The Hermit of Lammas Wood

by Nathan Lowell

  “What was that?” the guard asked.

  “What was what?” Gertie asked.

  “That crack.”

  “What crack?”

  “There was some kinda noise in here. Sounded like somebody dropped a plank or something.”

  Gertie made a show of turning her head to and fro. “I don’t see any planks and I didn’t hear anything. Did you hear anything, Tanyth?”

  “Nope. Just that waterfall out there.”

  “Don’t mention the waterfall, dearie.” Gertie pushed her knees together and shifted her weight.

  The burly guard’s face turned two different shades of red before he scuttled out, slamming the door behind him.

  They heard a muffled question and a sharp answer. “Nuthin’. Wasn’t nuthin’.”

  Gertie giggled quietly. “Some men. Honestly.” She stepped aside. “Try again. You can do it.”

  Tanyth took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then thrust a hand behind her to take up the staff again. Once more she lined up her swing. She felt the scrape of iron on iron as the shoe kissed the eye bolt. Letting the weight of the staff pull the long oak shaft back, she held it for a half a heartbeat and then swung again. The momentum of the blow built for a long fraction of a second. The length of the shaft amplified the strength of her arms, and the solid iron shoe struck the iron eye bolt with a clean thock no louder than a stamped boot on stone.

  Tanyth stared in disbelief at the eye bolt. Her heart sank. “It didn’t break.”

  Gertie snorted. “Of course it didn’t break. That’s forged iron. It’s too soft to break.”

  “Then what was I hittin’ it for?”

  Gertie grinned and started backing up, pulling her chain against the eye bolt. “Pull,” she said.

  Tanyth shook herself into action and pulled on her end of the chain. They put a solid strain on the chains–and nothing happened.

  Gertie let up her side, and Tanyth followed suit.

  “You really think we’re gonna pull that out of the wall?”

  “Yep, but we’re pullin’ at the wrong angle.”

  “How d’ya figger?”

  Gertie grimaced. “I’m too short. We’re pulling down, not out.”

  “We need to pull it straight out of the wall?”

  “Yeah. Which means we have to pull from up here.”

  Tanyth grinned. “I got this one.”

  She picked up her staff and took a turn of chain around the top, and had Gertie do the same.

  “Let the chain run until I get the staff up near the eye bolt.”

  They worked the loose chain around the staff while Tanyth lifted it up.

  “Now snug it up tight and hold on.”

  Gertie tugged the chain and the links locked around the oak.

  With a grin, Tanyth pushed the staff up through the chain until the wood reached the low stone ceiling. She wiggled it around a bit until she found a bit of rough stone, then pushed the oak hard against the roof. With a smile she pulled the foot of the staff away from the wall, drawing the eye bolt straight out of the rock, pulling rock dust with it in a fine cascade, until it dropped with a quiet clank against the staff.

  “Perfect,” said Gertie.

  “How did that happen? I thought you wanted to break the eye out of the bolt.”

  “I studied rocks. This stuff is relatively soft. Softer than the iron, and worse, it’s brittle. A sharp strike breaks it. That’s how they were able to carve these caverns. You didn’t need to break the iron. You only needed to break the rock between the threads of the bolt.” Gertie held up the eye bolt.

  Stone filled the threads in places; Gertie brushed it away with a quick twist of her fingers.

  “All right then,” Tanyth grinned. “What do we do next?”

  “Well, next we need to get out of this room without the guards stoppin’ us.”

  “How do we do that?”

  “I haven’t a clue.”

  Chapter Thirty-four:

  Some Outside Help

  Tanyth sat beside Gertie, their backs against the wall. She fiddled with the lock that held their manacles closed. “We’ll wanna get this chain off.”

  Gertie pursed her lips and studied the links, the manacle, and the lock. “Links are soft iron. So’s the manacle. Lock’s prob’ly the weak spot. If we can open the lock—or break it off—we’re free.” She sighed and looked at the door. “We still have the problem of the guards.”

  “You think they’re gonna just leave us here?”

