{Avalon, NJ – June 1985}
When the boys got home, they showered and then sat down with their dad and grandpa for a late lunch. After telling them about the day’s competition results, Johnny turned to his brother and said, “Hey, Wayne, hurry up. We need to check out our treasure.”
With one big gulp of his drink, Wayne gave an expression of great satisfaction and said, “Let’s roll!”
In a flash, the two boys exited the back door and went straight to the dock’s storage bench.
Wayne lifted the upper seat, and together, they pulled the gear bag out of the storage compartment and placed it down onto the wood deck surface. At the same time, Grandpa walked down to see what the boys were so excited about.
“Look what we found in our cave,” said Wayne.
While Grandpa was somewhat confused as to what exactly Wayne was talking about, he said, “Let me take a look.”
Grandpa stared at the object, which measured approximately three inches high, five inches wide, and ten inches long. “I can’t really tell what you’ve got there. Johnny, hand me the hose.”
Johnny walked a few feet away and grabbed the dockside hose, which was generally used to clean the dock and boats. He turned on the water nozzle and handed the hose to his grandfather.
“Thanks, Johnny.”
After adjusting the hose nozzle to produce a powerful jet stream of water, Grandpa aimed the surging blast directly at the dark, gooey, brick-like object. Together, they witnessed a thick layer of material fall off of the object.
“Wow, we found a crusty green brick,” said Wayne in a somewhat sarcastic manner as he disappointingly looked at the object.
Grandpa then asked Johnny to go to the garage and retrieve a small bus tub and his toolbox, which were sitting just inside the door. Not missing a beat, he instructed Wayne to run up to the kitchen to retrieve a roll of aluminum foil and a box of baking soda.
Then he added, “Also, ask Grandma to boil some water in her teakettle.”
“What do we need these things for?” asked Wayne.
Grandpa responded, “I have a suspicion that they’ll help to clean this thing up. Then we can determine what you’ve really found.”
After the whistle sounded, Grandma handed Wayne the teakettle and said, “Please be careful, Wayne! It’s very hot.” Wayne then walked slowly back to the dock with the requested items.
The boys watched their grandpa line the bus tub with a large sheet of tinfoil and then place the heavy brick into the middle of the tub. When he began sprinkling baking soda all over the object, Johnny asked, “Why are you doing that?”
“Baking soda’s a mild alkali. When mixed with hot water and aluminum, the resulting mixture becomes a powerful stain remover. We’ll know if it works in just a minute.”
Grandpa asked Wayne to pour the teakettle’s hot water onto the brick slowly. Immediately, it began to fizzle and bubble.
“Wow,” said Johnny, “it’s getting brighter!” Slowly, the tarnish and grime disappeared from the brick.
Grandpa continued cleaning the object with a small scrub brush, sweeping it back and forth to remove all of the crud embedded into its grooves and crevices. After pouring more hot water onto the object, the boys and their grandfather were very surprised to witness the rebirth of a shiny golden brick. Grandpa lifted the object from the tub and handed it to the boys, who dried it with a nearby beach towel.
Noticing some unusual markings on the object, Grandpa blurted out, “Whoa, slow down, boys. Turn the brick over. I want to see something.” Gazing at the bar, he was astonished to see three engraved markings. The first was a picture of an eagle that seemed to be sitting on top of an unusual symbol. The second item was the word Reichsbank, and the third item was simply a series of letters and numbers.
Grandpa then looked very seriously at the boys and said, “Where exactly did you find this, boys?”
The boys offered an abbreviated explanation, stating that they had explored the crack in the bulkhead that was caused by the storm. Wayne added, “When we pushed the cracked board to the side, we discovered our Pirate Cave!”
Grandpa drifted off in deep thought for about thirty seconds before Johnny got his attention again. “Grandpa, what are all of these symbols on the brick?”
Grandpa looked soberly at the boys and said, “If I’m not mistaken, you two have found a Nazi gold bar.” Grandpa then said that the word Reichsbank was the name of the central bank of Germany up until the end of World War II. He went on to explain, “I think that these numbers are some kind of identification indicator.”
Johnny then asked, “What’s that strange emblem at the top?”
Grandpa responded solemnly, “Below the eagle is a symbol called a swastika. For hundreds of years, it was known as an ancient religious symbol throughout the world. Then Hitler and the Nazis rose to power in Germany during the 1930s.” After taking a deep breath and shaking his head back and forth, Grandpa continued, “Hitler stole the symbol, just like a pirate!”
With a confused expression on his face, Wayne questioned, “What do you mean, Grandpa?”
