"Not All Treasure is Silver and Gold"
Chapter 10
The sun was setting as Jack and Dani rowed nearer to the island. It was a truly beautiful sight.
Armed to the teeth with guns, ammunition, lanterns and rum, the crew made their way towards the dense jungle.
Dani was the first to walk into the darkness. This was Pintel and Ragetti's fault because they hesitated on the threshold and Dani shoved them out of the way. She wasn't a woman to be trifled with.
Jack was at her elbow, ready to fight the first thing that jumped out at them. No one was going to threaten his wife or his crew.
His eyes darted back and forth. That was one of Jack's attributes; he was overly cautious when it came to Danielle. And it was a true benefit for her because she always seemed to find herself in some kind of danger.
They dared not to spread out too much; for fear that they would lose half the crew. It was really stupid for them to go into this jungle. Who knew what they would find?
The sun had set and the stars started to appear, but could not be seen easily because of the dense jungle cover.
Dawn arrived before they made it back to the ship. They were dirty…well, dirtier, and sweaty and depressed. Jack's hunch turned out to be nothing once again.
And the crew made it known to their captain that they were not happy with the lack of events and treasure.
"Cap'n, you promised treasure!" One member shouted.
"I will have treasure for you…at some point…in the not so near future."
"We're out on a wild goose chase. Does the Fountain of Youth even exist?"
"Of course it does!" Dani answered, stepping up next to her husband.
"Shut up before we toss you overboard!"
"What in the bloody hell do you think you're saying? She is my wife, my best friend and a damn good crewmember."
"We agreed, fifteen years ago, that women were not allowed on this ship. And the man who brought them onboard would be sentenced to death. You were a fine captain without her and now you've lost your edge. We either all get a chance with her…" the man said, winking at her, " or she gets tossed overboard."
"Who else feels this way?" Jack asked, his arm around Dani's shoulders.
The man stood straighter and tried to urge the others to come forward, but the anger in Jack's eyes silenced him.
No one had ever seen Jack look so angry. It looked like he could shoot daggers from his deep brown eyes.
The silence continued as Jack began to speak. "No one else feels this way? None at all? Please, if someone feels as though I've done him wrong, speak up. I would love to know."
"Come on, men! Now is the time to speak up! We all feel the same way. Jack's gone soft!"
No one said a word as Jack surveyed the crowd. No one else had trouble with Dani being on board. She was treated just like the others before she had become with-child.
"So you are alone in you allegations? Then the next port, you will be left behind. Is that all?"
The man nodded as Jack turned to escort Dani back to their cabin.
"Sure, I'll leave the ship," the man called at Jack. "But at least I didn't marry a Tortugan whore!"
Jack's temper hit a boiling point and turned and drew his pistol.
"What did you say?" Jack hissed.
"Your wife is a whore and shouldn't be out here with us. And if she is out here with us, we deserve to get good use out of her."
Jack said nothing else. He could understand someone bad-mouthing him, but Danielle. No way in Hell was anyone going to get away with that.
A single shot fired from his pistol and hit the intended target, killing the man instantly.
"Throw him overboard," Jack said afterwards, motioning to the body on the deck. "Anyone else want to insult my wife?"
"No, no, Cap'n. We know that she's not a whore," Ragetti answered.
Pintel slapped him hard in the stomach, causing his wooden eye to fall out of the socket.
"Sorry," he said quickly as he bent down in an attempt to find his other eye.
Jack didn't wait any longer on deck and he'd be damned if they mutinied on him this time. He thought he had assembled a loyal crew for once.
Dani was in tears by the time she got back to the cabin. Jack's reputation wasn't the best but what if he started to question her as well? She wasn't a whore. There was that one time…but, she definitely wasn't a whore.
"Jack, next time we stop in Port Royal or Tortuga, leave me there. No matter how much I protest, leave me there."
"There is no way I am going to abandon you," Jack said back to her.
"Jack, there's something I must tell you…" she trailed off. She wasn't able to meet his eyes. How ever was she going to do this?
A/N: So that was chapter 10. What's Dani going to say? Dun-dun-dun...
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