"No, of course not ... My father says it would be a disaster if masses of counterfeit notes of the Medici Bank emerged – and you must indeed expect this after the gang has brought the watermark form in their possession."
"Certainly," Leonardo agreed as they walked on.
"My father says that very quickly goods coming from far away will be scarce then. Because if the merchants can no longer be sure whether the Medici Bank document is genuine or just a fake, then they will start again to pack boxes of silver coins on horse carts and drive through the whole country to pay!"
"And those carts could then be easily attacked," said Leonardo.
"Correct! Therefore, these carts will have to be accompanied by armed guards – and as you have to pay these guardians, the goods will be more expensive!"
"That’s the reason why it’s so important that we’ll have success, Carlo!" Leonardo said. Whereas Carlo seemed to be very despondent, Leonardo seemed to be full of confidence. Carlo could hardly understand. On the way to the old creek Leonardo told his friend why, in his opinion, Master Flavio’s mill had been so important in this matter.
Carlo finally stopped and shook his head in disbelief.
"That's all?" he asked almost soundlessly. "Just because your father says that this Master Flavio canceled the contract with the Medici, you think that it has something to do with the robbery?"
"It just fits too well," explained Leonardo to his friend.
"Couldn’t that also be valid to other paper mills?"
"Certainly. But somewhere we have to start our investigations!"
After an arduous journey, the two boys finally reached the old creek. It had much water at present and a strong current. Well suitable for diving a waterwheel and exploiting the power of the current! Leonardo thought and he could not avoid thinking again about his roast turner for a few moments. It’s a good idea!, he thought. Either a stream of air or a stream of water – it’s could not play such a decisive role! Both could move a wheel whose power could then be transferred to other machines via gears.
But the force of the water just seemed to be much stronger than the air flow which rose up over a fire.
Leonardo knelt down at the creek bank and drank some of the water which was so clear that you could see to the ground. Carlo sat down next to him, in order to refresh.
"Now just tell me, Carlo: Is the mill now upstream or downstream?" asked Leonardo.
"Downstream!" Carlo was convinced. Thoughtfully, he scratched his chin. "The mill I visited with my father was at a creek being a whole bit wider. I'm sure! So we have to follow the current."
"During which season have you been there?" Leonardo asked. The season could have a great influence on the water level when visiting the bank of the creek. In spring it often was very broad and its banks were even overflowed because of the melting snow in the mountains. In autumn, after a long dry summer sometimes only a narrow trickle remained.
"I think we have to follow the flow," Carlo said. "Of course I'm no longer so sure ..."
"Well, that's great!"
"It’s a long time ago ..."
So they followed the creek. Sometimes they were forced to go away from it and make detours because the area at the creek bank was impassable.
"At least we can refresh ourselves repeatedly", said Carlo, who already seemed to be quite exhausted.
He twisted his face at every step.
"If your shoes press, then take them off," Leonardo said. "If I was you, I would not have worn them from the beginning."
"Yes, of course you know again everything better," grumbled Carlo. Finally, they reached a clearly more commonly used way following the creek henceforth. Leonardo looked around and stared at the ground for several minutes.
"What's happening? If we want to reach the mill today, we should not dawdle yet," said Carlo.
"Look at this, here the tracks have been dugged into the ground, which could come from car wheels. Namely, by a quite broad cart!"
Leonardo measured the distance of the cartwheels with his steps.
"Nearly two paces wide! This is not a small cart!" he said.
"Well, so I was right and we are on the right way," Carlo said. "After all, to a paper mill often go big horse carts – either to transport rags, animal glue or something else to transport or to deliver the finished paper sheets afterwards."
Leonardo nodded.
He went on and seemed no longer to listen to his friend.
When he was younger, Leonardo used to rove through nature with his uncle Eduardo. Uncle Eduardo was an excellent tracker.
From the footprints found on the ground, he was able to tell which animals had been at that location – and also how long ago. Leonardo had been keenly interested and listened to the stories that Uncle Eduardo knew to tell about these animals only based on a few tracks: about the cat which had chased a bird whose feathers had laid in the grass later on – but the bird had narrowly escaped – or the story about the fox being quite weak already, because he hadn’t hunted successfully for a long time.
Sometimes Leonardo had already had doubts about how much of these stories were actually true – but so much uncle Eduardo might have cooked up, his stories never contradicted the tracks which anyone who was attentive enough could clearly see. So, by the way, Leonardo had learned to recognize the traces of many animal species, and to pay attention to them.
Leonardo went forward with a look fixing the ground, and Carlo limped after him.
Then Leonardo suddenly stopped. "Look," he said. "Here are hoofprints. And at least a dozen! And that can never be the animals pulling the car."
"How do you know that? A hundred cars could have been passing the last hundred days!"
"No, the animals have been galloping; otherwise the hoofprints were arranged differently. But if horses strutting such a heavy cart behind, they do not gallop. Those were horsemen! Perhaps the gang, Carlo!"
"I would truly not call that a hot trail," said Carlo. "Everyone could have caused these tracks indeed!"
