Klaus nodded his head and said, “Yes, we have. I am afraid I have been very clumsy.”
She had a slightly questioning expression on her face, and Klaus put two and two together and discerned that she did not quite understand what he meant. He made a mental decision to talk in as simple terms as he could so she could understand.
“I am sorry. I made you fall.”
She answered back, “Maybe I was not good help for you.”
“You are very good help for me,” he said and offered a big smile. “Thank you; you are very kind – very nice.”
“Thank you,” she said back. “You and I walk, yes? We dry faster.”
“Yes, we will walk,” he agreed with her. And they went up the embankment together holding hands. The women in the stream followed them with their eyes; now chattering and giggling.
The two walked along the stream together leisurely. “My name is Klaus,” he said pointing to his chest. “What is your name?”
She stopped and faced him and said, “Me Liza. My name is Liza.”
“That is a nice name,” stated Klaus. “Are you cold?”
“Cold? No,” she answered shaking her head. “Water was nice.”
“Yes, it was,” and he chuckled at what had happened in the stream.
“How many years are you, Klaus?” she asked.
“I am seventeen years.”
“You are same as me,” she said happily pointing at herself.
“That is wonderful.” He said not knowing how exactly to respond. He was happy they were the same age.
“We walk more,” Liza said, and they walked and talked for the next few hours.
* * *
After the meal was finished, the sailors together with the elders, a handful of village men and older boys went to a large grove of coconut-filled trees. They had explained why they wanted the coconuts and for help in showing them how to get them down from the trees. One of the elders told an older boy to demonstrate how to climb the palm tree. The coconuts hung very high at the tops of the tall palm trees. It would require climbing and who would know how best but the villagers.
The boy stepped to the closest ones, picked out a tree, and jumped a few feet up placing his feet in a tandem position, while he grabbed both hands around the tree trunk. With experienced motion and superb balance, he ascended the tree trunk repositioning his hands higher as he simultaneously pushed his feet up. The technique looked somewhat comical, but it worked. It looked simple enough. They were, however, amazed at the speed at which the boy had climbed; he was now high up in the long leafy section on top where the coconuts were attached. Ensuring he had a good grip; the boy began reaching for the coconuts with one hand and let them drop to the sand. When he had picked all that were ripe, he descended from the tree making it down to the bottom three times faster than it took to climb up. The sailors were so impressed; they continued jabbering away about the climb.
One of the village men pointed to the group of sailors and said for them to try climbing the next tree. They smiled, but none of them volunteered. It seemed so easy for the natives but to the others quite a different story. Reiner stepped up to the tree saying, “I will try it, but don’t expect much.”
He stood at the base of the tree and looked up measuring it in his mind. He took off his shirt and tossed it aside. Rubbing his two hands together, he got himself prepared. With a leap, he made boot contact with the trunk and grabbed out with his hands. He hung onto the tree trunk a bare five feet from the ground trying to get his balance as his body wanted to sway to either side. He still hung on somehow and tried to move his hands higher and at the same time step up the tree. His boots slipped and slid the short distance down as he let go of the tree and fell backward in the sand. Carefree laughing rang out. Reiner assumed at first it was from the villagers, but then recognized it to be from his own men.
“You think this is funny, eh? You try it then.”
The laughing stopped immediately, and heads shook in concert.
“I didn’t think so,” Reiner said. “Let me try it without the boots.”
He took off his boots and threw them aside. Again, he mentally measured the tree and jumped back onto the trunk. He wiggled himself up a few feet having more traction with his bare feet, but after a few more seconds, gave up and jumped down. “This is much harder than I thought it would be. You have to be part monkey to climb it.”
A couple of the village men spoke and explained that it was indeed not easy to do without a lot of practice. They said the technique was a learned process that they taught to their young from an early age and that the best climbers were the young adults because of their agility. Heinrich always one to attempt new things said he wanted to give it a try. He also took off his boots and shirt, and to the astonishment of the sailors, he also took off his trousers. A few giggles came from the crewmen.
