas bags and tie them alongside the hull to make sure they are under water. "I want to see if we can clean off any chemicals that might be stuck on them. We will have to deal with this once we are back home. Thomas and Timm have a lab where they can run tests to prevent anyone from getting Agent Orange, or whatever, on themselves."

"Agent Orange!" Gretchen cried, "That stuff is deadly, isn't it?"

"Agent Orange didn't come along until the Viet Nam war, this might be something totally different," Timm stated.

"Whatever it is, we are not going to take any chances with it. I want Amber and Crystal to take Timm and Gretchen and start some kind of treatment on their skin. This ain't good."

Just then Dandy, the stowaway cat, showed itself to join in with a loud mue. Everyone turned to see the cat that had been hiding out for the last few days, but seemed to be joining the crew now. Gretchen bent down, picked it up, and Dandy purred.

Aboard a boat, everyone lives in a confined space. It is not easy to ignore the moods and feelings of others. I didn't know the full story of the two academic ladies, but I detected a riff developing between Julie and Gretchen. Gretchen seemed to have distanced herself from Julie. I learned later that Gretchen had seen another part of Julie's character that she did not like, when Julie tried to divert the mind of Bubba onto Amber, diverting attention away from herself. Amber had saved her skinny butt and still, she was not able to admit her error. Originally when we took them aboard, all of our crew assumed that Gretchen and Timm were naturally an item—but not so. Gretchen and Jay were slowly and unconsciously drawing closer together. I picked this up on occasion, when Jay gave special attention to Gretchen, and the same with her towards Jay. I wasn't the only one to feel this, Amber hinted at this sub-friendship too. Jay was a great guy and I was hoping that Gretchen would become a good match for him.

Shipboard romances were interesting as long as they did not get out of hand. For soon, another dimension moved across the game board to come into play. It seemed that Julie had her eyes on me, making subtle moves that did not go unnoticed by Amber. I knew that this Julie person was trying to win points from me. She thought her female allures might gain her those points. However, Amber with her female instincts soon checkmated these pernicious movements. I was just hoping that we could finish the dive and make the last leg of our trip to Hawaii without some romantic blow-up!

Amber and Crystal, our official first aid medical associates, took Timm and Gretchen into their care and began working on their rash covered arms. They had been certified in first aid and did have some medical background through their families Hearst Castle Security business. Their skills now came into play, just another leaf in their portfolio as far as we were concerned.

We were soon at work hanging the canvas bags over the side. The sky darkened and the breezes picked up. Black clouds tumbled in and a refreshing rain poured down. Everyone came up on deck and took long refreshing fresh water showers. The evening arrived and the rain still fell. Along with the rain came great flashes of lightening and rumbling thunder. It was beautiful, but also frightening, with so much lightening. Great flashes struck down, traveling across the evening sky. It was beautiful and awesome to the point of fearsome. We did not know this at the time, but this small exhibition of grandeur was only the paw of the lion that was soon to roar.

Jay asked Thomas and Mike to take the dinghy and set out small solar floats along the south edge of the exit channel. In case we had to leave in the middle of the night we would be able to find our way out. Even though we had excellent GPS, with other guidance systems, it was best to ensure one's escape, especially in this enclosed lagoon.

While they were setting out the floats, the rest of us stretched out the overhead sunshade or rain cover, a long tent affair that offered everyone on deck a temporary shelter from the rain.

After the evening's dinner, Mike came to Jay and quietly asked him about the golden chain links and if he was going to say anything about them. Jay said that for now, it might be better to hold it quiet. "We don't want to steal anyone's thunder,"he said, as right then the sky rumbled with distant thunder. Mike was comfortable with this decision and went about his business.

Jay asked everyone to listen up, saying that he had a few things to say. "As all of you have heard what is going on underneath us, I feel it best that as long as the weather holds, we set up our diving operations right in the middle of the flat sand areas where Theo and Crystal found the cache of coins. I think we might do well to stay away from the stacks of bombs and the chemical soaked reef. Let's concentrate on collecting as much coin and bars as we can for now." He looked around to see if that made sense to everyone.

He added, "No one is to dive without a wet suit. I want everyone protected as much as possible. I really do not know what has been dumped down there, and I don't want anyone to take chances."

Everyone seemed to agree. For the ugly raised rashes on Timm and Gretchen's arms had made everyone stop and think about what they were digging around in. Was treasure worth one's life?

# Chapter 13 - Mike Goes Missing

The rain persisted most of the night but all seemed to have slept well enough. It was early, the sky was overcast and a slight breeze blew in from the north. Everything was wet from the night's rain but the coffee was brewing with a thick aroma, while Jay and the men began filling all the tanks while going over the dive equipment.

Thomas and his team seemed the most zealous to dive, so everyone went except for young Mike who offered to stay back with Timm and Gretchen. Jay wanted their arms to clear up before taking any more chances. They were not the happiest sailors but agreed that they would at least wait out the first dive.

Soon the New Song's dinghy and one inflatable went overboard. Shortly thereafter, the first dive team was making its way around the man-made reef which was concealing most of the munitions. There in the middle of the Cooper lagoon they anchored and began their morning dive.

On the boat, Timm and Gretchen continued going over the pieces of treasure and coins that had already been retrieved. Mike stood back, but after a time he decided to take the smaller inflatable to take out a thermos of coffee with a few water bottles to the first team. Paddling away he made it to the anchored dinghy and left the coffee thermos with the water bottle before moving on.

Everyone was busy. Several rain showers poured down cooling the tropical heat away for a time. The dives went along smoothly with some effective success. After a few hours of diving, the tanks needed refilling and the main fiberglass dinghy had a good number of canvas bags covering its floor. Jay decided that it was time for the teams to head back to the New Song, have some lunch, and refill the tanks. Besides this, he wanted to see what the teams had collected so far and take measure of their progress. His sixth sense alerted him to an atmospheric change taking place over the horizon. An uneasy feeling was building within him; he did not like the high cloud formations building up.

With this dive, much of the earlier tensions had dissipated and everyone was helping to unload the latest canvas sacks. They seemed much heavier than their earlier retrievals, most likely due to the fact that they were gathering clusters of coins from the sand and layers of broken coral. Plus, it was so much easier. They would find bunches of coins and bars that had fused together and odd clumps of small silver shapes stuck together. No doubt, this new hoard of treasure took the sting out of the possible loss of all the other things that had melted and fused into the main reef.

Jay wanted to get to lunch first, but the girls were too eager to do anything but investigate at least one of the canvas bags. They dumped it out onto the deck table and everyone forgot about lunch—there was a small fortune piled out, right in front of them. Several of the silver shapes were actually cast or carved animal figures which had beautiful stones embedded in them. Gretchen and Jay being more familiar with rare antiquities, both oohed and awed over these; for they knew the rarity of such relics.

Jay sat back with pleasure, knowing that at least they were going to come away with something worthwhile. One eye was watching everyone make gaga eyes over different pieces; the other eye was fixed on the horizon. He had checked the weather instruments and went to ask Mike what he had heard about the weather. But there was no Mike. "Hey, where is Mike?"

Everyone turned to see Jay coming up from the galley, asking where Mike was. "I thought he was with you guys," Timm answered.

"What do you mean, with us?" replied Jay.

"He took the small inflatable and wanted to deliver some bottles of water and a thermos of hot coffee out to you in the Cooper Lagoon. Didn't you see him?" Gretchen said.

"So that's where that coffee came from. I thought it was something we brought out with us," Thomas answered, while looking back towards the area they had been diving in.

"Did he say anything to you guys about where he was going?" Jay asked Timm and Gretchen.

"No. We figured he was just going out to you and would come back with you, we didn't really think much of his good gesture to bring something to you," Timm answered, a little concern showing in his voice.

Jay picked up the binoculars and began scanning the main island shore. He could see the bunker with its door wide open, and thought he saw the small inflatable raft pulled up into the trees, but was not sure. "I think a couple of us better go ashore and take a look. I think I see the smaller raft up in the trees, but I'm not sure what it is."

"I'll go with you, Jay," I said.

"OK Luke. The rest of you can get lunch ready and make sure all the diving equipment is double checked. We'll be back shortly."

Jay and I were soon paddling towards the shore where the small raft lay hidden in the trees. Sure enough, it was the Bye-Golly's inflatable, but there was no sign of Mike.

Jay had a feeling that he knew what Mike had done. "Come on, the path that goes around the island is right here, let's follow it and see if we can find him." Jay suggested with some concern.

"Should we call out for him as we go?" I asked while my eyes were scanning the tree line.

"No, I don't think it would be a good idea to alert Bubba and Bongo."

We came to the old worn trail that took us towards the west end of the island. After a few minutes of walking, Jay suggested that we take a detour to the south, where we had found the old abandoned shed and the place that we named the Palmyra graveyard. Why he wanted to do this I did not know, but went along with his suggestion. Soon we had to push our way through the undergrowth until we came to the south shore and headed to the hidden treehouse area. We moved quietly, yet the island birds were excitedly chattering, with a bit of a breeze moving the tops of the trees. In a few minutes, we stood in the almost-hidden clearing and looked around where the two old withered head boards still protruded out of the coral and sand. Jay pointed to something that I did not see before, a hole that had been dug behind the right headboard. It seemed freshly dug and we could see that the ground around it had been disturbed, as if someone had been thrashing around. Jay pointed out a few broken branches and what were very large footprints. These were deep prints pushed into the sand, they had to belong to Bubba and Bongo. Whose else could they have been?

"Sheet, this does not look good at all," Jay was shaking his head and expressing his thought. "I'm guessing that since the run-in with the girls, and they know we've been hunting for treasure, I bet they have been watching us like hawks."

I agreed, and said, "We better follow their trail, looks like they dragged something off in this direction. Maybe we'll see what is going on."

There definitely arose a concern between us regarding Mike. I'm sure this had something to do with Jay's wanting to reveal Mike's trusted secret of the gold chain links. As we prowled along through the thick brush, he told how Mike had come to find the chain links and explained that Mike had brought up at least eight and six were now aboard. The last two were still buried but he was guessing that Mike wanted to retrieve the last two, and that is what he had come for. The hole behind the headboard must have been where he had hidden them.

"Yeah, I bet that Bubba and Bongo had followed him and watched him dig them up, then grabbed him."

The main trail took us to the southwest lagoon. We hid back in the shrubs and looked out at the ketch. It had been moved away from the shore and was headed out the channel. We could not see if Mike was aboard, but it was obvious that Bubba and Bongo were on their way out of the anchorage. But where were they headed? We asked one another.

We were pretty sure they were headed our way, no doubt. We thought we'd better first take a few minutes to check down the beach. We could see that the wrecked hull of the Bye-Golly lay higher on the beach now. We cut across the sand and coral mounds and soon saw piles of things that had been taken out of the sunken sloop. It was obvious that Bubba and Bongo had been digging through the wreck for the last few days. Bottles, clothes and books were scattered here and there. Kitchenware, and several open cans were sitting next to a fire-pit. There were some nice coils of rope and tools tossed aside but we had plenty of our own supplies and much of this stuff would just have to be left where it lay. I did take a metal foot locker and jammed books, photos, clothes and anything I thought might be important and dragged the box into the trees and left it there. Jay came up with a wet bag that he had stuffed full of something. "What you got there?" I asked.

"I think it is rolls of movie film, and may be the remains of the main camera they were using to film the documentary the Bye-Golly crew were supposed to be making."

"I don't see any signs that Mike was here with them, nor any prints along the path. I don't know, but we better get our butts back to the boat and make sure that the New Song is safe and sound." We practically ran across the island, hooked up the Bye-Golly's inflatable and towed it back with us. Soon we were aboard and told everyone what we had found, excluding the chain link part. Jay, holding to his promise for now, wanted to keep this quiet until we all decided on what to do with the treasure we had already retrieved.

"You mean that Mike is missing?" Thomas fired out.

"We followed Mike's path the best we could. We saw some signs of a struggle and it sure looks like they took him aboard," Jay answered.

I thought it was OK to tell them that we had found a few things from their sloop, and Jay handed over the canvas bag that he had brought along. Thomas was on it—he began pulling things out, and his face went bright as Julie almost shouted with excitement. "Ahh yes, it's our film!"

"I only hope it is still water tight. Maybe we can salvage our losses," Thomas exclaimed.

"O wow, here is the camera," Julie held it up and nearly cried, seeing that it had been damaged by water and sand, but there was hope yet. She stepped over to Jay and gave him a nice big hug, turned to me and without concern of who was there, she kissed me with not so casual a kiss, I thought. Timm took the camera and said," I am good at this stuff, let me have a few days with it, and it might be made useable once again."

Beyond this short lived excitement, Gretchen inquired, "What would they want with Mike?" she asked with real concern in her voice.

"I don't know, but it might be a good idea if I gave you all the details that I know. It might help all of us to understand what might be going on here," Jay decided to come clean with the entire story.

"First of all, we are sure they are moving their boat around to our area and they've got Mike with them. We must be ready for them if they are looking for trouble, and we think they are," Jay began his warning. He went on explaining the whole story to the waiting crew. "Mike did not want anyone to know this until we were ready to go. But in case anything happened to him, he needed to tell me his reasoning for what I am about to say." He went on with what Mike had told him of his incurable disease, called something like Moschcowitz syndrome, and that he only had a few months of good life left. This revelation alone sent a shock wave into everyone. Julie and Gretchen began to cry. "That cannot be true, he would have told us," Gretchen said through her sniffles.

"Like I said, Mike explained to me that he did not want anyone to know, especially you guys, because for sure you would have never taken him along as your deck hand."

"That's true, we could not take the chance on having someone getting deadly sick while we were so far from help," Thomas squeezed his jaw as he spoke up reasonably.

"Should we go looking for him on the island? In case he has been tied up, or maybe knocked out and left behind," Julie suggested.

"No, we are pretty sure the trail went right to the boat. If he is anywhere, he must be aboard their boat," I answered.

"But why would they take him?" Timm thought to ask.

"Well, I didn't finish the whole story yet," and with this Jay went to the stern locker and fumbled around, finally lifting out a canvas satchel. Carrying it over to the deck table, he clunked it onto the table for everyone to see.

There was a gasp from the girls, as Thomas let out a, "Wow, what the heck is that?"

Jay stood back and began to tell the rest of Mike's story. How he found the chain inside part of what seemed to be an ancient shipwreck, possibly the pirate ship, the Esperanza. "And that my friends, I'm pretty sure is part of the lost Inca chain of gold that Cortez and all his plunderers sought after. I believe this is only part of what was captured by the pirates of the Esperanza. The very ship seems to have been shipwrecked right here. Mike was diving that first day trying to keep from getting bored, when he uncovered the chain. He buried the links in the Palmyra graveyard for what he thought was safe keeping. He finally brought six of the links aboard, and most likely went back for the last two when he was caught."

"Why would he hide this from us?" Thomas looked at Jay and asked with some suspicion.

Jay ran his fingers through his beard and took in everyone's waiting expressions, knowing that it might have seemed that Jay and Mike were conspiring to keep this part of the treasure for themselves. However it appeared, he went on and explained how Mike thought that you were going to hand over all the treasure to Spain or to some government officials. He knew he had this rare disease that few doctors even recognized, and so he wanted to sell the gold links and establish a foundation for its research and cure. Jay gave everyone a serious look, "The very disease that he would soon die from!"

Even in Jay's own ears this story sounded a little far out, but only time would tell. The question was, what were they going to do now?

While everyone was contemplating this latest revelation, Jay went down into the salon and listened to the Pacific weather radio report. The barometer was changing and with the rains now coming off and on, he wanted to make sure they were aware of sudden changes. The reports help him make a decision. "OK, listen up here, if you're going to do any more diving, you better do it now. It sounds like a major weather front is building between here and Hawaii. If it turns our way, we might be in trouble. So let's get diving and we'll have to wait and see about Mike. There is nothing we can do now, not until we know more."

Gretchen and Julie were still examining the golden links and jabbering excitedly between one another. Gretchen noticed Jay come up and she said, "I think this is the real thing, and if it is, this one link is worth more than everything we already brought up!"

"I got a feeling that it is, did you notice the symbolic carvings etched into the link?"

"Yes, that is what seals it for me; those are ancient Inca and Mayan symbols of their gods and deities," Julie announced. "But," she added, "I think those symbols are giving a location, either of the city from where they came or from where they were stored."

"Whoa, you mean that they could be a symbolic map from ancient times of the Inca's treasure troves?" Theo asked with a serious awe in his voice.

"I would count on her assessment. This is one of her more serious loves," Timm added his approval.

"Great, Mike is going to love that. But if you are going to do any more diving, better you get going now," Jay announced.

"Oh now, I see. You want us to go put our heads under water while you sail away with all our riches," Crystal, the wise cracker, joked aloud. But Thomas and his crew took on a worried look.

"Come on you guys, she is only fooling around. There's no way I could sail this boat alone. Besides, I love all of you too much; you are better than some old Spanish pieces of eight!"

Jay helped the girls over the side, while looking at his dive watch, as if noting that time was wasting. "You guys got about an hour and that's it. So go for the best and I'll be getting the boat ready. But if you hear me clanging the pipe, get your bodies back here fast."

Soon the inflatables were off carrying the three dive teams. Jay brought out the satellite phone wanting to make contact with the home team. He could feel a change in the atmosphere and knew that they could be in big trouble if a storm was brewing in their direction. He waited as his eyes scanned the horizon. With a change in the weather, a three-week promise to stay on Palmyra was swiftly being canceled. For some reason the connections were bad, as Jay repeatedly redialed trying to get through.

# Chapter 14 - Bubba And Bongo Return With Mike

"Wake up old man, wake up," Jay was speaking into the satellite phone as he heard someone trying to answer far away.

"Who might this...is calling me so...middle of the night," Dustin's voice finally came through.

"It's me, Jay. We are still on the island but might be departing soon. Looks like a good sized storm headed our way."

"Sounds good and a bit bad. How long before you're back in Hawaii?" Dustin wanted to know. He had to schedule the rental and coordinate the team's times to match up.

"I'll let you know as soon as we get on our way. In the mean time did you ever find anything out about King Toby Shag Thomas and his partner Leo Da Venchie?"

Dustin had to laugh saying, "You guys are forever meeting up with the most odd ball humans in the strangest places. But, sure thing. I put Wally on it. It turns out that King Toby the wrestler died about ten years back. But we have a lead on two crazies who escaped from the Hawaii State Mental Facility and made a getaway on someone's yacht. The one fellow who is calling himself King Toby is really named Yannie Fundomie. He was a Sumo wrestler who went bonkers and damaged a few people for life. He has relatives in Samoa and the authorities think they are on their way to Samoa. Apparently this partner of his is really named Leo Da Venchie...honest!"

"You got to be kidding me, Dustin. But I guess not. You're right, we're forever getting hooked into these weird characters," Jay blurted his frustration out, as he waved his arm around, then stopped. "What do you mean damaged them for life?"

"I didn't want to say too much, but the damage they did sort of removed life from a few people. By breaking their necks," Dustin explained in his own subtle way.

"You're ragging me?"

"Nope! I would highly recommend and advise all of you to stay away from those two. They ain't the most pleasant folks to be around. Whatever you do, don't invite them over for dinner and don't anger them. They are totally skitzoid. And two of them—double your skitzoidism!"

"Too late. Think we done touched their skitzoid buttons already. In fact I think you might notify the Hawaiian Coast guard, and let them know that these two guys are on Palmyra Island."

"Oh yes, get this. The boat they pirated is called the Scandal!"

"Wonderful," Jay sighed.

"So what is keeping you there? Better exit soon. Plus, there's a big storm brewing up. Maybe even a hurricane, starting south of the islands. From what I understand, it might be turning your way. If so, good for Hawaii, but bad for you folks."

"Can't say too much right now. But the crew is on their last dive for now, we'll be out of here if we can locate one of our new friends, gone missing."

"Is that one of the people that Luke was telling me about? From those you rescued from their sunken boat. I think it was called the Bye-Golly, cool name bye-golly!"

"Yeah, that's them. The young deckhand is named Mike James, we're hoping to find him today. Yes, and keep us informed about the storm. Our radio contact is not the greatest. There seems to be constant interference, from somewhere."

"One more thing, Luke asked me about the four castaways you rescued. We got a red flag on Thomas Brewers, or whatever name he's using, checking up on his aliases."

"Please keep us informed on that one."

"OK, will do. Keep everyone safe and bring me home a surprise. O yes, have Amber and Crystal give Brookstone an update call." With this Dustin signed off.

Jay sat back looking over at the Cooper Lagoon and Target Island where the dive teams were working. What a long ways we were from the world, Jay thought. In fact this Palmyra Island was one of the most secluded islands in the world. Here we were, a few humans afloat on a tiny piece of fiberglass and wood, searching for treasure. Once again, trying to help others but somehow caught in an unpleasant dilemma. Jay knew that if Mike was not found, the storm would drive them away. Mike would have to be left behind to meet his destiny. To be dying of a fatal disease was regretful enough, but to be left behind with two crazy escapees had to be a bad fate. This was a red flag on Jay's heart.

Jay was wondering what might be done, when he spotted a speck on the horizon beyond the outside reef. Picking up the binoculars, he jumped onto the top cabin, leaning against the forward mast. Slowly the glasses focused as the small craft came into clear view. For sure, it was the San Francisco flyer that Bubba and Bongo sailed, the stolen ketch, the Scandal. What were they doing now?

His sharp eyes followed their every move. It was soon obvious they were not sailing away, but tacking back and forth, drawing closer to the narrow entry channel that the New Song had found its way through. But how would they know where this channel was, unless someone had told them? The only one that knew, outside his crew was Mike, for he had entered it with us. Was he aboard and was he OK? This was Jay's question and immediate concern.

Things were happening too fast now. The barometer was on the move, while the atmosphere was changing minute by minute. With the horizon blurring into a dark line, all indications pointed to a brewing storm over the horizon. The dive teams were still diving. The tide was up, with larger swells beginning to roll onto the outside reefs, Jay could see the outer reefs awash in white water. The afternoon was drawing nigh and he wanted the dive teams back aboard in case a decision had to be made. On top of all this, they might have to be dealing with two crazies, headed their way. Jay's brain was doing the mental calculations, weighing out the circumstances, moving to and fro, collecting things he might be needing.

The first thing he did was to run up a red distress flag that the divers might see when they came up to place their bags into the dinghy. He also loaded up the flare gun, making it ready to shoot over the heads of the divers to alert them to return. In addition, maybe a few flares across the bow of the on-coming boat which was now close in to the reef channel. He took the iron pipe from the storage locker and lowered it into the water and began to clank it with a hammer. This would send out a sharp warning ping to everyone under water. Looking over his shoulder, he could see the ketch was slowly making its way towards the channel. He could see someone standing on the bow as the yacht motored towards the narrow channel. High tide was in their favor. Their ketch was a shallow draft and could easily escape hitting the sunken reef if they got off course. What the heck did they want in here? was Jay's thought—but he thought he knew.

Finally, looking over at the Cooper Lagoon area he saw one of the girls climb into the dinghy. He thought it might have been Crystal, and then she reached overboard and took hold of a canvas bag from someone still in the water, pulling it into the small craft. Right then, Jay shot off the flare and it hissed and sparked into the air. It went flying across the surface of the foaming reef, sparking about twenty feet above the heads of the two divers. This got their attention. Jay began waving for them to get back, pointing up at the red stress flag. One diver alongside went down and must have notified the other teams that they were being called back to the New Song. Something was wrong!

It took awhile and with great reluctance, Thomas and his dive teams finally came up. They didn't know what was going on but they decided, with coaxing from Theo that something was seriously wrong. "Jay would have never shot off a flare unless we were in danger," Theo said as he hurried everyone along.

The reason for the flare was that the hand held radios had been left behind and the batteries were nearly gone. It took a while to get things loaded up, but soon the two small crafts paddled back around the surging reef to come up along the New Song. Jay was standing there, telling them to get their butts in gear. Of course, everyone wanted to know what the trouble was. Jay was anxious, this whole scene was like one of those old movies slowed way down with everyone moving in slow motion.

He told them to hurry and get on deck to take a look for themselves. Soon they were all aboard, looking into the narrow channel. There were Bubba and Bongo, two of the last people they ever wanted to see, especially Julie.

The only good thing about this encounter was that they might know where young Mike was. Questions were soon answered, when they saw Mike sitting down on the back deck chair. With a closer look, they saw that he was tied to the chair and slowly shaking his head back and forth as if saying no.

Jay gave orders for the dinghy and inflatable to be emptied and tied down. "Stow the gear right now, don't worry about anything else, get those bags aboard and get out of those wet suits and into some clothes, shoes and all. We might have to be moving and I want everyone ready!"

No one questioned his orders and soon they were scrambling back and forth changing and securing the rafts and diving gear. They could see that the storm was already on its way; they knew something was certainly wrong and that they might be in danger. Jay reloaded the flare gun and set it aside. He also had Theo get into the front safe to get out his pistol, along with the one the girls had taken away from the Bongo brothers. When the girls heard the word pistol, they knew serious things were going on.

Jay gave commands to batten down the hatches and get the boat ready to sail if need be. He told them about Dustin's phone call and that these two guys were escapees from the Hawaii State Mental ward and had already done major damage to several people. "Like dead, damage," he stressed. Who the victims were Jay did not know and presently didn't want to know.

"Hah, so King Toby really isn't a king, but nothing but a Bubba," Crystal our wise cracker shouted out while coiling up the deck lines.

Suddenly we heard someone slap Crystal on the rear and she let out a shout. It was Amber saying, "This is no time for you to be making wise cracks."

Jay gave orders for the girls to get downstairs and stay low key, out of the way. If they were needed, he'd let them know.

"Come on Jay, things are getting good now. We want to see what's going on," Amber complained out loud. Suddenly Crystal leaned over and slapped Amber on the butt and said, "Hey, this is not a time to be complaining. It is time to follow the captains orders, right!"

These two twins were forever taking the edge off the rising woes and they did it again with their bit of sisterly bantering. The friendly humor is what made them so appealing, or at least this was one of their assets.

By now, the ketch had passed through the entry channel and entered into the outer lagoon. They could see Bubba at the till and Bongo standing on the bow directing the boat to safe anchorage. They finally dropped anchor about 20 feet from the far side of the reef. In fact, they were anchored just about where Mike and Jay had marked the area where the chain had been found. However, this was also directly over the mines and bombs, probably one of the worst places anyone could anchor.

