by Simon Hawke
Carruthers sighed heavily. “I must confess that I probably would not. I have a family to think of?
“You see?” said Lucas, “Do not blame yourself. Mr. Carruthers. No one can blame a man for thinking of the welfare of his family. And it is for the sake of the welfare of our families that something must be done about these people. I don’t know how other. Think, but as for myself. I am encouraged that there are men in Boston who are willing to take a stand on the side of justice and do what must be done. We had begun to think that there were no men of courage left in these colonies. I am glad to discover we were wrong.”
“You are a man after my own heart, sir.” Hewitt said. “Will you and your two friends do me the honor of having a drink with me?”
“Thank you, it would be our pleasure.” Lucas said.
Carruthers pushed his chair back and got up. “Forgive me, gentlemen,” he said, “but I cannot in good conscience lift my glass to toast a lynching. I may not have a ready answer to your arguments, but I cannot believe that there is not a better way to solve our problems. May God help us all if them is not. Good night to you.”
Hewitt shook his head as Carruthers left. “Do not think ill of him. gentlemen.” he said, as they joined him at the table. “He means well.”
“I am sure he does.” said Lucas. “I cannot fault him for his principles. I only regret that he has not the backbone to stand up and fight for them.”
“Would you?” said Hewitt. “Be willing to fight. I mean?”
Lucas grimaced. “I was willing to fight, for all the good it did me.” he said, improvising as he went along. “To protest the Stamp Act, I was asked to join a boycott against British goods. If you can call it asking, that is, when they give you no other choice. I sought to reason with them. I am only a simple shopkeeper. I told them. How would my refusing to sell my customers the goods they wished to purchase solve the problem of the Stamp Act? And why, should I refuse them? If a woman wished to purchase silk imported from Great Britain, how could selling her that silk be treason to the colonies? Whom would it hurt if I chose not to sell it to her? Would it hurt the ministry? Or would it not hurt my customer and my own profit, which I have a right to? And what about the British goods I had in storage, which I had paid good money for? What was I to do with those? How could I conduct my business if I could not sell the goods that I had purchased? Would Parliament repeal the Stamp Tax simply because I was losing money?”
“And how did they respond?” said Hewitt.
“Need you ask’?” Lucas replied. “They threatened me. We had words and I told them to get out. It almost came to blows, but they left, warning me that I would soon have cause to reconsider. I feared there would be trouble, so that night I slept inside my shop. My partner, Finn. and Andrew slept upstairs. Sometime past midnight, I was awakened by my windows being shuttered. Finn and Andrew heard the noise and they ran down to help me, but there were just too many of them. They covered their faces, or blackened them with soot so that they could not be recognized, but I knew they were the same men who had threatened me earlier that day. We tried to fight them, but it was no use. Andrew had his nose bloodied and his head cut, Finn was knocked down, senseless, and I was seized and held with my arms pinned behind my back, forced to watch as they ransacked our wares and destroyed our shop. We lost everything.”
“Damn the bastards!” Hewitt said.
“Aye, damn them, indeed.” said Finn, following Priest’s lead. “What they didn’t break, they stole. What they didn’t steal, they threw out into the street and burned. We hoped to make up some of our losses by selling the goods we had stored in the warehouse, but seeing the damage done to our shop, our customers stayed away. They were afraid to be seen buying goods from traitors! We were forced to sell what we had left in storage to other merchants, who had agreed to join the boycott and planned to keep the goods in storage until the boycott ended. We could not afford to do that, so we were forced to sell our goods in storage at a loss and leave New York.”
“Shameful.” Hewitt said. “Shameful, indeed.”
“Things are not much better in the other colonies,” said Lucas. “There are even more radicals in Rhode Island than in New York, but at least here in Boston, you seem to have men with the courage to stand up to them.”
“I’d like to shake their hands, whoever they may be,” said Andre.
“I only wish that I’d been there to help them” said Delaney.