“Well, Hitler’s evil regime adopted the swastika symbol and used it for a different purpose. It was recognized by the Nazis as a symbol of German nationalistic pride. Hitler merged it with another historical German emblem, the eagle.” Pointing to the gold bar, he directed the boys, “Look closely. You can see the eagle standing on top of the swastika symbol. That was the Nazi’s national emblem from 1933 until the end of the war in 1945.” Rubbing his brow in frustration, Grandpa added, “It was displayed on thousands of items, including Germany’s money and currency. That’s why I believe that you two have found a Nazi gold bar!”
Grandpa and the boys sat quietly on the deck for several minutes before Grandpa looked at the two boys and added, “I hope that you two understand that today, the swastika is considered a very ugly and evil symbol. It’s a sad reminder of the horrific and murderous acts that the Nazis committed against millions of people throughout the world during Hitler’s decade-long reign of power.” After silently holding the golden brick in his hands for about a minute, Grandpa said in earnest, “I’m sorry, boys, but Hitler and the Nazis make me sick.” Then he instructed the boys to go inside because “the grown-ups need to talk.”
While the adults were truly amazed that Wayne and Johnny had made such a huge discovery without their knowing, they also understood that this unexpected find could have great historical significance and potential political consequences. Dylan quashed any thoughts of keeping the gold bar when he said, “The boys found this gold bar on my property, but it does not rightfully belong to any of us.”
After a lengthy discussion, the adults met with the boys and their sister in the family room. Mark placed the golden object onto the hardwood floor directly in front of the fireplace. For the next few minutes, the adults talked about the discovery of the gold bar and explained their concerns about possessing such an object. The adults advised that they had decided to report this incredible find to Grandpa’s longtime friend, Mayor Carrington.
Mark added, “Kids, we absolutely have to disclose your discovery to the authorities. They’ll be able to offer guidance as to the best way to handle this unique situation.”
Soon afterward, the mayor and the police chief arrived at the Masters’ home. They stayed for almost an hour and were absolutely amazed to learn the details about the find. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to thoroughly inspect the breach in the bulkhead because of the high tide and the rapidly fading sunlight.
Before the mayor and police chief left, it was agreed that they would transport the gold bar to the police station, where it would be placed in the station’s secure storage locker for the evening. Further, Mayor Carrington and Chief Grant agreed to return the next morning so that they could get a better look at what the boys called their Pirate Cave.
As the mayor and chief were walking to their vehicles, Dylan mentioned, “By the way, Max Thomas is scheduled to be here tomorrow morning to inspect the damaged seawall and to write up a repair estimate. He might be able to help us get a better look at what’s inside the bulkhead cave.”
The mayor responded, “That’s good to hear, Dylan. Max is one of the best seawall contractors on the island, and we’ll likely need his expertise and advice. See you in the morning.”
As the family continued to discuss the astonishing discovery, Lisa looked at the clock and sighed. “It’s almost nine o’clock. I guess that means that our luau is canceled.”
In response, Grandpa said, “Baloney! I’m still up for a luau. And besides, I’m starving!”
Grandma then chimed in. “Lisa, let’s hear that great music that you picked out.”
With her grandparents’ encouragement, Lisa walked over to the stereo system in the family room and started playing the festive music.
Fortunately, the fun tropical sounds that filled the air really helped to alleviate the stressful vibes that had overwhelmed the family for the past few hours. In fact, everyone seemed relieved that they were having the luau dinner.
Outside, Mark and Liz began grilling the large shrimp, fresh pineapple slices, yellow squash, tomatoes, zucchini, and green peppers. Meanwhile, Christine prepared a huge tropical fruit salad as the boys chipped in by pouring beverages for everyone.
In an effort to help lift Lisa’s spirits, Grandpa asked his granddaughter to dance to a fun island song that had just begun to play. “Come on, Lisa. Let’s see if you can keep up with me.”
While Lisa was a bit embarrassed, dancing with Grandpa in the family room was the perfect recipe for bringing a smile to her face.
Glancing at his daughter and Dylan from the back deck, Mark whispered into Liz’s ear, “Everything’s gonna be fine, Liz.” Then, looking down at the grill, he added, “Wow, this really smells awesome. I can’t wait to feast on these shrimp kabobs!”
While the others were enjoying the moment, Johnny and his brother walked out to the dock.
“I feel kind of bad that our discovery upset Grandpa.”
Wayne responded, “Me too. But I also feel bad that they won’t let us keep the gold bar.” After a short pause, Wayne added, “I wonder if they would have let us keep the gold if it had been a part of Blackbeard’s treasure?”
Johnny dejectedly answered, “Probably not. Let’s get something to eat. I’m starving.”
Together, they returned to the house and joined the others, who had just begun eating.