Doubloon Beach

Chet and Marco had found the perfect place to have the annual A-shift picnic. It was called Doubloon Beach and it was very deserted. Since it was miles from everywhere, they wouldn’t have to fight the crowds to get a goos spot as they had the previous two years. They’d have the place all to themselves so everyone could unwind and have a good time. But to Chet, the best part of their find was the legend that went with it.

It was called Doubloon Beach because a Spanish Galleon had once crashed on the rocks just off shore. Once in a great while an actual doubloon would wash up onto the beach from the shipwreck. In order to keep treasure hunters from tearing up the beach, stories were told that the beach was haunted by the ghosts of the captain and the crew searching for their lost treasure. Over time, the captain became headless to make the story more frightening.

Chet’s mind was working overtime. A story like that was a great set up for a practical joke on Gage. Chet decided to update the story a little saying that it was sharks that were guarding the treasure. The popularity of Jaws made that more fashionable and believable than ghosts. But the end result would be the same.

On the day of the picnic, Marco and Chet got there before anyone else. They careful hid a few worthless coins in the sand. Chet had picked up some imitation doubloons at a novelty store and had soaked them in a jar of salt water for a weak to age them. This day was going to be perfect, Chet could feel it in his bones. Soon the others began to arrive.

“So this is the famous Doubloon Beach,” Johnny said a bit skeptically. “Funny, I don’t see any headless ghosts.”

“That’s just a legend, Gage, and it’s one of the reasons this beach is still here,” Chet said in his most disinterested sounding voice; the one he used when reeling in a sucker.

“How do you figure that?” Roy asked as he set down a large blue cooler in the sand. He knew he’d be making many more trips back and forth to the parking lot before all of the things that Joanne deemed necessary were in place for the picnic. His wife did not believe in traveling light.

Station tradition had it that the men would come to the picnic spot and set up and the wives, children and other invited guests would arrive a short time later. Roy had ridden with Johnny and the Land Rover was packed to the roof with more stuff than Johnny would have taken to spend a month in the wild.

“Well ya see, legend has it that once in a while doubloons can be found washed up on the beach and well you know how treasure hunters can be,” Chet said knowingly as he set up some lawn chairs. He carefully avoided looking at Gage but he knew he’d take the bait.

“That’s all a lot of bunk,” Johnny hooted, as if on cue. “Ghosts. Gold doubloons Ha! Nobody ever found any ---”

“I did, Johnny,” Marco told him. He handed him an authentic Mexican coin. There was no date on it and the words were Spanish. Johnny would never know the difference. “My family used to come here sometimes when I was a kid.”

Johnny inspected the coin closely. He never noticed Roy roll his eyes and head back up to the parking lot for the next load. “What’s it worth?”

Marco shrugged hoping he could carry this off. The large coin was brass not gold and worth only pennies. “Was appraised for a couple hundred then but the price of gold’s gone up so now I really don’t know.”

“Really?!” Johnny had taken the bait. It was all Chet and Marco could do to keep from high-fiving each other. “I don’t suppose there’d be any more left around here after all this time. Where’d you find it anyway?” Johnny tried to act disinterested.

Marco almost panicked. He didn’t want Johnny digging around in the sand and finding all the fake doubloons they’d hidden before the kids even got here. It was supposed to be a treat or game for the kids. That was how Chet had convinced him to go alone with the scheme to begin with. The plan was that Johnny and the kids would be occupied for hours and everyone else could relax and enjoy the picnic. “Let’s see if I can remember. It was out there among those rocks, I think.” He pointed to the long jetty of rocks that ran from the beach out into the bay.

Just then Mike and the captain arrived toting the cap’s large barbeque grill. “You guys wanna lend a hand here so we can get the coals going?” the cap hollered to them.

“Sure thing, Cap,” Johnny called back and took off across the sand to the spot that the captain had chosen to set up the grill. Roy was trailing behind him with another armful of stuff.

