Grantville Gazette Volume 27

by edited by Paula Goodlett

  "Of course I'll write. And I look forward to hearing from you as well."

  Finally, once they were in control again, Reva said, "We better get all this out on the porch so that Ulrich can load it into the wagon. I just hope there's room for us to sleep. I might have packed a little more heavily than I should have."

  * * *

  Coleman looked worried. "Now Marlon, make sure that you have all the papers in order. Did you get another formal doublet made? We don't know how many high-power meetings you'll have to attend. We don't want them to think we're a bunch of hillbillies out here."

  Marlon stifled a grin. Coleman was the kind of boss that liked to worry about the details. Marlon's briefcase included a large packet containing the bank's proposals and positions. The inner envelope had stamps and ribbons galore.

  Coleman continued. "You know what we need. Don't let them pull a fast one on us. You have the bank's power of attorney. And if you need it, get on the radio and talk to me. If we have to, I'll pull the Federal Reserve card out of our hat."

  Marlon offered his hand to his friend. "You got it, Coleman. I'll get the best deal we can."

  Tranquebar, Southeastern India

  November 25, 1635

  Roelant Crappé, Governor of the Danish Colony of Tranquebar, sat back at his desk, and sipped his tea. Roelant had been gathering cargo for years, and this batch looked particularly interesting. Aside from the normal stuff, cotton cloth and things like that, Nicholas had acquired a truly massive shipment of nutmeg.

  For many years, the Portuguese would not tell anybody where nutmeg was coming from. But now, even though it was an open secret, it was difficult but not impossible to find. Roelant had made a few deals, bribed several captains, and obtained more than five tons of the valuable spice.

  "The ship has just arrived in the harbor, sir." Roelant looked up. His assistant, Chander, was standing in his doorway.

  "Very well let's walk over and see what's going on."

  When they reached the docks, Roelant was astounded. He had seen many ships arrive, but none in such a truly appalling condition. The main mast was askew, the railings battered beyond recognition, and the sails were in shreds.

  Roelant stepped up, ready to greet Captain Kiersted and welcome him to India. Just as the gang plank was dropped, a groan shook the ship stem to stern. Roelant was afraid for his life as the mainmast shuddered back and forth for a moment. It looked as though the tall wooden spar would tumble down on top of them, but it plunged through the bottom of the keel, and into the harbor below.

  Captain Kiersted, standing on the quarterdeck, threw his hands in the air then started to shout. Sailors scurried trying to save the ship, but it was too much for them. Slowly but surely, the ship sank into the water. Just before it settled into the mud, sailors jumped over the edge like escaping rats.

  Captain Kiersted climbed up onto the dock and shook the water out of his hair, then stood before Roelant. "I've got men already going for the money chest. We'll haul it up momentarily. At least the only cargo we were hauling was ballast, and those rocks won't be hurt by the water. I am afraid however that the Pelican is never sailing anywhere again."

  "Captain, how did this happen?" Roelant asked.

  "We encountered a storm as we were rounding the southern coast. We were doing all right until this really enormous wave tried to swallow us. We crossed it quite handily but as we slid down the other side and hit bottom, the mast rose out of its socket and smashed down into the keel and broke it. Our ship's carpenter had a large screw holding her together long enough for us to get here. But with every movement through the waves, the ship was slowly tearing itself to bits."

  Roelant said, "There's an English ship due to leave here sometime this week. We can send a message back with them. Most of the cargo I had for you will last until another of our ships makes it in. But some, I worry, will deteriorate before we can get it back to Denmark."

  Copenhagen

  November 1635

  Marlon and Reva arrived in Copenhagen earlier than they expected. Ulrich jumped down with ease as Marlon creaked down from the hard wagon seat, and tried to smooth some of the wrinkles from his clothes.

  The last couple of days had been a little difficult, and because of the condition of the roads Marlon's back was complaining bitterly. Ulrich went forward to see to the horses. Marlon stretched slightly, and then turned to help Reva down. She whispered. "Heads up, Swordfish. I think we have company."

