The Silent Thief

VII

VII

       "Here's ya' a clean pair of clothes," Jake said handing me a bundle of red clothing.

Of course it's red because for Pete's sake, they are British patriots, I thought. The shirt buttoned up and had a small pocket on the left. The pants were sowed tightly at the bottom to stay half way up my calves. The rest was fairly loose. Typical sailor clothes I guessed.

"Thanks, Jake. Now where is this waterfall?"

"Follow the path Alexander cut down," Jake replied pointing to a small clearing.

"Who's Alexander?" I asked him.

"The giant man that untied yer ropes for ya'."

I snorted at the fact that such a man would be named Alexander. "See ya' soon, Jake," I said walking into the forest.

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       I heard the water before I got there. The path I was on, opened up to reveal a crystal clear lake with a small waterfall streaming down some rocks. It was peaceful here; listening to the water splash and make bubbles. I remembered that I had to rush. Running down a slope, I came to the edge of the lake. I looked around once more, listening for anyone that might see me. Seeing no one, I pulled my small key that hung around my neck over my head. Unlocking the mask, I felt the cool air hit my face that had been covered for so long now. Thinking back on it, I haven't taken the mask off for three days now.

After taking off my clothes, I eased into the ice cold water, already feeling cleaner. I ran my fingers through my hair, pulling out dirt and gravel. I wanted to let my body soak and feel like I had no burden on my shoulders. That thought reminded me of a scripture from the book of Matthew saying, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

"Lord, help your servant now," I said out loud.

*******

       Of course I didn't rush. I felt like I deserved that nice bathing.

I returned up the path dreading that I was still in this stupid treasure hunt. My mask and wrapping was secure as always. I would never want Captain James to know I was a woman.

Why wouldn't you? My thoughts spoke back.

Because he's...he's a man. And he would never like me; he doesn't even like me now.

Are you saying that you worry about what he thinks of you? I think a little person has begun to like this Captain James fairly well.

Oh shut up would you! I didn't say any such thing, because I am simply thinking and not speaking. Why are my thoughts arguing anyway?!

My eyes snapped back up to where I was walking. I hadn't noticed where I was going for I had completely gone off the path. Every direction I turned, I was facing trees, and nowhere I looked, was there a path. I looked up to see that the sun had not completely set. We arrived at the island while the sun was setting behind it, which meant we had anchored on the East side of the island. I had to walk the opposite direction the sun was setting which meant I really had to hurry now or else I would lose sight of it.

I marched forward, every once and a while scowling for how fast the sun was setting. When I looked up again, I couldn't see the sun because of the trees. I starting climbing the tree next to me desperately trying to reach a high enough spot to see it. Reaching the top just in time to see the tip of the sun disappear behind the horizon, I breathed heavily. At least I knew what direction I had to walk. Not far away I could see the smoke from the crews' fire, rising up into the air. I could barely make out the ship in the already dark night. I started to climb down making sure I faced east at all times when suddenly, at about ten yards from the ground, my branch broke.

I remembered something I asked my father once. "Father, if you fell from a high place, would you be afraid?"

"My dear," he looked up from his studies and simply replied, "I would not be afraid of falling, but only hitting the ground."

My body slammed into a branch then I was falling again, from limb to limb. I finally landed on the ground then moved not feeling any pain. I got up and saw I had landed on a pile of the tree's leaves. My body ached slightly.

"Thank the Lord," I whispered feeling my heart beat pound throughout my body.

"For a woman, you are very tough, I must say somyself." A voice none other than Sir William's spoke.

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Ooooohhh, what do you think? Please comment and let me know and I'll post the next chapter faster. What a cliffhanger right? On the right is a picture of Alex Pettyfer as Jake. Thanks for reading.