A Pirate's Treasure

A Pirate’s Treasure

Victoria stood proudly atop the crow’s nest, a brisk wind curling her lengthy hair. The island looked plain enough, she thought, other than the cave shaped like a human skull, that is. A young captain, to be sure, fortune granted her the money for her own ship and crew. The map, however, had come at too high a price in the lives of her men.

Her boots hit the deck and she was aboard the dingy in an instant, eager to get underway. Thomas, her first mate, took the oars, ferrying them to the lonely island and their little boat drifted easily into the mouth of the cavern. It smelled musty, a dampness from countless centuries on a punishing sea. Deep inside, they beached their craft and she lit a dry torch with her flintlock pistol, then handed it to her officer.

“Beware the curse, Cap’n,” Thomas advised. “’Tis no place for the likes of a humble pirate.”

“Curse? Bah!” she scoffed. “Don’t let rumors get the better of your mettle, Thomas.” They pushed into the cave, the fire playing tricks on the cavern walls. She pulled her map and unrolled the edges. “Treasure you are sure to find, below a man that once was blind,” she read and found an aged skeleton, frozen in position against a tall shovel. The bandages over his eyes were clear enough. So, she grabbed for the shovel but the skeleton lurched forward. “Gah!” she screamed and broke the tool free, swinging away. Its frame shattered into so many bones.

The pit dug, she hauled out her treasure, a package of cookies cleverly hidden under a rock, just as the bell rang. As the two kids headed to class, Thomas exclaimed, “That was a good one Victoria! Where will we go tomorrow?”