The Delfe Treasure

41. Gambolling Ashore

After breakfasting, Elizabeth and Aldrick stood at the forward rail on the quarterdeck, watching the activity below as the crew rigged the boom and launched the two boats. Their long silence was broken as she asked, "What is the purpose of the boom? I have tried in vain to determine it."

"It is to allow the boats to be held away from the hull to prevent their being repeatedly dashed into it by the seas and the winds. There is no need in this calmness, but the weather can quickly turn, so it is not wise to ignore rigging it."

Elizabeth nodded. "Aha! This is why I did not understand; it is not for now. Another routine. Anticipate change and be ready for it."

"Yes, it is easier to rig it in calm than it is to scramble..." He paused as eight bells rang and Wilson joined them.

"Good morning, Sir, m'Lady. I have now relieved Mister Charles to take the first half of the forenoon watch." 

"Thank you, Mister Wilson. I have authorised two firkins of light ale, a burlap of potatoes and the remains of a box of butter. The Cookery Mate will organise them up onto deck along with the gridirons, scissors, knives, boards and so on." Aldrick pointed to the strand. "With the broken branches strewn by the storm, building a roasting fire will be easy."

"My thoughts as well, Sir. Will you be going with the first boats?"

"I had thought it best to wait until the second trip. Let them land everything first without concern for us." He pointed to the right. "I would think they will settle next to the big reef. Many appear to remember it."

Wilson smiled as he nodded. "Where the lobsters are most plentiful." 

"Exactly! And we will go a good distance northward for privacy as we bathe and swim. I assume you and Judith will head ashore after you turn over the watch to Hudson. You may join us there if you wish." 

They discussed additional details, then after Wilson had departed to oversee the loading, Aldrick answered Elizabeth's question, "Imagine a creature about this long." He held his hands a little over a foot apart. "They have no internal skeleton; rather, they inhabit an articulated shell which is much like a soldier's suit of armour. And at their front are two tapered spines longer than their bodies, much like cavalry lances."

"Are you jesting?" She tilted her head and grinned. "Surely, you are."

"No, not jesting. They are indeed strange creatures, as you shall see."

"But appearance aside, from all the excited talk, they sound delicious. How does one eat them?"

Their tail is by far the best part, a piece of succulent meat which is five or six inches long and two inches wide." 

Elizabeth giggled as she nodded down his front. "And does it expand and stiffen when excited?"

"What do you mean by expand and...? Oh!" He chuckled. "No, lobster tails are a different sort of flesh. Contrarily, they shrink a bit when they are gotten hot."

She grinned. "And how will we cook them?"

"The easiest is to boil them in seawater. But our favourite method is to break off the tail and split it down the middle with scissors or a knife, then place the pieces shell-side-down on an iron griddle above the hot coals for a few minutes until the flesh turns opaque. A bit of butter to melt onto them adds even more magic to their flavour."

"I would love to find some."

"I can teach you how to swim underwater."

"Father taught us by throwing painted rocks into the river and rewarding us for finding them and bringing them up."