“They’re going to like this, I’m sure of it,” said Virgil.
“One more thing,” said Max. “The site is going to need security. I mean serious security. Day and night, guns, the whole thing.”
“I understand,” said Virgil. “If the project is approved, I’ll work on the security angle for you. I’m Mr. Security in this part of the world.
“Doctor Security,” said Max humorously.
“Yes, Doctor Security,” laughed Virgil.
The private dining room of Government House was the ultimate in tropical elegance. It’s sixteen foot high ceilings, ten foot tall windows and sheer white drapes gave the feeling of openness and spaciousness. Upon entering the room, Jenny’s eyes immediately fell to the oriental area rug, at least thirty feet in diameter. It’s rich shades of green, blue and red set against a gold background were stunning. Centered on the rug was a single round dining table covered in colorfully embroidered linen and surrounded by ten comfortable ratan chairs. At one end of the room was a food preparation station that ran the length of the forty foot wall on which were a silver coffee urn and one matching that for hot water to brew tea. Seven sterling silver Sterno-fired warming trays were keeping the various entrees and side dishes hot. At the end of the table was an assortment of bone china cups, bowls and plates. Lunches in this room were served buffet style although there were three servers and two stewards buzzing around the dining room at all times. At the opposite end of the room was a comfortable sitting area with a sofa and three chairs of ratan which matched the dining chairs.
Virgil instructed the head steward to let the Governor and Minister of Antiquities know the party was ready for them. He motioned for Max and Jenny to make themselves comfortable in the seating area. “There is nothing to be nervous about with these gentlemen. You have a solid proposal that can be beneficial to the Islands. They will be anxious to cooperate.”
“I can’t help being nervous,” said Jenny. “I’ve never been in this kind of surroundings with powerful people like this. I don’t know what to say or how to act.”
“You’ll be fine,” said Virgil. “Just be yourself. Both of these gentlemen are kind and intelligent. We do not have to put on airs around them. They are public servants just like me, only we are surrounded by the elegance that the British colonists so kindly left behind. As we would tell you in the islands, ‘be cool and everything will be OK.’ If you don’t mind, it is proper to address the Governor as Mr. Remington and the Minister as Mr. Brown.”
At that moment a steward in a bright white heavily starched uniform opened the door to the dining room and held it open announcing the entrance of the Minister and Governor. “Please rise for the entrance of the Governor of the Bahamas, Mr. Michael Remington, the Minister of Antiquities, Mr. Theodore Brown, and the Deputy Assistant to the Governor, Mr. Grant Web.”
Virgil rose and quickly turned to Max and Jenny. Before the dignitaries could complete their entrance into the room he quickly and quietly said, “There’s been a change of plans. The Deputy can not be trusted. Be careful what you say, let me do most of the talking. I’ll explain later.” With that, Virgil straightened to his full height and stiffly walked over to greet the three men. Michael Remington was average sized, perhaps five feet ten and trim, certainly less than 180 pounds. He was impeccably dressed in a navy blue double breasted Canali suit. His dark skin was flawless and his fussy little mustache was trimmed to perfection. The Governor looked the perfect part of an official who constantly lived in the public eye. Theodore Brown, on the other hand, was portly and somewhat homely. He could be easy to ignore on the street in his cheap suit with flab hanging over his belt and beads of sweat continuously assembling on his forehead. His saving attribute was his renowned intelligence, having earned an undergraduate degree in ancient Greek civilization from Boston College and then having gone on to receive post graduate degrees from Princeton and Texas A & M. Grant Web, the Deputy Assistant to the Governor, was a handsome man, taller than six feet and well built, weighing more than 200 pounds. He was well dressed, also in a perfectly tailored Italian suit and expensive accessories. Max was unfavorably impressed with Grant’s excessive use of diamonds and gold in his rings, bracelets and earing stud. He was over dressed and flashy looking and seemed out of place in the laid back Bahamas.
Virgil introduced Max and Jenny to the Bahamian officials. Considering that Virgil had described the dignitaries as friendly servants of the people, Max thought they were very formal and stuffy. His initial impression of Michael Remington was that he was cold and proper. He thought Grant Web was a little too slick and somewhat shifty looking. He liked Theodore Brown, who invited him and Jenny to address him as Ted, and whose intelligence and true commitment to the historical preservation of the island’s history was apparent. He also appeared to be genuinely friendly and hospitable. Jenny and Max warmed up to him right away.
The group sat around the dining table making small talk and sipping on light cocktails. It took several minutes but eventually Jenny relaxed. She was glad that Virgil had volunteered to do the talking. Midway through lunch Virgil broached the subject, “Minister, Max has found some coins while diving off Abaco that he feels may be of archeological significance, and Jenny here is in the business of verifying information of this sort. It seems that if they can find the wreckage of the ship these coins came from, there could be the sort of artifacts that could be the foundation of a very interesting museum.” Virgil was being low keyed, trying to steer the conversation away from treasure, gold, silver, jewels.
Theodore Brown was immediately interested. “Can you identify the ship from which these coins originated? What do you know of their beginnings?”
