2022-11-16 16:50:33Rutherford smiled, put a half-full glass of whiskey on the table in front of the Major, and then left, briefly interrupting them.
Allison replied openly, "I'm afraid, not the easiest." The coach got stuck in the mud with a broken wheel this morning due to an oversight with my accommodations on the first night. Allison thought he ought to thank those who had helped him.If the people in the area hadn't been so kind and helpful, I probably wouldn't have made it here on time.They seemed very thankful that the Army and Navy of His Majesty were here to protect them from the enemies that were threatening them.Major Jake replied, "Yes," with a tone that suggested a different viewpoint. Even though that might have been the case in your situation, Lieutenant, you might be surprised to learn that not everyone is as thrilled as you are to have regular Crown forces in the colonies. First of all, I worry that the good people of Trenton won't like the idea of housing His Majesty's soldiers in their homes and hotels.I say, "damned ingratitude."Allison wasn't sure what exactly prompted him to say that. Perhaps it was Jake 's aristocratic arrogance when he had just addressed the legal protests of his fellow colonists, some of whom probably lacked enough food to sustain themselves. Regardless, something had shattered his pride.Sir, I was born in the colonies.“Indeed?” Jake 's response managed to be both genuine curiosity and condescending resentment at the same time.“Oh, yes, sir,” Allison continued, acting as though she had just changed the subject.I come from the frontier country of northern Pennsylvania. He let out a giggle. "I hadn't really considered it, but I'm now closer to home than I have been in a very long time. What Allison said was actually true, despite the childlike innocence of his claim.Allison was now almost certain that Jake had no particular love for the colonists, but he didn't show any signs of being bothered.I can assure you, Lieutenant, that I am extremely far from my home;not to mention the fact that I'm also quite far away from the majority of my First Regiment brothers.Jake had been putting an envelope and a different piece of paper on the table in front of him, but he had not said anything about them. He turned his attention back to Allison after glancing out the window, but he didn't seem to see what he had been waiting for. His whiskey had not changed."They are all currently defending northern New York and the Hudson Valley in Albany, or close to it." The Major went on. Naturally, you are aware of the Fort William Henry surrender from a month ago?Although Allison had only received fragments of the news, he understood Jake 's meaning.Yes, Mr. After the fort's honorable surrender, the native allies of the Marquis de Montcalm attacked British soldiers and civilians who were granted free passage."Exactly, Lieutenant!" Jake responded emphatically. Terms of honorable surrender were broken and ignored, our colonies were threatened by French victories in the North, and we were forced to walk through miles and miles of horrible forest while being attacked by wild animals.Jake took a moment to look at him curiously. He then made an effort to pick up his glass with his right hand as he looked down at it, but he stopped and simply tapped his index finger on the table.He gave Allison a second look.As I'm sure you are aware, "there is, of course, a much wider conflict being prosecuted."Major, "Yes.The empire of His British Majesty is under threat everywhere."Exactly," Jake interrupted him, "and all who pledge their service to His Majesty and the Empire must and will perform their duty to the utmost if we are to be victorious!" in Europe, India, and the Caribbean.Jake once more applauded him after his fervent, but very sensationalist, exhortation, but only after another sneaky glance out the window. At that late hour, Allison couldn't help but wonder exactly who or what was going to cross the street.What exactly is he seeking?Allison's scarlet-clad companion appeared unperturbed despite those glances.He carried on, "But from time to time, Lieutenant, those responsibilities have to take on a different form. I'm talking about something that has the potential to become even less appealing than the bloodshed on the battlefield or the destruction of a ship to matchwood.I am not referring to merely a resemblance; rather, I am referring to a very real and genuine state of being that is, how shall I put it, bizarre and unnatural to genuine gentlemen?Jake 's emphasis on the word "gentlemen" was a clear reference to Allison's acknowledged colonial upbringing. He was probably implying in a veiled way that Allison, regardless of his military rank, could never be placed in the same category as a genteel man like himself, who could easily make such a claim.When all he found the Major's attitude to be was truly pitiful rather than grossly insulting, Allison would not give him the satisfaction of watching him react.Tonight, Allison would not engage in personal honor duels.The Major carried on. Mr. Allison, of course, I'm referring to the covert and the occult.I'm referring to the war of the mind and decisive action based on the most important commodity in times of war—information—not the canopied woodland verge, nighttime on the ocean's expanse, or starlit battlefield before dawn's combat.I'm being enrolled as a covert operative! Allison had uneasy thoughts.
