by Ben Hammott
Ebenezer shook his head to show his dismay, turned the handle to lock the door and spun the combination dial.
"Sir, you go first, then Lurch, Furtive and me at the rear. The wolf can go where it likes."
They headed toward the mine entrance a lot richer than when they entered.
Butler and Furtive were panting from the strain of pulling the crates by the time they reached the quarry exit.
Butler dropped the rope and glanced at the top of the wall. "I'll go up first to check all is clear. If it is, I'll lower the cage. Send up the gold first with Ebenezer, as he is the lightest, then Furtive and his crate and then you Lurch, with the last one."
Everyone except Lurch nodded their agreement.
"What about Wolfy?"
"Sorry, Lurch, what do you mean?" asked Butler.
"We can't leave him behind now we're all such good friends."
Butler glanced at Ebenezer, who shrugged in a non-committal manner.
"Well, I suppose if you want to keep him, Lurch, bring him up with you."
"I do, Sir, and I will. Thank you, Sir." He bent down to stroke his new pet, which wagged its tail excitedly.
Butler hoisted the cage to the top and stepped out. A glance toward the manor revealed a large pile of smoking stone and smouldering timber. Only one end wall remained standing to hint at what had been there before. Suddenly something prodded the small of his back. He turned his head to see one of Sebastian's men with his finger on the trigger of the pistol that had recently made its presence known.
Sebastian appeared out of the shadows with the rest of his armed men and smiled in a satisfied manner. "Hello, Butler."
"Hello, Mr. Sebastian! Are you out for a pleasant evening stroll?"
"I've yet to note anything pleasant about this evening so far, but I am hoping that is about to change. Did you find anything interesting down in the quarry?"
Butler shook his head casually. "Not anything you would be interested in, Mr. Sebastian."
"I think I will make up my own mind about that. If he tries to escape, shoot him." Sebastian walked to the edge of the wall and gazed down. "Hello, brother."
Ebenezer gazed up. "Sebastian!"
"We have Butler held at gunpoint so do exactly as I say or you know what will happen. I assume that's my inheritance in those crates."
"No, this is mine. I solved the clues and found it."
"A mere technicality I aim to ignore totally. Send up the crates and no one will be harmed."
"I'd rather die than let you have it" Ebenezer spat.
"If that is your wish, brother, it can easily be arranged, but others may also get hurt in the process." He waved some of the men forward and they aimed their weapons at those below."
Ebenezer knew he had no choice and reluctantly conceded. "Okay, Sebastian, you win. I'll send it up."
"I'll be waiting." He turned to one of his men. "Lower the cage and bring it up when the crates are aboard."
"Yes, Sir." The man went to carry out his orders.
"I must congratulate you on your efforts tonight, brother, you surprised me. Especially how you managed to make me believe the hunchback was working for me when he was all the time your man. Very clever."
"He was working for you, though not as you planned. He came to my house to steal the painting."
"You are lying, he was at the castle, supposedly guarding my painting, but he stole it instead."
"That wasn't Crakett, that was my man, Furtive, posing as Crakett. It was he who stole your painting."
"Even more impressive. So where is the real Crakett Murdersin?"
"Dead!"
Sebastian shrugged and smiled. "This night just keeps getting better. One less man to pay. Two if you count Shadow."
"Why, what happened to Shadow?" Ebenezer asked.
"Come now, Shadow was also working for you."
"Wrong again, brother. I've had no communication with this Shadow or laid eyes upon him."
"It matters not. Hopefully he was in the house when it went up in flames. Dead or alive, he's getting nothing from me."
A short distance away, Shadow narrowed her eyes and glared at Sebastian.
Sebastian excitedly watched Lurch load the first crate into the cage. He was eager to see what was inside.
"You have a fine bunch of men, Mr. Sebastian."
Sebastian glanced at his men and then at Butler. "They have their moments," he muttered disinterestedly.
"They couldn't have been cheap, fine men like this."
"Cheap enough," he mumbled.
Butler spoke to nearest man who aimed a pistol at his chest. "Now you, Sir, must be earning at least twenty pounds a day for work like this."
