The Life Chest: Pirates: The Life Chest Adventures, #4

By Kim Yost, Terie Spencer and Donna Yost

"Life can be short and life can be sweet. A pirate's life may be sweet, but it is more likely that it will be short."

In the Golden Age of Piracy, a priceless stash of treasure was hidden on a remote island in the Caribbean by some very clever — and ruthless — pirates. However, the secret to the location of the treasure was lost, and the pirates' descendants despaired for centuries over the mystery, while the riches remained untouched.

Enter Josh and Bernie,over 400 years later! They gather information and maybe a bit of magic from Gramps' life chest to spark the quest. With the help of Gasparo, the young man they met in Italy at the close of The Life Chest: Vikings, the cousins put their treasure hunting skills to use once again. They travel to the Bahamas, determined to discover the secret of Dead Man's Cave and find the incredible treasure.

Pirate tattoos, shark attacks, family secrets, false pride, and true heroism — all are part of the newest story in The Life Chest Adventures.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kim Yost
• Release date: Feb 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781733333863

Book preview

PROLOGUE

Pirate Intrigue Begins—in Grandpa Josh’s Garage

I won’t forget to ask Grandma! See you tomorrow, Mom! called April. She waved as Meg’s levicar glided around the corner, then turned and trotted up the stairs to Josh and Leah’s front door.

It’s me, April announced, tossing her duffel bag onto a chair in the front hallway. Are you guys in the kitchen?

Leah appeared in the hall and greeted April with a warm hug. I’m making lunch, she explained. It’s your grandpa’s turn to cook, but I let it go because he decided to clean the garage this morning.

He’s out there now? I’m gonna go say hi, OK? Unless you need help with anything.

You go ahead, Leah assured her granddaughter. Grandpa will be so happy to see you. It’s been quite a while since you two had a good visit.

It sure has, agreed April. Oh—that reminds me, Grandma. Mom wants to know if she can borrow your big coffee maker. She’s hosting the fall meeting of my swim team’s booster club next week.

Grandmother and granddaughter walked into the kitchen together, and Leah checked the timer on the oven. Have Grandpa bring the coffee maker in from the garage, and you can take it when your mom picks you up in the morning.

OK. I’m glad swim practice hasn’t started yet. I can sleep in for a few more mornings.

Kung fu and swimming, plus schoolwork? What are you going to do with all your free time this year? asked Leah teasingly.

April opened the door to the garage, then looked back at her grandmother. Flight school! she called over her shoulder. Then she spotted Grandpa Josh and ran into his arms.

Blossom! You made it! Let me take a look at you, said Josh, holding his granddaughter at arms’ length after their hug. You’re taller, for one thing.

Dad says I’m growing like a weed. And Mom told me that my kung fu training is helping my posture, announced April.

I saw the videos you sent Chen Li. She said your technique is top-notch for someone your age, said Josh proudly.

Thanks, Grandpa. Aunt Li really inspired me after I heard about what she did in Norway. Remember? That was the last story you told me.

The Viking story? Really? I think you were in fifth grade when I told you that one. It’s been two years! We can’t let that much time go by again between stories.

You’re right, agreed April. But we better get something done first. Grandma is making lunch because she thinks you’re working so hard out here. She looked around the cluttered garage. Where’s your pile of things to give away?

I don’t exactly have one, admitted Josh sheepishly. It’s really hard to get rid of things that have memories attached. Maybe I’ll just organize the shelves and get some new storage bins. Hopefully that will be enough for your grandmother.

You do have a lot of cool stuff, Grandpa, agreed April. I wouldn’t know what to get rid of, either. She rummaged through a box of rusty antique tools and examined a large model boat.

Framed maps and large paintings lined the walls. Old books—the paper kind—crowded bookshelves and filled several crates. A modern-art mobile hung from the ceiling. A mannequin wearing armor and holding a sword and shield stood in one corner. After admiring the boat and the armor, April happily dug through a box filled with old clock and watch parts.

April in Grandpa Josh’s garage

April in Grandpa Josh’s garage

Grandpa, this place is like a mini museum of the world, she remarked. Anyone who walked in here would know for sure that you’re an adventurer.

Spying a jar full of crystal stones, April held it up to the light and looked at it approvingly. If Indiana Jones had a garage, it would be just like yours!

Who? asked Josh.

Indiana Jones, his granddaughter repeated. "The hero of those old 2D Raiders of the Lost Ark movies. I found them on a public domain archive site."

Oh, yeah, said Josh, nodding. I remember now. I think I saw a few of them when I was a kid.

My friends and I have been watching one just about every day, explained April. It’s my new thing.

Josh chuckled. Why get so excited about such old movies? he asked.

Indiana Jones is really cool, asserted April. I want to be just like him—solving mysteries and finding treasure.

