Pirate Island Treasure (3 page)

Jacob held it up to the sun. The surface was hazy, pale purple like amethyst. The edges were rounded and smooth.

This was a find! Were there more? Yes. Jacob found three that were as green as sea grass. Then a blue one, a pink, two whites and an amber.

“Ahoy, Jacob!” Grandpa waved at him. “Snack time.”

“Coming.” Jacob dug a small bag from his backpack. He put the pieces carefully inside. No way was he going to chance losing them. He raced to Grandpa, waving the bag. “Look what I found.”

Grandpa looked at the pieces of polished glass. A grin spread across his face. “My brother and I used to collect these,” he said. “We called them sea jewels.”

Jacob let out a whoop. “Sea jewels! Pirate treasure!” He looked around. “Where is Charlotte?”

“Here she comes,” said Grandpa.

Charlotte came around the side of the high, craggy rocks.

“Look what I found, Charlotte. Sea jewels! Real pirate treasure!”

Charlotte barely glanced at them. “They're nice,” she said.

Jacob glared at Charlotte. “They're nice? That's all you can say?”

Charlotte shrugged.

What's the matter with her? Jacob wondered. He put the sea glass back into the bag and zipped it into his backpack. He felt a flicker of satisfaction. She's jealous because she didn't find the sea jewels herself, he decided.

Charlotte slumped on a flat rock. Jacob sat beside Grandpa and ignored her.

Grandpa took three crisp apples and bottles of water from his backpack. He offered an apple and water to Charlotte, but she shook her head. “No, thanks, Grandpa.”

“Are you feeling all right, matey?” Grandpa asked.

“I'm okay,” Charlotte replied. She didn't sound okay though.

Grandpa dug into his backpack again. He pulled out a bag of oatmeal-raisin cookies.

“All right!” said Jacob. Oatmeal-raisin was his favorite kind. He helped himself to three.

Grandpa held the bag out to Charlotte.

Charlotte looked away. “No, thank you, Grandpa. I'm not hungry.”

Jacob stared. Charlotte? Saying no to a cookie? Ve-e-e-ry strange.

He put Charlotte out of his mind as he ate the cookies. Right now everything was going his way. He had two perfect sand dollars and the sea-glass jewels. So what if Charlotte wasn't impressed? Best of all, he had his cutlass. Wait. Charlotte had his cutlass. It was time to get it back.

Charlotte sat across from him, staring at her feet.

“I want my cutlass back,” said Jacob.

Charlotte didn't answer.

Jacob jumped to his feet. “You promised. For sure, for certain.” His freckles stood out like angry dots. “I want my cutlass back, Charlotte. Right now.”

Charlotte looked up. “I can't give it back,” she said. “I lost it. I've looked everywhere, but I can't find it.” Her shoulders sagged. “Jacob, your cutlass is gone.”

Jacob's face flushed an angry red. “I didn't want to lend you my cutlass in the first place. It was my best find. How could you have lost it?”

Tears welled in Charlotte's eyes. “I'm really, really sorry, Jacob.”

Grandpa stood up. “We'll all look for the cutlass. Three pairs of eyes are better than one.” He put a hand on Charlotte's shoulder. “Where did you last have it?”

“Over there.” She pointed. “By the fierce-faced rock.”

They searched around the rocks. They sifted through sand, examining every stick and piece of wood they found. None looked like Captain Shark's cutlass.

Jacob kicked over a flat rock. “We're never going to find it,” he said. “My cutlass is gone forever.”

Grandpa pulled off his cap and wiped his forehead. “I'm afraid you're right, Jacob.”

“Come see this,” Charlotte called.

Jacob spun around. Had she found his cutlass?

No, she hadn't. Charlotte was standing on a pile of rocks, tugging at a large wooden object.

“It's just an old lobster trap,” Jacob said crossly, but curiosity brought him over for a closer look.

The lobster trap was weathered to a silvery gray sheen. It was in perfect condition except for a broken cross slat. That could easily be fixed. Jacob looked away so Charlotte wouldn't see how much he liked it.

But Charlotte knew. “Captain Shark was cross with Patch Eye for losing his cutlass,” she began. “Patch Eye searched and searched, but she couldn't find it. Then she found something else. Something special. And she gave it to Captain Shark.”

Jacob shrugged, pretending he didn't care.

“We can clean it up,” said Charlotte. “You can put it in your room with the fisherman's net with all your shells on it.”

Jacob shrugged again. He clamped his lips to keep from smiling. The lobster trap would be a great addition to his collection.

Grandpa had moved on up the beach.

