Mango Lucky (10 page)

At first, the Cruiser seemed to struggle, all four tires trying to find grip on the wet pavement. Then it dug in, and the car at the other end of the tow strap jolted as its tires broke loose from the sand.

With the car released from the sand's grip, the Cruiser had no problem pulling it through the flood waters and out onto A1A.

Anna continued in reverse, pulling the car to dry pavement just beyond the edge where the Indian River had flooded the road. Seeing the car was high and dry, she coasted to a stop.

I tapped on the now unstuck car's window, "Kill the motor. I'll unhook the tow strap."

Not wanting to be accidentally run over, I waited until the driver put the car in park and turned off the motor before I attempted to disconnect the strap. Then I got down below the car's bumper and got to work.

As I lay on my back on the wet road, trying to untie the knot in the tow strap that had been pulled tight, I noticed the wind was creating small white caps on the flood waters that crossed the road.

This was not turning out to be a good week. I was laying on my back on a wet road. I was soaked to the bone, cold, covered in sand, and for the second day in a row, I was outside in a dangerous storm.

After finally getting the tow strap unhooked, I went back to the driver and said, "You're set to go. Be careful."

As I was about to walk away, the man behind the wheel said, "Wait. Take this."

He handed me a small coin. My reward.

I shook my head and walked back to Anna in the Cruiser. There, I unhooked the other end of the tow strap, coiled it up, and put it in the back seat.

When I finally climbed into the passenger seat, Anna asked, "So what did he say?"

I shook my head, "Nothing. He just handed me a quarter for our trouble."

While we were still sitting there talking about this, the man in the car waved as he drove by, heading north on A1A.

At least he was smart enough not to try to drive south into flooded road.

33

We were in Anna's Land Cruiser, heading back to the campground. I was soaked from head to toe after spending almost an hour in the pouring rain trying to rescue the man and the dog.

Anna was doing all the talking while I was doing my best not to shiver in my wet clothes, chilled to the bone for the second time in as many days.

"I hope that guy knows how lucky he is. If you hadn't dragged him off the beach, the car would be under water, and his dog would have drowned."

I just nodded.

"Did he even thank you? Nope, he just smiled and drove off."

We turned into the campground, drove around the closed gate, and headed to our campsite.

As soon as Anna parked, I dug the motorhome keys out of my pocket, and climbed out of the Cruiser.

Unlocking the door to the Love Bus, I stepped in, turned to Anna and said, "Shower. You first?"

She smiled, "Shower? That sounds like a great idea. If you don't mind, I'd be happy to go first."

I nodded, "Okay, but I've got to go back and move Bob's box and turn on the hot water."

While I was in the back, Anna stripped down to her bra and panties, leaving her wet clothes and muddy shoes by the door.

Walking back up front, I nodded appreciatively and smiled big.

She shook her head, "Don't get any ideas."

"Hard not to with you looking like that," I said.

Anna smiled, "Remember, I've got a gun."

I pointed to the back of the Love Bus, "Your shower awaits."

While Anna was in the shower, I stripped off my wet clothes and dropped them in a pile near Anna's.

When I did, the coin given to me by the man we had rescued rolled out of my pants pocket and onto the floor.

I picked the coin up, and saw that it wasn't like any coin I had ever seen before. Instead of being round like a quarter, it was rough edged and multi-sided.

The coin was dark and the face was worn smooth. In the center, a large cross surrounded by patterned lines. Around the edges, roman numerals.

I had a suspicion I was holding one of those Spanish reales I'd seen on the internet. A silver piece of eight from the 1715 Spanish treasure fleet. Or a modern-day replica.

Anna would know for sure.

I wrapped the coin in a paper towel and put it in one of the cup holders near the driver's seat.

34

From the back of the motorhome, Anna called out, "Walker, I need some help back here. I'm all out of dry clothes. You got anything I can wear?"

She was standing outside the bathroom, wrapped in a towel.

I laughed, "You look pretty good with just that towel around you. You could wear that all day if you want."

"Yeah sure, I'll do that. Just let me get my gun."

I laughed, "No need for that. Look in the bedroom closet and you'll find t-shirts and shorts. Take whatever you need."

A few minutes later Anna came to the front wearing one of my t-shirts and a pair of baggy shorts.

"So how do I look?" She asked.

"Very fashionable," I said.

Anna smiled, and for the first time I realized she had sparkling green eyes.

"Walker, what's the funny look on your face?"

"Oh nothing. Just thinking it's time for my shower."

Anna smiled, "May I suggest taking a cold one?"

I laughed, then walked to the back, found some clean clothes, and took a short shower.

When I came back up front, Anna was going through the kitchen cabinets.

"Need any help?" I asked.

"No, just looking for something for lunch. Maybe some of this Cajun Chicken Gumbo soup you've got here."

I nodded, "Yeah, that does sound good. You want me to do it?"

Anna removed the can of soup and a large Pyrex bowl from the cabinet. "No, I think I can handle making soup. You just sit down and relax."

Five minutes later, we were at the dining table eating.

Anna spoke first, "So, after we eat, you'll be ready to go out again, right? Rescue some more people?"