  Gertie shrugged. “Hard tellin’. Captain what’s-his-name entertains here sometimes, so prob’ly they’re used to leavin’ his guests just hangin’ around.”

  “He’s gonna be gone for days if he’s sailin’ to Northport to see Robert.”

  “Robert?”

  “Robert Oakhurst. He’s the commandant.”

  “You were only in town for three days? How d’ya know that?”

  “Long story. Robert and I go way back. He was just as surprised to see me as I was him.”

  “So, they leave people to die in here?” Gertie asked, looking around the room. She pointed to the cot. “Sloppy housekeeper. Maybe they do.”

  “Well, if they come to feed us and we’re not on the wall–?” Tanyth shrugged.

  “If we can get out of the manacles, we can hang ’em back up.”

  “If.”

  Low voices came through the heavy door.

  “He didn’t leave no orders.” The surly guard’s voice carried clearly.

  They heard more mumbles, two voices.

  Gertie jumped up. “Quick,” she whispered and rushed over to one of the remaining sets of chains.

  Tanyth had little choice but to follow or have her arm yanked out. Gertie reached up with her manacled hand and grabbed one of the two manacles hanging down. She pointed to the other one and Tanyth did the same. They stood close together, hiding the loose chain behind their bodies just as the door opened and the big guard stepped in, giving them the stink eye.

  Tanyth stared back.

  He pushed the door open wider and stepped out of the way. Another guard wearing black and green walked in carrying a loaf of bread and a jug.

  “You make a mess in here, Morris, and the boss is gonna make your life even worse than it is already.”

  “Yeah, I got it. I’ll be careful.”

  The guard gave them one last scowl and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him.

  “Ladies, I thought...that is...food and water,” he said.

  “That’s very considerate of you, Morris,” Gertie said.

  “It’s the least I can do, mum. It’s gonna be a day or so before the boss gets back. He’ll be in Northport by morning but won’t be able to get back here before tomorrow night at the earliest.” He looked down at his boots and shrugged. “Least I can do is make you as comfortable as I can before...before he gets back.”

  “What happens when he gets back?” Tanyth asked.

  Morris’s eyes went to the chains. “It won’t be pleasant, I’m afraid.”

  “Can you help us?” Gertie asked.

  “Help you do what, mum?”

  “Escape, of course. And take all the miners with us.”

  Morris’s eyes grew round and he stared at Gertie. “Mum, you know there’s miners?”

  “Chipmunks didn’t chew these holes in the rock, Morris.”

  “Oh, yeah.” His gaze swept the walls of the room. “Guess it’s pretty obvious.”

  “Your boss gave us a choice of waiting here or in the mines,” Tanyth said. “We thought here would be more comfortable. Mines usually have miners.”

  “Slaves, more like,” Morris muttered.

  Tanyth nodded. “They’re the sailors from the hijacked vessels, aren’t they?”

  Morris nodded, staring at his shoes. “Captain Malloy hired us from his crews for special duty. Good pay and not a lot of work, he said. We been stuck up here for over a year. I haven’t seen home for two winters.”

/>   “When will you get to go home?” Gertie asked.

  “Oh, my time’s almost up. We only have to be here two winters and then he rotates us out. New fish come in every spring. I’ll be heading home soon with enough gold in my pocket to leave the sea behind for good.”

  Tanyth glanced down at Gertie and then back at Morris. “Death comes on white wings,” she said.

  Gertie stiffened. “Trees talked t’you ‘bout that too?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What’s that?” Morris asked.

  “Think about it, Morris. Captain Malloy’s goin’ to take a bunch of sailors back to Kleesport and turn you loose with money in your pockets?”

  “Oh, not Kleesport. He’ll take us down to Runland and we’ll go our own ways. Start a new life.”

  “You’re never gonna see home again?”

  “Well, that’s the plan, yeah.”

  “Nobody goes home, Morris.” Gertie’s gentle voice seemed not to reach the man. “Malloy can’t afford to have the word get out.”

  Morris started shaking his head back and forth, slowly at first and then more vigorously.

  “You know it’s true. There’s too much at stake. Think about it,” Tanyth said.

