Voyage of the Dreadnaught: Four Stella Madison Capers

by Lilly Maytree

  “I signed it for you.”

  “Lou—Edna—DeForio!” Millie gasped, then reached into the pocket of her robe for her heart pills. “You. Of all people... should know what forgery is!”

  “It's a felony. But Millie, only if someone presses charges, and I knew—under the circumstances— he would want me to! Now, everybody just listen. First thing I did after we got to Ketchikan, was get a P.O. Box and get our mail started up, again. That was on the list, remember? After a couple weeks a big batch of it came through.”

  “It's against the law to read other people's mail, too,” Mason pointed out. “Under any circumstances.”

  “But there was important stuff in there, Pop. A lot of it had to be dealt with right away, and Cap needed four more weeks of therapy. Four weeks! With no way to get hold of any of you. Besides that, we were getting ready to go looking for the lodge, and who knows how long that would take? We didn't even know when we'd get back to Ketchikan, again, much less, all the way back here. Millie, if I hadn't ordered you more heart pills, right then? They never would have got there before we left.”

  “I have been running low on those. I was thinking about that, last week.”

  “There was lots of stuff like that. But this thing with the colonel—it was time sensitive. I mean, who knows how much paperwork had to go back and forth, or if he took too long to answer, and they filled up those slots with somebody else's books?”

  “Most definitely could have occurred if I never showed up, again,” conceded the colonel.

  “See? You did need somebody to handle things for you. That's what agents do. Right? It was sort of like one of those. So, I went ahead and made the deal. A pretty good one, too. If you ask me.”

  “It's an excellent deal,” he agreed. “As long as I don't have to write six books in a year.”

  “Six books in two.”

  “It's tight, but I can manage it.” He put an arm around Stella and hugged her close. “ Now that I have Stel.”

  “Whew. That's the only part I was a little worried about.”

  “Well...” Then he laughed at the sheer relief and pleasure of it all. “Lou Edna, I can't thank you enough!”

  “Enough to give me fifteen percent? That's what agents get, I looked it up.”

  “I'll give you ten.”

  “Woo—hoo!” She looked over her shoulder, where her husband was standing behind her. “See, Cole? I told you he would!”

  He wrapped his arms around her, more as if holding her still than giving her a hug. “All I could see was having to come up with bail money.” Then he leaned his forehead against the back of her hair, with sigh of relief. “Girl, you gotta—quit this kinda stuff!”

  “But, now we can start saving for our fishing license.” It was a piece of news that had obviously slipped out, and she quickly scanned the circle of questioning faces around them. “It takes a whole lot of money to fish in this state,” she explained.

  Cole tightened his hold on her.

  “Which we are going to earn every penny of. Ourselves,” she assured. At which point she caught Mason's doubtful eye and insisted, “I really mean it, Pop.”

  “Meanwhile, what happens when the colonel has to sign his real signature on something?” Millie suddenly wanted to know.

  “Not a problem, Mil. I've been signing everybody's signatures for years.”

  Millie automatically reached for the toddler who was pulling at her bathrobe, and lifted him onto her hip before giving an exasperated sigh. “Lou Edna, it'll be a miracle—an out and out miracle—if I even live to seventy, trying to figure you out!”

  “You got-the best family I ever saw, Gerry,” Sarie observed out loud.

  “They're always like this,” he replied. “You're going to love it here!”

  Exactly the way I have, Stella thought to herself, as she looked around the happy room. It was the first Christmas she hadn't spent alone in many years. Then it occurred to her how her new life had started during the holiday season, exactly one year ago. Goodness, the Lord had brought her a long way on one simple prayer! She looked up at the colonel, who had risked everything he owned (to rescue her, way back then), and wondered if he had any idea...

  It had been his finest hour.

  ***

  Author's Note

  Winston Churchill (who was quoted at the beginning of this story) had to overcome many obstacles in his life. More than the average person. Born into a wealthy family, with a long line of ancestors who had significantly contributed to England's history, he felt—from an early age—the burden to do something significant, too. However, he was often in trouble at school, did not excel in most of his classes, and also had a speech impediment. He was overly emotional, as well, and fought bouts of depression throughout his entire life.

  When his father died at the age of forty-five, and seeing that many of the men in his family had a tendency to die young, he assumed the same thing would happen to himself. Which led him to believe that if he was going to make any mark in life, it would have to be while he was young. And the only place to do that, was in the military. So, he joined the rifle corps at the age of fourteen, went to military school (he had to try three times before passing the entrance exam), and for the next twenty-nine years, volunteered for every battlefield he heard about.

