Seas of Fortune(59)
As the tide went out, it became apparent that a little ways down the coast, there was some large object sticking out of the exposed bottom. Maria, Heyndrick and two sailors went out to investigate.
The object was the ravaged remains of the hull of a pinnace, its blackened framing timbers looking like the ribs of a sea monster. It didn’t seem particularly likely that any useful artifacts would still be left, but they were now so close that it seemed reasonable to look and see.
“That’s odd,” said Maria. While Heyndrick and the sailors looked for stray coins, and the like, in the sand, she had been studying the hull.
“What’s odd?” asked Heyndrick, who, out of the corner of his eye, had been studying her.
“Look how most of the wood is heavily holed.”
“Sure, that’s because of the teredo, the ship worm. They’re a real plague in these tropical waters.”
“Yes, but there is one piece that’s barely pitted. You see? I think it’s a different type of wood than the rest of the hull.”
Heyndrick studied the mystery futtock more closely. He felt and sniffed it, and did the same to the nearby wood. “I think you’re right. It couldn’t have been part of the original hull, it must have been cut to make a repair.”
“Can we take it out, please?” pleaded Maria. “I think it might be greenheart. It’s a tree mentioned in the encyclopedias; it’s resistant to marine borers. The crew of this hulk must have cut a greenheart tree and used it to make repairs, without realizing their good fortune. Might be a fine export product if we can find a grove to harvest. We can ask the local Indians . . . once we find them.”
Heyndrick scratched his chin. “Even if you’re right, the Indians are going to have a hard time figuring out what tree you are looking for, if all they have to go on is a bit of cut wood. They don’t cut their trees into lumber, they just hollow them out.”
“We can shave off the outer layers of the piece, then they might recognize it as being the same wood as one of their dugouts.”
Heyndrick shrugged, and ordered a sailor to cut out the wood of interest. Once he had done so, Maria asked him to chop off a small piece and give it to her. She took it down the beach, to where the waters of the South Atlantic played with the sand, and dropped it in. It sank.
Maria nodded thoughtfully, and turned her head to look at Heyndrick, who was standing a few feet behind her. “It’s denser than water. That’s true of greenheart, too. One of the reasons it’s a strong wood.”
“Then you might be right that it’s greenheart, Maria, but please don’t get your hopes too high. Even a wood that normally floats can sink if it gets waterlogged.”
Maria shrugged. “When we find some Indians, we’ll get some answers. I hope.”
Fort Kykoveral (modern Bartica), Essequibo River, Guiana,
Short Wet Season (December 1634–January 1635)
“Well, there it is. A sail,” thought Henrique. “Kykoveral” meant, in Dutch, “looks over all,” and he had an excellent view of the river from his position on the parapet.
It made him think of the legend of Theseus. Theseus had gone to Crete to slay the Minotaur. He sailed, with the other sacrifices, on a ship with a black sail, but he promised that when he returned victorious, he would hoist a white sail so his father Aegeus would know he had succeeded. Unfortunately, he forgot, and Aegeus threw himself into the sea.
This time, it didn’t matter whether the sail Henrique saw was black or white. Either way, it would bring both joy and sorrow.
* * *
To Henrique’s surprise, the ship, although Dutch-built, wasn’t from Europe. Nor was it en route to the Caribbean, or America. Rather, it was from another colony on the Wild Coast, paying its respect to the traders at Kykoveral.
Which meant that perhaps, just perhaps, there was no need for the foursome to separate.
* * *
Commander Jan van der Goes of the Zeeland Chamber of the Dutch West India Company cleared his throat. “Mevrouw Maria Vorst, permit me to introduce Henrique Pereira da Costa, formerly of Belém do Pará, the intrepid discoverer of a river route between the Amazon and the Essequibo.”
Henrique bowed.
“Senhor da Costa, I introduce to you Mevrouw Maria Vorst. She is the daughter of a physician, and sister of the curator of the Leiden Botanical Gardens. She has received training in natural philosophy at Grantville, the town of the future that you have surely heard of by now. She is attached to the new Swedish colony to our east, Gustavus.”
Maria curtseyed.
“And her companion, Captain Heyndrick de Liefde, is of a good merchant family in Hoorn, and has been to the Caribees, Zwaanandael, Virginia and New Netherlands.” Zwaanandael was the ill-fated Dutch colony in Delaware. “His cousin, Captain David Pieterszoon de Vries, founded Gustavus, and Captain de Liefde has given us the great pleasure of transporting Mevrouw Vorst to our company.”