“That was brilliant, Marco. How’d you think of that?” Chet’s praise was sincere.

“You’re not the only clever one around here, you know.”

“So what’s that coin really worth?”

“A few cents in Mexico. Not a thing here,” Marco said, putting it back in his pocket. “We’d better help them set up. My whole family is coming. I have some extra folding tables in the trunk of my car. Hope there’s enough chairs.”

They got their minds on the picnic. By the time the family members began to arrive, the coals were perfect, the tables and chairs were all in place, coolers were set up for self service of drinks and the volleyball net was ready for action. The women were bringing the more perishable of the food and replacements for all the chips the firemen managed to consume while setting up the picnic.

By the time everyone had eaten and the grudge volleyball match had been played, Marco tried to interest the kids in a game of find the doubloon but they were all more interested in playing in the water than on the beach. Johnny, however, had discovered three small coins. He had said nothing of his discovery but quietly pulled Marco aside for more specific information on where he had found the large coin.

“I thought you didn’t believe in all that bunk,” Chet teased.

“I don’t. I was just curious is all.” Johnny defended himself.

“Out on one of the jetties. That one, I think,” Marco fudged.

“You can’t go out there, Gage,” Chet told him.

“And just why not?” Johnny was beginning to be annoyed.

“Because the legend says that the treasure is guarded by sharks.”

“Sharks? I thought it was ghosts,” Johnny scoffed.

“Well, that depends on which legend you believe in.”

“I don’t believe in any of them. There’s no such thing as ghosts.”

“What about sharks, Gage? You believe in them?”

“This water is too shallow for sharks.”

“Famous last words,” Chet said dramatically, holding his hand over his heart.

“Aw dry up, Kelly. Sharks, ghosts next you’ll be saying that the treasure belongs to little green men from outer space,” Johnny muttered. “I say the treasure belongs to whoever finds it!” With that he walked toward the rocks.

When he was out of earshot, Chet and Marco dared to laugh. They watched him climb on the rocks for a while then went back to join the picnic.

“No doubt about it,” the cap was saying. “This is a great spot. You two have outdone yourselves,” he told Chet and Marco who swelled with pride under their captain’s praise. “But,” the cap added, “all this food and no exercise makes Hank a fat fireman so I’m going to jog down the beach for a while. Anyone care to join me?”

Only Stoker was suckered in by the invitation. Chet and Marco each grabbed a beer from the cooler and sat down by Roy who was watching the kids playing in the surf with Joanne. “You two are setting him up again,” he accused without looking at them.

“What?” Marco almost choked on the beer he was sipping.

“What are you talking about, Roy?” Chet asked innocently, trying to cover Marco’s blunder.

“You know what I’m talking about. All this talk of treasure hunting.”

“Roy, we only told him the story. You heard him say he didn’t believe it.”

“Yeah, but if he were to find a few coins then he might believe it.”

“Did he find some?” Chet continued his innocent routine.

“It’d be pretty hard not to. They’re all over the beach.” Roy tossed a coin to Chet.

“Why Roy! You’ve found an honest to goodness ancient Spanish Doubloon!” Chet was impressed.

“Yeah, only I wonder why those ancient Spaniards took the trouble to stamp the words non-negotiable on them in English,” Roy said with disgust.

“What?!” Chet took the coin and examined it closely. “I didn’t notice that.”

“Neither did Johnny, I’m sure.”

“Come on, Roy, it’s just a harmless joke,” Chet assured him.

“Yeah, Roy,” Marco agreed. “This is supposed to be a picnic. Relax and have fun.”

Fun? Roy thought. They aren’t the ones who are going to have to listen to Johnny bitch about this for the next two weeks. He got up and joined Joanne at the water’s edge to watch Chris show off his underwater swimming skills.

So the afternoon wore on. Everyone became involved with the activities of the picnic/beach party. No one noticed Johnny’s absence.

