Page 59 of Maliea's Hero

Maliea spoke to the elder again, leaning close. Her concern and compassion were evident in her expression and the way she looked around at the people gathered to celebrate her father’s life.

The community leader nodded and turned to receive a heaping plate of food. He passed it to Maliea and motioned for her to eat.

Reid was given an equally full plate of food and did his best to eat the offering.

A man at the edge of the circle produced a ukelele and played a song of lilting notes that sounded sad and sweet.

Women wearing matching blue dresses with crowns of green leaves danced into the center of the large circle, moving and swaying to the music.

The song ended. The women stopped dancing and waited for the next tune.

As the music started again, the ladies moved in sync, swaying their hips and their arms gracefully moving in time to the ukelele.

Maliea leaned close to Reid. “They’re telling a story of an island filled with happy people.”

“Niihua?” Reid asked.

She nodded.

After more arm movements, Maliea’s brow furrowed. “One dark night, a great storm swept over the island, bringing fierce winds, tearing roofs off homes. With the wind, a great boat slammed into the rocks on the windward side of the island.”

“Redbeard’s ship?” Reid asked.

Maliea shrugged and continued translating the movements. “The next morning, when the island people picked up the pieces of their homes, they spied the ship crushed against the rocks. They took their remaining canoes out to the ship.

“It had split in half. The people who’d been aboard had been swept away in the storm.

“Because their homes had been destroyed, they salvaged as much of the wood from the ship as they could get that day and carried it back to the village. They found gold, silver and precious stones in barrels lodged between the rocks. Having no need for such riches, they stashed the barrels in a cave and worked on rebuilding and reinforcing their homes with the planks taken from the broken ship.”

Reid marveled at how the dancers’ movements could tell so much of a story.

Maliea continued, “Another storm hit the island two nights later, sweeping what was left of the ship out to sea. The people of the village rebuilt their homes and resumed their happy lives, forgetting about the barrels in the cave.”

Reid leaned close to Maliea’s ear. “So, the treasure is or was here?”

Maliea nodded.

The song ended, and the women left the center of the circle. The ukelele player struck up another tune as people quietly talked among themselves.

The village elder spoke with Maliea for a long time.

Reid waited patiently for him to finish and Maliea to share what the man had said.

Maliea drew in a deep breath and nodded at something the elder said. She spoke and listened again. Finally, she turned to Reid, her expression grave.

“The villagers and the island owner, Elizabeth Sinclair, lived happily until opportunists came in search of the ship and the treasures it carried. The owner of the island, who’d sworn to protect the natives’ heritage, refused to allow visitors on the island. Since the remainder of the ship had been swept away, there was no evidence it had run aground on the shores of Niihau.”

“But that didn’t stop the treasure hunters from looking, did it?” Reid said.

Maliea shook her head. “My father didn’t come to the island following his clues. He came at the request of the current owners, Bruce and Keith Robinson, descendants of Elizabeth Sinclair. They had researched his work locating and preserving bits and pieces of Hawaiian heritage and culture. They knew he’d been interviewing descendants of the people who’d lived at the time of the great pirate raid. Because families passed down stories to their children, my father was able to piece together the ultimate location of the shipwreck.”

“Were they worried he’d find it and bring a lot of attention to their island?” Reid asked.

Maliea shook her head. “No. The Robinsons are getting older and are tired of guarding the secret. They want the treasure moved from its current location to a museum, where it will be protected and shared with the people of Hawaii. They chose my father to make it happen. They trusted him to do it right and protect the folks of Niihau in the process.”

Reid stared out at the people in the circle, eating, talking and laughing. “Moving the treasure would put an end to the constant worry of treasure hunters. The island people could live in peace.”

“Exactly.”