by Bob Kranich
The Sponge Adventure, (Part 10, Excerpt 41)
This is a story titled, The Sponge Adventure. Captain Bob and his two mates, Dave and Amos fish the Gulf out of Key West in Bob’s sea-going Trawler, Sea Breeze. Captain Bob and Dave are on Dave’s skipjack sail boat out amongst the islands around the Keys. This will wrap up this tale, but not without some excitement first.
The Sponge Adventure
“We hit a submerged piling with our sailboat and jammed the rudder. We need to borrow some tools,” Bob asked.
“Wow! Are those gold doubloons?” David asked. “A real treasure!”
All they got was silence and stares.
“What’s going on?”
David and Bob turned around. The fourth guy was behind them.
Vince, these guys need some tools. They jammed their rudder on that sailboat,” One of the three guys sitting down answered.
“Listen, you two. I need for you to sit down there near that tree. We don’t have time to visit,” Vince commanded.
David said, “We’ve got to get our boat repaired, and get on for home.”
“Oh, you’ve got plenty of time,” he said as he pulled his unbuttoned shirt open to expose a shoulder holster packing a .38 revolver.
“Yes sir,” Bob said, “Come on, David, let’s sit.”
“What should we do with them, Vince? They’ve already seen too much,” one of the three said.
“Here’s what…You two get this stuff bagged up and in the run-about. Joe and I are going to take care of these two guys.”
“Gonna plug them, Vince?” Joe asked.
“Na, we’ll tie them to a couple of trees in the forest back there.
“Tie ‘em real good! We’ll let the snakes and the gators take care of ‘em. When they're found, it will only be bones.”
“You two guys turn around, on your knees. Hands behind. Joe, tie their hands real good. There’s some rope in the shack,” Vince was issuing orders. “On your feet, guys. Now march straight back towards those pines.”
Vince had his gun out of the holster and in his hand, waving it about.
“Now don’t run or try any funny stuff or I will have to use this.”
“No sir,” Bob said.
“Just shut up and walk! There are two good trees. They’re out sight of the water and the shack.”
“You want to gag them, Vince?” Joe asked.
“No, no one ever comes to this all forsaken island. Ok guys, say hello to the snakes and gators for me,” Vince smirked.
David and Bob heard the runabout start up and go out to the cruiser. A few minutes later the cruiser’s big engines burst into action, and the boat headed out into the channel full blast.
“They went towards the Atlantic,” David said.
“Hey David, this is sure an interesting sponging adventure.” Bob said as he chuckled, “That guy sure can tie a knot, I don’t have any slack back there.”
“What do you think was going on Bob?” David asked.
“Well it sure has something to do with those gold doubloons. Must have found them on someone else’s property and are trying to keep the state from confiscating them or avoiding taxes. Who knows?”
“What’s that?” David asked. “Listen.”
“I don’t hear anything,” Bob answered.
“There it is,” David whispered. “I hope it’s not the gators!”
“I hear it!” Bob said, “Let’s be quiet.”
Then a small brown face with a white nose looked out of some brush at them.
“What’s that?” Bob exclaimed very softly.
“It’s a Key deer.” David whispered, “I’ve never seen one close up.”
“It looks too small. It’s full grown and is only three feet high!” Bob said.
The small deer came out of the bushes and started to graze on some grass in the small clearing.
“Suddenly the deer’s ears and tail stood straight up. Then with tail twitching…it leaped across the small clearing with a bound, jumped over a bush and was gone, leaving only the sound of cracking twigs in the far distance.
“Now, what scared him? I didn’t hear anything,” David both asked and stated.
Then just as fast as the deer disappeared, a guy appeared in the same bush the deer first entered from. This guy was dressed all in green camouflage fatigues, had his face blackened, and was carrying an M1 carbine.
Bob and David were surprised speechless. The guy looked at them, crouched down and looked through the brush towards the beach. Then, a second guy came in from the same direction. He was dressed the same as the first, and was carrying a large army backpack and M1.
Bob and Dave remained stunned.
The second guy kneeled down, looked at them and then looked back the way he had come in, “Lieutenant! Come take a look at this!” he stated and shook his head in amazement.
A third guy appeared. He had a side arm, a forty five, no rifle, and was also dressed in camouflage.
“What are you guys doing here?” the lieutenant asked.
The second guy kneeled down, looked at them and then looked back the way he had come in, “Lieutenant! Come take a look at this!” he stated and shook his head in amazement.
A third guy appeared. He had a side arm, a forty five, no rifle, and was also dressed in camouflage.
“I guess we could ask the same. Are you friend or foe? Will you cut us loose?” Bob asked.
“Sarge, cut them loose. I’m going to check on the point.”
The second guy whipped out a bayonet from the scabbard on his belt, and swish...swish, the two guy’s ropes were cut.
Bob and Dave stood there, both rubbing their hands and arms. “Thank the Lord! You guys are like a miracle!” David exclaimed.
The Lieutenant and the point man came back. “Just a sailboat and skiff out there,” the point said.
The Lieutenant questioned, “Ok guys, what happened?”
“Well, our boat hit a submerged piling and jammed the rudder. We came in to ask four guys who had a big cruiser anchored out there if we could borrow any tools. They were sitting by the house. They had a pile of gold doubloons, and I guess they didn’t like what we saw...they tied us up and left.”
“There is a rumor about a treasure being found last year. They must have hid it here,” the sarge said.
“We heard the cruiser when it first came in and decided to investigate. We took our time and just got here,” The lieutenant explained.
“What are you guys doing?” Bob asked.
The three military guys looked at each other, not saying a thing.
The lieutenant finally said, “Guys I’m going to trust you. We’re training, possibly for Cuba. Please forget all of this, you didn’t see us.”
“We will,” Bob and David said in unison.
Just then they heard the deep sound of a diesel engine. “That’s our trawler! I know its sound…It must be Amos,” Bob exclaimed.
Bob and David scrambled over to the bushes to look out.
“It sure is our boat,” David responded.
They both looked back to thank the three military guys, but they weren’t there. It was just like they never were.
They ran down to the beach. The small motor-driven boat from their trawler was heading in from the Sea Breeze. Bob’s wife was standing waving, David’s dad was sitting, and Amos was driving. They pulled right up onto the beach.
“What’s happening, guys?” the three in the boat asked.
“You will never believe us!” David and Bob both answered.
The End
From the Author:
My second full-length book , Florida Keys’ Watercolor Kapers is composed of 336 pages. There are 12 stories running from 6 pages to as many as 72 pages. It is fully illustrated with 88 watercolors and sketches. The watercolors I made roaming around Key West after I finished my 750 mile hike from Georgia to Key West. (See book or Don Browne’s SouthWest Florida Online News records, A Walk Across Florida.) As you read these stories you will experience Key West, the Keys, and the Caribbean. These stories span the time of the early 1800’s to 1969. bkranich.wixsite.com/bobkranich
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