Johnny had walked out to the end of the jetty. By this time he’d found 15 or 20 more coins and was feverishly searching for more. He decided that he really liked treasure hunting. He was mentally spending his profits on a boat. He and Roy would become partners and would dive for sunken treasure. They were qualified divers and could probably rake in a lot on their days off.

Johnny didn’t notice that the tide was coming in and many of the rocks he had searched were now under water. Only the large rocks at the end of the jetty where he now worked were still above water. Johnny’s neck and shoulders were sore and sunburned. He stood up to stretch. He looked back to shore and was surprised at how far away it now looked. “Looks like I’ll have to swim back.”

He was about 30 feet from the beach. Some rocks and bushes obscured his view of the picnic area. He had no idea what time it was but he knew he was hungry. He could hardly wait to show off his cache of coins. They wouldn’t laugh at him now!

He was about to jump into the ocean when he saw something that stopped him cold. A solitary fin stuck up out of the water and circled the rock on which he stood. He was petrified with fear for a minute and then he relaxed. “Oh, it’s the old fake shark fin routine, eh Kelly? You don’t fool me for a minute. You think you’re gonna scare me away from my treasure, do you? Well, I’ll show you that John Gage does not scare that easily,” Johnny scoffed confidently.

He jumped from the rock and began swimming for shore at a leisurely pace. The fin cautiously followed. “What’s the matter, Chet? Can’t you keep up?” Johnny laughed, treading water while he waited for Chet to catch up to him. When the fin was within 8 feet of him, he began to casually backstroke toward the shore, humming nonchalantly. “I suppose you think you’re scaring me but I got news for you, ol’ Mr. Shark, I’m not afraid of you.” Then he got a brilliant idea that would teach Chet for once and for all not to try and pull pranks on him. Not only would he not run away from the shark, he’d attack it.

He waited till the fin was within reach then he grabbed it with both hands and brought his knees into its underside as hard as he could. He figured that would knock the wind out of Chet. There was a rock nearby which he’d drag him to until he sufficiently recovered to swim to shore. He’d finally get the last laugh with the annoying Irishman.

But instead of a choking Chet coming to the surface, a huge dark grey tail slapped the water near his legs then the fin was yanked out of his hands as the creature leapt away. In an instant the shark turned and came toward him. Stunned for a moment, Johnny came to quickly and scrambled for the rock. He nearly made it but the large body of the shark smashed his right knee into the rock as he climbed. It erupted in pain as the skin was scraped off on the rough rock but he ignored it as he pulled himself up onto the slippery rock.

He counted ten fins closing in on his rock from every direction. He didn’t have to look at his knee to know it was bleeding. The scent of blood was now in the water. His blood. A dinner gong to every shark in the Pacific.

You idiot! You attacked a shark?! He couldn’t believe it. He’d never done anything this dumb before. He wondered how many people could claim to have done that. Probably not and lived to tell about it. He forced himself to focus. His knee was bleeding freely. He took off his shirt and used it to apply pressure to the wound. The sting of the salt water made tears jump to his eyes but he didn’t let up. He had to stop the bleeding. He was trying to ignore the fact that he was beginning to feel lightheaded and lose the strength in hands. He was losing his grip on the shirt. He recognized the symptoms of shock. He fought them. He couldn’t let himself pass out or he’d fall into the water with the hungry sharks.

He looked around for help but saw no one. He did notice that the tide was coming in and would soon cover this rock. The sharks circled the rock awaiting dinner. Johnny threw back his head and called for help but he was certain that no one could hear him.

“Have you seen Johnny?” Roy asked the captain. He was becoming very concerned.

“No. Not since this morning, come to think of it. Why?”

“I need the keys to his car. The kids are getting cranky so Joanne wants to go but I guess I left one of the coolers in his car. I might as well get it so he doesn’t have to bother to come by and return it or haul it into work. But I’ve looked everywhere for him and I can’t find him.”

“Take it easy, Roy. I’m sure he’s okay.” The cap had spent the day relaxing, an all too rare treat these days. He didn’t want to give up his mellow mood just yet but Roy was very anxious.