  When he had her safely on the ground, he turned and saw a delegation of men coming from one of the buildings on the square. They all had what he thought of as Van Dyke beards, and were very well dressed.

  "Herr Pridmore, I presume?" The speaker was an older man, possibly the same age as Marlon, on the edge of sixty. He was a little shorter, had white hair and beard and piercing blue eyes. "I am Cornelius Holgarssen."

  * * *

  The next evening, Marlon and Reva were guests of honor at a reception in Herr Holgarssen's home. Reva was nervous. In truth, she felt more comfortable with the servants than she did with the rich folk that filled the house.

  She held tight on Marlon's arm as they stood in the reception line at the door. There was no way she would remember all these names.

  Then she saw a familiar face. It was Henny De Vries. "Henny, I didn't know you had moved to Copenhagen. Are there other up-timers here?"

  Henny smiled and patted Reva's hand. "You have no idea, dear. Arie and I love it. It's not like America was, but it's not like the Europe we remember either. I'm glad to see you here. I hope you have a wonderful time." She gave Reva a hug, and continued on into the reception.

  After that, Reva was more comfortable. There were several expatriate Americans living in Copenhagen, and she never knew. She lost count after about ten, but they seemed to keep coming.

  * * *

  Marlon was also amazed at the number of familiar faces he saw here. "Dori, didn't I just finish training you? When did you arrive?"

  Dori Grooms laughed. "Oh, Mr. Pridmore. I've been here quite a while. You remember I had twins? They're almost a year old now, and I left them at home with the nanny. I needed a break tonight."

  Marlon grinned. "I can see that. Why don't you go in and get a seat."

  The rest of the evening was like old home week. After the reception line, Marlon and Reva settled into a parlor and many of the Americans gathered around them. After a while, very little German or Danish was spoken. Everything was comfortably in English.

  Dave Caine was laughing just like he did back home in the bar. "Remember the time that Marlon here said he was going fishing, when really he was . . ."

  Marlon interrupted. "No need for that story, Dave. We want our hosts to think I'm responsible. Why don't you have another beer instead."

  The party broke up late that night. Marlon and Reva felt very welcomed indeed.

  * * *

  They were provided with a small but sumptuous townhouse. The Upwind and airship equipment was stored near an open area outside of town. It took Reva a couple of days to get settled, and to become accustomed to the idea of not working. That was a new experience for her. But she soon realized that it freed her to enjoy the city of Copenhagen. She began daily walks and even carriage rides doing sightseeing and buying interesting things in the markets, often accompanied by one or another up-timer.

  Marlon let her go. He only had a couple of days to prepare for his first meeting with the Merchant Bankers association.

  December first arrived and Marlon, dressed in his new doublet with its lace collar, left the house with the briefcase containing the beribboned agreement.

  The first meeting with Cornelius Holgarssen and bankers association was almost as involved as a circus. Marlon was not quite sure how many of the throngs of people around him were bankers, and how many were secretaries and servants. There were formal introductions, formal toasts, formal declarations of friendship and formal handshaking.

  On an English Ship near the Cape
of Good Hope

  December 1635

  Captain Kiersted stood on the quarterdeck. He made sure to stay out of everybody's way. His position on the quarterdeck was only a courtesy by the English Captain, Niles Henderson.

  The English ship had come into port and Governor Roelant had ordered the loading of enormous amounts of cloth on board. It seemed like acres of cotton had come on board, more cloth than Anders had seen in many years. Anders remembered Roelant saying, "I don't dare risk shipping the bulk of the spices. That ship doesn't have enough space to put the waterproof airtight containers in. And I greatly fear that we would have damage to a large part of our cargo on the return voyage."

  Captain Kiersted patted his pocket, checking again to see that the packet was there. Somehow they had to get a ship to Tranquebar and to retrieve the valuable spices that were still there.