"Twenty!" scoffed the man. "I'd be so lucky."
"Oh," uttered Butler with feigned surprise. "Fifteen then?"
The man, somewhat disheartened, shook his head.
"Not ten?"
The man nodded.
"That's less the minimum going rate for a thug like your good self. Ten pounds! I've never heard the like, and on Christmas Eve. Perhaps you have been promised a Christmas bonus to make up for such a miserly wage, is that it?"
The man shook his head, "Not exactly, no."
Sebastian glared at Butler. "Stop it!"
Flint approached Butler. "Just out of interest, like, what's the going rate for the man in charge of this sort of operation?"
"With this many men under his control, minimum would be forty pounds a day, but I would expect him to be getting more."
"Forty! Not twenty then?"
"For all that responsibility, of course not. Your men should be getting at least twenty a day each."
"Shut up. Butler!" said Sebastian sternly.
"No, it's okay, Sir, I wanna hear what he has to say."
Shadow smiled, let the knife slip back into its sheaf and, with a certain amount of amusement, watched Butler's cunning tongue cause chaos in Sebastian's ranks.
"So Ebenezer pays more does he?" asked Flint.
"Of course, even though he's a miser like his brother, he knows the true value of those who work for him. I tell you, if you men had done such a good job such as you have tonight under his employment, with bonuses you would receive one thousand pounds each, two of course for you as the man in charge."
A shocked gasp of surprise rippled through Sebastian's men.
Sebastian approached Butler in a threatening manner. "I said shut up!"
Flint pointed his pistol at his employer. "Let's not be too hasty, Sir."
Sebastian froze.
Butler grinned. His plan was working. "In fact, if you and your men would switch sides, Mr. Ebenezer will pay each of you right now in cash a thousand pounds, two for you, Flint, and then you can go home and join your families and be with them when they wake on Christmas day."
"I'll match his offer and raise it ten pounds," said Sebastian reluctantly.
Butler noticed the faltering indecision on Flint's face. "Look, Flint, you don't know me, but you know Sebastian, a man, who if he told me the sky was blue and the grass was green I would nip outside to check. I am a worker like you and your men and I assure you I am a man you can trust and so is Ebenezer. I will not barter, I have said what each of you will be paid and I stand by that. It is up to you and your men to decide which of us you trust to actually give you the wage you deserve."
The men started talking amongst themselves. It was obvious a few moments later when they fell to silence and diverted their weapons at their previous employer, whose offer they had decided to accept.
Flint though kept his weapon trained on Butler. "Okay, Mr. Butler, the men have made their choice and I agree with them, but until we get paid, my gun stays aimed at you."
"You can't do this, Flint. We had an agreement. I'll pay you twice what Butler offered."
"Words from your mouth, Sebastian, are worthless, me and my men ain't, so shut up or face the consequences." He glanced at his men. "If he talks or moves, shoot him."
The sound of weapons being cocked spread through the men.
"I'll need to talk with Ebenezer to arrange your payment."
"I assure you, Butler, I have no problem with that." Flint motioned toward the wall with the weapon.
Butler walked over and peered into the quarry. "Hello, Sir."
"Butler, what's going on up there?"
"I'll explain in a minute, Sir, but first I need you to send up…" He looked at Flint. "How many men do you have?"
"Fourteen plus me."
Butler looked back at Ebenezer. "…Sixteen thousand pounds."
"Sixteen thousand pounds! Whatever for?"
"Please, Sir, I'll explain in a minute. I also need some rope. Furtive will have some."
"Will this do, Butler?"
Butler turned to see Furtive sitting on the wall with a glass of brandy in one hand and a lit cigar in the other, which also held a coil of rope.
"Where did you come from?" asked Flint in astonishment.
Furtive shrugged. "Somewhere and nowhere."
Flint had no idea what that meant.
Butler took the rope and passed it to Flint. "Your money's on the way." He pointed to the single tree that had not seen a leaf on its dead branches for a very long time. "Have one of your men tie Sebastian to that tree so he is facing the manor he burnt down."