“Maybe he found out Chet and Marco were playing a joke on him and got mad and left,” Mike suggested.

“I don’t think so. He wouldn’t do that,” Roy insisted.

“Is his car still here?” the cap asked logically. It looked like he’d have to step into command mode to get this mystery cleared up.

“I guess so.”

“Well you go check. Mike and I will look this way,” the cap said.

Roy climbed the dunes to the wide sandy shoulder that served as a parking lot for the beach. Most of the cars were now gone. Marco’s extended family had left, as had the cap’s wife and kids. But Johnny’s Land Rover was still where they’d left it this morning. Roy knew something was wrong now. He had a sixth sense where Johnny was concerned. Chet and Marco were sitting in Chet’s car listening to a ball game on the radio. “You guys seen Johnny?”

“No. I guess he’s still treasure hunting,” Marco supplied. He did feel a twinge of guilt for fooling Johnny.

“Long John Gage?” Chet asked with a laugh as he took a swallow of beer.

“Where did you hide those coins?” Roy asked not giving away the anger he felt.

“On the beach. They’re not worth anything. Don’t worry about them,” Chet said with a disinterested shrug.

“I’m not worried about the damn coins. I’m worried about Johnny. No one has seen him for hours,” Roy snapped angrily.

“Oh yeah?” Chet became serious. “Maybe he’s looking for more coins up here. Marco, you look down that way and we’ll check this way,” Chet commanded.

“Okay. JOHNNY,” Marco walked off calling.

“Look, his car’s parked down at the end there. Maybe he’s sleeping in his car. You know Johnny. Two beers and he’s out like a light,” Chet offered hopefully.

Roy knew that what Chet said was true. Johnny couldn’t hold his beer. He hoped he was right as they raced to Johnny’s car. He wasn’t there.

Just then Joanne and the kids trudged up from the beach. “Did you find him?” Joanne asked.

“Not yet. Look, why don’t you go ahead and take the kids home. I’ll catch a ride with someone a little later,” Roy said in a calm voice.

Joanne knew it was a forced calm. She could tell that her husband was worried but he wanted the kids out of there.

“Is Uncle Johnny missing?” his astute 10½  year old daughter asked.

“Maybe he met a girl,” seven year old Chris giggled.

“Who a mermaid? There’s no one around for miles,” Joy said dramatically. She’d been out of phone contact with her friends all day and was going through gossip withdrawal.

“Come on, kids into the car,” Joanne interrupted.

“I wanna stay and help find Uncle Johnny,” Chris insisted.

“There’s enough people here to find him. Let’s just get out of the way. Come on, into the car,” she said in a voice that brooked no argument. She shot Roy a worried look over their heads as she herded them into the backseat of the station wagon. Once they were inside she waved and got into the driver’s side and pulled out of the make shift parking lot and onto PCH.

Roy smiled and waved as they left. He hardly felt like smiling but he didn’t want to alarm the kids unless he had to.

“Roy, there’s some binoculars behind Johnny’s seat. They’d come in handy,” Chet said pointing to the backseat of Johnny’s car.

“Yeah,” Roy agreed getting back to business. He tried the driver’s side door. “Darn, it’s locked.”

“Maybe I can jimmy it,” Chet volunteered, fiddling with the doorlock.

So intent were they in their work that they didn’t hear the white Volkswagen beetle churn to a halt beside them.

“Haven’t you boys heard that’s illegal?”

They spun around in shock. It was Dr. Brackett. He was with Dixie and Dr. Early. They’d promised to come to the picnic after they got off duty.

“We can’t find Johnny,” Roy explained quickly. “There’s some field glasses in there. We thought they’d help.....”

Dr. Brackett had gotten out of the car already. “Luckily we have an expert on breaking into cars with us,” he said with a smile as he watched Joe attempt to unfold himself from the cramped backseat.

