Gaffer looked for a trace of concern in Susan’s face but there appeared to be none. “Is everything OK?” he asked.
“He didn’t say it wasn’t,” she replied. “He just said he wanted to speak with you.”
Gaffer walked swiftly up the path and entered the house that had been his home for most of the summer. He knew what this was about and he was dreading it immensely. When he picked up the phone his father seemed very happy to be hear his voice.
“How’s it going, Son?”
“Everything’s great. What’s up?”
“I’m coming over on Friday. I have next week off, so I’m coming to Abaco. Then after that we’re going back home to get you and P.J. ready for school. Sorry, but you had to know it would come to an end sooner or later.”
“No, it’s OK. I’ve had the best time of my life, but I know it’s nearly time to go. I see P.J. every day and I think he’s ready to go.”
“What have they had you doing? Are you diving a lot? How’s the fishing?”
“Believe it or not, Dad, I’ve had to be very selective about my fishing. I’m catching so much fish that it would be easy to catch more than everybody can use. So I only go out about three days a week. Virgil’s guards rented the big house next door to this one. I give them fresh snapper and grouper every time I go out and the Pincus’ freezer can’t hold any more.”
“What do you do when you’re not fishing?” asked Max.
“I have a sort of permanent job. I ferry the guards back and forth to the dive site a couple of times a day. For that they give the boat free gas and oil. Sometimes I dive on the wreck. You ought to see that thing.” Now Gaffer was getting animated as he spoke. He was very excited about the galleon. “I already found three gold coins. They have at least forty gold pieces and about two hundred silver coins. They’re starting to find some of the valuable stuff, even a few pieces of jewelry.”
“Jenny told me it was going very well. That’s great. I’d like to dive on the wreck when I get there but I also want to get some fishing in too. But more importantly, there’s a weather system about 1,200 miles southeast of Nassau that’s worrying a lot of people. The hurricane center says it is ripe for development and there is about twenty percent chance that it will hit the Bahamas. It’s a tropical storm already and could develop into something much worse. And it is very big, about 600 miles across.”
“That’s not good,” said Gaffer. “I better tell Skeet.”
“I already told Susan.”
“Are you staying here? There’s plenty of room.”
“I haven’t decided. Skeet invited me but I wouldn’t want to crowd the place. I can stay with P.J. and Godfrey in Orchid Bay.”
“No you can’t,” replied Gaffer. “They’re staying here in the barracks with the guards. The place has about ten beds. It has two kitchens. It’s huge. You can stay there or here. Believe me, there’s plenty of room for you at either place.”
“That sounds good,” said Max. “My flight gets into Marsh Harbour at 11:30 the day after tomorrow. Meet me at the marina between noon and one. Is there anything you need from home?”
“No, I have everything I need right here. I’ll just see you when you get here.”
“OK,” said Max. “I’ll see you then. By the way, I have a cool surprise for you.”
“What?” asked Gaffer.
“It’s a surprise. You’ll see Friday.”
“All right,” said Gaffer. “Friday.”
Skeeter was feeling like he had much to be thankful for. This new job was perfect for him. The gill-netting job caused him to go to sea for days at a time. This job had him home every night. He worked hard and put in long hours, but he was now spending much more time at home. He had also made friends with all of the guards and spent a great deal of time in the barracks, sometimes relaxing with them and other times planning security strategy. He was thankful for Gaffer’s friendship with Matthew. Gaffer was the role model and Matthew was his adoring friend. Skeeter could see his son mature over this summer from all the time he was spending with Gaffer. When Bimini Twist was on the water, Matthew was on it.
Gaffer headed over to the barracks to find Skeeter and P.J. Skeeter had to know about the storm that was coming as that would be important information to have should it develop into something bigger. P.J. would be glad to hear that his father was coming. He would also be glad to know he was soon going home. He loved the Bahamas Islands but in his heart, he was more of a city boy.
