The two explored the room and where they could, accessed the rest of the ship. Nothing indicated that it was even still there, but Sam knew that it was early days yet. For the most part, he had at least found what he and his father had searched for all those years ago.
After a number of hours of searching, it was time to return to the Mahogany Cave. Sam was the first to look at the remaining power on his Seadoo. It was low, but he might make it back. Then again, he might not.
“How much juice have you got in yours, Frank?”
“Enough, maybe. It will be close. I kind of wish we’d brought a reserve power supply.”
“My fault. Okay, Frank, you take my battery pack. That way, when yours becomes depleted you’ll have mine to fall back on.”
Frank looked at Sam’s battery monitor, already close to empty. He was a bright man — Sam had no doubt that he could predict the outcome of them both trying to return to the Mahogany Cave. “Okay, thanks Sam. We’ll come back for you as soon as we can.”
“Not a problem. I’d like some time alone with this old lady, anyway.”
Frank unclipped the power pack and put it in his pocket. With a quick wave of his right arm, the man disappeared, leaving Sam alone, to explore the cold, dark, confines of the ancient ship.
If it’s still here, I’ll find it.
By the next morning, Sam heard the sounds of the two motorized Seadoos approaching. He waited until they came up from the crack in the hull. Michael Rodriguez’ was the first head to pop up through the still water inside the hull, quickly followed by Frank’s.
“Morning Sam, I brought you some breakfast,” Michael said, handing him two large bacon and egg rolls, filled with barbecue sauce. “I believe congratulations are in order.”
“I believe so,” Sam said, relieved to see Michael’s gregarious face again. The man was obviously driven when he had a purpose, and the search for the Mahogany Ship had kept him going for years. Sam had seen the same look in his own face, when he finally reached the answer to an ancient question, or lost artefact.
He took Michael for a tour of the fabled ship.
“It’s going to take some time to recover everything. And you and I both know that there’s going to be a lot of red tape around its excavation. But at the end of the day, I think it’s safe to say, we found the Mahogany Ship.”
“That’s great, Sam. Thank you, for everything.”
Over the course of the next five days, Sam, Michael and Frank photographed, marked, and examined the entire ship where they could reach, while Byron made reports and documented the information for the world to one day know.
That afternoon, the three of them made the discovery known to the world, via a televised press conference. Michael indicated that the exact location of the fabled ship would remain hidden to protect her from looters, and treasure hunters.
That night, the four men drank expensive whiskey, fine wines, and ate decadent food to celebrate.
After each man had gone to bed, Sam stayed up late, completing some final reports to go with the discovery. Despite finding the Mahogany Ship, he still hadn’t found what he was really after. He would remain on site for the next few weeks until he could confirm that it was no longer aboard when the Mahogany Ship disappeared.
And if it was gone, then what hope would humanity have of ever finding them?
Taking a snapshot of the GPS coordinates, Sam looked up the farmers who owned the land. They weren’t going to be impressed with all the attention their quiet parcel of land was about to get, now that the discovery of the Mahogany Ship had become national news.
Sam looked at the registered owner of the land on which the mine shaft rested, and then double checked the date of purchase.
I don’t believe it!
Sam looked at the old land and council papers again. At the bottom line was the name, Michael Rodriguez and the date of sale, December 3, 1983.
It was the first time that his gut feeling had been confirmed. Michael’s been lying to me, but why?
Metallurgical analysis had already dated the original gold coin to the 15th century, so that much had been true… and the wood itself had also come from the 15th century. So if it was a hoax, Michael had gone a long way to preserving it.
He dialed a number to see if his thoughts were right.
It rang three or four times and then a familiar voice answered.
“Aliana, it’s good to hear your voice!”
“Samuel, I thought you had left me for another woman…”
“Never!” Sam replied, then, quick to get to the point, he said, “Aliana, I have a problem, and I need to pick that fantastic brain of yours.”
He went through what he knew to date, finishing with the fact that he had no proof that the entire treasure ship had been a hoax, and neither could he think of a reason why a man like Rodriguez would even want to do so.
“But something’s not right, and I need your help to prove it.”
“Tell them that you want to bring me in as a scientific name to report on the find, so that the wider community of archeology will see it as legitimate,” Aliana suggested.
“But you’re a microbiologist. Why do archeologists want to listen to you?”
“Because I can date the microbes that were on the hull of that ship, and where it once came from.”
“I hadn’t thought of that, of course.” Sam pictured her in his arms, and said, “I knew there was a reason I loved you. You’re beautiful and incredibly intelligent. When can you get here?”
“I’ll pack now, and can have my jet leave tonight — they won’t be happy about the short notice, but that’s why I pay them their exorbitant holding fee. I should be there by tomorrow afternoon, your time. It will be just like old times.”
Sam’s mind flashed back to the night that they had spent together inside a similarly cold, yet beautiful, subterranean cavern, when they found the last airship, the Magdalena The prospect was welcoming.
“I’ll see you then. Aliana…and yes, I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too, Samuel. Keep yourself safe.”
“I’m fine. Michael has no reason to hurt me. I just don’t understand what this is all about. A part of me still hopes that the ship was real… maybe, he had a rough idea where it was and bought up large farming land, just so that he could secure its discovery.”
“It seems pretty far-fetched to me, but we’ll find out soon enough.”
Sam’s cell flashed with a message.
He quickly opened it, hoping that Aliana had sent him an additional message.
Instead, he found an online freebee email account name. One of those with about ten numbers after an otherwise normal name like “John,” most commonly associated with robot based spam marketing. There was no name attached to the message, and had he tried to ring the number back, his cellular service provider would have informed him that the number was no longer active.
He switched on his laptop, and typed the name of the account into the login page, followed by a password that that was pre-arranged.
There was only one message waiting for him.
Sam, I’ve taken your coin to a numismatics expert. The coin is legit. One problem though. It’s in mint condition. If it was found in a treasure chest, locked away in a cave, maybe it could be possible. But not underwater in a river. That’s impossible. Someone is lying to you. I suggest you look after yourself.
Elise.
Chapter Fourteen
The strange blue light seemed to be reflecting off the sarcophagus, and shining directly on it, making it glow a deep blue color. Billie looked at the image of the Mahogany Ship on the wall. It could have been any ship on earth, except this one had eight masts. On its deck, were the simple markings of the Master Builders, and next to them, a scepter with the sun shining out of it.