“He’s a whiz,” Dixie agreed as she got out of the car. “Every time one of my nurses locks her keys in the car, he can open it. Just like magic.”

“How do you think I worked my way through medical school?” Joe asked with a smile. He walked over to the car. Roy and Chet stepped back to give him room to work. In less than a minute they heard a click and Dr. Early opened the door.

A very worried Roy crawled in and grabbed the binoculars from the back of the seat.

“He must have wandered off somewhere,” Chet explained. “Maybe he got lost......”

“And maybe he drowned,” Roy spat furiously, finally giving voice to his worse fears.

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Roy. Nobody would swim here,” Dixie assured him.

“Why not?” Roy demanded.

“The water is full of sharks.”

“Come on, Dix, that’s not funny anymore,” Roy muttered.

“It never was funny, Roy. It’s just a fact.”

“I thought I was making that up,” Chet admitted.

“No, it’s true. My brother is a marine biologist. His lab’s just up the road a few miles. They uses these waters to study shark behavior.”

Marco joined them. “No sign of him down that way.” He took the binoculars from Roy and climbed up onto the roof of the Land Rover to take a good look around.

“Johnny didn’t know there were sharks in these waters.” Roy was still convinced his theory was correct. Why hadn’t he tried to look for him earlier?

“You can probably see them from there,” Dixie said, indicating the roof of the car where Marco was.

“My God!” Another realization hit Roy. “The kids were playing in the water all day!”

“They were probably okay during the day. Sharks feed prefer to feed at dusk.

Marco had looked in every other direction so he trained the glassed on the water. “I see something!”

“Is it Johnny?” Roy climbed up onto the roof of the car with him.

“It might be.” Marco was unsure. “Take a look for yourself.” He handed Roy the binoculars.

“Where? Where?” Roy demanded.

“Out there on the jetty.”

“What jetty?” Roy was becoming frustrated.

“It’s mostly under water now but there’s a few rocks still showing. There. I thought I saw something move on one of the rocks.” Marco pointed Roy in the right direction.

“It’s him! But it looks like he’s hurt his leg. My God! The water’s full of sharks. He’s been bitten by a shark!!”

Dr. Brackett climbed up onto the roof of the car also. “Is he conscious?”

“I don’t know. I can’t tell. He’s lying awfully still and his leg is bleeding.” He handed Brackett the glasses so he could look. Roy wanted his medical opinion.

Dixie shaded her eyes and looked out to the water. “Tide’s coming in,” she said. “That rock won’t be safe much longer.” She headed for her car.

“Where are you going?” Roy asked.

“To my brother’s lab. He’s got a boat.”

“We’re coming with you,” Chet insisted as he and Roy raced to the car. Neither of them could just stand around and watch. The had to do something.

The little Volkswagen tore its way down the sandcovered highway to the lab. They followed her as she ran inside. “Beau, Beau,” she called frantically.

The lab was not what either Chet or Roy had pictured. No boiling beakers or guys in lab coats were to be seen. An office door opened and a guy in a swim suit and a Hawaiian shirt came out of it. He was tall, tan and athletic looking. His blond hair was greying slightly at the temples but his resemblance to Dixie was unmistakable. “Well, well, well, my kid sister. To what do I owe this pleasure---”

“Never mind that now. There’s a man trapped on the rocks in Doubloon Bay and he’s surrounded by sharks!”

Dixie’s brother became immediately serious. “Mac, Jason - to the boat,” he called to his assistants. They rolled two 55 gallon drums down the dock and loaded them into an 18' speed boat that was tied to the pier.

“I’m coming with you,” Roy yelled.

“Look, sharks are nothing for amateurs to fool with,” Dr McCall disagreed.

“I’m a paramedic and it looks like he’s been bitten. He--”

“Is he bleeding into the water?”

Roy nodded.

“There could be a frenzy. Okay, you can come but you do exactly as you’re told. Ya hear?”

Roy jumped into the boat as the powerful twin inboards roared to life.

