Aldrick welcomed the Coxswain and Seaman Ferguson into the great cabin and showed them to chairs beneath the stern windows, then before he seated himself, he asked the hand, "Do you wish to tell me in private, or is it something you can share with us all?"

The young lad paused a moment, then he said, "Tis something you all should know, now seeing what is. Roberts got hisself an old navergator. Name's Peters, I heered. Another said 'twas Potters. Does'na matter, Sir. Story goes he sailed the seas in Queen Anne's days as a mate up on the poop, and he can read a map and find the way as good as any. But that's just what I heered. No telling what truth there be in it, Sir."

"Did you tell anyone you were sailing south?"

"Oh, no, Sir." He tapped his head. "Like we was warned. Loose talk and boasting 'n all that. Nones I were with peeped a word about the south septing to agree tis the horrorcane season now. That's where the talk started; it did. An old salt talking bout Roberts and his riffraff crew aboard Avenger down there now with the summer storms, and another tar bringing up Peters or Potters inta the story and all his skill and all."

"Thank you, Lad. What of else did you hear?"

"From then, the talk went to Peters, though it could be Potters, and him been set ashore for letting his ship drag with the ebb broadsides onto London Bridge. Too far into his rum, they said. Too little care. None would have him afore Roberts took him."

Aldrick nodded. "This is most valuable, Lad. It explains how Roberts might have found his way into here. And it argues stronger that the wreck is his and that it is him and his crew ashore."

"Aye, Sir. And this is why I wanted to tell you. From what you said up the mast, it could help the ship."

"It does, Lad. Very much. We are now dealing with less unknown, and the more we know, the better the decisions we make, and the safer we..." Aldrick paused as the steward and two cabin boys entered, each carrying a large wooden box.

As he entered the cabin, the steward asked, "Shall I serve the wine now, Sir?"

"We shall pass on the wine this evening, James. Too much happening, and we all need clear heads."

"Aye, Sir."

The group discussed ideas on the best way to proceed, and by the time the table had been laid and they moved to supper, the decision was to launch the longboats tonight, so they are ready. Before sitting, Aldrick crossed to the chart table, uncovered the speaking horn and blew the whistle.

A short while later, Franklin replied from the quarterdeck, "Officer of the Watch, Sir."

"Rig the starboard boat boom and launch both longboats onto it."

"Aye, Sir. Longboats to the starboard boom."

Aldrick returned to the table, the discussion continuing while they ate.

Monday, 31st August 1733

As five bells of the morning watch pealed, hands climbed down into the boats while those on deck lowered bundles of muskets and canvas sacks filled with pistols and cartridges. The sun had not yet lightened the eastern sky when Aldrick followed Wilson down into the boats.

"Let us away. Godspeed, Mister Wilson."

"Thank you, Sir. And Godspeed to you." At this, Wilson ordered the men on the sweeps to pull gently with as little sound as possible toward the beached ship.

Aldrick directed his boat in the same quiet manner toward the south end of the eastern islet. The breeze was more gentle than on the previous days, and the water in the protected anchorage was rather flat. What little swell remained from the storm was broken by the exposed reef running from the point, making their landing easy.

Once ashore, all hands heaved the boat up the sandy beach to above the tide line, then Aldrick pointed to the east and said, "The sun will rise in a few minutes. While we wait, let me explain. This end of the islet is about a cable broad, about two hundred yards. The notch from where their firing came is about the same distance from here."

He pointed northward. "You can see the outline of the hill. We estimated it to be about eighty feet high, and you can see it has the same steady slope from here as from aboard. We are fifteen, so we will spread about forty feet apart and comb our way slowly forward, looking closely at everything from underfoot to halfway to the man on each side of us. I will take the centre and aim for the top of the hill. Any questions?"

Receiving none, he continued, "You will sling your muskets over a shoulder and carry your pistols." He paused, then said. "Right. Let us sit and wait for the sun, so you can load and prime with care." 

A quarter hour later, after loading, they had just begun spreading out when a hand announced, "There's a trail here, Sir."

"Thank you, Lad. Likely from the beach to the water pond. Let us see if there is another on the other side, to and from their camp."

The squad swept forward, and as they spread again beyond the pond, a hand found a well-trodden trail leading northward from it. Aldrick told him to follow it as they advanced. 

Before long, Aldrick was on the summit of the low bald-top hill with Elizabeth laying to her anchor below and Wilson's boat visible beyond the tangled rigging of the wreck. Below to the northwest, not fifty yards distant, lay a swath of broken and splintered trees and shrubs. And just beyond that, at the head of a narrow bay was the smudge from a small fire. He stopped and stepped back a few paces.

At this point, the islet was only about a hundred yards broad, so Aldrick's signal to stop and gather in the centre was quickly passed and followed. When all had joined him, he said in a quiet voice, "I saw three around a fire. We need to find out where all the others are."

"I saw one along the inlet just before your signal, Sir. Looks like he was trying to spear a fish."

"Anyone else see anyone?"

He watched the heads shake. "Right. Here is the plan, then. A few of us with the sharpest eyes will lay up there." He indicated the round dome just beyond. "Half hour or so. Long enough to understand what we have below. Who was following the track from the water?" 

"Sir, 'twas me, Jenkins." 

"Right, Jenkins. Go back down to it and watch. Take a hand with you. Someone may head along to fetch water."

"Aye, Sir." 

Aldrick and four hands lay on their bellies atop the hill, watching the activities below. They had barely settled when six bells sounded from Elizabeth. "We will watch until seven strike, learning their placement and strength, and assessing how many more hands we need." 

A short while later, they watched the man along the bay impale a fish and bring it ashore, then Jenkins' quiet voice broke the silence. "Captain, Sir. We have a water fetcher here."

Aldrick rolled and sat, nodding a greeting as he said, "Good morning." Then he rose to tower above the trembling young man. "What may we call you?" 

"D-Davis, Sir."

"Right, DeDavis. What is your ship?"

"Avenger, Sir."

"And who is your Skipper?"

"Captain Roberts, Sir. But he be crazy in the head the past weeks. Not thinking straight. The scurfy, they says."

Aldrick motioned down the slope. "How many are you?"

"Only seven now, and one's got a real bad splinter from the first of the guns last night. Near big as an arm right the way through his leg. I was fetching more water to clean it."

"I have a surgeon aboard. What weapons have you down there?"

"All the cartridges soaked to useless in the wreck. Alls we got dry is some mugs for the swivel what we lugged ashore."

"Why was it fired at us?"

"That was the Captain. We tried to stop him." The lad twirled a finger at his temple. "Demented real bad, he is."

"Only seven remaining? What happened to the rest of the crew?"

"Some's gone with the scurfy. The rest went with Mister Peters in the longboat to buy another ship."

"When was that?"

Two days past - coming to three now."

Aldrick nodded. "Buy it with what?"

"Some of the gold and..." The lad paused and reddened. "I've said too much. Can we go help Jimmy? He's hurt real bad."

"So, you found the wrecked ships and their  treasure?"

Davis squirmed, then he said, "We did, Sir. Never believed t'would be so much."

"When?"

"Soon as we arrived the end of April."

"Why are you still here?"

"Took us all that time to fetch it up. Some is more than twenty feet down, and there's just a bit of that left. Maybe two weeks. The storm hit us when we were near done."

"Where is the treasure now?" 

Davis turned and pointed. "Aboard Avenger. I saw the men from the longboat investergating around in her just afore I was nabbed now, so I knew t'would be discovered."

"Thank you, Lad. Lead the way so we can help Jimmy."