Black Sam - Prince of Pirates

Twenty Three - JUST A TASTE

 Twenty-Three -JUST A TASTE

 October 1716

 Sam leaned against the starboard guardrail, watching a steady flow of bubbles pop on the surface of the water below. He looked at Paulgrave’s pocket watch, feeling his face redden holding his lips closed. Letting out a gasp of air Sam took several deep breaths. The bubbles were still small and steadily coming to the surface. Sam slapped the rail and shook his head in amazement. He had held his breath since the diver went into the water, but he had quit a little after one minute had passed. Now for every second the diver stayed under, Sam gained that much more respect for them.

 “Anything of worth yet?” Paulgrave asked, leaning over the rail breathing hard with his hair out of sorts.

 “Not yet,” Sam said, turning to his friend. “You did well against Daniel.”

 Paulgrave leaned against the rail. “You sound surprised.”

 Sam chuckled. “I admit I am, a little.”

 Paulgrave shook his head and said in a sarcastic tone. “You of all people should know not to underestimate your opponent.”

 “You are quite right. However, there is one thing you are forgetting my good friend.”

 “Pray tell.”

 “You are not my opponent.”

 Paulgrave laughed. “Maybe I should be. I have a few tricks up my sleeve as well you know.”

 There was no way Sam would ever stand opposite Paulgrave in any kind of contest. He was too good a friend and what if he lost. It would be humiliating. Even worse, what if he won? He never wanted to put himself in a position where he could take from his friends. “It was an impressive victory, Paul.”

 “Thank you very much,” Paulgrave said with a wobbly bow.

 Sam stood up. “Are you okay?”

 “No, absolutely not,” Paulgrave said, slightly hunched over. “I think I pulled something out there.”

 Sam reached to help his friend, but Paulgrave waved him off. “I’m fine; I just need to lie down.”

 “Let me help you.” Sam grabbed Paulgrave’s arm.

  “Sam, look.” Paulgrave motioned toward a large ship moving toward them and then lay down on the deck. He took out his scope and handed it to Sam who pulled it to its extended length and brought it to his eye.

 “Well, it’s not Cyprian.”

 “Curious,” Paulgrave said twisting his waist.

 The large ship set anchor about fifty yards away from Sam’s vessel. He watched as their crew assembled a platform that spanned out over the water. It looked like the one Sam had built but quite a bit larger. He continued to scan the ship and saw something very strange. “What in the world?” Two men hauled a long, wooden cylinder to the platform and laid it down gently. “Paul, you have to see this,” Sam said, helping his friend to his feet. He handed him the scope.

 Paulgrave raised it up. “Unbelievable.”

 “Have you ever seen anything like it?” Sam asked.

 Paulgrave shook his head. “I’ve heard of diving bells, but this is something quite different.” He handed the scope back to Sam.

 A man slid feet first into the open end of the cylinder, which sported a small glass window with two holes not far below it. Arms protruded through the holes, and a man standing over the cylinder waved at the glass opening. The arms waved back. Men slipped leather covers onto the man’s arms and sealed them around the edges of the armholes with metal bands and some sort of grease.

 Men attached a lid to the top of the cylinder, and then fastened a flexible hose roughly three inches in diameter to it. A rope tied around the cylinder tightened as three men pulled on the other end of the rope, lifting the cylinder up into the air. Two other men swiveled the wooden hoist around, positioning the cylinder directly over the water.

 The rope slipped a little in the men’s hands, bouncing the cylinder as they clamped on tight. One side, now unbalanced, tipped downward toward the capped end. The protruding arms flailed outside the cylinder and then sucked back inside as the man popped out of the capped end and fell into the sea.

 Sam laughed and lowered the looking glass.

 “What is it?” Paulgrave asked.

 Sam returned the scope to Paulgrave. “I don’t think we have to worry about this diving apparatus.”

 Paulgrave looked through the scope and chuckled. They sat and watched the newcomers finally get the cylinder into the water. The air hose slowly unwound around the pulleys as the cylinder made its descent. Paulgrave lowered the scope. “That thing is like a coffin.”

 “And they are sending that man to his grave.” Sam turned around as his men hoisted up another diver. The dripping Bahraini man emptied his bag out on the deck, and out fell one single item. The divers were abuzz with excitement, huddling around it. Sam got closer and looked down at why they were so exuberant.

 The gold coin shined brilliantly against the dark wood planks of the ship’s deck. The divers conversed furiously and then sent the next diver into the water. The crew took a break from their games to watch the divers once again. The single gold piece had brought back a renewed excitement and hope among the crew.

 It was not three minutes into the next dive when the rope jerked. The men hauled the diver up onto the deck. He rattled off words in his native tongue and got the other divers speaking in rapid fire. The man turned the bag upside down, and out onto the deck crashed gold coin after gold coin. To Sam it seemed like time slowed down. He could not believe his eyes.

 The crew all jumped up and down and cheered. Sam stood frozen, looking at the glimmering coins. He was much closer to realizing his dream, and he did not know how to act. He backed away from the crowd and watched the scene from the outside. He thought of his father, how proud he would be if he were still alive. He thought of his men, and his promise to lead them to fortune if they would just trust in him. He thought of Maria; he could not wait to get back to her. If they kept finding bags of gold like this one, that time would be soon.

 With a splash, the next diver was under. Spirits were high and the men waited for the next sack of treasure. Sam wished there were more time left in the day, figuring they only had a couple more hours before it was too dark to dive.

 The next several divers pulled up two sacks full apiece. Then divers began dumping small gold bars swimming in gold and silver coins into a chest. It was a big find early, and the men could not have been more excited. However, as the sun began to fall, so did the quantity of gold, until one diver came up empty. They had amassed three chests full of treasure. It was an amazing find.

 As the sun slowly slid down the orange horizon, music wafted over the silence of the calm sea. Sam had opened up some barrels of rum in celebration of the day’s tremendous success. As the music played, the men danced in awkward inebriation.

 Both Sam and Paulgrave chose not to dance but rather preferred to watch as the rest of the crew played the fools. Jeremiah, one of the oldest of the crew, was also one of the loudest, and the most uncoordinated among the brave souls.

 Sam thought of Maria. He would dance if she were here. She had a way of making him feel alive. When he was with her, he wanted to squeeze everything he could out of every single moment. He closed his eyes and envisioned dancing with her, pulling her body next to his. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her sweet-smelling hair and full lips. He missed her tremendously, but with the day’s success, he felt much closer to going home. He would be with her soon. For now, he was content celebrating with his crew.