This was terrible for all of them. For if, those idiots were to drag their iron anchor across one of those mines or dislodge any of the bombs which were protruding out of the reef, everything for a mile around would go up in a watery blast!

Julie came up on deck expressing her concern for Mike. They, of course felt responsible for him, after all, he was part of the Bye-Golly crew and had been brought out here by them. "Isn't there anything we can do Jay, we just can't leave Mike with those two?"

Thomas spoke up saying, "Until we know what they want, there is little we can do but wait."

Should Jay tell Bubba and Bongo the danger that they were all in, with the ketch being anchored over the bombs and other explosives? He decided to keep quiet for the moment; he didn't want to start a panic. They might use this to threaten everyone, so Jay remained silent. He did give orders for the anchors to be lifted, and he started the auxiliary engine. Immediately this brought Bubba to the edge. He began to yell across the lagoon, now beginning to stir from the incoming tide with the winds that were picking up.

We couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but he sounded pissed that we were considering moving. With Mike being tied to a chair, we were sure that whatever they wanted they were going to use Mike as a hostage.

Each of us could sense the atmospheric pressure changing, both in the weather, and now in this situation. Theo had checked the weather instruments and all indications were that something big and strange was going on. I got onto the weather station, and sure enough, the massive storm that was headed for Hawaii had long since turned south and was headed our way. We were beginning to taste its licking tongue. How long the full front would take to get here was anyone's guess, but there was no way we could stay in this area without being washed away and blown onto the island, and that was if we were lucky.

Black clouds began to pour over the horizon as though a teeming caldron had begun to boil over. The sun was soon draped in angry clouds and the waves were beginning to pound the outside reefs. We were baffled about what to do, when suddenly Bubba untied Mike and pulled him over to the rail. At the same time he lifted up something. The little bit of sunshine caught the glimmer of the object—one of the golden chain links. Bubba began to yell his demands. "We want the rest of these!"

"Aah sheet. This is bad," Jay shook his head as he expressed his dilemma.

As Bubba continued to yell out his demands, Thomas looked over at Jay with a puzzled look and asked, "What is he holding up?"

"That is one of the golden chain links, and it looks like they want them all," Jay delivered what was obvious.

"I don't know exactly what the hell he wants us to do, but let's accommodate them," Thomas fired back.

"That is not the point, they want the rest of the links. There is no guarantee that those insane creatures will dare let go even if we gave them everything!"

"What do you mean?" Timm asked.

"It means that once you give them anything, they're going to want everything. Don't you remember the things that were stolen out of the bunker shed? You think they don't know we have been collecting treasure?"

Everyone went quiet as Jay continued, "We're dealing with crazies. They are escaped convicts from a mental institution. There is no way I'm going to put any of you into their reach. But there must be another way around this." He asked, "Does anyone else have any ideas?"

"How about if I go overboard from the opposite side of the deck, then swim under their boat and get aboard, to get the take on them," I suggested.

"Thanks Luke, but no thanks. They can see you swimming 30 feet down. Besides, you would most likely get caught or end up with a broken head. I cannot allow that. Plus, with the high tide change, there have got to be sharks swimming in for an easy dinner."

Our attention was once again taken to Bubba. This time he held up a gun to Mike's head. The girls shrieked. But there was not much we could do but to make some deal with them.

Jay was no pushover. He had been around, and had been a Navy diver and had been through all the Navy SEAL training, even though he had chosen to be a diver instead. He calmly told me to hand over the flare gun. Digging around in the stern locker, I handed it over to Jay. He held it up and instantly Bubba knew what it was capable of doing. For everyone recalled the little demonstration that Jay had given a few days back in the West Lagoon. Then Jay bent down and from under the cushion, he pulled out his own gun. The dam thing looked like a cannon! It was no toy. He wanted them to know we were well armed. If need be we could easily do some damage, even sink them. However, at the same time, we could be fired on ourselves, so we were in a stand off for now. Our main concern was for Mike, we were going to have to do something, but what?

Theo made the girls get behind the deck cabin for safety, in case they started firing.

"Alright gang, what have you come up with?" Jay asked us, the wise crew who stood there like nervous dummies.

"How about we hand over the rest of the links but tie them into a bag and tie the bag onto the small inflatable so they can see everything. Then push the raft half way across and when they let Mike go, we will let the raft go," Theo suggested.

"Not bad, Theo," Jay replied.

"Let's see if they'll go for that." Jay took up his bull horn and delivered his proposal.

By now the black clouds were tumbling over us. We could see heavy rain showers falling onto the ocean several miles away, but what was bad was heavy waves rolling onto the outer reef. The heavens above us looked like a deep purple wound, awesomely painful. Lightening and thunder began to crash around us and it was almost impossible to hear what their reply was. Jay repeated his proposal again and it seemed as though they were discussing the matter. Then something strange took place.

Mike made a few moves to one side and then bent down and picked up a red fuel can. He slowly climbed up onto their main cabin and began to yell over to us. We thought he was going to dive overboard but instead he stood there holding onto the mast while holding the can on his chest. Bubba had the gun aimed at him but waited to see what was going to happen. Lightening was flashing all over the place, Mike had the can open and ready to spill out, he might have had a match or a lighter but we could not see. Then Mike began to yell out to us...

"Jay, you know what my situation is. You know my time—and you know what my goal was," he paused here as a massive lightening strike hit the outer reef and thunder shook the islands. Then Bongo began to climb onto the cabin to get hold of Mike, but he continued, "Don't give in, take the links and do what I asked." Instead of diving overboard, he began to climb higher up the mast.

"What the heck is he doing?" Julie called out.

"I think he is holding that fuel tank up so that Bubba knows if he fires, it can explode or splash down onto the deck and ignite," Timm said.

Jay had to make a decision. The water seemed to be draining out of the lagoon. The reef with all its coral covered bombs and piles of munitions began to show as the water receded. This could only mean that a tremendous atmospheric change was taking place. This usually meant that a massive wave was building somewhere beyond the reef.

Whatever Mike was doing, he had hold of what seemed to be a main line or a cable, but he continued to climb the mast. Lightening was striking everywhere and thunder was pounding the air to bits. Rain began to pour down and the sky around us turned black. There was no time left, we saw Mike waving for us to move out and heard him yelling for us to go. Get away...

We knew that unless we got out of the lagoon right now, the water levels would drop down and we would be trapped inside the lagoon. The fate of the New Song was imminent. Jay told everyone to hit the deck and for Theo to get up front. "We're getting out of here." With this Jay throttled the auxiliary engine full bore and the New Song began to move towards the channel. Thunder roared, or was that Bubba's gun firing? I shoved the girls back down into the galley and everyone hit the deck. Jay had to be standing at the wheel in order to see Theo's arm waving, first to the port and then to the starboard. We felt the keel hit something, but we kept on moving through the channel or what we thought was the channel. We could see the jagged edges of the reef sticking up. Theo was waving frantically as we weaved our way around the worst of the dangers.

"Tim, Luke, get up front and set the jib sails. We need some steerage. We're going to have to get away from whatever might be coming."

It was almost black as night as we stumbled around the deck. We didn't have time to snap on our safety lines; time was running out. Lightening kept striking around us as the clouds were cut open by our masts. The storm was upon us. The winds began to howl and spew the crests of the waves against our beam side. Jay saw one of the solar floats we had put out and steered for it. One larger wave nearly pushed us back into the reef, but Jay managed to straiten the New Song out. It was one giant mess of waves, rain, roaring claps of thunder. It seemed as if we were traveling through a giant generator running full blast. Lightening finally struck our center mast and blew the top half to pieces. We still had our forward mast which held the larger jib sail up. The motor was still running full blast. As I looked back I saw the outside reef foaming at least ten feet above normal, but that was nothing compared to the lightening strikes finding the little islands. Jay yelled for everyone to hold on, a massive wall of water was coming right at us!

I looked out to sea. There was an ominous dark shadow stretched out across the horizon. It was well above the water line, its crest was foaming and for sure, it was moving towards us—no doubt, a giant sneaker wave!

# Chapter 15 - The Narrow Escape And A Big Blow!

The dynamic pressures, the intrinsic tensions and spacial powers that are working against a boat in a storm like this are exceedingly dangerous and many times, they become deadly! I could hear the hull groaning, lines snapping and gear rattling and crashing inside the lockers.

Thomas saw what was coming and darted around me, while Theo yelled a warning for everyone to grab hold of something while he ran for the back cockpit. I stood mesmerized, staring out onto a dark wall of churning water. The only thing I could do was wrap my legs around the front mast and rail posts. The rising surf boiled until a massive wave began to lift us up and up and up. It seemed that we were going to flip over backwards, then a massive rush of water roared over us and down the deck. All I could think of was an avalanche I once wrote about that took out seven skiers in Idaho.

The crest hit and poured down like a mountain of wet snow rushing down the face of a dark green wall of moving power. There was no chance to escape, I was completely under water. It roared against me like a bulldozer pushing mud around. My breath had been knocked out of me and I was taking in water. My hands were searching for something so I might pull myself up to air but the tons of rushing water had me pinned back flat. Each time I found a grip, my hands were torn loose but my legs managed to wrap themselves tighter around the mast. I knew I couldn't hold on much longer. It was strange, I knew that life had to end for everyone, but why so soon for me; I was helpless to do anything.

I heard distant screams and voices from above me but they faded. I was choking and my brain was going dim, but then I thought that I felt the world begin to level off. It didn't matter; I had slipped loose and was going overboard. Then, during a lull in the roar I felt hands reaching for me. Theo and Timm were grabbing for me, and I was pulled back on board. I didn't know how they did it, but I found myself being dragged, not too carefully over the deck, back into air without foam or bubbles. Crazy it was, I was wanting to tell Theo to watch the bumps, Ha! Good old air, blessed air and there I lay.

Soon Theo had me laid over the hatch and was pumping my back trying to get the Pacific Ocean out of my lungs. Finally, I coughed up a few fish, a couple of chunks of coral and what felt like some fish hooks until I began to breathe, and what I considered life came back into my thinking.

We were back in the cockpit area with Jay and Thomas. Thomas was holding his arm, which looked damaged and it turned out that it had a mild sprain, but so far we were all here. My first thought was for the girls...

Through the pouring rain I heard, "Someone go check the girls," Jay was hollering out with choking words!

Theo seemed to be in the best shape and closest, so he crawled over to the galley hatch door which had been closed. He banged on it a few times while we waited a moment until good old Crystal opened the hatch. She stood there tattered and torn, bedraggled and worn, but she looked out at Theo and his gang of weary sailors as if we were a bunch of unwanted salesmen for used vacuumed cleaners, "Yes, could we help you gentlemen?" Then she added, "I don't know about you folks, but I think the next time we have to cross the ocean, it's gonna be on a 777, First Class!"

Amber's voice came out of the salon behind Crystal, "Shut up and get out of the way!" One of the women had vomited and the inside of the galley and salon looked like, well, a hurricane had hit it!

Even though the sea was rough and the waves were rolling, the girls wanted fresh air. Jay made them put on their life jackets and safety lines and would not allow them to stand up near the rails. He told them if they needed to get sick, just get sick on the deck; do not get near the rails. For huge waves were now rolling under us and shotgun spume blasted across our deck. It was a miracle that our jib sail was still in tack and working well. I thought: it pays to buy the best!

The lightening was still flashing over the island and everyone was looking back when suddenly, something so horrific took place, it was hard to believe and almost impossible to describe. The only thing we could figure out was that lightening had struck the reef and ignited one of the bombs. Or it could have been Mike with the fuel can; maybe lightening had hit it, starting a chain reaction. Suddenly a massive series of explosions began to blow. It was not just one big boom, but it was a series, one after the other and some of them so loud that they sent a shock wave clear to us. We could see huge yellowish geysers blasting into the black clouds and we could swear that parts of the island were being blown into the atmosphere. We could see bits of trees blasted into the air, green coral pieces as large as our dinghy were carried away in the winds. The roaring winds would instantly carry away any debris that was flung up. The explosions continued on and on, scattering our little islands and our treasure lagoon. Some were smaller and then we thought it was over, but another series of rumbling explosions began; but these seemed deeper somehow, it was as though the earth itself was being ripped open and hit with a million pound hammer. One was so large, it sent a wave and back flushed the outside reef, colliding with an on-coming wave, sending up a huge wall of white water, but we were way out to sea by then. These last explosions had to be the larger mines, or possibly the piles of torpedoes.

Whatever had taken place and set these explosions off, it was obvious that Bubba and Bongo, along with Mike and their catch, the Scandal were no more! Everyone was in shock. The girls were crying. For we had just gone through a near death experience and had witnessed a very incredible event. First, was the selflessness of a young man who gave up his life for the rest of us and for a cause he would never see fulfilled. Then we had just witnessed one of the most epic series of explosions seen since World War II. I had no doubt that this would be registered as a major quake in the Pacific. We were well out to sea by now and couldn't see how much damage had taken place, but in time we would view it with satellite images. Then there was Bubba and Bongo, along with their stolen boat, the Scandal, certainly Gong to bits and pieces! No need for the Coast Guard to spend a nickel searching for them; they had to be fish food for sharks. It would be a miracle if even a tiny nail from their boat would ever be found. However, another sad part of this event was that, the Palmyra treasure was no more! If it did exist in any shape or form, it would be floating around in those black clouds. Yet, we had a good portion of it still within our reach, safe and tucked away.

If there was anything left of the treasure, it would certainly be scattered in tiny pieces across the island itself and throughout the reefs, if any reefs remained. One day, someone might be walking along the shore and pick up a chunk of coral and find a Spanish coin embedded in it. This would then set off a whole new treasure hunt. Maybe those two gold links that were aboard the Scandal were flung onto the island or into another lagoon. I could imagine someone finding one of those somewhere in the future, if they were still intact. Beyond the treasure, we were left with a dull feeling of not knowing what to do about Mike. For sure, he was gone and there was no way anyone could have survived those massive explosions. It would be a miracle to find a piece of his body, no less him alive.

The island, or whatever was left of it lay behind us, but now we had to fight our way through one of the Pacific storms, a typhoon or something like it. The waves rolled higher and higher, we had just enough sail to steer the New Song and keep headway. We couldn't do much about repairs until the storm died down. For now, the girls worked on cleaning up the inside and both Amber and Crystal used their skills to wrap and secure Thomas' arm. Gretchen had a bad cut on her forehead but a butterfly bandage soon closed it up. Julie was still in shock and had the dry heaves but she would recover in a few days. For Theo, he was bruised and sore and lay quiet on the upper deck inside the inflatable raft; with sneaky visits from Crystal. I had a few pulled muscles and I hated to say, but my testicles had been pummeled to heck when I was smashed around the mast. The girls refused to comfort me, saying that their services were limited to things worth saving.

But it was Jay who we had the most concern for.

Without saying a thing, one of Bubba's shots had clipped his shoulder. It was no simple scratch but it needed serious attention just to get the bleeding stopped. Amber came up with the new medical glue and after washing the wound out with disinfectant, she simply glued up the wound. He would not hand over the helm until he knew that the New Song was out of danger. The girls had to work on his shoulder right there at the wheel. As usual, Crystal had to break the tension with one of her little tunes. With an Elvis Presley rhythm, she sang out, "I'm all glued up." Everyone groaned but Jay could do nothing but laugh.

Finally I took the wheel and both Theo and I handled the boat for the next eight hours. The main rage had past to the Southeast and we were now in the aftermath of the storm. Choppy waves, odd winds and strange currents had pushed us all over. Our next great worry was that we might run into Johnston reef, another major military dump, only worse—this one had plenty of atomic waste stored into its reefs. O thank you military!

For now, our radio was out and we had no communication. Our GPS systems were down. But because Jay had made us learn how to chart our whereabouts by instrument, and Thomas had his instruments that he had saved off the Bye-Golly, we got to practice our navigation skills until the radio and electronics came back, we were hoping.

We did a dead-reckoning chart for now. Two watchers had to be on deck at all times; no matter how tired we were. Kingman's Reef and Johnston Island were in the vicinity; every eye had to watch for submerged reefs because we did not know where they were. Sounds funny, not knowing where you are at. This day and age that is almost impossible, but here we were, barely out of a tropical storm and didn't know where we were at, exactly! We could not take any readings or sightings, the sun was hidden in the tumbling clouds and there was no horizon to measure with. We watched constantly. The surface of the ocean looked like a billion white ponies prancing and dancing everywhere. This made it hard to detect a foaming reef just under the surface, so the only thing we could do was watch and listen, and that we did. It took several days of very cautious sailing to move Northeast out of the danger zone, but we finally did.

It was bad and somewhat frightening, not knowing where we were; but we were learning, way more than we had bargained for. I enjoyed adventure, but this little jaunt had left adventure way back there somewhere to become a full fledged nightmare. Now nightmares—I did not enjoy!

No matter how much one might try, shipboard life while sailing and working aboard a sailboat is hazardous. First and foremost, everyone must be on guard not to be washed overboard and lost at sea. Then, if one is not careful, his or her fingers can be jammed into wenches or tackle gears resulting in broken or crushed fingers, and this is not good. As much pain that was dealt out by these hazards and to hear someone cussing or screaming that a fingernail had just been torn off, there was only a certain amount of sympathy that could be handed out. It never fails, so often you end up on your knees pulling lines or coiling rope and contact with decking can leave raw skin areas or cuts. These cuts or raw flesh bruises are then constantly salted by the sea air. Haven't you heard of having salt rubbed into one's wound? Well, that is how it is at sea. Sure thing, the romantic aspect to sailing is there, but right along with that exists every sort of irritation, salt wounds and a multitude of other oddball troubles. One slip on a wet deck can leave you with a broken arm or a missing tooth, but the ship must go on. There are no breaks from the work. If you don't give full attention to every piece and part of what makes a sailboat cut its way through the sea, you're gonna be in big troubles. You become the heart and the boat becomes the body. The heart cannot stop beating or the ship dies. Wearing the right deck shoes, the proper coverings and yes, even the proper hat to keep the sun from burning out your eyeballs—all this is important. Jay kept reminding us of these hazards.

After things had calmed down a bit, Jay gave forth some detail on this so-called storm or violent weather commotion. We did not know yet if it was a hurricane or just a storm. Looking up at our broken mast, the shredded lines, and several torn sails, I had to laugh, as I rubbed my body parts, whatever we call it, it almost did us under!

Jay explained, "A storm is considered a combination of forces, with winds 64 to 72 knots (11 on the Beaufort scale) along with precipitation mixed with thunder and lightening and rough follow-up seas." He went on to explain the Beaufort scale and how it is used to classify weather disturbances. He felt it was more than just a storm, for the huge sneaker wave that had come over the horizon to hit us bow on was not something a storm would generate.

Within a few days or so we were pretty well back on course and had our first good meal. The girls had come out of their fright and had made some cosmetic repairs to themselves, and they were joking about this. It was nice to look at the girls legs, but when you saw large raw sores patched around their knees and encircling ankles and elbows, you were reminded of your own cuts and salt sores. They had to be cleaned out, smoothed over with something we called secret sauce and wrapped. After a good doctoring session you might look like a partially wrapped mummy.

O yeah, then there were those good old bouts with diarrhea and reoccurring sea sickness. Privacy aboard a sail craft was rather limited and everyone had to get used to the smells of wet bedding, dirty clothes, sickness, and the stench of someone's misfortune. The use of a bathroom was often found wanting; most often a five gallon large open mouth bucket was tied up in front of the forward cabin where after its use, was washed out in the rushing sea. O yes, this was very romantic, and lots of fun when the sea got rough.

I had to admit, it was easier for the men, we just stood at the rail, but for the ladies, that sliding bucket often caused them some embarrassment. But after weeks of sailing, everyone gave each other space and didn't pay much attention to someone squatting on a bucket. To see someone's butt or a bleeding leg became rather common. Everyone just had to live with it; after all, this was not a luxury liner.

Fortunately for our safety, Jay made rules that anyone on watch or working on deck had to wear deck shoes, long pants and take precaution by always holding onto a safety line or the rail. If it were rough sea, you had to have on your safety harness, and this was an absolute for nighttime. We were fortunate that both Amber and Crystal had some training in first aid and could even put in stitches if needed.

The vastness of the ocean can be daunting and most monotonous. It is a fact that many men have gone mad at sea. This is why we had to keep busy and keep ourselves occupied. A good sense of humor worked wonders. Crystal became our ships entertainment concierge. She was forever coming up with assorted games and odd things to either irritate us or make us laugh. Story telling and deep intellectual conversations would often keep boredom at bay. And so we sailed on and on, day after day, hoping for the best along the watery way!

# Chapter Sixteen - Out To Sea At Last

The blue Pacific had laid itself down like a nice new velvet blanket as we slipped our way across its welcomed softness. We were sailing north by northeast as the blue skies slowly returned in our favor. Even the cat Dandy, our ships latest mascot had come out of hiding and had a great time pouncing onto the flying fish that flopped onto our deck. We were slowly recovering and glad to be alive. We still had a hard time thinking or talking about our young friend Mike, our lost sailing companion. The girls had grown quite fond of him; he almost became their younger brother and he was sorely missed. We now realized how much he had contributed as a deck hand alone, for we were having to do all those little chores he had been doing for us.

The time had come, we were on course and a general repair had been accomplished to the New Song. One evening Jay felt it was time to bring forth an explanation of Mike's reasoning in his last life-giving actions. He asked us to listen to what our young friend had told him. Everyone was trying to recall what exactly Mike had yelled across just before all hell broke loose, in what we were now calling the Forsaken Lagoon! Everyone had realized that this young man, who only had a few good months to live, and every second must have been precious to him, had sacrificed himself for us and for his new-found cause.

Jay got right into the matter. "We are all going to have to make a decision about Mike's request. His reason for not saying anything to all of you, and I know it bothered you and he was planning to tell you, but he wanted to find or discover something on his own. His idea was to take the gold links and use them to establish a foundation for the disease he had. I looked it up. It's called Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura or TTP. Also called Moschcowitz syndrome; as close as I can remember how it's pronounced. Apparently, it is rare and there is not a lot that can be done. The disease destroys the organs by bursting the capillaries and vessels leading to the organ. I don't know much more than this. His life was devastated by it, and there was nothing he could do about it. This was so frustrating but when he accidentally found that sunken locker down in the reef and managed to get those links out, he finally realized that he might be able to do something."

Everyone sat in silence. The only thing we could hear was the soft swish of the bow waves as we moved towards our destination. "I know that these golden links are worth a fortune, according to Gretchen and from my own knowledge. It could mean a tremendous increase to everyone's account if we keep them as part of the treasure we've found, but would you, meaning all of us, consider using those golden links to create Mikes foundation in his behalf?"

Waves came and went, our bow lifted and the deck rolled and everyone was silent with this question.

The first to speak was Amber, good old Amber, my sweet Amber. "After what we witnessed and our narrow escape from Palmyra, by the life of Mike, in my opinion, we should give those links over to a foundation or use them to create one in his name."

I watched for reaction and there were two groans, Thomas and Julie speaking up at the same time. It was soon understood that these two were of one mind, but I did not know if this was good or bad yet. They say that two minds are better than one, but not in this case I pondered, reminding me of vinegar and sodium mixed into one froth. Thomas got the deck and said, "The first thing is that we have acquired financial obligations, such as the replacement of the bye-Golly and all our equipment. We also have a few investors to pay...and well, we wanted to give something to the James family for their loss. But all those golden links?"

We understood that these were genuine concerns, but nothing that we could not work around. Everyone seemed to be looking out to sea, contemplating what might be the right thing to do. Then Jay asked again, "Any other suggestions?"

Julie leaned forward and with a serious look and a suspicious tone in her voice asked, "This might not be a suggestion but more or less a question. Why did he tell all these things to you Jay, and not us? After all, it was us that invited him along, it was us that gave him the opportunity of a lifetime. It is strange that he would end up telling you all his deepest secrets."

Jay knew the answer to her inquiry but was not about to reveal it to them. Mike had told him that he did not trust them for some reason. He felt that there was some dishonesty in Thomas and Julie. He was also growing desperate, but this was not their business to know. Jay cautiously answered, "I'd guess that Mike was growing desperate. He knew his time was running out and I suspect that things were beginning to happen within his body. He also thought that you were going to hand over all the treasure to some foreign country and there would be no benefit to anyone in this idea. He really wanted to use those golden links to set up a research facility to give grants to those specialists who would be able to help others with his disease. He knew that we were going to be sailing in a few days and was desperate to get the links aboard the New Song. He wanted an ally to his cause, and we somehow got close because, well, he was a loner, and so was I. He simply trusted me to do the right thing."

This answer gave Thomas the perfect opening to jam in the dividing knife. "Your story sounds rather nice Jay, but it doesn't seem to be the truth. For we were very close with Mike. There would have been no reason for him to keep this golden link discovery from us, we were his friends." Thomas looked around; making sure everyone was getting his point. "It seems as though you might have caught him or discovered the links he had brought aboard and created a means to keep them for yourself. If you had it your way, Mike was going to be made the scapegoat and never see a penny from those links."

Everything went silent at this direct and nasty indictment. But Jay didn't seem overly taken by its implications. He took a breath and answered. "I am sure that all of you were on deck during the stand off with the Bonko brothers. If you were, you heard exactly what I heard and saw what I saw. Let me remind you that Mike yelled out to us, but specifically to me, unless you think I am one of those incredible ventriloquists. He reminded me of our conversations and our agreement to fulfill his plans. Knowing that the lagoon was emptying and time to get out was measured in minutes, he made the sacrifice to move us out to safety."

Everyone but Thomas and Julie were nodding their heads in agreement, to what took place back on the island, just before all hell broke loose. Then Jay went on, "Personally, I did not have to even mention the links to any of you, after all, they were hidden. I could have just played dumb to what Bubba and Bongo were demanding, but I didn't."

"We really don't believe you," Thomas delivered another stab.

"Well, Thomas, I think that since I called this meeting and wanted to figure out how we, and I emphasize 'we' were going to handle Mikes golden links, I think that pretty well tells my side of the story."

Still, Thomas was agitated about something and bluntly stated, "You're lying!"

Theo jumped up and fervently contested, with fire in his voice, "First of all, my brother is one of the most honest persons I have ever known. If Mike told him this, then that is it. It's obvious that you are trying to create a division among us but it won't work. You just revealed why Mike didn't trust you at all!"

Jay smiled, and didn't say a word but the revelation of distrust was out there now.

Crystal broke out in laughter, "This is great. Really good entertainment. It must be something that Luke thought up to give us a good show!"

I just shook my head thinking that Crystal had flipped her cookie but just sat back and watched the next scene play out.

