Sanguine Tenacious Tidings

4/26/2016:Mini challenge: entertainment: Magical Ship fun

We were gonna head to the ship's lounge for a mellow night of listening to some classic crooners...but there are signs posted up all over advertising a Talent Show! That sounds like fun! Are you performing? Is it a solo act, or part of an ensemble? Or are you content with just watching us and conferring with the judges?


I could tell a story. I us-ta be able to sing but not as good any more. I think I strained my voice screaming at life. If I sing a song it would probably be Horses and Eagles by John Denver just because it is a nice song.


Then the story would go something like this:

I was on a ship. It was probably one of the biggest of personally owned vessels around. I’m not very good with the workings of personally owned ships so you will have to bear with me about the facts, because I may be missing some.

Notice, this is a real vessel (sorry not a magical ship) owned by a rather wealthy family I met up with one day at a horse show

. I was in the warm up area. I had finished my class and was pleased to come away with a 2nd place. Basic Brown (the horse) was pleased too. She gets a kick out of performing in an arena with lots of spectators. So, anyway, I rubbed her down put her away with some fresh hay and went back to watch the other classes; a young woman rides up and dismounts.

“Will you hold Betsy? I need to call my Mom, Betsy doesn’t like it when I ride and talk at the same time.”

I took the reins and walked Betsy while Milenda talked to her mom. Afterwards, she thanked me, swung up and rode away.

When her class came up the two of them rode a really good class. You could see they were working well together.

Later in the week I received an invitation in the mail to a family cruise to a south sea island. When opportunity knocks at least ask; What Up?

Short story, here I am on a family luxury cruise ship looking at an Island, where we are about to dock, through my birding binoculars. What I see is amazing. A really luxurious looking home, complete with swimming pools shaped like turtles and sharks. A long covered veranda with lots of lounge chairs and cozy swings. It looked like a two story building. The upper rooms all had an outside balcony, that ran the full length of the upper story.

That is all I could see, from the ocean, as we docked. A couple of golf cart type vehicles came down to the dock to pick up the passengers which numbered 15. Milenda was the middle daughter in a family of 5. She had an older brother and a younger sister. The other passengers were two couples that were business partners of her fathers. Then there were 6 single people. One boy that was a friend of Robby, Milenda’s brother A daughter of one of the business couple about my age and Milendas’s age, her name was Sam. Christine, Milenda’s younger sister brought 4 from her brownie troupe. The trip was their prize for selling lots of candy in a recent contest to earn money for the troupe, which they actually invested so the troupe would be getting dividends from investments for the next few years.

At the lodge we were given rooms for our visit. The ship would be docked here for a week. My room was sandwiched between Milenda’s and Sam’s. It was a beautiful warm day. From the veranda outside my room I could hear tropical birds screeching in the jungle type foliage.

Milenda sat down next to me in a chair on the veranda. “I noticed you wearing a pair of birding binoculars on the way up from the dock. Do you like to look at birds?

“Yeah. I do a bird count every year. Hiking and watching birds is a favorite pastime when I’m not riding or studying for classes at school. “

“I like to watch the birds around here. There are a lot of different varieties, you should walk out on some of the jungle trails. I’ll send one of the house boys out with you so you won’t get lost. Just tell me when.”

“How about tomorrow morning?”

“Sure. I’ll tell Jocob to meet you after breakfast.”

Sam sauntered out and leaned on the balcony railing. “I think I’ll take a nap.” Then she swung around and reentered her room. I should have got to know her better then bu,t who Knew?

The next morning breakfast started an awesome but fundamentally dysfunctional day. Jacob turned out to be an elderly man. He handed me a water canteen as we started down the trail.

“Never leave for a long walk around here without a water supply.” He instructed me about looking for insects that might be poisonous and plants to leave alone. We walked east inland for about 2 miles. There was a cross trail so we moved south for a mile when we came to a small inland pond. There was a tree stand which we climbed and sat in an alcove looking out over the water. The canopy in the trees had many species of parrots and tropical birds.

“Some of the birds here were not natives. The family brought some mated pairs of parrots and set them free on the island now they are part of the landscape. Other birds and some of the wildlife have also been introduced. Some do not do well others seem to thrive.”

Jocob brought out some sandwiches for lunch out of his backpack. We watched the water and canopy for a couple hours.

“We better start back.” We continued moving South and soon hit a wide trail that took us west back to the lodge.

Milenda met us on the trail many yards before we arrived. “Is Sam with You?”

Jocob became agitated quickly. “No it is just us.”

“She did not come down this morning. I thought she was sleeping so I didn’t look for her now when I went up to find her she was not in her room. After I looked around I alerted the staff to look so everyone is searching but no one can find her anywhere.”

“Is anyone else missing?”

“No one, everyone else has been alerted and is looking for her but I did not send anyone down any of the trails.”

Jocob and Milenda kept up their conversation without me until I began to feel like an interloper to a private conversation.

“Where’s your Dad?”

“Dad took the ship and the crews to refuel at the refueling station. He said he wanted to get it all ready for when we needed to return. I called the ship. He and the crew are looking in every possible nook but so far they haven’t found anything but one strange thing. One of the carry on bags Sam brought with her is aboard in her state room. I’m sure I had all the luggage carted to the lodge yesterday.”

