“What are you looking for?” Malao asked.
“Our location in relation to the map,” Ying replied. He pointed downstream, toward the sea. “We need to go that way. The treasure is hidden in a small cove on the coast.”
“Aye, aye,” Charles said. “Is the cove far?”
“I'm not sure of the map's scale,” Ying replied. “How far is it to the sea?”
“Only about half an hour.”
“Then the treasure is quite close. Perhaps two hours south of the point where the river meets the sea.”
“How far ahead of us is Tonglong?” Charles asked.
Ying stopped to think. “I'm not sure exactly, but I would guess perhaps two hours.”
“I'll do what I can to catch up with them,” Charles said. “We're overloaded, but we're not at risk of sinking. This sloop overloaded is still faster than any other craft her size.”
Ying nodded and glanced around for a blanket or a tarp to help him get warm. Hok was one step ahead of him. She pulled a blanket from a storage bin in the bow and handed it to Ying.
“Thank you,” Ying said.
Hok nodded and hurried off to attend to something with one of the sails. Ying closed his eyes and tried to relax.
Charles’ sleek vessel raced down the river with amazing speed. Ying would have been exhilarated if he hadn't been so preoccupied with thoughts of his mother and their situation, not to mention Grandmaster.
They reached the end of the river in no time and spilled into the open sea. Charles’ sloop seemed to take on a life of its own here. It rode the waves like a playful dragon, slicing smoothly through the whitecaps as it raced south with Charles standing strong at the helm.
An hour later, Ying's shaking finally subsided. An hour after that, he could sense that they were getting close. He felt it in his bones.
Charles looked at him and shouted over the roar of the waves, “We're almost there, aren't we?”
“I believe so,” Ying shouted back.
“What are we looking for?” Charles asked.
“A hidden cave within a small cove,” Ying said. “On the map, it was little more than an indentation on the edge of a tiny beach.”
“It is probably well hidden,” Charles said. “More than likely, it is flooded by the tide and impossible to find unless you know exactly where to look. Hiding valuables in a cave like that is an old pirate's trick.”
Great, Ying thought. More caves. “Do you think it is flooded now?” he asked.
Charles stared at the shore for a moment, then shook his head. “The tide is coming in, but it's still fairly low. Look at the high-water marks on the rocks.”
Ying looked at the rocks and understood. He scanned the area for signs of Tonglong but saw nothing. There weren't any other boats in sight.
They rounded a bend in the coast, and Ying saw a narrow opening in the rocks far ahead. Charles noticed it, too.
“There!” Charles said, pointing. “That hole looks promising.”
“I think that's it,” Ying replied. “All we need to do is—”
A Chinese junk suddenly slipped through the hole into the open sea. It was quite some distance away, but Ying could tell that it was large.
“Tonglong!” Charles said. “That has got to be him.”
Ying slammed his fist into his palm.
Hok hurried over to Ying's side. “Are we too late?” she asked.
“I think so,” Ying hissed.
Malao scurried up to the top of the sloop's tall mast for a better view, while Fu ran to the bow, his eyes focused intently on the junk. “I think I see Tonglong on deck,” Fu said.
“I think so, too,” Malao said. “But my eyes aren't as good as Fu's. The boat is pretty far away.”
“Just a moment,” Charles said. He opened a small hatch beneath the sloop's steering wheel and removed a spyglass. “I forgot about this. I took it from HaMo back on the Yellow River.” He held the glass up to one eye and steered the boat with his hip.
“What do you see?” Ying asked.
“There are several soldiers on deck,” Charles said, “and there appear to be several piles of treasure. Wait … I see Tonglong! He is holding a large white sword.”
“We are too late!” Ying said, swearing. “Can we catch them?”
Charles lowered the spyglass and frowned. “I don't know. We have a lot of weight in this boat right now. I think we're out of luck.”
“Let's try,” Ying said.
Charles paused and shook his head. “No. They have a deck full of soldiers, and most of them are carrying qiangs. I also saw several cannons on deck. They would shred this sloop to pieces, and us along with it.”