“Captain, you look like you’re ready to hit the sack,” one of the men said, and everyone broke out laughing.
“Yeah, well, don’t get your hopes up too much, Edwin. I’ll never let you sleep that close to me,” Heinrich responded farcically.
The howling of hysterical laughter broke out among his men. They pointed to Edwin who was blushing fiercely. Heinrich stepped to the tree and instead of jumping up on it, grabbed the trunk and placed the side of one foot on the side of the trunk and proceeded to push off the other leg to gain as much height as possible. He kept up his climbing motion placing the sides of his feet on the tree trunk trying not to stop his momentum and got about ten feet up, at which point lost his grip and balance and fell to the sand with a thump.
“I see what you mean, Reiner. This is very hard to learn in a few tries.”
The village men nodded in agreement and then several men and older youth chose different trees and began climbing them in unison. In short order, coconuts were dropping down like rain. One of the sailors started to step up to retrieve them and was shouted back by one of the village men while waving his arms.
“No, no. Do not pick up now. Wait for all to drop first. Then pick up. They will kill you if they hit on the head. They are very hard,” the man explained.
After a while of coconuts raining down, the climbers descended, and everyone began to collect them. Many burlap bags were filled, only halfway because of the weight, and carried back to the boats. They had more than enough. The chief elder, Ramon Abril, invited everyone back to the village for refreshments. Again, not wanting to seem ungrateful or unfriendly, Heinrich decided to follow the villagers back. After all, the villager’s generosity should be properly met with due respect and kindness.
Later that day the chief elder presented Heinrich with a gift – a small round dark black item was placed in his hand. It was very light in weight, smooth and shiny. At first, it looked to him like a polished pebble, but inspecting it further, he had a very good idea what he was looking at. Heinrich thanked the elder for the gift and tucked it into one of his pant pockets.
* * *
Klaus and Liza had spent a wonderful afternoon together strolling on paths and walking the beach as they talked about a myriad of things. They had dried out a couple of hours ago after frolicking in the water of the cove many times. Liza asked Klaus many questions about where he came from, to describe Germany, his boyhood days, and their voyage across the ocean. He, in turn, asked questions about her life and family, and what the villagers thought about living in such a remote location. She told him that for the most part, the people in the village liked the idea of living apart from places where there were too many people; especially people they tried to avoid. The people that lived in the village stayed together because they were all connected through family and close friendships over many years. There was plenty of curiosity about other places in the minds of many of the young people. But all were accustomed to their peaceful lives here, and a few generations of the younger ones had remained to raise their own families, and this kept them here, and the village grew in number. She told him that th
ere were times; although rare, when a few of the men of the village would make a trip inland to other villages and to a town further down the coast where there was a bay called Baye de Samana. They would do a little trading for clothes and some other housewares the villagers needed. It was when Liza mentioned clothing that Klaus remembered the scarf he had brought for her inside his pocket. They were in the shade of some fruit trees when he took out the purple scarf and held it out to her.
“I brought you a small gift. It isn’t much, but I thought you might like it. Here, this is for you.”
Liza took the scarf with a blissful smile. She was very thankful that this stranger thought of her in such a nice way. From the very first time she had laid eyes on him at the pool yesterday, she felt very attracted to him. And today he had come back to the island just to see her again because he liked her. It made her very happy.
“Thank you for … this nice gift, Klaus. It makes me happy,” she said, and with both arms, she pulled him close and hugged him.
This was all new to Klaus. He had never had a girl as a friend and surely never had been touched like this. He was thrilled. As she held him, she moved her head back enough to stare him in the eyes. From inches away, they gazed deeply at each other. Klaus was overcome by her and her with him. Lips met as arms embraced. Her mouth felt soft, warm, and wet, and he held her there not wanting to part. Their breath wafted upon each other’s faces as a gentle breeze as their lips were sealed together again and again. And if Klaus thought that he felt the marvelous excitement of the moment, she did so also and pressed even closer to him with delight. Their lips broke away, and they held each other tight. After a while, Liza snuggled her face into the crook of his neck, her ear so close to his upper chest that she could softly hear the beating of his heart.
