The Adventurer (S1, E28)

  "Not the Lady Jane, it's the North Star?" Asked Colonel Bennett with a white face. 

  "Aye, sir, look for yourself." Answered Commander Doyle handing the Colonel a spyglass. Colonel Bennett peered through the glass. "He's escaped again!" Thought Bennett angrily. 

MEANWHILE 

  "Bring me thet cypher book from me trunk." Captain Jim called to Laramie. So he rummaged through the trunk and came out with a dusty old book. Captain Jim then spent a few minutes looking through it till he came upon the Bristol sea cypher. 

  "Here it is." He said excitedly laying the book beside the map. The he pulled a piece of paper out of the log book and dipped his quill in ink. The four men looked carefully over the code and eventually came upon an answer. Their faces glowed with excitement for their treasure was in sight. As the secret of the map unfolded, Captain Jim sketched a new set of cordinates on the page he pulled out of the log book. 

  "It looks like the treasure is in the Indeno Islands just south of the Maldives!" Laramie said excitedly. 

  "That's only two days sailing frrrom herrre!" The mate joined in. 

  "Yes, be boys, we'll soon have our treasure, but we'll need ta be careful, cuz them waters are controlled by Alaf Quardata, and ya know how he hates havin' uninvited guests!"

  "Yea he had the last bunch drawn and quartered!" Laramie said. 

To be continued...

The Adventurer (S1, E27)

  "Jim Harris, here I come!" Thought Colonel Bennett after hearing the sailor in the crow's nest holler "Ship Ahoy!" 

  "There is no way that map will evade me again! I've worked for too many years to loose out to an upstart pirate!"

  As the Skipper carried Colonel Bennett closer to the other ship, his excitement grew. He had long dreamed of the rewards and fame he would receive if he returned the stolen treasures of One-Eye to their rightful owners in England. He could imagine himself being knighted by King Gerorge personally. 

 The Skipper neared the other ship. The sailors tensed and reached for their guns and swords. The sailor in the crow's nest studied the side of the other ship looking for its name. 

  "It's not the Lady Jane!" The sailor called. "It's the North Star!" 

  "The North Star?" Questioned Colonel Bennett as his face turned white. 

To be continued...

The Adventurer (S1, E26)

  "So it is!" Jim shouted as he looked at the map and his log book.
  "It is what?" the three other men asked in desperation, for their curiosity had them in a vice. Jim smiled, the good natured look came back into his eyes.
  "It's got ta be the real thing, mates. Look at the parchment; the two are nearly the same."
  "Why, they certainly are!" exclaimed Arty. "I looks like One-Eye just tore a page out of his log book to write his map on!"
  "That prrrobably what he did!" the mate answered.

MEANWHILE

  The salty sea air stung Colonel Bennett's lungs as he looked into the dark clouds behind him. He was standing on the quarterdeck with Captain Balfour of the shore patrol and Commander Doyle of the ship they were on. The ship was the fastest government ship in Calcutta, and Colonel Bennett had requisitioned it so he could pursue Captain Jim and retrieve the treasure map. The Colonel looked very smart in his navy blue uniform. The gold buttons and shinny medals would have glistened in the sun. However, since the sun was captive behind the clouds, they echoed a dim glow. On Bennett's face was an ever confident, self important look that he always seemed to wear.
  The sailors on board the ship were not so confident as Colonel Bennett. They continually glanced back at the storm with anxious thoughts. Then they would look forward with fear. Who wanted to go hand to hand with the toughest bunch of pirates in the Pacific? What did Colonel Bennett want so much with a treasure map anyways? One-Eye's crew had probably already taken all the treasure away from the place on the map anyways. Why chase a no good pirate into a storm, Jim Harris' boat would be sunk if he tried to sail through the rough waters ahead. Why waste a good tub and many men's lives for nothing? These and many more questions plagued the sailors' minds.
  "Ship Ahoy!" Shouted the man in the crow's nest. Ice froze over the brave hearts of the sailors, but Colonel Bennett grinned a fiendish smile.
  "Captain Jim Harris, here I come!" Colonel Bennett thought.
To be continued...

