The Legend of the Phantom (28 page)

Chapter 40

As the pirates slept, the Phantom removed his Kit attire and uncovered the less cumbersome Phantom attire. Stowing the clothes under the first loose stones of the south wall near the Taìno village, he pulled out his flashlight. The lens cap on it was red, casting a glow that was difficult to see from a distance, but provided ample light to the sharp eyes of the Phantom.

Quickly he made his way to where the pirates were sleeping. There he counted t
heir number, eight in all, and memorized every face he could see. Only when he came across Les did he register any surprise. Suddenly it all became very clear.

‘A fine piece of
manipulation,’ he thought to himself.

Having assured
himself that he went unnoticed, he retreated to a safe distance and considered his surroundings. ‘If there were treasure hidden somewhere on this island, it would make the most sense to keep it close to the shore. Preferably where one could simply row right up to the cave. Additionally,’ he continued his reasoning, ‘it should remain hidden from view… so perhaps in a cave that could only be accessed at low tide. Although with so many caves to choose from, I doubt that it would make much of a difference. Still, its worth checking out the low tide cave system first.’

As low tide was still several hours away, the Phantom moved on
and scouted the immediate area around him. To the south he came across an old abandoned well, and near to it an old unused airstrip. Along the way, he found himself a place to sleep, well hidden from the pirates that lay so close to where he landed.

Moving his water into his new lair, he took one last look at his cavernous surroundings and promptly fell asleep.

The morning light brought movement into the pirate camp.
The Black Widow woke with a full agenda for everyone. Immediately following breakfast she turned her men loose to work in pairs across the island.

Two headed off in the direction of the lighthouse on the far southeastern side of the island
starting at Punta los Ingleses while another two headed for the Taìno ball courts: the one near the center of the island, la Bajura, and the one far to the east called el Corral. Stripes and Patches opted to head north along the west coast towards Cueva el Gato.

Finally it was down to Les and
Lady Heloise, otherwise known as the Black Widow.

“Les, let’s stroll over to the old Taìno village and see what can be seen.
“From the map, I rather suspect the treasure will be buried on this side of the island, rather than the other side, but I’ll let Stripes have his fun. If he wants to send his men scurrying all over the island for a day, so be it,” she said placing the blame on Stripes rather than herself.

“Normally I wouldn’t agree with anything Stripes plans, but for once I agree.
It is nice to just be alone with you.”

“Why do you hate him so
, dear?”

“I just do… and mark my words, once we find the treasure, Stripes is finished.”

“Oh don’t be so dramatic darling. Now, where shall we start?”

“How about in the shade…”

Many hours later the men returned. The first pair found a cave with a 60 step stone staircase
. Long before, a narrow gauge track was laid leading along the beach and up into a cave which had once been used for guano mining. An opening had been cut through the roof of the cave to the plateau. Later it was used as a more direct means to haul pieces of the framework from which the lighthouse was constructed.

The second pair found near Cueva de Aleman the foundation of a ranch, and nearby, just east of the ranch,
a hollowed out boulder. Though promising, they discovered no symbols nearby and much less treasure.

Stripes and
Patches passed the old Taìno village and explored Cueva el Capitan. The trail they followed had them pass through the outskirts of an old mahogany plantation. They continued north until they reached Cabo Barrionuevo and then headed back having found nothing.

As the day wound down, so did the pirates, having spent way too much time in the heat and sun.

The Phantom enjoyed a long sound sleep throughout the heat of the day.

His dreams took him back to when he was but a child and his father showed him the way to the Jungle Patrol headquarters. The Phantom held several titles around the world, and one of them was the Unknown Commander in charge of the greatest military minds of the planet: the Jungle Patrol.

The Jungle Patrol was formed in 1664 by the 6
th
Phantom. A paramilitary operation whose formation took part after the 6th Phantom had defeated the pirate leader Redbeard and his three lieutenants, Black Bart, Salla, and Crusher in their pirate city, Sanloi. After his victory over Redbeard, the Phantom became the leader of all pirates of Sanloi. With Redbeard as his right hand man, he ordered the same to pick out 100 loyal men, to help him imprison the other pirates. With the 100 men in place, the plan succeeded, and thus the Jungle Patrol was formed. Throughout the years, the Patrol expanded, always with the Phantom at its head. The pirates eventually were replaced with the best military men the world had to offer and slowly the  original band of pirates succumbed to an elite patrol whose name was virtually unknown.

