TWELVE

IT TOOK EZRA SOMERS THE BETTER PART OF A WEEK TO LOCATE A barge with a mast and boom, but getting it to the beach at North Rock proved problematic as a strong east wind blew for the best part of a week, making the unhandy craft still more unhandy against the strong breeze. When the wind slacked at last the barge could make it around the southeastern tip of Bermuda, and the crew pulled it up onto the sand at a small beach. There it waited until Walker’s contract was completed at Bird Rock—unsuccessful, as it turned out, the rumor of pearls on the seabed being unfounded. When Somers, Caleb Visser, and Elinore arrived at North Rock soon thereafter the Bermuda Bell waited on the sand with the slave named Indigo Jones standing patiently nearby with Little Eddy.

Slaves on Bermuda were generally more independent than most Caribbean slaves, and many masters allowed their slaves to hold jobs and receive wages if they had special skills that were in demand. Indigo’s special skill was that he could dive in cold water as deep as three fathoms and survive.

With the barge on the beach, and the wind still cooperating, Somers’ crew managed to get the bell onto the barge and get the awkward craft back into the sea. This took the better part of the morning to achieve, as the tide was ebbing and the barge was stuck with its heavy load. At last the barge floated free, and by the use of long oars as skulls the crew was able to maneuver it over the approximate location of the wreck of Jocelyn and get an anchor down.

On shore, Caleb Visser paced the sand thinking of his father; Elinore held her own father close and Little Eddy looked out to sea and imagined he had a father out there somewhere. The boy stuck by Caleb Visser, as usual, Little Eddy giving what support he could.

It was afternoon before the stout boom lifted the bell off the deck, the canvas air hose attached to the top, a signal line attached to the bottom so that Indigo could let the crew on the barge know when to bring the bell up. In a few moments, the bell swung over the side and was lowered into the water as a crewman began pumping rhythmically.

Indigo Jones stood on the barge as the bell hovered just feet below the water. He was wrapped in a blanket and was already shivering before he let the blanket fall to the deck. He slowly took a few deep breaths and, without looking around, jumped head first into the water and swam under the bell. The crew waited for a single tug on the signal rope and, when they felt it, began to lower the bell to the bottom.

Two tugs on the rope just before dusk and the bell was hauled to the surface, an exhausted and shivering Indigo Jones inside. He was shaking so badly he couldn’t speak, having been underwater for almost an hour, and once the barge made it to the beach Elinore wrapped him in an extra blanket and led him to a fire that Somers and Little Eddy had been tending just for him.

There was very little wind, which was a kindness, and Caleb Visser rubbed Indigo’s back and shoulders vigorously. Indigo kept his head down and his eyes closed, his fists clenched tightly under the blanket. The fire crackled and sent sparks swirling into the sky as the crew joined them within its circle of light and warmth.

“We’ll try again tomorrow, Caleb,” said Somers, trying to be encouraging. “We couldn’t have expected to find anything the first day.” Indigo nodded his head in agreement as his whole body shook with cold spasms.

Night was coming on quickly, as it did in the Caribbean, and soon the little group began walking down the beach towards the road which led away from the sea. There, the carriages and horses waited patiently to take them home and the prospect of a warm dinner and better luck on the morrow.

The next day was windy and the waves were breaking on the shore, preventing the barge from launching. The day after was no better and it was not until the day after that when the barge could be pushed off and the bell was made ready to launch over the side.

It went like that for three days of calm weather. The barge would maneuver into place and the bell would go over, followed by Indigo Jones, who would return in an hour empty-handed and beyond cold.

On shore, Somers, Elinore and Caleb Visser stood about each day waiting and making small talk. Little Eddy prowled the beach looking for this and that. The mornings were shifting shades of gray, and cold, and everyone kept returning to the fire throughout the day. The barge repeatedly tried anchoring in a slightly different spot off the shore, but the result was always the same. The little group fought to remain hopeful but each afternoon they left for home dispirited.

At last, the sun came out near the end of the week and, though the wind had picked up, the bargeman signaled he would go out. Indigo Jones had arrived, punctual as always, seeming no worse for wear for his daily efforts. After an hour of maneuvering, the bell went over, followed by Jones, and the little group on shore settled around the fire as usual.

The minutes dragged on and the air warmed slightly, the sun doing its best to cut through the chill. Gulls swooped and dove, and one alighted on the top of the barge’s mast to keep sentinel over the goings-on. At last, the bargeman signaled the bell was coming up. Indeed, it was almost beyond comprehension that Indigo Jones had been below the surface for almost two hours, especially taking into account how cold the water was. From the shore the group could see no sign of any success, however, and spirits were low as the barge beached on the sand and Indigo Jones had to be practically carried up to the fire.

Once more Elinore put an extra blanket around the shivering figure and Visser tried to rub some life back into his shoulders. Somers put his arm around Visser’s shoulders, as well, and even Little Eddy hung his head in sympathy.

“We’ll find something eventually, Caleb,” said Somers, as optimistically as he could, though he was feeling decidedly less optimistic by the day.

Visser nodded and managed a weak smile.

“Thank you, Ezra. Thank all of you. I don’t know how I can ever repay you unless we find the gold,” he said, and the futility of the whole enterprise seemed to overwhelm him as his voice cracked.

He only looked up when he heard Little Eddy shriek as Indigo Jones extended his right arm and opened his shaking hand.

Inside his fist was a gold coin, bright and like new.