The Pirate I Wish I Had Not Met

The Pirate I Wish I Had Not Met

I have lived an un-conventual life for the last couple of years. My name is Mark Wallace and my life of crime began very young, starting with stealing hub caps when only fourteen. As I got older, my involvement in auto theft progressed, but everything came crashing down when a robbery took a deadly turn, claiming two lives. The judge sentenced me to thirty years to life. I had settled into prison life when a scientist approached me a year ago with a proposition I found impossible to refuse. Their search for subjects to test their new time machine gave me a chance for me to shorten my sentence. I accepted the offer and have taken three hair-raising adventures back in time as far as the Roman Empire. Dr. Marsh is entering my cell now to discuss a new adventure in his machine.

"Mister Wallace, I hope you have recovered from you last adventure. The reason I'm asking you again so soon is because of its historical and financial importance. Are you well enough to try another adventure?"

"That all depends on where it is and what you need to know that is of such importance. I still have headaches from the concussion and the two cracked ribs are no fun."

"This trip should be much easier than the last one, and the warden has agreed to deduct five years from your sentence as a reward for undertaking it."

Now this caught my attention. "I have nothing better to do. Tell me what is of such importance."

"Please sit down, as this may take some time. This is the story of James Bellamy. Born in London in 1723, he began his career as a petty thief. The English high court forced him into servitude onboard a ship bound for the Caribbean in 1744. The crew mutinied, and the captain murdered. Within a year, James was captain of a pirate ship named Lonesome, that sailed out of Jamaica. In 1746, they seized a ship that was part of an Indian convoy traveling to the holy land on a pilgrimage. The ship contained vast quantities of gold, silver and precious jewels valued today at 104 million dollars. We know of only one pirate that actually buried his treasure. Most pirate careers spanned 3-5 years before they were either caught and hung or died in battle. The experts think neither was true for Bellamy. A fishing vessel discovered his ship, Lonesome floating adrift thirty kilometers off the tiny island of Barbuda in the Caribbean Sea. Apparently struck by a plague of some sort, the crew were all dead except for Captain Bellamy, the first mate, and maybe two or three others. Some historians suggest Bellamy murdered the crew and fled with the treasure, but where and how did he leave? Despite extensive efforts, the authorities have been unable to locate any of the stolen treasure from the ship. Our company has received a rather large grant to see if we can find out from Captain Bellamy himself where the treasure has gone. If successful, this has huge ramifications for you and the company.

I like mysteries and found this on interesting, but could I pull it off? "How do I meet this man whom I have never met and has never met me? I would have to see firsthand what has happened. How can you time that?"

"This is the tricky part. We don't want to leave you at Bellamy's mercy any longer than possible. We think we can narrow the time to six days."

"If this is successful, what do I stand to gain?"

When you are released from prison, there will be ten thousand dollars plus interest waiting for you in the bank. The warden has authorized a five-year reduction in your sentence for this journey.

I looked around me. What could lose? Actually, quite a lot, but I foolishly agreed. They outfitted me in typical sailor's gear during that time period. A short tan jacket made of fustian, a linin collarless shirt, and baggy bellbottom trousers. They put a silk sash across one shoulder to keep my antique pistol in. Round toed leather shoes tied with a buckle. They seem to have forgotten my cutlass. Seated within the transparent export container, I pondered where I would end up this time.

I still felt a little disoriented from being reassembled, and the motion of the ship and the wind made it worse.

I looked around me at men who dressed like me but were a good bit shorter. Being six foot four and 235 pounds, I stand out when I go back in time. Someone was shouting at me over the wind and pointing to another smaller ship following behind. I grasped that they were attempting to bring her alongside and secure her to my ship, which I believed to be Lonesome. I helped others pulling on ropes until the smaller ship was secured.

"You there. Come to my cabin."

I turned and saw a man dressed much the same as me except for a bright red coat that came to his waist. I could see two pistols in his sash, along with a cutlass and dagger. I followed him below deck into what I assumed was the captain's cabin. Captain James Bellamy, the man Dr. Marsh sent me to meet.