Flint handed the rope to the nearest man who had heard Butler's instruction and he eagerly set off to complete the task.
Flint sniffed the air and checked his shoes.
"Okay, pull it up," called out Ebenezer.
The man at the hoist raised the cage.
Ebenezer stepped off a few moments later, shot a surprised glance at the bound form of his brother and then handed the banknotes to Butler. "What's going on?"
"In a minute, Sir." Butler handed the money to Flint, who promptly counted it, took out two of the high value banknotes for himself and passed the others around. When all had been paid he held out a hand. "Well, Mr. Butler, it's been a queer old night it has and I'm glad it's finally done with."
Butler shook the man's hand. "I know exactly what you mean."
Flint cocked his head to his former employer. "You okay with sorting him out?"
"Yes, Ebenezer and I will handle Mr. Sebastian."
"Okay, we'll be off. Some of us have a fair way to travel and there's a train due soon me and the men would like to be on. Merry Christmas, Mr. Butler, and thanks."
"Same to you, Flint, and Flint, I don't expect you or the men to ever return to Sebastian's employment."
"No need to fret about that, Sir. If I never set eyes on the man again it will be a day too soon and I'm certain the men are of a like mind." He doffed his hat to Ebenezer. "Merry Christmas, Mr. Drooge." He moved off and caught up with the men already walking off along the road. All were examining their banknotes, which until that moment had been nothing more than a myth.
"I tell yer, Butler," said Furtive. "With those sweet, tricky, persuasive words of yours, I don't think there's any situation yer couldn't talk yer way out of."
"You turned my brother's men against him," said Ebenezer in astonishment.
"Yes, Sir, it wasn't hard. Your brother is not as considerate an employer as you. He's probably been berating them all night, and of course, the money was a huge incentive. However, we still have one problem left to sort out." Butler nodded to the man tied to the tree.
Ebenezer glanced over at his brother. "I'll go and have a talk with him."
"And I'll have Lurch send the crates up now, Sir." Butler went to talk to Lurch.
Ebenezer went to talk to Sebastian.
Furtive drunk brandy and blew pungent smoke rings into the sky.
Snow began to fall in thicker clumps. It was going to be a white Christmas.
Ebenezer stood before his brother. "For once you are very quiet. No threats of malice or revenge. That's not like you. Could it be you have finally accepted your defeat?"
Sebastian shrugged, which didn't really work that well due to him being securely tied to the tree. "To tell you the truth, Ebenezer…"
"That'll be a novelty."
"…I'm fed up with the whole thing and I'm glad it's over. Yes, obviously, I would prefer to have our positions reversed, but I have money, I won't starve. Perhaps after all that's happened between us it's only fair you end up with the spoils."
Ebenezer stared at his brother with deep suspicion. "Forgive me if I don't believe a word that spews from your lying lips, but you needn't worry, you'll get your fair share of grandfather's inheritance."
Sebastian looked at his brother in shocked surprise. "After all I've done, you are still going to share it with me? You know I would not have done."
"It is something I am well aware of. Look at me, Sebastian, I am old and weary and not much longer for this life. There is far too much wealth for me to spend in the time I have left or even if I lived two lifetimes, so why shouldn't I share?"
With regret masking his features, Sebastian said, "We have wasted much of our lives hating each other when we should have not. I misjudged you, Ebenezer, and I am sorry. I don't expect your forgiveness…"
"That's just as well because I won't be giving it, never! What you did to that poor girl can never be forgiven."
"That is the trouble with you, Ebenezer, you dwell in the past instead of living for the future."
"A future you took from me and poor Nancy."
"If I could change what happened, perhaps I might, but I can't. It happened and there's nothing we can do about it."
"You are not a good man, Sebastian. You need to change before it's too late, though I fear that time has long passed you by. You reap what you sow and you have been reaping all your life. When the time comes your punishment will not be swift or pleasant."
"I am ready to receive whatever comes my way. I will not apologize for the way I have spent my life to you or god on high."
