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Allison; Taking Control Chapter 43
“Look,” the tavern keeper blurted out almost defensively, “I don’t know whatcha think happens on this island that would keep ya from comin’ back, but it’s nothin’ that concerns me and what I do.”The sailor gave a slight shrug, puffing away on the pipe as he still held it with his right hand. His left, which up to that point had been engaged in pouring and drinking rum, was now flat on the counter. The tavern keeper heard a slight chink of metal and looked with some surprise as the rum-drinker slowly withdrew the hand just enough to reveal four silver pieces of eight beneath it. The host stood still for a few seconds looking at the coins. Then, after glancing around the room, he leaned in and spoke in a lower voice.“I did tell ya I don’t know anything, didn’t I? The thought’s appreciated m’ friend, but I’m afraid I’ve nothing to offer ya for yer money.”The proprietor heard another chink and this time looked down to see two gold escudos topping the silver coins beneath the sailor’s h
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 44
A few last words out of context were all the sailor at the counter could hear as Scott’s voice was drowned out. The fiddler near the hearth had decided to strike up a rather loud and sprightly tune to which a couple of spirited locals decided to dance. A man was cutting a lively jig with his hands folded behind his back while a woman circled around with him, swirling her skirts as she spun. They were quickly joined by more people while other tavern patrons clapped and whooped in time with the fiddler’s music.Undaunted, the sailor slipped his pipe back into his pocket and slid deliberately off of his stool. He grabbed the rum bottle and slowly walked toward the blithesome commotion. Stopping at a small table, he took a generous swallow of rum from the bottle before setting it down. He then began clapping along with the others, stamping his foot in time with the rhythm of the buoyant strain. His attention, however, was still firmly fixed on the gentlemen in the corner who went on with
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 45
Four men were grouped together, apparently looking over a collection of documents when a slave laborer, lifting a large sack onto his shoulder to take it off of a cart near the foot of a pier, dropped the object, causing it to burst wide open with a sharp pop. Almost instantly two of the men who were involved in the deal began yelling at the poor fellow at the top of their lungs. One pulled out what looked like a riding crop and began to beat the slave, ushering him quickly away from the scene. Allison , disgusted, did his best to look disinterested as he was slowly walking past, but his eyes were drawn to one thing in particular.As the remaining three men resumed their discussion in a much louder and more animated fashion, Allison noticed that the cloth sack contained a white powder, which had spilled out in a heap on the surface of the pier after it burst open. Small reflective glints could actually be seen within the big clumps, as they lay in the sunlight. This could only be sal
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 46
Later, after the sun had gone below the horizon, Allison sat in his cabin with his two naval lieutenants and Master Washburn going over the direction they had received from Semple as well as the signals he and Suggs had devised. Bosun Tallow already had men hard at work cutting, sewing and painting their new signal pennants which he had been assured would be ready for use by the time they weighed anchor. Allison was just going through the list of basic messages they would generate with those pennants when a hurried knock came at the door.“Come!”Midshipman Hardin walked in to deliver a message.“S-sir, Mr. Bannon sent me to let you know... there’s a dinghy approaching from Allison . There’s... there’s one man aboard. He said you wanted to know immediately, sir.”“Indeed I did. Tell Mr. Bannon to call the men to deck and prepare to receive one person onboard amidships and then recover the dinghy. I will be there presently.”“Yessir!” Hardin answered in the nervous, overly-quick fash
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 47
“I remain a bit puzzled on one detail, William,” Allison said to Weyland as the six men sat around the table in his small cabin again. “Why would these men simply bring legal documents like these to a public place and openly discuss issues that might only serve to bring suspicion upon many of them? Even if these sessions of theirs were actually sanctioned by some act of the government, which I almost certainly doubt, they seem to pose a great risk for both the completely legal and the illicit affairs in which these men might be involved.”Weyland smiled the smile of a man who seemed to be saying ‘I know something you don’t.’ It reminded Allison somewhat of the ever-present grin that nearly always covered Caldwell’s face.“Well sir,” Weyland began, “this meeting of theirs apparently happened in the exact same locale, on the same day of each week for quite some time. Anyone who knew about it, from tavern-goers to the gentlemen themselves, would have found it odd and out-of-place if th
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 48
“As I’ve said before,” Weyland started, “it was the matter of underhanded profit-taking that formed the basis of the whole argument Thorpe had with these gentlemen that night. The proprietor of the establishment even went so far as to say that they were so jealous of the fact he was outstripping them in that way, the whole matter almost devolved into a fight. This, of course, is to say nothing of how he probably outshined them in legitimate ways.”Allison now knew what he was saying.“So Thorpe might have learned that they were planning to undermine him in some fashion and he decided to confront them all at the meeting in question,” he said, finishing the lieutenant’s thought. “Now, with him thought to be gone, they’re planning on seeking reparations for his crimes in the name of the government... from his wife and the estate he leaves behind?”Weyland nodded. “From the parts of their conversation I was able to hear, that’s what I gathered. No doubt each of them would find a way to p
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 49
“We’ve been given little, if any, direction from our superiors, I know,” he started, turning back to look at his officers, “and I understand, in light of that fact, why we may feel the need for greater assertiveness at times. Mind you, I’m not at all saying that I find that particular characteristic detrimental or undesirable. You are all here, obviously, because you have talents and skills that allow you to see things where others may not. Even so, I caution you, yet again, not to let yourselves be completely swayed by suppositions which, no matter how compelling, simply fit the available facts but lack corroborating evidence.”Allison paused once again, taking a deep breath.“Gentlemen, I firmly believe we were not brought together as a unique command on this vessel of the Royal Navy merely to solve a simple crime on one small island, no matter how illustrious its alleged victim. We were given this small, maneuverable ship for a reason. We were given valuable navigational implement
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 50
A referral to the navigational plot showed them to be holding on their intended track, traveling the shortest possible distance to their destination which would split the twenty or so mile distance between Anguilla and St. Martin to the North and St. Christopher to the South. It was effective and efficient in terms of time spent, but Washburn and his mates continuously grumbled over the necessity to constantly change course.“It’s just the man’s nature,” said Caldwell, who had the watch, as he and Allison stood on the quarterdeck one evening. “Give him some of the best charts to be had by humankind, not to mention two wondrously accurate marine clocks, and it will still never quite do. In his estimation, things can always be done in a better fashion.”“I think he’s just asserting what authority he can,” said Allison , speaking his mind. “We all know he’s the bullish headstrong type, so he’ll always have his own opinion. However, sailing through the Virgin Islands was a prudent measur
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