Jenny tried to help, she knew Virgil was having difficulty. “I have examined the coins myself. I cleaned them up and put them under a microscope. I photographed them and wrote up my results.” She was trying to steer the conversation toward the archaeological method and away from the identification of the ship and its contents. Perhaps she could bore Grant Web enough to make him leave the room early. She had important things to say but this was not information for the wrong ears. “Then I faxed the results to my friend, Elena Pons, in Seville. She spends countless hours doing research about the manifests of the early galleons.”
Grant Web was not bored. In fact he could smell the money before it was even mentioned. He spoke right up, “Was it a treasure galleon? You know these islands are littered with treasure if we could just get our hands on it.”
“We’re not sure,” said Max. “The research is still in progress. We’re here to see if the Bahamas will work with us to allow us to find the wreckage and excavate some of it to see what we have. In countries all over the world museums have been built based on the remains of ancient galleons. Many of these museums, some in the most unexpected places, along the coast of Turkey, on remote Greek Islands, all over Italy and even Egypt, have made major cultural contributions to their countries. These museums bring scholars, intellectuals, plain everyday tourists from all over the world. Our proposal is to excavate the artifacts and return them to you for inclusion in a maritime museum.”
Theodore Brown was very interested. “And you know how to do this, Mr. Carson? You can direct an under water archaeological excavation?”
“No, I certainly can not. In fact, I’m not that available to help. I’m on vacation now but soon I’ll have to get back to my work at home. I can commute on some weekends to help out. I know where to find some of the resources the project will need. I can help set it all up. I would suggest that Jenny be the point person on this project. Her knowledge of archaeology far surpasses mine. This is what she does. She knows how to record the site. She knows all the underwater techniques for excavation. She can retrieve, preserve and catalog the artifacts.”
“Minister,” said the Governor, “I’m interested in this project. Superintendent Price, you did the right thing by bringing this to my attention. I would like for Mr. Brown to collect information, a pr
oposal so to speak. Please be more specific as to the nature of the find. Let us know as soon as you know what ship these coins came from and what other materials were on the manifest. We’ll need cost estimates of the excavation project and a pro forma on the proposed museum.”
“One item of business I would like to pass by you at this meeting is a specific request from Mr. Carson and Miss James,” said Virgil. “They have a concern about salvage licenses and security. They would like to be able to excavate the site undisturbed by outsiders with the support of the Government. They need duty free status for their equipment and supplies and security for the site once it is established. My department is willing to provide security but only you can provide the permissions.”
This got Grant Web’s attention. “All this security and so forth, you must think there is something valuable to guard.”
Jenny was quick to react. “In the archaeological community we believe that all of our specimens are valuable, some priceless. But at the same time, some of these artifacts are simply plates, crates, tools, weapons and ship parts. Some of our most valuable artifacts are worth much more than gold or jewels. It’s an intellectual pursuit.”
Grant Web was not convinced. He reserved comment but vowed to himself to find out more about this venture. For now, it was in his best interest to listen and not speak.
“I’m sorry to say that my time has run out,” said the Governor. “My afternoon schedule is very full.” He rose as did everyone else at the table. Max and Jenny thanked him for his time and interest in the project and wished him a good day. He exited the room with Grant Web in tow.
Theodore Brown sat back down. Virgil, Max and Jenny followed suit. Virgil continued, “Ted, you know I have always respected the work you do and supported you in any way I can. To the extent possible, I would like for either myself or Max or Miss James to communicate with you on this project. I’d like you to set yourself up as the focal point of the venture from the government side. If I might speak frankly, I have never found reason to trust the Deputy Assistant. Do you have a problem with that?”
“If I might speak freely,” said the Minister, “I could throw that little worm a lot further than I would ever trust him.”
Max laughed. Jenny was too shocked to say anything and Virgil just smiled. “Then, if we can be truly frank, I’d like Jenny to tell you more of what we know about this find. We held back in the presence of Mr. Web but I think you’ll be interested in the rest of the story.”
“Much better,” said the Minister. “Miss James, I’m all ears.” Theodore Brown smiled kindly.
Jenny’s enthusiasm was effusive. “We believe the galleon is the San Pedro. Have you heard of that?”
“Miss James, at the risk of sounding pedantic, I am a student of world history. I have degrees in ancient civilizations from American universities. The subject of my doctoral thesis focused on the demise of South American civilizations at the hands of Spanish conquerors. Need I say more? Of course I know of the San Pedro.”
“I think I’m in love,” joked Jenny. The entire room broke into riotous laughter.
No one laughed harder that the Minister himself. “What about the coins you analyzed leads you to believe that they came from the San Pedro?”
“When I say it, you’ll believe it,” said Jenny.
“Say it,” said the Minister.
“OK,” said Jenny. “The coins have markings of the Royal Mint at Santa Fe de Bogota, dated 1652.” Jenny stopped speaking. Her point had been made. She leaned back and waited for the Minister to speak.