But when walking on they found fresh horse droppings. Leonardo took that as evidence that the traces of the riders could not yet be old. "If you ask me, this is not a coincidence!"
"I just hope you're right and we have not done all the way for nothing!"
At that moment, suddenly, they heard hoofbeats. A horseman galloped nearer. He came right from the direction in which the horsemen who had left the traces had disappeared.
Chapter 7: The Man with the Black Beard
First, you could only hear the pounding of hooves, then the rider emerged from behind a hill and finally disappeared back in the shadow of some trees for a short time.
A cloak was flowing behind him like a banner. He was wearing a leather cap with feather headdress. When he emerged from the shadows of the trees, he was close enough so that the arquebus and the sword could be seen. The harquebus hung on a belt, which he had knotted to the pommel.
His face was clearly visible. He wore a black beard and reined in.
"I bet that was one of the guys," Leonardo whispered to his friend. "After all, you can’t find so many people with arquebuses out here!"
The horse climbed on his hind legs, but its rider got it back under control immediately. Slowly stepping the animal came closer and the man with the black beard was looking penetrating at the two boys from top to bottom.
Leonardo and Carlo freezed.
The rider with the black beard pushed his leather cap in the neck. Among them he was slightly sweating. Leonardo was very relieved that the guy could not just use his arquebus at the moment. For this he would first have had to light a fire and burn a fuse. But apart from the gun he was also still carrying a sword. Leonardo looked at the boots. They were dusty. The boy was looking for characteristics that he might be able to recognize. Noticeable scratches on the leather, for example – or whether the spurs lacked one point.
But Leonardo could not say with certainty whether it was one of the bandits who had been i
nvolved in the attack on Master Andrea’s mill.
"What are you two doing around here?" he asked. This voice!
Leonardo was at that moment absolutely sure that he recognized this voice. This was nobody else than the guy who had stood at the screw press destroying it by several shots!
Leonardo remembered very well the spiteful comments he had thereby brought about the lips – as well as the desperation of Master Andrea.
Leonardo swallowed.
He looked to the side and exchanged a glance with Carlo, whose eyes were wide in fear. Obviously, Carlo had recognized the voice, too.
"We are going here just our way," said Leonardo, trying to keep his voice so impartially and calmly as possible. He was sure that the rider with the black beard had also recognized him and Carlo. He got off his horse and threw back the mantle. His right hand went to the hilt, while he held the reins with his left hand. "Nevertheless strange that two kids like you can be found alone in the wilderness," he said. "That's not safe! There are certainly robbers and bandits in the surroundings."
"We'll take care of us," promised Leonardo. They really had to avoid the impression that they have recognized the rider – otherwise they were supposed to be in the soup. "Allow me also a question, Mr ..."
The man with the black beard twisted his face to a smile. "Well, you express yourself rather well, my boy!"
"I am Leonardo – and that’s my friend Carlo. But maybe you would like to tell us your name, too!"
"You seem to be curious!"
"Since you're not the first person who told me – so it must probably be true," said Leonardo. "Since you are so worried about our safety, I suppose you are well-disposed towards us ..."
"Assuredly."
"Are you a man of the City Watch of Florence? Or a mercenary being hired by the Republic to protect people against robbers and bandits?" Leonardo pointed at the arquebus, which hung from the pommel. "After all, you are well armed."
"You really ask much," muttered the man with the black beard. "And actually, I do not know why I should give a child so much information ..."
"Forgive me if I should have been too intrusive," Leonardo said cautiously. "It was certainly not intended."
"All right. Best, you go back home as soon as possible. It hangs out a lot of trash around the area and I would be sorry if you were caught by these people."
"We know that," said Leonardo. "We met a rag picker who told us that even Master Andrea’s paper mill has been robbed ..."
"Really?" the man murmured. He jumped back on his horse. "Unfortunately, I can no longer take care of you, since I am on the way to urgent business. Follow my advice! "
"We will," promised Leonardo.
The rider spurred his horse and galloped away. When he had disappeared behind the next hill, Leonardo and Carlo both took a deep breathe.
"Phew, that was narrow," said Carlo. "How could you just mention the robbing of Master Andrea’s mill?"
"Easy. I had to convince him somehow that we did not recognize him! Who knows what he would have done otherwise!"
"And you think he believed us?" Carlo asked doubtfully. Leonardo was convinced and nodded. "Yes. However, we must be careful now. The rest of the gang is somewhere nearby, without doubt."
Leonardo wanted to go on, but Carlo stopped.
"What's wrong?" asked Leonardo.
Carlo hammed and hawed a bit, then he brought out what moved him. "I want to be completely honest, Leonardo, I would have almost made a mess in my pants when I recognized the voice and could only press my teeth together as tightly as possible, so you do not hear them rattle."
"I've been afraid, too, Carlo."
"Do not you think that we have taken on too much?"
"Shall we really go back, whereas we are now so close on the gang’s heels?" Leonardo shook his head. "No, that is not an option."
"But suppose we now meet the rest of the gang. You did not even have a decent plan!"
