Chapter 6: Treasure Chest Surprise

I'm not sure what we each expected but we all acted almost stunned as we milled around the garage studying what appeared to be an actual pirate's treasure chest. Not that any of us had actually ever seen a real pirate's treasure chest anywhere other than the movies. The chest itself was approximately three feet by two feet by 18 inches tall. It seemed to be constructed of some type of dense wood, a wood strong enough to have withstood possibly 350 years of being buried in a hole by the edge of the bay.

The chest at first appeared black in color but later after a good rinse with the garden hose the exterior lightened to a dark amber hue. It was obvious that some of the fastenings were missing but there were three heavy straps around its circumference that were made of some metal, possibly bronze or brass. The lower corners were reinforced with castings made of the same metal as the other fittings and one of these was missing. The others looked to have been pressed into the wood somehow.

As Edward washed off the muck, the remaining fittings and straps began to take on a heavy green patina. There was no lock or hasp as such. It was held closed by three short bronze or brass fittings that ran from the lid to the front of the chest. Their ends appeared to be bolted to the center strap running around the chest's circumference. We assumed that the lid was hinged on what looked to be the back of the chest as there were no fasteners in evidence there. The hinges must have been fixed on the inside of the chest since they were not visible once the muck was removed.

No one said much as Edward washed away the muck. All of our butts had been dragging at the point that we removed the chest from the large hole, but we seemed to have gained a second wind after moving it up the hill and placing it on the concrete floor of the garage. Hector had silently removed the rope from my truck and returned it and our crude sled to the back of the garage. He came over and stood next to me looking at the chest, seemingly as much in awe of our discovery as I was.

For the moment no one seemed to have an overwhelming curiosity as to the contents of the chest. The chest itself did not appear to be waterlogged but it was very heavy. I had watched a show on one of the educational channels that told of the need to keep newly recovered metal and wooden materials under water to keep the metal from oxidizing and the wood from drying out too quickly. I had no idea how to conserve this chest but I wanted to try, as it was possible that the chest itself might end up being worth more than the contents.

After we discussed things, Hector suggested that we use the sheets of plywood and two by four studs in the back of the garage to make a box that we could line with heavy-gauge plastic sheeting and fill with water. As tired as we were, we began the project immediately. Elise and Camilla volunteered to go to the hardware store and pick up a plastic painter's drop cloth that we could use for lining the plywood box. Edward, Hector and I made short work of building a box that was four foot on a side and three foot high of plywood on a frame made of two by fours. Audra and Irma kept the chest soaked while we hurriedly fashioned the box.

It was almost nightfall by the time we had the plastic lining the box and managed to lift the chest into it. We filled the box with water to where the water level was six inches above the top of the chest. We stood around the sides of the box watching as a few bubbles of air escaped from the chest. I wasn't sure about the others, but I was both physically and emotionally drained at the moment.

An hour and a half later we were all sitting in the kitchen eating chicken straight from an enormous bucket that Camilla and Elise had brought back when they went to get the plastic. We had locked the garage securely before we made our way to the kitchen. All of us were apparently starved as we ate chicken in near silence for fifteen minutes or so before anyone spoke. In a way it was almost as if we had gone through some sort of sacred ritual and were afraid to talk of it.

Finally Audra asked the question that I'm sure was in the forefront of everyone's mind. She asked, "What do you suppose is inside?"

Irma who had been especially quiet answered for all of us when she said, "I have no idea."

Then she added, "I really never thought we would find anything."

That statement put the hole in the conversational dike as it seemed as if everyone wanted to talk at once.

Camilla said, "I was hoping but I never would have thought..."

Hector said, "I don't think it can be gold because that much gold would have weighed too much for us to move."

Edward opined, "I think it must weight 200 or 250 pounds. Even if a lot of that is the chest itself, there's something in there that's fairly hefty."

I had done a lot of research online, mainly by googling pirate's treasure. I added, "I've never heard of a chest like this one. The ones I saw online were either cast iron or iron banded wood. These seem to have straps of brass or bronze. The ones I found online had key locks or a hasp for a padlock of some type."

Edward got a far away look in his eyes as he said, "That wood must be heartwood of some type. I've never seen anything like it. It still has a dark, rich patina after being buried in the muck for several hundred years."

I thought back to the changes in the topography and added, "I'm not sure how long it's actually been buried in muck. When the treasure was buried it was quite a ways inland and not on the shore itself. It may have been in drier conditions for quite a while, as we don't know how long it took the shore to shift to its current location."

Audra tossed her chicken leg back on her plate and asked, "Now that we have eaten, are we going to open the chest tonight or just let it sit there?"

I laughed as it was obvious that Audra had a very low reserve of patience. I thought back to the fight we had about the treasure room itself and laughed again.