I smiled, "Sure. But this time, I'll stay in the Cruiser, and you can wade through the water and climb the dunes."

She laughed, "Yeah, you kind of got the short end of that deal. Maybe we ought to just stay inside here until the storm clears. "

I nodded, "Sounds good to me."

After we finished our meal, I put the bowls in the sink, and turned on the TV.

The weather radar showed the storm was slowly starting to move out of the area and the forecast was for the rain to slack off late tonight.

The clouds would hang around for another day or two with some wind and a few scattered showers. Temps would remain in the low sixties.

Anna approved. "Sounds like we'll be able to hit the beach tomorrow morning. As long as the road isn't flooded we can go out and do some detecting. Maybe we'll get lucky."

Remembering the coin the man had given me, I retrieved it from the cup holder and held it out for Anna to see.

35

"Is that the coin the old man gave you?"

"Yep."

"It's not a quarter."

"Nope."

"Do you know what it is?"

"Not sure. But I think it might be a coin from the treasure fleet."

Anna nodded, "Sure looks like it. But it might be a replica. They sell them in the museum over there."

I handed the coin to Anna. "Pick it up. Feel it. Look at it closely. Tell me if you think it is real or not."

Anna took the coin from my hand and examined it. "It sure feels real. And it looks hand-made, like the real ones do. And the color is right, too. Not shiny like a newer coin."

She continued, "The replicas they sell in the museum have the word 'copy' etched on the back. This one doesn't.

"So it could be real. But if it is real, it isn't a recent find. It's been cleaned up a bit."

Anna held onto the coin, turning it over and over in her hand.

"So," I asked, "If it is real, what's it worth?"

She thought for a moment, then said, "Well it looks like it's silver, and it looks like an eight reale.

"I've seen eight reales from the Treasure Coast sell for about three hundred dollars. This one is in pretty good condition, so it might bring a bit more. Maybe even five hundred dollars."

I nodded. "So the guy gave us a pretty good reward for rescuing him."

"Yep," replied Anna. "But he gave it to you. Not me. It's yours Walker. Your lucky day."

I shook my head, "No, that's not the way it works. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been out there in the first place. So this coin is half yours."

Anna smiled, "That's pretty generous of you. You sure you want to do that?"

I nodded, "Yes, it's only fair. And anyway, when we go out to the beach tomorrow, I'm hoping we find a lot more like it."

Anna closed her hand around the coin, leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"What's that for?"

"Because you're a nice guy. Aren't many of them around these days."

36

Anna was still holding the coin when she asked, "When you found that guy on the beach, what was he doing?"

"It looked like," I replied, "he was trying to dig something up. He was scooping sand out of a hole, but the incoming waves kept filling the hole back in. When I grabbed him, he didn't want to leave. He said I had no idea what he'd found."

Anna nodded, "Maybe he discovered a treasure hoard. And maybe first thing tomorrow we should go and check that out.

"Think you can find that spot again?"

I nodded, "I'm pretty sure I can. It was right where the Indian River came up out of it's banks. And directly above where his car was parked.

"We should be able to locate it without much problem. But if the other guy is there in the morning, I don't want to bother him. It's his find, not ours."

Anna didn't reply. She just nodded thoughtfully.

37

It continued to rain hard all afternoon, so we spent the rest of the day inside, talking about treasure, looking at some of the maps I had found on the internet, and discussing our strategy for the next morning.

Anna suggested we put fresh batteries in our detectors and get everything ready for the hunt. Her plan was to get up at the break of dawn, grab a quick breakfast and head out to the beach.

Our first stop would be where we had seen the man and his dog. If we didn't find anything there, we'd go to the secret beach Anna had told me about earlier.

The rain finally stopped just after dark, and I suggested we go out on the beach and try some night detecting.

Anna said, "No. No detecting after dark. It's too dangerous after a storm like this one. The heavy rain and high tides can erode away a lot of sand, leaving cliffs instead of dunes.

"With those cliffs behind you, you may not be able to get out of the way of big wave in the dark. You might end up being washed out to sea.

"It'll be better if we wait until the morning."

She had more experience doing this, so I didn't bother arguing.

After eating dinner, we watched TV for a few hours, and then prepared for bed.

As before, Anna slept on the couch, and I slept in the back bedroom.

Bob woke me about two hours after I hit the sack. He was out of food.

I filled his bowl and that seemed to settle him down. He ate a few bites, then went up front and snuggled in with Anna.

I guess he preferred sleeping with a woman.

I couldn't blame him. I preferred that as well.

I woke early the next morning. Well before sunrise. To me, it felt like Christmas morning with all the anticipation of what the day might bring.

As I lay there thinking about the treasures to be found, I heard Anna call out, "Walker, you awake?"

"Yep. Can't sleep."

"Well, get up then. You can cook me breakfast."

The power was still off and I didn't want to run the generator. This early in the morning it might disturb the few other people who had decided to ride out the storm in the campground

But since the the motorhome had a propane stove, I was able to cook scrambled eggs and bacon without starting the generator.

Anna was impressed. A hot meal to start the day out right.