by Guy Antibes
“What about nine months ago? There were some men who visited the miners.”
“The dead ones.”
Harrison nodded. “Do you have any live ones in the village?”
Rassy shook her head. She went back to her book and flipped more pages. Sam watched her go more slowly through the ledger.
“Here we are,” she said. “Four men and one woman. They said they were from Mountain View. I even noted it here. I don’t like getting too nosy, but I heard them mention it. I put Cherryton in your entry. I hope that is all right.”
Harrison shrugged his shoulders. “You are sure they said Mountain View?”
She nodded. “I am careful about that.”
The healer stood. “I think that is all we need to know. Thank you. We will be leaving tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you for your service. I know our own healer appreciates your visits every year. If either of you needs a job, I’ll hire you as chambermaids. You both have a unique style of cleaning my stairs.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
~
H ARRISON STOPPED THE WAGON IN FRONT of the Mount Vannon constabulary.
Emmy followed Harrison and Sam into the building.
“Is Chief Constable Bentwick in?”
“He has been called to Mountain View.”
Harrison paused for a moment. “Who has taken his place?”
“Tom Elbow,” the constable at the counter said. “He’s in if you want to see him.”
Harrison grinned. “We will.”
Tom was called, and in a moment three men and the dog sat in Tom’s new office. Sam thought of himself as a man in that particular instance.
“I thought that Bentwick would be staying longer, but,” Tom shrugged.
“After it was discovered that Temper drugged us, the dark cloud over me disappeared, and Bentwick was impressed with the way I managed the constabulary when he was fighting at Shovel Vale. So…”
Harrison told Tom about the information they had gotten at Bowerville.
“Mountain View might have been the place where the courier went, and it has restaurants. The leader might be there. Bentwick is in a position to see if the mining company set up shop,” Sam said.
“Except for one big problem,” Harrison said. “I have enemies in Mountain View.”
“So we go in disguised,” Sam said.
“How can we disguise Emmy?” Harrison asked.
“We will figure something out. We can’t take the wagon in. You can grow a beard.”
“I might as well shave my head,” Harrison said.
Sam laughed. “Who knows? That might work.”
Harrison made a face. “I am serious, you know. We have to find Bentwick as quickly as we get in. He has the power to cancel any warrant Lenny issues. If we take the lowland route to Mountain View, we can be there in four days.”
“And we’ve been traveling for eight weeks. How does that work?”
“Do I have to show you a map?” Harrison asked.
“Yes.”
Tom laughed at their conversation and pulled out a map of northern Toraltia.
The mountain villages made a large inverted ‘U.’
“And the lowland roads are straighter?” Sam asked.
“More level, too,” Tom said. “I imagine you spend days at each village, so that would lengthen everything.”
“Including our extended stay in Mount Vannon,” Sam said. “So, do we ditch the wagon?”
“We don’t. We will go around Mountain View and come from the direction of Cherryton, hiding the wagon along the way. We’ll have to buy saddles and saddlebags, but we only need to take a few days worth of supplies and clothes.”
“So we get started now?”
Harrison nodded. “Now.”
~
Sam wouldn’t have recognized Harrison if he stood next to him. He had made good on Sam’s ridiculous suggestion and shaved his head. His beard was rough, made more so by the salt and pepper color of his whiskers. They both bought rougher gear before they left Mount Vannon from a second-hand clothing store that Tom knew.
Emmy was more of a challenge. Harrison crafted a pollen covering of shaggy dog hair that was thrown over the dog and glued, using a pollen adhesive that Harrison rarely used, instead of sutures because the glue wouldn’t last more than a day or two or less if Sam worked on the disguise with his wand.
“I made a lady’s wig once,” Harrison said when he had finished. “She had me redo the thing ten times, I’d guess, until I got it right. This is the same technique. It isn’t exactly right, but it will feel more like hair than the rough disguises used on Bagbox and those who accompanied him.”
