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Allison; Taking Control Chapter 59
Later, as Philadelphia made her way closer, he was even further gratified to learn that Suggs and the Mollusk had managed to travel the final leg of their journey without mishap. He could see the little cutter sitting at anchor amongst other ships in the harbor a few miles ahead with jack and ensign flying. After exchanging salutes with Fort James on the northern headland, Philadelphia carefully maneuvered past the nearby shallows and obstructions, once again thanks to the Admiralty’s charts, and found an anchorage of her own near her sister ship. It wasn’t long after that when Samuel Hardin began to excitedly announce that Mollusk was signaling.“It’s a signal from Mollusk, sir!” the boy shouted out. “Two pennants, red over black!”“Which means?” Allison asked him expectantly, already knowing the meaning himself but insisting upon a proper report from the young gentleman.The boy hurriedly grabbed for the list and quickly looked it up and down. It was a few seconds before he found w
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 60
Allison was taken off guard. “Well, that certainly is... strange... and rather generous,” he replied, not able to help the obvious strain in his voice. So, Suggs’ earlier observation about his command might not have been a passing joke after all. How could it have been? His laughing at his own implication, no matter how genuine it appeared, was probably just a courteous way of letting his fellow captain out of an awkward situation. He could have simply said nothing, of course, but in addition to things like Philadelphia’s plentiful complement of officers and her marine detail, how could he now ignore her captain’s seemingly random decision to make a trip to St. Martin against orders and now this mysterious correspondence from an Antiguan official?“Strange indeed,” was Suggs’ only reply.Suggs looked him in the eye for a few moments before he spoke again.“See here, Captain,” he began, “I don’t know what other obligations you might have or with what else you find yourself engaged, bu
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 61
Allison ’s first instinct was to snap at the old man, but as he fought the urge down, he realized that Alex was correct. He calmed himself down and held out a hand for the plate.“You’re correct, of course, Alex . My thanks.”The steward handed him the platter and utensils then hurried away, shouting back.“Be back presently, sah! I’ll find ye somethin’ teh sit yerself on!”True to his word, Alex was back in less than a minute with a small wooden stool for a seat and an empty cask to serve as a makeshift table. With another word of thanks, Allison sat himself down to eat near the taffrail while the steward, satisfied that he had done his duty, respectfully retired.Alternating between mouthfuls of beef and biscuit, Allison watched as the swing of Philadelphia at her anchor made a changing montage of the view. The waterfront of St. John’s slowly gave way to Fort James on its promontory, then the open sea was visible for a time through the mouth of the harbor before the western Alli
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 62
He knew the island’s climate was always quite dry, but the more humid air over the surrounding sea had produced an almost surreal ring of haze which framed the scene before him in a curtain of gray-white. As the master of the Phoebus stood beside the rail he peered through the wispy vapors toward the low sandy coastline. There he saw the last of the lighters being loaded with sacks for return to his vessel. The gangs of laborers would begin embarking soon after that. He had made this same journey for salt between Bermuda and Grand Turk Island several times in the past, each one seemingly more profitable than the last. However, it was certain that nothing he had done before would be able to compare with the success of the current voyage. It was almost too good to be true.With his new larger ship, built of sturdy durable Bermuda cedar, he was able to haul more of the precious crystalline commodity back to his home port. Obtaining enough of the ‘white gold’, as he loved to call it, to f
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 63
The strange words were barely out of his mouth, when he touched a small linstock to a nearby swivel gun mounted on the rail and fired. Isaac and the master had no chance to react before the grapeshot tore into their bodies, killing them both instantly.Three-pronged iron hooks attached to strong lines suddenly flew onto the deck, biting into planks and rails, grappling the two ships together. No one aboard the Phoebus even had a chance to resist the subsequent swarm of armed men which instantly rose up with a frightful yell from where they concealed themselves. They swept over the opposing deck in a hellish maelstrom of smoke and blood punctuated by the screams of the dying.The carriage may not have been quite as large or ostentatious as the one belonging to Governor Tinker, but its well-upholstered seats certainly made it comfortable. As the vehicle rolled along the dirt road, Allison noted that it had already left the outskirts of St. John’s behind and now drove amongst the sugar
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 64
“I’m fortunate enough to have a first lieutenant with extensive knowledge of encryption methods who completed the task quite admirably, yes.”“Well then, let me begin with our friend, the Frenchman Monsieur LaTour. I trust you’ve heard a great deal about him and his exploits?”“Perhaps more than I ever could have wanted to hear,” Allison answered. “To think, one man has managed to cow the citizens of New Providence so deeply when the war itself harbors the promise of so many more and greater dangers.”“Believe me, Captain,” Gambles said, looking more serious than he had up until now, “what you’ve just described goes perhaps two or threefold for the people of this island. As anyone knows, there are many, many more corsairs - as the damnable French governor of Martinique is fond of calling them - employed by France than just Gaston LaTour. However, he’s certainly the most popular by far, due in great part to what he’s done in these waters.”“I take it from your comment that LaTour was
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 65
Allison examined the length of slightly corroded wire attached to the wood. It was certainly long and sturdy enough to be used for strangling or choking someone were it wound about and twisted tightly. Gambles was motioning for him to turn the wooden piece over and look at the other side. On the opposite surface was a series of words, written somewhat sloppily in a dark blue-black which, oddly enough, was much like the color of his host’s clothing. That similarity was the first thing to attract his notice; the words themselves, however, were another thing entirely:Les sens trompent de temps en temps, et est prudent de ne jamais faire confiance entierement ceux qui nous ont trompé une seule fois. “Cryptic,” Allison observed, “but I doubt very much the Blevins family found this message to be in any way intriguing or engaging, if they understood it at all. It’s obvious someone had awfully cavalier intentions when it came to Mr. Thorpe’s death.”“Someone like LaTour?” Gambles asked in
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 66
Bidding his host a respectful good-bye and thanking him once more, Allison stepped outside and into the waiting vehicle, which began to roll forward at the crack of the driver’s whip. Looking out the open window back toward the Gambles residence, he watched the lights at the front door shrink and recede into the nighttime darkness, once again becoming a single point of light, before the carriage regained the main road and turned westward.It had been an enjoyably cordial means of bringing the evening to a close, even if his storytelling had caused him to lose his sense of time. However, now that it was over and he sat alone in the dimly-lit interior of the carriage, the less than desirable feelings which had begun to assault him upon learning of Thorpe’s demise started to resurface. The growing frustration, blended with genuine anger, fought with his sense of reason and rapidly consumed his every thought. He knew that Thorpe’s death had nothing to do with him or the efforts of his ha
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