Doctor Durand looked miserable, his long mustache drooping tragically. "Captain Pam, I am most terribly embarrassed. I hold myself completely responsible. It was I who thought we could trust the man who did this. He appeared to be an honest young sailor to my eyes, pressed into service against his will as I was."
"It isn't your fault, Doc. You're not a mind reader. That snake Toulon must havemade the kid an offer he couldn't refuse." She turned back to the sweating Marine, who looked somewhat relieved that his captain had grown calmer. "What happened next, Ulf?" she asked him, patting his hand in a comforting manner. He breathed out a nervous breath, and continued.
"They made their way down to the beach where the traitor had a longboat waiting, one of Ide's tenders. It was big enough to hold them, and seaworthy enough. We figure they're heading to Isle Saint Marie, that's where they say Toulon has his pirate base."
Captain Lundkvist stepped forward, his new polished wood peg leg giving him a very maritime air.
"The Effrayant can be ready to pursue within the hour. We can still catch them!"
Pam shook her head. "I appreciate your gumption, but it would be searching for a needle in a hay stack. We need Effrayant here to protect us. If Toulon is foolish enough to come try us, we'll finish him for good. One day, when Swedish power has grown strong enough here, I intend to go burn their little pirate paradise to the ground, and you and your ship will be leading the way, I promise! All I ask is that you save Capitaine Toulon de Aquitane for me.I intend to kill that fucker with my own hands, for Bengta and all the others. His ass is mine."
Pam glared so fiercely into the distance that Gerbald was pretty sure the escaped pirate would feel a tingling at the nape of his neck, wherever he was.
After a long, glowering silence, Pam shrugged, shaking off her frustration and anger.
"Well, that's that, business for another day. Now, we need to get ready for the town meeting, and before noon or not, I need a drink. Any takers?
All the men breathed a collective sigh of relief to see the storm had passed. They gathered around the big, red-lacquered table while Pam uncorked a jug of rice wine, pouring it into the small ceramic cups the Chinese used for such occasions.
"To our enemies!" Pam raised her drink in salute "May they lose sleep wondering when we will come for them."
Chapter Sixty-nine: We Are Gathered Here
The meeting hall wasn't finished yet, so that balmy afternoon the entire colony gathered in the great meadow above town. A podium had been erected, on which Pam, and various other luminaries of the colony, stood smiling at the people, who smiled encouragingly back. Pam usually got the butterflies when facing a crowd, but today she felt confident; these were friends, and they had all been through much together. "People of Port Looking Glass, thank you for coming today!" She spoke in Swedish, which she had become close to fluent in over the course of their journey. Her voice came out clear, and was aided in its course over the crowd by a light breeze off the Indian Ocean. The new Dutch members of the colony looked on politely. They would be provided with a full translation later.
She opened up the small plastic container that she had guarded so carefully through shipwreck and battle, carefully pulling out the rolled-up paper within.
"I have here a proclamation written in Princess Kristina's own hand, and signed by her father, King Gustav Adolph the Second. It reads: 'I, Princess Kristina Augusta, do hereby, and with my father's blessings, claim the islands known up-time as the Mascarenes for the crown of Sweden. They shall henceforth be called the Wonderland Isles. Mauritius, Rodriguez, and Reunion, are renamed, respectively, Dodo, Jabberwocky, and Bandersnatch, in honor of the works of Lewis Carroll, from whence the inspiration for this colony came.'"
Pam paused, having expected the confused blinks from the crowd. "Folks, I know the names sound strange, but they are from one of the princess' favorite storybooks. As brilliant as she is, she is still a child, so let's humor her, all right?"
Good-natured laughter emanated from the crowd along with murmurs of approval. Pam shared a smile with them and continued on.
"I hope this next part won't be too shocking for you! The princess goes on to say 'I also hereby proclaim expedition leader Pamela Grace Miller of Grantville as Governor of the Wonderland Isles for a period of two years, after which you may hold elections in the American style, and choose your own leaders.'"