“Now I think I’m in love,” said Theodore Brown. “You will get all the help I can give you. You should get your proposal to me as quickly as possible. I’ll handle the politics and bureaucracy. Once the project is funded and you start getting set up, I’d like to visit the site. I’ll give you my direct line so that any time you need something from Government House I can expedite it. Mr. Price, you will be given orders to establish security on the site in any measure you deem appropriate. If you think this project excites you, you have no idea what it means to me. Think about it, how else would you expect the Minister of Antiquities to react to such a thing?”
Jenny beamed. She was in the presence of one of her own kind. She was speaking with an archaeologist’s archaeologist.
“This is so exciting I doubt I’ll sleep tonight,” said Ted Brown. “Thank you so much for coming here and please let’s get started as soon as possible. Virgil, please do what you can to help expedite this project. You have my complete support”. The minister rose, shook hands with Max and got an inappropriate kiss on the cheek from Jenny which he accepted happily. After a few pleasantries he was out the door.
Max and Jenny returned to Virgil’s office with him. They spent another hour discussing as many of the details as they could think of for the upcoming venture. It was getting towards late afternoon when the meeting broke up. Virgil gave Max a warm handshake. “I am very anxious to see what you’re doing over in Abaco. Let me know when you will be there and I’ll be certain to meet up with you. Please give my kindest regards to Gaffer and P.J., those crime busting rascals.”
“I certainly will. They’ll be very glad to hear from you.”
“Good-bye to you, Jenny. Thank you for coming here and please let me know when you need anything from me. It has been a great pleasure meeting you.”
Jenny shook Virgil’s hand. “The pleasure has been mine. And thank you for all you have done for us. I look forward to working with you and your forces.”
Virgil accompanied Max and Jenny out to the waiting limo for the return ride to Nassau International. On the way back Jenny smiled broadly. “You have some very interesting friends,” she said. “This has been quite a day.”
“I’m pleased for you and for the project. Virgil is one of the greatest men I have ever met. Trust him and you’ll do just fine.”
The Queen Air touched down at Marsh Harbour at 6:30 that evening. Lisa was waiting in the motel room for Max to return with the news of the trip to Nassau. There was so much to tell her.
Nine
Skeeter’s New Job
When Max and Jenny returned to the motel, Gaffer was waiting. He was still feeling the rush of spending the day with Skeeter and Matthew. Before Max could begin discussing the success of the day in Nassau, Gaffer had given the complete rundown of the day’s fishing, the new numbers for the GPS, the grouper, the snappers and the encounter with the giant squid.
“I think I’m becoming pretty good friends with Skeet. I taught Matthew how to deep drop and I think Skeet liked that. He has the best numbers I’ve ever seen. I have four new sets of incredible coordinates.” Gaffer could not contain his excitement. He just kept rambling as Max listened patiently.
Then a thought came to Max. “Gaffer you just gave me an idea. Jenny, I think I have just the right person to be our local site manager. This fellow Gaffer is talking about, Skeeter Pincus, might be able to help us in a big way. He lives on Great Guana, he has a sturdy and reliable working boat and he has excellent local knowledge. I believe he is looking for a new line of work right now so our timing might be perfect. Gaffer, where is Skeet right now, do you know?”
“Last time I saw him he was waving me good-bye from his dock. That was about four hours ago. Why don’t you call him. I don’t think he goes out much at night there on Great Guana.”
Ten minutes later Max was standing in the marina office of Boat Harbour talking into the telephone. Skeeter Pincus was on the other end of the line. “I might have a job opportunity that will interest you. If you seriously want to consider getting out of the line of work you’re in, we should talk. What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Actually, I was going to go fishing, deep dropping. Gaffer gave me the idea. By the way, he’s quite a little fisherman. I learned a thing or two from him today. Me, imagine that! Learning techniques from a fifteen year old. What a good boy he is. He’s Matthew’s new idol. He won’t stop talking about him. It’s Gaff
er this and Gaffer that. I’m going to have to work hard to get back into number one place with my own son.”
Max laughed, “That’s a good one. But thanks for the compliment. Gaffer certainly is a motivated fisherman. Back to what we were discussing. You’re going deep dropping tomorrow. Is that instead of netting?”
“Yeah, my commercial license allows me to fish either way. I can make enough to get by until I decide what I’m going to do with myself. But when the winter comes and the seas kick up, I’ll either have to find something new or go back to netting. I won’t be able to make a living deep dropping in eight foot seas offshore.”
“Listen, Skeet,” said Max, “we should talk as soon as possible. I have somebody I want you to meet so we can discuss this project we’re working on. When can we get together?”
“Any time,” said Skeeter. “Exploring my job options is a priority with me right now. You want to come here or me come there?”
“It’ll be better if we come there. This person I want you to meet should get a flavor of the island life and how locals live and what types of resources they have. We’ll come up tomorrow. What time will you be back from fishing?”
“No, come up first thing. The fishing can wait. This is more important.”
“We’ll be there between eight and nine,” said Max. “You’ll be perfect for what we have in mind. And I think you’ll like this project. I’ll see you in the morning.” They said their good-byes and rang off.
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