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Allison; Taking Control Chapter 8
Holding her southerly course, HMS Philadelphia soon found herself once again beneath clear skies with her decks awash in bright sunlight. It wasn’t quite as warm as one might have liked since autumn was upon them, but the weather was more than fair and the voyage would not in any way be impeded.Bright though the decks were on that sunny day, some of the crew applied themselves to enhancing that effect, scrubbing them down with holystones. The ship’s carpenter, Stanwill, and his mates were making a thorough inspection of supports, frames and seams down below to ensure the ship had made it through her first storm at sea without taking too much strain. A distinctive clanking noise could be heard from below as a few men were once again working at the pumps, expelling seawater from the bilges. Still others were at work stitching and preparing new lengths of canvas for whenever they might be needed. Altogether, things aboard Philadelphia were running in clockwork fashion.From a personal s
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 9
“You know, Lieutenant, I fear that after some time in your new appointment a simple ale now and again just won’t help to get you through those especially hard days when you feel things might be going against you.” He gestured toward the empty glass he left on the table with a nod of his head. “You should try something infinitely more fortifying... Scotch. Come!” Maxwell donned his hat and walked out.Allison stood up, bolted the remainder of his ale as if to steel his nerves in spite of the Major’s suggestion, and followed.Standing in the street outside, on the fringes of the lamplight from the Black Horse, was a man in chains who was shackled wrist and ankle. The intimidating presence of four mitered redcoat grenadiers served as his escort. Three of the soldiers were armed with bayoneted muskets and the fourth, who looked to be a noncommissioned officer, held a torch. The prisoner’s posture was stooped and the weak light of the tavern lamps combined with the brightness of the torch
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 10
“I’ll grant you, Mr. Allison , that it certainly wouldn’t have won the war in the Americas for them, but as far as usefulness is concerned, do not make assumptions of that nature. We don’t know exactly what the French have learned since this conflict began. We don’t know how deep their efforts at intrigue and subterfuge have managed to permeate or what they’ve gained as a result; but I can tell you I have it from General Sir William Johnson himself that the Indian tribes who have thrown in their lot with the French have been involved in a great many similar underhanded ploys. Our own native allies amongst the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederation have confirmed as much.”Allison could only stand by and look concerned as Maxwell went on.“Lieutenant, had this message gotten to our enemies they would have known your name, my name – which aggravates me to no end – and the fact we are involved in an activity centered on Trenton and Philadelphia which we want to keep secret. Only the
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 11
But it wasn’t his house. Inside there were broken deck beams, buckling supports and seawater was pouring in through gaping shot holes. Small fires had also broken out and more sickening smoke wafted in the air amid the moans and screams of dying men. Those who weren’t injured seemed to run about aimlessly in panic, abandoning their duties of firing the guns or shoring up damage. He didn’t know why, but he started to stumble his way aft toward the stern. Partway there he came upon the dismembered body of Captain Wilson which had by all appearances been torn apart by enemy shot. He was a bloody mess and had been cleanly decapitated. The severed head made a grim sight as it lay next to what was left of the body to which it was once attached. But suddenly the eyes opened and the head spoke to him as it lay on its side“Didn’t I send you to Philadelphia?” it asked, harshly.He was sorry - so very very sorry he hadn’t made it there. He had failed his captain. He was so ashamed he wished he
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 12
He at last gave up thinking about it during those early morning hours, finally realizing that he needed to take advantage of whatever little time remained before morning to try and sleep at least a little. He climbed back into bed, just as the cold began to encroach upon the room since a fire was no longer burning in the hearth. He shut his eyes and did everything he could to keep his overactive mind from working against his will - but it proved to be of no avail. It seemed he would never be able to take the advice of the quasi-omnipotent, all-knowing Mr. “H” no matter how hard he tried.“Lieutenant Allison , I presume?” the naval officer called down from the saddle as he pulled the horse up short on the cobblestones.“Indeed I am.”The man dismounted and walked briskly into the pale glow of the lamplight where Allison could see his face. He touched his hat. “Lieutenant Henry Caldwell, sir.” After rendering the salute, he immediately gestured toward a group of porters who were riding
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 13
