The Simeon Chamber by Steve Martini Read Free Book Online

what appeared to be uppercase letters set off by smaller print. He could discern the words “The Generalle” followed by what was clearly a signature. It was faded and part of the lettering had long since been rubbed from the page, but enough of the name remained for Nick to make it out: FRANCIS DRAKe
    “I’ll be damned,” said Nick. “Did you see this?”
    Sam nodded. “I thought you’d be interested.”
    “If these parchments are authentic, I mean if they’re the original of a document signed by Drake, they could be worth a small fortune to collectors.”
    “I had a stinking suspicion that they were something special,” said Sam. “I don’t want to dash your thrill of discovery, but I think they might be stolen.”
    Nick looked up. “What makes you say that?”
    Sam shuffled the pages and found the one with the ink stamp on the back. “Unless I miss my guess, the Jade House on Old Chinatown Lane was not in business when Drake last visited the city.”
    “What do you make of it?”
    “Beats the hell out of me. The woman who delivered them to me doesn’t fit the profile of your common thief—too much class. Besides, if she took them what would she gain by delivering them to me—and why would she trust them to my
    safekeeping? No, if they’re stolen I’d bet my ticket to practice that Jennifer Davies knows nothing about it.”
    “What would you like me to do?” asked Nick.
    “Well, I thought maybe you could take the papers for now and see if you can decipher the writing. If you can’t, maybe some of your friends on the campus could provide some answers. If we knew what the documents were it might give some clue as to where they came from, and maybe some lead on Jennifer Davies’s father. In the meantime I’ll see if I can get some information on the adoption records and a lead on the Jade House.”
    The waitress approached the table to take their orders and Nick quickly scooped up the papers to make room for two water glasses. He held the parchments away from his body like some ancient tabloid as he continued to struggle with the script.
    “This stuff is difficult to fathom, but it’s more the context and usage than the language itself. Many of the words are the same as the English used in any American newspaper today, but the order in which they appear makes Sanskrit of the whole thing,” said Nick. “There’s no sense in you and I struggling with it. There is a man I know, a Shakespearean scholar, who will have no difficulty with it at all. If he’s not tied up he should be able to untangle the four pages in a couple of hours and give us a clear translation in writing.” Nick took a deep breath. “God, to think I may be holding parchment that `The General` himself set his scrawl to four hundred years ago!”
    Jorgensen’s eyes suddenly took on the gaze of a man whose thoughts were several centuries in the past. “You know, to most Catholics, even today, Drake was nothing but a common pirate. The Spaniards referred to him as `El Draque.` He had a special flourish for sacking Catholic churches and parting the Pope from the riches of this world. Just the vision of the red-bearded little runt put shivers up the backs of most of the captains sailing for Hispaniola. He ravaged Spanish ships off the Florida Keys and sacked a number of Spanish settlements in the late sixteenth century.”
    Sam studied his friend’s face. Nick’s eyes sparkled in the bright reflection of the sun off the waters of the estuary.
     
    Nick fingered the pages and wrestled with the text. “To the uneducated, Drake was simply a pirate. Actually he was a privateer. His ship was chartered by the British Crown and financed by a group of investors, not unlike a joint venture or limited partnership of today. The only difference was that instead of dabbling in pork bellies or grain futures, Drake plundered foreign-flag vessels, mostly Spanish, and returned a handsome profit to his investors from the booty he took.”
    The