“Perhaps, next time, you can.” said Hewitt. He leaned toward them and lowered his voice. Have you heard of the headless horseman’?”
Lucas frowned, “The headless horseman?”
“There are those who say he is a ghost.” said Hewitt. “He rides at night, on a black stallion. He appears out of nowhere, strikes out at the Sons of Liberty, and then disappears again without a trace.”
“What sort of joke is this?” asked Finn.
“The four men found hanging in the Common this morning did not think it was a joke.” said Hewitt.
“Who is this horseman?” Andre asked.
“No one knows,” said Hewitt. “But word has it that he leads a band of men known as the Hellfire Club, loyal subjects of King George, who are not afraid to do what must be done to bring law and order hack to Boston. And word has it that there is room among that hand of men for those with the courage to join them.”
“Where can these men be found?” asked Lucas.
“I have heard.” said Hewitt, “that there is a certain country chapel where they meet. In fact, I have been curious to go myself to their next meeting. Perhaps you would like to come along?”
They exchanged glances.
“Yes,” said Lucas, with a smile “Yes, I think we’d like that very much. indeed.”
5
They took two rooms upstairs at the inn, one for Lucas and one for Finn and Andre, since Andre was posing as his “ward.” The bed was barely large enough for Delaney alone, so no one thought it was unusual when they asked to have a cot brought in for “young Andrew.”
“One of us should go and tell Hunter what’s going on.” said Andre.
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” said Lucas “I can clock on over there and be back in-”
“No. I don’t think that would be such a good idea.” Andre said. “I was thinking maybe I should walk over there alone.”
Lucas frowned. “Why?”
“For all we know, Adams is still having us watched,” she said. “If that’s the case, then one of us should be seen going over to Hunter’s. That way, we’ll appear to be doing exactly what we said we’d do.”
“She’s got a point.” Delaney said, nodding. “Besides,” said Andre, “I’d like to find out if they’re still keeping tabs on us. We’ve got no idea what to expect from this scenario. If I spot anyone following me, I don’t want to have to wonder if it’s someone Adams sent or somebody else. I can flush a tail much better on my own than with you two along and it would look less conspicuous, if only one of us left to meet with Hunter. We need to convince Adams that we know what we’re doing and that we can be trusted, otherwise we’re liable to be tripping over Sons of liberty everywhere we go.”
“Okay.” said Lucas. “I guess you’re right. But be careful. The streets of Boston aren’t safe after dark these days.
She grinned at him. “I learned how to take care of myself long before I met you. Lucas.” she said. “But I appreciate the thought. See you guys in a while.”
She picked up her coat and hat and left the room. Delaney went over to the window and pulled the curtain back slightly so he could look out into the street below. A few moments later, he saw Andre come out into the street. He continued to watch. Several seconds later, someone came out after her and quickly crossed the street, keeping to the shadows, heading in the same direction.
“She was right.” Delaney said. “Adams still has somebody watching us.”
“Was it Revere?” Lucas said, joining him at the window.
“I
couldn’t tell for sure.” Delaney said, letting the curtain fall back into position and turning around. “Could’ve been someone else, I-”
He suddenly threw himself to one side, hit the floor and rolled, coming up to a kneeling position with his pistol cocked and ready.
“Well, that was certainly amusing,” Dr. Darkness said. “What will you do for your next trick?”
“He had appeared sitting in the wooden chair across the room, with his legs crossed casually and a heavy blackthorn walking stick held across his lap. He was dressed in dark brown tweeds and a long, brown Inverness wool coat, which he wore unbuttoned. He wore a heavy gold watch chain in his tweed vest and a paisley silk ascot loosely tied around his neck. A brown fedora was tilted rakishly low over his right eye. They could see the back of the chair right through him. He seemed to flicker like a ghost on a television screen, parts of his body appearing solid one moment and transparent the next, the result of his atomic structure having been permanently tachyonized, making him “the man who was faster than light.”
