This is the twenty-first episode of the novel Two Tamas in Paradise. It is the fourth novel in the Trace Troy South Pacific Adventure series. It will be posted in episodes. The plan is for two or three a week. There are fifty episodes. It has not been published yet. The reader is given a sneak preview.
It suffices to say that because this is one novel in a series, there may be things not understood unless one knows what has taken place in previous novels from this series. Here is a link to the first novel in the series: The Big Gamble in Paradise, paperback or Kindle.
Captain Adam Troy
They all exited the cars and walked slowly toward The Tramp Islander.
“That is a magnificent boat,” Adam said reverentially. “I have to say, I missed her.”
Makani, Sage, and Coyote stepped aboard. They looked around as if stepping into an amusement park. Trace and Adam watched like parents enjoying what their children were experiencing.
Trace stepped aboard. Adam took one step on the gangplank and stopped short of stepping aboard.
Trace turned to face Adam. “Are you okay?”
“I never thought I’d step on her again,” Adam said. “I know she’s a different ship, but it is as if the Tiki is invisibly here. I can’t explain it. Just walking around her a few days ago gave me chills. There were things that happened in here that new paint, varnish, remodeling, and time can’t wipe away. To me, she’s still the same boat.”
“A woman can change her name when she marries,” Trace said, “but she’s still the same woman.”
Adam took a short breath and stepped aboard. He bounced with his feet on the deck. “They didn’t replace these boards.”
“Let me give you a tour,” Trace said.
After the tour, four men showed up at 9:00 PM.
Trace met them on shore.
“Thanks for showing up,” Trace said. “Here’s twenty dollars each for showing up. I already have a crew.”
They thanked Trace, took the money, and left.
As the men walked away, Allie pulled up in her car. Trace opened the door for her.
“Did you hire any of those guys?” Allie said.
“No,” Trace said.
“Good,” Allie said, “I know them all, deadbeats.”
“So what brings you here so bright and early?” Trace said.
“Well,” Allie said, “I got a big job for you. I hope you can get a crew together real quick.”
“That’s no problem,” Trace said. “I just hired my dad and Coyote.”
“You did what?” Allie exclaimed.
“They were insistent,” Trace said, “and they’re head and shoulders better than anyone available in all of the South Pacific.”
“But they’re old,” Allie said.
“You tell them that,” Trace said. “So what have you got for us?”
“Well, it’s weird and unusual,” Allie said. “With your crew, that will be right up your alley. Thirty-three hundred miles by way of the crow; a little island, Oeno.”
“What’s there?” Trace asked.
“Nothing,” Allie said. “You will be moving two men and two women with a vision.”
“What’s that?” Trace said. “Starting their own society.”
“That’s pretty much it,” Allie said. “That’s why you got hired: wind power. You won’t harm the environment.”
“And I’m probably a whole lot cheaper,” Trace said.
“One might think,” Allie said, “but it’s a third more if you can be ready in two days.”
Trace scratched his head. “That’s at least three weeks at sea.”
“You’ll be taking four passengers,” Allie said.
“That’s a lot of water and food,” Trace said. “Nine people for at least three weeks there. And enough for five on the way back.”
“Showers are overrated,” Allie joked. “And who needs three meals a day?”
“So what’s the cargo beside us being a slave ship?” Trace said.
“A full hull,” Allie said. “They’re setting up their home there. The British are guaranteeing free land if they agree to live there.”
“Are they British?” Trace asked.
“Americans,” Allie said.
“Hippie types?” Trace asked.
“Don’t appear to be,” Allie said. “They don’t look to me like the type who will fare well on a small island. I bet the women haven’t lived more than a black from a beauty salon and the men have never turned a screw in their lives. But—they got money.”
“When is the cargo arriving?” Trace said.
Allie looked at her wristwatch and cupped her hand to her ear. “I hear a lorry rolling this way right now.”
Two trucks rolled to a stop next to The Tramp Islander.
“It’ all yours,” Allie said.
“Has the check cleared?” Trace said.
“It has,” Allie raised he eyebrows.
The two drivers climbed down from their trucks.
“Let me get the crew together,” Trace called to them, and he hurried back on the boat and to the pilothouse. He grabbed the mic. “We get cargo to haul!”
Trace informed Makani on the ship’s needs. Makanin headed for the commissary. Trace, Sage, Adam, and Coyote loaded The Tramp Islander by 3:00 PM. And then another truck showed up. Two hours later, they had all the cargo onboard.
The crew ate at a restaurant that night and slept on board. The next morning, rations for the trip were delivered. Then the crew shopped for some personal items.
Allie called and told Trace the four passengers would be there before nightfall. “That’s good,” Trace replied, “because I plan on leaving with the tide—four in the morning.”
Trace ordered pizza, and they all ate at the mess table. When they finished eating, they sat back and talked. Much of the conversation speculated about the passengers and the long journey.
“Hey, Dad,” Trace said, “come with me.” And he tossed his head toward his cabin.
They walked into Trace’s cabin. Trace opened his locker door. He reached inside and lifted a captain’s hat from a hook. He handed it to Adam.
Adam half-grinned. “I got a hat.”
“This is the captain’s hat,” Trace said. “I want you to captain The Trace Islander.”
“I haven’t sailed in thirty years,” Adam said.
“I’ll be with you,” Trace said. “But isn’t it like riding a bike?”
“There are new instruments and gadgets,” Adam said.
“If you can chart a course by hand,” Trace said, “and figure tides, you can read a screen and punch a few numbers.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Adam said.
“I’ll introduce you to the crew,” Trace said. “And they already know. They’re all for it. Then you can start barking your first orders.”
“You’ll be with me, right?” Adam said. “I don’t want to run this boat up on the reefs the first time out.”
“Don’t worry,” Trace said. “And by the way, look inside the cap.”
Adam turned the cap over. On the inside band, it read, Capt. Troy. “Is this my old captain’s cap?”
“Yep,” Trace said. “I found it hanging in the pilothouse shortly after I took over. It was waiting there all those years for you to return.”
Adam tried it on. “Still fits,” he said.
He looked into the mirror hanging on the back of the locker door. He cocked the cap a little. “There, now I look like a captain.”
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