CHAPTER SEVEN

The knock on the door was mild and I could tell that the doctor had risen from his bed, I was groggy and I could feel a slight headache but I managed to trudge my weary feet to the door and opened it. The doctor ambled in patted me on my shoulders, I greeted him with a smile.

Jim, my good man, he said said picking his moustache tenderly. Today is going to be a good day, we set sail this morning.

I looked at his eyes and found nothing but sincerity, love and honesty. I reached for my waist coat and retrieved the map from the breast pocket and thrusted it in his hands.

Finally you trust me, the doctor commented still smiling pleasantly.

I was warming up to you sir, I added quietly and it was true. I had come to trust him over the last couple of days. I hurriedly took my bath and dressed myself up in black trousers and a beige long sleeved shirt, I declined wearing a hat or waist coat.

In a jiffy, we checked out of the inn and we were heading for the wharf chattering and laughing. My mood changed when I saw Mr.Cliff with six other men. He was all smiles when he saw the doctor and I.

Top of the morning to you sir, he greeted the doctor.

Top of the morning to you too, the doctor answered shaking his hands firmly and vigorously.

Who are these men with you? The doctor asked

They're fine seamen, they will be coming with us, Mr.Cliff answered.

But I told you I already had men who would voyage with us, the doctor sounded irritated.

Yes, you did, Mr.Cliff agreed. However, your men are not good enough. By the powers, these men are seasoned sailors, they know everything about voyages and treasure. Your men are neophytes and rookies. The naivety in their eyes says it all.

I disagree with Mr.Cliff, I hit out at him. We can't afford to change the sailors at the eleventh hour, it's totally unethical.

Mr.Cliff was taken aback. At this point, Rutherford walked in with his crew. I held his hand and we excused ourselves.

I don't like Mr.Cliff, I complained.

Me too, he agreed

He sounds insincere to me, I added.

I agree with you, he said again.

Obviously, I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth but I certainly do not want you and your men to leave this expedition. I suspect there's going to be fighting onboard and if we are outnumbered, things will get awry and the expedition will culminate in an inevitable fiasco.

Rutherford nodded fatuously.

I hated the idea of traveling with dumb seamen.

The doctor was about giving in to Mr.Cliff's idea of relieving Rutherford and his men when I stormed in.

I have a suggestion, I broke in

Let's hear it, the doctor permitted.

We are not going to relieve either all of Rutherford's men or Mr.Cliff's men. We are going to select the best men from both sides and then we would set sail.

My suggestion was heeded but Mr.Cliff was not pleased at all.

In the end, the voyage consisted of Dr.Tom, Mr.Cliff, Rutherford, Anderson, Smith, Jerry, Daniel , Isaac and I. Rutherford was ship's captain, Dr.Tom was ship's doctor, Mr.Cliff was in charge of ammunition, however, our own weapons were smuggled into the ship in the event that there was fighting onboard, the other men onboard helped with logistics, I was ship's cook. We set sail on December 7, 1800.

The weather was good and there were hardly any storms during the first few days of the voyage, every sailor was sanguine and there seemed to be camaraderie among us. However, Mr.Cliff still didn't ring true to me, he drank way too less rum than the rest of us, he seemed too alert and his parrot which he called Old Silver was too taciturn, it chirped a few times and fell back into impregnable reticence. I loathed them.

Rutherford and I unknowingly fostered a close bond, he was quite elderly but unreservedly avuncular and I was also receptive. We played chess in the evenings and ate secret meals together, he also told me wild sea stories and taught me how to shoot a gun although I already knew how to shoot a gun. I let him teach me nonetheless.

He had once been a happy man with a wife and two children, but he had lost his family to a fire outbreak, it damaged him. Although, he had remarried, he admitted that his love for his second wife paled in comparison to his love for the first wife and I totally understood. I didn't even know what love felt like and I always wondered what it felt like to love and be loved.

Anderson was a stout, swarthy, brawny fellow, he had bald hair and his thick lips gave off the impression that he was of African descent, his aquiline nose looked too pinched at the top and his beard was lustrous, his face was hollow somewhat and his eyes were blue, he was handsome but in a quaint way. His shoulders were very broad and he smiled very often exposing a set of broken teeth which impaired his speech. He was a workaholic on board and made sure everything was spick and span. He extended his largesse to me in the kitchen, he helped me tidy dishes and clean up the kitchen, he was a good man and a friend.

Smith was an unrepentant noisemaker, he talked nineteen to the dozen and laughed too much and Mr.Cliff didn't like him. I considered him very clever but Mr.Cliff considered him a sophist. Smith seemed to know a lot of history and current happenings in the country, he always felt bad that he couldn't read the dailies and tabloids on board. He was a skilled swordsman and I watched with relish and gusto whenever he dexterously replaced and retrieved a sword from it's sheath. One day, Jerry, a middle aged man who was about 6 feet tall challenged Smith to a swords fight. In a matter of seconds, Smith knocked his sword clean off his hands, while the rest of us cheered. Mr Cliff wasn't pleased at all.

After the first week of sailing, I called the doctor and the captain to a round table discussion and told told them that we were going to be betrayed by Mr.Cliff and if we weren't wary enough, he'd sabotage our efforts.

The doctor doubted my claim, outrightly asserting that he paid no heed to emotions and sentiments, he wanted facts. Only facts mattered.

As usual, the ever fatuous captain couldn't take a stand. I shook my head lugubriously because I knew the doctor trusted Mr.Cliff but that trust was at the detriment of our treasure hunt.