A Spirited Gift

The air was very cold—icy winds blowing off the sea—as we waited for Rafe to make an appearance. It wasn’t easy explaining all of it to Gramps, but the fact that he’d lived with two women who were gifted was enough to make him a little more open-minded. He’d loved my grandmother. Her gift for finding things had made my life easier.

“Are you sure your friendly pirate ghost meant tonight?” Gramps stomped his feet and blew on his hands.

“Yes. But maybe they have a different sense of time than we do. Let’s give him five more minutes. I’d really like to close all of this out between us. You can’t imagine how awkward it is not knowing if a giant pirate ghost is lurking invisibly while you’re sleeping or taking a shower.”

Gramps cleared his throat and smiled. “I suppose that would be true. Your grandmother would’ve loved this. I always thought she was part pirate.”

A minute later, Rafe’s ghost appeared. “He’s here,” I told Gramps. “I wish you could see him.”

“That’s fine. Don’t wish too hard. Just have him tell you where we should go.”

“I see you didn’t come alone,” Rafe snickered. “Aye, you talk a good fight, but you lack the backbone, girl. That’s as well. Get in yer vessel and follow closely. There are rocks hidden beneath the water as you get close to the shore. Be sure to give the captain my regards.”

I told Gramps what Rafe had said. We climbed into the Eleanore and were able to follow Rafe only because I could see a dim fluorescence around him. He floated right at the bow of the boat and kept us going straight in the night.

The beams from the island lighthouses played across the dark, cold water. The boat was tossed a little roughly in the waves coming up. Autumn was a time of sudden storms. I hoped we wouldn’t run into one as we went to retrieve Rafe’s treasure.

“How much treasure are we talking?” Gramps asked. “Maybe we should’ve brought Carter Hatley’s boat out. It’s much bigger.”

I pulled my jacket and rain poncho more tightly around me. My fingers felt numb with cold. I wished I’d worn gloves. “I guess if it’s too much treasure, we’ll come back out for the rest. It’s been there for three hundred years. Another night or two probably won’t matter.”

Rafe’s form stopped, standing near one of the smaller islands that surround the Outer Banks. He was pointing toward a cove that was frequented by tourists. It was hard to get to but a nice place in summer to paddle around in the shallow water.

“Is this it?” Gramps asked. “No way we can take the Eleanore into Pirate’s Point. There are too many rocks. Even during the day when you can see them, you can only take a dinghy in there.”

I knew all that, of course. It suddenly struck me—Pirate’s Point. There was a reason for that name, and Rafe probably buried his treasure here because of the rocks.

“I can’t stay past tonight.” Rafe was suddenly standing beside me in the boat. “You’ll have to come ashore so I can show you where the treasure is buried.”

I looked at my watch. It had taken us almost three hours to get out here with the wind against us and the heavy fog bank we’d encountered after leaving the island.

I knew Gramps had an inflatable dinghy. It looked like I would have to row to the treasure anyway. At least the Eleanore had gotten us this far.

Gramps was skeptical when I told him what I had to do. “You’re sure about this, Dae? This pirate isn’t leading you on a wild-goose chase, is he?”

“I don’t think so. He didn’t have to come back. He wanted to keep his word to me. I’ll be fine. It shouldn’t be too bad from here to the shore.”

We both knew it was going to be treacherous—especially in a rubber dinghy. No boat would ever come out on top after scraping one of those sharp rocks that I knew lay between me and Rafe’s treasure. But I had to try. It would be nice to be rich and even better to find a real buried treasure chest.

I took two flashlights and threw on an extra poncho for warmth. Gramps found me some old gloves. We launched the dinghy, and I climbed down to it.

“Careful with the motor,” Gramps shouted. “It can be a little temperamental.”

“Okay. I have my radio and cell phone. I hope one of them works once I get there.”

“I’m giving you thirty minutes,” he said. “After that I’m calling Gus to bring out the Coast Guard rescue ship.”

I laughed—but he was probably serious. Anyway, thirty minutes should be plenty of time. I got the little outboard engine started and held tightly to the rudder to steer it toward shore.

Gramps shone a spotlight from the Eleanore, but once I was out of its range, the water and the night around me were pitch black. Out here there were no streetlights—not even any lights from houses. No one lived out here. I remember someone telling me once that it was owned by the government as part of an offshore training area. I didn’t know if that was true, and if it was, how it would affect claiming the treasure. The government might want a cut.