  During this time, he also became a war correspondent for several newspapers, and—having been deployed to Cuba, India, the Middle East, Africa, and the Western Front (during World War I)—also wrote books about those campaigns. By the age of twenty-six, he had seen action fifty times, been captured as a prisoner of war and escaped, and become popular all over the country both for his bravery, as well as for his accurate descriptions and insights of these battlefields. It was also at this age that he campaigned for—and won—his first seat in Parliament. Throughout the following years, Churchill was involved both in politics and wars, during which he made some significant gains... and many equally significant mistakes. When he finally retired, he was at the lowest ebb of his life.

  A period which was later to become known as his “wilderness years.”

  He retreated to his country home to quietly continue his writing. He had done some good. And he had lived nearly twenty years longer than his father. He was done. Finished. However, when the country slipped into crisis, then the Great Depression—and finally—stood on the very brink of another World War... he was offered the post of Prime Minister. England's highest and most powerful office. Something of an accomplishment in itself, except the country was already in a state that was almost too desperate to survive. So, suddenly—when he least expected it—Winston Churchill was faced with his own “finest hour.”

  And he was up to it.

  Today, he is remembered for his steadfast refusal to consider defeat, surrender, or a compromised peace. Ideals which helped inspire British resistance during the difficult early days of the war, when Britain stood alone against Hitler. He is particularly noted for his speeches and radio broadcasts, which continued to inspire them, until victory over Nazi Germany was secured. Named the Greatest Briton of all time in a 2002 poll, Churchill is still widely regarded as being among the most influential people in British history. One of the best paid writers of his time, he was also awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, "for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values."

  He lived to the age of ninety.

  You can read more about this inspiring man, over at:

  http://www.WinstonChurchill.org

  A Word About The Stella Madison Capers...

  Dear Readers...

  I have known Stella Madison for some years, now. In fact, she has been hanging around the edges of my writing thoughts so long her personality and chatter have become quite real to me. I didn't want to write her story (not then, anyway) because it was such a common one. Where was the adventure? After all, an inspirational adventure novelist needs to stick with writing adventures.<
br />
  But haven't I always declared that life was an adventure? Of course, I have. I even wrote it on my logo. So, I sent Stella off with a wisp of a story, along with a piece of my mind. Just some little thing for an hour's entertainment, and then went back to working on novels. Oddly enough, I began missing that piece of my mind as soon as she was gone.

  There was more to her story, I could tell by the hole that was left when she walked away with it. The truth is, I knew just what would happen if I didn't at least get her settled somewhere. After all, it was me that created her, and I felt responsible. Now, there are six Stella Madison Capers (I'm pretty sure that's all of them).

  But the thing is this.

  Not only has she turned into something of an adventurer, herself, she has also managed to tag along on mine. Because I had to continue writing this little "mini-series" as I was on my own true-life adventure, headed north to Alaska, with my captain husband, aboard a sailboat called the Glory B. Which is probably why Stella ended up taking the same route. Anyway, somewhere along the line our paths crossed and became entangled.

  But I will leave it to readers to decide where and when that happened, since I have given up trying to figure it out, myself. I have other stories to write. Meanwhile, thank you so very much for reading this collection of four Stella Madison Capers, which make up The Voyage of the Dreadnaught... you are truly the reason I write them!

  Lilly Maytree

  Aboard the Glory B.

  Summer, 2014

  Our Own Great Alaskan Adventure...

  Sailing to Alaska has been a dream the Captain and I had for many years. So many, that when the opportunity finally presented itself, it had long since began to fade. But as the idea of fulfilling this long-lost dream renewed its hold, we found ourselves invigorated with new hope and energy, in spite of our “advanced years.” That is: advanced as far as hauling up sails, manning the helm for endless hours, and traveling through long stretches of wilderness areas—alone—were concerned. We have always loved adventuring.

  We named our thirty-two foot ketch Glory B. It was a name that most described not only our constant awe at the many wonderful experiences the Lord had blessed us to enjoy, but our philosophy of life, as well. To be honest, when we first began to plan the voyage, I pictured it mostly as one long idyllic vacation that would present the spectacular scenery of the Alaskan wilderness to us in ways few people are privileged to see. All while I was floating along in my own little world, and writing stories.

  What a shock to discover how huge the world really is... and that it is home to so many hazards. I think maybe if I had known what a grueling struggle against strong currents, choppy seas, and twenty-foot tidal changes it would be, I might have had second thoughts. I did have second thoughts. Except, by that time, it was just as far to go on as it was to go back. And we certainly couldn't spend the rest of our lives on some remote Canadian island. Not to mention, by that time, I was sure many of my friends and business associates thought I was either lost, or dead.