Sam could tell the difference, but then Emmy had bonded to him. He doubted if the dog would let anyone else touch her.
“We aren’t going near the keep, but directly to the constabulary and then, hopefully, back the way we came.”
“I can go in alone,” Sam said.
“And leave Emmy with me?” Harrison said in a challenging way.
Sam thought about it, and he knew Harrison would do a better job reporting to Chief Constable Bentwick. “Then let’s go in separately,” Sam said.
Harrison sighed. “That’s better. If I thought Emmy would stay with me, I’d take the dog, but she likes you more. I’ll meet you at the constabulary. You go in an hour before I do.”
Sam nodded. He looked at Mountain View and rode his horse past the two guards without incident and proceeded into town. He turned right just as he spotted a group of guards heading towards the gate and hid in an alley while they marched past. Guards worked for the town lord and manned the city gates. Constables took care of everything else except for what happened in the keep.
He dismounted and nudged his head to look back and looked up at the face of a constable standing above him on the wooden sidewalk.
“What are you doing there?” the man asked.
“My dog was going to do her duty on the main road, so I dragged her in here.”
Emmy barked.
“Good thinking,” the constable said. “Be on your way.”
“Where is the constabulary?” Sam asked.
“Why do you want to know that?”
“There is a restaurant close by, and I’m to meet a friend there. I’ve just arrived in Mountain View, and he is going to show me around.”
The constable put fists on his hips. “Aren’t you a little young to be wandering around Toraltia?”
“My village isn’t that far. It’s towards Cherryton.” Sam pressed his lips together. “He has a tip on an apprenticeship in the town.”
“Well, I won’t delay you.”
Sam pressed his lips together. “The constabulary? I’m to meet him across the street from it.”
The constable smiled for the first time. “Right. Turn right at the next big street. It’s down about two blocks.”
Sam gave the man a little bow and pulled Emmy along with him.
“That’s a big dog you have.”
“It’s for protecting our sheep, or was. Someone stole our flock awhile back.”
The constable nodded. “You might stick your head in the constabulary and report that. We have recently come into possession of a lot of stolen sheep.”
“Oh!” Sam said. He bowed again. “Thank you, sir.”
He quickly pulled Emmy down the street.
The constabulary was exactly where the constable said it was. Sam walked up the steps and entered the foyer. “I’d like to see Chief Constable Bentwick,” he said.
“The Chief Constable was called to Cherryton,” The constable on duty said. “Can I help you, lad? You know your dog should be on a leash.”
Sam smiled. “As if it would do any good. She goes where she wants to. I had a message for the Chief Constable. It looks like I’ll have to travel to Cherryton,” Sam said. “Thank you for telling me.”
He sat on the sidewalk just down from the constabulary. He wanted to pet Emmy, but the pollen
disguise kept him from doing anything but patting his dog. She nuzzled him as he waited for Harrison to appear.
The healer walked quickly down the street, Sam looked farther down the street to see two guards following, not constables. He passed Sam without looking at him and ducked into the constabulary.
Sam followed him in and tugged at his friend’s sleeve. “Bentwick isn’t here. I already asked, and he has moved on to Cherryton.”
The guards trailing Harrison walked into the constabulary. Harrison sighed. “I am undone,” he said. “Get Bentwick. He’s my only hope.”
“You know this man?” the constable on duty said to Sam.
“I met him on the road,” Sam said.
The guards approached Harrison. “Harrison Dimple?”
“Didn’t my disguise work?” he said.
“I knew you when you were younger. Your eyes are too sharp. I arrest you in the name of Lord Lager. Come with us.”
Sam left the constabulary while the guards and the constables discussed what would happen to Harrison. Sam wanted to stay to help, but he had no idea what to do. Bentwick was his only hope, and he was days away. He didn’t know how many, since Harrison and he had taken a circuitous route from Cherryton to Mountain View.