"In that case, we'll have the right idea, Carlo! Besides – if we could convince that guy to believe that we have not recognized him – why not, if necessary, the others?"
"We should better return home!"
"Now do not start talking like my grandfather, Carlo!"
While walking, Leonardo speculated about why the man with the black beard had probably ridden away. "I suppose the rest of the gang is camping here somewhere and the guy with the black beard must deliver any message ..."
"For example?" asked Carlo.
"We will certainly learn that!" Leonardo was confident.
About half an hour they followed the tracks of the riders and the car. At times, the path led away a bit from the stream, so that the water was partly no longer seen. But Leonardo found it more appropriate to follow the path – and not the stream. After all, they had there the clearly visible traces, which they could follow.
When they reached a particularly steep hill, on whose summit there was a group of gnarled trees, they could see the mill for the first time.
It was directly at the creek. The large water wheel was driven by the flow and was constantly in motion. The sound of hammer blows of rags pounders reached very softly to the ears of the two boys. Next to the mill there was a camp. Around a fireplace sat several gunmen. The horses had been moored and unsaddled nearby. Some of the men had taken off their weapons and capes because it had become quite warm. Leonardo could clearly see arquebuses, swords and crossbows.
"There they are!" muttered Leonardo. None of the boys doubted that this had to be the gang which had raided the mill of Master Andrea. "I think they have brought their prey straight here – and in that mill now, great amounts of paper are made using the watermark of the Medici Bank!"
"... and that paper, then, can be used to make counterfeit notes," Carlo completed the phrase.
Leonardo nodded. "Correct. But for that you need of course a few other things, such as the right seal ..."
"Perhaps the man with the black beard has ridden away in order to fetch it", suspected Carlo.
Leonardo shrugged. "Could be – if the counterfeit notes are really manufactured here ..."
"Well, what are we doing now?" asked Carlo.
"We will look around – then we know more."
Carlo looked at his friend aghast. "You don’t just walk down there and ask the bandits where they have left the watermark form, right?"
"No, of course not," Leonardo said. "But if you act a little bit smarter, you maybe can still learn a lot ..."
"And how do you think we could manage that, please?"
Leonardo had no time to answer, because at that moment thundered a shot.
Chapter 8: The Gang
The two boys jerked. They whirled around, but from the shooter nothing was to be seen anywhere – and the men around the fire seemed not worried.
"Do you think the gang is committing another raid around here?" asked Carlo.
Leonardo shook his head. "I rather believe that the men down there are hungry and someone was sent to hunt something. And that's a good sign!"
"Why that?"
"Because it means that the gang still remains here and won’t disappear, at least in the next few hours!" Leonardo nudged Carlo. "Come on now!"
Another shot cracked out – somewhere behind the hills and trees. This time the boys winced slightly less violent.
"If they fail shooting a few more times, they will be driven away all the wild animals out of the area within a very short time," scoffed Leonardo.
But Carlo couldn’t laugh at the moment. He was too tense.
They kept on going the way along to the mill.
Some of the men were playing cards, others were showing off to each other by telling for which highly respected kings and princes they had allegedly been fought.
I see, thought Leonardo. These men, consequently, were mercenaries. Warriors who could be hired by the regents and sometimes by private people in order to fight for the money promised. The only question is, who has hired these
men!, wondered Leonardo. Because he could not really imagine that it had been their own idea to steal a watermark, thus falsifying bank documents!
In order to manage this, you had actually to understand the banking and to know exactly what it was all necessary to much more! Maybe a merchant – or an employee of the bank itself, who was tired of working only for the bank owner’s richness. But no mercenaries, of whom it was known that many of them could not read or write. So there had to be someone who gave the order!
"I just hope you've thought well if we are spoken to," Carlo said.
"Do not worry," murmured Leonardo.
They walked toward the entrance of the mill.
"Hey, you there!" shouted one of the men. It was the leader. Leonardo thought to recognize the particular shape of the sword handle. It has a knob at the end which had the shape of a skull. At his place at the fire, where he had been sitting, was his arquebus and additionally, the man wore the cloth around his neck, with which he had masked himself in Andrea’s mill.
He got up and stepped up to the two boys.
"Don’t we know them?" said one of the other men.
"Shut up!" growled the leader. He walked up to the boys and drew his sword. He pointed at Carlo.
"What are you doing here?" he asked harshly.
"We want to Master Flavio," said Leonardo.
Carlo would not have been able to respond anyway. Terror was in his face. Completely paralyzed, he stood there and Leonardo was feeling queasy, too.
"Give the rascals a beating and then they disturb us no longer!" cried one of the other men at the fire who was repairing his crossbow. He didn’t look up from his work, but remained concentrated.
"Get lost!" said the leader. "You have no business here!"
"Oh, how brave!" scoffed the mercenary with the crossbow. "Ruggero, our great leader needs a sword to cope with children! And I would have thought that his face alone looks fearsome enough to chase them away!"
The others, at the fire, roared with laughter.
Only Ruggero was not amused.
When he turned around, the laughter died among the men.
Da Vinci's Cases Page 5