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Originally known as Mamana by the local Lucayan Indians, the island was renamed Santa Maria de la Concepción by Christopher Colu its modern name when Spanish explorers found a lone cask of rum washed up on one of its white sand beaches

The island’s only village of note, Port Nelson, lay on the island’s northwest coast surrounded by groves of coconut trees With a population that, according to the 1990 census, was somewhere between fifty and seventy souls—most of whom lived in Port Nelson—Rum Cay’s primary, if anemic, industry was tourism, followed by pineapple, salt, and sisal, all of which have waxed and waned over the decades Other settlerown, bore exotic monikers like Black Rock and Gin Hill For seabeds encircle the island,it a favored destination for pirates of old—or so said the brochure Remi had picked up in Nassau

“There’s even a faht, following the contour of the island

However unlikely they were to spot their target froate the island to get a better feel for what lay ahead

“Blackbeard?” Sam asked “Captain Kidd?”

“Neither The HMS Conqueror, Britain’s first propeller-driven warship Sank in 1861 in about thirty feet of water in a staghorn gully near Sumner Point Reef”

“Sounds like it may be worth a return trip here”

Rue rentals Judging by the azure waters, lush rolling hills, and relative seclusion, it struck Saet-away-from-it-all spot

“There’s the airstrip,” Re out the

The 4,500-foot paved runway sat a couple miles from Port Nelson, a truncated white T amid a patch of forest that seemed determined to reclaie, hacking at the foliage with machetes Just east of the runway they could see Salt Lake, and a few e

Though Sa the airstrip, they had asked Selma to ensure whatever aircraft they rented was equipped with pontoons Exploring the island by car would have taken weeks at least and requiredWith the pontoons, they could hop around the island’s shoreline, exploring interesting spots as they came across them

Sam descended to two thousand feet, contacted Port Nelson Control, which verified their flight plan and permission, then banked around the northeast headland and turned south along the coast As the least-inhabited part of the island, he and Reht it the best place to start their search As the western half of the island ell explored and well populated—at least by Rum Cay standards—any discovery of the secret base would have been noted by now Selma hadn’t coood sign Providing the secret base wasn’t sismarine

“That looks like it’d h the windshield at a three-quarter ar-white beaches The nearest structure, what looked like an abandoned plantation house, sat six miles inland

Sa off speed and altitude as he went until they were two hundred feet off the waves, then lined up the Bonanza’s nose on the beach He did a quick visual check toa reef, then eased the craft down, flaring at the lastthe pontoons kiss the surface He throttled back to idle, letting the plane’s momentum carry them forward The pontoons hissed as they contacted the shoal sand and they caentle stop six feet onto dry land

“Beautiful landing, Mr Lindbergh,” Re her seat belt