The Case of the Hidden Treasure by Felicia Rogers

Author:Felicia Rogers [Rogers, Felicia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six: S'Espalmador

Magnolia huddled beside Justin as their ship approached S'Espalmador. With the silver from the generous captain, they’d secured passage without hardship. Good weather had allowed them to reach the tiny island’s shores by nightfall.

“I wouldn’t be out in the open tonight if I were you.” The current ship’s captain gave only those directions before he rowed the dingy back to his ship.

Justin’s arm tightened around her waist.

Magnolia’s gut clenched when the last lantern light disappeared and all the light remaining came from the stars above.

“Don’t worry, Magnolia. We’ll start a fire and review our notes. In the morning we’ll search the island for the treasure.”

She nodded. Which he probably couldn’t see. She couldn’t even see her hand before her face. How would they see to find wood to start a fire? They should have asked to stay aboard the ship until morning. Or they should have stayed in town until morning. Anything other than where they were.

“I hear your mind working, but you know we had to leave Ibiza. When Shelby wakes and gathers his men, they will try to find you. It is only a matter of time until they discover our location.”

He was right, of course. But that didn’t mean she had to like it. “Very well, how do we find wood to start a fire?”

“May I have a piece of your skirt?”

She wasn’t wearing the multiple layers as usual, but she might be able to rip off a ruffle along the edge.

She gave the hem a good yank and was rewarded when the fabric ripped. She lifted up one long strip. “Will this do?”

“I think so.”

He bent and picked up a crooked stick, wrapping the fabric around the end. “We’ll use this as a light to guide us to more wood. Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

The torch would only burn briefly. They would need to be quick. Once the fire was started they would have light to find more.

“Ready, set, go!”

The flint struck a rock, sending sparks against the fabric and igniting it. The flame shot high but quickly diminished to a low burn. Several pieces of wood lay around them, and Magnolia gathered them in her arms and dumped them into a pile.

Justin dropped the torch. He squatted and blew on the fire until the wood caught.

Both worked to gather as much wood as possible, making a neat stack so they’d be prepared for the eventuality they both knew would come—the fire would run out of fuel. When that happened, they’d be in the dark again.

Justin slapped his hands together. Sand floated downward. “That should be enough. If not, I’ll gather more later.” He paused. “Why don’t we sit?”

She wobbled and he grabbed her forearm and led her to a thick log that could serve as a bench.

“Just sit here. If we need anything more I’ll get it.”

She nodded. Her belly growled. The meager meal they’d consumed while running from Shelby hadn’t been enough to squelch her appetite.

Justin drew a folded napkin from his pocket. “The captain slipped me some bread.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.