As he stepped across the threshold, Allison immediately felt the warmth he had been anticipating. He removed his hat and momentarily closed his eyes as the more comfortable ambient air began to relieve the chill the rain had given him for the last few hours. He heard Caldwell step through and shut the door behind them. Before his eyes had reopened he heard a female voice calling out from somewhere further inside and moving closer as it spoke.“Oh... good evenin’ gentlemen. Welcome, both of ye, to the King’s Arms.”Allison opened his eyes and saw a reasonably well-dressed woman of middle age standing in front of him. Her graying hair was tied tightly back into a bun and a thin smile was on her lips. Despite the gentle politeness of her greeting, he could detect a hint of nervous apprehension in her manner. After glancing quickly behind her, she turned back to the two uniformed naval officers in front of her.“I assume both of ye young men are here to see His Honor the Admiral.”“Inde
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 14
“Of course, sir,” Allison said, once again giving an obligatory answer. Although he couldn’t help wondering just how inconspicuous an inn in the middle of the city being guarded by redcoats would appear, even at night. Though it was certain no one could get close enough to hear or see anything of importance.“Well then, Mr.Allison ,” Haig continued, “I suppose this has all been a bit of a shock, though a pleasing one, I trust?”“Yes, sir,” Allison answered, not in obligatory fashion this time, but perhaps only a half truth. Part of him was actually quite bewildered, and it was that part which didn’t allow him to offer up a more substantial answer in that instance.“Glad to hear it, young man. Glad indeed,” Haig answered in a manner which suggested that he could read Allison ’s trepidation as he would a book. But then he spoke reassuringly, “I know from personal experience that the burdens of command are never borne with ease. That is why decisions like the one that lead to you being
Allison; Taking Control Chapter 15
“The governor himself, as I recall,” Allison said, beginning to remember that man’s proud nature and barely-concealed air of self-importance. “Governor Basteros was invited to dinner onboard Vigilance as thanks for the rescue and return of the crew of an English cutter that was wrecked along the coast during a terribly bad storm. It was seen as a reciprocal gesture of good will between nations which had until only very recently been at war.”Haig gave a short chuckle then asked, “And how precisely did you view the situation, Lieutenant?”“It was only fitting and proper, my lord,” Allison answered dutifully. “It was an honorable show of gratitude and respect amongst gentlemen, the virtue and decency of which could never be diminished by previous enmity.”Haig just then stopped as he was raising the port glass to his lips and gave Allison a sidelong look of disapproval. It may have been slight and transient, but Allison understood its meaning straightaway. I didn’t ask you for the c
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Chapter 112
“Qui êtes-vous? Parlez, maintenant!” growled the sergeant threateningly, insisting they speak.Caldwell was just about to feign a weak answer when a volley of musketry crackled from a nearby alleyway. Five of the French soldiers immediately crumpled to the ground, while the sergeant and the one remaining foot soldier wheeled around to face whatever it was that just surprised them. All at once a group of yelling, shadowy forms charged through the floating cloud of smoke left by the musket discharge. Seen in the guttering light of the lanterns which had been dropped to the ground, the last standing soldier uttered a disgusting gurgle as the blood-soaked point of a bayonet protruded through the back of his neck. At the same time, two attackers grabbed the reins of the sergeant’s horse while a third pinned the man’s sword arm and pulled him down bodily from the saddle. The third assailant then brandished his own sword and slammed the point into the sergeant’s chest several times before dr
Chapter 111
“Arrêtez!” came the shouted command in French to stop. Before the two disguised British officers could even react, five of the vigilant fellow’s nearby brethren had moved in to surround them. Taken unawares, Caldwell and James instinctively raised their hands. The discovered men were then promptly urged out into the clearing by the soldiers’ bayoneted muskets. The man who had originally discovered them made no effort to interrogate them or to find out who they were. He immediately began to call out to another a short distance away whom Caldwell could tell from the soldier’s address was a sergeant. The men who captured them then began to walk them in that general direction.This was dire. Everything the Philadelphia men had accomplished was about to be brought to nothing by a wretched barking dog. Almost as if to taunt the men it discovered, the vile scrawny creature was still milling about nearby yapping and growling toothily at them while wagging its tail. Both British officers knew
Chapter 110
“Well, what now?” James asked as he and Caldwell ducked back behind the pile of logs. “We can congratulate ourselves after a fashion for making it here under such horrid conditions, but that alone will serve no purpose. I’m forced to repeat my previous question: how do we determine just who or what is in there?”Caldwell looked as if he was about to reply with something less than definite when providence managed to intervene on their behalf yet again, though it was not at first clear exactly what was happening. Shouts and calls echoing up from further down the narrow road preempted Caldwell’s response. Both men ducked down and silently moved further to their right so as to observe the unfolding scene from the screen of heavy brush.A torch-bearing advance guard of marching soldiers, conceivably a detachment of the large unit which had come toward Saint-Pierre earlier, tramped up the slope. Following behind were even more men, with muskets at the ready, escorting what was clearly a gr
Chapter 109