“And your Mom?”

“She had a flake out, she is spending her time in the library with Sam’s Mom and Mrs. Johnston. I sent Marla to keep and eye on them and Shondra is suppose to be watching Christine and the troupe. Robbie and his friend want to go out into the jungle to look but I wouldn’t let them yet until you returned. Sam’s Dad is on the ship with my Dad and Mr. Johnston.”

The late afternoon came. Jacob had taken Robbie and his friend out to look at the first several yards of each trail leaving the lodge compound. They were basically looking for signs of Sam or any other thing that might give out a clue.

On the ship a dogged search of every crack and cranny had turned up a cryptic note in the mess hall on a message board that said, “YOU’RE LOOKING IN THE WRONG PLACE!” The note was written in some kind of leaky red stuff but Mr. Johnston was sure it wasn’t blood. “ I’ve checked it quite thoroughly it looks like really thick poster paint.”

Jocob brought everyone inside for the night. “I suggest you all stay inside for the night. I will go out with some of my family and look some more. If anyone knows anything you better tell us right now!"

Jocob’s tone now had a feel of someone very frightened.

Milenda stayed in the Library with her mom and the other Ladies but I was tired from the long day and the birding hike so I went up to bed. Milenda tried to get me to stay with the ladies I think she was afraid I would come up missing.

The night was hot but the fan in the room kept the air circulating. I showered and made one concession. I dressed in daytime clothing to greet the morning as if it had arrived. Then, I stretched out on the bed and fell fast asleep as I prayed for the Lord to care for and return Sam to us unharmed.

Sometime in the night after I had been asleep for several hours some sound woke me. At first I was not sure what I heard then I realized it was a kind of shuffling sound out on the veranda. I slung my feet over the edge of the bed and wrestled them into tennis shoes in the dark. Quietly I crept to the window. “AND WHAT TO MY WONDERING EYES SHOULD APPEAR BUT A MINIATURE SLEIGH” “No! No, that’s not right!”

The girl troupe was quietly shuffling across the veranda with a muffled flashlight. I decided to follow them from a distance. I quietly walked into Milenda’s room and shook her with my hand over her mouth. She came to flailing at me but, I quickly shushed her. “Your sister and her friends are going down the stairs at the end of the veranda with a flashlight. Do you know what they are up to?”

“Argh! I was afraid Christine was mixed up in this up to her teeth and beyond!”

Milenda quickly dressed and we headed down the stairway. “Where are they?”

“I see movement over toward that sandy beach that starts on the other side of the dolphin pool.”

“Follow them quick!”

We skirted the edge of the forest where the sandy beach met the brush trying to follow without being seen.

After the group drew away from the house they became more vocal. One of the girls seemed to be sobbing another was giggling and a third was telling them to all shut up. Soon they came to a shed that was sheltered by the jungle on the edge of the beach out of sight of the lodge.

“Unlock the door quick.” The rattle of keys in a lock is heard. “Here we brought you some water and a sandwich. Eat it quick.”

“You little brats. Let me go. I won’t even tell on you just let me go!”

“No I haven’t figured out what I’m going to do with you yet. You’ll know soon enough.” Christine slammed the door and turned the lock. “come on before someone misses us at the lodge.”

Milenda put her finger to her lips and looked me in the eye. I kept quiet while the troupe walked away.

One of the troupe was sniffling and moaning. “You should have let her go Christine.”

When they were out of the area we approached the shed door. “How can we get this door open.”

“I have a key.” I jumped with fright. The voice came right out of the jungle beside us.

“Robbie!” Milenda shrieked.

Robbie and his friend stepped out from the undergrowth and opened the lock. We all helped Sam out and untied her.

“Finally, I’m so glad someone found me.” Sam was sobbing while we rubbed her arms, where the robes had left red pitted marks in her arms.

“What is going on, why did they do this to you?” Robbie was walking Sam slowly10 feet up and down the beach so she could get the circulation back in her legs. “Here stretch your arms up slowly that will help. Now tell us.”

“I overheard your sister and her troupe telling that they only pretended to invest the troupe donations. They really took the money to go on a shopping spree. When they caught me listening they smacked me on the head with a bottle and tied me up. I came to in that shed."

“Wow look at the bump on your head your lucky your not dead.” Robbie took a kerchief and wet it in the ocean he wrung it out and set it on Sam’s bump.

“What’s wrong here. They can’t get away with this.” This was my first comment throughout the whole scene.

“Sure they can. That group is trouble with action as their middle name.” Robbie’s friend was shaking his head as he exclaimed over the problem.

“Not this time. Come on we better tell mom and get Sam back to her Mother. Everyone is so worried they will be glad to see you are safe. We need to get someone to look at the bump on your head.” Milenda took Sam’s arm and started helping her walk the shortest distance toward the Lodge.

In the end it was considered a kid’s prank. There were no police involved and the worst thing that happened was the troupe was split up, and the money given over to the investment. Oh. And Christine had to change schools. This is an island without police and wealthy people without constraints. We all sailed home on time.

Discussion Question: What should happen to the perpetrators of this lawlessness?