Chapter 20

There was no doubt that the horses knew where they were going. And Chinaman, Dan’s huge black mount, was determined to be first. He took over the lead early on, roughly nudging Julie’s smaller, roan horse out of the way. Daisy dropped back agreeably, apparently used to the order.

Julie had packed a lunch and the camera, and she was excited about exploring the island. The uphill path they traveled was narrow, stony, and well used. After a short ride, they could see the ocean ahead of them.

“Julie! Look! It’s the Atlantic!”

“Really, Sherlock?”

“Really, Holmes,” said Dan, with a laugh.

To their disappointment, the trail veered to the right shortly after that, nowhere near the water, which was still some distance ahead behind a densely forested area of cedar and pine. They kept on, knowing that their descending path would eventually converge with the coastline. Finally, the ocean vista opened before them… a vast expanse of deep, cobalt blue.

Julie pulled Daisy up beside Dan.

“Oh, honey, it’s so beautiful!” she said.

“Yes, it is. Get a picture.”

And so she did.

Her second picture – one that she would treasure forever - was a wonderful shot of Dan mounted on Chinaman. Julie snapped the third picture…to no avail. Dan had been snapping photos ever since the ferry to Green Turtle Cay, so Julie wasn’t surprised that the roll had run out.

“That was the last one, Dan.”

“There’s more film in the case there, Babe,” he said.

Julie found it and reloaded the camera. Testing it, she looked around and took a couple more shots…a picture of the coconut palms near the shore, swaying like graceful showgirls with high-plumed headdresses, and another picture of the tall long-needled pines that all leaned away from the sea.

They led the horses to a low hanging branch and looped their reins around it.

“Let’s explore,” said Dan, “we can get some more pictures before we eat.”

They set off southward, walking along the natural path, which was actually a long limestone terrace. There was a narrow white beach just below them on their left. Dan hopped down the rocks to take a picture.

“The coast goes on and on!” he yelled from below. “The island’s bigger than I thought!” He picked his way back up and they continued south on the path.

On their right, as they walked along, they noticed the massive central ridge of the island rising to its highest point. They had circled north of the widest part of Castle Cay and surmised that their beach house must be right behind the imposing tor. On this side, the big ridge was all rock, with a few hardy scrub bushes pushing up through the crags.

“This side gets more of a beating from the weather,” said Dan.

“No kidding, Sherlock?”

The next thing Julie knew, she was on her back in the grass with Dan on top of her, pinning her arms.

“You’re a wiseass, you know that?” he said, kissing her.

Julie wriggled free, snatched the camera and ran back toward the horses.

“Ha! You forgot to say ‘Don’t move!’”

She caught Dan on film once again, charging up behind her.

They slowed to a walk and headed northward along the terrace passing the loosely tethered horses, happily chomping grass next to the tall pine. Walking on, they came to a small promontory, with what appeared to be a notch in the rocks at the end. The seawater was crashing in there and shooting up into the air, geyser-like, before rushing back out to sea.

“I’ve got to get picture of that,” said Dan, taking the camera from her, and walking out onto the little point of land.

I hope he’s not going to climb down there, thought Julie. “Dan, be careful! Marc said it was rough on this side!”

“I’m not going in the water, Babe,” he called back, shaking his head.

Hanging on the rocks and carefully working his way down, Dan descended toward the notch on the left side of the point. Soon, he was out of sight.

Julie was sitting on the edge of the limestone terrace, inexplicably tense. Her legs dangled over the side and she leaned forward and to the left, straining to see Dan. When he appeared again, her shoulders loosened and she started breathing once more.

He walked back toward her.

“Julie…I didn’t want to yell from there. It’s a little cave, and the ceiling is covered with bats. Tiny ones. At first I thought they were birds!” he said, laughing. “I’m going to try to get a picture of them. Don’t be alarmed if they come flying out when the flash goes off.”

“Okay. Be careful.”

“Don’t worry. I’m just getting a picture of them. They’re harmless.”

Then he headed back down.

In a minute, he was out of her sight again.

She heard something…

What was that? Was that Dan?

Julie ran out onto the point and scrambled down the rocks.

“DAN! YOU OKAY?” she yelled into the darkness.

Startled, the bats flew out of the cave en masse, a dark, beating cloud. They engulfed her, squealing. Swatting at her hair, Julie screamed and screamed as she knocked one loose that was caught. Gasping, she hung onto the rocks, petrified.