Shadows began to emerge as the sun started to go down. Liza snuggled in Klaus’s embrace as they sat on the warm sand with the only sound being the small waves gently breaking onto the shore. Klaus suddenly wondered how long they had been there in each other’s arms. It was getting late, and the first time he thought he could possibly miss the boat back to the ship. The day with Liza had been heavenly if that was what heaven would be like he briefly thought, he wouldn’t trade this for anything. His mind reflected; in his book studies onboard ship under Doc Siegfried’s tutelage, he was taught heaven took no back seat to anything the world offered. Yet what he had here with Liza was better than anything he had ever had in his short life.
Liza quietly stirred in his arms; arms that he just realized were numb from sitting in one position for so long. Not that he wanted to, but out of necessity, he moved his arms and stretched them out and felt the uncomfortable tingling sensation of blood flow in his veins. The movement woke up Liza, and she gazed up at Klaus with sleepy eyes, and she too became aware of her body’s need to stretch out. They parted from each other and slowly came to their feet and stretched their limbs.
“It is late,” Liza pronounced.
“Yes, it is. I wonder if the boats are still beached.”
“The boats, what?”
“Oh, I meant, I do not know if the boats are still on the beach,” Klaus said in trying to clarify the words for her.
“We must run fast, Klaus,” she remarked. “Your boat maybe gone.”
Klaus merely nodded and looked down the beach where the boats should be and found they were a bit too far inside the tree line to see them. He began to walk out of the trees toward the shore beckoning her to follow. Liza caught up. Once in sight of the entire shoreline, Klaus spotted what looked like a small boat in the distance. It gave him a jolt of hope.
“Come, Liza, we must make a run down the beach to get there before anyone gets worried about us,” he said taking her hand.
The deep sand made running very fast difficult and Liza at once led him along the shore near the water’s edge where the wet packed sand allowing them to run faster. It was a good distance to the boat, and they were panting by the time they reached it. Klaus recognized the craft as one of their rowboats. No one seemed to be in sight, however, and Klaus wondered if the sailors were still in the village. By this time, it was completely dark. Something or somebody moved within the boat and startled the two young people. Two heads rose up followed by the rest of their bodies and Klaus saw two sailors. Even in the murky light, their faces were visible in the short distance between them. As they got out of the boat, he quickly recognized them as two of the men that sided with Ernst Mayer regarding the attack with the British. They had been tasked with minor work details because they could not be counted on anymore with their foul attitudes. Heinrich had planned to drop them off in a harbor town of his choosing.
“It’s bout time ya showed up, lad,” the taller of the two commented dryly. “We been waitin round for a long time.”
“Yeah,” the shorter one chimed in, “Ya two love birds shoulda told da captain where ya were. He sent us back here ta wait for ya.”
The taller one said, “We missed out on our supper aboard ship. Hope they saved us sum food when we get back. Come on an get in, lad, so we can shove off.”
“All right, I’ve got to walk her back to the village first… I’ll be back soon enough,” Klaus told them.
“Aah, come on lad. We’re mighty hungry,” the taller said impatiently. “She can walk herself.”
“I’m not leaving her alone in the dark,” Klaus countered.
“I know way back to home,” offered Liza.
“No, I will walk you there,” said Klaus firmly. “The captain allowed us the entire day together, and these men can wait.”
The shorter one had been eyeing the lovely young girl and remarked, “Well, I tell ya wad. I think you ought to share her with us as fellow sailors. It wouldn’t take us long to have our way wid her,” he said with an expression and tone of voice that communicated his sexual desire for the girl. The taller sailor readily joined in and said, “Yeah, lad, ya shoulda shown ya gratefulness dat we awaidin so long ta pick ya up by lettin us get a little sumptin in return. It’s da only right thang ta do between brother sailors.”