Pam paused, giving the crowd a long, serious look.
"I will not hold you to this, but if you will have me, I will serve," she told them. The crowd sent up a great cheer, hailing their new governor with unmistakable enthusiasm. Pam nodded her thanks, then continued on once the hubbub calmed down.
"There is a bit more here, and it's important: 'Please be good to the wildlife of these islands, especially the dodo. As a Wonderland citizen it is your duty to preserve and protect nature; including all native plants and creatures. By living in harmony with the good, green Earth I believe you shall become the healthiest, and hopefully, the wealthiest of all people. Good luck to you all, and God bless you, I pray that you are successful in this great endeavor, and wish you all the best.'" Pam looked back at the crowd, who applauded with vigor.
Pam spoke again, moving on to the brief speech she herself had prepared.
"My fellow Wonderlanders!" The crowd clapped at this, and more cheers went up."My first act as governor is to ask you to select a deputy governor from amongst yourselves to join me." This was met with more applause.
"You have suffered much, and weathered great hardship! You are the bravest of the brave! The scoundrels who held us hostage have forced us to change our plans somewhat, but we are adapting. We have sugar cane and potatoes in abundance already, and that is just the beginning! By this time next year we willbe the 'Spice Basket of Europe,' which will make us all very rich indeed! We are a free people, we work for ourselves, and each other! Together, we will build the most successful colony the world has ever seen! Thank you all!"
Pam bowed, smiled, and waved at the exuberant crowd in what she hoped was proper public official style, hoping that their pleasure would last when it came time to enforce certain laws protecting the island's unique natural heritage. Hopefully, her plans for relatively non-invasive agriculture and forest management would indeed be as lucrative as she thought they would. She sighed and thought, We will just have to cross that bridge when we come to it.
Chapter Seventy: The Ships Come In
One Year Later
Pam came out of her office/laboratory, a very functional, peaked roofed, rectangular building on the edge of the forest, painted the same deep red as nearly everything else in Port Looking Glass. Gerbald had soon dubbed it "Pam's Bird Barn." The moniker had stuck to the point where she had given in, and neatly painted it over the door.
Pam was on her way to check on the new rice paddies, part of the agricultural bounty they had traded for with a group of Japanese refugees on their way to Grantville. The very unexpected visitors had stopped for supplies four months before, fleeing an unfriendly situation in Cambodia. She shook her head in amazement at the memory; this really was a Wonderland. There she had been,pow-wowing with real live samurai straight out of Clavell! That unexpected visit was quite a story, but one for another day. There was no time to reminisce at the moment, she was just too damn busy. She often wished that there were two of her, one to play governor, the other to be the scientist.
The rice paddies were terraced along a stream that ran out into the placid waters of Looking Glass Bay. A few of the Japanese families had elected to stay at her invitation, and Pam was pleased that her colony was becoming truly multicultural. The "American Way" they had brought back through the centuries was alive and well here in the Indian Ocean, of all places. Pam was damn proud, her plans were literally bearing fruit, far more than she had even hoped for. An older fellow named Hironaka, their designated rice expert, hailed her from the low, earthen wall that held the paddy's water in. Pam waved at him, then realized he was pointing emph
atically, motioning for her to look to the harbor. Just then the town alarm bells sounded. Pam turned to see Effrayant leaving her moorage, hurrying out to meet the small fleet of unknown sailing vessels heading their way. Muskijl and Second Chance Bird followed, entering into a defensive formation with Effrayant, implementing their oft-practiced plan for unexpected sea invasion. Pam gave Hironaka a quick bow. It was impossible not to pick up the habit from her congenial new Japanese friends, and began running up the beach toward the pier.
There were at least nine ships, the one in the lead looked to be a warship large enough to give even fearsome Effrayant trouble. Pam paused to catch her breath, breaking out the small birding scope she kept on a leather thong around her neck. Forcing herself to breathe slowly and deeply, she focused on the big ship. Yes, banks of guns, but no sign of firing crews making ready. She caught a glimpse of gold and blue, biting her lip, she scanned the rigging. There! Pam laughed aloud with delight. The ship was flying the Swedish colors! She began running again, her nerves buzzing with excitement. They had been visited by merchant ships from several nations over the last year, but this was the first time a ship from home had come!