"I pity you, Sebastian, but I cannot save you, no one can."
Diablo bounded over, growled at Sebastian and nudged Ebenezer playfully.
"Is that, Diablo!"
"No," said Lurch, looking over. "That is Wolfy, and he's mine."
"You are welcome to him," said Sebastian eyeing the large beast fearfully until it bounded off toward Lurch. "I assume with the wolf's appearance, it was hidden in the old mine all this time?"
Ebenezer nodded. "So close, right under your nose in fact."
"I'm going to fetch the horse and carriage, Sir."
"Okay, Butler."
"What, that old thing," Sebastian scoffed. "You'll be lucky to get past the bridge with all you and the treasure aboard, take mine. It's in the courtyard and the horses are still hitched. When I had both paintings I planned to go somewhere quiet so I could study them."
Ebenezer stared at his brother suspiciously.
"He's right, Sir. Your carriage is rather small for all of us and the crates."
Ebenezer nodded his agreement.
The two brothers watched Butler head toward the castle.
"You have a good man there, Ebenezer. He is loyal to you."
"Yes, I know. I'd be lost without him."
Twenty minutes later, the crates were on board Sebastian's larger and much sturdier carriage. Furtive sat inside to protect the valuable cargo from thieves and Lurch and Wolfy sat beside Furtive to protect the valuable cargo from him.
Ebenezer and Butler approached Sebastian.
Ebenezer tipped a large handful of diamonds into his brother's pocket and Butler slid a thick wad of banknotes under the man's jacket.
The sharing out of the spoils seems to be a bit one sided," said Sebastian.
"Just as it was when you divided up our father's estate. Yet even that which you have is more than you deserve and don't forget I have to buy a new home now because of you."
Sebastian looked at Ebenezer. "So, brother, what happens now?"
Butler fiddled with the rope knots behind the tree.
"We will leave you to y
our gloomy castle. I will never return. I hope you find a way to enjoy the rest of your miserable life, brother." Ebenezer turned away.
"But you can't leave me tied up like this. I'll freeze to death."
Butler stood in front of Sebastian. "I have loosened the knots; a little struggling will see you free." Butler turned to glance at the manor when a crash rang out. The final wall had collapsed. He turned back to the bound man. "I hope this is at an end, now, Sir. You have caused your brother enough pain and misery over the years, so let him live the rest of his life in peace." He leaned close to Sebastian's face. "If you have any thoughts of revenge, Mr. Sebastian, I suggest you here and now suppress them, because if you come after Ebenezer or the inheritance, I will kill you." Butler turned and walked away.
He helped Ebenezer into the carriage, wrapped a blanket around him and climbed up onto the front, brushed the accumulated snow from the driver's seat and sat down. He flicked the reigns and guided the horses along the track.
Ebenezer stuck his head out of the window and looked at Sebastian. "Merry Christmas, brother."
Sebastian scowled and while he struggled to free himself from his bonds, he watched the falling snow claim them.
Butler glimpsed dawn breaking on the horizon between gaps in the falling snow and sighed. It was the start of a brand new day for them all.
UNEXPECTED ARRIVALS
Snow coated the landscape in its picturesque coat of white, making even the dreariest, ugliest landscape one a pleasure to behold. Even a dung-pile or garbage heap was transformed into a white sculpture that belied the eyesore that lay beneath.
Leaving behind a trail of hoof-prints that stretched as far as the eye could see, the horse galloped along the track at breakneck speed. Salty sweat formed on its flanks and its nostrils flared to expel two streams of hot breath brought forth by the forced exertion its rider insisted upon.
The rider, unconcerned for the animal's welfare, urged the horse up the steep incline and on reaching the top spied the reason for his hurried dash. The rider glanced down at the town spread out at the bottom of the snow blanketed hill, dotted with shrubs and bushes whose twigs and branches sagged under the weight of their cold white load. A few lights in some of the small houses signaled its inhabitants were beginning to wake and would soon be enacting in the festivities Christmas Day decreed. The rider had no time for such frivolities; all were a waste of time, effort and money.
