The Legend of Graybeard - PART IV:
The Mutiny on Main Street
At dawn on the 12th day of August, 1710, a very angry Queen Anne, "Lady" High Admiral of the British Navy, arrived upon the shores of Rock Hall on the Isle of Delmarva. Although it had been long presumed that the object of her obsessive pursuit was to recapture Graybeard and the stolen treasure, she quickly revealed she had no interest in reclaiming her lost possessions at all. Instead, she had dispatched a mighty task force of tiny ships solely with orders to capture the town now known as Rock Hall, along with its courageous namesake and secure them until she arrived. With the village under siege, the Queen came ashore with a vengeance, capturing Graybeard and his men. At his public trial in the center of Main St., before a mob of terrified spectators; Queen Anne offered the Captain a seemingly straightforward choice of either marriage or death. After a brief deliberation, our heroic protagonist understandably chose death. However, just as he was about to be executed - and to the astonishment of all, he cleverly staged an escape aboard an early prototype of a modern day sea plane. Even though the outlandish looking craft never actually left the ground, it remains clear that because both of its wheels momentarily leapt over a hole in the road before splashing into the harbor, it was indeed, Captain Albert Kendall Hall, "Graybeard", who formally introduced flight to the modern world. Nevertheless, while his daring exploit did little to impress Her Majesty, the Captain's steadfast shipmates along with all the pirates and wenches of Main Street, exploded into a hearty cheer.

Hail Rock Hall, Hail Rock Hall Long live Graybeard, Pirates are we all.
Pirates are we all – Pirates are we all Long live Graybeard – Hail Rock Hall

By the end of the long siege, even Queen Anne's most loyal captains became increasingly disinterested in the pursuit of Graybeard. Most found themselves more absorbed with the allure of the Chesapeake Bay than in troubling themselves with the subjugation of Rock Hall's legendary pirate, orator and leader of men. Before long, the entire fleet of Her Majesty's ships lay ashore on the local beach as her royal captains went native; eating, drinking and dancing to the music. A very satisfied Graybeard climbed to the masthead of one of the ships, and hoisted his mug to the setting sun. "Who lives better than us?" he roared out loud –a thunderous "NOBODY" was the cheer from the crowd.
   Queen Anne was eventually exiled to the nearby colony of Chestertown, a haven for Tories and the proper English. From there, she was safely transported back to England without incident on a topsail schooner. The Queen proclaimed the lands stretching from the southern shores of the Chester River were to be named in her honor, and they have ever since been officially designated "Queen Anne's County". Although it would appear that her quest had ended in defeat, the truth is – it had not yet begun.
   Traditional historians claim that the Southern Pacific Ocean trade did not officially begin until 1787, when the British explorer, Captain James Cook, discovered the islands of Hawaii and Polynesia. For years, however, scholarly Delmarvans have fiercely debated this assertion and claim to have proven otherwise. Their evidence strongly suggests that prior to the Queen's arrival in Rock Hall, a British naval captain, known only as "Smilin' Jack", had actually visited the island of Hawaii at the turn of the 18th century, more than 60 years before Cook. Having been mercilessly blown off course for Bermuda, Smilin' Jack allegedly missed both North and South America and wound up rounding Cape Horn by accident. Thanks to modern interpretations of his log, and research conducted by notable scholars in the field of South Pacific apparel, many Delmarva historians agree that "Smilin Jack" was the first European to have encountered the island of Hawaii and its natives. He simply referred to his discovery as "The land that has everything you want, but nothing you need". The log goes on to propose that an historic transaction took place, quite possibly rivaling Peter Minuet's earlier purchase of Manhattan Island from the Indians – a full cargo of hand-made Hawaiian shirts was exchanged for just a few sugar free non-alcoholic beverages. In 1707, while attempting to retrace his course back to Bermuda, Jack and his crew encountered the notorious sea dog, Jay Hawkins and the armada of tiny ships that were in hot pursuit of Graybeard. Having spent an undo amount of time at sea, and because his ship had traversed the Pacific Ocean with the excessive weight of the shirts, Smilin Jack chose to remain in Rock Hall as a spy operating under the guise of a Hawaiian shirt merchant. So he pillaged and looted the remains of a once popular coffee shop, tore down the old sign and replaced it with his own. However, Smilin Jack was never too good at spelling, and the sign still reads, "Smilin Jake's". Hence, it was to Smilin' Jake that Queen Anne, just before her exit from the island, secretly delegated her most devious and clandestine plot. A scheme that would forever, carve its mark into the annals of Delmarva history - a mutiny on Main Street.
   On August 13th, 1711, Smilin' Jack lured Graybeard into his store by offering him discount coupons and other forms of bribery. Then suddenly, while the Captain was trying on a shirt in the dressing room, he was captured at gunpoint by a gang of mutineers led by Black Bart and Jim Bones, an improbable pair of pirate conspirators from across the street, posing as innkeepers. The kidnappers blindfolded Graybeard's unpatched eye, locked him in irons, and demanded that he reveal where the treasure was hidden. "Avast me maties", cried Graybeard in terror – "You are making a serious error!" Just then, Jay Hawkins stepped up through the crowd of mutineers to commence with the interrogation of Graybeard. It was not pretty! In fact, it was a pitiful sight.
   Come to the corner of Main and Sharp St. on Saturday, August 13th to find out if Graybeard gives up the treasure.