  Copenhagen

  December 1635

  Just after lunchtime, the front door opened. Marlon was back. Reva, who had been waiting, jumped up and hugged him. "Swordfish! How did it go? What happened? Do you have any better idea why we're here?" As she spoke, Reva was busy helping Marlon out of his tight jacket.

  Once he was relieved of the hot layers of brocade, Marlon went into the sitting room and signaled for beer. "Come sit with me for a moment, Sweetpea." When the beer arrived, he took a long pull and put his arm around Reva. "No, I still have no idea why we are here. There was wine, toasting, and lots of hand shaking, but no business this morning at all."

  * * *

  The business came in the next days and weeks. The association was intensely interested in establishing firm guidelines on monetary interactions with the financial establishment of Grantville and the USE. Agreements were formulated, papers prepared, and guidelines hammered out. Still no one asked about the Upwind.

  By December tenth, everything seemed ready. All that was needed was signatures. And then everything seemed to hit a brick wall. Official witnesses were unavailable, or someone was sick or it was some obscure Christmas season holiday. Something always seemed to come up.

  On Saturday the thirteenth, Marlon came home early. It wasn't even lunch time yet. He sat in the sitting room next to Reva. She had been shopping, and was going over some sort of list.

  But Marlon didn't really look at his wife. He needed to rant. "Reva, I've had it. I've been here all this time, finagling for signatures, and still haven't managed to get anything done."

  Reva looked up during the harangue and took a sip of her wine.

  Marlon didn't seem to notice. He was talking to the room in general. "This is the first day since we got here that the sun is shining and the wind is calm. I'm going flying." He started working down all the little buttons on his coat. As he unbuttoned, he walked toward the stairs. "If they make a decision, they can let me know, and we'll sign some papers."

  He started up the stairs. "I'm going out to that meadow where we're storing the equipment. You know the one. I'm going to fire up the Upwind, and take a look at the town."

  He turned at the top of the stairs. "Reva, aren't you coming? I can't imagine launching without you there to boss the ground crew." Without waiting for her answer, he turned, shouting as he went. "If those gentlemen of means want something, I will be out with the balloon the rest of the day."

  Reva smiled as she laid down her list. She stood up, patted her hair into place, and hurried up the stairs after her fuming husband.

  * * *

  Ever since the rescue by the Upwind, Ulrich had harbored a strong desire to continue to fly. He had become Marlon's right-hand man in the weekend flights they were able to take before leaving Grantville.

  So today he helped Marlon lay out all of the pieces of the flying machine with practiced care. With a suitable amount of grunting and heaving, the Upwind was set up in the center of the field, the envelope laid out and inflation begun. People started showing up from town, first a few, then in greater numbers.

  Reva watched the crowds with the practiced eye of a ground crew supervisor. She finally saw what she was looking for, and snagged a young boy by the sleeve. "Would you like to help?"

  The boy was between ten and twelve. His eyes were already the size of saucers, but when she spoke to him, they glistened with joy. "Yes, ma'am. I'm a good worker."

  Reva smiled. "I could tell. What is your name?"

  The boy straightened his jacket. "I am Lukas."

  Reva spoke seriously, as if addressing an adult. "Okay, Lukas. I want you to get two or three friends, and keep people back from the area around the flying machine. Especially the part over there. That's the burners, and flames will burst out of there hotter than the bakery. Can you do that?"

  "I certainly can." Lukas grinned, then ran off calling to his friends. After a moment of consultation, they fanned out in a circle around the set-up site. The six boys stood with their arms stretched out, and their faces toward the flying machine. That way, they wouldn't miss a thing.

  * * *

  When the burners were attached, Marlon pulled the levers for the first test. The crowd jumped back a little, but nobody was frightened enough to leave. There were murmurs when the nearly transparent flames shot into the air. The pressure fan engine chugged away, forcing air into the envelope.

  Marlon looked up and smiled. "Ulrich, I think it's time for you to get some more air time. Get yourself in that back seat. We'll be going up in a few minutes."

