The Seekers

by F. M. Parker

  Karcher motioned at the cabin boy. “In the boat you go.”

  Tad went nimbly down the Jacob’s ladder and into the boat.

  Errin followed the boy. Once in the boat, he braced his leg against the gunwale and called up to Karcher, “Hand the skins down.”

  “Coming down,” Karcher said.

  A moment later Karcher scrambled down the ladders. He dropped his oars in the oarlocks, and with Tad trying to match his strokes, pulled the boat into the darkness lying on the water.

  Chapter 14

  Levi pulled his rifle from its scabbard and watched the row-boat draw closer to the shore. In the moonlight, he could make out two men at the oars, one of them small, and a third man sitting in the bow of the craft. The third man was looking at the beach. He said something to the oarsmen and they stopped rowing.

  Levi had awakened early and had been waiting for the sunrise when the boat had become visible on the ocean. It had approached from the direction of the sailing ship that had anchored the evening before, so he judged it one of that vessel’s small crafts. As he watched, the boat ground on the beach some thirty yards along the beach from him.

  He remained motionless to blend into the boulders that flanked his camp. With that, and the distance the rowboat had landed from his camp, the sailors should not readily detect his presence.

  The sailor in the bow of the boat stepped out onto the land. “Thanks for rowing me ashore,” he said.

  “Here’s your skins,” one of the men in the boat said. He passed a large bundle to the man on the shore.

  “Watch out for crimps,” the smaller figure said in a boy’s voice.

  “I’ll do that. Take care of yourself, Tad.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The man on the shore dropped his load and taking hold of the boat shoved it out into the water. The oarsmen swung then-craft around and pulled into the night.

  Levi saw the sailor pack his skins a few feet back from the water and seat himself upon them. He sat facing the ocean.

  A smuggler, thought Levi. Why else would he leave his ship and come ashore in the darkness?

  * * *

  Errin stared at the ocean that was strangely marked with alternating bars of silver and blackness. The moon, lying low against the wet horizon was casting a shimmering white frost upon the crest of the waves while leaving the sides turned toward him in total darkness. Through those patches of light and shadow, the boat carrying Karcher and Tad crept away like some alien water creature.

  As Errin watched, the moon sank behind the curve of the earth and all the heaving water turned black. The craft transporting his two shipmates vanished. He felt a pang of sadness at their going.

  The wind blew cold off the water and he folded his arms putting his hands inside his jacket. The coldness reminded him of past days and he drifted backward through his bleak memories. He recalled mining the coral rock from under the icy water of the sea off Van Diemen’s Land, and for rebelling against the prison rules, of being locked in the frigid, solitary dumb cell for days, and standing naked under the brutal lash. He shivered as he again saw Swallow’s dead, pinched face staring up at him as the corpse slid under the waves. He had been a good friend.

  But those were yesterday’s memories and he pulled back from them. He had arrived in a bright, new land that held much gold. He began to sing, a raunchy street song about a highwayman and what he stole from the pretty misses. He jumped to his feet and singing lustily, started to dance, stomping the ground joyously and whirling wildly about on the beach and in the shallow waves. His voice rose, flinging the song into the wind. He felt his life running strong and vital.

  Levi watched the singing, dancing sailor. In the half light and with his long black hair, and shaggy beard, he seemed a crazed spirit, a marionette gone out of control. Yet he sang with a happy tone. The fellow started a second song, bellowing it out even more boisterously than he had the first one. The sailor was having a grand time. If he was a smuggler, then he seemed to have little fear of being caught.

  The sailor stopped his dancing. He finished his song, and seating himself once again on his packet of furs, stared silently into the night blanketing the ocean. Slowly and without sound, Levi climbed to his feet. He leaned on the boulder and waited. Dawn was near and he wanted to be ready for whatever the sailor might do when daylight came and he saw Levi.

  * * *

  The dawn broke through the darkness and Errin roused himself. He stood erect and looked to the right along the stony, wave lapped beach, then to his left. He saw Levi and instantly moved his hand to rest on the butt of the pistol in his belt.

  “Do you plan to rob me?” Errin asked, glancing at the rifle in Levi’s hands.

  “I want nothing a smuggler has,” Levi replied. He braced himself to respond to any threat from the fierce looking sailor. The man had shown no fear at seeing Levi, only a tightening of his body, square built and muscular, in preparation to fight.

  “A smuggler?”

  “That’s my guess.”

  Errin threw back his head and laughed. “You’re wrong. I’m worse than a smuggler.” Errin realized that someone spying him coming ashore in the dark with his sealskins could easily draw the conclusion that he was indeed a smuggler.

  “Then what are you?” Levi asked.

  “I’m a bloodthirsty pirate.”

  “You’re joshing me.”

  “Maybe.” Errin grinned at the serious young man. He didn’t want trouble and he had observed the easy familiarity with which the fellow held the rifle. “No, I’m not a pirate. Just a man newly arrived in California.” He nodded his head along the shore at Levi’s horse. “Is that your mount?”

  “He’s mine.”

  “I’d like to get these sealskins to San Francisco. It’d be easiest if the horse carried them there. I’d pay you.”

  “I’d not take them if they’re smuggled.”

  “Now why would I smuggle such a small lot of skins?”

  “I’ve been wondering that myself.”

  “They’re not stolen or smuggled.”

  “Then I guess I can help you. What’s your name?”

  “Errin Scanlan. What’s yours?”

  “Levi Coffin. Give me a minute to roll up my blankets and I’ll be ready to go.”

  “I’m in no hurry,” Errin said, shouldering his skins and walking toward the American.

  Levi whistled for the black. The animal came at a trot, its ears pricked forward and alert brown eyes studying the stranger.

