The Columbus Affair: A Novel

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

BÉNE MANEUVERED AROUND ONE TURN AFTER ANOTHER FOLLOWING the tortuous road. It had first clawed its way up the stunted mountain peak, now it was winding back down to a forested valley that lay about thirty kilometers northwest of his estate. At its crest he’d caught sight of Jamaica’s north shore with its sparkling blue water and glittering outer surf. A midday sun burned overhead, the rays’ intensity sharpened by the altitude.

The call finally came two hours ago from Tre Halliburton, and they’d decided to meet on-site—or where Tre thought the site might be. He realized things were happening in Vienna, but those were out of his control. Brian Jamison was surely trying to salvage what he could from disaster, but he could not care less. All he wanted was the Simon’s cooperation, and that would come only from what he could provide in return. He’d not liked being forced to work with the Americans, resenting their intrusion, hating their arrogance. But he’d cooperated. So what they weren’t happy? They should go about their business and leave him alone.

Ahead, he spotted Halliburton, already out of his vehicle, holding a briefcase. He wheeled to a stop and joined him. They were still high enough to enjoy an excellent panorama of dense jungle for many kilometers. In the far distance he saw the sea, long rollers of the Caribbean breaking on the reef that protected the north shore.

“That deed you found, Béne, was a gold mine all by itself. It led me places.”

He liked what he was hearing.

Tre had sounded excited on the phone and seemed equally so now. He pointed toward the distant sea. “During his fourth voyage, in 1504, Columbus was stranded here for nearly a year. His ship fell apart and he beached it somewhere on the north shore. He had a tough time during that year. No rescue ships were sent. The local Spanish governor on Hispaniola hated Columbus, so he decided to leave him here to die. There was a mutiny among his crew, and then the Tainos turned hostile, withholding food. Do you know how Columbus solved that problem?”

Not really.

“He had on board a Regiomontanus Ephemerides printed in Nuremberg around 1490 that contained predictions of eclipses for thirty years ahead. He discovered that a total eclipse was going to occur in three days’ time, February 29, 1504. So he summoned the local chiefs and told them that his God in heaven was angry with them for withholding food. He told them the moon would rise bloody and inflamed that night—which, of course, it did thanks to the eclipse. Then, he told them, the moon would vanish. Of course, that’s also what happened. The Tainos panicked and begged Columbus to make it stop.”

Béne listened as Tre explained how Columbus retired to his cabin supposedly to pray to his God for their forgiveness. But what he really did was use his half-hour glass to measure the eclipse’s duration so that he could calculate Jamaica’s longitude.

“He came back out just as the eclipse was ending and told the Tainos that his God had forgiven them and the moon would be restored, provided they kept supplying food. The moon reappeared and there were no more problems with the locals. And that calculation of longitude was only off by half a degree, which was remarkable for the time.”

Béne wondered about the point of the story. He hated anything and everything to do with the Spanish.

“Columbus,” Halliburton said, “understood navigation. He was good with the stars and knew their relationship to time and geography. Last night I went back into the archives and discovered some things your thief missed.”

Tre opened the briefcase and removed a pad of paper.

“I found this written on another sheet that went with the first one concerning the lawsuit settlement between the Cohen brothers.”

Enter at an open land near a 01: 94:01: a. 01. on the coast of 01 .aa .94 .66 a of right against the Island a a .01 .94 .61. 01 .94 66.13 .01 The prime formula which are to be called upon by word 24. 19. p.p. 000. nl pp. pp. 66. pp are the 11 .61 94 .61.91 1 or 22. 4. 85. or the Portugals will show you there .61 .61 .01 .60. nl 85

.

“This is what Abraham Cohen had to provide to his brother, Moses, as part of the settlement. The governor conducting the trial recorded this information in a report he made to Spain about the dispute. It seems there was a lot of interest among the Spanish about anything pertaining to the lost mine.”

Béne had already told Halliburton about the hooked X in the cave Frank Clarke had shown him, and about Columbus’ signature.

Tre pointed back toward the sea and said, “Columbus hiked inland from somewhere along the shore and found the mine. To mark his way he used navigational points. That’s what those numbers are on the pad. But we have no way of knowing what they refer to. It’s a code. What we do know, Béne, is that the 420 acres Abraham Cohen bought in 1670 is down there, below us, in that valley. I found plenty of geographic landmarks on maps. If it exists, the mine is there.”

He stared out at the palms, ferns, and luxuriant vegetation several hundred feet below, which extended all the way to the sea. No houses, towns, or farms were in sight.

“The good thing,” Tre said, “is that it’s uncultivated Maroon land.”

Which meant there’d been little outside interference. Maroons guarded their land with a known ferocity. Permission was needed to explore.

“What now?” he asked.

“I’m getting a list of caves for this area. The Geological Society of Jamaica has most of them mapped. I want to see what’s here.”

That was sound thinking. “But it couldn’t be in any known cave, could it?”

“It’s a starting point.”

“You don’t think I’m so crazy anymore, do you?” he asked.

“All I know, Béne, is that this island wasn’t noted for gold. There was a little here and there in the streams, but Jamaica’s worth was its soil and location. We sat right in the middle of the trade routes, and this dirt can grow just about anything. The Spanish never recognized that, and Ferdinand never believed in any lost mine. That’s why he gave the island to the Columbus heirs. He considered this place worthless. The legend came later. Ceding Jamaica was the easy way to get the Columbus family off his back. He was done with them. Finally.”

“I have men who can scour that valley,” Béne said.

“Not yet. Let’s see if we can narrow things down. I’ve checked the deed you found. The rivers and streams mentioned are by their Spanish names, but we know what those translate to today. I think I can limit the search area.”

He heard something else in Halliburton’s voice. “What is it?”

“There’s another source of documents, Béne. From the Spanish time. The curator in the archives last night reminded me about them. Few have ever seen them, but they could prove helpful. It’s held privately.”

“Where?”

“Cuba.”