Chapter 10: The Hideout
The next morning after a hearty breakfast, Jake, his coterie, Quick-Foot Charlie, and Spaghetti and Pitzel went ashore. Quick-Foot Charlie was leading the expedition since she was the one who requested to stop there. Becky was allowed to come, provided that she carried Christopher in a sling around her shoulder so that her arms could be free.
Charlotte led them to a deserted town, which showed little proof of inhabitants for the past twenty years. Near the edge of town was a waterfall. It was relatively small, but what it lacked in size it made up for in its strength. She brought them down a narrow path leading behind the waterfall. There behind the waterfall lay a small opening to a cave. Inside was evidence of a makeshift home, and lodged in one of the walls were diamonds, rubies, and other precious jewels.
"So this was your hideout!" Jake exclaimed as he looked around.
"Yes, it was. That over there was our bed, and that was going to be your cradle, but you never had the chance to use it. Well, this is just the surface of things. I hope I still remember how to do this…"
Quick-Foot Charlie strode over to the jeweled wall and pushed certain jewels in a particular pattern. Nothing happened. She tried a different pattern, and again, nothing happened. Very confused, she looked down at the ground and thought for a moment. Something glimmering in the dirt near her feet caught her attention.
"Of course!" she exclaimed as she picked the ruby off the ground. "One of the jewels fell out!"
She put it back in its place and pushed in the right sequence of gems. From behind the wall erupted a resounding thud. Quick-Foot proudly marched over to a practically empty bookcase on the left end of the wall. "Jake, do you think you could help me move this bookcase?"
"Scully and I will do it. You need to save your strength."
They moved the bookcase to reveal a doorway into another small room.
"How sneaky!" Becky exclaimed.
"Thank you," Quick-Foot smiled. "You'll definitely want to see what's in here, Jake." She and her son entered the secret room. "We kept all of our personal items, weapons, and treasures in this room just in case our exterior hideout was ever discovered. I would like to be able to take most of these things back to the ship; there isn't terribly much here. There's only two chests of treasure, that barrel of weapons, and perhaps just a satchel full of things of your father's and mine that I'd like to keep."
"Take whatever you want; the Ruby has plenty of room. So, what are some of these treasures in here?"
"Well, this one here is my favorite."
"A pair of old boots?" Jake furrowed his brow.
"It isn't their value that makes them my favorite, but it's the memory attached. I acquired this as a part of a dare actually. You see, your father and I loved to tease each other and challenge each other's abilities. It was his turn to dare me, and he claimed that I wouldn't be able to steal the boots off of William Kidd. So, I sneaked at night onto his ship and crept into his quarters while he was fast asleep. One of his boots was lying on the floor, but the other was still on his foot. I think he collapsed from drinking too much that night, because I was able to slip his boot off without him stirring. The men on watch nearly saw me as I ran off the ship with Kidd's boots, but I was able to get away and prove Jake wrong."
"Wow, that's so amazing! The boots of William Kidd!" Jake looked at the boots with new appreciation.
"I could tell you lots of stories like that, but I need to do something very important to honor your father. As far as I know, he never received a proper burial. I just want to have a little ceremony for him, and…I want to make you, Becky, and Christopher a part of the Commandeering Cardinals. You see, your father and I agreed to make the Commandeering Cardinals into a family business of sorts after you were born."
"Okay," Jake said solemnly, "we can take care of that right now if you'd like."
Charlotte grabbed one of Jake Sr.'s shirts before she went back into the main room with Jake.
"Everyone, gather around and keep quiet," Jake ordered. "My mother is going to be preforming a couple of ceremonies."
Charlotte dug a small grave in the center of the room and gingerly placed the shirt inside. She then made tribute: "Jake Cardinal, Sr. was taken out of this world much sooner than he deserved. He was a proficient pirate…an adoring husband…and an excited father. May his soul always captain the ship he never got to have in this world." She solemnly buried the shirt, and everyone paused for a moment of silence.
"Well now," Charlotte brushed away her tears and sniffed, "let's get to business of a lighter note. Becky, Jake, would you like to become Commandeering Cardinals now?"
"Really?" Becky asked in surprise. "Oh, that would be an honor, thank you!"
"Definitely," Jake said adamantly.
"Wonderful. Does anybody have some root beer?"
Nora stepped forward and handed her a bottle. "Here ya go."
"Thank you, dear. Jake and Becky Cardinal, do you both agree to always support your fellow Cardinal and to always commandeer for the rest of your lives?"
"We do," they stated in unison.
Charlotte passed the bottle of root beer to Jake, he took a swig then passed it to Becky. She took a sip and passed it back to Charlotte.
She took a drink herself and said, "We of course cannot forget Christopher." She took a drop of root beer and put it on his tongue. He cooed joyously and grabbed at her fingers for more.
Jake chuckled, "Well, it looks like he'll grow up loving root beer."
Becky tried to hide her shock and disapproval, and only nudged Jake in the ribs.
"I think that should be about everything we need to do here," Charlotte surmised.
"Alright then, let's get everything together and move on out!" Jake said as he walked into the secret room.
Becky was looking at the jewel wall and noticed that the ruby which had fallen out previously was on the ground again. She picked it up, but Christopher tried to reach up for it.
"No, this isn't yours," Becky lectured, holding the ruby just out of her son's reach. "We need to put it back where it belongs."
Christopher made his displeasure known by wailing. Becky tried to hush him, but he only cried louder.
"Whatever is wrong?" Charlotte rushed over.
"Oooh, he's just being a—a big crybaby!" Becky said over Christopher's wailing. "He wanted to take this ruby, but I was trying to put it back in the wall."
"Oh, it's fine, Becky dear, he may have it. It would only fall out of the wall again. And it's big enough so that he cannot swallow it."
"Alright then, here you go, Christopher: your first gift from your grandmother," Becky said as she put the ruby in his hand.
Christopher stopped crying almost immediately after he figured out what was in his grasp. He looked at it and then put it in his mouth. After realizing that is wasn't food, he took it out of his mouth and stared deeply into it, cooing occasionally.
"Well," Becky reasoned, "at least he inherited my love of jewels."
On the way back to the ship, Muggins cautiously approached Jake. "Captain, I-I was just…wondering about your feelings towards crew members having serious…relationships with each other."
"Well, you know that I am a romantic at heart, but I think that such things are both good and bad. They're good because they make a person happy and maybe even perform their duties quicker and more efficiently. But they can be dangerous to a person because it can distract both parties. For example, let's say that there were a fight. If the object of one's affection were fighting as well, he could get distracted by caring for her safety instead of his own or the rest of the crew."
"Oh, yeah, that's very true," Muggins agreed.
"But, the two relationships that the Scarlett Ruby has seen so far have been successful, so I would say that one more would be of no harm. Just remember who she's related to."
Muggins turned beet read and stopped short a couple of paces before catching up with Jake. "Y-you know about us?"
Jake shook his head and replied, "The entire crew knows about it, Muggins."
"Gosh, I didn't realize it was so obvious. But, I promise I will always be careful with her heart, sir."
"Good to know, but don't call me sir. I am your captain."