He untied his horse and tried to keep from bolting out of the city. He made it through the guards and proceeded to where they had hidden the wagon. He hitched the horse and called to Emmy to jump up. She whimpered and looked back towards the road leading to Mountain View, but she joined him.
Sam checked underneath the floorboards to see if Harrison’s purse was there. He sighed with relief when he found it. His notebook was there, as well. Before leaving, he jotted down what had happened at Mountain View and slipped the notebook back in its place.
He pursed his lips, wanting to whimper like Emmy had done, but he had to get to Cherryton. Bentwick had to save Harrison.
~
Sam took the main road to Cherryton. He had never expected to return to his hometown, but he had recently learned that life had a way of changing one’s plans. Emmy seemed to settle down once they were on the road.
Once Sam was close to Cherryton, he recognized the trail that led to Harrison’s cottage and took it. The place was intact, so Sam took care of the horse and drew water from Harrison’s well before he took off to Cherryton.
He had never been in the Cherryton constabulary before, but he knew where it was. He rode into town, passing his father’s smithy. He wanted to stop by, but Harrison depended on him to tell Bentwick of the healer’s predicament. He wouldn’t chance an encounter with Mark before he returned to Mountain View. Sam wondered if Tru had left for Baskin.
Sam endured a few looks as he rode through the town, but he hoped his spectacles would keep most people from recognizing him. Between the spectacles and Emmy, people had other things to gawk at rather than the odd boy who couldn’t see pollen. He smiled as he didn’t have to worry about.
He tied the horse to the hitching post in front of the constabulary. He took Emmy inside with him. Sam recognized the constable on duty, so he took his spectacles off.
“Sam Smith!” the constable said. “I thought you had left Cherryton for good.”
“I thought so, too. Is Chief Constable Bentwick in?”
“He is in conference with our own chief. Do you know him?”
Sam nodded. “He knows me well. I have an urgent message from Mountain View.”
The man leaned over the tall counter. “Messages from Mountain View are brought by constable-messengers.”
“Tell him I am here. He will see me immediately.”
The man ceased his amiability. “Young teenagers do not order Chief Constables around. Get out of here. You should have never come back.”
Emmy barked at the constable.
“Quiet, Emmy.”
The door to the Cherryton’s chief constable opened, with Bentwick standing in the doorway.
“I’d recognize that bark anywhere. What are you doing in Cherryton, Sam?” Bentwick said.
“You know the boy?” the constable on duty said.
“Know him? That boy and Harrison Dimple helped save northern Toraltia from the rebellion. He fought at my side.”
“He did?”
“Along with his dog.”
“That beast is his?”
Bentwick nodded. “Come in, lad. Bring Emmy.”
Sam ignored the gawking constables as he entered the office.
“Is this the boy who left with Dimple?” the Cherryton chief constable said. “Blacksmith’s son, right?” he said, looking at Sam.
“I am, Chief Constable Pear,” Sam said.
The man smiled. “He even knows my name.”
“What brings you to Cherryton? Harrison said he was going to send you to Baskin when you were done.”
“Baskin? Send me?”
Bentwick nodded. “He didn’t tell you? If we didn’t meet up at Mount Vannon, he was to send you to Baskin to be my apprentice.”
Sam looked at Bentwick, shocked at the news. “Me, your apprentice?”
Bentwick nodded. “I’ve never met a young man more suited to snooping than you are. Do you accept my offer? Harrison said you didn’t have a choice, but I don’t operate that way. The apprenticeship is yours, only if you want it.”
“I want it,” Sam said, “but not right now. Lord Lager has captured Harrison . We have good reason to believe that the leaders of the gang are from Mountain View. Harrison didn’t think he’d have to worry about being arrested by Lord Lager’s guard because you would be there to help him.”