  “No. That’s...It’s not possible.”

  “It makes a sick kinda sense, man. Malloy hijacks the ships and sells the cargoes. He press-gangs the crew into workin’ the mines or taking a long drink of deep water,” Tanyth said. “He sells or sinks the ships so nobody’s the wiser. Insurance pays off, and everybody’s happy except the bereaved families and the slaves in the mines. He hires you and your friends to guard the mines. You’re supposed to either scare off or kill anybody who gets too close. Then what’s he goin’ ta do with you, huh?”

  Morris shook his head. “No, that can’t be right.”

  Gertie said, “Morris, you already know it’s true. Your head is tellin’ ya one thing but your heart’s tellin’ you somethin’ else.”

  “What about that guy—White? Reggie White?” Tanyth asked.

  “Reggie? You know about Reggie?”

  “He showed up dead just outside of Northport a few days ago,” Tanyth said. “Lotta his friends miss him back in Kleesport. Lotta people know that his ship couldn’ta’ been lost at sea.”

  “He slipped out of the mines and ran. Nobody thought he’d make it that far.”

  “Lot more people gonna be looking once that bomb gets back to the magistrates in Kleesport,” Tanyth said.

  Morris looked up at her. “Bomb?”

  “The insurance folks been blowing up ships they don’t like. Captain’s who won’t pay the premiums.”

  “That’s what the boss is tryin’ to get?”

  “Yeah. He thinks it’s with the garrison in Northport.”

  “It’s not?”

  “Nope. Halfway back to Kleesport by now. Every day he spends lookin’ for it in Northport is a day closer to the magistrates.”

  “He’s behind that, too, en’t he, Morris?” Gertie asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  “If he weren’t, he’d be a lot less interested in finding the evidence,” Tanyth said.

  Morris took a deep breath through his nose and held it a moment before blowing it out. “Yeah. Yeah, he would.”

  “You got a few hours, Morris. Can you get the men out?” Gertie asked.

  His head came back up and he looked at her. “What are you askin’ me?”

  “You and the other guards. All the men in the mines. Get them up and out of here. You got until tomorrow afternoon before he gets back,” Gertie said.

  “What about you?” he asked.

  “Oh, we’re just a couple of old ladies. Nobody’ll miss us, but you men need to go tell the garrison in Northport. Turn yourselves in. Tell the authorities what’s goin’ on. They’ll take that into consideration, won’t they, Tanyth?”

  “Yeah. They’ll do that. Once Captain Groves gets that bomb back to Kleesport and Richard Marong finds this place, it’ll be all over.”

  “What’ll happen to the gold?” Morris asked.

  “Every man fill a pocket and run. Marong’s only a couple days east down the coast. He’s got a dozen garrison troops with him,” Tanyth said. “Let Malloy choke on the leavings.”

  He stared at Tanyth, and then his eyes focused somewhere else. He stood a little straighter. “It’s all true, isn’t it?”

  “Yep,” Gertie said.

  “What about you?”

  “Unless you got the key to these manacles, you got better things to worry about. Get those men out of here. Run east along the coast,” Tanyth said. “We’ll take our chances here.”

  “All right. I’ll do it.” He thrust the bread and water into their free hands. “It’s all I got right now. I’ll try to bring more later.”

  “Feed the men, too. They’ll need their strength,” Gertie said.

  He crossed to the door and stopped at the latch, his pale face staring back at them for a long moment. “I’ll try to find the key,” he said, and slipped out, pulling the door closed behind him with a thud.

  They heard low voices outside the door again and the burly guard stuck his head back in, eyeing them up and down with a scowl. Apparently satisfied, he closed the door once more.

  Gertie and Tanyth stood together for a long moment without moving.

  “Think he’ll do it?” Tanyth asked.

  “He’s scared. He may just scoot on his own. He’s got a good chance up there as a guard.”

  “Better chance if he convinces his buddy.”

  “His buddy?” Gertie asked.

  “I wondered why there were two guards in every position,” Tanyth said. “Less chance one man will take it into his head to run. He’d need to convince his buddy to go with him.”

