Chapter 7: The Forbidden Island

If anyone had asked, Jake would say he couldn’t recall a happier time in his life. The island was interesting and exciting, as well as relaxing. After their defeat of the pirates, the native men viewed the two sailors as something between deity and their chieftain of war. However, best of all was his relationship with Nani, whom he found to be an excellent companion and a sensuous lover. Every evening before they went to sleep, Nani would show Jake she wanted to make love. In addition, his friendship with Destand continued to grow. Overall, life treated the two sailors well.

The next few weeks passed quickly after their altercation with the pirates. Any day calm enough for them to sail would find them in the small craft they had rescued. From wood rescued from the derelict, and wood stored in the ship’s hold, the two men set about modifying the skiff. It was obvious from the goods left behind the pirates had no use for tools, spars, cordage, canvas, pitch, and tallow deep in the hold of the old ship, much to the delight of both Jake and the captain. The two sailors covered part of the bow to make a small deck providing them with a protected area. There was enough lumber to also allow them to move the main mast towards the stern, and then set a shorter mast just aft of the new deck they created. With the new modifications, the craft was now extremely fast, and much to their delight, very nimble. Both found the ship perfect for sailing among the islands.

To test out their modifications, they went on several day trips, and visited most of the surrounding islands. While visiting one of the more distant islands, the two men climbed a small mountain on one end and far away in the distance, they could see a much larger island. The island had a small mountain range with one large mountain in the middle. When they returned to their base island, they discussed what they had seen with Kekoa. The old Chief informed the two sailors once he had been on the island. He told them it was very large and when he compared that island to all the presently known islands, it was the largest in the group.

The Chief mentioned at the north end of the island was a large well-protected bay. Many years ago there had been a small tribe living on the bay, but the pirates came and killed everyone they found. A few natives managed to escape and spread the news about the attack. Now the islanders considered the big island taboo and wouldn’t visit it. They feared doing so might expose them to the pirates learning of their existence. Kekoa also informed them the pirates used the large, protected bay as their base of operations. The two sailors could well understand the villagers’ feelings when considering what the natives had endured at the hands of the pirates over the years.

Jake and Destand decided there were two main decisions to make. The first decision was what to do about the island they were living on. Both men knew it was just a matter of time before a pirate ship would return. At that point, the islanders would find themselves in danger. For the two sailors who had possibly destroyed the pirate ship, it didn’t matter if the vessel sunk or somehow got back to its base. They knew one way or another, they had not seen the last of the pirates. If the ship had sunk, their fellow brigands would wonder what had happened to the ship and start looking. If by some chance the pirate ship had made it back, revenge would be paramount in their minds. As sure as the sun would rise the next morning, they knew the pirates would return.

Over the next few days there were several discussions with Kekoa about protecting the islanders from future attacks. The other major decision the two sailors wanted to discuss with Kekoa was about the distant island the villagers refused to visit. From what Kekoa could tell them about the island, it sounded like a safer island for everybody to live on, providing they could eliminate the pirate threat.

When Nani heard the two sailors making plans to visit the island, she became frightened. Nani did not want Jake to go to the Island. The two sailors heard the natives calling the island Forbidden Island because of a poisonous plant which grew there and for ease of reference, both Destand and Jake started calling it, “Forbidden Island” as well.

Jake’s language skills were improving, and his conversations with Nani were getting better. Because of this, their conversations were also becoming more intimate. Whenever the subject of Forbidden Island would come up Nani would beg him not to go. Jake promised her if he and Destand went to the island they would stay on the south end, and away from the large bay the pirates considered their base.

Jake awoke one morning to find Kekoa and Destand sitting on a couple of chairs on his new front deck. Using wood he’d salvaged off the old derelict, and from logs gathered around the island, Beecher had built chairs, as well as a large deck across the front of the cabin. As he constructed the deck, he noticed several of the islanders carefully watching him. Once finished, within a few days several of the other huts sported new decks across their front.

Jake was pleased to find the two men waiting for him when we stepped out on his deck. Nani rushed off to make something to drink, and Jake addressed the Chief first in his language, greeting him, and asking him the reason for such an early visit.

Destand also responded in the Chief’s language, so all three men would understand the conversation. He said, “The villagers are growing concerned about the pirates returning. Kekoa has asked for our help in defending the island,” informed the old Captain.

Beecher remarked, “I doubt if we will be as lucky as we were last time. I’m willing to venture they’ll not come close enough to The Elizabeth to let us try and shoot any cannons at them.” Destand and the Chief laughed at Jake’s comment. Looking at the French Captain he asked, “If it were you, how would you try to attack the island? What would be your plan?”