Delaney exhaled heavily and lowered the hammer on the gun. “Christ, Doc. I wish to hell you wouldn’t do that!”
“What did you expect me to do, Delaney, come to the door and knock?” said Darkness. “Somehow I don’t think you’d enjoy explaining to the locals what a ghost was doing knocking on your door in the middle of the night.”
Delaney got up and put away the pistol.
“I always did rather enjoy Boston,” Darkness said, pushing his hat back on his head, “but not during this particular time period. Another hundred years or so and it will be a worthwhile place to spend a weekend.” He reached inside his coat and produced a bottle of wine. “I took the liberty of bringing this up from the wine cellar.” he said. “Not exactly your California red. but I suppose it will do if you’re not terribly particular.
He tossed the bottle to Delaney. Finn caught it one-handed and went over to the sideboard, where they had a decanter and some glasses.
“Come to check up on the old prototype, eh. Dec.” said Lucas. wryly.
“No, I just happened to be passing through this century and I thought I’d stop by for a drink,” said Darkness, sarcastically Delaney held a glass of wine out to him and Darkness negligently reached for it. His hand passed right through it. Delaney almost dropped the glass. Darkness frowned and grunted with annoyance. He reached for the glass again, this time more deliberately, and succeeded in taking it from Delaney’s hand.
“It’s getting much worse, isn’t it?” said Lucas.
“Well, it isn’t getting any better,” Darkness said, “How about you? Any problems?”
“So far, so good,” said Lucas.
“Taken any unscheduled trips lately?” Darkness asked. Lucas grimaced. “Not lately, no. I try not to allow myself to have any stray thoughts about specific times and places. I do my best to keep my mind on the here and now, wherever the here and now might be.”
“Don’t you find that a bit of a strain?” asked Darkness.
“It was a hell of a strain at first, but it seems to be getting easier. I guess my concentration is improving.”
“What about when you go to bed at night? Don’t you find your mind wandering? Do you have nightmares?”
“I meditate,” said Lucas. “I try to focus my mind. Like I said, it seems to be getting eater. I haven’t had any nightmares for a while. At least, none I can remember. And I keep waking up in the same place, which seems rather encouraging.”
“Yes, it certainly does,” said Darkness. “Perhaps you’re finally getting used to it. On the other hand, perhaps its because you’re exercising greater mental discipline. One would think that would go by the boards when you fell asleep.. unless you’re conditioning yourself with some sort of auto-suggestion through your meditation.” He frowned, it would be just like you to find a way to screw up the field testing by exercising greater self-control.”
“Well, excuse me all to hell,” said Lucas, sourly.
“You’re missing the point. Priest,” Darkness said. “While it is certainly laudable that you’re working to improve your already considerable powers of concentration, it is nevertheless not the object of this exercise.” “Oh, it’s an exercise?” said Lucas. “Forgive me. I thought we were talking about my life here.”
“Which. I will remind you, I had gone to particular trouble to preserve,” said Darkness. “The point is that an infant does not learn to walk by using various objects to steady itself. At some point, it has to let go and fall down a few times.”
“Yeah, well, if I should happen to ‘fall down,’ as you put it,” Lucas said, “I’ll wind up in some other time period, possibly in a highly unpleasant situation. And in case it’s escaped your notice, we’re on a mission here. I don’t exactly have the time for any side trips.”
“Your mission here is only of secondary importance,” Darkness said. “The telempathic temporal transponder will revolutionize time travel, but the field testing has to be completed first. That is the primary consideration, above everything else.”
“To you, maybe,” Lucas said. “To me, the primary consideration is staying in control. One slip and I’m liable to pop off to some other century. You have any idea what it’s like having to live with that?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” said Darkness. “I have to live with the fact that I may discorporate at any time and cease to exist… or exist everywhere at once. Becoming some sort of cosmic phenomenon was never my ambition. Priest, but it was the price I had to pay in order to perfect the device I’ve given you.”