Crystal went on, "Here we are in the middle of the greatest ocean on earth. This Captain Jay rescued five individuals from their sunken yacht. He brings them aboard and gives them equal rights to food, water and the only thing he asks is that they might help out in sailing his boat. Then these people talk him into rearranging his schedule to help them hunt for a lost treasure. He doesn't ask for much but they volunteer to give him and his fellow divers one-third of the treasure takings. This Captain Jay, then shares everything with them and saves their lives for the second time by escaping a deadly storm and an island that goes boom, boom! Then, when he reveals six golden links, which he didn't have to, things maybe worth ten-million dollars, and is willing to set up some kind of a foundation for Mike James' cause—suddenly these very grateful rescued and saved people are calling Captain Jay a liar, a thief and seek to take over his boat. O my gosh!"

Amber added her ten cents, "Yeah, I'm really eager to see the next scene. What is it going to reveal, hum?"

No doubt, Thomas wanted division and so it came. Timm and Gretchen stepped across the cockpit onto Jay's side and humbly said, "Jay, we want to let you know that we are more than thankful for your assistance in rescuing us, then treating us so fairly and bringing us into your confidence. We are grateful." Timm then faced Thomas, his old partner and said, "Sorry Thomas, we do not accept your hypothesis and unfair accusations."

Julie sputtered out something about standing together and long time friendships, adding that Timm and Gretchen were fools.

We did not know it at the time but when Timm and Gretchen stepped over the line onto our side, Thomas's plot to take over the New Song was disrupted. He needed their cooperation and was hoping to win over the girls, but it had backfired on him.

Then came scene three, opening up with a suggestion from Jay. "I guess the time has come for us to make a decision." Jay made a proposal, casually speaking out, "We will take the larger dinghy off the New Song and load it up with water and food. You can bring whatever clothes you want, spear guns, hooks, along with shade covers and your navigational instruments. We can also loan you a radio with a few extra batteries. The ocean is calm, and you can head back to Palmyra or try and make it to Hawaii."

Thomas's eyes started dancing some gypsy fandangle while his fists were clinching and unlocking. His dark eyes were recessed back into his skull and his eye brows were crawling back and forth and up and down. He was chewing on his mustache and we could see a quiver running around on his body. He became a perfect picture of a general who had just lost his entire army, not on the battle field, but to an old blind gypsy in a back tent poker game. Jay went on, "We will get your dinghy ready if you want us to help."

"Oh, that is a perfect way to get rid of us and surely take the links for yourself," Thomas fired out his accusation.

Julie, without hesitation, began pleading, "Listen Jay, Thomas is on medication for his nerves and he gets a little carried away with his ideas. Please let this slide for now. We do not want to go off on our own."

Thomas jerked away from Julie and stomped up to the bow and stood there alone.

Gretchen suggested, "Julie, I think you might go stand with him or just watch him. He might do something crazy."

"Yeah, if he does do something crazy, both of you will be put into the dinghy and sent your way," Theo made sure Julie heard him.

Amber murmured, "Good thing you kept that gun locked up and out of his hands."

The rest of us decided to have some coffee, our think drink, and soon the girls brought up a fresh brewed pot. The New Song was moving along smooth and efficient. Her sails were all full and for once, it was good sailing. We wanted to calm down and enjoy this time.

I sat back quiet, more or less analyzing the situation. Here I was again, realizing that my life was soon to be classified among the wealthy. I understood that not everyone had a sixty to eighty million-dollar inheritance waiting for them; I hardly realized it myself. In fact with this thought in mind, my first charity plan began to take form. However, I wanted to see how everyone else's interests were going to work out. In my journalistic career, I had learned that when the human character is under pressure, they will say and do anything, but as soon as the pressure has been removed, a completely new set of adjustable rules emerge. In Thomas' case, it was like a float in a septic tank in a bad hospital—the crap just kept rising higher.

Then Julie, returned from the bow with Thomas, saying that he was doing fine, all was well. I chuckled to myself thinking that the float had just risen a few more inches. Now Julie was one of the major players in this adventure. For it was she who came into the knowledge of the Palmyra treasure. Both she and Gretchen had gone after several research grants, organized with Gretchen's skills, and moved to Hawaii. There they had gone into partnership with Thomas and Timm and hired their sloop.

She began to express her thoughts on this situation. "As of now, we do not know exactly what we even possess in the form of real hands-on treasure. I am guessing well into the fifteen million ranges. Those golden Inca chain links will bring that much in of themselves. I would guess that this would be a good start for a research foundation for Mike's incurable disease. I'm whole heartedly for establishing a foundation, but maybe we can use the individual pieces for that, and keep the gold links for display and museum pieces."

"Why would we sell off the major part of the treasure, even though they are individual pieces, instead of the gold links?" Timm asked.

"Because those Inca links have one of history's great mysteries linked to them," everyone chuckled at her link reference.

Jay had to speak up at this time, "Julie is right. Those six links can be either sold to museums or wealthy collectors. This could all be done in an auction, where the coins and jewelry and icons are going to take a long time to sell off. A museum could actually build an entire exhibit around one link, because of the fantastic story that goes with it. But this is just one idea."

The discussion went on and on, a hundred ideas were tossed out but still there was no real solution, other than everyone did agree on establishing a foundation.

Then one evening while on watch, I had a talk with Theo about an idea that was brewing in the back of my head. "How about if our team offers payment for those links? But we allow Julie and Gretchen the right to take them on tour and display them in various museums."

"You mean use some of your soon-to-be inheritance to buy the links but not take possession of them?"

"Yeah, but we might toss a few restrictions into the deal."

"Think about it. Sounds interesting. Maybe make a proposal along those lines to the group."

"Yeah, that gives me some time to put something together," I agreed.

Jay suggested that while the weather was cooperating, we might begin going through and organizing the treasure. Up until now we didn't have the time to really get into the sorting of the treasure bags. Everyone had been hinting at this. We were all burning with anticipation. After Jay's suggestion, there were no complaints, and volunteers were a plenty.

The next morning, with great excitement, we began arranging everything so we might get serious about going through the canvas satchels of treasure. They were stacked in every space that was available. We had been moving the bags around and had sorted the canvas bags by size and weight. This was not going to be an easy task, but everyone was there to help, including myself.

I guess that during all the hecticity back on Palmyra, we had not paid attention to the amount of treasure we had collected. Once we began to open things up, we were even more amazed. There were several thousand coins of every size. There were carvings, precious stones, beautiful works of jewelry and gold crosses embedded with rubies and who knew what. The deck was filled with treasure selections and even the downstairs galley area, including the two front cabin rooms had been reorganized to help in the sorting of all the pieces. We were hoping that the weather would stay friendly.

Once we were sure the sea had calmed itself down for our work, Theo and I set out several portable tables. They had an outdoor carpet material as covers to help keep things from sliding off. The different bags with the stones were brought up and the contents were spread out in the center of the tables. These were the stones that had been separated out of the coral chunks and the rest of the treasure. The girls had collected them into one or two canvas sacks. Immediately the sun began to dance around in the pile. We stood around awing as our fingers picked through the piles. There had to be several hundred stones of every color and shape: blue, purple, pink, yellows and varying reds but it was the larger green ones that really got our attention. "Ahh man, look at this," Timm held up a green stone in the shape of an eyeball or a large almond—oblong, and well over an inch long. Jay asked to look at it and Timm handed it over.

Jay held it up to the light, "Wow, is all I can say, this is a beauty," Jay exclaimed to all of us listening.

"There are several of those emeralds that are shaped like that in this pile. Some of these larger stones are going to have to be cleaned and re-polished, they have coral residue on them," Julie excitedly spoke as she was moving the stones around.

"Just look at the fire in these stones," Jay expressed his awe as he held the stone up in the full light. No doubt, that thing looked like green fire in his hand. It absolutely flashed green light and shot out sparkles. It seemed that it held a living fire inside.

"I'll bet those stones were plucked out of some massive statue's face. They are shaped like eyes and most likely sat in some cold stone face staring out at the worshipers. Imagine a poor native standing there looking up at this stone god with its green fiery eyes literally dancing life and death back at the on-looker?" Jay set the scene of possibilities for the stones. And it didn't take much imagination to see how these giant green emeralds could have been used in some face or mask as living eyes.

"They must be worth a fortune." Thomas was holding up one in each hand, letting the light flash into them.

"The clarity of these stones is absolutely incredible, almost perfect. That is what allows the light to come in so strong and gives it the ability to dance around in the depths." Jay was holding up one of the better emeralds to the light so all of us could see the sun dance inside.

Gretchen's depth of intellect poured forth with confidence as she gave us a lengthy lesson on how government agencies could trace these stones back to Palmyra. This caught our attention. I was amazed at the insight, as she went on. "This coral residue that is on some of these stones is stored in a government storage and research center. Each reef in the world has its own signature. The Caribbean has its own type of residue, while these Pacific reefs have their own identity, especially, with the atomic exposure these have had. Where else in the Pacific does this atomic residue exist?"

"What does this matter to us?" Thomas asked.

"Maybe not too much. But since the Coast Guard knows we were on Palmyra and then these stones start showing up around the market places, a good gem investigator, such as the Israelis and the Dutch gem cutters and their watchers, could trace them back to us."

Theo and I, along with Amber and Crystal, had dealt with various stones that had been found in the Hearst Castle treasure, but it was Amber and Crystal who had been named after precious stones. They knew the most about such gems. Amber suggested that if anyone was worried, each stone could be buffed and cleaned, but she didn't see that this was really necessary. I was amazed, for every time we turned around, those two girls exhibited another one of their many expertises and here they were again. Amber held two stones in her palms as if weighing them out. She brought them up to her eye and squinted into them, as she turned them over so the light could shine into them from differing angles. She pointed out a few minor flaws in one but stated that these were some of the most perfect emeralds she had ever seen. Crystal suggested, that if they were from the Inca mines, they were most likely set into carved panthers. "Or they could have been fitted into a king's crown as eyes that looked out from all directions. Whatever they were used for, these are the center pieces of this collection. No doubt they are worth hundreds of thousands each and maybe more. The size of these things is almost impossible to fathom, I've never seen anything like this before!"

Amber nodded her agreement, as she was fixated on one stone she was holding up to the light. "It's almost like one of those kaleidoscopes you look into—just amazing!"

Gretchen was arranging the stones by their colors. She was giving her opinion on their possible history. "I'll bet there had to be chests of these stones in the Esperanto's treasure when she went down. Over the centuries, the treasure had to be scattered across the bottom of the lagoon and then the bombs must had blasted it all over the place. But imagine the pirate's lust while looking at a chest full of these stones, maybe thousands of them in one box. It had to explode with light when the lid was opened. Then they might run their hands through the stones and pick out one that caught their eye, maybe as large as a pigeon's egg and toss it around as some plaything. Then, imagine those so called 'poor humble priests' that came from Spain, riding their horses and swinging their shiny steel swords, gone mad in the spirit of conquering. They were there to enslave the population and plunder the Inca cities and temples. They would slaughter ten thousand Indians for one chest of stones. Then they would have the enslaved Indians carry the treasures back to their ships, packing away a thousand years of precious stone and treasure. Imagine the glory those conquistadors had to be experiencing. It is possible that fleet loads of these jewels were sent back to Spain, year after year, along with tons of gold and silver and crates of great works of art. Oh what a treasure for the king and their humble religion."

Her exposition sparked our imaginations. We realized that in our short search we had come up with maybe two buckets of raw stones. It was hard to imagine chests full of such treasure, and now it was gone. We speculated that the Esperanto had to be carrying several hundred million dollars worth of treasure when she went down. All that treasure, and over time, men would trade a handful of stones for just one coconut to prolong their life for one more day.

Separated by color, each group was placed into a smaller canvas sack. There were seven really large eye-shaped emeralds along with twenty or thirty smaller ones. Most were of the highest quality. Even the smaller emeralds would fetch high end dollars. It was easy to see how such riches could infect a soul with greed. We knew that many lives had been taken in gathering such riches. This only added to the intrigue, and the respect for such a history.

Julie added to these machinations as she explained how the slaves were used in digging jewels out of the rivers and mountains, for over 2000 years of Inca history. The Inca priests and rulers would hoard them for trade and self esteem, handing them down to their priesthoods and families. Such treasure represented power and authority and favor from their gods. Gold was the lesser of materials, one step above silver in the count of wealth. Julie told us that the Inca's considered gold to be the excrement of the gods! "Ahh sheeet," Theo pronounced his disappointment, as everyone broke into laughter. Endless comments and jokes followed about the fight for nothing more than fecal matter.

Good old Dandy, the stowaway cat, jumped up on the table out of nowhere, sniffed around and began pawing and batting the stones around for entertainment. This little scene brought to our attention that in all reality, even though a treasure might be worth millions, it didn't do anyone any good at the bottom of the sea or scattered around a coral reef. This cat and its playful antics was a reminder to all of us, but mostly to the Bye-Golly's crew, that fate is a friend to reality and a cousin to strange. They had escaped off a sinking ship and they, by chance were still alive. In addition, the lesson of tragedy awaits its opportunity, always seeming to be expected to pounce, especially upon treasure or treasure hunters.

After listening to the excitement rise and fall upon every new discovery, I tossed out my own intellection. "Think about one of those big shot priests sent by opportunity across a distant ocean to an unknown land. There he begins to fulfill his dreams of fame and wealth and begins his greedy slaughter for the sake of treasure, icons and religious ideals. Then after a year or two of battling and spilling blood, he departs back in glory to a land called Spain. However, fate is not finished, for suddenly he finds his ship captured by some filthy rag-tag pirates. His treasures are taken and he is slain, his body going to feed the fish. The treasure now passes on to the ruthless men of the sea until destiny bids nature to come along to ship wreck them on an unknown island. Most die in the storms but the treasure is salvaged. The pirates kill each other for the sake of survival and in time, the treasure becomes inconsequential. Time and storms come and go, centuries pass. Another race of men come along and build their wartime facilities right on top of the abandoned treasure, this is reality. Events bring new inventions and blasts open the long lost dreams of kings and nations. In time, we come along and pick up the pieces. We sail away with a portion of ancient history and a memorial to religion and slaughter and here we sit now." I pointed to Dandy the scrounge cat, batting around one of those precious stones like a cat playing with a mouse. "All those events, those experiences and the fate of thousands are now exhibited to us, and that stupid cat is having the greatest joy playing with one shiny stone which carries ten thousands stories with it. Now this is strange."

Everyone was quiet and seemed to be pondering their own personal fates, and what might come of this enormous treasure that lay spread out before them.

After looking over all these pieces, a new concern came about. For if any hint of this treasure reached the authorities or the curious, we would have one heck of a mess to deal with. We agreed that the treasure would be stowed away and hidden from anyone boarding the New Song. Once we reached the Ala Why yacht harbor we would move the entire lot into Thomas' and Tim's warehouse. They had a large walk-in vault where they kept their rare perfume fragrances. We would then decide how to distribute it, but everything had to be kept under wraps for now. We wanted to get the entire cache back to the mainland, but we had to first make it back to Hawaii ourselves.

Jay was sitting back watching us and listening to the stories. He then offered up a suggestion. "Here in front of us we have a variety of precious stones set into groups by color. I would like to propose that each one of us choose one stone from each pile and whatever you choose; those stones would be yours to keep. This way, in case anything happened to the New Song, each of us would have at least a handful of precious stones to start with, or maybe bargain with."

"That is a great idea. Even if we only took out ten stones from each pile, it wouldn't make a dent. I suggest that we leave the larger stones, especially the emeralds, alone and keep them separately. Those are real beauties and could be part of the show." Theo spelled it out rather nicely.

Everyone agreed. Then Gretchen asked why 10 stones from each pile when there are only nine of us.

"I figured that we would pull out an equal share for Mike, and give them to his parents when we see them," Theo explained.

"OK, that sounds good," the girls agreed, nodding their approval.

The larger stones and emeralds were separated out of the piles. Then each person, starting with Thomas, was allowed to pick one stone from each pile. This took a long time. For it was hard to decide on what stone you wanted; all of them were beauties.

When everyone had their own chosen stash of stones, Jay suggested that they tie them up in a small bag or hanky, something that can be carried around in a pocket. Amber came up with the idea to sew them into one of our shirts or even a hat. "Wherever you hide them, be aware that they are worth big bucks. Someone might want to lift your new stash." Theo wanted everyone to be careful with the new personal treasure they now owned.

# Chapter 17 - Vision In The Night

Jay was one of those captains who foresee trouble ahead of time and take measure to head it off before it can manifest. Without hiding his message in some flowery exposition, he told us like it was. "I know that there are a lot of feelings going on aboard. I also know that there are some very beautiful nights where the moon is reflecting across the smooth sea and the tropical breezes are just right. I also know that besides all the billions of stars in the heavens, there are stars in some of your eyes. This is all wonderful and most romantic, but, once two of you come up on deck for your watch, there is to be absolutely no messing around. Your eyes are to be watchful on what might be ahead, and the one at the helm is to stay on course and constantly watch the compass, for one degree off in the beginning could make all the difference in the end." He paused to let that sink in.

"Each on-deck crew is to make sure the sails are kept full, and you are to be listening for anything out of the ordinary. Each person on watch is to take his or her turn at the bow and watch. You can take a moment to pour a cup of coffee out of the thermos you have brought up for your watch, but stay alert and communicate your feelings—about the watch. If you suspect any danger or see anything unusual, don't be afraid to speak out."

"There are going to be some other boats sailing along out here. Sometimes these might be smaller sail boats and could be running without any lights, and that's bad. We are in a shipping lane and you will see a few freighters headed for the Orient. Just make sure you bow watchers alert the helmsperson. The lovey-dovey stuff will have to wait until we get back to port where you are free to run and jump and go mad. Your job while on watch is to keep an eye on the stars above, not in each others eyes. As long as I am captain of the New Song, I'm asking you to abide by the rules. I've seen too many disasters come about because of someone thinking that nothing was going to happen on their watch."

This talk became somewhat humorous for us; we started acting like a bunch of kids. Crystal told Theo to keep his hands off her and then Amber shoved me away, telling me to get those stars out of my eyes and abide by the rules. Gretchen was smiling, but Julie just stood there with a sour face, as if she was offended to be told such a childish thing.

Where there's an action, there is always a reaction, unless you are in government. Thomas' response surprised all of us because of its direct rebellion against what Jay asked about the romance things. Thomas seemed to grow uptight. His face grew red behind his tan and I noticed that his fists were doing their thing again, clinching as he began his retort to Jay. "Captain Vontempski, or whatever you call yourself, you might find it necessary to address the kids aboard with such foolishness but for myself and for Julie we are offended that you would be so blatant in regard to our personal feelings. They are none of your business and we might have to be aboard this boat for a time, but this does not mean we have to follow such childish rules, as you so call them."

Everyone stood there taken back and wondered what Jay was going to do about this obvious challenge. A long time passed before Jay decided to deal with Thomas Brewerton. As was mentioned above, "Where there is an action, there is a reaction!"

Jay looked over at Theo and myself and simply and in the calmest words said, "Here we go again. Theo, it is time to unstrap the Bye-Golly's inflatable raft, and this time we'll get it ready. Please place it alongside the New Song and secure it there." He then told the girls to go into the galleys and prepare about a weeks worth of food and water, get a few blankets, bring them up, and put them into the raft. "Now Luke, go into the equipment storage lockers and gather some fishing tackle for them. Now Julie and Gretchen and Timm, you'll have to decide if you want to get into the raft with Thomas or not."

"What the hell do you mean get in the raft with Thomas?" Thomas fired out at Jay.

"Exactly that! Since you do not plan on following my instructions, it is better for you to have your own captainship and go your way. And if anyone else desires to join you, they are free to go. We found you floating in the sea, with hardly anything, but we are setting you free with more than enough supplies to last a few weeks. You want your own captainship, so you shall have it! We are sure that either a freighter or another yacht will soon pick you up. The first time we offered you this choice you did not accept it, but this time we are getting your dinghy ready for you. You can depart at any time!"

Thomas turned beet red and began to sputter. For a moment, we thought he was going to make a move against Jay. Julie reached out and took his arm and held him back saying, "Thomas, can't you see that this man is only bluffing, he'd never do such a thing."

This event was rather hilarious as far as we were concerned. It was like a Catch 22 situation for Thomas and Julie. Were they offended because they were using their on deck watches to huchie-cuchie around and they were defending their thrills, or was it because they were purists and were offended at such a statement about the huchie-cuchie thing?

By now, the inflatable was in the water alongside the New Song. I was back with a good amount of survival equipment and Jay told me to set it into the raft. Soon the girls came up with two large plastic totes filled with food and water and they were instructed to place all of it into the inflatable. Jay asked for a few blankets to be tossed in and if there was anything else that Thomas wanted, he could have a moment or two to collect it. This was getting serious I thought. Way too serious.

Julie became indignant and blasted at Jay, "I think you have gone far enough in your bully tactics. You're being stupid."

"On the contrary, I am quite aware of what I am doing. As I said before, you are more than welcome to join your companion. I would advise you to gather up your things and get into the inflatable or we'll put you into it ourselves."

Julie began to mumble, but we could not understand her. However, she was not only pissed but also afraid that this might happen. What was going to happen to their share of the treasure?

"I know, I know now. It is our part of the treasure you're after," Thomas yelled.

Jay asked Timm and Gretchen what they wanted to do. Timm said, "We already gave our answer the last time you wanted to put them off the New Song."

Immediately Gretchen stepped away from the edge rail and stood on the steps leading down to the salon. She was shaking her head with a "No, I'm staying right here." Timm also said that he was with the New Song now and had no intentions of giving up such a safe and sound means of travel.

"Yes Thomas, and I will tell you that you are very close to crazy. It is your pride pushing you into that raft. There is no way in hell I'm going to go with you," Gretchen spoke loud and clear.

"And you Timm?" Thomas knew the answer but inquired anyway.

"Staying right with the New Song, I like their tune very much."

"OK Julie, get into the boat and I'll hand you these things."

Julie was stunned with indecision and could not move. Then Thomas demanded, "Get into the boat Julie!"

Julie came to her conclusion, "No Thomas, I don't want to drift around in this ocean on that raft. Neither for a day nor for a week, but I wish you good luck or better sense. Please Thomas, consider your decision for both our sakes."

Jay then stated to Thomas, "Your share of the treasure will be handled by Timm and Gretchen."

I would say that this is the flea that toppled the elephant. For Thomas realized that Jay was serious and it would be insane of him to drift away on his own. He was more than upset at his old crew members but their choices forced him to make up his mind to stay on the New Song. This meant that an apology was necessary and everyone was waiting. This was going to be difficult for good old Thomas.

"Well, Mr. Jay, looks like you win this one again. There's no way I'm going to leave my crew behind, nor my part of the treasure."

He paused while staring at the inflatable filled with various survival items and said, "Sorry about my attitude, it is hard for me to accept my loss, but I'll try to follow your orders. Besides, at our age we don't have many stars to share."

Julie immediately told Thomas to go to hell, she was definitely offended that she was being classified as old.

Jay smiled and nodded to Thomas, telling Theo and myself to leave the inflatable tethered to us and floating, in case they changed their minds. The inflatable would be a reminder that they were free to go at any time. Jay was fed up with this game. Yet, for me, something was bugging me about Thomas. If it were a medical thing, that was one thing, but it seemed to me that there was more to his erratic mood changes. We were going to have to keep an eye on this man. He seemed to be a bit unbalanced, and certainly overly agitated.

"OK folks, time for the next show," Jay calmly announced. "Let's get going."

That was it! Our second on-board captains standoff of the third kind, and I would say that Jay handled it quite well. But now, every time I looked at Thomas, I saw a ticking time bomb. I only hoped it was not set to go off aboard the New Song! Jay made sure that Thomas and Julie had the afternoon watch. This way there were always several others up on deck enjoying the beginning of the sunset.

O well, the big time for sneaky romance was put on hold but those with the stars in their eyes did get a few huggy type moments together. Each time this happened, everyone that was there would start yelling, "Get them into that inflatable!"

The one thing this talk did do was make each couple that was on watch make sure they were making noise and plenty of talk. The best were Amber and Crystal, who would sit on their watch and play the guitar. This was special for all of us, for those nights, under a star-filled sky with a sweet breeze pushing us home, were very touching.

Amber and I had the middle watch in the night. It was her turn to stand watch on the bow as I kept the New Song on course. It was one of those peaceful nights, a soft breeze held the sails tight and we moved through the sea like a panther might walk a quiet trail. Then suddenly, Amber came scrambling back to the helm area, where I stood at the wheel. The compass was aglow on her face and I asked her what the matter was. For certain, she had been frightened by something. I thought that it might have been a whale that had come up nearby and scared her, for we had been seeing pods of whales in the area. I was just about to say something about not being afraid, when her lips began moving but her words were nothing but puffs of mixed sounds.

I reached up and pinched her nose in jest, but she batted my hand away saying that this was serious.

"Luke, I saw something out there," she said in a low frightened voice.

"Sure, that is what you are supposed to be doing, looking for things. Good job. You better get back up there," perhaps I was a bit tired myself. I thought I saw a very different look on her face and she was holding something back. The look was that of someone who had just seen a ghost.

I quickly realized that she was more than serious, and actually afraid. My Amber, she was afraid and this was something rare. I counted the situation serious. "What did you see?" I asked, as I turned the wheel a few degrees to port.

"I am not sure if I should say anything, you might think me to be crazy." To make sure no one could hear her she was whispering.

My eyes scanned the ocean and checked the sails to make sure they were full and waited for a moment. "Amber, if this is serious, don't mess around, just tell me and let me be the judge of the matter for now. Remember, we are a team."

Her head turned up towards the bow and I could see that her eyes were searching for something. Then she said, "I saw...I saw...a tall man walking across the water."

At first, I was not sure I heard what she had said, but she repeated it again and waited for me to say something. "OK Amber, I cannot say you didn't, but maybe you're a little tired and it's time for me to take the bow watch."

"I knew you wouldn't believe me," she said with some disappointment. She was looking for some type of encouragement—not a "You are tired" answer.

I put my arm around her saying, "No, no, tell me more. A man you saw, walking on the water? But way out here?"

"Yes, damn it. He came from that direction," and she pointed to our port beam just mid way up to the bow.

"What did he look like? Did he say anything to you?" I thought I'd at least get her into a talking mood.

"Like I said, he was a tall man, but very old looking, dressed in baggy clothes, like a sailor might wear, sort of like the stuff we wear around the boat."

