by John Wilcox
Simon and Alice exchanged glances. ‘You could skipper this ship to Durban, couldn’t you?’
The young man grinned. ‘Of course I could. But I doubt if the owners would let me. Haven’t got the right certificates, y’see.’
‘Well. What about if I sent them a long cable, explaining just how cool you have been in this whole matter, how well you have skippered the ship from here to Singapore – you will do it consummately well, won’t you?’
Dixon’s grin widened. ‘Oh, absolutely consummately.’
‘Good. I shall say we are in a great hurry to get to Durban, which is true, and offer them another two hundred pounds if they will let you take charge for the next leg of the voyage – there shouldn’t be any blasted pirates in those waters, should there?’
‘No. Not if we keep well to the south.’
‘Splendid. I shall suggest they let you hire your own first and second officers in Singapore and enable us to get on our way as soon as the police allow. I shall say that, as an experienced military officer and hardened sailor, I have complete faith in you. Will they do it?’
Dixon blew out his cheeks. ‘Gosh. It’s certainly worth a try.’
‘And I presume that a voyage in command will stand you in good stead when you come up for your ticket? Yes?’
‘Certainly should do – if I don’t fluff the examination.’
‘Good. Well that’s settled.’
The three exchanged grins and shook hands. From the stern, the sounds of two voices raised in a less than tuneful version of ‘Men of Harlech’ floated on the otherwise soft air of the South China Sea.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am grateful to my good friend and neighbour, Neil Pattenden, former Lieutenant Commander RN, who carefully weeded out the landlubberly expressions in my first draft and replaced them with suitably nautical words and phrases.
Also to my friend Simon Tompsett, who said one day, ‘Why don’t you write a story about pirates?’
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ALSO AVAILABLE IN THE SIMON FONTHILL SERIES
WAR OF THE DRAGON LADY
FIRE ACROSS THE VELDT
BAYONETS ALONG THE BORDER
STARSHINE
About the Author
According to author JOHN WILCOX, an inability to do sums and a nascent talent to string words together steered him towards journalism – that and the desire to wear a trench coat, belted with a knot, just like Bogart. After a number of years working as a journalist, he was lured into industry. In the mid-nineties he sold his company in order to devote himself to his first love, writing. He has now published, to high acclaim, ten Simon Fonthill novels, one Fonthill short story and two works of non-fiction, including an autobiography.
www.johnwilcoxauthor.co.uk
By John Wilcox
The War of the Dragon Lady
Fire Across the Veldt
Bayonets Along the Border
Pirates - Starboard Side!
(a short story)
Starshine
THE WAR OF THE DRAGON LADY
China, 1900. The Boxers, a cult of young peasants who blame the foreign barbarians living in their country for the nation’s ills, are rampaging through the country. China’s Dowager Empress – ‘The Dragon Lady’ – secretly encourages them.
Into this maelstrom land former captain and army scout Simon Fonthill, his wife Alice and ‘352’ Jenkins, Fonthill’s former batman and trusted comrade. In China visiting Alice’s uncle, a country missionary, they find themselves threatened by the Boxers, and must escort the missionary and his family to the safety of Peking.
When the party reaches Peking, however, they discover that the capital is no sanctuary. The legations of foreign ministers within the city are surrounded and the Siege of Peking begins. Fonthill, Jenkins and Chang, the missionary’s adopted son, volunteer to slip through the enemy lines to bring help. It proves to be Fonthill’s most dangerous mission yet …
FIRE ACROSS THE VELDT
South Africa, 1900. When the bloody conflict between the British forces and the Boer farmers seemed at last to have ended in victory, fast-riding Boer commandos emerged with a new type of warfare – hit-and-run guerrilla tactics, fought across the veldt and leaving the British ‘Khakis’ plodding and bruised in their wake.
British General Kitchener persuades Simon Fonthill, fresh from his triumphs in China’s Boxer Rebellion, to divert to Cape Town and fight the Boers at their own game. So Fonthill finds himself reinstated in the British Army as the colonel of his own cavalry unit. Can he adapt to regular soldiering again – and will he be able to catch and pin down those elusive Boer Generals, Louis Botha and Christiaan de Wet?
BAYONETS ALONG THE BORDER
North-West India, July 1897. Simon and Alice Fonthill are travelling with their old friend Jenkins to Marden for a 50th anniversary party with the Guides Corps. What begins as a peaceful journey becomes a dangerous battle as they find themselves ambushed by four Pathans. On arrival at Marden, their suspicions of conflict are confirmed as they are told of fresh trouble from the Pathans leading Simon and his comrade, 352 Jenkins, to join the charge in protecting a nearby fort.
Afterwards, their respite is short-lived when Simon is tasked by Viceroy Elgin to deliver a very important letter to the Amir in Kabul. For her safety, Alice only travels as far as fort Landi Kotal in the Khyber Pass. But strife prevails throughout the land; tribe fights with tribe and every man is a soldier ready to bloody his hands. Undertaking his mission in Kabul, Fonthill learns from the Amir that an army is heading towards the Pass to seize the forts and will undoubtedly leave most for dead.
Can Fonthill and Jenkins battle their way back across the Pass to the fort? And will they make it in time to rescue Alice or will the merciless Pathans get there first?
STARSHINE
1914. As British forces are desperately attempting to hold off the German invasion of France, Jim Hickman and Bertie Murphy are plunged into this nightmare. Loyal friends since childhood, the pair have done everything together, from falling in love with the same girl to enlisting when the war began.
But while Jim receives honour after honour, Bertie struggles to deal with the mindless slaughter around him. And back in their home town of Birmingham, their beloved Polly must find a way to choose between the two men …
‘A thought-provoking and atmospheric read … recommended’
Historical Novels Review
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
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Issued in Great Britain by Allison & Busby in 2014.
Copyright © 2014 by JOHN WILCOX
The moral right of the author is hereby asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All characters and events in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
ISBN 978–0–7490–1650–0
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