  There were also many disasters. Incredible disasters we didn't even see coming. But the Lord had us covered on those, each step of the way, considering we actually did make it all those hundreds of miles north, to Alaska. In spite of broken propellers, leaky shaft seals, and literally bumping over rocks on a couple of occasions. There were fogs that overcame us faster than we could sneak into some cove to hide in, as well as gale-force storms that kept us at anchor in remote wilderness places for many days, as we waited for them to pass. I think I learned more French (a lifelong goal) listening to Canadian weather channels than all my years of checking out foreign language tapes from the library.

  Meanwhile, I was busy finishing up my little series of Stella Madison Capers: this collection of stories about a rag-tag group of senior citizens who were chasing dreams similar to ours, and traveling along the very same route. To say I literally lived in those stories is true in more ways than one. And there came a time when I wondered if I was somehow, subconsciously, influencing our journey by my own overly-active imagination. Because before the trip was over, we certainly experienced Sea Trials, came face-to-face with a Pushover Plot, got Lost in the Wilderness a couple of times, and—at one point—even had to use our Last Resort. All the details of which will have to wait to be told in our true-life account of that voyage: Glory B! The True-Life Adventures of Lilly Maytree and The Captain.

  However, the recurring thread that runs through all those stories is the vital importance of the scripture which states: “Call out to me in your day of trouble, and I will rescue you.” (Psalms 50:15). And considering my propensity for trying out the same activities as the characters I write about (to see if they are humanly possible), and the fact that we survived every one of the accidents and disasters we encountered (believe me, I never called out to God so much in my entire life)...

  I guess you could say we are living proof of that very truth. The Lord truly does hear us when we call out to Him in our day of trouble, and saves us. He makes no stipulations on that promise, either. There is not even an “except for idiots” clause. And sometimes I think it's those of us who continually get tangled up in stupid things that need Him the most. He even clarifies this fact by saying, “ALL who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13). A thought I find extremely comforting in times of stress. Because, while I may not always know exactly where I fit into this great sea of humanity we live in, I at least know I'm human, and that the word “all” includes even me.

  Thank you, God!

  And many thanks to you, dear readers, for following along with us on these adventures.

  Lilly Maytree

  November, 2014

  Thorne Bay, Alaska...still aboard the Glory B.

  About Lilly Maytree...

  Lilly Maytree is the author of Gold Trap, The Pandora Box, and The Stella Madison Capers. Books that sent her careening along on her “Mystery Tours” with her captain husband aboard the Glory B. She loves sharing these adventures with readers. It has even been said that she time-travels (but that’s probably just a rumor). To find out about her current adventures, simply visit:

  www.LillyMaytree.com.

  You can get in touch with her by sending an email to: lilly@LillyMaytree.com. It might take a few days if she is adventuring far away... but she always comes back sooner or later.

  Other Books by Lilly Maytree

  The Stella Madison Capers...

  Home Before Dark

  (Caper #1)

  Here is the first of the Stella Madison Capers, the story of how everything started, and how she escaped from a catastrophe that seemed to come out of nowhere. Which is the nature of catastrophes, but it's so hard to be logical when you're in the middle of one. It's also the story of how she met the colonel (if you're interested in that sort of thing).

  A Thief in the House

  (Caper #2)

  Stella Madison is back, this time with a bevy of friends. But just how far should a person go when it comes to sticking by their friends? There's a thief in the rambling old mansion she moved into. And while it was someone who was quick to lend help when Stella needed it most, how can she possibly return the favor without jeopardizing herself along with them? No person is obligated to go that far... right?

  Novels...

  Gold Trap

  Megan Jennings is headed to Africa for high adventure and divine appointments, until she makes a small wrong turn. But what is faith, if not to strike out against impossible odds believing you will win? Or leap out into the dark knowing someone will be there to catch you? Someone does catch her... but it isn’t who she was expecting.

  The Pandora Box

  Journalist D.J. Parker learns the location of a famous cache of diamonds that were stolen during World War II. What she doesn't know is—the federal government has been following the case for years. With an old journal to lead the way, she sets out aboard a yacht that once carried the infamous Herman Goering. A thrilling treasure hunt that could
prove to be the adventure of a lifetime... or her worst nightmare.

  For Writers...

  Unspoken Rules

  Popular books (those stories everyone likes no matter what the subject) all have certain things in common. And what they have most in common is what they DON'T do. Within the following pages, dear writer, you will find the three most important "don'ts" of popular fiction that I learned when I was studying the masters. Why? Because I love research… and I never mind sharing my notes.

  Writing Rules!

  (a mysterious student handbook)

  A mysterious little desktop handbook that can help anyone (well, almost anyone) with writing rules. Especially if you are a student and have to write things all the time.

  ***

  Thank you for reading this story! May you be specially blessed, knowing that you have blessed others, simply by doing so.