“Great! Not only are they useless, but despicable drunks too,” thought Klaus. The two men started to come forward. Klaus’s inner defenses instinctively spiked, and he pushed Liza behind him keeping himself between the two. Seeing his defensive posture in protecting the girl, the sailors stopped just short of where the couple stood. The taller sailor spoke, “Cum on, lad. Jus ah small little taste ah da girl wouldn’t hurt. It’ll be ar little secret kept jus between us. We’r all sailors here. Ya spent da whole day wid her an probly got ah full days’ worth ah pleasure outa her.”
“Wouldn’t be polite not allowin us ah bit ah fun for arselves now would it?” the other one stated. “Besides, lad, what ar ya thinkin of doin against two grown men dat have ah big cravin fo sum pleasure? Ya can’t expect ta be able ta stop us.”
“Get back in the boat and start rowing,” he ordered the sailors in a harsh commanding voice that even surprised Klaus himself. The two sailors acted surprised, but instead of heeding his words, they began to laugh at his attempt to scare them away as they stepped closer. A quick, smooth move of Klaus’s right hand flashed in response to the men’s threatening conduct, and suddenly Klaus found his dagger firmly held in his hand in front of him. The knife blade was glinting in the moonlight. The sailors halted at once and straightened up in reaction to Klaus’s move.
The shorter man said, “Now, now, lad, don’t git all manly wid us over ah little thaing like dis young beauty. Put da knife ‘way an we’ll have us ah little talk bout dis. There’s no need fo any of us ta git hurt. Da young lady I’m sure wouldn’t mind et all fo two real grownup men ta make her moan wid delight.”
The raunchy remark only made Klaus angrier at the thought of his young love being touched by these hooligans. In fact, he was highly infuriated by the thought of anyone else laying hands on her. She was spoken for, and it was his place to protect her from any wickedness.
“I’
m only going to tell both of you one more time to get into the boat and make your way back to the ship,” Klaus said in a tone that expressed confidence.
Again, he was surprised at how easy the words rolled off his tongue with a resolve he had never known before. He could only contribute the confidence within him in having it deeply internalized by the training he and his other mates had been exposed to under Reiner’s and Diego’s tutelage, and of course also his personal fighting skill training taught by Heinrich. Adrenaline coursed through his body and his mind focused as he faced off with the two sailors. He felt in complete control of his mental and physical faculties. He sensed Liza was crouching directly behind him and he swore he could literally smell the fear she exuded from the potentially dangerous situation they found themselves in.
The tall one said, “All right then, lad. Ya don’t have ta bring it ta this level. We are all fellow crewmen here an there’s no need ta pull a weapon on each other.”
“But iffen ya force us,” the other one cut in, “we can play dis game rougher than ya can.”
The man pulled out his own knife and held it up for Klaus to see.
For some reason, Klaus stayed calm and steady facing the two sailors; his blade still pointed forward in a menacing gesture. “Think how this will play out if the captain finds out what you’ve done here. I believe both of you know who’s word the captain will accept. The punishment is not worth all this, is it?”
The two sailors didn’t advance but stood still as their minds were reflected on Klaus’s words. Slowly the shorter sailor with the knife lowered his arm to his side and put the knife away at his waistband sheath. Klaus was trying to think of a peaceful and sane way out of this dilemma. He was trying to think as he was taught. Heinrich always told him that ego was a large part of a situation such as this and if at all possible, leave a door open for them to pass through to save their stupid pride. Yes, that was it. He couldn’t have the two sailors feeling they were trapped in a situation with no way out. There would surely be bloodshed on the beach otherwise. Something came to mind, and he offered it up to them.
Winds of Fury Page 39