Stephen B Allen

The Treasure Of The Crimson Corsairs Stephen B Allen

Who among us can honestly say that they have never dreamt of finding an unexpected treasure? I suppose that the concept of 'treasure' can hold various meanings to different people under unique circumstances. Finding a $20 on the side of the road the day before payday with a hungry family to feed would constitute a treasure in my mind...and has upon occasion. Discovering your lost lucky rabbit's foot the day before a big first date with the girl of your dreams surely would have to qualify. Treasures all, but I'm thinking more along the lines of the 'BIG' one! You know...the kind where you're walking along the shore after a hurricane and you happen upon dozens of silver 'Pieces-of-Eight' as well as several gold coins torn from the bowels of a sunken ship somewhere down in the depths of the sea to be carried by the monstrous waves of the tempest and tossed up onto the beach...tossed right into your lap as it were!Or perhaps you are walking through the woods in Tennessee and you stumble upon a hole in the ground recently opened-up from the heavy rains. As you peer into the pit, an old rotting burlap bag is revealed amidst a number of gold coins scattered about-and you have just found an old army payroll quickly hidden before it could be taken by opposing forces during The Civil War!Fantasy is a wonderful thing!Yet all of these scenarios involve the intervention of Lady Luck with being in the right place at the right time. What must it be like to dedicate yourself to actively search for a fabled treasure of incomparable magnificence?Somewhere-somehow-you had to get actively hooked into the quest in the first place. Maybe you got the itch from a passage in a book you had read, or a legend caught your eye or ear and refused to let go of your mind and heart? It matters not, for the result will still be the same: you do your research until you have a series of clues to sort out and thus begin your search. It can take years if not a lifetime to bring your quest to a successful conclusion; perhaps you never gain the answers you crave and a fabulous trove remains just beyond your grasp? You know you just need one more day and the answer to years of searching will be yours...just one more day!Now imagine that, where countless others have been unsuccessful in their searches, you actually unlock the secrets and follow the trail to the end...only to find that the legend of fantastic wealth you have been seeking is in reality something totally different!Such as The Treasure Of The Crimson Corsairs may have turned out to be?