April grinned and glowed, “That was a fine thing you did for Mary!”
“Well I have one more surprise for you and it is a big one!” Anne smirked. “It is true that Mary died giving birth, but her baby did not. I became ward of the little girl. I nursed them both and brought them back to Charles Towne with me when my father purchased my freedom. My parents were mortified with the whole jail incident and wanted nothing to do with Mary’s baby. They gave the baby to the slave staff to raise and even gave her a name different enough that nobody would ever know it was Mary’s child. They named her Nina and she was a servant until she was married recently to an arse of a man.”
April stumbled back and held Patrick so as not to fall. “This whole time I have had a little niece, right here in Charles Towne. I want to pinch myself. So many times I have smuggled cargo into this city, been so close to you and Nina and never known.”
“She is right over there with her jackarse husband, you need to meet her.” Anne shouted towards Nina, “Nina, please join us!”
April sized up Mary’s daughter and her husband as she approached. Nina was a lovely thing, donning long brown, curly hair, cute sun freckles, and a rail thin build, just like her mother. As she got closer, Calico Jack’s appearance was obvious in her eyes. “My dearest Anne, who are these lovely folks you are keeping all to yourself?” Nina expressed friendliness.
“Dear, I don’t know another way to put this so I will just say it. This is your real mother's sister. This is your Aunt April,” Anne confessed.
The thin young woman stared quietly at April, walked closer, and took a good look at her. Nina threw her arms around her and hugged, “So it is true, you really are still alive. Please tell me you have come to take me away from this life and my mind-numbing job of serving rude society women.”
“You mind your place, woman. Be glad I rescued you away from the slaves’ house,” her husband reprimanded her.
“It’s true, dear. I loved your mother very much and I miss her every day. I just found out about you a minute back or I would have come for you long ago. I had no idea you existed. Hell, nobody did. I am truly sorry.” She ran over and hugged Nina.
All three women had a good cry and hugged each other for a long while.
“Well, lass, I am going to make this lost time up to you. Come with us sailing,” the tattooed woman offered.
Nina’s husband cut in, “I am Julius Chessher and your niece is my property. She is not going anywhere without my say so.”
“I am going to hunt down Mary’s buried treasure. I figure Nina is due a good share of that gold!” April dangled the offer.
“Gold you say? Well now that is altogether different. I could use that gold to finally establish my family’s name in this town,” Julius calculated. “Very good, let us go get our gold, wife.”
Nina hugged April again and whispered, “Thank you,” in her ear.
“Well, lass, you will have to leave your things behind and come with us now,” the captain commanded.
Mr. Chessher replied, “We are ready for travel. We will buy anything we need with my gold, I mean our gold, when we return.”
“I would love to catch up more, April Read, but we are already bringing too much unwanted attention to ourselves. You have to go before questions start. Nina, I will explain your sudden departure to your friends. Good luck in your hunt,” Anne stated as she gave them one last hug.
The group of four left the party and returned the carriage and clothes to Mr. Dandridge. Mr. Dandridge drove the group back to the original landing site of the Charles Towne settlers. They said their goodbyes as they hastily made their way back to the Robin.
Once on board, April introduced Nina and Julius to the crew. It only took a matter of seconds before Julius was condescendingly giving orders to the women crew members to bring him food and drink.
“Sam, we have our heading! Take us to Hilton’s Head Island. Sorry. I think people be calling it John’s Island now,” April ordered.
As the Robin sailed into the sunset, Nina and April held hands and shared stories of their lives. Patrick had never seen his wife glow like that before, and at that moment, she was the most beautiful thing in this world.
Chapter 22
Hilton Head’s Booty
The Robin could not catch a good wind and was making its way slowly down the coast. The rumor that they were going treasure hunting circled wildly among the crew. Now the captain finally had an island. Hopefully, she could possibly unlock the mystery of the tattoo. Patrick, Isaac, Sam Scurvy, Nina, Julius and Shamus all took their turns trying to decipher it. The tattoo was rather simple. It was three circles near each other with an X marked on the inside edge of one. Under was a symbol that looked like the letter “U” and it had the number "twenty east." The group moved closer to study April’s markings.
“Maybe it has something to do with moons and shadows, you know, like a shadow map,” Isaac speculated.
Shamus took a guess. “Maybe those circles represent waves, and maybe Mary Read sank the treasure.”
Patrick agreed, “Shamus might be right. Perhaps the shapes could be under water reefs.”
Sam Scurvy took a stab, “They could be reefs, but I don’t remember any shaped liked that on my charts.”
“Do you think they are actually the letter ‘O’? Perhaps there is something on the island that has a triple ‘O’ name like the 'Olive Octopus Outcrop' or something,” Julius injected.
“I have never heard of such a place. Shut your mouth and stop being an idiot,” Sam denounced.
April studied the tattoo for the thousandth time. “The best I can come up in all these years is they represent hills or mounds.”
Patrick’s attention was stolen away when Audrey Scott started to approach. He noticed her muscular body she had developed from a life of diving and swimming. She was wearing worn out men’s diving clothes but was adorned with an extremely expensive pearl necklace she made for herself from her dives. This woman was indeed odd. He had never even seen a woman swim and it was unheard of that one would work as a diver in all those tight clothes. He finally came to accept that if someone was an extreme oddity, they would somehow find a home on this ship. The Robin had quickly become a haven to the outcasts of society.