The two days of waiting to go to Abaco dragged on for Max. He spend a great deal of time making sure his office would be in shape to get along without him for a week. He missed his boys and was anxious to be with them. Then a thought occurred to him as to how he could make the trip even better. He picked up the telephone and dialed Government House in Nassau. Within a few seconds he was connected to Virgil Price.
“I know it’s short notice,” he said, “but this could be our last chance for this year to do this. You have plenty of reasons to go to Abaco on official business. After all, you have a security force there you could check on.”
“That’s true,” said Virgil. “I’m very busy here, but there are a few things over there that I need to tend to as well. When did you say you were going?”
“Day after tomorrow,” replied Max.
“Friday is definitely out for me, as is Saturday. I might be able to make it over on Sunday. Is that good for you?”
“Any time is good for me. I plan on staying for a week and then take the boys and the boat home. Unless that storm starts closing in. If that happens then I’m clearing out earlier.”
“Oh, yes. The storm. We have to keep an eye on that. I’ll tell you what. I’ll plan on coming over on Sunday. I’ll clear my calendar for a few days. If something comes up and I can’t make it, I’ll leave word at the barracks.”
“That sounds like a plan, Virgil. I’m looking forward to seeing you. Bring a very large cooler because Gaffer tells me the fish are jumping into the boat.”
Virgil chuckled. “I don’t know how he does it, but he always brings a ton of fish over the gunwale.”
“It amazes me too,” said Max. “I’m really looking forward to seeing you. Try not to let anything get in the way of your coming.”
“I’ll do what I can. I’ll go to work on it right away. Hopefully I’ll see you Sunday.”
They said their goodbyes and hung up. Max got right back into the project of clearing his desk. But he was distracted. Even though he spoke with his sons frequently, he missed them in his daily life. He had never been separated from them for a whole month and, in his hours at home, when he was not busied by the day to day bustle at the office, he felt lonely and worried. It would be an immense relief to be with them again.
Just as arranged, Gaffer was waiting at the Boat Harbour Marina when Max arrived. Waiting with him were P.J. and Matthew. Max gave his boys a fatherly hug and hand shake but felt as happy and relieved to see them. It was apparent from the smiles on the boys’ faces that they were happy for the reunion as well.
On the ride up to Great Guana Max noted that Gaffer’s skill at boat handling had improved over the summer. He was driving more conservatively, a little slower. He slowed down for the wakes of other boats, something he rarely did before, and his sense of how to take on chop and trim the outboards for the smoothest ride was far better. “Your driving is much better,” Max said. “You seemed to have slowed down somewhat.”
“Well, I finally learned. Skeeter and Cameron both got on me about driving too fast and all the pounding it caused. It made it uncomfortable for everybody. The guards started teasing me about it and when I kept driving too fast, they complained to Cameron. I finally got the hint. And they’re right. I run the boat at least four hours a day, every day. And, what’s the hurry? I’m not really going anywhere, so I slowed down. And, by the way,” added Gaffer, “did you know that I’m a role model?”
Matthew was visibly embarrassed.
“That’s righ
t,” continued Gaffer. “Matthew copies everything I do.”
Max could see Matthew’s discomfort. “Stop teasing the boy,” he said. “Can’t you see that you’re embarrassing him?”
“I’m just having some fun with him. He knows I’m kidding. We tease like this all the time.” Gaffer gave Matthew a big brotherly squeeze on the shoulder which made everything all right. “Now watch this,” Gaffer moved aside and let Matthew take over the helm. “I taught him everything I know about driving a small boat. He’s as good as me.”
Matthew proudly stood at the helm and drove all the way up the Abaco Sea and into the turning basin at Great Guana. He idled slowly to the dock and threw the throttles into reverse as he executed a perfect docking maneuver. He laid the side of Bimini Twist up to within four inches of the dock and stopped it dead in its tracks. Gaffer handled the dock lines as Matthew turned off the engines. Max was very impressed with the two boys’ routine. They handled the boat like they had been doing it all their lives. Quite a show.