The Adventurer (S1, E25)

  "Yer sayin' ya think this map is fake?" Captain jim's voice was anything but pleasant as he responded to Artemus Gordon's question. Arty stepped back defensively.
  "I'm saying nothing of the sort. I merely asked whether or not you thought that One-Eye was crooked enough to pull a stunt like posing his death and faking a treasure map."
  "Oh, he was crrrooked enough!" said the mate emphatically. "Then have we been trrricked, Capt'n?"
  Captain Jim picked up the map gently and looked it over. First the front, then the back underwent his rigorous inspection. He ran his thumb up and down the edges of the paper. Then he closely examined the letters and symbols on the map.
  "Get me the magnifying glass!" he suddenly ordered. Laramie crossed the small room and rummaged through several drawers before he lifted the magnifying glass out with a smile. Jim spent a few more minutes scrutinizing the map with the glass. There was a look of anxious worry on his face. He nervously rubbed his fingers through his rather shaggy hair. Nobody said a word for they were all holding their breathe wondering and waiting.
  "Bring my old log book." Jim commanded. "The parchment from thet old log book should be about the same age as this map. If the parchment is different, we'll know this is a fake!"
  The mate rushed to retrieve the book and returned quickly to place it in Jim's hands. Captain Jim opened the book and began to examine the edges of the paper. He lifted the map and held them both side by side. As he did this, a fiery glint flickered in his eyes.
  "So it is!" He shouted.
  "It is what?" the three other men asked in desperation, for their curiosity had them in a vice.
To be continued...

The Adventurer (S1, E23)

  "When shall we leave to find Jim Harris then, sir?" asked Captain Balfour
   "Within the hour!" replied Colonel Bennett determinately as he looked at his pocket watch.

   The pirate crew aboard the Lady Jane was feeling very optimistic. They had found the map; they had taken the map, and they had escaped the shore patrol in Calcutta. Now it was just open sea and treasure hunting. Perhaps the men thought of the possibility of being followed, but they didn't seem concerned. Perhaps they felt they had an advantage on the sea. Perhaps they figured on their good luck holding out until they could lay their hands on the treasure. Whatever their reason for ignoring the threat of being followed, the crew was boisterously happy below deck that evening.
  Caterwauling songs echoed up from the noisy crowd. Several sailors banged on their tin plates for more food, while others serenaded the group with chorus after chorus of "Roll, me bully-boys, roll." The air was dense with the smell of cooking salt pork, spilled ale, and sweaty sailors. The men joked and laughed and sang in a random patter that seemed to wash back and forth like the waves of a stormy sea. To an outsider, this scene might be somewhat distasteful, but to the hyper pirates, they wouldn't have traded it for the wealth of kings.

  In the captain's quarters, Jim, Artemus, Laramie, and the first mate, were carefully studying the treasure map, and charts of the area. This room was quite an contrast with the galley, for everyone was quiet and thoughtful.
  "Cap'n, Ay jest dona see any place on these charrts what matches thet map." said the mate in a heavy Scottish accent.
  "The latitude and longitude just don't make sense. That treasure map will have us in the middle of the Indian Ocean without any food or fresh water." Laramie chimed.
  "Yer right, me boys," answered Captain Jim, "One-Eye had a code fer this map, an' unless we figure it out, we'll never fin' thet treasure."

To be continued...

The Adventurer (S1, E21)

  "If they demast the Lady, thet'll be the end fer us all!" thought Captain Jim as he saw another blast from the field mortar heading directly towards the Lady Jane's mast. Jim closed his eyes, feeling that this was the end of it all. Surely now he would be imprisoned in England, and would never see the light of day again.
  "Ay suppose Ay would deserve it." Jim's conscience pricked him as he looked on the future. "But Ay never woulda been happy as a sheep-shearer in Allerdale! Ay had ta find me an adventure. Well, Ay guess Ay did, but this might be the end 'o it!"
  As these gloomy thoughts plagued Jim's mind, the field mortar blast whizzed nearer and nearer to the mast, but by some twist of fate, instead of hitting the mast, the shell ripped through starboard  side of the main sail. Now, a two foot hole in the sail of a ship is definitely a problem, but when one must choose between a hole in the sail and a demasted ship, the sail trouble is the preferred option.
  Jim heard the ripping sound of the sail and looked up. Then, just as suddenly as the gloomy thoughts had come, they left without a trace.
  "See, me boys!" Jim shouted enthusiastically as he jumped up, "they'll never take me Lady!" The deck swarmed with cheering pirates waiving their swords and guns in defiance to the shore patrol.
  "Hooray! Hooray for the Lady Jane!" they all shouted.


  The officers from the shore patrol were downcast as they watched the pirates sail off unscathed.
  "Captain Balfour and the Governor will have our hides!" said the man who seemed to be their leader. So they turned around and headed back to a certain reprimand.
To be continued...