April sighed in frustration, “We are never going to figure this damn clue out. Perhaps we should just go to Blackbeard’s island and treasure hunt there instead. It is just south of Savannah anyway and it is rumored he buried a fortune in those sands.”
Patrick greeted the young lady diver and invited her to make a guess. The short-haired blonde woman walked up and stared at April’s arm. “You say we are going to Hilton’s Head?”
The captain replied, “We are, but looks like we will just sail around it aimlessly because we cannot figure out the riddle of these markings.”
“Don’t let the wind blow your mood in circles. I think I know where to find your booty,” Audrey smiled.
The group was silent and stared at the diver in anticipation. She continued, “These circle markings look like the ancient Indian shell ring mounds. The shell rings are laid out just like your markings in your tattoo. Nobody knows who really made the rings but rumor is it was an ancient Indian tribe thousands of years old. Scholars argue that the tribe lived in the middle of these rings and used to throw their waste to the edges. Over time the mounds of shells served as a wall to protect them. If you want my opinion, I think it was a huge midden or garbage mound but...”
April cut her off, “I don’t need a history lesson right now, dear. Just tell me if you can take me to these shell mounds.”
“I would love to study them some more. I would be happy to see them again,” the young woman chirped.
Excitement swept over the crew, but the captain's experience from her pirating days reminded her to be cautious with whom she trusted. She remembered how large amounts of treasure made normally sane folks go mad with gold fever. She knew the smaller the search party, the better. Sh
e picked Audrey, Patrick and Nina. Julius threw a fit and demanded he join the party. “Nina has pirate blood flowing through her, she cannot be trusted. I will escort her or I will forbid her to go.”
Audrey instructed Sam of the location to anchor off Hilton’s Head Island. The group of five rowed to the beach and started making causal talk.
“So, April, how have you been making profits over the last months in order to keep this crew feed?” Patrick asked.
Julius snickered, “I did not see a crew, what crew? I saw a bunch of women, children, convicts, and slaves.”
“You best be keeping your tongue tight when talking about me crew. Yes, most of them might be women, but they have been trained in the ways of sailing now and are getting damn good. These days they be as capable as any pirating crew I ever captained. Speak poorly of them again and you can swim back to Charles Towne,” the captain threatened.
Julius was taken back that a woman dared speak to him with such arrogance, but could not respond in a coherent sentence.
“Ah...so ‘mum’ be the word I see. Wise man,” April said condescendingly.
Nina grinned at April. She really enjoyed seeing her husband stood up to by a woman.
“To answer your question me wolf, we made most our fortune running illegal spirits to Savannah and whoring on the open waters. We sail to other merchant ships and mirror their route while the whores go over and shake the gold out of their sacks. In short time, we have turned a respectable profit,” the tattooed woman explained.
The small jolly boat ran a beach and the group of five dragged it ashore. Audrey led the treasure hunters through the thick underbrush and marsh. It did not take long for the Island’s sand gnats and mosquitoes to discover the new meat. Julius was getting eaten alive by the hungry bugs to Nina’s delight. The group slowly made their way to the ancient mounds.
“So, wife, where did you find the male crew on the Robin?” Patrick questioned.
April dodged a snake on the ground and causally stated, “A few stayed on when I purchased the barky but most these men are cast offs, too. We have a few slaves on the run, a few political prisoners and some fortune seekers. We will need to find many more as soon as we add the next ship to our fleet."
Indian Symbol for tribe migration
Audrey interrupted, “Look at this ancient Indian marking on this stone.” She pointed at a symbol of a round spiral attached to a square spiral. “In most Indian cultures this is a symbol left behind to tell others they have migrated and moved to a new village. That explains what might have happened to them. Ah, we are finally here! We have to walk around it to the opening unless you want to climb a wall three men high made of sharp oyster shells. It's truly amazing to think of how many years of eating oysters this took to make. Think about how these ancient Indians were able to catch and harvest them without any of the modern equipment we have today. All they would have had was a canoe and great spirit. I bet if we look at the other rings we would find…”
The captain cut her off, “We be here to find gold, lass, not to answer age old questions about dead Indian cultures.”
Audrey sighed, “I want to come back here soon after you recover your booty. I hope you can drop me off for a few days to study.”
They walked into the entrance of the massive ring and took the view in. The tattooed woman gasped, “You are right, Audrey, it is impressive. I will definitely let you come back and look around. Now let’s look at this tattoo. Are you sure that this be the right ring, Audrey?”
“Yes, captain, this is it. Where should we dig?” The blonde diver replied.
“That is what this old pirate symbol means, dear. It looks like a fancy letter “U” with a number. That is a symbol meaning we need to look for a seat and we be needing the compass now. Everyone spread out, we are looking for a seat either carved out of the shell or on a rock,” April Read commanded.
The group searched for a half hour in the hot sun until Nina called the group over. “I found this large rock and look here, a letter ‘U’ is carved in it. This has to be it, Aunt April!”