She walked to another corner of the garage and lifted the edge of a large tarp. What’s this engine for?

My powered parachute, answered Josh. That was a lot of fun to fly. The frame is still in good shape but it needs a new parachute.

Wow. Don’t get rid of that, Grandpa. I promise you, one of these days I’m going to fly it.

It’s all yours. Should I start calling you Blossom Jones?

Just Blossom for now, Grandpa. I’ll let you know when I think up a good adventurer name.

Josh lifted a carton of rock polishing tools from a bottom shelf and noticed something behind the box that he had forgotten about. Hey, my mariner’s astrolabe, he said as he picked it up and blew off a layer of dust. Look, Blossom. Remember this?

Yes, said April. You showed it to us the day you and Grandma told me the Viking story. I don’t remember what it is, though. I think it had something to do with the next story you were going to tell me.

I bought this thing in the Bahamas, Blossom. That’s where our next adventure took place. It was a few years after we went to Norway.

Hmm. April stared at the dusty artifact in Grandpa Josh’s hands as she tried to remember. You said that it was used on ships. So you must have been on a ship in the Bahamas for the next adventure, right? Start the story, Grandpa!

OK, grinned Josh. I can go through some boxes while we talk. He moved a stepladder closer to the built-in shelves that were behind a faded sofa. We’ll start with this top shelf. I haven’t looked up here in ages.

I’ll get the boxes, Grandpa, said April quickly. She locked the stepladder into place and confidently climbed up. Are you looking for anything in particular?

Just start handing them down, Blossom. I’m going to have to go through everything eventually.

From the top of the ladder, April carefully lowered a plastic crate to Josh. This one’s not too heavy.

Got it. Josh set the crate on the sofa and took the next one April offered. It slipped out of his grasp and popped open as it hit the floor.

Sorry, said April as she climbed down the stepladder. I should have told you that one was a little heavier.

It’s all right. Nothing broke. Josh began to examine the items spilling out onto the floor. Hey, look what’s in here! He held up a black hat and a jacket with brass buttons.

They look like costumes, said April, smoothing out a long full skirt with a pattern of red roses.

Your grandma and I dressed up as pirates for a costume party years ago, said Josh, shaking his head and laughing at the memory. I wonder where the stuffed parrot is that I carried on my shoulder, he added, digging further into the crate.

I hope you have some pictures of that party in your life chest, said April, laughing along with her grandpa. You must have looked great.

Well, you tell me, said Josh. He had found an eyepatch and put it on along with the pirate hat.

Oh, my gosh, Grandpa! exclaimed April. That reminds me of when you first started telling me stories when I was little. Remember when you pulled an old pirate hat out of my dress-up box and called it your storytelling hat?

I do remember that, said Josh. I had to keep you amused when you were sick in bed that week. Your mom didn’t know what to do with you.

Oh, I wasn’t that bad, countered April. But I did love the stories. And I still do. I’ll fold up these costumes while you tell me about your next adventure, OK?

Let’s both get in costume for it, suggested Josh, reaching into the crate again. Here’s a hat for you—and an eyepatch. This is perfect, Blossom, he said as April adjusted the eyepatch and joined her grandpa on the sofa. The story is actually about pirates!

Really? Did they use the mariner’s astrolabe?

They sure could have. Mariner’s astrolabes were navigational instruments used to determine latitude.

Latitude is the position relative to the equator, right?

Right. One of the pirates in the story traveled all the way from Italy to the Bahamas, back in the 1600s. The trip probably took at least two or three months and they would have needed navigational equipment to find their way across the ocean.

"One of the pirates? Are there a lot of pirates in the story?" asked April.

Two main ones, answered Josh. We learned about the one who sailed from Italy when we took that trip to the Amalfi coast after discovering the Viking treasure.

I remember that part of the story, said April. But when I think of Italy I think of pizza, not pirates.

Pirates were everywhere back in the 1600s, explained Josh. In the Caribbean, Italy and the rest of the Mediterranean. Even Africa. It’s called the Golden Age of Piracy.

I bet it wasn’t so golden for the people who were being attacked, mused April.

That’s true, admitted her grandpa. The people who lived along the Amalfi coast built stone watchtowers to help protect themselves against the pirates. Your uncle Bernie and I explored one of the watchtowers. That’s how we began to learn about the treasure.

Ooh! There’s treasure, too? asked April excitedly.

Of course! Where there are pirates, there’s always treasure! laughed Josh.

And wherever Josh and Bernie are, you can be sure there’s treasure, too! added Grandma Leah, who had been listening in the doorway. Or at least the possibility of hunting for treasure!

It’s what we do, babe, agreed Josh with a chuckle. He gestured to his hat. How do you like our getups?