When the Patrol was infiltrated by a Singh Pirate and killed the 14
th
Phantom, the 15
th
decided that the Patrol’s commander could operate incognito. As a result, the Phantom took over the guise of the Unknown Commander, the head of the greatest military group the planet had ever seen. No longer did it just encompass the shores and jungles of Africa and India, but it covered the world. 

Still, its headquarters and training area remains in the Bangallan outskirts, near a condemned old well.

There Kit and his father had traveled at night, hiding from the very people that they commanded, escaping detection from the most prolific of men. The purpose for the excursion was to deliver a final note. Leaving young Kit behind with the horse, the Unknown Commander had climbed down into the dark abandoned well. Anxiously Kit awaited his father, who just as quickly as he disappeared, reappeared, smiling; note delivered, tension gone.

As the shadows lengthened he woke and realized that he was no longer in the dream. The Phantom began to get ready for his nightly excursion.

The tides were already turning but he wasn’t too concerned about it.
For the dream had given him a thought; and whether it came to him as divine intervention through his forefathers or whether it was just an undigested bit of chicken, he decided to give it some merit.

Working quietly but quickly he retraced his steps to the old abandoned well.
There he examined the outer edge for that key that would prove his hunch was correct. He especially took care as the well was not all that far from where the pirates had camped. Playing his red light over the outer lip he shortly found the symbol of the two crossed swords.

Grunting assent to himself, h
e quickly surveyed the scene, and having assured himself he was unseen, he vaulted over the lip. It was a rather tight fit but just big enough to be used as a walled staircase to one trained to climb such. So down he climbed, finding a toe hold here and a finger hold there, his small light held clamped in his mouth between his teeth.

A full sixteen feet underground he found it, the
second good symbol of the Phantom: the crossed sabers. He stopped and stared at it. ‘Who had left this here? The Second?’

The Phantom looked closer at the wall and saw that it was roughly filled in with stone, in the outline of a door. Working his way to the slight protruding lip of the entranceway, he pushed on the symbol.
Immediately the stone wall gave way, sliding inward with a slight groan that he hoped was not heard above.

As the stone moved, it revealed an open p
assageway; one that started out man-made and ended up part of the natural cave system. Quickly he scoured the path with his light and having assured himself that there were not any traps he cautiously moved into it.

As h
e scanned the passageway, he found himself in what could only be described as an extensive underground fortress; part man-made and part natural. The passageway came out into a natural underground amphitheatre. Though a bit small, the circular room held five doorways beyond the passageway in which he stood; all of which were open.

Four of them led into large connecting chambers
while the last doorway opened into a natural cavern that was set well below the rest of the others.

The other chambers he left to be explored at a later time and focused his attention on the fifth one instead.

The chamber itself was a bit of a peculiarity in that it appeared to be a natural sinkhole, with near vertical sides that seemed to extend to the very crust of earth above it. From the door, a long stone staircase angled down and ended well below the natural waterline of the tide flow. It was currently high tide outside, and though the water was stayed, a former high tide mark could be seen some seventeen feet above the island, just below the height of the doorway. But what really caught the Phantom’s attention was on a small island in the middle of the well. There on the island at the base of the cavern sat a pile of wealth that seemed immeasurable,

A common man might have rushed forward but the Phantom was more cautious.
Looking up the Phantom searched the doorframe for a simple symbol. Shortly he found it. The Phantom’s own death’s head.

With the death’s head symbol found, the
Phantom decided it was worth his time to come back another time… perhaps in the daylight, as he suspected that the noise of the well door might have awoken some of the pirates. Additionally he felt that the chamber held more than it appeared at first glance. With perhaps even a means in from the side through a low tide cave system that might be visible in the light of day. Hence, leaving the treasure behind, he made his way back up the passageway to the top of the old abandoned well.

The climb was not an arduous one and shortly he pulled himself over the final stonework.

As he did so, a pistol pointed at his face.

Chapter 41

The yellow-crowned night heron had kept still as the men approached the old well. As they neared its roosting spot, it flew off in a flutter of wings, crying out as it sought escape from the unknown danger it assumed the men possessed. It assumed correctly.