“Well, forgive me if I’m not suitably grateful.” Lucas said, “but I never asked to be your guinea pig.”
“I don’t expect your thanks,” said Darkness.
“My thanks? For what? For playing God with my life?” Lucas snorted. “Christ, Darkness, your arrogance is simply unbelievable!”
“Arrogance?” said Darkness. “Mine is the greatest scientific mind in the history of temporal physics. That isn’t arrogance, it simply happens to be the truth. And there have been many times when I’ve wished it were not so. It’s an awesome burden. I must find a way to overcome the confluence phenomenon because. indirectly, it was my work that brought it about. In the meantime, it’s imperative to prevent the occurrence of a timestream split, because that could bring about a chain reaction of temporal disasters that nothing could overcome. The telempathic transponder is a vital element to maintaining the integrity of the timeline and you’re the key to its success. Your personal concerns are insignificant compared to that responsibility. I can’t afford to be concerned with individual sensitivities, Priest. There’s far too much at stake. The instability in the timestream is increasing because of the confluence phenomenon. We must
try to buy some time… before we literally run out of it.”
Lucas sighed. “All right. What do you want me to do?”
“Let go.” said Darkness. “Stop fighting it. You won’t be able to keep it up anyway. Sooner or later, you’re bound to succumb to the strain. The transponder is designed to function on conscious thought. You have to become adapted to it just as an infant must learn how to walk. Eventually, you should be able to control it as easily as you control your appendages. But you have to give yourself a chance to become accustomed to it. In order to learn how to exercise proper control, you must first take the risk of losing it.”
“And what happens if I lose it and translocate to some other time period right in the middle of a crisis, when my partners need me?” Lucas said.
“It’s a risk you’ll simply have to take.” Darkness replied. “If you can keep your head about you and refrain from panic, you should be able to return just as quickly. That’s the advantage of the telempathic transponder. You don’t have to waste time programming transition coordinates. It’s all designed into its particle-level chronicircuitry. Your thought triggers the process and the desired transition coordinates are automatically computed and selected. Don’t be afra
id of it, Priest. Give it a chance to serve you.”
“And what if it induces molecular instability?” asked Lucas.
“Highly unlikely.” Darkness said. “I believe I’ve solved that flaw in the process.”
“You beleive?” said Lucas. You mean you don’t know for sure?”
“I’m a scientist. Priest. I can never know anything for sure. What do you want, guarantees? There aren’t any in life.”
“Or in death, it seems,” said Lucas.
“I would strongly suggest that you stop agonizing over the metaphysical implications of your existence.” Darkness said. “Concentrate on what you know and leave eschatological questions to philosophers. Otherwise you’ll only give yourself an ulcer. My regards to Miss Crass.”
He disappeared.
“That man is a stone lunatic.” said Lucas. “Maybe.” said Delaney. “But like it or not, he also happens to be right. He does have the greatest scientific mind in the history of temporal physics. If I was in his shoes. I’d probably be a bit around the bend myself.”
“A bit around the bend?” said Lucas. “Hell, he is the bend.”
“Don’t think about Hell.” said Delaney, with a grin. “If you do, the transponder just might send you there.”
“Somehow I doubt that even Dr. Robert Darkness could have programmed those transition coordinates.” said Lucas, with a wry smile. “Although on the other hand. I’m not all that sum I’d be surprised.”
Andre had spotted her tail within four blocks. And she knew right away that it wasn’t Paul Revere. Whoever he was, he was very good. Revere had been clumsy in his shadowing attempts, but this man moved with a quick and silent grace, like a cat, keeping a careful distance and taking full advantage of the darkness. Several times, she had almost thought she lost him, but he was always there, dogging her heels persistently. She was almost to Hunter’s place on Long Lane when she decided to make her move.