Lovely. But it looks like this session is more play than work. She raised her hand to stop April from apologizing. No, honey, it’s fine. You’re only going to be with us for a day, so we need to make it fun.

Leah sat beside Josh on the sofa. It sounds like you were starting to tell April the story. Keep going!

Josh grinned and kissed his wife on the cheek. Do you want an eyepatch? I think I can find another one.

No, thanks. Hand me that striped bandanna, April. That will be enough costume for me, said Leah.

Josh continued as his wife tied the bandanna around her neck and settled in to hear the story along with April.

Josh and Leah begin telling the pirate story

Josh and Leah begin telling the pirate story

The Italian pirate’s name was Claudio, he began. Claudio, the Killer of Capri. Like I said, we learned about him from a boy we hired to guide us through one of the Amalfi watchtowers. The boy was a descendant of Claudio.

So if this pirate was from Italy, why did you go to the Bahamas on your adventure? asked April.

Because Claudio sailed to the Bahamas, Josh reminded his granddaughter. A part of the story is about that. But we found an old photograph in Gramps’ life chest that helped us discover another pirate. His name was Evil-Eye Enzo, and he grew up in the Bahamas.

Which one had the treasure?

That’s the most interesting part of the story, interjected Leah. Your grandpa and Uncle Bernie had to put the two stories together in order to find the treasure.

Wow, said April. It sounds complicated.

It was at first, admitted Josh. And even when we got all the pieces of the puzzle put together, actually getting the treasure was pretty challenging.

And dangerous, added his wife. If I had known at the time what they were going through—well, I’m glad I didn’t know.

So you and Aunt Li didn’t go on this adventure? asked April.

Not this one, no. But we were there when it started—the day we visited the island of Capri toward the end of our Italy trip. Josh, tell April how you and Bernie spent that afternoon when Chen Li, Meg and I were at the spa.

There was so much to see on Capri, Blossom, began Josh. We wished we had a week just to spend exploring the island.

Shopping was the first order of business, smiled Leah. Capri town is busy and bustling all year long, and it was fun to visit all the designer boutiques. We looked more than we bought, but I remember that Chen Li and I both got little purses with island scenes printed on them.

We got Meg her first real watch, too, Josh reminded his wife. I think she still has it in her life chest.

I’ve seen it, confirmed April. She keeps it in a little ceramic box. But what did you do besides shopping? I thought you said your adventure started on Capri.

The whole family tours along the Amalfi Coast

The whole family tours along the Amalfi Coast

It did, Josh assured his granddaughter. On the boat ride out to Capri we noticed some stone structures high up in the hills on the Amalfi coastline. We saw a few on the island as well. They looked out onto the sea like sentinels. Our guide, Beni, said they were ancient towers that were built to keep watch for pirate ships. Beni took us all the way around Capri after lunch and we got pretty close to one of the watchtowers. I just couldn’t get it out of my mind on the way back to the mainland. He chuckled. So I talked your uncle Bernie into going back out to Capri instead of getting a massage that afternoon.

Did you mind, Grandma? April asked Leah.

No, answered her grandmother. We just made it a girls’ afternoon with me, your mom and your aunt Li. Grandpa and Uncle Bernie would probably have voted against the mani-pedis.

There wasn’t time, insisted Josh. I wanted to get inside that watchtower more than I wanted pretty feet.

He turned back to his granddaughter. So, Blossom, we rented a boat and went back out to Capri. The watchtower was on the other side of the island from the shopping area and it seemed like a whole different world. No crowds, no stores. There were a few hikers, and one of them pointed us to the path that would take us to the watchtower.

Was it like a park, with a visitor center and everything? asked April.

No, it wasn’t, answered Josh. There was no one around to explain things to us and no signage, either. As exciting as it was to get close to the watchtower, we were a little frustrated. We wanted to learn more about what was happening when the watchtowers were built.

April frowned. So how did you finally learn about the pirates?

We must not have been the only curious visitors, answered her grandfather. There were several teenage boys who hung around the watchtower and walked to the top of the hill with tourists. They told stories about the history of the watchtowers as they hiked up. For a price, of course, he added, grinning.

Did you hire one of them?

We got the best one. He just wanted a few euros and a meal in exchange for telling us the most incredible tale. Gasparo turned out to be the first key to our pirate adventure.

That was his name? Gasparo?

Yes, and were we ever lucky he decided to latch onto us that day!

After docking at the marina, the cousins asked for directions to the watchtower they had seen from Beni’s boat. They rode a bus to the southwest side of the island—the Anacapri area—and began their walk to the watchtower. After a few kilometers, they discovered the stone steps which led to the tower. Bernie searched in vain for a sign or historical marker as Josh shielded his eyes from the sun and gazed up at the ancient watchtower on top of the hill.

