Gold of the Gods by Bear Grylls Read Free Book Online Page B

blocking the driveway
beyond the electric gates, the tip of a lighted
cigarette and the silhouettes of two policemen
chatting idly together. A full moon
hung in the sky like a ripe cheese.
    The three ghostly figures made their way
across the lawn and along the forest path to
the beach, the twins carrying a hamper
between them.
    Beck fetched the machete from where it
had lain hidden and slung the belt around
his waist. The GPS was safely in his pocket,
the map strapped around him under his
shirt.
    'We're in luck,' he whispered as the twins
dragged the raft from its hiding place under
a clump of palm trees near the water's edge.
'The breeze is strong and it's blowing offshore
so it should be easy to get clear of the
bay. But no more talking now until we're at
sea.'
    Working in silence and following the
instructions Beck had given them earlier,
the crew of the Bella Señora dragged the raft
down a short strip of sand to where the
waves were breaking on the beach. As they
reached the water, Christina felt the hairs on
the back of her neck stand on end: a dark
shape was swooping out of the jungle
towards her. She ducked as it swerved
around her head and Ringo came to rest on
top of the mast.
    'Looks like we've got a stowaway already,'
muttered Beck. 'Who said he could come
anyway?'
    'He's our mascot,' said Marco.
    'Always best to have stocks of fresh meat
for the larder, I suppose,' replied Beck, eyeing
up Ringo, who put his head on one side
and glared at Beck suspiciously.
    As Christina climbed onto the raft, Beck
and Marco swung the hamper into place
beside the mast before Beck waded into the
surf, dragging the raft behind him.
Steadying it from the beach end, Marco
followed behind. As Beck had warned,
launching a raft from the beach at night was
not going to be easy.
    As he dragged the raft into the surf, the
words of the famous Beaufort Scale came
into his mind. He had learned it as a child
on a sailing holiday in Cornwall with his
dad. Invented by an admiral called
Beaufort around the time of the Battle of
Trafalgar in 1805, it helped sailors guess the
strength of the wind from the telltale signs
of the sea. Flat calm – 'sea like a mirror' –
was force zero, while a hurricane – 'air is
filled with foam and spray' – was a force
twelve.
    Beck looked out to sea, where the wind
was already blowing spume off the tops of
the waves. ' Many white horses are formed. A chance of some spray ,' he chanted. A force
five at least, he guessed.
    The secret was to drag the raft to the
point beyond where the waves were breaking
– as far as they could before the water
became too deep to stand in. By the time
Beck was in a position to hold the raft
steady, the water was already over his
shoulders and he could taste the salt water
in his throat.
    The rip of the undertow sucked at his
legs and he knew he would not be able to
continue walking on the bottom for much
longer. 'Now!' he bellowed as, flexing every
muscle in their bodies, he and Marco
dragged themselves onto the raft.
    As Beck had instructed, Christina clung
onto the tiller for all she was worth to keep
the raft pointing out to sea. If a wave caught
them side on now, all their efforts would be
in vain and they would be swept back up
onto the beach.
    And then suddenly the rocking movement
of the raft began to ease as the breeze
caught the sail and they began moving
smoothly out to sea. Within minutes the
beach had disappeared into the inky blackness
as a silver trail of moonlight stretched
out across the Caribbean Sea.
    'There's no way back now,' shouted Beck
in triumph. 'Lost City, here we come!'
    As if in mocking answer to his cry, the
crew felt a shudder. The raft stopped dead
in its tracks as the surf surged and fell
beneath them. For an instant it seemed to
hover in mid-air. Then a surge of water
picked them up and threw the raft sideways,
knocking the crew onto the deck.
    'We've hit a reef !' screamed Marco. 'Hold
on, hold on!'
    Ringo cawed and circled overhead.
Christina