He examined me briefly before speaking in a rough, unrefined manner. “I don't believe we have met before. Where did you come aboard?"

"Back in Jamaica, sir. Unfortunately, the carpenter in your crew was involved in a drunken brawl and couldn't rejoin the ship. I volunteered to fill his position."

"As I am sure you are aware, the plague, or some other disease, perhaps measles, has decimated the crew. No one will survive if we remain on this vessel. You seem to be untouched by the illness. Locate any men who are not sick and transfer the treasure to the other ship. The dead and sick will be abandoned on this ship. I am going aboard the other ship to direct the transfer. The crew on the other ship is disease free and will stay where they are."

'Yes sir. I will start immediately. I left and joined three crew members, heading for the room bearing the treasure. We opened the door, and I stood there in awe. Wooden boxes of all sizes filled with gold bars and silver coins. Assorted jewels were jammed into whatever containers were on hand.

It took the rest of the afternoon to transfer the loot to the hold of the other ship. I now understand half of the mystery of the missing treasure. Now I had to find out what happened to it.

Captain Bellamy motioned for me to join him. "You transferred the merchandise in record time. That is good because several more of my crew have fallen ill. I have a serious shortage of able-bodied men to crew this smaller ship to Santo Domingo. Do you have any sailing skills other than your role as a carpenter?"

I thought for a minute. So, the treasure is going to Santo Domingo. Where on that island will he hide it? I had to follow the treasure. "That all depends, sir. If the sail-master or piolet will be on board, I can assist them. How far are we from Santo Domingo?"

"That all depends on the wind. They are strong right now, and we should be there in two days if it continues to blow. I'm afraid the sail-master is dead. The boatswain is still with us and five of the crew. We will have to make do with that."

I looked for ways to assist the men suffering on the Lonesome. There must have been thirty dead and dying. I knew immediately it was not smallpox. It was a plague carried by rats or fleas. Some men were bleeding from the mouth. Most of them had large pustules that had ruptured and oozed a pus-like material. I worried because I had protection against smallpox, but not the plague. I transferred to the other boat as swiftly as possible.

Captain Bellamy was not a bad sort. He became somewhat emotional as we set Lonesome adrift. The winds stayed favorable, and the captain gave me a lesson on how to steer a sailing ship. The transom, which is connected to the rudder, is fastened by a sturdy rope to the deck wheel. He allowed me to steer the ship for an hour while he took a break. When he returned, I asked where he intended to store the treasure. He told me I would see soon enough.

 Late in the evening on the second day of travel, we entered the harbor. Two of the crew rowed the captain ashore, and the rest of us stayed with the ship. It was early morning before he returned. With him was an elderly Spaniard who must have been in his eighties. He had a long grey beard with a black patch over his left eye. He used a cane and walked with a noticeable limp. I later learned his name was Rodrigo de Sevilla, a former pirate captain who retired after losing an eye and sustaining other injuries in battle. He went below deck with Captain Bellamy to view the treasure. When some time had passed, they came back and Rodrigo was rowed ashore. Captain Bellamy informed us that the treasure would be brought ashore after midnight.

Midnight came, and we began rowing boatloads of gold, silver and jewels to the dock. Rodrigo was waiting for us with a horse and a long bed wagon. We loaded the first load on the wagon and covered it with a tarp. To my surprise, we headed into downtown and not to some cave inland. We were heading for a church Rodrigo called the Pantheon.

Rodrigo told me a story in broken English as we rode in the wagon. "The structure is being built by a man named Geronimo Garcon and will be a Jesuit church. It has taken us over thirty years and we are just putting the finishing touches on the interior. I joined early on to assist in the design and direct the actual construction. I designed a vault under the church at the behest of mister Garcon who unfortunately is now deceased. Over the years, all the workers have died or moved and I am the only man alive today that knows the secret location of that room. It has remained unopened since its construction in 1718."