"Did he say anything? Or why was he coming our way?" I figured to get a better picture of what she was saying. Who knew, she might have been having hallucinations.

"As he got closer to us, he began pointing off towards the port side, as if motioning us to steer, I'm guessing about ten degrees to the North." She went silent for awhile and kept looking out at the passing sea. I checked out our compass bearing but remained fixed on the course given by Jay. Then she said, "I thought for sure you would see him, he was so close and just right there."

I turned my head to port and stared out across the night and the empty ocean. The stars reflected on the calm surface but I saw no strange man, or any type of imagery there. "Are you sure you weren't having a dream?"

"Absolutely not. Are you saying that I was sleeping on the job?"

"Of course not, just wanted to let you consider another possibility." I took all this in and pondered what to do. I finally asked her to take the wheel and I would finish off our watch up on the bow. When Jay got up, I would consult with him about this.

"Please Luke, I don't know if you should tell anyone about this. What would they think about me?"

"Amber, listen to me, if there was anyone to tell, it would be Jay. That guy has just about seen everything there is to see. Besides he is the captain and should know." I paused and then reminded her of the story of the discovery of Palmyra Island. "Remember how that captain was awakened three times from his sleep and went up on the deck. Whatever woke him up, saved his ship. Remember that story?" I asked her, and she smiled at thinking that she might not be crazy.

An hour later Jay and Gretchen came up for the last watch before dawn and I told Jay what Amber thought she had seen. He listened without any hesitation and I saw him gradually change our course ten degrees to port. He said for us to get some sleep and he'll let us know what comes of this.

Amber couldn't sleep, her mind kept replaying all the detail of this vision or supernatural experience. Remembering back through her childhood, she had experienced several events that had no common explanation. Her father had told her that from long back in time, their family and certain men and women had been given various gifts. Some called them revelations and others called them insights. But the peasant people of Russia and many in the eastern European countries were known to have prophets and prophetesses born among them. Her very own grandmother had been a well known prophetess. The family was well aware of these things and handed down the oral traditions regarding these gifted people. She remembered her father warning them not to ever abuse their gifts or play games with them. "The time will come when they might manifest and save your life," he would remind her and Chrystal. "In fact, one reason our family came to America was because of several visions and a few incredible revelations. Our grandfather and his family just sold everything one day and left for America. Everyone thought they were crazy for leaving the thousand-year-old community, but their move proved to be the safety and preservation of our Kaamin family. Within a few years, the Tsar and his family were destroyed, Russia fell into revolution and millions of people perished, including the village we once lived in."

Still, Amber was bothered by this vision and wondered what it might mean.

Being an investigative journalist, this incident forced me to think out of the barrel. Sometimes, the unseen world will reach out, make contact, and actually communicate with us. This was done either by thought or by visionary expressions. I was intrigued, my mind locked onto this event and I promised myself and Amber to keep an open mind regarding the outcome of this visitation.

# Chapter 18 - Speculation And Revelation

The sea had a silvery gray-green sheen. The mornings at sea were spectacular. They were most refreshing. It was one of nature's greatest gifts for the human mind to witness, absolutely beauty in motion. Most of my poetry was composed during this sacred time, from the early light of dawn to the blaze of the rising sun.

On and on we sailed, day after day, over the deep blue, under and through the clouds in the skies, continuously pushed over the face of the ocean by the ever roaming winds. Nine people being confined into a small area has its effects on each one. There comes a time when an individual seeks his space; this was well understood. This wanting one's space, fell upon me about the third day out from the storm. The ocean decided to lay down absolutely flat as a mirrored glass. This was called the doldrums. In some areas in the world, the old sailing ships would be calmed for days and even weeks. The sun would bake the ship and its waiting crew to a dry crisp as the winds faded away to nothing. Even the breeze of a bird refused to touch the face of those so wanting a wind. In our case, the only time the boat would move is when someone got up and walked around. The deck would dip slightly by the footstep. This slight movement excited everyone, thinking, just maybe the wind had returned.

Our sails hung dead. One day, then two, and into the third day the boat moved only with movement aboard. In that absolute stillness, everything seemed far away. Never had I thought to be so far away from family, friends, or from civilization. Even though I had my friends with me, it was lonely and extremely still, oh so still!

Then in the heat of mid-day, I dove overboard into the mirrored glass waters which stretched out beyond the horizon, encircling us in a maddening grip of calm. Down I went, deeper and deeper into the bluest waters one can imagine. Then I stopped and looked up, and far above me was a tiny hull like a toy embedded into brilliant blue. Below me was nothing but vastness fading into deep velvet blue, and then into black velvet. Deeper and deeper I stared into pure black while a blazing blue sky sprinkled and kissed the face of the vast sea, far above me. I floated, suspended in time and space, incomprehensible now, and then too!

Then and there I was overcome with the most distant feeling. Further away than I have ever been, totally separated from everything, completely detached from all support, and life itself. I was the loneliest soul ever, consumed deep in the blue Pacific sixty feet from the tiny hull that contained the only knowledge of my existence! A thousand miles from shore, three thousand from what I knew as home—in that single moment I was captured by solitude.

With my arms and legs totally limp, I floated, suspended in a place no human had ever touched and I was alone. Five miles of black ocean beckoned me down, the brilliant blue above awed me as I heard my heart pounding, seeming to ask if I knew how far away I was.

As beautiful as that moment was, I can only remember the terrifying fear of being suspended forever in that lonely untouched place. I slowly ascended back to the surface where I gasped into my lungs the breath of life and sweet pardon. Then I swam back in desperation, to my tiny floating island sitting so still in the vastness. It had waited for me, like a faithful friend patiently allowing me to taste deep loneliness and then come back! I saw my family pacing and waiting for me. Amber was in tears, Crystal had her fists on her hips, Jay and Theo were geared up to come looking for me. I think it was Gretchen who tossed out a life preserver. From the depths of loneliness, I arose into a world of joy.

I heard and saw everyone yelling at me, waving and gesturing to get the hell back to the boat. Somehow, I heard the words—shark—coming my way. Reality flashed. I propelled my stupidity to the life preserver, where my family began to pull as if my life depended on it. I was yanked up and onto the deck, not to carefully. Jay spun my head around to show me a scene that I would not soon forget. Not more than twenty feet from the New Song two sets of fins aimed for the life preserver. Instantly the styrofoam was struck. All I saw then were pieces of flotsam coming to the surface.

Amber had her arms around me and was crying, but the rest of the gang was taking out their frustration, yelling that I was an idiot, a really dumb human, "What the hell did I think I was doing?"

"Listen shipmates, I was only taking a bath and trying to cool off a little. No reason to get so upset."

Before my words were out of my mouth, Jay stuck his face into mine. A picture of the meanest drill sergeant blasting some new recruit came to my mind. Spit blasted my face, as my ears were deafened, "Shut up. You better listen to old man Jay. This is my domain and my reputation would be completely ruined if you had been lost!" He paused to take a breath and went on with his flaming delivery, "I don't give a damn about your millions, this concerns your only family and best friends. If you even get close to the rails, I'll personally chain your butt to the mast until we get to port. Got it?"

Jay knew exactly what had happened; he gave it some weird name. Then we had another Jay lecture and everyone had to attend. He explained about the emotional aspects of being confined and out to sea. The new rule for all of us was that no one was to be left alone on deck. Even when nature called, someone had to stay fairly close to make sure no one decided to take a swim on their own. Leave it to Jay, he named it the "Loner Law"! Everyone was a little pissed off at me. All they could remember was those two dark moving forms swimming after me, and almost getting a free meal. It was Amber who gave me some comfort and would not leave me alone, not at all. She said this is what I got for causing her so much trouble...huh.

I suspected that their real concerns were over the idea of the "Inheritor" being lost at sea! But Amber and Crystal soon straightened me out on this little idea saying, "Luke, you are so full of crap. We have more than enough money to buy you and this entire crew out, and that is just on our credit cards." Believe it or not, this made me feel better, and we all got a good laugh. From that time on, they would threaten me with the unseen sharks. "Just keep it up Mister, and one night you'll disappear overboard. Our two buddy sharks out there will feast on your skinny butt!"

Within a day of that near disaster, the winds began to blow again. Then strange things began to happen. We were constantly distracted, coming upon floating debris that the storm had tossed into the ocean. There were clusters of palm trees, tangled with hundreds of birds chattering, most likely trying to figure out where the heck they were. Late into the day we saw the roof of a building, pieces of tin nailed to styrofoam insulation, along with several half broken rowboats just drifting along. The storm had ravished a few islands along its path. We were seeing the remains of people's lives and homes. The only thing we did not want to find was floating bodies.

Free of the dangers of the Johnston atomic dump sites and the Kingman reef area, we finally made solid contact with Dustin. I had asked him to have Wally get some satellite photos of Palmyra Island. We could receive photos through our satellite phone, which could be transferred to our on-board printer if everything was still working. We had set up a fairly good communications system to assist us in our big wave film project but after the storm and damage to our mast and antennas, we were not sure if it would function well enough to receive the photos. We wanted to see how this major storm might have affected the island. We filled Dustin in on more of the details of our island and storm experience and reported the destruction of Bubba and Bongo's cache along with the death of Mike our young friend.

Dustin was quiet for a time, not knowing what to say about an actual death and one we witnessed with our own eyes. I could hear the gears in his mind turning, determining the lawful ramifications of such an experience. It was going to have to be reported. We understood this; Thomas and his crew were going to deal with this part of the experience. He concluded the call by asking Amber and Crystal to call Brookstone, and report in more often. With this, we gave our location and estimated time of arrival.

The time came when I had worked out a plan in my mind, deciding to present it to the crew. "OK, I'd like to toss in another idea here folks. Concerning the six links, I know of a group that might pay your estimated costs for those links. However, they might also allow you to keep the links for display at different museums or charity functions. You would not own the links but have possession of them, sort of becoming caretakers of them. This way you can also exhibit some of the Inca jewelry and fine works of art. The Mike James Foundation would be established with the asking price up front, and then you would become the official caretakers of at least the golden links."

"Luke, you're saying that you know someone who is willing to pay for the links and still not possess them?" Thomas asked suspiciously.

"I think I do. I have met a lot of people in my journalistic investigations. There are interesting people who might be willing to purchase them, especially if they knew the funds were going to establish a worthwhile foundation."

Theo, along with Jay, Amber and Crystal knew what I was presenting here. I did not want anyone outside our team to directly know of the inheritance that was soon to be released to me. Nor did I care to mention the MAVIN group as of yet. I tried to keep it simple without revealing too much of my own involvement. So I spoke of a third party business arrangement. This lend out deal could be done rather easily if all agreed. It could be done with the World Wave Watcher movie funds that were being built up and on hold. The only thing I asked was that our MAVIN team be kept secret and out of the light. I would have to present this to Dustin and the rest of our team back in the States, but I think they would approve.

Another long discussion ensued, taking in all the ramifications of handling the treasure and the links. Gretchen brought up the idea of forming their own charity, which would operate legally within the bounds of caretakers of the treasure, and distributing whatever funds might come through the exhibitions and donations. The entire idea began to take form and solidify itself into what seemed to be the best way to handle both the Mike James Foundation and the Inca treasure discovery.

The first time the MAVIN team was mentioned to our passengers it created one heck of a storm of curiosity. For we were not talking peanuts here. Those links could run up to maybe four million dollars each...now who might have that kind of funding? Certainly, Thomas, Timm, Julie and Gretchen wanted to know what this MAVIN group was about.

I explained that the MAVIN group was our newly formed group made up of myself, Mitchner, Dustin Arrow our lawyer, and Theo Vontempski. We added International onto the name to broaden our horizons. There were a few others on this team, but we would not divulge any other names, wanting to keep as much undisclosed as possible. I personally did not care to open our team's wealth or purpose up to outsiders. Even the least knowledge of such financial status would change the dynamics of our passengers and the New Song's working crew. Especially when Thomas and Julie realized that this odd collection of sea travelers might be worth some kind of fortune, and they were more than just a ragtag crew of young adventurers. I explained that the MAVIN group knew many different organizations and might be able to set up a deal with one of them. Jay had told me about Mike's lack of trust in Thomas and Julie, and it was looking like he was spot on, so we managed to keep the MAVIN Group in the shadows for now.

We were still about 500 miles out from the Island of Kauai when Wally our analyst forwarded the latest satellite photos of Palmyra Island. He had to have used his connections with his government contractors of the past. We had come to gain great respect for our team member and close companion, Wally Justin the hairy giant. He might have been big in size, but he was also huge in mind, proving to be a great asset to our team. This guy had more connections than a space shuttle rocket had parts. How he came to attain these high-resolution photos of this exact spot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean we questioned not, but the photos that were sent were amazing. The typhoons or hurricane that hit the island definitely rearranged the smaller outer islands, and no doubt the ensuing explosions had completely altered the lagoons and islets. The Richter scale had registered the explosions all the way from Hawaii, with the possibility of the Navy sending out a research vessel to investigate.

We had explored most of the smaller islets attached to or near the main island. Sand bars or newly formed reefs connected islets scattered around the atoll. Sand Island and the two Home Islets in the West and Barren Island in the East existed on their own. Cooper Island, the larger of the outer islands to the North, was the one we were most interested in. We had been anchored there. It was where we located the treasure and possibly the shipwrecked Esperanto from long ago.

"O my gosh," was the first simultaneous reaction from everyone at seeing what was left. Cooper Island had been swept clean and appeared to be nothing but another heap of sand and piles of coral. There was no sign of any cache, or even a piece of wreckage from the Scandal. The strangest thing was that there was a deep blue-greenish lagoon which had been formed by massive bomb explosions. The explosions had completely reshaped the area. From above we could see huge deep craters where the inner reefs once existed. The barrier reef where we had been anchored was gone! The once smaller interlocking lagoons were no more, but appeared as one huge sand filled marsh. The reefs were going to have to start over. In a hundred years they might refill the area. One of the most startling sites was on the west shore, along the sand beach where the Bye-Golly hull was once wrecked. The hull itself was still there, way up on shore. It was resting almost upright, jammed between trunks of trees. The beach itself had been reformed, the West Lagoon filled with all kinds of trees and floating debris. There was no sign of Bubba and Bonko, nor of their stolen catch.

Julie pointed out the changes, saying, "One thing for sure, the treasure has been pulverized and scattered over all the islands or cast into the surrounding depths. There is no way anyone will ever find it. Someone might run across a tiny piece now and then, but as far as the treasure being in one area—forget it!"

Timm drew our attention to the small cluster of islands as he ran his finger clockwise over the photo. There was the tiny islet Kaula in the South, then to the northern arch islets of Strawn Island, Aviation Island, Quail Island, Whippoorwill Island, followed in the East by Eastern Island, Papala Island, and Pelican Island. Then in the south by Bird Island,

Engineer Island, Tanager Island, Marine Island and Paradise Island, and Home Island and his finger stopped on Holei Island. "Check that out," he said.

We all bent down to take a closer look and there was what looked like several twisted forms, maybe old plane wrecks. These could be the lost war crashes that must have been on the bottom of the ocean but had been flushed onto the beach. For they were not there when we had walked around the small island, just a few weeks back.

The disaster that had swept across Palmyra Island was shocking, to say the least. Yet, the massive chain of explosions really had us considering our narrow escape. Jay brought us back to what was necessary, for we only had a few more days before we were in Hawaii. The dividing up of the treasure went on. We left this up to the girls, with Julie and Gretchen being the experts in the old pieces, and Crystal and Amber were the ones to gather the stones. This would be a fair means in the treasures division. One-third was to go to Thomas for the loss of the Bye-Golly as originally decided on. Then one-third was to go to our New Song crew and the other third was to go to Thomas, Timm, Julie and Gretchen. All the coral-crusted treasure that had not yet been cleaned was still in canvas bags hanging overboard in the waters. We were hoping that this would wash off the chemicals or even the stinging part of the coral. The final decision on the six Inca links was for them to go into the foundation for Mike. I would be handling this and already had Wally looking into setting the foundation into motion.

I realized that since the departure of Goodwin, our parrot from Obscenity Island, we hadn't had a lot of time to reflect on life and what awaited us in the future. We had been cast into a turmoil of decisions, mostly involving others. The rescue of the Bye-Golly, our stay on Palmyra Island, the conflict with the Bongo brothers, the excitement of discovery and the loss of a young friend. Unexpected tragedy, storm and our narrow escape from out of the jaws of Mother Nature herself. Lessons are truly born out of experience.

There were some serious discussions that went on. In one such talk we got into the soul and shipboard relation. It was said that there always comes a time for sailors to fall in love with their ship. No matter, if it is just a dinghy in the bay, aboard a transoceanic freighter, a tall ship, or just one's personal sailing craft floating in a quiet lagoon. It is that loving hull, the flexing skin of strength with all her accompanying assets working together that keeps the vastness of the ocean from swallowing one up into its depths. In all good journeys at sea, there arrives a realization that your ship is your life. It might strike you in the early morning during your watch or at night when you lie in your bunk with the waves rushing down the outside of the hull, letting you know that the vastness of the sea is only a few inches away. A ship is one of the few things in this world that can challenge the sea and live to tell the tale. The only other thing that has been able to survive the ocean's power is the shore itself.

A ship, as long as there have been ships, have been referred to as female. The idea of mother, wife or lover helps establish the bond of protective intimacy. The crew walks the decks, climbs her frail rigging, descends deep into her secret places, and cozies up into her protective womb to become a part of this living machine. This unique bond is so often formed after crew and ship have come through the worst of times. A metaphorical fellowship develops into a lover's trust. A special bond is created by those who have found refuge in the defender who challenges the sea for the sake of those who have fallen in love with her.

This reflection came as the New Song's bow split the on-coming waves and cast foaming spew back as soft curls. What made this so magnificent was our passing through great plankton beds at night. Waterfalls of phosphorescence would be showering into the night as the boat's sharp bow lifted and cut its way through the dark sea. The hull would split the surface and a billion sparks would gush and fly forth. The deck would light up with the energy-charged plankton and we would stick our arms into the bow wave and rub the phosphorescence waters onto our faces. We would become enlightened! It was as though we were sailing across a sea of stars. The joy of this trip had arrived, at least for a few hours.

Then came one of those nights. The night sky was ablaze with billions of stars, planets and man-made satellites. This heavenly view was there, like never before, while the earthly breezes blew soft into our sails and moved our wind machine through the peaceful balmy night. This was one of those times of joyous reflections of all that we had passed through. The New Song sailed into another swath of florescent waters. Those that were not on watch would go up to the bow and lay down on the deck. The bow waves would wash onto the deck and flow over those lying there. They would then arise and walk around; it had to be more than incredible. For there we were, standing like star studded humans, flickering with lights from head to toe. These tiny plankton lights would last for a few minutes and then go away. This was more than entertainment and pure scientific fun; we tried getting some photos of the star covered humans, without the best success.

On many of these quiet nights, we got Jay into sharing some of his sea stories and the many superstitions of sailors and seafarers. He knew them all. The only thing we lacked was a campfire. The vaulted heavens of bright stars reflected onto the smooth waters and we could feel that we were floating through the heavens. There are those times, which do occur that can take your breath away, and dazzle you into a state of awe so deep, you feel that you might not come back to reality. There came one of those memorable nights. As we sat together listening to the many sailor's tales of awe and strangeness, from the far northeastern corner of the velvet sky there flashed towards us directly overhead, what had to be a comet. It seemed to hiss, spewing out its tail of fire and sparks as it streaked over and across our path, then continued over the equator and into the southern hemisphere where it disappeared around the world somewhere! One united gasp with ten minutes of wow, accompanied by astonishing statements of unbelief poured out of our little group. It was almost a spiritual event; we sat back in silent wonder, considering what we had just witnessed.

It was Amber who eventually spoke, "My grandfather told us that God gave signs and wonders for man to contemplate. Once, in the beginning of the twentieth century, he remembers a great comet came out of the eastern sky and went across India before it hit the frozen Russian Siberian wasteland. Everyone had witnessed this and began to speculate. Seven years later World War I broke out and the 1000 year old Tsarist government fell. The world was plunged into communism and continuous wars."

This opened up another two hours of speculations about religion and life, asking if this flash across our path might be a sign for us. We went to our bunks pondering the mysteries of life and of the sea.

For myself, I had not realized this feeling, or understand the ship-soul bond—about the Neww Song until she had been put through the harsh test of the storm, while we hung on for our lives. This lesson of the sea came and went, for we were still about a good weeks sailing from Kowhai, when we came into another trying situation. It was on Theo's and Crystal's watch, again. I say again because it seemed as if Crystal had hawk eyes that were always seeing things first, this was already the second or third time for her.

Just before noon, Crystal yelled out that there was something in the water directly ahead. Jay came up on deck and stood on the cabin with his binoculars. "Sure thing. What the heck it is I am not sure. But it looks like a massive collection of rubble with things spread out about a mile across. We're headed right for it."

I wondered if that comet across our path the night before had foretold of the events soon to come our way. Or was it the water-walking man who had appeared to Amber and pointed out a slight change in our course? It was the man that Amber had seen that came to my mind. For Jay had made a slight course change to where the man or Amber had pointed. Now, what was going to be the result of that course change brought about by the vision?

# Chapter 19 - Woe In The Depths!

It doesn't take much to excite a person when they're bored. Any little change on the horizon or in the sky would bring everyone clambering onto the deck to take a look and converse over what they saw. By now, our attentions were aroused and we were all on deck trying to see what this approaching debris field might offer. Jay had us drop sail as we approached the dark shadows on blue waters. The closer we got the stranger things appeared. Someone pointed towards a tree-house-like structure, floating along with large branches. Then there were boards, posts, doors, and every sort of utensil floating in one great twisted mass.

As we came up to the reef of obstacles, it was impossible to see down through the water. It was a mass of everything—from clothes, broken boats, shoes, and plastic jugs, swirling down and around as far as the eye could see. When you're out to sea and looking down into the water, you cannot see depth unless there is something in the water to reflect back the light. We have dropped empty cans or shining fishing lures overboard and watched them descend for several hundred feet in the clarity of the water. We could now begin to see deep and it was clear enough to recognize what appeared to be a massive collection of assorted objects, suspended in a slow moving vortex of currents. Someone said that this looked like a   
Wal-Mart had been tipped over, and everyone got a good laugh because this summed up the site so exactly.

"Do you think this is that Pacific trash dump that everyone has been talking about?" Amber asked.

"I don't know, looks like it is something the storm washed off an island, and the currents are taking it somewhere," Jay was pointing downward into the volumes of obstacles." Let's keep looking downward, we might get a hint at where all this stuff came from," Jay added.

Gretchen and the girls were leaning over the rails looking down into the depths. It was Gretchen's scholarly insights that helped us to understand what we were both seeing and passing through. "This is known as the Pacific Debris Field or The North Pacific Garbage Patch. It occupies a large and relatively stationary region of the North Pacific Ocean bound by the North Pacific ring area. It's a remote area commonly referred to as the Horse latitudes. The corolla rotational pattern draws in waste material from across the North Pacific Ocean, including coastal waters off China, North America and Japan. As material is captured in the currents, various wind-driven surface currents gradually move the floating debris toward the center, trapping it into one region." She pointed out a vast area, indicating a vast circular region and went on, "There are certain currents that come from the East and from the West and circle north and around to the South. These currents are like vast flowing highways that carry all the garbage along, until finally one giant circulating current traps all the debris in this one area. But there are at least five known debris fields as large as this one."

With a tone of disgust in her voice, she poured forth more knowledge than we could digest. "As usual, no one wants to take the blame. There are no strong scientific data banks concerning the origins of the tons of dubious plastics. The figure that an estimated 80% of the garbage comes from land-based sources and 20% from ships is derived from an unsubstantiated estimate. According to a 2015 Environmental Protection Association report, the primary source of marine debris is the improper waste disposal of trash and manufacturing products, including plastic littering, illegal and outright dumping of waste from coastal cities, ports, rivers, and storm drains. Debris is generated at sea from fishing boats, stationary platforms and cargo ships."

We were all listening to her very professional lecture as we moved through the floating mess. "Pollutants range in size from abandoned fishing nets to micro-pellets used in abrasive cleaners. Currents carry debris from the west coast of North America to this floating island of waste in about six years, and debris from the east coast of Asia in a year or less."

No doubt, Gretchen had to be a living documentary on ocean environments. From now on, there was no way we were going to let her see us toss the least piece of trash overboard.

"What should we do, like report it or what?" Amber asked.

Theo pointed off about a half mile to our north, "There is a bunch of stuff out there and it sounds like a dog barking, can you guys here it or am I going batty?" Now out to sea, often seals bark and they sound like dogs, but this was different, and we were all hearing it.

"Going batty, you're already there, but as for hearing something bark, I hear it too," Crystal teased.

Jay turned the New Song into the massive collection of debris and skillfully moved the boat across a field of swirling watery junk yard. It took on differing shapes, almost like pieces of several villages. We drew nigh unto what appeared to be a large wooden crate bobbing in the waves. Part of the crates end on top was missing. As we came up to it, more intense barking started up. Sure enough, there was a dog's head sticking above the edge of the crate, and it was barking like mad. Jay had me drop the front jib sail and we glided up to the crate. Timm had out the boathook, then caught the crate and pulled it over to our side.

Incredible, it was a smaller dog, maybe an Australian border collie, wanting our attention. Its tongue hung out while its little head was looking up at us. It had a light coating of salt on its coat and we could see that it had to be thirsty. "This is really strange. What on earth would a dog in a crate be doing out here in the middle of the ocean?" Timm said as we all pondered.

"I don't know, but what are we going to do with it now?" Jay wanted to know.

"Do we have a choice?" Amber asked.

Crystal was already kneeling down over the side, reaching down for the dog, when it darted back into the crate. "What the heck little dog! I'm here to rescue you and you dart away. Come on, get over here, before Captain Jay changes his loving mind." She began clicking her fingers, as to call it forward. Then she heard something else, giving off whimpering sounds. "No way! There are some tiny puppies back there."

"What do you mean before Jay changes his mind?" Jay stated, adding, "Jay has been rather silent on this matter so far," he spoke up with some sarcasm.

We were all laughing at Crystal's inference, knowing she was already planting the thought to bring the pup aboard.

"O boy, here we go. Noah's ark all over again," Jay shook his head and laughed.