  Ulrich hurried over to the gondola, and climbed into the back seat. Marlon grinned as he climbed into the front. No matter how often you went up, it never got old.

  The checklist was complete. The envelope was full, and the gondola was bumping as if the Upwind was as excited as Ulrich was.

  Marlon leaned over the edge of the gondola. "Reva! You ready to pop that bow line?"

  Reva was standing near the mooring mast. "Just give me the word."

  "I'm going to fly once around the meadow, then I think I'll head toward town, and fly back." Marlon sat back down, then had a thought. "Do you want to go up with us and take a look at town?"

  Reva laughed. "I don't think so. I've been looking at town for two weeks, remember? Besides, who's going to fish you out of the moat when you fall in?"

  "Reva, those things are canals, and why should I fall in one anyway?" Marlon gave the burner a long pull, ramped the throttle up some, and signaled for Reva to release the bowline.

  Kicking his rudders back and forth gently, he started toward the walls of Copenhagen. Before he was anywhere near them, he was already more than a thousand feet above the ground. Down below he saw a large crowd coming out of the gates. The conditions were almost perfect. There was very little wind, the day was bright and clear. It really was too good a day to be sweating over papers and books in some office.

  The radio on the control board crackled. "Marlon, your business associates just showed up. They really want to talk to you."

  Marlon picked up the mike. "Well, hand them the radio."

  Reva's voice showed signs of patient restraint. "No, they seem kind of excited. They want to talk to you face-to-face. You should probably come back for a bit."

  Marlon shook his head. I better go see what they want, he thought. He turned the airship and sailed over the meadow. Coming up against the wind and lining up the bow on the mast that Ulrich had planted in the center of the field, Marlon keyed the radio. "Reva, you ready?"

  "Yeah, get that line a little closer, and I'll hook you onto the anchor."

  Marlon moved the airship closer, then added some heat to the envelope and tilted the propellers slightly to force the airship down. He flew gently to earth.

  * * *

  Reva watched the bow line bounce off the ground a couple of times, then grabbed it and shackled it to the anchor. Marlon moved the propellers to level and chopped the throttle. The Upwind was moored safely to the mast.

  Lukas and his friends rushed forward. Reva raised her voice loud and commanding over the roar of the Upwind. "Wait! Wait! Move back!" She wave
d her arm over her head, and shouted again. "Get back behind the trailer. The engines are very hot."

  The boys turned their attention to the crowds. With shouts and gestures, the people nervously moved back. The gondola touched down. Marlon cut the engines and the propellers spun to a halt.

  Reva let go of the bow rope, and heaved a huge sigh. "Okay, Lukas. You and your friends can come on up. Do you want to meet the pilot?"

  The boys clustered around as Ulrich jumped out, and they helped hold the basket down. Marlon climbed out, instructing as he went. "Make sure you watch that basket, and don't let anyone climb in there without me nearby." Then he straightened his overalls and walked over to Reva. "So where are these overly busy bankers?"

  Reva said, "First say hello to my ground crew. This is Lukas and his friends."

  Marlon solemnly shook hands all the way around. "Gentlemen, thank you for your assistance. You all deserve a ride, and we'll see if we can't give everyone a turn."

  The group of bankers walked up to him.

  "I'm a little surprised to see you here. I'd gotten word that none of you were available today due to a slight illness."

  Cornelius Holgarssen was polite enough to look a little embarrassed. "Herr Pridmore, the truth is that we have been very eager to see your flying machine." He turned to where the Upwind bobbed gently on the mooring mast. "I must say, it is both larger and smaller than we expected. Just exactly how does it work?"

  Marlon fielded queries for the next fifteen minutes. Finally the questions and answers wound down a little, and Marlon grinned. "Okay, who wants a ride? We can take you two at a time, so whoever wants to go first go ahead and get into the back two seats." Then he turned, and took his place in the front of the gondola.

  Cornelius took charge. "Josef, why don't you come with me. The rest of you figure out who's brave enough to try this." The two men climbed into the gondola.