“I bet yer squirmin’ inside, having to work side by side with a pirate scoundrel like m’self!” Cutthroat grinned at the thought of the English captain’s discomfort.

“I didn’t have much of a choice, did I?” Captain Thomas growled. “You put a sword to my neck!”

“Ya could have had me killed after we left the top of the tower. But then you’d never have me around to lead you to the people with my treasure.”

“Exactly, right.” Captain Thomas scowled. “I need you around until I find these people you’ve told me about, who are supposedly carrying around endless treasure from this mysterious Lost Island.”

“Arrr, and what happens after we find them? I’m guessing ya won’t need me anymore then, right? You probably gave orders already to yer men to shoot me the second I’m no longer valuable.” Cutthroat lowered the telescope and stared at Captain Thomas suspiciously. “That’s what yer plannin’, isn’t it? I should have insisted that at least one of my men, like John, be freed from prison so that they could be here with me.”

“I’m a man of my word. I won’t harm a hair on your head and neither will my crew. I swear.”

“Give me a pistol of my own, and I’ll feel better about this…” Cutthroat said.

“Here.” Captain Thomas promptly withdrew a pistol from his belt and tossed it to Cutthroat. “Now you have nothing to fear.”

“Arrr, good!” Cutthroat grinned. “And look, land ahoy! And who’s sitting there on the beach… Aha! It’s them! Bless our lucky fortunes!”

“Give me that telescope!” Captain Thomas grabbed the telescope from Cutthroat’s hands and placed it to his eye. “I see a man and a boy. Those are the ones with my treasure?”

Cutthroat hesitated.

“Don’t you mean our treasure?”

Captain Thomas smiled.

“No, actually, I don’t.”

Captain Thomas gave a sharp whistle and within seconds Cutthroat was surrounded by English soldiers with their rifles pointing at him.

“Ye rapscallion!” Cutthroat hissed. “You gave me yer word!”

“There’s no honor among thieves.” Captain Thomas flicked a speck of dust from the cuff of his immaculate uniform. “Farewell, dirty pirate.”

“Not so fast!” Cutthroat whipped out his pistol and pointed it at Captain Thomas. “Tell yer men to lower their weapons or I’ll blow ye away!”

Captain Thomas chuckled. “Go ahead, shoot.”

Cutthroat pulled the trigger and there was a loud click.

“Tie his ankles with chains and toss him into the sea,” Captain Thomas ordered. “We no longer require his services.”

Cutthroat’s screams of anger were drowned out as the soldiers pounced on him and fitted heavy chains to his feet. They swung him unceremoniously overboard and watched him hit the water with a loud splash.

Thus ended the horrible life of Captain Cutthroat.

Captain Thomas pointed at the island.

“Now, let’s go collect my treasure!”

“Captain, look! A ship is approaching the island!”

The Captain rose to his feet, still clutching his sword.

“Stay on guard, Tuvia.”

“But Captain, this must certainly be the ship that’s searching for me!”

“It may be, but where’s Oliver?”

“Maybe he’s onboard with them!”

“Maybe… but why would he abandon his ship?”

“Batten down the hatches!” Jack screeched from Tuvia’s shoulder. “Danger!”

Tuvia drew the sword at his hip and waited.

The ship pulled onto the sandy shore, and immediately Tuvia and the Captain were surrounded by soldiers in uniforms, pointing rifles at them.

“What’s going on here? Lower your weapons! We’ve done nothing wrong!”

“Maybe we should just drop our swords, Captain!” Tuvia swallowed hard. “We’re outnumbered.”

“Listen to the boy, and maybe you’ll live to see another day,” a snobby, high-pitched voice said from the English ship. Off stepped a snub-nosed captain in a uniform glittering with medals.

“I’ll be brief. My name is Captain Thomas, and you are hereby being taken to prison on charges of piracy.”

“We’ve done nothing wrong!” the Captain shouted. “You have no authority to arrest us!”

“I have the authority of the Queen herself! And I know you are carrying around a tremendous fortune that does not belong to you.”

“What fortune?”

“The treasure from the Lost Island.”

The Captain laughed.

“There was nothing there when we got there! We have absolutely nothing from the Lost Island!”

“Liars!” Captain Thomas screeched angrily. “Soldiers, search the island!”

The soldiers fanned out and searched the entire island without success. By the time they all returned, the sun was beginning to set.

“Captain, there’s absolutely nothing on the island.”

“It can’t be… that pirate captain was telling the truth, I just know it in my heart.” Captain Thomas was seething with fury. He turned to the Captain and Tuvia and delivered a chilling ultimatum.

“You have until daybreak to bring me the treasures you obviously hid. If you don’t, we’ll execute you by firing squad without trial. You will both meet your end upon this island.”

The Captain and Tuvia looked at each other in fear.

“What do we do now?” Tuvia trembled. “We’re finished!”

“No, Tuvia.” The Captain placed a steady hand on his shoulder. “Remember, even when the sword rests upon a Jew’s neck, he still does not fear because Hashem is always with him.”

Tuvia smiled.

“You’re really starting to learn, Captain.”

Indeed, Hashem had already set in motion the events that would lead to an incredible escape. Kotty was hiding onboard the English ship, Hafthor the panther was somewhere in the trees, watching everything unfold, and somewhere very close by, Oliver was returning with the massive ship that was supposed to take Tuvia home.

Ah, yes, and Jack the bird would also play a big role. But that, my friends, is a story for another time.

The End

*(The exciting conclusion of the The Treasure Hunt, will start after the conclusion of this story. Stay tuned.)

(Originally featured in Mishpacha Jr., Issue 833)