The waterfront was filling up with interested colonists. They made way for her, and as she hurried out onto the pier, Pers came running to meet her.
"They're friendly, right?" she called out. One never could be too sure.
"Pam! They are from Sweden!" Pers replied, a gleeful expression on his youthful face. He would turn nineteen soon. To further reassure her, the "all's well" bell rang on Effrayant.
"Not all of them. Recognize that flag?" Pam pointed at one of the five ships making their way carefully into the harbor under escort from their defenders.
"She is flying what looks to be a naval ensign, red with a black saltire cross bearing gold stars. That's a ship from the United States of Europe!"
"Well, howdy doody. I wondered when someone might come to check on us." She took Pers by the arm and said, "Shall we go say hello?"
"Yes, ma'am, t'would be a pleasure!" Pers answered in his best West Virginia drawl; he was almost as good as Gerbald now, who surpassed even most hillbillies in his mastery of the accent.
The commander of the port shore guard, Lieutenant Jarv, one of the Muskijl's Marines who had helped rescue her from the kidnappers, were waiting at the end of the pier with some of his men. They took up a protective position around Pam, who was embarrassed at the fuss but thanked them politely. The ship came closer, a three-masted caravel. It was quite well-armed, and even boasted the same kind of carronade that perched menacingly on Second Chance Bird's deck. Anyone trying to board her might not live long enough to regret it.
Dore had been left ashore when the big, comfortable junk that served as their home headed out to meet the newcomers, captained by Pam's paramour, Captain Torbjorn and their faithful bosun, Nils. Dore joined Pam, eyes squinting in the tropical sunlight. She spent most of her time cooking for the sailors in the domain that she ruled with an iron fist, the ship's galley.
"All this fuss! I was about to bake potato flour biscuits!" Dore was always certain to be put out at being separated from her work, which she treated with a profound sense of duty and dignity, as if it were a holy calling.
"Visitors from the old country," Pam said, without as much enthusiasm as she might have expected. Now that the initial excitement had worn off, she knew she must put on her governor hat. It would be a shame having to deal with a bunch of nosy officials on such a nice day; she was behind in organizing her field notes on the dodos, and their island's unique eco-system, and resented an unannounced distraction. Even so, she put on her best official smile, and waved to the ships now tying up to the pier.
Aboard the caravel, which she could now see bore the name Linn?us, a crowd of around twelve eager-looking young people in their late teens gathered at the rail, their faces bright and excited. A pert young woman with a magnificent head of curly brown hair and an air of confidence organized them all into a line. She then marched them down the gangway to stand before Pam and her guard. Out of the corner of her eye, Pam noticed that her adopted son Pers was staring at the attractive leader of their visitors as if she were Helena of Troy come to life before his very eyes. Oh, brother, I know that look, and they call it puppy love!
"Welcome to Port Looking Glass and the Wonderland Colony," Pam said to the young lady, who might be as old as twenty, and who was obviously the one in charge of this gang. "I'm Governor Pam Miller."
The young woman's large, hazel eyes widened as if she was meeting a movie star. "The Bird Lady of Grantville! I've been looking so forward to meeting you, you are our inspiration!" The girl's English was slightly accented, but otherwise quite clear.
"That's me, I guess." Pam rolled her eyes at that damned "bird lady" moniker as she always did. Apparently she wasn't ever going to be able to shake it, no matter what her current title and station. The young woman, now looking a bit embarrassed at her initial starstruck reaction, straightened up and stuck her hand out in the American style, which Pam took. They shook vigorously, the kid had a good, strong grip, and Pam felt herself beginning to like her already, despite her secret wish that they would all haul anchor and go back to where they had come from.