“Dix, you get back to the beach nearest his location. Use these flares to signal us,” he shoved the box into Chet’s arms.

Dixie drove back to the beach. She didn’t stop at the shoulder but drove right down onto the beach where Marco, Mike, the captain and the two doctors were watching in horror as Johnny’s refuge grew smaller and the circling sharks closed in.

Chet loaded the flare gun and waited for the boat to be spotted.

“Is he conscious, Kel?” Joe asked Brackett, who now had the binoculars.

“I think so. Just barely.”

Chet heard the boat and began firing flares.

“They see him,” Brackett reported. The other strained their eyes to watch the drama unfold.

On the boat the two assistants attached tubes with spray nozzles to the barrels on either side of the boat and began spraying the water.

“What is that?” Roy asked in a voice loud enough to be heard over the engines.

“Shark repellent. It’s still experimental though,” Dr. McCall hollered back as he pulled on a white wet suit.

They steered the boat as close to the rocks as they dared. The sharks seemed to be backing off. They still swam in tight angry circles but they were now several yards away from the boat and the rocks.

“Well, here goes,” he said picking up a canister a little larger than a flashlight. Roy wondered if it held more of the repellant.

“I wanna go too.”

“No. You stay here.” The marinebiologist was firm. Two people will be tempting enough for our friends out there. I can’t protect three.”

“But I know him, I can--”

“And I know sharks. You’re staying here if Mac there has to sit his 300 pounds down on you.”

Mac, who looked like a Sumo wrestler stepped between Roy and the water.

“Okay, okay,” Roy muttered angrily. He tried to put it behind him and get ready to help Johnny once he was back on the boat. “You have a first aid kit?”

“Get it for him, Jason,” Dr. McCall ordered his more slender assistant. Then he jumped into the ocean. He was a big man. He reached the rocks in a few easy strokes.

Johnny was very weak. His lips were cracked and bleeding from over exposure to the sun and the salt water. It seemed like he’d been out here forever. He was getting close to giving up when he saw a huge figure in white gracefully slide out of the water onto the rock.

“Who are you?” he croaked. He wondered if it was the angel of death and it he didn’t really even care if it was.

“It’s all right, son. I’m here to help you,” Dr. McCall began kindly. He could see that the younger man was badly dehydrated. A quick glance at the bloody, shirt that was tied around his knee as a make-shift bandage spoke of his injury. The sooner he got him to medical help the better. He slid his arm around Johnny’s chest and began to ease him into the water.

“NO! NO! NO! Sharks!” Johnny began to panic as he hit the water. With strength drawn from near hysteria, he thrashed violently smashing his injured knee against the rock once more. Blood now gushed into the water.

It was all Dr. McCall could do to keep them both above water as he tried to swim to the boat. He didn’t notice that one of the sharks had boldly entered the area where the repellent had been sprayed into the water. He was attracted by the scent of blood and the agitated waters that Johnny was stirring up as he fought to get away from Dixie’s brother.

“Look out, Doc, there’s one coming up behind you!” Mac called from the boat.

Dr. McCall spun around in the water to face the shark. While his attention was diverted Johnny finally managed to break free. Beau knew he’d have to attend to the shark first. He raised the small canister he’d been carrying and flipped a switch on the side of it. A shrill sound pierced the air. He lowered the canister till it was underwater. The shark reacted to it immediately. It stopped swimming toward the men. It seemed stunned for a moment then it began to swim in confused circles.

Both of the men on the boat were armed with harpoon guns but Roy didn’t pay any attention to them. His full attention was on Johnny. He was too weak to swim and he began to slip beneath the water. Roy dove in after him.

“Hey!” Jason objected when he jumped in. He had no protection at all from the sharks if they managed to attack.