The little pooch must have known the danger, for soon she was carrying her little new born pups one at a time up to the waiting hands of Crystal. Crystal then handed them up to Gretchen. Then she took hold of the mother and lifted her onto the New Song's deck. There comes a time when the little things make life worth living. That little dog began showing its gratitude by licking the hand that rescued it; Crystal Kaamin had a friend for life. It sniffed around a few times as if wondering where the hell it was and which island it had landed on. The proud little mother sat down on its haunches, looking around as if wanting to know if everyone wanted to hear about the incredible journey it had been on. After it had taken its bows, given its thanks, she then began to search for her pups. The girls with their motherly instincts already had them collected into a corner, sitting on a blanket where they were all lapping up a bowl of canned milk, followed up with a bowl of fresh water for all of them.

There comes a moment in every adventure where one is taken back and astonished by something so odd that a mind has a hard time getting around it. Here that moment arrived. Here was Jay, our highly skilled captain, a man of his own, a retired SEAL, a rare antiquities expert and dealer. Then Theo, Jay's younger brother the movie maker and inventor and surfboard shop owner, a real bag of mixed expertise. The new guys on the block or should I say deck—Thomas and Timm, two pharmaceutical engineers and adventurers, along with their companions in discovery, Julie and Gretchen, two marine and science professionals. O yes, then there was the two lovelies, Amber and Crystal, our business associates and project directors and most unusual female adventurers and more. Then myself, and I'll keep it simple, Luke Mitchner, just an investigative journalist.

Here were nine of us weary souls floating around, five hundred miles from the nearest land and suddenly, we are all standing around, stupefied, watching this little, very concerned mother dog on a greater journey than our own, inside a crate all alone. I could look around and see nothing but blue skies, a vast distance of emerald green water and well, nothing else. This was an awesome thing in and of itself, but this little mother dog could care less, it only wanted to make sure its pups found their way into the right corner of some strange sailing machine.

Before anyone had the chance to say a word, Jay lifted his right hand up and practically yelled, "I hereby christen our newly rescued guest "Salty Dog!" Everyone had to laugh at this one, for the moment something good came with this little hound.

Thomas, the older of us laughed and said, "Hey, I always wanted to know what the hell a Salty Dog was. The Kingston Trio sang about it and I know it had something to do with the sea, but now I know."

Theo, the music lover among our crew made an acknowledgement that made little sense to the rest of us, "You mean those old, old guys that sang that Tom Dooley song?"

"Absolutely, that is when real music existed. Not this drunken long-haired idiot beating on twenty drums with a sledge hammer and his near comatose partner screaming out a sewer pipe of vindictive screams, so evil that the devil wants to go to Church."

On and on he went until Crystal interjected, "Sounds like you're not a hard rock metal lover Mr. Brewer?"

With this, both Amber and Crystal started jumping around as if playing guitars, singing the great Beatle tune, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds!

Everyone but Thomas had a good laugh. He was a put off by the girls little jiggy show. But with his comment, everyone began to toss out their thoughts and ideas. "That was refreshing, but how and where could a tiny dog and its pups have come from?" Gretchen asked. Her question became the core theme.

How this little dog family came to be floating around in the middle of the ocean in a crate was a puzzler of the day. We turned to see the crate floating off, but it soon became tangled in a fishing net that was suspended deep, almost as if the net had a mind of its own. The net swirled around in the currents and scraped alongside our hull, soon tangled into our rudder. Jay asked me to climb down the transit ladder and cut it off. This had to be a seiners net, that kind that stretched out for miles. I could see hundreds of things tangled into it and the idea of cutting it away was almost useless. The more I cut through the rope-like fabric, the current kept bringing more of the net up while it began reaching out, entangling its lines around our keel and hull. I cut and hacked away but the floating mesh kept arriving. Finally I arose and went walking around the edge of the railing looking down trying to see the extent of this long line fishing net. Once again, I became a little worried. It was as if we were sitting in the middle of a huge mushy living swamp with black vines out of the depths clinging and growing up the side of our boat. The net itself must have been tangled into a long line, for there were sets of large baited hooks entangled everywhere into the net itself, one giant mesh of a mess.

We figured that the net had to be off one of the huge factory ships from a foreign country, and those nets sometimes stretched for miles. Jay and Theo were right there with me as I tried to figure out how this was happening to us, as the net's bulk piled up on our port side.

Jay said, "This is the shitts. We're going to have to do something, for if we get tangled up too much with that net, and a storm begins to blow, we are gonna be in more than deep water!"

Then Theo exclaimed, "Man, do you see what I see?" He was pointing off the port bow side.

Jay and I moved over next to him to get the same view into the depths and an ill feeling came over me. It took a moment for the underwater scene to register and after blinking the salt out of my vision, I freaked. As my eyes pierced the deep, a large dark shape began to come into focus. At first, I thought it might be a huge whale snared in the net, but detail began to emerge. It was the twin props sticking out of the back bottom side that clarified it for us. A large vessel was floating upside down, about twenty feet into the water. We could make out the hull: it had to be at least a hundred foot in length, a blue-brownish colored hull, completely wrapped into the giant net.

"Looks like we know where the little dog came from," I spoke.

Then the girls came up on deck, joining us, wondering what we were looking at. Immediately Amber, Crystal and Gretchen were leaning over the side looking down into the net which was drifting down and away. Julie stood back holding one of the pups, enthralled with the fluffy little creature. But again, it was good old hawk-eyes, Crystal, what she had now saw made her gasp a sharp piercing cry. She began babbling while jabbing her hand downwards in a frantic gesture. Her head kept turning away as she was pointing down where we turned to see—two or three bodies all tangled into the net. It looked like a woman and two men, and maybe one younger boy.

All of us stood there just watching the net ascend and descend, swirling around deeper and deeper, like a pulsing living thing; there was nothing we could do. It was sad to see the woman's long hair spanning out in the current, as if she were floating in peace. It was strange, the man's arm seemed to be waving good-bye to us as the current moved them along. We just caught the last glimpse of the bodies disappearing into the depths.

A full-fledged shock and a taste of reality came to all of us—again! The girls stood there with their hands over their mouths, not sure of what they had just seen, or maybe not wanting to disturb the dead. Then they were looking to us to do something, but there was nothing we could do. Even if we could recover the bodies, we were still a good weeks sailing out of Hawaii. We had no facilities to keep the bodies. This was a grim reminder of our own near-death experiences in the storm. This could have been us. A new respect for Jay and his expertise, in keeping the New Song safe and afloat became evident. We were alive and those down below in the net were not.

A line from one of my poems came to me, "The fickle wind blows upon the face of the sea and awakens the angel of fate, and so often begins its games with anyone it can reach."

"Mother nature and especially the sea has no mercy in her rule book," Jay was shaking his head as he delivered what seemed to be some kind of eulogy for those snared and drowned victims.

Then Theo had one of his ideas, and asked Jay, "If we could take a heavy line, tie some large shark hooks onto it with a lead weight and then drop it down onto the net...Once we hook onto the net, we'll tie a couple of solar floats onto the line along with a radio signal transmitter and let the floats drift with the net. This way the searchers, if there are any, will be able to tune into the radio signal and find the drift net by spotting the solar floats."

I had to admit, "Theo, that is a good idea, at least we would have done something about this tragedy." And that was Theo, he was always coming up with ideas, this is why he was an inventor. However, there was a greater situation for us now. The masses of floating fishing nets were tangled into our hull, keel, rudder and propeller. Something was going to have to be done; we were trapped in this tragic scene.

But O no, did it get better, no way. Things began to get worse. The first thing was that we could now see large tuna fish, blue sword fish and what looked like porpoises hooked onto the baited hooks and caught into the net. That was not the bad part though, sharks were hitting the net, trying to get to the hooked fish and the bodies. Some of the sharks were now trapped and tangled and were either dying or already dead. After a while watching, it appeared to be one giant feeding fest for every shark in the Pacific. It was not only spooky, but it left us in a bad dilemma. What and how were we going to extract ourselves from this net without having to get into the water?

Jay had Theo get onto the radio and notify the Coast Guard about what we had found and the dilemma we were caught in. Jay was more than upset for allowing the New Song to become entangled and trapped, as it was. Again, the team thinking machine went to work, trying to come up with some sort of escape.

There was no question, the first step in our extraction from the net was that someone would have to get into the water and cut the net off the prop and the rudder first. Jay was the best diver, but no way could he be allowed into the water with his shoulder having a hole in it. Besides, he was the Captain aboard. Thomas had his sprained arm, and there was no way we were going to allow any of the ladies overboard. That left Timm, Theo and myself. However, Timm did not have the experience and was hesitant, so that left Theo and me.

We couldn't be wasting time worrying who or what. Theo and I began putting on wet suits, armed ourselves with two side knives and put on diving tanks. We put forth our plan. I would guard Theo while he did the cutting. We would start with the prop and the rudder. As soon as these were free, we would move along the hull and cut away more of the net from the keel and rudder. Once the prop was free, we would bang on the hull, and then Jay would start the engine and begin slowly motoring up and into the current. This would pull the netting away from us. We were hoping that the current would help us get free from the nets.

I would be there to watch for sharks and any floating hooks in the nets. Then Jay came up with another one of his little sea tools. It was a heavy-duty underwater stun gun, especially designed for stunning sharks or whatever might be bothering you. It had a telescoping handle and an easy pull trigger system. We looked like official divers, and the girls were more than scared for us. But of course, Theo and I played our parts of super macho men to the hilt.

We were soon at the stern, slipped on our fins and masks, and away we went. After arranging ourselves, we were soon cutting and hacking away the net. It was well wrapped around the prop shaft, the first worry. Theo made swift work of the net. Each thick strand was taunt as the current pulled the net along. Each time he made a cut there was a twang in the water. Soon the prop was free, then he went to work on the rudder. I watched the current move the huge mass of netting away from us. It was glistening with hooks, some baited and now and then one great tuna was hooked. Most of the fish were dead by now, but I had to shake Theo, for us to move behind the stern, when a huge sword fish was being pulled along, still alive and thrashing. Sharks followed the net and several came up to see about getting a fresh tasty dinner with us. As one came gliding, I stuck the stunner into its side and pulled the trigger. O man, did it jerk and flash into the deep. Theo nodded and gave me the thumbs up, and went back to work.

Back in the recesses of my brain, I thought I could hear something but did not pay any attention to it. I finally thought to listen and assumed that the faint tapping I was hearing was the clunking of the hooks and debris floating along our hull. It was hard to discern noises. After a time, I tried to discern where this slight tapping was coming from. I was not sure but it sounded as though it was coming from the sunken hull, some twenty feet below us and off beyond the mass of nets.

Soon Theo had the rudder cut loose from all the netting and we moved alongside the New Song's hull, tapping on the hull three times. We could hear the small auxiliary engine start up with the prop churning the water. We could feel the boat move forward into the current. I was just about to tell Theo to listen to the tapping, we did not know what it was and what might happen, when the netting and all its hooks came moving towards us.

Fortunately, it was slow enough that we could keep shoving the gobs of net away. But soon I had a tuna hook stuck into my arm. The hook itself was one thing, but it was the current pulling the net along and the hook was on a long line, tied or bundled into the net. I was soon being taken away, like a giant tuna! The rule of diving came into play. That rule is that no diver is supposed to dive alone. Theo saw the water around me turning red, my arm had a hook stuck well into the muscle. He immediately grabbed onto me, cutting the line on the hook. He then grabbed me by the back of my suit and pulled me along to the side ladder. He took the stun gun and motioned me to get up; he would follow. Apparently, my blood had attracted a few smaller sharks, but Theo discouraged them with one stun each, and he was right there behind me, climbing aboard. The New Song was still moving up-current while the net stretched out behind us.

Of course, when the girls saw the huge hook jammed into my forearm they screeched, then their nursing sense kicked in. Amber again seemed to be forever repairing me. She was considering the best way to deal with this, just like a woman. I was sitting there as the girls took turns looking, considering what to do. Theo had cut off the arm of my wet suit, exposing the big nasty hook which was well embedded in my arm, blood oozing out in a continuous flow. Jay was maneuvering the boat around the debris fields as Thomas and Timm pointed out areas to avoid. All this time, the girls were deciding on how to approach this hook in arm situation. Theo came to see, looked at the hook and excitedly said, "Hey, look up at those nasty clouds." I did and immediately he yanked the hook out of my arm. Yes, I yelled and cussed at him, telling him that he better not ever seek after any surgeon college, or any doctorship, his bedside manners were horrible!

The girls soon had my arm wrapped and bound and had given me a good dose of pain stuffs, while Theo cleaned off the hook and handed me the giant hook as a souvenir. He smiled and said, "Good thing this was stuck in your arm and not your butt!"

The girls all agreed!

Timm was doing a good job pushing away any of the last of the trailing nets and odd debris. We seemed to be leaving the junkyard behind. Jay told all of us to set sail. He wanted to get out of this mess and not find any more dead bodies. There was no way we could take any of them with us. Oddly enough, I was reminded of those taps that I had been hearing while working on the nets. I turned to Theo and asked him if he had heard any tapping sounds down below. He got an unusual look on his face and went quiet for a moment, "Why do you ask that? Did you hear something down there?"

I could see that we were almost out of the floating debris field when I answered, "Well, when I was working alongside the hull and guarding you, I thought I heard some kind of tapping. But I figured it was you bumping the hull, or even the hooks and junk hitting the side of the boat. To tell the truth, I was afraid to look around for its source."

"Ahh man, I didn't want to say anything, but I thought I heard some tapping from the sunken hull but was too busy to think of anything else but our own safety. Even if anyone was still alive in there, we couldn't have done anything about it. The depth was a little more than you or I am used to. We would have had to swim through a forest of churning netting and drifting hooks."

We went over to Jay, informing him of our hearing the tapping, and the possibilities of someone still alive in the hull. He ran his fingers through his beard and looked out across the debris field. As usual, he was taking in all the possibilities, and what might this mean if there were people trapped in that hull. He was still disturbed at those submerged bodies drifting around us in the nets. Death at sea was nothing new to him, but death in any form, especially in this distant watery grave brought out his compassion. We could see it in his eyes.

# Chapter 20 - Tap, Tap, Tap!

Jay was quiet and listening intently to what we thought we had heard. He didn't want to say much at the moment but continued motoring the New Song through the debris field, getting us out into clear waters. Then he turned to us and said, "It has been at least four or five days since the cyclone went through here. If that boat went down in the storm, it could well be that there are people still alive inside. But the only thing we can do is to notify the Coast Guard and give them the coordinates of that floating cemetery."

"Isn't there anything else we might do in the meantime?" Theo was looking back as he inquired.

There was a look of quandary on Jays face as he explained, "We already left radio and solar floats hooked to the nets. We sent out the coordinates of this area. But as far as getting down to the wreck, there is nothing we can do."

This was obvious; Jay was wounded, Thomas had a sprained arm, Timm was no deep-diver and we weren't going to allow the girls to dive. As for Theo and myself, Jay made sure we understood that as the captain, he would not allow any of us to get tangled up in the debris field and drown. He asked us not to say a word to the girls. It was already tough enough on them seeing those bodies. Without further delay we were soon on our way out and back on course. Or so we thought.

How quickly things can change and so it began with us. As much as we wanted to get away from this disaster area, we barely got free of the debris field when we were forced into making some rather serious decisions. Decisions that were sure to put our lives into jeopardy—again!

We got a call through to Dustin and informed him of our gruesome discovery. We asked him to get hold of the Hawaiian Coast Guard and any Navy rescue forces and let them know that it was an emergency. Amber got hold of her brother Bobbi Brookstone, and told him of our find. He had some excellent connections and got on it right away. The Hawaiian Coast Guard soon called us back on our satellite phone and asked us about the tapping we had heard. Through crackling interference, we explained what we had heard and gave as much information as we knew. We were disconnected several times, but Jay persisted. He went on to explain our situation and how we left radio and solar floats attached to the net which had caught onto the sunken hull. Jay spent a long time talking to several departments on the other end of the phone. Apparently, the Korean owners of the fishing boat had posted a fifty-thousand dollar reward for the whereabouts of any survivors from that boat. The Coast Guard said that they were dispatching two smaller rescue crafts to the area, but they would not reach there for a few days. They could have a fly over to drop some useful equipment if we were willing to stay around and help.

When Jay got off the phone, he was both bothered and excited. We were being asked to stay around and send a tapping message to the sunken hull to any survivors, letting them know that there was help on the way. The real clincher to all this was that there was a finder's salvage claim for anyone making claim to the salvage rights. In this case, the one hundred foot 'Yoaky-Doky' fishing trawler was well worth into the millions if it was worth anything. Finally, Jay made up his mind, asking all of us to understand that there might be a good number of people trapped down in the hull, and they might have a chance to survive if we will help them. Then he tossed in the salvage claim aspect to this new sidetrack mission.

"What could we do for a boat wrapped in fishing nets and nearly out of reach? And if there are people in it, how could we do anything for them?" asked Theo.

"Listen, the one marine rescue guy suggested that if we could get some air down to them, they might have a chance until the guard gets here with the big stuff," Jay explained.

"Sure, air is great stuff, but how would we get air down through the nets, then into the hull?" I made my inquiry.

"Come on folks, we got some great minds aboard this ship, let's put them to work, maybe come up with a trick or treat for those souls trapped down in a dark watery hell," jay had turned the New Song back towards the ocean junk yard, as he began stirring up our thoughts.

It was Crystal again, "Come on now, who would name their boat 'Yoaky-Doky' that sounds disgusting. That reminds me of watery eggs still uncooked but served anyhow, like if you were in jail and had to eat them."

We laughed at her slanted humor but after she said this we all had to consider that name; it had to be Japanese or an Asian name. But then she went on, "It is good that this boat has a name. It is bad that the name is really bad, but it is more than ugly that this name will forever be stuck into our minds, especially at breakfast time!"

It is interesting how once a mind is put in a direction and begins focusing on problems, it begins coming up with possibilities. We soon blew through ten of them before Theo offered up one of the most practical ones that we might actually be able to accomplish without putting ourselves into too much trouble. "First of all, let's get the New Song positioned as close to the sunken hull as possible and send some tapping messages, listening to hear if anyone might tap back. After all, some of that tapping we heard might be from some of the junk clunking together in the currents. It might not even be anyone."

"And all our worrying would be for naught," Gretchen conveyed a hope that all might work out for the good.

"OK, then what?" questioned Jay as he let his eyes scan over his raggedy crew.

"If there is anyone trapped into that hull then we can put the second part of our plan to work," Amber advised.

"Great, what is the second part of the plan? Please explain, if you would Theo," Timm spoke, expressing a little apprehension.

Theo was speaking and watching the debris float by as the New Song made its way back, drawing closer towards the floats we had anchored to the net, "Once we determine if there are any survivors, we will let an anchor down, really easy like, and see if we might hook onto the back propeller shafts."

"What good will this do us?" Thomas asked in a frustrated tone.

"What this will do, is not for us but for them, or for the fishing boat. If we do secure our anchor line to the props, we will begin winching up the anchor cable very slowly, just an inch at a time. If we can at least raise it up ten feet, that will put it in a safe diving depth for us," Jay answered.

"You mean that you are thinking about sending someone down there...and for what reason?" Amber the cautious one questioned.

Jay looked us over before he answered, "Right now we only have Luke and Theo, along with Amber, Crystal, Gretchen and maybe Timm, if he is willing to get into the water as a diver."

"Then what?" Theo nudged Jay to go on.

"First a clear cut opening must be made through the nets to secure a safe entry to the hull."

Everyone nodded, "Then we will have to get a few tanks of air into the boat itself. This might be our first hope for anyone down there."

"This is dangerous as hell," Thomas said.

"True, but that is just the beginning. We will then run an airline down into the hull and begin pumping air inside. Maybe we can keep it afloat or bring it up closer to the surface."

Amber asked Jay, "What are the main dangers?"

"The currents keep moving the nets around, floating debris, and of course the numerous sharks coming to get their free meals. All this and probably a few more things that we don't know of."

It was the meek-minded Timm who came up with the challenge of the month, "Listen you guys, you mentioned the salvage rights, which might run up to three or four million dollars. Why not try to float or bring that hull up all the way?"

Everyone went dull brained, and you could see each face turn into one stern question mark. But Jay immediately said, "This started out to be a small air delivery service, now we are thinking of becoming a full fledged salvage operation."

Gretchen decided to speak up, "I have done a lot of diving and in some pretty rough places. We might be able to pull this off if we will work together."

"Yes, we're listening," Jay acknowledged her, liking the idea of working together.

Gretchen came alive with her idea spilling forth like a newly turned-on fountain. "We position the New Song directly over the Yoaky-Doky or whatever it's called and we create a dive line. This means that two of us descend down to the net area on the anchor line. Once we are there, one stands guard with the shock gun, while the other cuts a large hole in the net. We take the anchor line through the net hole and secure it around the propeller shafts and swim back out of the way as the wench begins to lift the hull up a ways." She paused a moment, knowing this part was going to be the most objectionable. "The worst part of this will be moving along the bottom of the hull, tapping to see where someone might be trapped and still be alive."

"Where's this working together stuff you mentioned?" Jay inquired.

"Well, while the first two are securing the anchor line to the shaft the second dive team begins bringing down the air hoses. Then the other on-board team begins working the air compressors and making sure the teams are safe by watching them and by staying in constant contact by phone."

Julie interrupted Gretchen by asking, "Who are these dive teams gonna be?" It was clear that she didn't want to be sent down to possibly be lost or injured. After all, she had a fortune in treasure, and a scientific reputation to make.

"Well, I figure that Theo and I will go first," Gretchen answered. "I will use wire cutters instead of a knife on the nets, and Luke would stay close by with the stun gun to keep away any predators."

Crystal immediately spoke, not wanting her Theo to be down there with this pretty slick-looking woman, "Why Theo? How about me instead?"

"I wouldn't mind that, but in this case I think Theo is the only one not yet injured. It would be better if he stayed on guard while I did the cutting. It seems a good way of getting through the nets, and Theo is strong enough to put the anchor over the shafts. It isn't complicated." Gretchen smiled at Crystal, knowing her real concerns.

Crystal slowly nodded, "That's fine, but I want to be on the second dive team right above. Is that workable?"

"No problem, Luke might be the diver with you. He has a hole in his arm, but he still can use a stun gun to keep sharks away. You will be able to watch us, and when we get through the net, you can bring the air line down so we can work it into the hull."

There was a chuckle from Amber and Theo, as the bit of jealousy began to rise up concerning Theo. Crystal soon turned red when she realized how she had exposed her feelings for Theo. Amber didn't make things any better when she leaned over and patted Crystal on the back, "Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on your Theo. He ain't gonna get into any trouble, not twenty feet under water, dodging nets and sharks, believe me."

Theo cleared his throat and said, "Come on folks, this is serious stuff here. It has nothing to do with me."

Jay was not listening to all this banter, but as usual ran his fingers through his beard as he thought through the suggestions. "OK. But Timm, how would you go about bringing this massive hull up to the surface?"

Timm used his hands, illustrating how we could place large pillow floats under the hull around the deck area and pump air into them. "I have seen this done several times on boats that went down in the harbor. It might work here because the boat is still afloat, which means there is still a lot of air inside it. If we can cut away the nets from off the hull, that might allow it to almost float on its own."

Theo and his genius mind were right there with Timm, just like Albert and Einstein twins, "If the hull is not leaking air right now, we might pump air into the hull itself and it would act as one giant float. Especially since most of the boat is one contained storage area for fish."

"Not bad, not bad. That might work," Thomas' eyes were bright and wide open with the possibility of a four million dollar salvage claim.

Jay pointed to the surface of the ocean, "If we are going to do this, best do it now. The surface has laid down as smooth as a baby's butt. How long it will stay that way I don't know. But let's start with step one and get down there to work while we can." With this he brought the New Song up between two radio-solar floats. Soon the first two dive teams had their wet suits on and were in the water. It was so still and clear that we could see the sunken hull just below. The net was jammed up against the hull, held by the slow moving currents. Gretchen and Theo descended by holding onto the anchor line; with the anchor holding the line taunt, they were able to maneuver towards the back of the hull where the props were extended.

Amber and Julie stood guard watching every move taking place some twenty to thirty feet below. Gretchen seemed to have everything in control and worked on cutting away a large part of the net around the prop area. Theo was right there with her, watching for any shark that might come near. Crystal and Luke were ready with the air lines while Thomas had the air compressor up and running. Jay had his head phones on and was in contact with the divers as they worked.

Theo reported that Gretchen had cut her way to the hull and the prop shafts were right at hand. Jay gave permission to tie onto the shafts. Jay told Thomas and Timm to begin turning the anchor wench; the cable went tight and things began to happen. After this lift began, both Gretchen and Theo began to carefully swim forward along the long curved bottom of the hull, cutting and tapping their way along listening for a response. At first, they were sure that no one could be still alive inside, but about half way up the hull, a slight return tapping began, until it became evident.

Theo moved alongside Gretchen as together they narrowed their search to one location about half the way down the hull. Theo used his diving knife to tap out an SOS! Soon the tapping from within the hull repeated their taps. Once the tapping from within was located, they tried to determine how they could get into the massive fishing boat. But with all the debris and entanglements this would be nearly impossible.

Suddenly, the slight tapping from within changed dramatically. Louder and louder, in a frantic demand, there came a flurry of responding taps! This had to be a frightening sound for Theo and Gretchen, which they would be haunted with for many months to come. They both would recall that moment and the feeling that they were now hearing the final cry of humans, in this code of a last hope desperation. They were hearing every sort of tap: heavy clanking, soft scratching, tired, near death hunger pleading with a pitiful beggar's reach, sounding forth despair from inside the sunken hull. Theo took in the overall scene, and captured it as one of the most bizarre scenes he would ever recall. Immense beyond imagination, was this dead ship floating alone, thirty feet below the surface of life itself. It lay like a dead whale, suspended over the black void in the Pacific, down five miles into pure blackness and the emptiness of forever. There was no other hope than the strangers waiting above on the New Song. Inside this steel hulk adrift in the depths, there was pulsating life!

Theo immediately spoke through his underwater phone reporting to Jay what they were hearing. Jay told them to tap out some familiar tune so those inside would know that someone was trying to reach them.

Theo was stunned, he had no idea what some Korean fishermen might know as a song or tune and his own mind went blank. Finally the only simple tune that he could tap out in a hurry was Jingle-Bells! Yes, that was stupid, everyone told him later, but it had its effect. The tapping inside stopped and a playback tap was returned—it had to be from a symphony with Dun-dun-at-dun!