Gathering around the top of the well, hidden from
sight from the Phantom below, the men waited impatiently for the Phantom to return. Ever since Les discovered his clothing hidden in the old wall by the Taìno village he knew it was just a matter of time before they would find the man. So he arranged to have the men sleep as normal, posting himself and Stripes as lookout on the assumption the Phantom would materialize. Stripes had grumbled about the lack of sleep as Les had hoped, but in the end, Les’ assumption paid off.

As the Phantom’s head popped up, Stripes cocked
his weapon.

“We meet again, Phantom,” Stripes said as he greeted the Phantom with his pistol aimed at his head.

“Stripes. So good to see you again,” replied the Phantom. “I assume you are here to help me out of this hole?”

“Not quite. In fact, I
was looking to join youse down there…seeing as how it looks so comfy and all. But first, we need to get youse out and all chained up, see. Can’t be having youse run off on us, or disappearing or nothing.”

“I see your logic, Stripes,” replied the Phantom. “As you wish.” The Phantom immediately hoisted himself out of the cave and looked around for the girl. Not seeing her, he allowed the seven men to surround him and place chains upon his arms. “So, where is the
Black Widow?” he casually asked as they chained him up.

“Don’t
youse be fretting about that. She knows how to stay hidden to keep the rings to herself.”

“I see,” said the Phantom. “Very clever.”

“Stripes, Shut up!” spoke Les angrily. “You speak way too much for a man of your intellect.”

“See! She’s not the only clever one.” Stripes responded, grinning, as he
had raised Les’ ire.

“Phantom,” Les pleaded with him, “Just hit him. Hit him hard
.”

“Oh, I will,” promised the Phantom. “
But let me get my rings back first. I’m told it stings more that way.”

“I’ll sting you!” Stripes responded as he brought down his pistol hilt hard against the Phantom’s head.

Shortly the Phantom recovered and found himself tied up. ‘I’ve got to stop antagonizing him,’ he thought to himself, ‘All it’s doing is giving me a headache.’ Then he repented of the thought and laughing aloud thought to himself, ‘Nah. It’s too much fun to stop.’

The laughter didn’t help Stripes’ mood any. Barking out orders, Stripes had the Phantom quickly dragged off down the trail to the edge of one of the many deep drops created by collapsed cave roofs into the dark waters below.

There
, while they covered him with weapons drawn, they tied his hands and feet.

As he l
ay there, breathing a bit laboriously, having endured many hard kicks to the stomach, the Phantom attempted to get information. “So, Stripes, how many are you?” He paused to await the response. When none came, he tried again, “Where are your headquarters? Who is at top? It’s the Black Widow, isn’t it? You are all just her puppets aren’t you?”

Stripes growled in response and delivered another hard kick to the Phantom’s stomach.

By that time Les had meandered over. “Phantom. I am no one’s puppet,” Les countered. “I pull the strings. Not her.”

“Really? It doesn’t look that way,” chided the Phantom.

“Really?!” demanded Les. “Let me explain how things are, Phantom.” Les was more than willing to explain everything. After all, this was the end of the Phantom line.

The next few moments were more of a vocal slurry than just a monologue. Les took credit for everything:

“Heloise may be your cousin… so many times removed, but I am the one who has run the show. Yes, when I met her she went on and on about you, and I’ll admit I never believed it was true. But then a short stint in a Mexican
cárcel changed my mind.

“
You see, I met Stripes there, and another, now dead, chum named John. Both of them with fancy tattoos on their jaws. When I heard the story of how they got them, I became a believer.

“
Well, once I knew you existed, then I knew the part about all your treasure must be true too.

“
It was the tales of the wealth that drove me. Most of my life I’ve been searching for gold and by having found a relative to a man or ghost that seemed to possess uncountable amounts of it, I arranged to have the girl stage something to get you to come to us.

“
Then a bit of luck came my way. As you probably heard, a few gold coins washed up in Costa Rica. Phantom gold! Well, when I found out about the Phantom gold, I did ‘most everything in my power to get it.