Roy wasn’t thinking about sharks. He was thinking about his partner who was feebly trying to get back to the rock he had been trapped on. The rock was almost completely under water by this time and Johnny was far too weak to reach it. Roy reached him as he sank below the surface for a second time and yanked him back up. “Johnny! Johnny, it’s me, Roy,” he hollered trying to get through to him as he began to struggle once again.

“Roy?” Johnny was weak and confused but he recognized his partner’s voice. A wave of relief came over him and he passed out, slipping beneath the surface once more.

Again Roy fished him out. Dr. McCall joined him and together they got Johnny to the boat.

“We’d better get him to a doctor,” Dr. McCall panted, once Johnny was safely on board.

“There’s two of them right there on the beach,” Roy told him as he began to access Johnny’s condition.

“Beach it,” Dr. McCall told Jason as he got out of his wetsuit before taking the controls himself.

They headed for the shoreline still spraying the repellant into the water as they went. When they were in about four feet of water, Jason and Mac jumped out and with the aid of the fireman, beached the craft. They all continued to surround the boat but didn’t want to get in the way.

Dr. Brackett and Dr. Early hopped onto the boat. Roy was kneeling over Johnny on the deck. Johnny had coughed up the water he’d swallowed and he was coming around.

“Roy?” Johnny asked groggily, trying to sit up.

“Yeah, it’s me, Johnny. You just lay still and let the doctors examine you.”

Johnny squinted as Drs. Brackett and Early came into his view. “How did they get here?”

“You invited us to your picnic? Don’t you remember?” Dr. Early asked casually as Dr. Brackett tried to remove his shirt from his knee. Johnny’d tied it in place very well and he ended up having to cut it off.

“Picnic? Yeah, I guess so.”

All eyes were on Brackett and Johnny’s leg as the bandage was removed. Dr. McCall supplied a jug of clean water with which to clean the wound.

“You know, I never saw one before, but this is not what I expected a shark bite to look like,” Brackett commented as he carefully irrigated the wound.

“Shark bite?” Johnny was even more confused. “That shark didn’t bite me.”

“It didn’t?” Now Brackett was confused.

“Naw, it just slammed me into the rocks after I kicked it in the belly.”

“You kicked it in the belly,” Dr. Early repeated. He was sure he hadn’t heard Johnny correctly.

“Johnny, why did you kick a shark?” Roy asked patiently. Suddenly he was feeling very tired.

Everyone was listening closely for his reply. He kept them waiting while he took a drink from the jug of water that Brackett had set down on the deck. His voice sounded better when he continued. “Well, I saw the fin, see and I figured it was Chet trying to scare me away from the treasure, so I --”

“So you kicked the shark,” Roy finished for him, not believing it and yet, knowing Johnny, believing it.

“This has got to be the first time a shark was attacked by a swimmer,” Dixie laughed. They all joined in except Johnny who was availing himself of more water while the doctors bandaged his leg from supplies from the boat’s first aid kit.

“John, what did the shark do when you kicked it?” the cap asked.

“Well, it seemed kind of surprised,” Johnny admitted.

“I imagine it was,” Dr. McCall laughed. “They don’t have many natural enemies. What were you doing out there anyway?”

“Looking for treasure,” Johnny answered simply.

“Under water?” Dixie couldn’t believe it.

“It wasn’t under water when I started.”

“Oh that old doubloon nonsense,” Dr. McCall scoffed.

“It’s not nonsense,” Johnny insisted. The color was returning to his cheeks and he was looking much better. His natural curiosity was also kicking in as he looked around the boat. “What’s in those barrels?”

“Shark repellent.”

“It sure works. I wondered why the sharks backed off all of a sudden.”

“It’s still experimental. Unfortunately when the shark hysteria that Jaws caused died down. The government funding dried up. We’ll probably never perfect it now,” Dr. McCall told him.

“Will this help?” Johnny asked. He dug into the pocket of his cutoff jeans and handed Dr. McCall his doubloons.

“Johnny, those are no good. Chet and Marco put them there to fool you,” Roy explained kindly. Not that he was feeling too kindly toward Chet and Marco at the moment.