Sam told both men the story, and Bentwick pushed out his lower lip. “We will have to go to Mountain View immediately, but I warn you, there are protocols I might have to follow if Dimple has been arrested by Lager’s guard. You can tell me your information on the way.” Bentwick looked at Chief Constable Pear. “I think we have concluded our business well enough. I’ll go directly to Baskin from Mountain View once I have Harrison’s situation sorted out.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
~
S AM APPROACHED THE SMITHY WITH TREPIDATION. He stepped inside the gate, listening to the ringing of his father’s hammer. He went into the shed and watched his father work with Tru. Mark wasn’t around, thank goodness.
Emmy finally barked at the sound, and it stopped. Father and son turned. Their eyes grew when they recognized Sam.
“Son, I thought I’d never see you again.”
Sam smiled. “I won’t be here long enough for a visit, but I can say hello.”
“You look older,” Tru said.
Sam chuckled. “I’ve been through a bit since I last saw you. I finally found an apprenticeship. I’ll be heading to Baskin after some business in Mountain View.”
“Business in Mountain View,” a voice said from behind him. Mark pushed him to the ground. “You aren’t worthy to have business anywhere. I thought we were rid of you,” he said.
Emmy growled. It was deep-throated and menacing.
“Is he yours?”
“She is mine,” Sam said. He pulled his sword. “And I’ve learned how to use this.”
“Impossible,” Mark said, backing away.
“Improbable,” Sam said, “but it’s true. I fought in the north alongside Harrison Dimple.”
“The healer?” Rolph Smith, Sam’s father, said. “He can use a sword?”
“He used to be a soldier.”
“I can’t believe this,” Mark said, staring at Emmy.
“You mentioned an apprenticeship?” Rolph said.
A carriage rolled up to the gate.
“All done, Sam? We don’t have any time to lose,” Chief Constable Bentwick said walking into the yard.
“I am the Chief Constable’s apprentice when we reach Baskin.”
“Doing what?” Mark said. “Polishing constables’ swords?”
“He will learn to be a snoop,” Bentwick said. “Sam has already shown the ability to do well in the Royal Co
nstabulary.”
“We can live together in Baskin, then!” Tru said.
“I need a place for Emmy. If that works for you, I guess we can,” Sam said.
Tru hugged his brother. “I’m leaving in a few days. If you are going to be a snoop, then it’s up to you to find a place for both, no, all three of us.”
“I’m proud of you, Sam.” Rolph hugged his son.
“The wand, including the accessories you gave me saved my life and brought me Emmy,” Sam said. “I do have to go. Harrison Dimple has walked into some difficulties in Mountain View. Chief Constable Bentwick is needed to help him get back to Cherryton.”
“Thank you for letting me see you again,” Rolph said. He put his hand on Sam’s shoulder. “I wish you luck.”
“So you should. When the full story of the northern revolt comes out, remember that Sam was in the middle of it.” Bentwick turned to Sam. “Tie your horse to the carriage.”
Sam did so. He ushered Emmy into the carriage. Two constables inside yelped as the dog settled down between them. Bentwick laughed while Sam apologized for his dog and off they went. Sam stuck his head out of the carriage and waved.
~
Bentwick walked out of the inn on their last stop before Mountain View. He sat down at a table and waved the other two constables away. “Do you have any idea what we will do when we reach Mountain View later today? I can’t charge into the lord’s keep and demand Harrison.”
“You can’t?”
Bentwick shook his head. “I said there are protocols that I have to follow, especially where the nobility is concerned. Lennard Lager is hardly noble, but he is the town lord. Even as Chief Constable, if I make a misstep, I could be dismissed.”
“I didn’t know.”
“You do now.”
“Then I will see Lord Lennard on my own,” Sam said. “Harrison and I had dinner with him, and Emmy was Lord Lennard’s dog. He said he won her gambling from a merchant.”
“If you can see him without being arrested yourself,” Bentwick said. “Could he be implicated in the rebellion?”
“Is that what you are calling the Shovel Vale gangs?”
Bentwick nodded. “General Torrent wanted it called the Northern Rebellion, so it will be in the history books.”