The Adventurer (S1, E24)

  "One-Eye's treasure map has a code to it, me boys, an' unless we can figure it out, we'll never fin' it!" said Captain Jim to the three men around him. They had been studying the treasure map and charts of the area for several hour, and had not deduced the location of the hiding place.
  "May I suggest, Captain, that you use the old Bristol sea cypher, it would seem fitting since One-Eye was from Bristol. By the way, what was his real name?" queried Artemus. Artemus Gordon was a barber that Laramie had stumbled upon while searching for the treasure map in Calcutta. He had managed to get Laramie to give him a share of the treasure, and Laramie had consented, for Artemus had helped him locate the map. Artemus had some near squeaks with his new found friends, but they worked out their differences (sometimes with knives and guns) and were now on relatively comfortable terms.
  "Nobody really knows that, Arty." answered Laramie. "He's a bit of a mystery. In fact, until they found his body, nobody even really knew what he looked like. One account in a London newspaper had him at 7 feet tall and 6 fingers on each hand."
  "Then how did they know that is was his body that they found." Arty asked further.
  "Somthin' about a tattoo he had on his chest." answered the mate. "And plus thet map; he neverrr went anywherrre without it. Always kept it in a secrrret pocket on the inside of his shirrrt."
  "But perhaps he orchestrated a fraud. He could have put a fake map in somebody else's pocket and the =n let the authorities find that body so that he could go free. Perhaps he is living rich and easy in England right now as a respectable citizen because everyone thinks he's dead." Arty suggested. After he was through proclaiming his new theory, Captain Jim looked up at his very sharply.
  "Yer sayin' ya think this thing is a fake?" Captain Jim's voice was anything but pleasant.
To be continued...

The Adventurer (S1, E22)

  The officers from the shore patrol were downcast as they watched the pirates sail off unscathed.
  "Captain Balfour and the Governor will have our hides!" said the man who seemed to be their leader. So they turned around and headed back to a certain reprimand.

  "Captain Jim Harris was docked here in Calcutta, and you let him escape" the Governor paced up and down in front of his desk. Captain Balfour and the shore patrol officer who had seen the Lady Jane leaving the port stood with their heads down. "He has the treasure map, and you let him escape! I could have you hung as a traitor!" he said beating the desk with his fist.
  "Sir, what was I to do, I couldn't stop him!" ventured the officer
  "Its true, Governor," Captain Balfour came to the defense of the lieutenant, "you can't blame him, he did what he could."
  "Balfour is right. Your own guards here at your house should have apprehended the thief before he could even have come close to your safe!" The commanding voice of Colonel Bennett came from behind.
  "Colonel, I didn't know you were here!" said the Governor in a sugar coated voice. "Do sit down, have some tea!"
  "I'm not here to chat over a cup tea, Governor! There are some very serious matter at hand which must be addressed!" Colonel Bennett slapped his white gloves onto the Governor's desk. "Captain Balfour, I'm recruiting a crew of men to come with me immediately to follow Jim Harris. If we hurry, we should catch up with him by dawn tomorrow."
  "But, Colonel, you don't know where he has gone." interrupted the Governor.
  "As a Colonel in her Majesty's Army, I have a few idea as to the favorite locations for pirate hide-outs." he replied sarcastically. Then turning back to Captain Balfour, "I will require the use of your finest ship, and I make a formal request for volunteers, your very best if possible!"
  "Yes sir, Colonel, I can guarantee it, and if you don't mind, Id' like to come along with you. My reputation and position is at stake seeing that pirate got into and out of Calcutta without my knowing it."
  "Absolutely, Captain, I would be delighted to have you along!" the Colonel smiled pleasantly. "We will arrest that blackguard and retrieve the map before news of this could reach London."
   "When shall we leave then, sir?" asked Captain Balfour
   "Within the hour!" replied Colonel Bennett determinately as he looked at his pocket watch.
To be continued...

The Adventurer (S1, E20)

  "The shore patrol 'as been huntin' me fer years!" Thought Captain Jim, "Ay pray today's no the day they find me!"

  The ship had set sail in record time, for nobody on board the Lady Jane wanted to be caught by the shore patrol! The sails puffed out as they found a gust of wind to ride. The wind was strong that morning, and so she pulled the ship out of the little port and into the lanes of the sea. It might have seemed as though the very boards of Lady Jane were fleeing the approaching officers. 