“You mean I coulda gotten killed out there on those rocks finding doubloons that are worthless?!” Johnny was furious and lunged at Chet who was leaning over the side of the boat near him. He managed to get his hand around Chet’s throat.

“Lay still, Johnny, or you’ll start bleeding again,” Dr. Brackett warned.

“Wait a minute, Johnny,” Chet choked, wriggling out of his grip and stepping back out of his reach. “I didn’t even have that many fake doubloons and I didn’t put any on the rocks anyway. Just on the beach, honest! Ask Marco.”

“He’s right, Johnny. Ours were all on the beach,” Marco assured him. Marco was feeling very guilty about what happened and made a silent vow to never go along with one of Chet’s pranks again.

“You mean they’re real?” Johnny stopped trying to kill Chet for a minute and looked at the ancient coins in his hand.

“I doubt it, Pal,” the cap said sadly. “If there ever were any real doubloons, I imagine those rocks would have been picked clean long ago.”

“I don’t know,” Dr. McCall said as he examined one of the coins. “There was a small quake just off shore two nights ago. It might have stirred up something from the ocean floor and these do look pretty old.”

“Take them then -- for your research,” Johnny insisted, thrusting the rest of the coins into Dr. McCall’s hand.

“But these might be quite valuable,” Dixie’s brother objected.

“Who cares. I’d rather be a live fireman than a dead treasure hunter,” Johnny said firmly. The idea of getting a boat and diving for sunken treasure no longer appealed to him one little bit.

An ambulance screamed its way onto the scene. Everyone looked around with surprise.

“Called them on my trusty radio,” Dr. McCall said, patting the instrument lovingly.

“But I don’t need --” Johnny began to protest.

“You need stitches and I want to get an x-ray of that knee just to be sure,” Brackett began. “To say nothing of properly cleaning this wound and a tetanus shot.”

“Aw, Doc, come on. Wouldn’t you rather enjoy the picnic. I bet you’re hungry. I know I am.” Johnny gave it the old college try.

“You can get something to eat at Rampart,” Dixie assured him.

“But Dix ---”

“No more arguing,” Brackett said firmly, motioning the ambulance attendants to come ahead.

“This is all your fault, Chet Kelly,” Johnny yelled angrily when it was clear to him that he was losing his fight with the doctors.

“My fault?” Chet asked innocently.

“You folks just go on with your picnic. I’ll just have to catch you next year,” Brackett told the rest of Station 51.

“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” Johnny insisted once he was in the gurney. He reached into his other jeans pocket and handed Roy his car keys. “Can you get my car home?”

“Sure thing, Johnny. I’ll take care of it,” Roy promised.

Johnny allowed himself to be loaded into the ambulance. Brackett got in with him and looked at Joe and Dixie. “Ya comin’?”

“There isn’t room for all of us in there. Besides, there are several nice burnt burgers on the grill with my name on them,” Joe laughed. “Dix and I will see you later.” With that he closed the ambulance door.

“Damn,” Brackett muttered under his breath.

“Almost makes you wanna go kick a shark, eh Doc?” Johnny asked with a grin.

“I think I’ll leave that to you,” Brackett assured him.

Back at the beach, Roy turned on Chet. “He’s right about one thing, Chet.”

“What’s that?” Chet asked as they all made their way back to the grill. They’d all worked up an appetite during this ordeal.

“It is all your fault,” Roy said with disgust.

“All my fault?! Marco’s the one who told him to go look in the rocks. Why’s everything always my fault?” he grumbled as he followed the others down the beach. “And I sure never told him to pick a fight with a shark. How’d I even know there were sharks out there?”

“Kelly,” Captain Stanley interrupted his tirade.

“Yeah, Cap?”

“Shut up, will you?”

With that Chet knew he was going to be in the doghouse for a long time. What better treasure could Johnny ask for than that?

Click on the firetruck to send feedback. Authors need feedback

Return to E! Orphans