Two hours later Conchy Lady returned with Skeeter, Jenny, Godfrey and three of the security guards. On the deck were four, forty gallon plastic collection buckets filled with what looked like chunks of moon rocks. The first order of business after tying off was to gently move the buckets across the dock and carry them to Jenny’s work area behind the Pincus house. With the amount of artifacts that were piling up in this work area, Jenny would have to enlist some help to keep ahead. She was still not finished with yesterday’s work. It was piling up much faster than she could keep up with it.
The buckets of artifacts were carried to Jenny’s work area where she and Godfrey began emptying them out. Ten people were gathered to see what was happening. Jenny had spent a great deal of time collecting and handling artifacts. She picked up a golf ball sized encrustation and gave Max a lesson in marine archaeology. With a miniature sized hammer and a stainless steel pick, she carefully chipped away at the edges of the object. “You have to be very careful with this. The encrustation is fairly hard but you can never tell what’s under it. If it’s a piece of porcelain or clay pot it’ll crumble in your hand. If it’s metallic it could be scratched or dented or even broken. A lot of the metal is brittle too, and we have to be real careful with it. Sometimes a little piece like this can take a hours to uncover.” She continued to chip away until Max lost interest and went over to see what Godfrey was photographing.
Godfrey moved back and forth, placing his high intensity lights here and there in an effort to get just the right picture. To Max it looked like a foot long two-by-four covered in coral. “You seem to be photographing that thing every way possible. What makes it so interesting to you?”
Without stopping Godfrey replied, “This is a special piece. I’m going to create a history of it in pictures.”
“How do you know it’s an important piece?” asked Max. “It doesn’t look like anything but a shapeless piece of junk.”
“We know that it’s a gold bar. When we see a shape like this, it’s rarely anything but a bar. We had it x-rayed at the dental office in Treasure Cay. The dimensions are perfect, no deterioration or corruption at all, very sharp edges. Only gold comes up like that. We’re sure.”
Jenny came over to where Max and Godfrey were standing. “Are we ready to open it up?” she asked.
“Ready when you are,” Godfrey replied.
Jenny placed it on her work bench. As she started with her miniature hammer and pick, a small crowd gathered. Godfrey moved his lights to get the best advantage for his camera. When he gave the ready nod to Jenny, she began to chip away. Her pick was placed at one of the corners of the brick as she lightly tapped at the coral. As a very small coral chip fell away, Godfrey took its picture. He opened his photo log book and made an entry. He nodded at Jenny and she tapped again. Godfrey took another picture and turned off his light. “I’ll start back up when you’re ready. Just let me know.”
In another corner of the work area Skeeter was supervising P.J., Matthew and Gaffer as they carried buckets of salt water from the turning basin. Most of the artifacts had to remain immersed in salt water for the time being. Only after careful removal of the encrustation and application of preservative chemicals could the artifacts be exposed to the air. Should they skip this process, the pieces would chip, crack and crumble. Wood and iron were particularly susceptible to this action. Jenny had made a promise to the Minister of Antiquities that she would protect and preserve as many pieces as possible for his museum. She intended to keep that promise.
After the collection buckets were full of salt water, Gaffer walked over to where his father was standing. “What’s the surprise you wouldn’t tell me about? You left me hanging the other day.”
“Oh no, I can’t believe I forgot about it. It’s in my suitcase. Come on in.”
Max led Gaffer into his bedroom and hoisted his suitcase onto the bed. He opened the case and brought out a vinyl carrying bag. In gold letters across the side of the bag was the word “DUEL”. Gaffer’s eyes widened and he was speechless. Max handed him the bag. “You know what this is for, don’t you?”
As Gaffer opened the bag he gasped, “World record, right?”
“You got it,” replied Max. “No excuses! Next time we’re in Bimini I expect great things.”
Gaffer was beaming as he opened the case and took out the gold DUEL six wide reel, the best of its kind in the world. It’s two speed action and sealed-in-oil heavy duty gears were built to last a lifetime. It would be the crown jewel in Gaffer’s collection of fishing gear. Max reached into the suitcase and pulled out two zip lock bags. He handed them to Gaffer. “I thought I would save you the trouble. I made up some rigs for the occasion, IGFA legal,” referring to the International Game Fish Association, the organization that establishes standards for competition in fishing and maintains the archives of the most important fishing action in the world.