They knew now that there were survivors inside. How many, they did not know, but by the variety of taps it had to be a group. The only thing left to do was get back to where Luke and Amber were working to secure the air line. The trick was to begin pumping air into the hull, giving the survivors a better chance to stay alive. By the time Theo and Gretchen made it back to the prop stern area, air was already flowing into the hull. However, this created another unexpected problem: the air flowing into the hull's storage area began forcing out the fishing boat's rotted catch. Pieces of fish and slime began filtering into the water like a cloud gathered around the hull, reaching up to the surface.

After the air lines had been secured, Theo gestured to the others to begin moving along the top of the hull, cutting away the nets. Working as a team, after 20 minutes, they had opened up the net, so if the hull was going to rise, it would not be held down by the massive nets. Jay ordered everyone up. Air was running low for their tanks. Their work had been accomplished. Theo gave a few last taps before all together they slowly rose to the surface.

There was still one great worry. It was evident that there was a problem with sharks. For this was a fishing boat, and we could see its catch emptying and melting into the surrounding waters, as if someone were chumming for bigger fish, which would naturally attract sharks from ten miles away. And as we knew it would happen, several large sharks came swimming around on the hunt. Theo and I had our stun guns out and ready, as the girls reached the diving platform.

Panic set in aboard the New Song as the crew watched what was happening. The smell of the rotted fish and the slime spread out like a cloud reaching up to the surface. Within a few minutes, shark fins began to cut the waters in search of the free-floating meal. Fortunately, there was enough food floating in the water to keep the sharks from attacking the divers being dragged up and out of the scummy waters. But it was still a close call!

Safe on board, Theo became upset over something but was keeping it to himself. Finally, I asked him, "What is bothering you?"

"Wished I had my super-sound sonar board with me. This would have been the perfect place to test it out to see how well it would work against the sharks." He pointed down to the nets where various sized sharks were tearing into the hooked tuna and swordfish.

"Could be, but I think that the sharks in this feeding frenzy would most likely have eaten your board up for desert," I retorted with a taste of humor in my voice.

# Chapter 21 - Yoaky-Doky lives again!

Jay once again reported to the Coast Guard that they were attempting a rescue of any survivors inside the sunken fishing boat. He also contacted Dustin and had him begin claiming the salvage rights to the Yoaky-Doky. Even though he was a good lawyer, Dustin, not lacking the gift of humor, had to laugh, "It never fails with you Tricky-Wickies, you seem to just sink into crap and come out smelling like, well, in this case, like fish!"

"That is truer than you know, this tuna barge is leaking fish guts all over the place and everyone smells like a fishes butt hole."

Dustin laughed even harder, "Bet that takes a good chunk out of the shipboard romance!"

"True, but everyone stinks so bad that no one can tell the difference. But it will get better once we get away from this mess, and that reminds me, try getting hold of the owners of this boat."

Dustin's remark about a shipboard romance got me to laugh. We had been so busy with our near death experiences, our going bonkers over treasure diving, our escapes from serious storms and becoming a Noah's ark rescuing animals and people, there was little time for romancing. For sure, privacy was out. One was fortunate if he or she could even fart without everyone knowing it, no less carrying on some romantic escapade.

"I'm not sure exactly how to go about salvage rights, but I'll get hold of Brookstone, they might know more about this stuff than I would," Dustin added.

"You might get in touch with the Hawaiian Coast Guard to let them know that we are claiming salvage rights along with the rescue. Oh, and find out when their rescue boats are going to arrive. We are now pumping air into the hull trying to raise it," Jay explained.

The compressor was running full blast, there were two hefty air hoses secured to the inside of the hull. No bubbles were escaping, so we knew that the air was moving along inside the hull. We were only hoping that it was reaching the poor souls trapped inside.

It seemed forever, but our anchor wench slowly began to loosen and go slack. This was the first sign that the hull below was beginning to rise. Jay ordered the wench to start lifting as if we would be razing the anchor. We all watched the anchor cable as it tightened once again. Then Jay started the auxiliary motor and slowly backed the New Song from above the Yoaky-Doky, because if it did rise, we did not want to be in its way. Everyone held their breaths as the radio crackled alive. The antennae were still malfunctioning, but concerned voices could be heard, we thought either Korean or Taiwanese. We determined that it had to be another Asian ship in the area. We gave out the location again, telling them who we were and what we were trying to do. Some strange voice replied "Vedy good, veddy good, brudder in boat."

It was hard to believe but Timm's idea of raising the sunken hull seemed to be working. We could see the stern being lifted a little at a time. The entire hull appeared to be closer. However, as it rose, the fusion of the cloudy fish mush was flushing from underneath and out of the open storage lockers and the hull began to rise. Those tons of fish within the lockers had rotted and turned to mush and it was now being flushed out by the infusion of air and causing a lift. The smell fumigated us like a massive stink bomb. We all started gagging on the fumes, it had to be horrible enough but within moments, everything started to happen. The first thing was that fins appeared everywhere around the rising hull. It was almost a frenzy of sharks snapping at pieces of rotted fish. Admits this scene; the hull was slowly rising closer and closer to the surface and all of a sudden, we didn't know what to do!

A panic set in. If the hull did rise and those who were trapped inside knew that the boat had reached the surface, they would try to swim out. Without a doubt, they would be greeted by swarms of feeding sharks. But we had no way of warning them. We all stood with towels and shirts covering our mouths and noses, watching and waiting for someone to come up with a solution to this deadly dilemma.

Jay took action, telling Theo and Timm to lower our dinghy. Take an ax and pry bars ready to move over to the hull if it does surface.

"What are you thinking?" Thomas asked.

"The only way to prevent them from trying to get out is to cut into the hull to create an opening for them," Jay replied.

"That's insane. It will let out the air and the entire thing will sink," Thomas nearly yelled.

Jay shot him a dirty look, "They have to be locked inside a water tight area or they would have drowned by now. Even if we open a hole in the hull, there should be enough air inside to keep it afloat."

"You're just guessing at that," Thomas fired back, seeming to undermine Jay's authority.

Jay realized that Thomas was concerned with the salvage rights, but our first concern was saving lives, and that was what Jay was going to do.

"Don't worry, we'll take one of the air lines and punch it through into the area where they are. That should compensate for the loss of the trapped air. Besides, with tons of rotted fish flushed out, the hull might stay on the surface without too much trouble."

"You might be right there," Timm interrupted.

Thomas shot Timm a dirty look and solemnly stated, "I hope you two geniuses know what you're doing with that four million dollar catch!"

Timm and Jay looked at each other, just shrugged their shoulders and continued their preparation for the work ahead.

All the while, Julie was standing back, filming everything. And there on film she caught the most extraordinary picture. A huge whale-looking hump came popping up out of the depths! With it came a terrible stench and swarms of shark fins moving in a frenzy attack to get their share of the garbage that was floating free from the hull.

It was so close to the New Song, everyone jumped back. Jay yelled his order to fend the New Song away. It was evident that there was no need for a dinghy ride, the Yoaky-Doky hull was only a few feet away. Jay ordered float side-fenders to be put out so the New Song would not be smashed or bumped by the giant steel hull. Many of the nets were still bound around the hull which would make it easy for us to hang on while cutting our way inside.

Jay reached over with the boat hook and began banging on the hull. Immediately, return tapping came back and everyone heard. It was almost a frantic tapping or maybe it was joy, but we had to move fast.

The greasy fish slime was now coating the surface; sharks were everywhere and there was no way anyone was going to get in that water. Jay told Theo and Timm to get on the hull and start cutting a hole but whatever they did, not to slip off the hull or they would become instant fish food.

Jay and I pulled one of the air lines up and made it ready to hand over as soon as the hull was breached. Timm told Theo that it was best to cut the hole down the side, near the water line and not at the bottom hull area. The bottom had to be thicker, and besides, if they cut through on the side, much of the air would still remain inside. So the blows of the ax began to fall, one after the other.

Now if that wasn't a strange sight out at sea. Two shabbily clothed men, standing on what looked like a back of a giant whale, swinging an ax, chopping away!

Wham, wham, ka-chunk, screech and a squeak and grind. This went on and on, but the hull was soon cut into. With a pry bar, Timm curled back a large piece of the skin of the hull. Stinky hot dry air almost hissed out of the opening. All this was on film. Soon a face appeared looking out!

Shouting and yelling was heard from inside and soon all kinds of hands were reaching out, as if touching the air and feeling life again. It was a moving moment. We could hear crying, some yelling and what seemed to be a panic push to get out, or at least to reach fresh air. Theo having some wits about him, bent down and began to talk into the opening.

"Listen, listen. Is there anyone in there that speaks English?...English, English talk, speakee English?"

There seemed to be some commotion, then a young person's voice said, "Yes, me learn little English."

"OK, listen. Tell everyone to move back. Stay back. We are going to cut a larger hole so you can climb out. Tell everyone to stay there. They cannot swim out. There are sharks everywhere around the boat. Do you understand me?—many sharks in water!"

"Sure thing Mister. Shark want us. I tell everbody," replied the younger person's voice. With the reply, came a hand giving the OK gesture.

Timm asked Theo to find out how many people were inside. "Oh yeah, that would be a good idea, that way we could prepare for them."

Theo put his face to the opening, the smell from within was worse than the stinking fish rot in the water, but he managed to not throw up, "How many of you are in there? How many?"

A long pause came, then finally, the weak English voice returned and said, "Twelve still alive, three girl and nine man."

Theo was not sure if he should ask but went ahead anyway, "Are there any dead with you?"

A dirty filthy hand came out of the opening so everyone could see, holding up three fingers.

Timm relayed this to Jay and all our crew. A question arose, what about adults? Aren't there any crew members or older people? What are all kids doing in this locked up area?

The opening was soon curled back like a sardine can and several towels and blankets were laid over the sharp edges. One by one, children squeezed their way out into the bright day and the fresh air. They looked more like living skeletons than living people. Not one of them came out dry eyed. Each wept with gratitude as they were handed up to waiting hands on the New Song. Crystal asked Theo to tell them to keep their eyes shut or covered for a little bit, just coming out of the darkness into the bright sun could cause damage to their eyes. None of them could stand on their own so they were laid face down on the forward deck and covered over with blankets while the girls went around giving them small sips of juice and water. No one knew their condition as of yet, so every precaution was taken not to cause any after-effects. They were definitely thirsty, but slowly they began to revive, moaning and jabbering among themselves.

Jay was really bothered now; these were all helpless children. They had been entombed in a sunken ship for at least a week, but why were there kids aboard a fishing trawler to begin with? Why were they so bruised up and almost in starving condition? You could see their ribs, with faces drawn tight, like looking at skulls instead of human living faces. Something was more than fishy here. Jay was mentioning this to Amber and Crystal while they were going around checking the kids for serious injuries.

Jay told Amber that he wanted to talk with the kid that knew a little English, "See if you can't get him up and running as soon as possible."

"Up and running?" Amber just shook her head, but had to laugh.

Then Salty Dog got into the act. He came up from the salon, and when he saw this gang of kids lying around on the deck, he began to bark. At first, the kids almost panicked, but soon they were staring in astonishment at this dog. They began pointing at him and jabber among themselves, calling the dog over to them. It was as if they knew him.

Amber helped one of the older boys, guiding him along the walkway to the back of the boat where Jay sat waiting. "OK Captain Jay, here is your English speaking kid, now up and running."

It took some time for Jay to get this kid's name, something like Wynstun or Winston. Timm came up and stood by to listen. Through his pharmaceutical and business contacts, he knew a little Japanese, some Korean and a little Taiwanese. He tried following, and began asking the kid a few questions. At first he did not want to answer, he seemed afraid. Timm asked Jay if he could offer the kid a soda, to build some trust. Jay replied, "Sure thing, go for it."

Soon Crystal was performing hand tricks to the wide-eyed watchers and was handing out sodas to all the kids. They seemed to nearly go into shock at having been given something so wonderful.

After a broken exchange between Timm and this Winston, Timm explained to Jay that the kid was not Japanese but from Taiwan, off the coast of China. He was a street kid, actually named after a cigarette, "If you can imagine that, you know, like Winston!"

From that point on, the revelation of the twelve survivors got worse. According to what Timm could extract from Winston there were at least twenty of them that had been sold off the street, taken from an orphanage and sent to this boat. They were forced to work, clean fish, scrub things down, cook, and the girls had to sleep with the crewmen. When the huge storm came, most of them were locked into their living area, while the others were made to help on deck. There was very little light to begin with, but when the ship started to roll, the lights went out and everything was dark. They knew the ship had twisted upside down because they all crashed to the wall and then to the ceiling. One of the girls must have broken her neck; everyone was banged up. They had some water and scraps of food with them, but they knew they were going to die.

As more revelation came to light, everyone was taken aback to find out most of the children only had street names. All the boys were named after cigarettes! Lucky, Camel, Kool, Moro, Viceroy, Domino, and on it went. The girls were named or identified after porn stars, the only one we could pronounce was Rose, the other two we could not even pronounce. Crystal finally got through the lisp and foreign pronunciations and Orchid and Blossom were the closest we could come to their names.

As more of the tragic story unfolded, we learned that the Yoaky-Doky had been out to sea for over five months. A large freighter, or what the children called a factory ship, would come along once a month and take off their catch but leave other kids with them. Several of their friends had already been killed by accidents or died of a sickness. They had no idea what would come of them, but they knew that they would never make it back home, if the poverty-stricken city streets could be called home.

Timm actually choked up as he was digging the story out of the children. He turned with wide eyes, telling us that other Korean fishing boats would come and trade dope and liquor for the girls. And that they would never see them again!

Jay, Timm and the girls stood there, too stunned to even say anything. Then Amber began, "If there is a Korean or a Taiwanese ship on its way here to pick up survivors, it must know that their fishing boats use slaves. There is no way we can hand these kids over to anyone but the Coast Guard."

"That's for sure," Jay stated emphatically.

"What if their company ship gets here before the Coast Guard does?" Thomas asked.

Jay asked me to get on the phone and get hold of the Coast Guard. Tell them that we have rescued at least 12 kids off the boat so far. Ask them how long they will be, and let them know that if the Korean or Taiwanese freighter gets here before they do, we are not going to hand the kids over. So if they don't want a sea battle going on, they better hurry and get their highly paid butts here.

Thomas added a suggestion, "Also, tell them that we have floated the hull to the surface and have claimed it as a salvage wreck. What should we do next?"

A few of the kids were up and walking around. Amber, Crystal and Gretchen set up a few buckets for toilet facilities and had prepared a large pot of rice and soup for them. The girls were given clean clothing, for they were nearly in rags. Many of the cuts had been bandaged; our medical team was doing everything possible for them.

The question was brought up by Thomas, "Do you think we should go aboard and do some searching before anyone gets here? We might find something worth keeping and at least get an idea of what might exist inside."

"If you want to meet a few dead floaters still inside, and come back with gray hair, go for it. But according to the tapping, there is no response. From what the kids said, it seems that everyone was either washed overboard or drowned when the boat went over," Jay looked tired as he answered this question.

"But if we are claiming salvage rights to the boat, shouldn't we at least go inside? Maybe get hold of the ship records or something that might stand up in court," Thomas persisted.

Julie spoke up, "Hey, I have been taking movies of everything we have done. The diving, the cutting into the hull and the release of the kids, that should be enough, I would say.

"That's a good record, just don't lose that stuff," Theo said.

Somehow Thomas still was not satisfied. And we could tell he was trying to figure out a way to make sure we had the salvage rights locked in.

Good old Salty Dog and her puppies did more for those kids than any of us could have done in a year. Salty Dog loved the attention but kept a sharp eye on her pups. It was easy to understand that these children would have a hard time trusting any human after what they had endured.

Winston had pointed to the dog and said that this was the Captain lady dog. Timm made inquiry about the captain and the woman. Winston in his broken English tried explaining that she was very mean and used them for her dirty work. Winston asked one of the strangest questions Jay had ever heard. With his head down and in a low voice, he inquired sadly, "You eat the dog?"

Jay actually stood up and spit onto the sunken hull, asking the youth, "Did they plan on eating this dog?"

"Oh yes, Mister Jay, this was big good trade for one of our girls. They eat other dogs when other boats visit. Dog real good eat."

No doubt, this revelation pissed off Amber and Crystal, and Gretchen was a bit riled. "Forget trying to save or salvage that hell hull. Let's sink the sucker so they cannot ever use it again," Amber declared.

Crystal and Gretchen joined in with this idea.

Jay sat back pondering, and with his odd sense of humor, expressed his feelings, "This is one of the craziest adventures I have ever been on. This ship is not only a treasure freighter and a Noah's ark, but it has become a hospital rescue ship and a salvage barge."

Right then, Dandy the crazy cat, the New Song's latest mascot, jumped down from the top of the cabin to the deck. Without a care, it strolled its way under Jay's captain's chair to beg for a morsel of food. Salty Dog saw Dandy and began barking its head off. Then the chase was on. That was all we needed, another fight for domination.

We had to laugh, but Jay with some irritation went on in a more serious mood, "We are carrying with us, right now, probably ten million dollars worth of Inca treasure. Now what if the Coast Guard boards us and wants to look around. What are we going to do?"

"Ah sheeet, I didn't even think of that," Thomas burst out.

"Yeah, and you're worrying about a stinking devil tuna boat going down," Gretchen snapped.

"Well, what should we do then?" Julie asked.

"We don't want to be here when a Taiwanese or Korean ship arrives; we won't stand a chance if they want to board us or take the kids. Who knows, they might want to serve us up for a fine dinner," Theo suggested in a factual manner but with a smile on his face, rubbing his belly.

"So Thomas, my question is—Do you want to give up the treasure for that wasted tuna barge?" Jay pointed to the floating hull, still surrounded by swimming fins and patches of floating scum.

"Now that you put it that way, maybe not. But how about waiting until Luke gets off the phone with the Coast Guard."

Things were quiet for now, other than the children beginning to talk, and we heard a bit of laughter from one of the younger boys. All of us were staring across the flat sea, hoping we did not see any ships coming over the horizon.

Every one of us stood watching and wondering what the heck was going to happen next.

# Chapter 22 - The Get Away!

I finally concluded my calls: one to Dustin and the other to the Hawaiian Coast Guard. After all kinds of beeps and crackling, a Coast Guard official did say that we were allowed to claim salvage rights, but asked how were we going to secure the sunken hull. What good would it do us if we had no way of towing the hull to a safe anchorage or getting the boat turned over so we might board it?

One official warned, "We advise you to remove yourselves from the area immediately. We are aware of these Asian fishing fleets and their ruthlessness. If they catch you with those kids, and you know about their selling and enslavement of children, they will have no choice but to feed all of you to the sharks!"

Dustin didn't give us a chance either, saying that if we were caught by the on-coming trawlers or the mother factory ship it was canned tuna for us. He knew about the treasure and advised us to get the hell out of there—right then! We could deliver the survivors to the port authorities once we were back in the islands.

I reported all this to Jay and the waiting crew.

Jay summed up his feelings and was already looking around, making plans for our get away, "I think that sums up the choices we have. In particular, I'm not going to get entangled in an international court suit over salvage rights. Not when we are a floating treasure ship ourselves. Plus I don't want those kids to suffer any more at the hands of a criminal organization that would allow child slavery."

As usual, Thomas expressed his disagreement, stomping around, huffing and puffing his under-the-breath protest, but he knew there was not much he could do about it. Then he said in a demanding voice to Jay, "Hey, at least would you mind if I put up a salvage flag on the hull?"

Jay thought this over and said, "I don't know what good that will do, but if you feel it might help collect the reward for finding the boat, then go for it. You've got three minutes and then we're out of here."

Amber spoke up with a stern voice, "Please, let's just toss in a flare to get it burning and sink that dang thing."

Thomas shot her a dirty look, then told Julie to begin filming his actions. He asked Jay if he could have one of the extra oars off the dinghy, then took the ax and the oar and jumped over onto the floating hull. He was soon standing off to one side and smashing the ax down onto the hull. It only took a few hits to cut a hole large enough to stick the oar into the hull so it stood upright. He then took a white towel and secured it to the oar with wire, like a flag. He held out the flag for Julie to film and there it gave the date and his full name, Thomas Brewerton with the claim to the wreckage and all that went with it.

I was personally glad he did not put the New Song's name on his salvage flag. It was best that few knew our schooner was on site. In the meantime, Jay had given orders for everything to be taken in and for the New Song to be geared up, ready to sail away. The kids were going to have to move down into the salon. At first they were reluctant to go down into the confined area, and we could not blame them. However, Winston, our latest interpreter, explained that they had to get down stairs until we got on our way or bad mans would see.

Amber, Crystal and Gretchen had gained the confidence of the children and laid out blankets in the salon floor for them to lie down. It was going to be an inconvenient time for everyone, but we were only five days out from the Islands. We had already discussed how we might keep the new crew members busy. Amber came up and told us that one of the girls and one of the younger boys were very weak; they might have sustained internal injuries from this ordeal. Jay told her to keep him informed of every detail.

The New Song undid itself from the Yoaky-Doky and moved through the parade of fins circling the hull, snapping up every piece of fish and sucking in the thick slime.

Then all of us witnessed nature begin its final judgment. The net that had been cut away from the hull had been brought back around by the current, not less than ten feet below us. It was Crystal again who let out a cry as she pointed down. There in the net were the bodies of the woman and the man which we had seen early on. They were being torn to pieces by darting sharks. There were hardly words to describe such a horrific scene. These bodies might have been dead but they were still humans. For us to stand there and watch and not be able to do anything was maddening. We moved the girls back and away from the terrible end to these individuals. As cruel as humans they might have been, it seemed too ugly an ending to what once were living people. The sharks in one united frenzy were tearing into the net and yanking the bodies to pieces. Little Winston came over to see and gasped as he tried to say that this, "Be captain with girl friend, the mean one...dog eaters!"

Every one of us wanted to leave this horrible memory behind. The ocean was still flat and there was but a tiny breeze. But we were finally on our way again! After we had cleared the debris field, we received another call from Dustin. He knew that our radio and our radar antennae were gone; through a satellite view, he told us that a larger freighter was headed our way. Jay immediately started the auxiliary engine and we set full sail. The New Song began moving in the opposite direction hoping that we would make it over the horizon before any mother-fishing factory would show. We hoped for a wind, not a breeze. But the engine began to move us out of the area.

I yelled to Theo, "Hey Theo, make sure you keep Crystal down in the salon!"

"What the heck are you talking about Luke?" Theo fired back not knowing what I was eluding too.

"That hawk eyed friend of yours keeps spotting things. I think it would be better for her not to be allowed on deck for a time. We don't need to find any more sunken ships!"

Everyone had to laugh. But Gretchen put her fists on her ample hips and snorted out, "Listen, bless those hawk eyes, as you so say about my good friend Crystal. If it wasn't for those sharp eyes of hers, we would have all perished out there. You half-blind men would have sailed right on by with your fingers up your noses."

Crystal added her say-so to the exchange, "Luke, you and Theo just keep it up. Maybe all your hot air can fill our sails to help us get the heck out of here."

Right at this moment the breeze turned stronger and our sails began to fill. Now, this really brought out the laughter from everyone. Both Theo and I stared at the girls and then up at the sails filling and puffing out, moving us across the still waters. We were on our way—again!

# Chapter 23 - Jay And The Tagged Whale?

This last 500-mile stretch of ocean had all of us on edge. With the added refugees and the animals, we were running short of food and our water supply was severely limited. Jay had all of us scanning the horizon for clouds that might be dropping or have the potential for rain. At least once a day we would go chasing the clouds. Someone would yell out, "There she rains!" and we would suddenly change course and head for a bank of clouds on the horizon. It was interesting to be sailing along under blue skies, and there in the distance you could see dark clouds floating along the surface, dropping sheets of rain. Jay would sail the New Song right into the clouds so the rain would pour down on us. If we were lucky the rain clouds would be moving in our direction; this happened a couple of times.

We were prepared with open tarps, empty containers, everyone pretty well stripped down, waiting. We had to look like a Chinese laundry with our clothes hanging out on lines that we put up. The rain would pour down and almost wash the salt out of them. Then if the rain fell strong and long enough, our tarps would catch the flow to direct the rainwaters into tubs and containers. If we were fortunate enough to get into a really good squall, the tubs would fill and we would pour them into the main holding tank.

These were exciting times. We would go nuts jumping around, scrubbing ourselves down and screaming our heads off. Without realizing it, the first time we entered a rain shower, we scared the living beluga out of the refugees. The kids ran and hid from all the screaming and jumping around, until they realized that this was something good. That we were not under attack by pirates! After a few ventures into the rain clouds, with some hesitancy, they joined in the fun.

Another thing that kept us from going bored bonkers, was that we ran two or three good-sized lures off the back stern to try to catch something. We did hook a smaller sized swordfish and everyone indulged in the freshest sushi ever. We had to quit bugging Jay about how far we were from landfall. He decided to report our progress in nautical miles every evening at a 24-hour time mark. Because of our shortage of food, nearly every conversation turned to food. Sweets, meats and deserts. What we were going to eat and how much...was the talk for the last four days. Jay finally ordered us not to discuss food or drink and what we were going to devour when we reached land! I had to agree, we would torture each other with our fantasies of delicious ice cream, salads and huge steaks. The one thing that won out was ice-cold watermelon. Yes, if some little rowboat came alongside us and offered up an ice-cold watermelon, we would have given over all our treasure and maybe even more—so the law against imaginary food binges came out—no more food talk!

Whales became the name of the tour. It was about the half way mark to Kowhai when Jay began to instruct everyone to listen and watch for whales. For some reason which we did not fully understand at that time, he became very serious about coming up on pods of whales. It was well known that whales would swim along and actually bump the side of the boat, which did happen one night, but we didn't know what it was. There was a current that ran around the Hawaiian Islands where the whales would live for a season. Jay explained that they could be dangerous to our boat, but he finally told us what he had planned.

He explained that he had a little project in mind. We needed to get close up to a whale in order to set his idea into motion. The curiosity was driving us nuts, until finally, we came upon a pod of whales. They are friendly creatures, and often come right up to the boat and swim along looking up with their huge eyes. Then one evening we found ourselves in the middle of a pod of whales. There had to be twenty of them swimming and diving and watching us. Jay told Theo to take the helm and stay as close as he could to one mid-sized whale that was having a good time breaking in the surface and blowing holes.

Jay went into the back stern locker and dug around into one of his satchels and came out with what looked to be a long tube with some gadgetry on one end. He moved along the port walkway, then hunched over on his knees and waited. We were all watching both Jay and his big fish. He would lean overboard as the whale swam alongside us. Then as its back tale raised up to make its dive, Jay took aim and shot what appeared to be a small dart into the tale fluke. The whale didn't seem to feel a thing but it swam on its way. Then Jay came back to the cockpit and explained his purpose to our baffled minds.