“Let's catch up with Grandpa,” said Charlotte. “We can leave the lobster trap here and get it on the way back.”

Jacob didn't answer. He wasn't quite ready to forgive her yet.

Finally, Charlotte gave up and ran ahead. As she ran, something fell out of her pocket, but Charlotte didn't notice.

Jacob hurried over to see what she had dropped. He picked it up. A grin spread right across his face. He put the object into his pocket and closed the zipper. Now he and Charlotte were even.

Jacob caught up with Charlotte and Grandpa. “The beach is getting narrower,” he said.

“The tide's coming in,” said Grandpa. “It's time we headed back.”

Charlotte groaned. “Do we have to?”

“I'm afraid so,” said Grandpa. “We don't want to get caught by high tide.”

Reluctantly they turned back. Charlotte walked beside Jacob. “I'm really sorry about the cutlass.” Her forehead puckered. “Please don't be mad at me anymore, Jacob.”

Jacob thought of what was hidden in his pocket. He smiled to himself. “I'm not mad,” he said.

Charlotte whooshed out a great sigh of relief. She took off her pirate hat and fanned her face. “I'm so thirsty I could drink seawater.”

“Me too,” said Jacob.

“No need for that.” Grandpa looked ahead. “We'll stop at the rocks and have a quick drink before we head back to the boat.”

They sat on a large flat rock that was balanced on top of two other rocks. “It's like a chair,” said Charlotte. “There's room for all of us.”

Grandpa opened his backpack. He took out three bottles of water. He handed one to Charlotte and one to Jacob.

Jacob opened his bottle and took a long, thirsty gulp. He was about to set it down when the bottle slipped through his fingers. As he grabbed for it, his foot accidentally kicked it under the rock they were sitting on.

“I'll get it,” said Charlotte. She knelt and pulled out the water bottle. “There's something else in here too.” She lay on her stomach and reached farther.

Jacob crouched beside her. “What is it?”

Charlotte held it up. “It's just an old bottle,” she said, disappointed.

Jacob reached for the bottle. He held it up to the light. It was a soft greeny-blue, the color of the sea.

“That's an old one,” said Grandpa. “See the bubbles in the glass?”

Charlotte and Jacob looked closer. Sure enough, there were tiny bubbles all through the glass.

“I think it's broken,” said Jacob. “The bottom feels rough.”

Grandpa took the bottle. “This one is a real oldie,” he said. “It's handblown. That's why it's rough on the bottom.” He nodded. “This really is a treasure.”

Jacob wasn't convinced. “What use is an old empty bottle?”

Charlotte stared at it. “This isn't any old bottle. This was Captain Shark's bottle. He put a secret message in it. The message said —”

“Stop!” Jacob ordered. “I'm Captain Shark, and I'm the only one who knows what the message said.”

“Tell us,” said Charlotte. “Come on, Jacob. What did the message say?”

“The message,” Jacob began in a rough, piratey voice, “said ‘Find the treasure chest.' ”

Charlotte threw her arms in the air. “What treasure chest?”

Jacob grinned. “That's for you to figure out.”

“Give me a clue,” said Charlotte.

Jacob shook his head. “No way. Pirates don't give clues.”

“We'll keep a sharp eye out as we walk back to the boat,” said Grandpa.

Charlotte set off at a brisk pace, determined to find the treasure chest.

A bit farther on, they came to the lobster trap. As Grandpa picked it up, Jacob whispered something to him. Charlotte didn't notice. Finding the treasure chest was the only thing on her mind.

When they reached the dinghy, Charlotte turned to Jacob. “I give up. Is there really a treasure chest?” She gave him a suspicious look. “Or is this some kind of trick?”

Jacob was pleased with himself. It wasn't often he was able to fool Charlotte. “Grandpa's got the treasure chest,” he said.

Charlotte looked as Grandpa set the lobster trap on the sand. “That can't be a treasure chest. There isn't any treasure in it.”

Jacob opened the pocket of his backpack. “Put out your hands.”

Charlotte cupped her hands. Jacob put the bag of sea glass into them. “Pirates' jewels,” he said.

This time Charlotte really looked at them. “They're beautiful,” she gasped.

“That's the treasure,” said Jacob.

Charlotte sucked in her breath. “Wait. There's more treasure.” She dug into her pocket and added the sand dollars to the bag. “Silver dollars. Like pirate coins.”

Jacob put his sand dollars in too. “What else do we have?”

“The spyglass,” said Charlotte.

She searched one pocket, then the other. Her hands came out empty. She did a frantic search of her backpack. “Oh, no!” She let out a wail of despair. “I've lost Patch Eye's spyglass too!”