"I am very honored to meet you, Governor Pam! I am Dorothea Weise, a student from the Katharina von Bora College in Quedlinburg. My companions come from various higher learning institutions around Europe, and we represent a variety of subjects we thought might be useful to your efforts-botany, geology, animal husbandry, biology, just to name a few! We have all come to assist you in your work here!"
It was Pam's turn to look goggle-eyed. Assistants? Someone to help with the mountain of scientific work she faced? Even so, they were all so young!
"Pardon me for saying so, but don't you have a teacher, or someone older with you?"
"Oh, of course! We are led by Professor Horst Altmann of the University of Jena."
"Well, where is he?"
"Unfortunately, the sea voyage did not agree with him. He is quite ill and abed in his cabin. We are very worried about him."
"I'll send our doctor to check on him right away."
Pam felt a bit flummoxed by this unexpected development. A helpful boon? A potential huge pain in the ass? Taking a deep breath, she regained her composure and managed to ask, "Who sent you?"
"Princess Kristina! She is our main sponsor!"
Pam looked northwest-ward in roughly the direction the USE might lie, and muttered "Thanks, Princess! Just what I need is a bunch of kids to look after!" The students, none a day over twenty-one, blinked at her like a pack of confused puppies, unsure and eager to please. She turned back to them and regarded them skeptically for a moment, but then her stern expression softened to a smile.
"Oh well, you may just prove to be useful. Ms. Weise, you and your group are now the Wonderland Colonial Natural Resource and Wildlife Service." She handed the stack of field notes she had been carrying to the erstwhile brunette. "You are obviously a natural leader, so I'm making you the director of said service. You shall report directly to me."
The young woman looked stunned, then a bit embarrassed. "Shouldn't such a high office go to Professor Altman? That would surely be the proper thing."
"On this island, I'm the one who decides what's proper. First, I have to see if I like him or not. Don't worry, I'll give him a title too, and hope he proves useful. But, since he's sick, and you are very plainly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, I'll start with you. Your offices and laboratories are over there." She pointed to her labs up on the hill behind town, backed by tall, graceful native trees. "We will have to build some expansions. We can get started on that tomorrow. Read those notes, it's a good place to start." All the students and their newly-designated director nodded enthusiastically, murmuring their thanks.
Pam realized that Pers was still standing beside her with his eyes only for the fetching Dorothea Weise, and gave him a quick elbow before he started drooling. A really won
derful idea occurred to her then.
"Director Weise, this is my adopted son and personal assistant, Second Mate Pers of the Royal Swedish Navy, serving in Wonderland's defensive squadron."
Pers turned to her, stunned at his own sudden promotion. Pam gave him a quick grin and whispered in Swedish "You earned it, sweetie." Turning back to her new helpers, she continued in English, "I am now assigning Pers to be my liaison to your department. To start with, he can escort you to temporary quarters. If you don't speak Swedish, you will need to learn it. Pers will see to your instruction,he speaks fluent English, Thuringian-style German, and a bit of French."
Dorothea was visibly impressed by this, which made Pers look as if he might faint. He stood frozen in place until Dore gave him a gentle shove from behind. Blushing uncontrollably, he stepped forward and bowed to the pretty new director. The young woman shook his hand while favoring him with a bright smile, which made him turn an even brighter shade of scarlet. The smitten lad managed to find his voice, asking them in English, "Follow me, please," before turning on his heels and marching up the pier toward shore at a considerable speed.
Despite her natural confidence, Dorothea was looking a bit overcome by all this. She paused to thank Pam breathlessly for her kind welcome before leading her group in pursuit of Pers lengthy stride. Pam watched them as they went, grinning like a fool. Well, this may turn out to be a good thing indeed.
Lieutenant Jarv and his men were all chuckling amongst themselves, making bets on how long it would take the new second mate to raise his flag on that piece of lovely German territory he had found. Pam couldn't help but chuckle herself, then saw Captain Lundkvist leading a group from the Swedish warship toward her.
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