  Captain Jim glanced back over his shoulder at the men standing on the dock. They were yelling and waving but to no avail. Then they did something that made Jim's sweat cold tears. 

  "Hit the deck, me boys!" He ordered. "They've a field mortar, an' they're plannen ta use it!" 

  Captain Jim's words were muted by a volley of musket fire and the ear shattering sound of the field mortar fire. Jim, flat in his belly on the main deck, tipped his face up to see what distraction had been inflicted when he saw another shot from the field mortar headed straight for the mast! 

  "If they demast the Lady, thet'll be the end fer us all!" 

To be continued...

The Adventurer (S1, E19)

  "Get to the point, Governor, what has Jim Harris to do with the stolen map?" Asked Captain Balfour of the shore patrols.

  "Just this, I believe Jim Harris took that map!"

  "Perhaps you are justified in your suspicions, Governor, but quite unlikely. We only have hearsay evidence that he was seen in these waters, and even if it were true, he wouldn't dare show his face in any Calcutta port for he'd instantly be recognized. There's no way he could have come all the way in here to steal the map without somebody seeing him!" Responded the Captain. 

  "True, but just the same, I'd like your help to search every port in the area for any possibility that it was him. We can't be too careful with such a valuable thing as that map!"  Said the governor. 

  "Very well, Sir, though I deem it will bring no results." 

  "Hurry everyone, be up you slobs!" Cried a young sailor. "Look yonder, here comes the shore parol!"

  "Shore patrol!" Exclaimed a few other pirates in response, "Somebody wake the Capt'n! We'd better scuttle this tub or we'll be in the brig!"

  Captain Jim came dashing onto the deck only partially dressed with bare feet and his shirt tails fluttering wildly in the early morning light. 

  "Get the lead out, me boy's, fer it's us their lookin' fer!" Jim encouraged desperately. By the tone of his voice one could imagine that should the shore patrol catch them, life would become very unpleasant!

  "They been huntin' fer me fer years," thought Jim, "Ay only pray today's no the day they find me!"  

To be continued...

The Adventurer (S1, E17)

  "All's well that ends well!" thought Laramie as he drifted off to sleep.
MEANWHILE
  In the governor's house there was no sleep, for everybody was in uproar over the lost treasure map.
  "The map didn't just disappear, somebody took it out!" cried the governor to a group of red clad soldiers. "Well, don't stand there with your mouths hanging open like codfish! Find out who took that map!"

  "Governor, somebody had to have opened the safe to get that map." Said a rather lavishly uniformed man sitting at the governor's desk. "And there are only 3 people who have the combination: you, me, and your secretary."

  "Are you suggesting, Colonel Bennett, that one of us took that map out?" Queried the governor defensively. 

  "I am suggesting nothing, except that many desperate people would like to get that map, and would pay a pretty penny for it." The Colonel rose. "I'll be doing an investigation of my own! Good evening to you governor."

  "How could that pompous windbag dare to suggest that my secretary or I would sell the map!" The governor thought indignantly. 

  Two men came dashing into the study room. "Sir, we've found boot prints and trampled plants just outside this window in your garden!" They said excitedly...to be continued...

The Aventurer (S1, E18)

  Two men came dashing into the Governor's study room.
  "Sir, we've found boot prints and trampled plants just outside this window in your garden!" they said excitedly.
  "Saunders," called the Governor, "get another lantern!" The Governor rushed with the two men from the study. in the faint, flickering light of the lantern they saw the bootprints that Laramie had left.
  "Get some dogs, and then you men follow these tracks, and somebody find Captain Balfour of the shore patrol, I must see him at once!"


  "Captain Balfour to see you, Governor." announced the butler as he opened the door to the study.
  "Ahh, Captain Balfour!" said the governor politely.
  "What reason have you for wrenching me from my sleep at this hour, Sir?" said the tall man rather indignantly. "I dearly hope its not another one of your wild goose chases!"
  "No, no, indeed not! Here, Captain, have a seat." said the Governor pulling out another chair, then sitting back down himself. "Sometime today the treasure map that was recently found on the body of One-Eye the pirate, was stolen from the safe here in my study. Since it is a pirate treasure map, it is reasonable to assume that another pirate would try to steal it. Then, consider that Jim Harris, One-Eye's greatest rival was reported to have been seen in the waters near Calcutta."
  "Get to the point, Governor, what has Jim Harris to do with the stolen map?"
  "Just this, I believe that pirate, Jim Harris, took the map!"
To be continued....