The captain sat still for a long time, staring out across the water. Finally, he turned, and looked at Jake. “The main problem is we don’t know if the ship we shot ever made it back to port. If it did, you are correct, the pirate ships won’t come close enough to The Elizabeth for us to fire at them. So, we must make plans that do not consider the old warship being of any help.” Jake nodded, and said, “I think if I were going to attack, I would come very early in the morning, and come in from the south, away from the old wreck. I would put ashore two parties of men. One of them would have the task of trying to see if they could make it out to the old ship without anybody seeing them and see what might be of value. The other party would be trying to find the locations of our two villages. If at all possible, I would not want to engage, and once I had my information, I would return to the ships, and make plans.”

Jake asked, “Why do you think they would want to visit The Elizabeth?”

“To see if there is anything left onboard they could use. They do not know what we have done to that old wreck.”

“Good idea. I understand your thoughts.”

The three men sat and mulled over their problem. Jake asked, “What if we were to move everybody to another island for the time being?”

“For what purpose?” The old captain asked.

“For the safety of the women and children.”

“Okay, what next?”

“Then I think we should once more go through the old hulk before the pirates do, and make sure we have anything of any value off of her. There are still a few kegs of powder in the aft hold, perhaps we could use it to make a bomb out of the ship.

“After thinking it over, I agree with you that the pirates will try to see if there is anything still left on the old hulk. If we can somehow rig a way to have the old gal blow herself up when some of the pirates are aboard, I think it would do a lot to slow them down.”

Destand nodded his head. “That is a good plan. Do you think you could construct something which could set off an explosion on the derelict?”

“Yes. I can put a pistol next to a couple of the kegs of powder, and rig it, so when the pirates open a door it will pull the trigger on the pistol, and the flash will set off the kegs. That should keep them wondering for a spell.”

The Chief looked at the two sailors and then asked, “You can do this?”

“I think so. I’ve never actually done it, but I know what I want to happen. Today the captain and I will go out to the old ship and see if I can make it happen, without of course setting off any powder.”

The Chief nodded his head. “Good. I will send some of my men with you and anything you still want to remove from your ship they will take. I am going to have the rest of my men go and visit as many of the islands and find us a place to hide.”

Jake remembered when he had first met Destand they had told him the natives had several caves they could hide in if the need arose. “Captain, perhaps we could also hide powder in some of the caves with a trip wire. If we can make the island dangerous enough, perhaps they will leave us alone.”

“Mr. Beecher, I admire your optimism, but I doubt if they are going to go away that easily. Your ideas are good for getting them off-balance, but we need to come up with something that will end their reign. We have to come up with a way to either sink their ships or convince them to surrender.”

For the next few hours, the three men sat covering several ideas. One idea all three men thought was a good one was to post a couple of the tribesmen on an adjoining island to keep watch for any ships that might return. They agreed if they saw any ships, they would light a signal fire, so the smoke could warn the villagers of impending danger. Several of the natives volunteered to go, so the two sailors took their time to show the men how to send a signal back to the villagers. Since they had more than enough volunteers, they decided to have posts on two of the islands that they thought were closest to the pirate’s location. Jake and the captain thought the idea was as good as they could hope and provided early detection.

That afternoon the Chief along with several natives, and the two sailors, returned to the abandoned hulk. When Jake came out of the jungle, he stopped, staring at what remained. It was the first time in a few weeks Jake had been back to the lagoon, and he was stunned how quickly the ship was deteriorating. Between the battering seas and the tropical weather, the amount of wood removed by Mother Nature was significant. It was starting to play havoc on what remained. Jake wondered how much longer the wreck could last.

Destand and Jake started building a holder for a pistol. Overall, they were pleased with the construction of a device that would hold the pistol in the needed position. The pistol wouldn’t shoot a bullet; instead, when the door opened, it would set off a large flash, which in turn would burn down a large amount of powder they had spread over the floor. That powder ended in front of the remaining powder barrels they had tipped on their sides with a lot of power in front of them.

After everything was in place, they covered the pistol with heavy cloth impregnated with tar to protect the components. Even though the air was heavy with moisture, the two sailors felt the powder in the old pistol would still work even after a few days. Jake made a few more modifications, and both men felt they had made their trap the best that they could possibly do.

The chief picked two natives who would act as the runners and return to set up the trap. Several times the two sailors discussed exactly how the native men would leave the kegs of powder, and the exact arrangement of the pistol. The two sailors had a difficult time keeping the grins off their faces as the native men would discuss how the ship was going to blow up and take away some of the hated pirates. Destand admitted to Jake he felt disappointed he would not be there to witness the blowing up of the old hulk. Jake nodded, confirming he felt the same. After much discussion, they agreed Captain Destand, the chief, and Jake would take the small ketch, and sail to Forbidden Island.