Castle Cay by Lee Hanson

that, nowhere near the water, which was
still some distance ahead behind a densely forested area of cedar
and pine. They kept on, knowing that their descending path would
eventually converge with the coastline. Finally, the ocean vista
opened before them… a vast expanse of deep, cobalt blue.
    Julie pulled Daisy up beside Dan.
    “Oh, honey, it’s so beautiful!” she said.
    “Yes, it is. Get a picture.”
    And so she did.
    Her second picture – one that she would
treasure forever - was a wonderful shot of Dan mounted on Chinaman.
Julie snapped the third picture…to no avail. Dan had been snapping
photos ever since the ferry to Green Turtle Cay, so Julie wasn’t
surprised that the roll had run out.
    “That was the last one, Dan.”
    “There’s more film in the case there, Babe,”
he said.
    Julie found it and reloaded the camera.
Testing it, she looked around and took a couple more shots…a
picture of the coconut palms near the shore, swaying like graceful
showgirls with high-plumed headdresses, and another picture of the
tall long-needled pines that all leaned away from the sea.
    They led the horses to a low hanging branch
and looped their reins around it.
    “Let’s explore,” said Dan, “we can get some
more pictures before we eat.”
    They set off southward, walking along the
natural path, which was actually a long limestone terrace. There
was a narrow white beach just below them on their left. Dan hopped
down the rocks to take a picture.
    “The coast goes on and on!” he yelled from
below. “The island’s bigger than I thought!” He picked his way back
up and they continued south on the path.
    On their right, as they walked along, they
noticed the massive central ridge of the island rising to its
highest point. They had circled north of the widest part of Castle
Cay and surmised that their beach house must be right behind the
imposing tor. On this side, the big ridge was all rock, with a few
hardy scrub bushes pushing up through the crags.
    “This side gets more of a beating from the
weather,” said Dan.
    “No kidding, Sherlock?”
    The next thing Julie knew, she was on her
back in the grass with Dan on top of her, pinning her arms.
    “You’re a wiseass, you know that?” he said,
kissing her.
    Julie wriggled free, snatched the camera and
ran back toward the horses.
    “Ha! You forgot to say ‘Don’t move!’”
    She caught Dan on film once again, charging
up behind her.
    They slowed to a walk and headed northward
along the terrace passing the loosely tethered horses, happily
chomping grass next to the tall pine. Walking on, they came to a
small promontory, with what appeared to be a notch in the rocks at
the end. The seawater was crashing in there and shooting up into
the air, geyser-like, before rushing back out to sea.
    “I’ve got to get picture of that,” said Dan,
taking the camera from her, and walking out onto the little point
of land.
    I hope he’s not going to climb down there,
thought Julie. “Dan, be careful! Marc said it was rough on this
side!”
    “I’m not going in the water, Babe,” he called
back, shaking his head.
    Hanging on the rocks and carefully working
his way down, Dan descended toward the notch on the left side of
the point. Soon, he was out of sight.
    Julie was sitting on the edge of the
limestone terrace, inexplicably tense. Her legs dangled over the
side and she leaned forward and to the left, straining to see Dan.
When he appeared again, her shoulders loosened and she started
breathing once more.
    He walked back toward her.
    “Julie…I didn’t want to yell from there. It’s
a little cave, and the ceiling is covered with bats. Tiny
ones. At first I thought they were birds!” he said, laughing. “I’m
going to try to get a picture of them. Don’t be alarmed if they
come flying out when the flash goes off.”
    “Okay. Be careful.”
    “Don’t worry. I’m just getting a picture of
them. They’re harmless.”
    Then he headed back down.
    In a minute, he