“
I found out that the Costa Ricans were looking for a ship to dredge the waters, so I hunted up a nearby ship, killed the owners of the
Scavenger
, brought on a new crew, and used my influence to convince the Costa Rican government to allow me to find the treasure.

“
And find it I did!

“
Once it was brought up, I had my newly purchased pirate crew attack the Scavenger and kill off the rest of the
Scavenger’s
crew, every one, either directly or indirectly.

“
I had hoped that by killing off the crew and making the treasure sound cursed that you would come running. But no”, he said accusingly, “Instead you took your sweet time.

“So when my spies said you had flown into town, I made my convincing run from Stripes and Patches. Fake wound and all, and you fell for it
: hook, line and sinker.

“Then I had them chain us up and wait for the arrival of Heloise, you know, the Black
Widow.

“
But then they left and we got rescued. Who would have guessed that that child would help us out. I had another plan, but I was ok to just roll with it.

“
The rest of it was just conveniently arranging for my team to go wherever they were needed to spy on you, Phantom.

“
First I sent a man to Albuquerque. And it worked! You led us to the Eyrie!

“
Then I sent a man to Paris to watch the international flights, but before you arrived we figured out the clue on the painting was the map. And it showed where the real treasure was located. So though you nearly led us to Mona, we figured that out on our own.

“
Then finally once on the island, I watched and waited for you, Phantom, to arrive.

“
I saw no point in scurrying all over the island when I knew you would show us the way.

“
…And now, my heirless ghost… here is to the end of the Phantom line. Perhaps, I may take over… Those stupid pygmy Bandar won’t stop me, and then the true line can begin, following the ‘original’ family business… Piracy! Maybe the rocks will save you the slow painful death of drowning.” He kicked the Phantom hard one last time in the stomach. “Drop him in boys.”

As Les backed away, the others came up, and with one accord
tossed him in, letting his huge weight fall toward the pooled water below.

Moments later the body hit, the water splashing high a
s The Phantom’s trussed up body sank.

The last thing the Phantom heard was Les’ voice echoing down
, “Here’s to a new age, Kit. The Phantom is dead! Long live the Phantom!”

The moment the phantom hit the water he allowed his body to sink. Once he was well underwater and in the shadows of the deep, he twisted and worked his body like that of a porpoise until he was able to work his way over and back up to the edge of the cave. Having pulled himself up onto the sharp rocks with his tied hands, he used those same sharp rocks to cut the rope that was binding his wrists.

Quickly he free
d his feet and looked for a way to the surface from the cave system.

Meanwhile the pirates had finally made their way down into the well and through the passageway to the entrance of the gold room.

Only
the Black Widow had sense enough to stay outside of the chamber, and pulling back Les and Stripes to stay with her, the trio watched as the men scrambled onto the stone staircase toward the murky water below where a pile of gems, gold, silver, pearls, and trinkets of all shapes and sizes of value lay awaiting them a full seventeen feet below them. As they stood there watching the men press forward, the Black Widow sidled next to Les.

T
he men made their way onto the staircase, and having made it half way down the stone staircase, the stone slab that the first two stepped onto suddenly dropped and slid forward a foot. Two of the men stumbled and fell off the side of the staircase into the water below, one of them crying out in pain as he broke his arm against a sunken rock. The others either jumped forward or rode out the moving slab.

“I see the fun has begun,” she commented.

As they congratulated themselves on having survived the shifting stone slab, the huge stone slab that hung suspended above the door entrance fell. Great chains released as the door slab rolled into place, moving far too quickly to allow any escape.

As the
weight of the massive suspended rock fell, it landed upon a rock that one of the pirates had placed there ‘just in case’. With a mighty and sharp CRACK the smaller rock underneath broke asunder sending shards hurtling outward, impaling two and wounding a third. With nothing left to keep the door in place it slammed down sealing the chamber from the inside.

As the door left its place from above it
pulled open a smaller slab that it was connected to through chains and pulleys. As the lower slab was released from its hold, sea water shot out over the staircase with a force that swooped off the remaining men and made it impossible to consider climbing again.

Quickly the men made for the island, but just as quickly, they realized their ‘island’ was disappearing beneath the forceful flow of water.
The men started yelling… then screaming.

Injured, drenched, and hopeless, the men realized they were trapped. It would only be a matter of hours before they would drown.