The Adventurer (S1, E16)

  Laramie gave Artemus a gentle nudge with his knife to indicate his intentions.
  "I'll take thet!" said Captain Jim pulling the pistol from Artemus Gordon's hand. Artemus slowly lifted his hands into a surrender position. "All right, mates, throw this fella off!" Jim called.
  "Oh, no ya don't!" said Laramie, "I may be a thief and a pirate, but I gave my word to him that he'd get a share of the treasure and I intend to keep my word!"
  "Ye double-crossin' blighter!" exclaimed Jim.
  " I haven't double crossed you, Captain, so don't blow your top. I promised this man a half of my share of the treasure, and that's what he'll get."
  Captain Jim seemed to cool with Laramie's charming words. "After all," thought Jim, "if its his share, he's free to part it however he wants."
  "Ok, Laramie, me boy, do wit' yer share whatever ya want." he said smiling. "All right, mates, shake a leg! We need this tub in ship-shape fer sailin' tomorrow, cuz we're gonna go an' find us a treasure!"
 "Hooray!" all of the sailors cheered raising their swords in alliance.
  "All's well that ends well." thought Laramie as he slumped comfortably into his bunk. He gazed out the porthole at the moon that peaked through the cloud covered sky. "Its all going to be easy after this!" was the last thing that passed trough his mind as he drifted off to sleep...to be continued...

Essay on Flora MacDonald (part 2)

Flora MacDonald inspired songs, dances and legends, but was she really all she was ‘cracked up’ to be? Her love for life and others is certainly something that every person should admire. Also, it takes great courage to stand up for what one believes. I think that Flora does live up to her legend because she did what she felt was right without worrying about what others might do or say.

   When Flora MacDonald was very young, her father died and her mother remarried. In this remarriage, her mother was a bride abductee. Abducting brides usually refers to a man marrying secretly because his character or social status prohibits him from an open, legal wedding. In such cases the bride may be willing to marry and this is called eloping, or she may not be willing in which case it is called kidnapping. This custom was also adopted by lower classes that wished to marry but could not pay a bride price. The bride price was to be paid by the man wishing to marry to the girl’s family. This custom is slightly different than the dowry wherein a father lays aside money to pay his daughter and new son in law. In all likelihood, Flora MacDonald’s mother, Marion, and stepfather, Hugh, wanted to be married, but Hugh MacDonald didn’t have the money to pay the bride price.

   Bonnie Prince Charlie has been called The Pretender by the British, but this title was not unique to him. His father, James Stuart III, was also called The Pretender in the first wave of uprisings in 1715. After the advent of Prince Charles, however, James III was renamed The Old Pretender. The most likely explanation for this nickname was that many people believed that James III was not James II’s true son but an exchange made after James II’s real son was stillborn. James III’s two older half sisters, Mary Hanover and Queen Anne, even held to this view. Mary and Anne had reason to fear that their father, James II, was trying to reinstate a Catholic monarchy, for both were sympathetic to the Protestants.

   Flora MacDonald had a great impact on the people that she met. Many songs and poems have been written exemplifying her devotion and courage. She even inspired Samuel Johnson, the famous English writer, to such an extent that he paid the tribute that in engraved on her memorial at Kilmuir. Flora MacDonald has inspired me to positively impact every person that I come across.

Essay on Flora MacDonald (part 1)

  Flora MacDonald may be one of the most remembered heroines among Scottish legendry, and even in world history. The one act that seems to have brought her into the lime-light was something that she nearly didn’t even do! On the famed night that has been immortalized by songs, poems, and legends, Flora MacDonald rowed Prince Charles Stuart safely to the Isle of Sky. Prince Charles then successfully escaped to France where he was in exile for the rest of his life. For the present let’s set aside the many legends, and focus on the true story behind this great heroine, Flora MacDonald.

   Flora MacDonald was born shortly after the first Jacobite uprisings. This first wave of uprisings was meant to unseat the new Hanoverian king, George I, and restore the Stuart king, James III, to the throne. James III met with little popularity in Scotland and even less support in England. In 1745 the second Jacobite rebellion began when Prince Charles, son of James III, tried to reverse his father’s defeat and take the throne from George II. Charles gained about as much popularity as his father had. What support these leaders had was largely due to the popularity of their Aunt/half sister Queen Anne Stuart. However, their lack of popularity can be linked to the apathy brought on by the years of peace under William and Mary and Queen Anne.

