Episode 24 - Tax Man
The evening of the 20th day of February, 1640.
Tew, Moose, Morgan and Davey Jones led the Ol'Mans' wench, Cyclone, out of Coggy's cabin and back up to the deck.
"If'n I wus thee, I'd keep a low profile on this 'ere ship," warned Moose to the former prisoner as he untied her.
"Aye, yew may be protected by a pirates oath, but Coggy's murderous buggers 'ill cut yew in arf as soon as look at ye!" added Morgan, "So watch yer step!"
Cyclone gave a quick glance over to the crew, "Those scurvy landlubbers don't scare me" she said.
"Best be keepin' yer big trap shut - lil' girl," replied Tew.
"HAAARRR tha Admiral as spoken!" laughed Cyclone, as she gave him a menacing look, "I've heard 'o yew 'n yer two-bit alliance." she mocked.
Tew moved closer to the wench, "Just remember, MISSY, as far as I'm concerned, yer poxy pirates oath don't mean a ting ta me - I'm only goin' along wit it to appease me mates," he said, before adding, "as soon as we has our hands on tha treasure - yew 'n yer old man 'r history!"
"Well, well, well… the Admiral tinks 'es a match fer Cyclone 'n tha Ol'Man, eh?" she replied, with a grin, "If'n yew were such a BIG man yew wouldn't o' sent yer mates, Iguana Jack 'n Cap'n Blood to do yer dirty deeds - what's wrong Tew? - too frightened ta come lookin' fer us yerself?" she goaded.
"ARRRGGHHH, YEW FILTHY WHORE!" screamed the Admiral as he grabbed Cyclone by the neck and tried to throttle her.
Morgan quickly jumped in and pulled the irate Tew away as Cyclone spat in his face and recovered her composure.
"CALM DOWN, TEW," barked Morgan as he restrained the Admiral, "We's gotta abide by tha oath - fer now! Yee'll git yer chance… but not jus' yet!" he said.
"Too bleedin' right I'll get me chance, mate" replied Tew, not taking his eyes off the wench.
Back in Coggy's cabin, the Captain and Ol'Man sat at the table, reluctantly sharing a bottle of rum.
Ol'Man removed his boot and prised open it's heel. Carefully, he removed an old torn piece of paper and placed it onto the table where Coggy had unfolded his own part of the map.
After a tense few moments of scrutiny, they fitted the torn jagged edges together to form a perfect match.
Coggy moved his finger along the line of Latitude reading 21 degrees North, whilst simultaneously; the Ol'Man did likewise with the Longitude reading of 86 degrees West. The two mens' fingers slowly came together at a point on the map representing a small, uncharted island!
Again, there was a tense pause as the two eager swabs looked at each other with a greed filled glint in their eyes and joy in their bellies.
"We's gonna be RICH!" yelled Coggy.
"Aye matey, we is," replied the Ol'Man as the two swabs done a joyful jig around the table before gathering their composure and trying to hide their embarrassment.
"Thar she bleedin' well blows, me hearty!" called Coggy to the Ol'Man as if he'd been a life long friend, "That's where me treasure chest be!" he proclaimed.
"Where OUR treasure chest be!" added the Ol'Man quickly.
"Arrr" replied Cog, still laughing with joy.
The two greed filled pirates again scrutinized the map.
"Ahem," coughed Cog, trying to regain his dignity, "So… Ol'Man, what's tha story behind yer piece 'o map?" he asked, still grinning.
"Tis a long story, Cap'n, but all's I can tell ye is I 'appened ta come across an abandoned Dutch Frigate off Curacao a few months back," he said, with a broad smile before removing his part of the map from the table and placing it inside his jacket.
"The ship was sinking after taking a bit of a battering from a recent storm, so we pillaged tha bugger before she went down, 'n among tha swag wus this beauty," he said, patting the pocket containing the map.
"How did ye come upon yer part?" asked Ol'Man curiously.
"Arrr well... on me arrival back inta tha Caribbean, I decided ta take a lil' trip ta Trinidad. Met a sorry bugger in tha tavern there. This geezer 'appened ta be a bit worse fer wear after a night on tha grog 'n gunpowder sniffin'," replied Coggy, "and I traded it fer a bottle 'o rum - tha silly drunken sod… Haaarrrr"
"Did tha swine have a scar across 'is neck?" asked Ol'Man, inquisitively.
"Aye, 'appen 'e did. Wus 'e a friend 'o yers?" asked a curious Coggy.
"Ye could say that," nodded Ol'Man, "He be tha theiv'n swab who pinched me map before I could git a good look at it. Tha bugger wus me first mate, Mr Balloch, and 'e caused a mutiny aboard me very own flagship, 'e did," explained Ol'Man.
He took a swig of rum before continuing, "Anyhow, during the commotion tha map wus ripped in two and tha blaggard jumped overboard wit a piece before we could grab 'im. Don't 'ave a bleedin' clue how 'e survived tha swim to Curacao... must 'o been nigh on four miles to tha coast."
Coggy smiled and poured more rum into the two men's tankards, "Some first mate, mate" he said, with a smile.
"'Appen ye can't trust ney one these days," added Ol'Man, grinning to himself.
Ten minutes later...
Coggy stood on deck with the others.
"So where's it buried?" asked Morgan without delay.
"Arrr, 'Enry me auld mate," said a broad grinning Cog, "Tis ney more'n one months sailin' from this very place, matey." he announced.
"Yeah, but WHERE?" asked Morgan again, with increasing impatience.
The other pirates looked on with eager anticipation.
"Well lads, from what I's seen wit me one good eye, tha place we's headin' to be non other than a small uncharted island somewhere's in tha Gulf of Honduras, near Belize."
"BELIZE?" came a chorus of disappointment.
"That English cesspool?" called Moose.
"Aye" replied Cog, still grinning.
"Bleedin' 'ell, Coggy," continued Moose, "Tha number 'o times I's sailed by that thar English hovel 'n all that time thars a bleedin' fortune on its doorstep!" he finished, as a sick feeling of disappointment took hold.
"Never ye mind, Moosey," reassured Coggy, "'After we's dug tha bugger up, we'll go 'n celebrate by burnin' Belize to tha ground fer ye!" replied the laughing Captain.