I wonder what it was like to keep watch up there, searching for pirates, said Josh.

All we’re going to be able to do is wonder if we can’t find any information about the tower, grumbled Bernie. He tapped his comm in frustration. Data access is limited up here, too.

Josh continued to stare upward. What do you think a guy did if he saw a pirate ship bearing down on the island?

"Fuoco. He lit a fire, came a voice from behind them. The fire signaled the men in the other watchtowers, and then word got down to the towns."

Surprised, Bernie and Josh turned to see a shirtless boy leaning against a scrubby tree. A young local, he was tall and fit, though on the skinny side. His bright grin flashed in a tanned, pleasant face.

That makes sense, nodded Josh. He extended his hand. My name’s Josh, and this is my cousin Bernie.

"Ciao. I am Gasparo," said the boy, heartily shaking both cousins’ hands.

We’re trying to find more information about this watchtower, explained Bernie. Do you know much about it?

I know everything there is to know, said Gasparo with an even bigger grin. "Would you like to hire me as your guida—your guide? It’s a good bargain."

We’d be happy to, said Bernie. They quickly agreed on a fee and shook hands again.

You made a good choice in hiring me, said Gasparo. I have been guiding tourists up these stairs and into the watchtower for 10 years.

Ten years? asked Josh in surprise. How old are you?

Seventeen years last month, answered Gasparo. "I study English and history in school so I can make a little money as a—how to say—unofficial—guide here. You can find several other boys who will walk with you to the watchtower, but none of them know as much about our history as I do. Ben informato—I am very knowledgeable."

Your English is very good, said Bernie. I’m sure you can answer a lot of our questions. To start with, I’d like to know if all these watchtowers were built at the same time.

There are many watchtowers, both here on Capri and along the Italian coast, began Gasparo. Shall we walk as we talk?

Gasparo took the lead, and the three began to ascend the steep and sometimes crumbling stone steps that led to the watchtower. As they navigated through the tall grass and weeds, Gasparo explained that the towers were built to protect the southern Italian coast from pirates and raiders. There were originally close to 30 watchtowers along the Amalfi coast, built between the ninth and seventeenth centuries.

Some have completely fallen down, he noted. Some are still standing, but neglected, like this one. And I have heard of one that was made into a hotel. He shook his head and smiled. "Touristi, ah?"

I’ll admit to being a tourist, laughed Josh. It sounds great. Staying in that watchtower is gonna be on my list for the next time I’m in Italy!

I read that Vikings came to Italy in the ninth century, Gasparo, said Bernie. Any truth to that?

Yes, answered the boy. That fact is surprising to many people who visit Italy. The Vikings who traveled here were mercenaries: fierce and warlike men. They were hired to defend us against the Saracen raiders, a clan of Arabic pirates.

Gasparo stopped walking. This is the most beautiful and best place on all the earth, he announced, spreading his arms wide as the trio took in the splendor of the rocky island paradise. It is not surprising that pirates and raiders have tried to take it from us since the beginning of time.

It’s been quite a battle over the centuries, from what I understand, agreed Bernie. He turned to his cousin. The descendants of the Vikings were the Normans, Josh. And they had a presence here too, didn’t they, Gasparo?

"Si, beginning in the 1500s, nodded Gasparo. Those were the days of the Barbary pirates. They attacked and raided many of our coastal towns, mainly to take Christian men and women as slaves."

It sounds brutal, said Josh.

It was a very bad time, agreed Gasparo. Even with the help of the Normans, the piracy was terrible during the days of the Barbary pirates. All the people fled from the coast. The towns were completely abandoned. My ancestors moved up into the hills and settled in the village that is now called Ravello. My family and I live there still.

As Gasparo talked, Josh stared at a large tattoo he had noticed on the boy’s back. He pointed it out to Bernie when they reached the base of the watchtower.

Do you think he’d mind if I asked him about that tattoo? Josh whispered to his cousin as Gasparo trotted ahead to pull open a wooden door.

Probably not. I bet people ask him about it all the time, Bernie whispered back. That huge ship, and the shark—the tattoo covers his whole back. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Gasparo called the cousins over to the doorway, and they entered the watchtower. Bernie took off his sunglasses in the cool, dim interior.

"This watchtower is called Tora della Guardia, explained Gasparo. It was one of the first built in medieval times."

They walked up a steep ramp to a narrow platform that ran around the interior of the tower. Gazing through a window at the sparkling blue-green water, Josh whistled.

I can see how someone got the idea to make one of these watchtowers into a hotel, he said. This view is gorgeous. It’s worth big bucks.

"Si, but it has a violent history attached, Gasparo reminded him. The battles at sea and on shore cost many lives, and countless innocent people were taken from their homes to be slaves.