I smiled to myself. This answers the last piece of the puzzle. I still had one lingering question. " Rodrigo, why are you doing this for captain Bellamy? How do the two of you know each other?"

Rodrigo laughed. "That is another story in its self, and should be told over a beer. Perhaps we can do that after the job is done. We are just about at our destination."

I didn't want to press him and let it lay. A magnificent structure loomed before me. Built of stone, with scattered small windows and at least one small portico. Rodrigo led us on a dirt path along the right side of the building. It looked like the foundation for another building was being dug close to the path. At the right rear corner, Rodrigo stopped and told all of us to turn around while he opened the vault. Of course, I turned back around and watched as he removed a stone that fit perfectly in the wall. He reached in and did something and a section of the wall chest high to me revolved open on a sliding mechanism. I turned back around. We took the stolen items into a room with a low ceiling and organized them into separate piles of gold, silver, and jewels. It took us three trips in Rodrigo's wagon to store all the loot.

We were all tired, and the four crewmen returned to the ship. I inquired with Rodrigo if I could stay and hear the promised story while enjoying a beer. He agreed and took me to a bar that had a table outside, providing a view of the ocean in the distance. Here is his story as told to me.

"I was a raise by a poor family in Seville. When I was ten, my father, who was a soldier, died in battle. I worked my way onto a merchant ship as a cabin boy and worked hard to learn how to sail a ship. When I was eighteen, I took a position as second officer on a different ship. A mutiny occurred, resulting in the captain and multiple officers being marooned on a remote island. Over the next few years, we transformed into a pirate ship and combed the Caribbean for merchant vessels. We made a living, but that was all. One day, we targeted a heavily armed ship that was loaded with riches. I sustained serious injuries and was taken captive. I knew they would hang me when we returned to port. The following day, our ship found itself under attack from the notorious pirate vessel known as Lonesome. The merchant ship surrendered, and Captain Bellamy released me and my crew. In Santo Domingo, he kindly dropped off me and my crew, and to help me begin a new career, he gave me a portion of the prize. I owed him my life, and we met again several times over the years. In one meeting, I revealed to him the secret vault. You know the rest. The treasure is safe now for him to do with as he pleases."

With the sun shining, I searched for the captain to inform him of my intention to remain in town. What I really needed was to stay safe until I they returned me three days from now. The first mate met me at the dock and said the captain and the rest of the crew were back aboard ship. Rowing towards the ship, a sense of uneasiness started to settle within me. Once I stepped onto the deck, they raised the anchor and we set sail again.

It was midday when we anchored next to a tiny uninhabited island. Bellamy and the first mate forced the rest of us into the skiff and rowed us to the island. The captain and first mate faced us with their pistols drawn. The captain had one in each hand." I'm sorry, men, the captain said. This is your new home. Trusting you with the knowledge of the buried treasure's location is out of the question. " A crew member swore and attacked the first mate, who shot him in the chest. I knew he had only one shot and launched myself toward his knees. The other two crewmen attacked the captain, and he shot both of them. I managed to overpower the first mate and broke his neck. The captain sprinted toward the skiff. He reached a few feet offshore when I intercepted him and capsized the boat, resulting in him landing on me. We both went under water. A feeling of regret washed over me as I realized I had never taken the time to learn how to swim. I was tall enough, however, to stand on the sandy bottom and the captain could not. I held him under water until he quit struggling. Battling my way back to the beach, I rested in the sand, gazing at the serene blue sky and the four deceased individuals surrounding me. I could see the overturned skiff drifting about two hundred yards offshore. The schooner was too far away from the shore, making it impossible for me to reach it. All I could I do now was hope Dr. Marsh could bring me home.

I awoke in a hospital with Dr. Marsh seated by the bed. Well, young man, you must have quite a story to tell. You returned so dehydrated, the doctor said you only had hours to live. I don't suppose you found out anything about the lost treasure?

Doctor Marshes face glowed with excitement as I shared my story of the last five days. When I finished, he took my hand. "We are profoundly grateful. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

 "Is there any way I can take swimming lessons in prison?"

The end