Max opened one of the plastic bags and brought out the rig. It consisted of a six foot length of 500 pound test monofilament line onto which he had crimped two number ten circle hooks. “There are four of each, number tens, twelves, and sixteens. Choose your weapon.”
“I think it will be the twelves. Either queenies or wenchmen. The record for the queens is 11 pounds. I haven’t seen that many of them that size this year. I have some excellent numbers for wenchmen and I’ve been catching plenty of them big enough to be a record. But of course, I’m catching them on an electric reel which is illegal for IGFA. The good thing is that my best spot is in 900 feet of water. That’s much better than the queenies. They’re in 1,300 to 1500 feet. This is going to call for a lot of heavy reeling. The shorter the distance the better. ” “When do you want to try it out?” Max asked.
“As soon as possible. How about when Virgil gets here. He can witness it.”
“Perfect,” replied Max. “He’ll get a big kick out of it.”
That evening the team congregated in the dormitory. It started as a planning meeting lead by Skeeter. Security was an issue, dive profiles and tables were reviewed and the work schedule for the following week was handed out. Max watched as everybody voiced whatever concerns they might have and looked for solutions to each of the problems one-by-one. He was very proud to see that Gaffer stood right in there with everyone else with concerns and observations of his own. He was right in the thick of things, an integral part of the operation.
After the business of the day was concluded, it was story time. This was something they did several nights each week. Skeet and Gaffer always had good fishing stories to tell while the Defense Force soldiers told exciting tales of their experiences fighting crime on the high seas of the Bahamas Islands. But nobody could spin a yarn better than Godfrey. Not only did he have a talent as a story teller, but he also had the most interesting stories of his adventures in all the most exotic spots in the world. Godfrey’s life as a National Geographic photographer was full of as many misadventures as adventures.
As Godfrey jumped into his story
of his fourth case of malaria while stalking exotic birds in Central America, extreme fatigue overcame Max. As much as he would have liked to hear all about Godfrey’s flying insects and days of sleeping standing up in a the swamp, he needed to think about his own sleep He excused himself from the gathering and made his way to his bedroom. In no time at all Max was in dreamland charging up for tomorrow’s activities.
Thirteen
Score a Big One for Matthew
The one thing Max had not counted on was that by 5:30 A.M. Skeeter and Susan would be up and about, preparing for the day’s activities. He first heard the rustling noises people make as they head for the morning shower or to start a pot of coffee. Shortly thereafter he heard their voices and before long, Matthew and Gaffer were moving about. Max’s hopes of sleeping in until 7:00 or 7:30 vanished. Within a few minutes he was in the kitchen for a cup of coffee. The guards were already moving around outside and soon enough he would be expected to be out in the boat, on the water, doing something useful. His ambition level did not match that of the others at the moment, but he knew it would not take long for him to get into the rhythm of the activity.
Once the twin engines on Bimini Twist had been warmed up and Gaffer and Matthew had gotten it ready for the day on the water, Max was fully alert and looking ahead to whatever might come. He was very happy to be boating with Gaffer again and he marveled at how much he had matured in his new found status as a role model.
The boat was loaded with diving gear for their activities on the wreck, but they did not ignore the need to equip themselves for fishing as well. Frozen squid and ballyhoo were kept in the cooler, covered with a thick blanket of ice. There was no need to thaw it unless they were sure they were going to use it and then it would take only a few minutes of soaking in a bucket of warm sea water to make it ready. Max watched Matthew climb around the boat preparing this and that, tying knots, storing rods, sharpening knives and tending to just about anything else that needed attention. It reminded him of Gaffer when he was that age, so curious about all things related to fishing and so eager to help in every way. With Matthew and Gaffer on board, there would not be much for him to do. That was fine too, because he figured to make several dives on the wreck that day and knew that would be enough to wear him out.
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