Tuckamore Bay

golden mountains

"We kept our coinage in iron boxes, young William and they were sealed with the best locks of the time. Even if they were cast upon the rocks, chances are they would have survived the impact."

"How many coins were there?" Matty wondered.

"At our last audit," Issac recalled, "there were three strongboxes, each holding some ten thousand coins."

I let out a long whistle.

"Just in gold value alone we are looking at somewhere in the vicinity of $75 million dollars."

Matty looked confused.

"That is a lot of money, but Hirst was willing to pay everyone here a million bucks apiece. There are forty families. The math just doesn't work."

She looked at Issac.

"Were there any other valuables on the Emily Rose?"

"There were some precious stones and some gold cutlery and figurines. But we were simple folk and there was no need for fancy jewelry. Apart from that, I can't think of a single thing."

Bill stood up.

"It doesn't make any sense. The gold of the Emily Rose would be quite a find, but that would be more a treasure hunters thing than something that a group of investors would be interested in. You would not invest money on a whim like that, unless you were pretty sure of the outcome. And from what Issac has said, there is no certainty as to where the strongboxes could be."

"That be the truth, young William. They could be anywhere along the coastline. It would probably take a huge investment in time and money to simply locate them."

"And if the truth be known, the official records of the Emily Rose would not show an item by item inventory list, since the ship was privately commissioned. It would only show a record of the passengers and the crew."

"Again, your suspicions seem to hold validity, young William. You are up to date on your history."

Bill turned to Issac.

"Was there any other cargo on the ship? Something you did not know about? I can't imagine the Emily Rose carrying only what you and your families had."

Issac shook his head.

"I doubt that very much, young William. There were 74 of us, plus our belongings and our livestock. It is possible that the Emily Rose had another commission for the return trip, but that information would not have been privy to me. And I can tell you with much assurance that the Emily Rose was filled with the people and belongings of Tuckamore County only."

"It just doesn't make any sense then. At the end of our conversation, Hirst made it very clear that  he and his investors would pay pretty much anything to get us to move out of the Bay by the end of next year.

And from the fact that he offered me alone, ten times what I paid for the property, then there is something we are missing here."

"And it would seem that the treasures of the Emily Rose would be a significant find, but not one that would interest enough for others to invest that amount of money."

"I agree, Issac," Bill nodded.

He threw his arms in the air.

"Then we are no further ahead than we were before."

Matty stood and took Bill's hands in hers.

"Sweetie? We just learned the history of Tuckamore Bay and we got to meet the founder of Tuckamore Bay. I think that was a very significant find."

Bill closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"Mr. Dove. I am so sorry. I did not mean to belittle the fact that you are here and that ..."

Issac laughed.

"William, it has been an absolute pleasure to meet you, Matty and of course Matilda. It has been rewarding and almost lifelike to relay the story of the Bay to you and yours and I hope that at some point in the future, I will be able to return, perhaps with my Lydia or Mary and we can talk again.

But for now I have to beg your pardon, as I am being summoned home."

With that he was gone.

Bill took a deep breath.

"Fuck, that was ..."

"Fucking amazing is what that was," Matty added.

"But, like you said, we are still no further ahead."

She headed for the kitchen.

"Beer or scotch?"

"Scotch, my love."

Bill looked at Nanny Dove.

"Back where we started, I guess."

"Ise 'as a thought, Willam. Youse don't spose dat Hirst feller 'eard 'bout da gold dat were found 'ere in da fifties, does youse?"

Nanny Dove never lost a rock or a stitch.

Bill looked at Matty who was standing in the archway to the kitchen, holding two glasses.

"Gold?"

Nanny Dove nodded.

"Dere were a couple mainlanders whose were 'ere in da fifties. Nice fellers. Dey were prospectin' 'round the cliffs and along some of da streams dat come from up in da mountains dere. Da ones dat bes at da edge of the Bay's land out dere 'for da 'ighway."

"Gold," Matty repeated.

Nanny Dove stopped rocking and stared at Matty.

"Is youse bes deaf dere Matty?"

Matty walked to Bill, passed him a scotch and walked to her grandmother.

"And you didn't think to mention this before?"

Matty stomped her feet, spilling some of her drink.

"Honestly, old lady. There are times."

Matty screamed and walked away from her grandmother.

Nanny Dove looked at Bill.

"Ise tinks yer wife be losin' it dere, Willam.

And she's bes wastin' yer gud scotch."