The Queen Anne was badly damaged and many of its
men were hurt. The captain was in his bed, with a white
bandage on his head . His first mate, Mr Stewart, came to see
him.
"Captain, the men have found the door to the treasure
broken open. It seems Pike and his men took the Queen's
gold but left behind the treasure we found on that ship."
"How is the ship and the men?"
"Many men are hurt, sir. Our sails are badly damaged .
We're now sailing to an island we've seen about two miles
away."
"Mr Stewart, have someone watch that treasure. It's all we
have left."
The Queen Anne moved very slowly with all of its sails
pulled clown. The men were sitting or standing quietly along
the deck as the ship anchored, a half mile from the beach.
They were tired and hurt from the fight with the pirates.
The sun was shining and the island looked beautiful, but the
men were not interested. The captain came up on deck and
began ordering the men.
"Lower the boats! I'm going to the island to see if we can
get something to fix these sails. I want to take that treasure
with us. V.,Te don't know what we'll have to give them."
The island had a long beach of white sand with tall , green
coconut trees on it. They pulled their boats up onto the sand.
As they were deciding which way to go, they saw a native boy
jump from a tree and run a·way. The captain spoke first.
"Let's follow him. He may lead us to his people."
T he boy led the men through the green h i.lls of the island.
He stayed far ahead of them but stopped whenever he wanted
them to see him and follow .
There were tall green plants on the hills, and the air
smelled of vani lla.
"What's that smell? It smells like rum."
"It is, and these are the sugar plants they use to make it.
They break the plants apart and mix the rum in large barrels.
It smells as if they' re making sweets."
"It'll be nice if we get to taste it."
The men laughed as they walked on. When they came to
the top of a hill looking down onto a village, they saw natives
working near small houses made from trees and leaves. The
small boy they were following ran into the vi llage before
them and everyone began looking up at Captain Scott and
his men . They stopped what they were doing and waited for
the sailors.
A tall, dark and very beautiful woman in a white headdress
was standing in front of the natives, waiting for Captain
Scott. She had large dark, eyes and she wore a gold necklace
with a green stone, just like the one in the picture on
Blackbeard's ship. Her name was Queen Alliana, and she was
the Queen of Rum Island.
The sailors put Blackbeard's treasure down behind
Captain Scott when he went to meet the Queen.
"I am Captain Scott of the Queen Anne from England.
We've come here to trade our gold for anything you may
have to offer, but we also have a problem. Our sh ip is badly
damaged. We need to fix our sails."
"Welcome Captain. I am Queen Al liana and this is Rum
Island . Come and sit with us and show us what you have
brought:."
The sailors sat in a circle around the treasure chest.
Captain Scott sat next to Queen Alliana and all the men were
offered a cup of the island's rum. When Captain Scou opened
the chest and showed the Queen the shining treasure of jewels
and gold, her eyes widened and she stood up.
"Where did you get that?"
"It's not really ours. It's something we've found on an
empty ship at sea. Our gold ... "
"Take it away! We do not want it here! It is cursed! The
man who owns it must have it back. You must take it back to
where you found it."
The Queen waved her hand. All of the natives left and
went inside their houses, leaving Captain Scott and his men
alone.
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