Suddenly, the water blew up and out of the cave, knocking her down. As she was catching her breath and shaking wet hair from her eyes, a huge swell came rushing out of the mouth of the cave. Dan was face down, like a body surfer, on top of it.

In moments, he went under and came up again…way out, and moving fast.

“DAN! DAN!”

No time! Go now…NOW…while the water’s receding…

Quickly, Julie kicked off her shoes and climbed over to a jagged rock, which stuck out further than the rest. She bent her knees and pushed off, diving as far out into the water as she could… praying to God that she would clear the rocks below.

The water was shockingly cold, and the current incredibly fast. There was no undertow; it was moving Julie near the surface, faster than she could swim…faster than anyone could swim! Julie held her breath, tucked her head, and stretched out like a torpedo.

I can get him… I can get him!

When her lungs were empty and aching for air, she surfaced, still being carried by the current, but sensing it had weakened some. Gulping air, she looked around in panic. Oh, God, where was he? Then she saw him ahead of her, rising on the crest of a wave.

NO! He’s further! Swim harder…

Julie took a deep breath, tucked her face into the water and swam furiously ahead. Left, right, left, right…she powered through the sea, propelled even faster by the rip current. At last she lifted her head, gasping, and saw Dan in front of her.

“DAN! DAN!” she yelled, reaching him, grabbing at his clothes.

He was unresponsive, unconscious.

It doesn’t matter…Swim!

Struggling to keep Dan with her as the current swept them along, Julie managed to get him on his back and hook her left arm under his chin. Holding his head up out of the water, she began swimming with her right arm. She swam in the direction of the current, but fought to make headway to her right. The rip current, though lessened, continued to drag them out to sea.

Julie kicked furiously, her right arm pulling hard, fighting with all her might to get parallel with the shoreline. Fear pumped adrenalin through her body, giving her strength she could never have imagined. Something large brushed against her, but Julie was struggling for their lives, and whatever it was, it barely registered.

She felt the terrible pull fade. Somehow, she had managed the turn; they were free of the damned current!

“We’re out of it, Dan! We’re out!”

Julie continued to swim parallel to the shore to get as far away from the deadly rip as possible. Almost at the end of her endurance, she turned toward the beach for the long swim back in. She talked to Dan steadily, encouraging him. She thanked God out loud for saving them…and she prayed from the depth of her soul that He would help her make it to the breakers that would carry them in.

•

Al Drum was working in the garden when Chinaman and Daisy came galloping into the yard, stopping short of their own accord, reins trailing on the ground. Al’s mother was hanging sheets on a clothesline.

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph!” she said, dropping the sheet into the basket and running for the barn, as Al went for the lathered, panting horses.

“JOHN! Come quickly! Something’s happened to the O’Haras!”

John Drum had been in the barn fixing a heavy deep-sea fishing reel and line. He’d heard the horses come thundering in, and was already on his way out.

“What the hell…?”

He took one look at the horses, and knew something terrible had happened.

“Mary,” he said, “you take care of Daisy and Chinaman. Al and me had better take the jeep and find them.”

“Can the jeep make it through to the other side on the trail?” she asked, worried.

“It’s going to have to, woman! We can’t use those horses!”

Mary took the reins from her son, and watched the pair jump into the jeep and gun it, heading east.

•

It was a difficult and jarring drive, bumping over stones, lurching in and out of ruts. The jeep barely scraped through the areas where horses trod single-file. Branches whacked the windshield. At one point, where a horse and rider had to climb over a small rise, they had to put their backs to the jeep and push it over. Silently – expecting the worst - they searched the trail all along for any sign of Dan and Julie O’Hara. At length, they made it to the wide, limestone-terraced path that ran above the beach. Al was still driving.

“Head south,” said John. “If we don’t find them, we’ll come back and drive north as far as we can.”

They hadn’t gone far, when they spotted them. “Look!” said Al, pointing. “There they are, up ahead on the beach!”

They pulled up and jumped out of the jeep, scrambling down the rocks to the sand where Julie and Dan lay side by side, face down, half in the water.

They rolled Dan over.

“He’s dead,” said John, immediately turning his attention to Julie. “She’s alive! She’s breathing…unconscious. Help me get her up, Al.”

“Mrs. O’Hara! Julie! Can you hear me? Julie?” said John.

Her eyes fluttered open slightly.

“Dan? Is Dan okay?”

“It’s going to be all right, Mrs. O’Hara. We’ve got you now,” said John.

Mercifully, Julie slipped away before he had to answer.

* * * * *