Caldwell shook his head. “We can’t have more than three hours of darkness left to us at this point... but I’ll be buggered if I simply turn about and run off with our task undone. I couldn’t so much as face the Captain if we did that.” He then lifted his head and looked intently off into the darkness to the East.James grasped his thinking almost immediately and he didn’t like it one bit. “Oh... oh no! Not again! Henry, are you daft? I’d swear our last trip through the rills and ridges out there made me bleed far more than that splinter in the arm ever did!” He held out the still bandaged forearm to which he referred.“There’s no help for it, I’m afraid,” Caldwell told him. “Anyway, I do believe there’s another rise just east of here that will more than suit our purpose. It should be an easier ascent than the first ridge we scaled, at least at initially, and we should be able to move up onto higher ground by concealing ourselves on its southern slope and moving under the trees.” He r
Chapter 108
“Well, this is rather tedious – and distressing, I might add,” Caldwell told him. “Given the time we noted seeing the soldiers outside Le Carbet, which is just ahead, I’m all but certain they should have reached this particular point on the road at least a half hour ago if they were on the same schedule.”“A varied timetable?” James suggested.“I suppose something like that would only make sense,” Caldwell conceded, “unless they were delayed for some unknown reason.”James held his palms up. “Well, then what should we...”“SHHHH! Quiet! Lower yourself down and stay still! Something is coming!” Caldwell rasped, cutting him short.The second lieutenant quickly complied and did his best to listen to the approaching sounds which were just now becoming audible to him.As if in answer to their question, voices were heard echoing in the distance off to their right. Though they were still too far away to make out anything being said, it sounded like a series of shouts or calls being relayed
Chapter 107
“You’ve both performed superbly, as evidenced by the information with which you’ve returned. However, the problem we now face with the two of you being more recognizable to local inhabitants requires a form of mitigation. After some deliberation, I’ve decided that you are in fact quite right about the language difficulty inherent in sending other men. For that reason one of you – that is you Henry – will have to return. I am not unmindful of the dangers this entails, so it would be advisable for you to vary your attire and outward appearance as much as you can manage.”The two officers listened obediently, but their discomfiture with the new arrangement was palpable. Allison expected nothing less, and he went on to address the concerns that he knew troubled them.“William, you are by a wide margin the most experienced and practiced in these matters, but given the additional precautions I have decided to enact, your talents will be needed in a different capacity.”Allison now turned
Chapter 106
“We made use of the man’s almost messianic view of LaTour to draw more useful information from him,” Weyland said. “Incidentally, he told us that LaTour does in fact hold a regular commission in the French Navy. His letter of marque is held only for the benefit of his men, who are employed in an auxiliary fashion.”Allison shook his head. “I need only have you recall the damage those ‘auxiliaries’ caused with a single broadside when we met them at sea off Antigua to reiterate my previous warning. Even so, the facts you give stand to reason and confirm something we’ve all but suspected up to this point. What else?”Caldwell picked up the narrative. “LaTour is a figure who, by all accounts, places great importance upon putting himself in the public eye for reasons he himself might refer to as esprit de corps – morale of the whole. However, much as he purposefully strode along Saint-Pierre’s streets in the past, gifting shopkeepers and citizens with the odd item of value, these activiti
Chapter 105
It proved to be more than many of the knaves and blackguards in that establishment could ignore, and the majority quickly lost interest in the prospect of punishing the strangers so as to fight over their valuable coins. With a loud cacophony of shouts and yells that was horrible to hear, men were suddenly jostling, shoving, swinging and kicking to get at the treasure that had just been dropped before them. Others were rolling on the floor, wrestling and even biting for the chance to scoop up what they could.Brossard and Guiteau wasted no time in bolting for the door. After leaping over the bodies of several men who were wrangling with one another to get at the coins scattered about the wooden floor, they discovered that not quite everyone had been distracted by their desperate gamble. Brossard had to swing his pistol by the barrel and brain one onrushing assailant to get by him while Guiteau threw his shoulder into another, knocking him down to barge his way past. Then the wide door
Chapter 104
The old sailor paused again, looking back and forth from Brossard to Guiteau as though he expected one of them to ask the obvious question he’d left unanswered. When his audience didn’t offer this time, he continued.“Obviously something of importance is being stored up there. Wagons which are always covered, usually with armed men riding aboard, make their way up and down at times, winding along the wide path that switches back on the hillside. I’m told regular army troops are actually posted to keep the place under guard.”“Does it belong to LaTour himself?” Brossard asked.Rougebec shook his head. “People suggested that at first, but then another story started circulating. A friend of mine told me. He said whatever happens up there is overseen by some high-up government official, an aristocrat of some standing from the old country by all accounts.”“And no one knows who this man is?” Guiteau questioned.“Nope, but word is not even Baron de Beauville, the governor himself, interfere