"OK kids, don't be worried about little fishy, I did not hurt it! As you saw, I shot a dart into the whale's tail. Now the dart itself is made of a cardboard and will fall off in a few hours. However, there was a tiny transmitter that will remain stuck in the fin."

"What the heck for?" Julie inquired.

"It's this way. Wally, one of our MAVIN Team members, has designed a program that will track that whale. No matter where it goes or how deep it swims, we will be able to know where it goes."

"Wow, that is cool," Crystal laughed. "but so what, this is done all the time," she added.

Jay went on, "Not so fast there young lady. This new program will be given to a school or classroom of kids. Right from their school room or at home, or on their smart-phones, they'll be able to track that whale, wherever it goes. They will track how far it swims, how deep it dives and deliver the temperatures of water and whale, along with a ton of other stats. How cool is that?"

"Doesn't this type of program already exist?" Gretchen inquired.

"Not on this level. Most of the programs are owned by the government and only certain people in certain departments can use them. This program will be a free program to the schools or whoever might want it." He shut the locker, came back and continued, for we had all kinds of questions waiting for him.

"As we move along here, I'll try to insert a few other types of transmitters into our whale friends. Then different schools can have their own whale mascot to track. They can name it, watch its progress. It also will give them feedback on body weight and other vitals. This just might expand the awareness of our youth in making a better connection with the creatures of the deep." Here he paused for the grand finale, "These newer ones will actually send a video picture to the receiver when signaled."

"Now that is really fantastic," the girls wowed.

Timm spoke up with one of the questions that was on all our minds, "Don't you think that this transmitter thing might be setting us up for the government chipping us?"

"Anyone in the military these days is being chipped. In fact, I had one inserted into my side while I was a SEAL. I had it removed once I went my way. Most government workers and any high security personnel are chipped for security reasons. And, even in some hospitals they are chipping the newborns so they are not sent off with the wrong parents."

"How far are you going to take this Jay?" Amber asked in all seriousness.

"Well, we could really do a thing here for the environment if we wanted. Let's say that we chip some of our wildlife, like deer, moose, elk, or how about an eagle? Then let our kids follow them. Imagine chipping a few wolves and seeing where they go."

"Wally and I have been working on this for awhile but we want you, our think tank, to come up with a few ideas. How we might incorporate the technology into other projects as it develops. Who can we help with it? Can we do better? Or turn it into a business for someone?"

Timm liked that idea, and asked if he could be included in the think tank process. Jay nodded his head and said that every idea would be considered.

Thomas asked, "What do we gain from this project...is there money to be made?" But his question was ignored.

A whale surfaced, blowing a spout into the air. The wind carried the spray and the fish smell right over us. It was as though the whale was agreeing to Jay's plan; we had to crack-up at the timing.

"Here, off the Hawaiian Islands whales are abundant. We have a good chance at tagging a few of them along the way. As you know, it is unnerving to hear their cries and high-pitched sonar voices at night. We can only hope they don't decide to do a dance on us in the middle of the night. I have heard horror stories of whales sinking smaller boats or causing damage. They do this for fun or feel that something is trying to attack their family. So if they do appear, do not make sudden movements or loud noises."

We ended up tagging several other whales—one big mama and a couple of teenagers.

Thomas asked if he could see one of the transmitters, and Jay brought one out for us to examine. Jay was careful to retrieve it and put it back into his satchel, for the transmitters were a new GPS tracking device not yet patented. This tagging was a test run for Wally and his latest program. Jay explained that the transmitters could be made even smaller, maybe for smaller animals.

By the next day our minds had come up with all kinds of ideas, some rather interesting. Timm suggested that we might chip newly hatched salmon before they are released into the rivers. We would know who is catching them before they have the chance to return. It would be an excellent way for Fish and Game Departments to keep better track on the salmon runs.

This was a good idea and we took it further from there. "How about that we chip these salmon for fishermen and charge them so much per chipped fish. They go into a web site and punch in the codes so they can see where their fish are at. In time, they can trace their fish back to the hatchery area, and be ready to catch them when they come in." Theo came up with that one, but it was good old Crystal who added, "Hey, fish and chips!"

"Yeah, fish and chips," Gretchen and Amber joined in guffawing simultaneously.

We all had to laugh at that one; but I added my two cents. "What if we could design a responder or an attractor that attracts the chipped salmon to it, then the fishermen can catch all his own chipped fish. He could turn off the responder once he has caught his limit."

"Commercial, commercial all you think of is commercial," Amber said.

"Come on Amber, you got a great mind, put it to work and lets see what you can do with this technology," Gretchen retorted.

Timm seemed to be a practical thinker, "Hey, that is not a bad idea, and as far as commercial, think on how many jobs this might create. Those gadgets must be built, shipped, inserted and tracked. People will pay good money for such an experience."

Crystal clicked her fingers together as if with a suggestion. "We should have put a few of those transmitters into the middle of that debris field so as to track it and watch its development."

Jay lifted his hand up, showing one of the newer transmitters and said, "Already done. I hooked one onto the fishing net, and tossed someone's deck shoe overboard with a gadget tied to it.

Everyone started checking if it were their deck shoe gone to the depths.

Jay turned to Theo and suggested that he consider installing the tracking device into each of his new sonic surfboards to add to the fun of the sport. It could add to safety too.

Theo the thinker was quiet, listening to all the suggestions. He later took me aside and shared one thought with me, that did present itself to be a bit serious. "Luke, you know that the MAVIN Team is going to get involved in a number of different situations. Some might be easy and some might be dangerous. But from what we have already witnessed, I think that many of our experiences are going to enter into the danger zone. We haven't even had our first official meeting and look what has happened to us already. So what if we considered chipping each member of our team. This way if anything happens to them, or God forbid they get themselves into a bad situation, we will know where they are at all times. A tiny chip just might save their lives. We could respond so much faster if anything were to go wrong along their way."

Immediately, I thought about my inheritance. If it was not there waiting, then I would never have to be having such a conversation. I was always against any such tagging or surveillance, but Theo was right about the experiences we were surely going to become involved in. Already, in just six months, we might have been able to utilize these transmitters. And what lay ahead for us now? I told him that we should think this over; maybe present it to the team when we were all-together and see what they had to say.

Standing off to the side out of the way of the cooks, who were serving the first official meal since the Yoakey-Doky event, I began to ponder the make-up of this unusual collection of humans. Amber found her way into the inflatable to join me for some quiet time together. "So what you thinking Mr. Mitchner?" Amber inquired.

Looking up at the full winded sails with the vast blue sky behind, I didn't answer for a time. I was considering my observations of the New Song's crew. My senses had been honed as an investigative journalist and part time photographer and filmmaker, so that I was forever watching and pondering the characters playing their roles on the New Song. Who might have put a more intriguing cast of human characters together on this confined stage? I really did not know, but here they were, fascinating actors. An assemblage of unique personalities, full of potential, having intriguing abilities and filled to overflowing with energy and sensuality.

There sat Theo, quiet and still as Rodin's statue of The Thinker. A man of numerous experiences and unspoken wisdom. His bronze tan set off his sun-bleached hair, almost to a white crown of wisdom itself. He took on the appearance of a prized ram, fully prepared to enter into the State Fair.

Then there was Theo's older brother Jay, an excellent candidate for the role of captain of many souls. Rugged, rough but still having the gentle frame of a man of numerous talents. He would lean back in his chair, puff on his pipe, ready to listen, taking everything in. I guess that his being the one person most responsible for this entire crew, he had to remain somewhat reserved. He could easily have been the poster Captain for the yearly nautical calendar, with his tanned face, all white beard, and his green-gray eyes set back from bushy brows with long white lashes flickering in the sun. He lived the sea, was forever traveling through it, diving under its depths. The wisdom of the sea radiated from his entire body. Even when he walked the decks, inspecting every piece and part of his boat, this knowledge seemed to follow him. He radiated respect for life, and everyone seemed to not only trust him for their safety at sea, but paid due respect to his presence.

Then there were Crystal and Amber. Twins in every way, yet so different in the roles they played. Beauty had to be their middle name. It was Amber who I had somehow staked my claim on. I speak here in an intellectual sense, because she loved the things of science, as I did, and was a curious soul. We loved what the earth, the environment and life had to offer, and we had grown close to one another in our exchanges and ideas. Besides her natural beauty in form and grace, she was a spontaneous adventurer, forever exploring and challenging our theories. She really did have deep wisdom embedded into that female brain of hers. I could see that she was going to be a great help to me and the upcoming events in my life. With the experience of the man walking upon the water, she had proven herself intuitive, with an uncanny awareness of things we failed to notice.

Theo made it known to me that Amber was perfect for me. It was true, I needed someone to help balance and secure my distracted life. Amber seemed to be a serious person, and with all that I had to deal with, I really did not need some cute squirrelly chick causing me worries. Those twins were God sent to both Theo and myself. They had more talent and abilities in their little fingers than both Theo and I had, put together.

Crystal, even though a twin sister to Amber, was a different package. She seemed to be far more outgoing and a bit more spontaneous than Amber; not more intelligent but more unrestrained and less formal in attitude. Her vision was extraordinary. Either she was intuitively drawn to something and then her eyes latched onto it, or she was just more aware of things around her. We began to think of her as our visionary. I had made it known to Theo that Crystal had to be the perfect person for his way of life, and he did not disagree.

O yes, there was Gretchen. It became obvious that she and Jay had more than eyes for each other. They were slowly bonding and without knowing it, were working together and gradually coming to depend on one another. This was interesting to witness. For Jay was so independent, or at least this is the picture he painted, that we figured no woman would ever find her way into his life. Gretchen was mature, educated and wise in an elusive manner, together they made a nice working team. It was going to be fun to watch. The one thing we knew not to mention was the obvious bonding, for they thought they were being unnoticed and discrete in their growing relationship.

As far as Thomas and Julie, I kept them at bay. After all the actions of arrogance and personal oppositions to Jay, there was no trust in me towards them. In fact, we were staying out of their way, if that was possible on the New Song, a 45-foot schooner. We were just hoping to make it back to port without a major incident with them. They seemed to be ready for a disagreement and never could be wrong.

Timm, well, he was proving himself to be an excellent shipmate and even though he was rather quiet, he had separated himself from Thomas. Apparently, the strange attitude that Thomas had exhibited did not find favor with Timm. He did his work and spent time with the kids, getting to know them, becoming their translator. We figured he would become a good asset to our team once we got back to port.

I was wondering how this journey had affected me personally. I was just getting into a self-examination of soul when Amber poked my side and whispered, "A rare Spanish coin, slightly bent, for your thoughts."

During this last leg of our return trip to the islands, we got to know Jay a lot better. No doubt about it, he was one of those mysterious characters you would read about in some way out novel, come from the school of hard knocks. Theo told us that some 12 years back, while Jay was on a covert assignment in Panama, I think it was, his young wife and 3-year-old son had been killed in a car crash. Because he was involved in this dark assignment, they did not inform him of the tragedy. He came home several weeks after his family had been buried and he was left with nothing. He resigned from the SEAL's and went adrift for several years. He loved the sea and ended up rebuilding an old cache. He lived alone and in time, he slowly began to rebuild his life but became a solitary soul. His diving experience led him to start a diving business. There was no doubt in our minds that his skills and abilities were in demand. He has faded out of the light and sought anonymity and was not easily provoked in revealing much of himself. Theo has told us that the Government has tried to recruit him for some of their special operations, but he refused their invitations. Growing up in a family that was renowned in antiques and rare art, he had built a reputation among certain groups for his trustworthy abilities.

After learning the behind the scene events of Jay's life, it was a good feeling to see him growing close to Gretchen. I would guess that they were well matched and seemed to be building a serious relationship. Then one morning while doing a full deck inspection, Theo gave me one more bitter note to Jay's life. "Two years back, he had battled prostate cancer. It was a difficult time for him, but those events had helped Jay reunite with his family. So far he had won the battle. Cancer had just become another negative experience in his journal of life."

I shook my head wondering how much a man could take. Then we heard the refugees jabbering back in the cockpit with Jay himself. We stood back to watch the show. Jay had Winston at the wheel and giving him instructions. He was to make sure the compass was on the right course and the sails had to be kept full. He was telling Winston how important it was to be fully aware and always watching.

"Yes, yes, Captain Jay. I follow good your structions, truly yes I do."

The rest of the cigarette gang sat around the padded bench encircling the cockpit, smiling and watching their leader Winston, take the helm. Jay was conducting a sailing class for the kids. Earlier Jay had Winston translate to his group all that they were going to learn. Those kids were so intense on learning, that Jay didn't have time to keep answering all their questions. We did not know it at the time, but Jay had included everyone on the boat to take at least a few hours a day to instruct the cigarette gang in sailing skills and in knot tying. Theo and I took two students at a time and began teaching them how to coil line and ropes in a perfect coil and how to make sure all the lines to the rafts and floats were secure. They had to learn how to polish the brassware and oil the wenches. We even took them, one at a time, up the masts to the eagles nest and taught them to pull line and set sails. What purpose this would serve was unknown to us but it kept us busy. It also honed our communication skills; we began to learn more Taiwanese than they learned English. The women gave them an English class everyday. The two girls were learning to help in the salons with the cooking. So the last days aboard the New Song became a classroom for all of us. The wet miles passed under us day after day, and night after night.

That young Winston was something else. He never shut up. He never stopped asking questions and was one of those kind that got the message the first time. He would teach the others with great patience. His English was coming along really well and soon he could express many of their experiences with astonishing details. This was tough to listen to. Not just, how they had been treated on the Korean fishing boat but going way back to the streets of their Taiwanese cities. It was hard to comprehend that living out of a city dump was better than living on the street.

Jay had Gretchen draw up a chart of the New Song. Jay filled in every little place with a name. He also wrote the names of the sails, along with the particular lines and wenches that were used to raise or lower certain sails. He explained to all of us that a sailboat or schooner is a wind machine. It is made up of not just a few parts, but in some cases thousands of parts. A sailor had to learn the name and location of all those parts. For if there was an emergency and the captain shouted out orders to drop the jib, prepare the anchor or secure a particular line, it had to be done without hesitation or the ship could be in jeopardy. So the kids were made to learn the parts and pieces of the New Song. They would test each other, turning it into a game among themselves. There was something about the Asians; they had this inner learning quality. If you gave them the right chance, they took advantage of it. I would guess that if our trip were to last 30 more days, they would have taken our jobs away from us and owned the ship.

Theo and I made sure no one taught them how to play poker.

With our limited supply of food, our meals were thin and the last few days we were reduced to coffee and canned bread. The little bit of food was supplemented with a catch now and then but most of the remaining food went to the kids. There was one good thing from all this. The girls and us men definitely lost some weight. My shorts would barely stay on me; I had to tie them up with a thin rope. Several times, while changing sail, my arms were up binding sail while my shorts were down around my ankles. The girls got some good pictures of these little mishaps. The New Song became a university afloat and we even designed our own flag to fly. The boat became The MAVIN School of Higher Intelligence!

# Chapter 24 - A SEALS Fate!

The showdown finally arrived one calm evening as we were on the long stretch between the Pacific dump and Hawaii. It was a peaceful night as the gentle breeze pushed us across the star glazed surface. We were gathered in the cockpit for our nightly reviews of distance covered and to see if any repairs had to be made. This became a nightly ritual and many a good tales were told. In reality, we learned more about one another in these sessions than any other times.

Somehow, the word that Jay had once been a Navy SEAL got out to Thomas. He seemed to be waiting to use this against Jay, and persuade us to turn against him. Thomas began a strange twist in what began as a pleasant exchange. He brought up Jay's history as a SEAL, which was a surprise, wondering what business was this for Thomas, but we would soon know. He grew intense in his inquiries until finally turning the conversation to Jay being a killer, or belonging to a killing machine.

This was astonishing to all of us that this total stranger who had been rescued by Jay would dare call him a killer. We were held in a void of awe, wondering how Jay would respond to this blatant accusation.

Jay looked out at the stars, double checked the sails and glanced at the compass to make sure all was well. Then he said, "So you say I am a killer?"

Boldly, Thomas nodded and as he looked around for support, "You've got to be if you were in the SEALS."

"You're right that I was once a SEAL. Let's hear one of the expeditions that I was involved in, and you all be the judge of what I am or once was."

Jay began his tale. "It was in a mountainous jungle area in Panama, in a village there. How it took place I will not say, but there was one man who took the rule of the village. He acquired money through the selling of drugs and appointed himself the mayor or the tsar of the village, surrounding himself with a group of at least 30 fierce bandits. These bandits were known to the villagers as the worst of nightmares, and the village was soon to wake up to the reality of something they never dreamed could be true...but it was."

"The main man became known as The Mayor, and as time and wealth began to feed his ego and made him realize that his power could extend well beyond this little mountain village, he began his campaign. So he expanded his influence and sought to rule the entire area. He did not do this by vote or good deeds but with terror and fear. He knew that these were the most powerful weapons that could be used against a peasant mentality. His intent was to expand his coca kingdom and with this he needed the cooperation of the surrounding villages. He sent out armed men of cruelty and heartless passion to each village where they would kidnap several children of the village's most prominent citizens. The children would be brought back to the core village and there be enslaved. Word would get out to the parents and other villagers who were told that they needed to grow a certain number of coca trees and bring the harvest to the core village as a payment to keep their children safe and fed. As time went, the Mayor subdued all the surrounding villages by these cruel methods. When a village reported the kidnapping or tried to get their child back, the head of the child would be delivered back to the village in a basket. Of course this struck terror and fear into everyone, so there were agreements made to grow the coca plant, used to make cocaine."

Jay asked Gretchen if she could make a little more tea as he went on, "Then the Mayor thought to expand his kingdom with a large compound, building up a nice home and a jail facility. Each village was commanded to report back to him if there were any tourist or visitors in the area. One such visitor was a female doctor and two accompanying nurses. They had come to the area to build a clinic and offer the villagers a new health facility. The Mayor soon kidnapped the women and had them locked away into his own facility as slaves to the drug army and to the whims of the mayor. There were inquiries about the missing doctors and a few others who had gone into the area, but nothing could be found out about what had happened to them."

We were spell-bound, as Jay paused to look at the faces around him before continuing.

"Then there was a good man with nothing but good intent in his heart, and he brought his expertise to the area. The jungle forest was being laid waste and washed away by tropical rains and the cutting down of the native trees for the coca trees. His mission was to teach the mountain villagers to plant bamboo. Bamboo grew a hundred times faster than any tree, it was durable, and the villagers could not only burn it for fuel but build homes that lasted 100 years. This incredible tree plant also protected the hillsides from washing away. Bamboo cost nothing, and the villagers soon saw the fantastic possibilities in this idea. But bamboo was not in the thoughts of The Mayor."

"Within a short time, that man, who happened to be a friend of mine, was taken captive by the bandits and brought back to the core village where he was also enslaved. The only thing was that this man had a few contacts on the outside, and one of them was one of our SEAL team members. Our friend, Lemana, had managed to get the word out before he was taken captive. His lack of contact alerted his personal friends that something was wrong."

"Therefore, a team of us were sent into the area to investigate. In time our reports began to call attention to the drastic situation. Cocaine farms were one thing, but a kingdom made up of slaves and the killing of children to strike fear into the villagers was far from our capacity to leave well enough alone. Even if we had not been sanctioned to go in, there were enough of us to do it on our own."

Every one of us were sitting on the edge of our chairs listening to this story—never before told. "Then one dark and stormy night we made our move. In the morning, The Mayor's village awoke to a new scene. The jail was open, the prisoners walking about, talking and laughing. Every captive was free and went about inviting every villager to attend a trial, a trial where everyone would be allowed to speak up."

Gretchen had brought up more tea, handed Jay a full cup and sat down next to him. "Inside the compound rows of benches were set up along the perimeters of the large compound. The Mayor and all his jungle rats were seated in the center of the large gathering. Each bandit was made to stand on a small platform so everyone could see him. The villagers went quiet, not sure what was going to take place. Soon, the doctor, who had a full command of the language and knew the villagers, explained that these men were now on trial. Everyone could openly speak about the atrocities that had been perpetrated on them. At first no one wanted to speak for fear of reprisal. The jungle goons sneered and spit at the villagers to intimidate them. But one village mother screamed out that this man had taken their young daughter, and because they refused to give themselves over to the drug growing business, the daughter's head was sent back. She burst out in sobs. Then her fellow villagers began to lift up their fists and scream that this was true. The entire gathering began to chant in unity that nothing less than death would settle this issue. So the man, as fierce looking as he was, was lead away by several SEALS and at least ten villagers. They went down the hill to the valley lake side where the man was stripped naked and set free. The only requirement was that he had to swim to the island out in the middle of the lake. The island was about a half mile out, covered with thick growth, and was often used as an overnight fishing stop. As soon as the bandit was released and told that he had to swim to the island, he began to howl in protest. For he knew that the lake was filled with massive crocodiles. Even the villagers would not go into the lake. But this was his choice—either swim and possibly make it to the island to live free, or to be bound and cast into the water right there."

"The trial went on, and every so often during a lull the villagers would go quiet as they heard a terrible screaming from down on the lake. Soon the word went through the on-lookers and they became bolder to speak what these murderers had done to them. Within the day, the trial was over and the villages had been set free, cleared of anyone who had contributed to The Mayor and his brutal force."

"However, The Mayor came to a different fate by the hands of the villagers. He was stripped naked and hung by one foot on a high cross beam and left there to rot. We left the villagers with the Mayor swinging in the wind, whimpering for something to drink, as we departed. This was the villagers' choice, not ours."

Jay stared each of us in the face and took a long harsh look at Thomas, his accuser. "Now each of you be the judge. There were several hundred children and villagers that had been killed and tortured and for several years this terror had ruled the entire area. This is all gone now, and that mountain is one of the most bamboo rich forests in the area. In fact the United Nations sends representatives there to see for themselves what bamboo can do for the environment and for a village. We did not kill one person. The only thing that the villagers did was to fatten up the regional crocodiles in the lake. In fact, the surrounding villagers have begun to harvest them to keep down their numbers. They produce some of the nicest luggage and hand bags you ever saw!"

A shocked chuckle rose up from all of us listeners.

"No one was held accountable for deaths or disappearances of the bandits; the drug lords stay away from this mountain, clear to this day."

The only thing we could hear was the splash of the water as the New Song passed through the evening sea. Thomas was white and his lips were quivering as if he wanted to say something but there was nothing to say. What was so amazing was that this man Jay, had become a thick mystery book. Who would have dreamed that someone could have been involved in such a rescue, or such an experience. Even Theo did not know about this; it was a whole new side of his brother that he never knew. Now he had an idea why Jay lived so isolated and kept to himself. He had most likely seen another side to mankind that was not pretty. Theo remembered that Jay's wife and son had been killed in an accident while Jay had been away on one of these missions. He was sure that this was the one where the accident had happened and Jay could not be contacted or informed...the mission came first. Jay had left the SEALS after this and lived alone on his boat in Balboa Harbor.

What was interesting was Amber's and Crystal's reaction. They almost clapped with enthusiasm. It occurred to me that being raised in the Kaamin family, the Hearst Castles Security Force; they had probably heard similar stories. Most likely their own brothers had performed similar deeds so this was nothing knew to them. However, for Theo and myself, we had been introduced into an aspect of the MAVIN team that just might prove a little bit, or should I say—a bunch—of interesting somethings!

Jay excused himself and went forward to his cabin and we did not see him until morning.

Thomas sat there like a total fool, and no one doubted that he was just that!

# Chapter 25 - The Last Wind Home

Beyond the jagged experiences we had, there is something soft and magical, and yes, romantic about sailing. The spectacular night sky blazes with billions of awesome stars, some fall and some blink different colors, but a velvet mystery spreads out thick, vast and unfathomable. You walk the deck and become one with your ship, you feel its life and your love is fixated on this moving machine devouring the soft breezes. Dawn at sea bleeds a thousands colors into the newborn day. Clouds, breezes and wind, and sweet rain come and go upon your way. Then the evening pulls the sun back into the distant sea as the sun hisses into the ocean, sizzling forth a palette of unnamed colors. Then you look, and on the opposite horizon, you see the rising moon; two great lights in the sky begin their chase. What makes this all the more wonderful is having special people to share this wonder with. Theo and I had Crystal and Amber to share all this with, and the romance was doubled. I felt sorry for Jay, yet, hope was not lost. Gretchen had moved into his sphere of solitude but, for now, his true love was the New Song and he treated it like a treasured lover.

We had just about experienced every emotion there was to experience, and we were still not in port. We were bound for Nawiliwili Bay on the east side of Kauai, then we would make our way to Honolulu. I had put a call into Dustin to let him know our time schedule. He was to arrange the place and inform the team so everyone could arrange their schedules for a meeting. According to Dustin, everyone was going to be at this meeting and bring forth the complexities of my inheritance. Brookstone had informed Dustin that there were a hundred small industries and companies attached to my grandparents' fortune. Somehow each one of the interconnected concerns had to be examined, and a determination of how to handle each one would have to be made.

Even with a few missing sails and some broken parts, we were still making about one hundred nautical miles every 24 hours. We saw a few other sailing boats headed south. With our ship-to-ship radio we made contact with each craft and gave them fair warning of the debris field just southwest a few days out. It was only fair that we told them of this hazard, and that the Hawaiian Coast Guard or the US Navy might be sending out search boats looking for a sunken ship.

This really excited the crew aboard one of the larger yachts because they had divers aboard, headed for Samoa for diving on sunken ships from World War II. They had heard about the radio call that had gone out to all ships, to keep an eye out for a missing Korean registered fishing trawler called the Yoaky-Doky, gone missing during the recent cyclone. There was a reward for any information on the location of the fleet trawler. We only told them of the debris field. They thanked us and changed their course and headed for the debris field. We felt better about this now, for if they did find the hull, someone else might be able to dive and search out the inside for anyone who could still be trapped. We warned them about the dead fish parts and the sharks eating everything that floated. Just maybe, they would meet the Coast Guard, and the focused concern about us would be removed.