Audra looked at me and asked, "What's funny about that?"

I grinned and replied, "You. Your middle name must be Pandora."

Everyone chuckled at that except Irma who said, "I don't think that's funny. I'm with Audra. Now that we've found the chest I think we need to open it and find out what's in it."

Elise smiled at the obvious excitement of her friend. She teased, "I think we need to get a good night's sleep and look at things first thing in the morning."

When she saw the shocked expressions on Irma and Audra's faces she laughed heartily and added, "Don't you want an evening of anticipation? It could end up being a box of rocks or a treasure chest of gold. Either way, it will be there tomorrow after we are better rested."

Surprisingly Camilla joined in next saying, "Makes sense to me. You ready to head home, honey?"

Hector looked from Camilla to Audra to Irma and finally to me, as if he expected that I was the ultimate authority. I looked at the expectation on Audra's face and chickened out saying, "Makes no difference to me; whatever the majority wants."

Audra spoke up immediately and said, "Well, I vote we open that sucker now."

Laughter permeated the room at the intensity of Audra's statement. I said, "Everyone in favor of opening the chest now raise your hand."

Audra and Irma's hands immediately went up. After a moment Edward's hand also went up.

I then said, "Everyone who wants to wait until tomorrow raise your hand."

Camilla and Elise quickly put up their hands. Audra quickly said, "I thought you two were my friends."

About then Hector added his upraised hand to even the vote. Everyone looked to me. Audra puckered her lips at me and mimicked little kisses toward me. I knew that I should support my intended but I was suddenly dead tired. Closing my eyes I raised my hand.

When I opened my eyes I saw Audra across from me with a puppy dog pouting expression on her face. I expected to take flack for my decision. Audra surprised me when she immediately smiled at all of us and said, "Well I guess it's for the best. What time do you want to meet in the morning?"

I put my arm around Audra as everyone discussed when we should start in the morning. I looked into her eyes and asked, "No hard feelings?"

Audra smiled up at me and said, "No, you're right I guess. I know you men are tired because you did most of the digging and lifting. I can't help it though. I never could stand not knowing what was in a present. Mom used to get so mad because I would shake packages under the tree until she was afraid I would break them."

I whispered in her ear, "I'm just as excited as you. I just think that it's going to take a good bit of time to open that chest properly and evaluate what's inside."

We all agreed to get an early start in the morning. Hector and Camilla decided to stay in our other guest room rather than drive across town to their new home. Hector wondered whether we should take turns standing guard over the treasure. "That garage isn't all that secure. All it would take would be a rock to bust the window out in the side door and then anyone could get in."

Edward said, "I didn't see anyone else showing any interest in what we were doing. No one from any of the other houses on this side of the bay can see that shoreline because of the way it curves in. I didn't see any boats hanging around or acting suspicious. I guess a random burglar could strike but I doubt if he would spend a whole lot of time trying to pry into a muddy box when there are all those power tools out there."

I added, "Besides, that expensive security system I had installed has motion sensitive lights that go on if anyone comes near the house or the garage at night. I also had door sensors put on the side door of the garage because of all of that woodworking equipment."

Elise laughed and added, "I don't know about the rest of you but I'm so keyed up that I wonder how much sleep I'm going to get anyway."

Everyone nodded agreement. Hell, as tired as I was, I wondered if I would be able to get to sleep myself. Eventually Irma and Audra put away the remainder of the chicken and everyone took that as a hint that we should turn in. I stayed down stairs and locked up and set the security system after Edward and Elise left.

Mr. Whiskers was apparently wide awake as well. He bounded up the stairs ahead of me and patiently waited as I opened my bedroom door. As soon as it was opened he entered and started his own security search of the corners of the room. Finally he settled down on the foot of the bed as if to show us how easy it was to drift off to sleep.

Audra wrapped herself around me as soon as I changed and got into bed. She kissed my cheek, nuzzled my neck and in general let me know that she was not yet ready to surrender to the sand man. As tired as I was from everything that happened I found myself unable to resist her charms. Okay, not unable; more like unwilling. I also found that I was not nearly as tired as I thought.

Morning dawned bright and early with none of the clouds of the previous morning. I'm not sure whether it was my own internal clock, the sun streaming in through the open curtains, or Mr. Whiskers walking up my back that woke me; probably a combination of the three. I raised my head and glanced over at the alarm clock and saw the digital display indicating 6:25. My mind took a moment to engage. On a normal work morning the alarm would have already sounded so I figured it was a weekend and silently cursed the conditions that had awakened me. Then, I thought about what we were doing today and that swept the remaining cobwebs from my mind. I gently lifted my arm from Audra's naked back and moved toward my side of the bed, snagging Mr. Whiskers and carrying him off of the bed with me.