  “Or kill him,” Gertie said.

  Tanyth sighed but said nothing.

  “Well, let’s eat. That bread smells half decent, and it’s been a long time since lunch,” Gertie said, letting go of the shackle and dropping cross-legged on the floor. “Maybe somethin’ll occur to us.”

  Chapter Thirty-five:

  Punch Press

  Gertie lifted her arm and dropped it again, letting the iron chains clack together. “This is gettin’ old,” she said.

  “Yeah,” Tanyth said. “Wonder how Morris is doing.”

  “I wonder if we can break these locks,” Gertie said. “They’re the most likely point of failure.”

  Tanyth sighed. “You think we can crush them with my staff or something?” She held up her own wrist to examine the locking mechanism for the hundredth time.

  “Well, let’s at least see what else is here,” Gertie said. “Malloy might have left a spare key in his desk.”

  Tanyth clambered to her feet. “All right. Let’s look again. The first time through his drawers didn’t turn up much, but maybe we overlooked something.”

  Gertie followed in Tanyth’s wake, being careful to keep the iron from dragging on the stone floor. “You take the left, I’ll take the right this time,” she said.

  With a shrug, Tanyth traded places and they rifled down the drawers in short order.

  “He doesn’t keep much in this desk,” Tanyth complained. She glanced over at Gertie. “How well does your li’l helper read, anyway?”

  Gertie sighed. “Not well. If I make the shapes big enough and clear enough I can make them out, but most of this stuff is just pages with scratches on it as far as I can tell.”

  “You’re not missin’ much. Account books, equipment lists. Nothin’ we can use to get out of here.”

  “We’re missin’ somethin’,” Gertie said, standing up and arching her back in a stretch. “Somethin’s not here.”

  “What?”

  “If I knew that, I’d know where to look.”

  Tanyth straightened up and stretched her own back. “Malloy is a pirate and a thief. He’s got kidnapped sailors mining gold out the cliff.”

  “Where’s he keep it?” Gertie asked
.

  “What? The gold?”

  “Yeah. And how’s he sellin’ it?”

  Tanyth stopped and stared at Gertie. “How’s he sellin’ it?”

  “Gold’s a metal. Not much use ‘cept as jewelry and coins. Turnin’ it into spendin’ money? How’s that work?” Gertie took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her brow furrowed. “There’s another thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Captain Malloy strike you as the trustin’ type?”

  “Not ‘specially.”

  “So, he has all these slaves and workers he’s planning on killin’ to keep his secrets. He ain’t gonna be sailin’ around with all his treasure on the ship.”

  “It wasn’t that big a ship.”

  “And it might get lost,” Gertie said. “Somebody might notice it.”

  “Where’s he gonna keep it?” Tanyth said, her gaze scanning the room again. “It ain’t gonna be far away.”

  “He’ll wanna be able to keep his eyes on it,” Gertie said. “What’s here that’s not stone?”

  “The desk,” Tanyth said. Her gaze raked the room. “The chains. His cot.”

  Gertie led the way to the alcove. A strong fug of stale sheets hung in the air.

  “Guess he don’t believe in airin’ dirty laundry,” Gertie said with a grimace.

  Tanyth got down and looked under the cot. “A small iron chest under here.” She reached under and grabbed the handle, giving it a tug. It didn’t budge. “It’s heavy,” she said, her breath coming in grunts as she tugged the heavy case out from its hiding place.

  Gertie crouched beside her but even with both of them lifting, they couldn’t budge it off the floor.

  Tanyth stared at the small box in disbelief. “That can’t be more’n a foot on a side. How much can it possibly weigh?”

  “More’n we can lift. Is there a lock?”

  Tanyth looked around the sides and found a simple hasp welded to the iron. “Another one of these locks,” she said, rattlin’ her manacle.

  “Musta bought ’em in bulk,” Gertie muttered.

  “I still say we could smash ’em with my staff,” Tanyth said.

  “Prob’ly could, but the noise would have our neighbors knockin’ on the door and that would be bad.”