“Would you like to bet on that?” Michael’s lips twitched into an almost crooked smile.
“I’m not much of a gambling man, but sure. What’s the price?”
Michael reached into his pocket, and pulled something out of his pocket. “How about this gold coin I recently found in Australia?”
Sam examined the coin.
It was a golden ducat with the picture of King Charles the V at the front and a Spanish shield at the back. At the bottom of the coin was the date, still clearly marked: 1518.
“The year Ferdinand Magellan left Spain in his attempt to circumnavigate the world,” Sam identified.
“Ah, so you know your history? Good man.”
“Magellan was a fantastic sailor.”
“Yes. Now, did you know that Magellan was born in Portugal, and only came to the King of Spain when his own king had snubbed the voyage? And that the King of Spain, Charles the V, who was eager to challenge the Portuguese dominance of trade routes to India by finding a western route across the Pacific Ocean, offered to fund him?”
“I’ve read a little about the story. How come?”
“As well as providing him five ships, King Charles V had more than 200 gold ducats minted, specifically for his voyage, in 1518.”
Sam didn’t bother to hide his now rising interest. “And you think this gold is one of those 200 ducats?”
Michael ignored the question and continued with his history lesson. “This is what we know about the five ships that Magellan was given to achieve his task. The ‘San Antonio’ was wrecked off the coast of South America, while the ‘Santiago’ mutinied and returned to Spain. After the death of Magellan in the Philippines, the remaining three ships became too cumbersome for the few sailors who remained. Consequently, the ‘Conception,’ the largest of the carracks, was abandoned, and the ‘Trinidad’ and ‘Victoria’ attempted to return to Spain. The ‘Victoria’ was captured by Portugal, of course, and the ‘Trinidad’ became the only one to achieve the circumnavigation and return.”
Sam nodded his head, as though he were enjoying the story. “But the ‘Conception,’ the largest of the five ships, was never seen again.”
“Exactly,” Michael sounded excited as he spoke. “Lost, without a trace. But I think you and I have an idea about its fate, don’t we?”
Sam ran his hand gently over the old coin. “Where, exactly, did you say you found it?”
“It was discovered on a cattle property in central Victoria, Australia, by one of my company’s geologists, who was drilling core samples in search of deep alluvial gold.”
Sam took the bait, “Okay, you have my attention, Michael. What would you like from me?”
“I want proof that Spaniards were the first Europeans to discover Australia, which I am convinced they were. I need you to find the final resting place of the Mahogany Ship and her treasure.”
Sam smiled. “First of all, if your geologist has truly found this coin deep underground in Australian soil, and you believe it was once from the Mahogany Ship, then surely all your geologist has to do is dig a little. I mean, it’s unlikely that the coin and the ship separated that much, if they were both underground.”
Sam waited, expecting the man to argue this point. When he didn’t, he continued, “As for proving that Spain was the first European country to reach Australia, it’s really kind of moot now, isn’t it? After all, The Mahogany Ship never returned to Spanish soil and the British took ownership of Australia in 1778 through colonization.”
A slight breeze rocked their boat for a moment. Both men raised their heads as if scenting the strength and measure of wind. They smiled and shrugged at the false alarm.
“The British considered Australia terra nullius meaning ‘nobody's land,’ Sam said. “As you can imagine, this didn’t please the natives who had been living there for the past 40,000 years. Not that they could disagree or have much say. Hard to carry on an argument when you have spears and your opponents have guns.” A wry grin came over Sam’s lips. “Besides, I’m not a treasure hunter.”
“I know that — you think I didn’t do some research on you before I came here today? It’s precisely because you’re not a foolhardy treasure hunter that I want you. After your work on the recovery of the Magdalena, I knew you were the one I needed. The last grand airship now rests at the Smithsonian institute for millions of people to see each year and not locked away in some billionaire’s private exhibition, because of you. Besides, this isn’t about the treasure. I think I have a fair idea what makes someone like you excited, because, like me, you don’t need the treasure. You yearn for something else entirely. You want answers to questions centuries old.”
Sam smiled. This rich stranger had worked him out. He didn’t care about the treasure, and he sure as shit didn’t care which European country wanted to credit themselves with the first discovery of an island that had been occupied by natives, who also had most likely come by boats centuries ago.
“And what questions, exactly, would they be?” Sam asked.
“Could such an engineering marvel as the Mahogany Ship have ever really existed? And if so, who built her?”
“Okay, I’m interested. So, why didn’t you just take some big ass bulldozers and dig some more?”
“I already did.”
“Oh yeah, what did you find?”
“An intricate system of underground caves, primarily filled with water.”
“And you believe the coin came from one of those caves?”
“Sure do. Would you like to go exploring?”
“Are you aware the Australian Shipwreck Act prevents looting?”
“I am, but this isn’t about the treasure. It’s about answers. How did such an exquisite ship ever end its seafaring days in the middle of a desert? Who built it? And how in the world did such a monstrosity sail using only wood?”
“Okay, partner,” Sam said, mimicking Michael’s friendly tone. “You can count me in. When do you want to start?”
“Let me know what you need and I’ll have it flown with you on board my jet, tomorrow.”
“Okay, but I’ll have to leave the Director of Operations in charge of the cleanup here, including the archeological exploration.”
“Do what you have to, but join me tomorrow.”
“Done,” Sam replied, never one to be indecisive. He shook his head, knowing he’d been railroaded, yet he smiled good-naturedly when he agreed.
“That’s great,” Michael said and flicked a switch behind his seat. A small motor kicked into life, and the Mayan boat started to cruise towards the beach. He gave Sam a slightly sheepish laugh before saying, “I had it put in, years ago, when I discovered the capricious nature of our winds here.”
Sam joined him with his laugh, and wondered fleetingly whether he had just joined partnership with the devil.
Sam caught Tom in the galley, eating his way through a family-sized pizza. The smell of pepperoni filled the air as he explained that he had somewhere else to be right now. Tom couldn’t believe his friend would abandon him at the point of such an amazing archaeological discovery.
“You want to leave me to conduct the most important project of our career, while you go off looking for a shipwreck that you already think is probably a myth?” Tom’s threw his pizza slice down in disgust, while his voice betrayed his incredulity. “This is your project — you’re the only one who’s even heard of the Master Builders.”
“Calm down. I won’t be gone long,” Sam said, picking up the last slice. “Two weeks, max. In that time your recovery and exploration of the pyramid will still be in its infancy. I’m barely allowing you to lay down the groundwork.”