   On April 16, 1746, Bonnie Prince Charlie was defeated at the Battle of Culloden Moor and sought refuge in the Outer Hebrides. During the rebellion, the Jacobites were declared outlaws and were legally punishable. Due to this law, Flora MacDonald was found guilty and imprisoned in the Tower of London for helping Charlie escape.  However, after Prince Charles fled to France, the 1747 Act of Indemnity was passed lifting all sentences on ‘traitors’ and so Flora MacDonald was released.
   Three years after her release, Flora MacDonald married Allen MacDonald who was a captain in the army and the son of Alexander MacDonald, of Kingburgh. In 1772, they moved to Kingsburgh when Allen’s father, Alexander died. However, when the War for Independence began in 1774, Allen and Flora immigrated to North Carolina since Allen commanded the British 84^th Regiment of Foot. Here Flora is seen rallying Loyalist troops. Why was she fighting for the Hanoverians who she seemed to oppose years ago? Perhaps she didn’t want to be on the losing side of another war, perhaps she felt that she was too old to get mixed up in something that had no affect on her. Flora claimed that her involvement with Bonnie Prince Charlie was only humanitarian, so I believe that she was moved by the same motives during the War for Independence. (However, I also feel that she was mislead in this event.)

The Adventurer (S1, E15)

   A frown curled over Captain Jim's face. "He gets a what...?" Jim's voice was colored with disgust. "What do ya mean by giving away shares of my treasure to stranger?"
  "I don't seem to be very good at making friends ." chuckled Artemus.
  "Ye'd better keep quiet, or ye'll find yerself walkin' the plank!" growled Captain Jim.
  "Now, now, you wouldn't have the map at all if it weren't for me." Artemus said. He slowly placed his hand into his pocket. "You can't afford to cut me out, my friend!"
  Laramie's eyes followed Artemus Gordon's hand. "That is where he put his pistol!"
  "I can afford ta do whatever I want ta do, an' nobody's gonna stop me!" Jim barked back at Artemus. "Now ye get yer scallywaggin' hide off me boat before I pin it ta the mast!"
  "I could resent that!" Artemus said darkly as his fingers clenched around the pistol in his pocket.
  "Resent whatever ye like, but git out 'o here." said Jim pointing towards the gangway. Then a look of surprise flashed across his face as Artemus Gordon shoved his pistol into Jim's middle.
  "I ain't leaving without my fair share of the treasure, an' don't make a scene or else!"
  "If I were you, Gordon, I wouldn't be so cocky!" came Laramie's voice from behind, "I've got a trusty steel that says Captain Jim ain't gonna get hurt." Laramie gave the Artemus a gentle nudge with his knife to indicate his intentions...to be continued...

The Adventurer (S1 E14)

   Laramie tucked the crumpled map into his pocket. "This is where you belong!" he thought with a smile. Then Laramie and the barber turned in the direction of the little port where the Lady Jane was anchored. The sun hid his face beyond the horizon and dusk fell heavily around the two men, so they hastened their steps across the cobbled streets.
   Meanwhile on the Lady Jane, Captain Jim paced nervously around his small cabin room. He could hear the unpleasant voices echoing down from the deck. Captain Jim sat down heavily on his bunk. His thoughts washed back and forth like the evening tide on the beach.
   "I wonder what happened to Laramie..." he ran his fingers through his tawny hair, "he would have come back if he'd found the map. He must have been caught!"
   Jim's pensive thoughts were then interrupted by a sudden scuffle of boots on the deck. "Lower the gangway!" Somebody hollered. Jim rushed out onto the quarterdeck to see a rather finely dressed and terribly exhausted Laramie board the ship.
   "Laramie, me lad, yer here at last! We thought ye'd been killed!" Jim said as he gave him a hearty handshake. "An' who's this thet ye've brought with ye?"
   Laramie cleared his throat, "This is um... "
  "Gordon, Artemus Gordon" the barber interjected.
  "Yes, a barber, he helped me locate the map...and...um...so he's here because he gets a share..." Laramie's words stumbled out. A frown curled over Jim's face as he looked at the barber.
  "He gets a what...? Jim's voice was colored with disgust. "What do ya mean by giving away shares of my treasure to strangers?"
   "I don't seem to be very good at making friends." Artemus chuckled.
  "Ye'd better keep quiet, or ye'll find yerself walkin' the plank!" Groweled Captain Jim...to be continued...