ملکه آن

Chapter three

The Queen Anne

All the men of the Queen Anne were waiting on deck when Captain Scott returned. One of them yelled to the boats after he saw the chest.

“What have you brought us there, Captain?”

Another man answered:

“It’s gold and rubies and diamonds!”

The captain didn’t want the men to get too excited, because he didn’t know if he should keep the treasure.

“That’s enough. I want that treasure taken below with our own gold until I decide what we’ll do with it.”

Two men carried the chest below with Blackbeard still on top of it. A man named Stubbs spoke to the captain about the treasure.

“Will we give a little of it to each of the men for the long journey?”

“I don’t know. I’ve got a strange feeling about that treasure, but I’m not sure why. I think it’s better to leave it alone for a while.”

“But Captain, we’ve been sailing for seventeen days and we still haven’t seen an island. The men need some encouragement.”

“The men shall carry out their duties and be happy with that. They will get exactly what I promised them.”

The two men who carried Blackbeard and his treasure below put the chest down to wait for the captain. One of the men, Smith, sat on the chest to tie his shoe.

The other was standing, smoking a pipe. Blackbeard stood and watched the men with a smile on his face. He knew they couldn’t see him, so he knocked Smith’s hat off his head. Smith thought the other man did it.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You knocked my hat off.”

“You’re crazy. I was standing here smoking my pipe.”

The men were about to fight when Captain Scott walked down the stairs.

“What’s going on down here?”

“Nothing, Captain.”

The Captain opened the lock on the door.

“Put it inside next to the Queen’s gold.”

The Queen’s gold was in a chest the same size as Blackbeard’s treasure, but it looked new. The wood was clean and the lock on it was gold. Blackbeard’s chest was old and grey.

Blackbeard watched the men put the chest down. Smith stayed behind when the other man left. He opened Blackbeard’s chest, took out some of the treasure and put it in his trouser pocket.

“Smith! What are you doing in there?”

“Coming Captain!”

Blackbeard followed Smith out as the captain locked the door.