The captain carefully removed the compass out of its binnacle and sat in the indention worn in the great rock. She watched the magical powers of the compass point north and then found dead east. She stood up staring at the compass and started pacing. “…Eighteen, nineteen, twenty! Get your spades out and let’s find Mary’s gold!”
The excited group dug a large hole at a frenzied pace until Audrey’s shovel hit something with a thud. April, Patrick, and Audrey dug vigorously until the chest was free. The three of them joined forces and exhumed the fancy wooden box.
“That will be enough, ladies. Put your hands on your heads and step back,” Julius shouted. The three spun their heads around to see the aspiring aristocrat was holding a knife to Nina’s neck and pointing his flintlock at April. “Stand up slowly and unbuckle your belts. I want all your weapons piled up over there. Do anything flashy and I open her neck up,” he warned.
Julius, Nina and April find a treasure chest!
“You fucking bastard! We would have got our share. You greedy piece of dog shit. My aunt did not have to give us anything at all,” Nina spit as she helplessly tried to wrestle from Julius's grip.
“I only married you because I was paid to by your ward. With this gold I can leave you and finally live the life I deserve,” he spit back.
The three stepped away from the chest and did what they were told. A pile of pistols and blades were now on the ground. “Step far away from your weapons. Now, Captain, go unlock that chest!"
The tattooed woman walked over and kneeled down in front of the heavy wooden box. She slowly pulled out a skeleton key from her dress. She examined the chest slowly until Julius lost his temper. “Just stick the fucking key in the front there!” he angrily ordered.
“That is just a dummy plate. It’s not a real lock. It's to keep shit-stains like you from knowing how to open them” April cursed.
Filled with rage, Julius belted Nina across the nose knocking her to the ground. “Keep insulting me, you whore, and I will keep beating your niece!” he yelled.
April capped her anger and kept explaining calmly, “It is an old pirate tradition to hide the lock in the hinge. This key should open any lock.” She fiddled with the skeleton key for a moment until a click could be heard coming from the hinge.
"I care not a beaver shit about your annoying pirate traditions. Just open the bloody chest and let me see my gold.”
She flung the lid open and a gold light danced across her face. April gazed up at Julius and spoke softly, “It is a shame you don’t want to learn about old pirate traditions, as there is one I really like.”
Click. Crack! Julius’s face filled with confusion as he looked down to see his life oozing down his chest.
April mocked, “Us pirates also have a tradition of burying a loaded pistol with our gold.” Mary Read had left April an extremely rare Swedish Boarding Axe Pistol. The weapon was a doglock with a vicious axe head and a spiked tip forged onto the front of the muzzle, making it half-axe, half-pistol.
The rare Swedish boarding axe pistol
Julius stumbled and lost his balance. He raised his firelock and was desperately trying to steady his aim when Nina rose up and punched him in his testicles. The captain used this distraction to make her move and swung the axe pistol at the man’s firelock. A pinwheel of blood showered Nina and April as the arrogant man’s pistol and hand went flying through the air. Julius doubled over in pain, but still tried to move into a killing position with his knife over Nina. April lunged forward driving the spike of the axe head through Nina’s husband’s eye. The body fell limp into the sand and shells. Nina stood over the dying man and kicked him again. “I hope the devil has his way with you, Julius!” Her husband’s hands and feet twitched while he lay face down in his own pool of blood. Nina spit on his body as his soul left it.
The niece then ran to her aunt and hugged her as she cried. The two embraced while Patri
ck grabbed his musket and checked the body to confirm it was lifeless.
Nina’s mood quickly changed as she wiped away the tears away with her sleeve. “Leave that piece of shit for gator food. How rich are we?”
The four closed ranks around the chest and their eyes lit up. The chest was filled with a collection of gold and silver coins from all over the world. Leather pouches of pearls and rare gems were buried in the heavy rounds. Fabulous necklaces and rings were found mixed in pokes of pearls. More treasure than they ever imagined would be in this old wooden chest.
The group was giddy, jumping up and down like children. April reached in the pile of jewelry and handed Audrey a large, elegant, ruby pendant. “This would look good hanging on your pearl necklace. Take this matching ring, too. You have definitely earned them. Thank you for helping us recover this booty. Now we return. We must keep this quiet from the crew. Even though I trust them, gold gives people a fever. Just look over there,” she spoke gravely as she pointed at Julius's corpse. Everyone nodded and agreed to tell nobody of the contents. She closed the chest and asked Audrey to hide the pendant for now. The wooden box was so heavy that it took all four people to carry it. The group would walk a short ways and then stop, set the chest down, and rest for a while. It took all day to get their booty back to the Robin. They talked as they shuffled along.
The niece stated to her aunt, “I can’t believe that pistol axe actually fired, the powder had to be primed for over a decade.”
“Well, your mother followed another pirate tradition; she stuck a large bag of salt next to it in the chest to keep the powder dry. If you keep asking questions, soon you will know all our secret tricks.”
Pirates of Savannah: The Complete Trilogy - Colonial Historical Fiction Action Adventure (Pirates of Savannah (Adult Version)) Page 32