Our VHF radio and GPS signals were still not functioning correctly, due to our antenna being broken apart in the storm. However, the old stand by—the radio directional finder began to point the way. It was a radio that picked up a radio station, and it had a pointer on top to aim where the station came in the strongest where you would set your course. With the instrument sightings we drew nigh to our first real port of entry. About seven days after departing the floating junkyard area and the sunken fishing boat, we spotted some low-lying clouds afar off on the horizon. The clouds seemed to hold their place and as we sailed closer, we began to see green volcanic mountains rise up out of the blue sea. It was one of those perfect Hawaiian days of refreshing breezes, blue skies and turquoise-blue waters. As we sailed into the small port of Nawiliwili on Kauai, a significant memory became fixed forever in all our hearts—in front of us appeared a full brilliant rainbow stretching in one giant arc across the sky. We were all silent, standing on deck in awe of magnificence. We thought the rainbow would disappear as it moved around, but it held itself in the sky for us as we sailed under its welcoming bow. No doubt, that had to be one of the most beautiful sights we had yet experienced, and our joy to get back safe was shown in tears and choked up voices.

The handing over of the children became our great worry. What would happen to them and what might we do for them? We argued, we debated and we tried to come up with a solution that might help the children rescued from out of hell, not to be sent back there. We had been in touch with the Coast Guard, but we thought it best to get hold of Dustin once again and ask for his expert advice. Without having full radio use, we found ourselves limited in relaying or gaining vital information. One of our reasons for hesitation in trying to work out a safe delivery of the kids to an unfair government authority was our concern that these kids would be sent back; then we would be dragged into a lengthy investigation. Due to the treasures we were carrying, we did not want to be caught in another five year court battle. However, during this last stretch of the Pacific Ocean we began to establish a bond with the kids, especially with Winston. He seemed to have a special intelligence and was eager to learn English. He asked a thousand questions and in exchange gave us some hair-raising stories of their life as street kids in Taiwan. We had given the boys new shirts and pants and deck shoes that would fit them. We decided to give each of the kids a few hundred bucks to help them buy some better clothes along the way. This single gesture was almost too great for them to realize; nothing like this had ever been done for them. We gave a phone number to Winston to contact us and let us know what might be taking place.

Upon our entry into the bay we found that good fortune was with us. For a large luxury liner was just beginning to disembark its thousand passengers; the docks were filled and over-flowing with people, taxies, vendors and uniformed officials. We maneuvered around this behemoth of a ship and ever so cautiously maneuvered the New Song into a secondary anchorage and into an open slip. Everyone helped tie up and we were home, well, almost.

It was Wally who had come through for us. After Dustin had described our problem and worries to Wally, he contacted several of his friends, for he had once lived in Hawaii while doing work for the Navy. Apparently someone from the immigration department had been informed of our arrival, and one elderly looking gentlemen along with two female assistants made their way to the New Song as we finished securing the lines.

"Greetings there, New Song," came a friendly voice from the dock.

"Aloha and Ahoy there Matey!" Jay waved his hat and gave a semi-secretive reply.

Soon a Mr. Duke Kalawnie was shaking our hands and introducing his two assistants as Miss Molonie and Mrs. Brenda Shalona.

"We have heard that you had an interesting trip from Samoa," Mr. Kalawnie began as he looked over our ragged and torn schooner.

"Yeah, to say the least," Jay answered.

He let us know that he had been close friends with Wally, way back when, and wanted to help out in any way possible. "How are your young survivors doing?" Kalawnie inquired.

This guy doesn't waste any time, I thought.

"I'll let our medical team fill you in on them," Jay answered and pointed over to Amber and Crystal, and now Gretchen was standing with them.

Amber spoke up first, "There are two of them that seemed to have some internal injuries. Of course we had no facilities to x-ray their injuries, but we are assuming this to be the case. The others are doing better but all of them have been worked nearly to death and are malnourished. We have been feeding them and re-hydrating them. They were trapped inside the fishing hull for at least five days with hardly a drop of water. And they were terribly abused before the sinking of the boat."

I thought it was a good idea to speak of the general information that we had attained from the kids along the way. They knew they were being shipped to a place called Peru, where they would be sent into the mountains to work in the gold mines. Many children and young people had been forced onto these fishing boats. There they would work their way across the Pacific to end up in Bolivia, Peru or Chile. Hundreds of kids had already been sent and had disappeared into deep caverns high in the Andes, made to work in the mines, digging for iron and gold.

This Mr. Duke Kalawnie nodded his head and mentioned that they, along with the international children's rights groups were aware of the enslavement and of the cruel gold mining operations in Peru. But this group might help them in the disruption of the slavery market with the street kids.

Crystal asked if it would be OK to bring the kids out. Kalawnie assured us that all would be well. He explained that they had brought a large van and would take the children to the hospital, where they had made arrangements for their care. The children would all be questioned about their on-board experience; special consideration would be given them determining if they were to be allowed to stay in the States.

Amber and Crystal moved down into the salon area and began leading the kids out to the deck and helping them onto the dock. The two assistants immediately began to talk to them in their own language. There seemed to be a friendly exchange, but soon Amber came from below deck with a puzzled look on her face.

Kalawnie waited, then asked, "We thought you had twelve rescued children?"

Amber looked at Jay, then to me and Theo who were standing back aways, and said, "Two of them are gone!"

"Impossible," Jay nearly shouted and told us to search the boat.

"How could that be? They were here when we were tying up," Gretchen added.

Theo and I had already begun to search the schooner and realized that our young friend Winston and the one girl Rose must have gone through the front hatch while we were securing the New Song, waited and slipped overboard and swam to the nearby shore. It was obvious that they did not trust anyone and had no intention of getting sent back to Taiwan. Without knowing it, they had caused themselves a bunch of trouble and made it harder on themselves for being allowed to stay. But in a way, we could hardly blame them for their fear, they had escaped hell and had no plans on returning. We hoped them the best.

After we said our goodbyes to the children and told Kalawnie that we would be willing to help out with any financial costs. Theo wrote out a handsome check to Kalawnie, or at least we thought it was handsome, for he smiled like a bear that had just found a new bee hive. We told him to stay in touch with Dustin and Wally, and they would secure funds to help the children find good homes here in the islands or on the mainland. We left the boat locked up and went to the nearest hotel, rented three large rooms and took long, long hot showers, changed our clothes and slept and slept and slept!

It became obvious: Jay and Gretchen had become more than just casual acquaintances. They went off on their own and we knew that we would be seeing a lot more of Gretchen. It was almost funny, but we didn't laugh, but Jay was almost a new man, all aglow and we actually caught him whistling to himself. This was an unheard of experience for us but especially for him. Oh boy, one of those shipboard romances? We would tease him saying, "Get that inflatable out, that is enough of this lovey-dovey stuff!"

Living and working and staying alive at sea while sailing a wind machine through dangerous waters, might seem romantic but this was not so in many ways. It could be and was sometimes described as a prison on water, and your cell had to be absolutely maintained or you died! On a boat—a powered yacht, a schooner or a sloop, privacy is almost non existent. When you're on deck that means you are usually at the helm or on watch. This means that one person is way up at the front of the boat and the other is behind the wheel, watching the wind, the compass and the sails. If for some reason, any funny business went on, that meant that everyone aboard was in danger, and funny business was just not permitted! When you are down in the salon, everyone else is usually there too. The sleeping quarters for us guys were bunks or common births built into cubbies next to each other, just off the salon or general utility area. There was no place to be alone other than up front, where two cabins filled the front third of the boat. One room was the captain's quarters, slightly larger than a walk-in closet and another room with four stacked bunks, where the women bunked. Therefore, all personal contact is very limited, unless you were without a care as to how you might affect your shipmates in your actions. Then this thing called romance becomes more of an emotional thing than physical, with lots of innuendos and cute little exchanges. However, there was one place up on deck that we found to offer a tiny bit of privacy, and that was in the inflated life rafts tied up above the cabin area. Two people could climb up and get into them, stretch out and lay back in some comfort. You were still out in the open but at least you could be alone and carry on a talk without everyone hearing what you had to say. Everyone named it the Rubber Hotel!

Ah, it was Jay who came up with the big surprise for all of us, when he told us that Gretchen had decided to stay aboard the New Song. It looked like Jay and her must have decided on a possible future. This was fine with us, it would round out our crew, and besides, Gretchen had proven herself to be a quality person, well able to handle herself and still be there for others. The girls were ecstatic about having a new shipmate, one who would round out and fill in the gaps on board, maybe even within our team in time, who knew?

That evening we met for a fantastic farewell meal. Thomas, Timm and Julie would fly back to Honolulu and get things ready for our arrival with the treasure. Thomas had no real reservations on leaving their part of the treasure aboard the New Song with us. I had my own reservations on this and wondered why all of a sudden Thomas and Julie would allow this, without even questioning the arrangement. We would spend a few days making general repairs on the New Song, and then sail back to Oahu where we would finish up all the major repairs and wait for our associates, the MAVIN team, to arrive. It was not yet settled where Dustin wanted to rent a house for all of us to stay, but it sounded like he had something going on the north shore. We said our goodbyes to our new friends and let them know that we were on our way, and to be ready for a new life.

It was Thomas and his crew who would contact Mike's family and let them know what had happened. Theo and I agreed and extended our help in letting the James family know that if there were any further explanations needed, they could get hold of us. We would even send for them to come out and talk with us personally. Thomas was somewhat impressed by our offer. Julie and Gretchen cried upon Julie's departure at the airport.

However, Thomas proved to be the disconcerting one and Julie was not far behind. For as much as Jay had done for their well-being and actual survival, they would not take a moment to thank any of us, and for sure avoided Jay. This to me was a real slap. I knew that there would not be further relations with them whatsoever.

One of the last exciting things to discover was the plank board that Jay had been cleaning. So many things had happened; it had been stored in one of the stern lockers and forgotten. The final lettering that came forth out of the old worn grains were a set of initials, AMA and a date of 1937! This didn't make sense to any of us. Amber got onto the internet and researched the date but found nothing. Then she went back a year or two, and something very interesting popped up. We were all too young to remember this and in fact it was fifty and sixty years later before we even came along. But a famous woman pilot named Amelia Earhart had disappeared on an around-the-world flight and she had gone missing somewhere in the Pacific. Now, was this a joke that someone had played or was there something to this old table plank? This made for good conversation around the fire at night, but for now, we had enough on our plates to last a hundred years!

One of the more interesting exchanges between Jay, Theo, and myself was the strange vision that Amber had that one night of a man walking across the waters from the North to us on the New Song. This vision had alerted us to change our course just a bit, and Jay had not hesitated. Shortly after this course change, we came upon the debris field and found the Yoaky-Doky and had rescued the trapped kids. Who this man was we could only speculate, maybe the kids' angel or a crew member seeking help for his shipmates, we would never know. It would be categorized under seafaring tales, to be told in time.

# Chapter 26 - Epilogue!

By the third day moving the New Song around to different boat yards, the simple repairs were made. We wanted her back on good keel; the boat traffic between islands often got busy, and after all we had been through, we certainly did not want to be stranded a few miles from our goal. We were concerned more than ever about the millions in treasure hidden inside the New Song and did not want any last minute bungles. Then news that we did not want to hear came on the Satellite phone from Timm in Honolulu. Nervously he beat around the bush, but Jay finally got it out—Thomas and Julie had disappeared. He was not sure, but suspected that Thomas and Julie had not only drained their bank accounts, but had taken the stones that we had found on Palmyra Island!

"Are you sure of this Timm?" Jay asked him.

Immediately Jay told Theo and us to open up the lower bilge area and look to see if the storage boxes had been gone through. It didn't take but a few minutes to discover that the box which held the nicer stones had been opened, and yes, the larger cleaner stones were missing! How many we did not know, but most of the larger ones were gone, and a good number of the smaller ones were missing.

We all stood there dumbstruck, "Why?"

The general consensus was that these few, but exceptionally rare, stones were worth more than half the entire treasure, not including the golden links. Even though we had the remainder of the treasure, still a nice fortune, yet the green emeralds would have been the center of attraction in any exhibit, some of which were beyond normal sized. A high-grade one-inch emerald was a rare oddity in itself, and we knew that there were at least seven of these missing, worth hundreds of thousands each. Amber reminded us of the sapphires that were also missing. Those were some rare beauties, nothing like them on the markets anywhere. She nearly cried.

How we did not discern their intent was baffling. Especially, since now it was so obvious, from their easy acceptance of allowing the major portion of the treasure to go with us on the New Song.

Greed had to be the answer. Sometimes it does not pay to be too trusting—too soon! They had taken the jewels that were easy to sell and ready to exchange with them. We were positive that we would never see or hear from them again, at least we were hoping this was the case.

We still had several clusters of nice stones locked in the pieces of coral. We did not want to break all of them loose. The stones locked into coral would add intrigue in any display. But it was the idea of having rescued these people, taken them aboard, trusted them and cared for them, and then for them to pull this on all of us was disheartening. While they were with us, they had learned much of our personal business, we would have to be on watch for intrusions along the way. Gretchen was the most upset. She couldn't believe it, finally coming to realize that she had also been fooled about Julie's real intent; even though she tried to grant Julie some slack by saying that it was Thomas who had persuaded her to turn good into evil. But Gretchen was thankful that she made the decision to go with Jay and stay aboard the New Song.

Both Crystal and Amber recalled the questions that Julie had asked about Theo and myself. They had a good idea that something was up regarding big time monies, but they did not know everything. It was their inquiry into the MAVIN team that bothered me the most. We did not want that information to be out; but I guessed it was going to be a hard thing to keep behind closed doors.

The search for these two was agreed upon to be kept low key. They knew it would be impossible for us to go after them in a lawful manner, and most likely had gone into Europe to sell off a few of the treasures to stake their futures. There was little we could do, but the idea of their taking advantage of our trust and stealing from what we thought was a treasure to be shared by all of us was, again, another lesson in not fully trusting human nature. Greed proved to be a guileful opponent.

I guessed that the responsibility of handling Mike's trust and foundation was now moved to us. We were fortunate enough that the gold chain links were heavy enough to have prevented Thomas from taking them.

Oh well, they did get a little more than a third for their share and this was not outrageous. But what was bad, they took the best of the best! Looking back, and putting it all together, the obvious became present, the thin line of greed was there to follow all the way through.

In fact, the story of this treasure from its beginning going all the way back to the catholic conquistadors and their lust for gold became evident. The destruction of an entire race, so that the colonizers might rule the world with plundered riches and decorate their cathedrals with more icons was based on nothing less than greed! Then there was the greed of the pirates who would risk everything, kill anyone and everyone that stood in their way, stealing the riches already stolen, sailing away with wealth and booty. Then unexpectedly shipwrecked on Palmyra Island, was still not the end to avariciousness.

Down through time, hundreds of stories would be exaggerated and repeated, enhancing the lust for gold and its discovery or theft. Now, once again, here was this cunning act of greed. How many actions of greed will go with this rich and ancient treasure, only God knew. Maybe gold was nothing more than a test for humankind, or maybe it really was the excrement of the gods. We were hoping that we would not get caught into the greed, or the excrement, cycle of it all.

So with this news we departed Nawiliwili Bay Kauai, and sailed for the Ala-wai boat harbor back in Honolulu. Two days later, we entered the harbor, Timm there to greet us.

He made so many apologies that we finally had to tell him that was enough, "We got the message!" He went on to say that, he had changed the combinations on the vault in the warehouse and put all new locks on the building. The building and its entire works were there for us to use if we wanted. Our special traveling and working RV which Wally our genius engineer and computer guru had designed and built for us after the Hearst Castle disaster was waiting for us in storage. We had shipped it to Hawaii prior to the big wave film, as an office and living accommodation on wheels, named the Tripper. We would park it inside Timm's warehouse for now. It was going to be a near perfect vehicle to store and hide the treasure in, with three separate safes and plenty of storage space. We would be able to ship the entire van back by ship where it could carry the treasure undetected. The warehouse factory intrigued us. It was a chemical and product operation, ready to run, already set up for experiments, and perhaps new inventions. I could see that Theo's eyes were aglow with possibilities, one could hear the gears of his mind, as a surfboard production shop was being set up in his imagination.

Then the key to some of the troubles aboard with Thomas became known. Timm was not certain, but admitted that Thomas used cocaine at times. He had brought a two-pound block of high-grade coke aboard the Bye-Golly with the intent to sell it along the way. He was pretty sure that this was one of the things he went back to retrieve inside the sunken hull. Now, Thomas' nervousness and strange attitude became clearer. He was most likely in a drugged state of self importance. But the worst was that according to Timm, Thomas had hidden at least a quarter pound of this stuff somewhere on the New Song, in order to have an edge on us. Without knowing it, we could have been turned into the police at any time, and for sure, we would have been arrested and the New Song impounded. With this in mind, all of us went aboard and crawled over every inch of the boat.

The stash was found by Gretchen hidden deep inside the front locker compartment, taped into a small opening. If this was not found, we could have been in big trouble. Plus, Thomas would have had the upper hand on us, but his sinister plot had been discovered. The package soon melted into the bay and floated away. We spent an entire day going over everything, under and inside every cubby. I kicked myself several times. I saw the symptoms and effects of drugs taking their course with Brewerton but missed the obvious picture. I attributed this to being aboard a yacht and out to sea. Who would think about sneaking hits of cocaine while fighting for your life at sea? Timm lost some points with us, but we were still thankful that he had enough sense to tell us.

With Thomas gone, Timm shut down production in their business. Timm had brought rolling lockers down to the New Song and that evening we began to unload the treasure and remove it from the warehouse into the Tripper. The girls had inventoried everything, and we had asked Brookstone to send over a special guard to live in and watch the warehouse. We weren't taking any chances with our latest acquisition of Inca gold and pirate booty. We felt comfortable with this arrangement for now. Wally had traced both Thomas and Julie to overseas flights that had left a few days earlier, but who knew; they might come sneaking back.

We were going to leave Amber, Crystal, Gretchen and Timm in charge of the treasure. They would, with the help of Jay as advisor, determine the value, and how to go about setting up exhibits. However, they decided, this was going to be big news once it got out, thus we considered returning to California where they had most of the museum and antique contacts.

It looked like my inheritance had been freed up by the Canadian courts. In the meantime, Dustin was anxious to arrange a pleasant and out of the way place where we could begin making decisions on how to organize the MAVIN Corporation up and running.

Dustin rented two secluded beach houses on the North Shore, south of Turtle Bay. They presented immediate access to the ocean from one side with the green lush mountains spread out behind us. We could walk on the beach and feel solid ground, ride our bikes along empty roads and still have enough elbowroom to stay out of one another's way. After being cooped up on the New Song for all those months, we wanted our space.

Within two weeks, Dustin and his wife Nadia, along with Wally, Brookstone and his father Robbie Kaamin, and his brothers Jaden, Morgan, Jasper, and Mica, along with Max and JJ had arrived. It was an incredible reunion, which took about two days of celebration before we were able to get down to business. And business it was.

Timm was living aboard the New Song as its caretaker and we were considering putting it up for sale. However, Jay had found her to be a worthy craft and had taken a liking to her, especially now, since we had upgraded and made all the repairs. He was thinking that he and Gretchen might sail her back to Newport and sell off his own boat, the Serendipity. The New Song was better equipped, larger in length and could be used as a charter in his business. Jay also suggested that it might be safe to ship half of the treasure with them back to Newport on the New Song, to divide the treasure in half, in case anything were to happen. We thought this was a good suggestion and would decide at the big meetings. However, Jay wasn't fooling us, he had grown close to Gretchen, and we suspected that they had been making their own plans; we were happy for them. But it was time for some fun with Jay. Each time the new couple would walk away, someone would state matter of factly, "Don't forget to get that inflatable out. Remember the rules now Captain Jay Vontempski." Gretchen would always turn red, and Jay would flip us the bird!

So our journey across most of the South Pacific had come to a conclusion. We were a bit worn down, many of our salt wounds had to heal, but we were on solid ground and already setting up for the next few months of life in the Islands. Our big wave movie was once again on hold. Theo could have put something together with his Hawaii shoots, but he was a perfectionist and said that he preferred to wait.

Beachniks and ocean lovers tend to think that sailing across the sea is one happy-go-lucky pleasure. It is, as long as you are a pampered passenger sailing with an experienced crew. For the sea is relentless in its challenges, and unless someone is there to deal directly with those challenges, you are lost!

The minute Dustin and Nadia his wife saw us they exclaimed, "My gosh, it looks like you folks have been through a war and barely made it out!"

This became obvious as we began doctoring our wounds. Good news for us, Nadia, Dustin's wife was once a nurse and knew what to do with a wounded crew. The thing was, that we were so used to the multiple abrasions, they were a part of our life—at least they were. Every one of us had multiple salt sores. Some required extreme care—painful cleansings and slow healing. Every knee, ankle and elbow was laid open and salved over with antibiotic creams. There were coral cuts and the worry of chemical burns. Timm had received the bitter bite of a stingray; fortunately, a small one, because the barbs whip up and sink into flesh, leaving a person cursing the sea, the reefs, the coral and life itself! One smashed finger on Crystal's hand gave us some worry and she had not ever said a word about it. Then the few missing fingernails would grow back. So it went. As I viewed this motley crew of bandaged beings, which reminded me of a collection of living mummies, I was thankful that we didn't have to deal with shark bites or amputations! I joked that we had just contributed to the economy of the surrounding drugstores because of all the bandages and salves we purchased. Everyone had their wounds and cuts and each of us was tanned a crispy brown.

The gang voted me the blue ribbon bummer reward. For I had the most wounds, going back to the laser attack by an eco freak named Etroid who left the brand XO on my chest. Then there was the brown scar of an odd shape under my left eye from a spider attack while hiding in the Hearst Castle's treasure dump back on the California coast. The fishhook scar from this adventure was going to be nasty and most likely permanent. Nadia asked why the wound seemed to be so jagged. I had to point out Theo's quick extraction, when he yanked it out. Now there were the salt wounds on my knees, on my elbow and my personal parts, which were still mending after the sneaker wave hit us and I was thrown against the mast and then overboard. One of my teeth had been broken on the Palmyra escape, and I humbly accepted the blue ribbon, which was a rag found floating in one of the lagoons on Palmyra. I accepted it under one condition, that they would allow me to treat them to one fantastic inner island sailing trip. Crystal and Amber screamed some war-like sounds, charged me and taking their blue ribbon back, they began to beat me with it. I never did see it again, and we all laughed!

My own time would be consumed in arranging and making decisions about my inheritance. But what was strange was that both Theo and I discovered that there were a lot of things taking place with Amber and Crystal...and wow, it was more than what we had ever expected! As much as we all wanted to kick back for a few weeks and do nothing but feel solid ground under foot, time and events would not allow it.

The waves came up on the north shore, and since we had our backup boards stored in the Tripper, away we went. The Tripper became the perfect home away from home for the four of us. Theo and Crystal got in some excellent filming, and again, it was Theo who came up with one of the most incredible methods of surf filming. He ordered two nice sized drones and modified them to carry a special 35 mm high-resolution Sony digital camera. From the top of the Tripper he flew his drones out to where the big ones were breaking. With some careful practice, he skimmed the face of the waves and caught some of the most incredible pictures yet made. Good thing he ordered two drones, for in his excitement during one film shoot, sure enough, he flew his entire rig into a massive wave and we never recovered it. His new approach caused some filmmakers to object, but this new technology was soon to catch on, and as usual, Theo and Wally were right there in front.

Brookstone made sure we were watched over by two of his newest guards, who we didn't even know were with us until Crystal talked to her father, Robbie Kaamin. We began to look for them, but they were more than discreet. Soon we felt at home knowing someone was out there looking over us. I think Brookstone was really watching over his sisters, Theo and I were just extras on the scene.

Theo and Crystal were kept busy. A complete separate filming system made up of Hasselblad and Cannon multi-shot formatting systems with a collection of super lenses and a special stabilizer balancing system along with a recoil kit was set up on the upper deck of the Tripper. Theo was into his element now, and I did not even know how to pronounce the different parts of his new and latest camera systems, no less understand them. But the loss of the drone brought tears to Theo's eyes. I didn't know if this was due to the costs involved or the film footage lost. At first the cost of this equipment sent my blood pressure skyrocketing, until Amber brought me back to earth, reminding me of the amount of treasure we had not even calculated yet. Also we had the World Wave Watchers fund waiting to be tapped into. The financial thing was still fermenting in my brain, and I had not yet come to grips with having access to so much. It was all new to me, but Amber assured me that there would be times that real investments in the future would cause all of us to do some serious thinking.

All good things must come to an end, as they say. Our few weeks of freedom and surfing and just bumming around came to its end when the MAVIN team finally arrived. Dustin had rented two secluded homes along a hard to reach part of the north shore. I was puzzled why we were so isolated but was informed that there were unscrupulous persons wanting to keep track of our business. Brookstone explained that we were no longer free-flung surf bums without a cause. We had been cast into a new level of society. My inheritance had pulled our team and me into a caldron of wealth and high finances. Where there was money, there were sharks to chase it. Our business was to be conducted under the most secure arrangements. In fact, the Hearst Castle Security Force, by invitation from Brookstone, had been hired to guard what we were calling the north shore compound. I began to grasp the significance and the strange new circumstances we found ourselves living in. I, along with our team members, had to take extra precautions with our travels, and we began to learn how to watch out for one another. Oh boy, I thought, this is gonna be fun!

The End!
  1. Book Five of the Luke Mitchner Series
  2. Introduction - Beginnings
  3. Chapter One - The Rescue!
  4. Chapter Two - Getting Acquainted!
  5. Chapter Three - The Dive Into The Bye-Golly
  6. Chapter Four - Arrival at Palmyra
  7. Chapter Five - West Lagoon Anchorage
  8. Chapter Six - Surprise Hut and the Big Deal
  9. Chapter Seven - Partnerships, Stories and Decisions
  10. Chapter Eight - New Feelings and the Move
  11. Chapter Nine - Mike's Story!
  12. Chapter Ten - The First Official Dive
  13. Chapter Eleven - Girls Episode!
  14. Chapter Twelve - The Munitions Discovery
  15. Chapter 13 - Mike Goes Missing
  16. Chapter 14 - Bubba And Bongo Return With Mike
  17. Chapter 15 - The Narrow Escape And A Big Blow!
  18. Chapter Sixteen - Out To Sea At Last
  19. Chapter 17 - Vision In The Night
  20. Chapter 18 - Speculation And Revelation
  21. Chapter 19 - Woe In The Depths!
  22. Chapter 20 - Tap, Tap, Tap!
  23. Chapter 21 - Yoaky-Doky lives again!
  24. Chapter 22 - The Get Away!
  25. Chapter 23 - Jay And The Tagged Whale?
  26. Chapter 24 - A SEALS Fate!
  27. Chapter 25 - The Last Wind Home
  28. Chapter 26 - Epilogue!