  “Good-looking horse,” Errin said.

  “He’ll do.”

  Levi finished saddling the horse and spoke to the Englishman. “Put your skins on the seat and I’ll tie them so that they won’t fall off.”

  Errin did as directed. Levi, with a few deft hitches of a length of rope, fastened the large bundle of skins to the saddle.

  “How far to San Francisco?” Errin asked.

  “About an hour’s walk just to the east over Mount Sutro.”

  Levi picked up the reins. Errin fell in beside him and they turned their backs to the ocean.

  The men said nothing to each other as they climbed up through the brush and boulders on the flank of Mount Sutro. At the top they halted, looking down upon San Francisco.

  “It’s a small city compared to London,” Errin said.

  “Big enough for me,” Levi replied.

  “And me too.” Errin looked beyond the city. “That’s a fine sheltered harbor.” The water of San Francisco bay was brilliant blue in the morning sun and pleasing to his eye. The bay was some three miles wide straight across to the mainland, and several miles long north and south. A multitude of ships were docked at long piers, many others hung at anchor. He counted six ships departing, and three arriving coming around the headland to the north. He thought one of the sailing ships was the Huntress.

  “It’s the only harbor I’ve ever seen so I’ll take your word for that,” Levi said.

  “I’ve seen a few in my tra
vels.”

  “Been to sea long?”

  “For a while,” Errin replied shortly. He started down the slope of the hill.

  They walked together, feeling the awkwardness of strangers. Neither made an effort to start a conversation. Half an hour later they entered the outskirts of the city, and continued on through a residential area of large, expensive houses and came to the business district near the waterfront.

  Errin halted in front of a tobacconist’s shop. Levi stopped also and cast an inquiring look at Errin.

  “Wait for me a minute, if you would, “ Errin said. He stepped up on the sidewalk and entered the open doorway of the shop. A minute later he emerged with a cigar in his hand. He ran the roll of tobacco under his nose and breathed deeply of the pungent aroma. In the penal colony of Australia to be caught with tobacco in your mouth, or in your possession meant fifty lashes. “Ah!” he said. He stuck the cigar in his mouth, and puffed it into life from a lighted match.

  As Errin savored the smoke, he gazed around at the congestion and hustle and bustle of men and vehicles on the street. The variety of businesses here was as great as in London. Immediately around him were a bank on the comer, a newspaper office next to it, a photo studio, a laundry, and an apothecary— the largest he had ever seen, with its huge front windows crammed with its mysterious bottles and jars. Farther away down hill toward the bay, he could see a harness factory, an iron foundry, a wheelwright shop, and several other businesses and offices.

  “I see the California Fur and Hide Company just down there,” Errin said and gestured with his free hand. “That’s where I’ll sell my skins.”

  They halted in front of the establishment and Errin untied his bundle of sealskins. “If you’ll wait for me, I’ll buy you a meal for your help.”

  “I’ll wait.” Levi knew no one in the city and the sailor seemed like a good enough sort with whom to eat a meal.

  “This shouldn’t take me long,” Errin said.

  * * *

  Errin ate slowly and said not a word. He had ordered two full meals, one with beef as the main course and the second with fish. There were three kinds of fresh vegetables, two desserts, a cup of custard and a wedge of apple pie. Both milk and tea sat near his plate. He intended to eat every tiny crumb. He had been robbed of a hell of a lot of eating.

  Levi was amazed at the sailor’s appetite, and the small bites he took and the thorough chewing of every mouthful. Now and again, the man brushed at his long, black beard to remove a stray piece of food.

  Errin laid down his fork. He cast an amused look at Levi. He had observed the American watching him with great curiosity.

  “I’ve missed several meals over the years,” he said in explanation. Never would he tell Levi of being an escaped convict from Australia.

  “That was a good start on catching up,” Levi said with a smile.

  Errin broke out in laughter. “How long have you been in San Francisco?” he asked.

  “Since yesterday. Spent my first night on the beach.”

  “Then we’re both strangers here. Do you want to throw in with me, at least temporary? We can learn the town together. If you need some money, I can loan you some.”

  Levi glanced down at his much worn clothing. The Englishman must think him broke. “I’ve got money. Enough to last me a few weeks.”

  “Enough to buy some clothes?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then let’s dress like gentlemen before we get arrested for looking like beggars.” Errin wanted to dispose of the sailor outfit as soon as possible.

  “All right, but first a bath, a shave, and then a haircut.”

  “You’re right. Then we’ll see all the sights San Francisco has to offer.”

  * * *

  Errin lay relaxed as the barber lathered his face and stropped a straight razor. The keen blade slid along his face removing the tough beard. With short hair, no beard, and dressed in a city man’s suit, no one from the ship would know him. At least he hoped that would be so.

  The barber tipped the chair and sat Errin upright. He glanced at Levi in the next chair. For the first time, he saw the scar on the American’s forehead. There must be a story there, but Errin would never ask. Questions brought return questions. He wanted none of those.

  At a men’s clothing store, they persuaded the tailor to sell them two wool suits he had on display to show the quality of his work. Neither Levi nor Errin wanted to wait for new suits to be made. While the tailor made some alterations in the suits to provide a better fit, they bought white cotton shirts and ties, and additional outfits of denim pants and sturdy shirts that could be used for riding and working.

  Later, dressed in their city suits, and after telling the tailor they would return for their purchases, Levi and Errin left and walked along the street.

  “I haven’t had a brew in years,” Errin said. “Let’s stop in this saloon and have one.”

  “I’ll drink one with you,” Levi said.

  “Good. I’m still buying.”

  “All right.”

  They shoved open the door and went inside.

  Errin’s first pull at his mug of beer was cold and tangy and he let it trickle slowly and deliciously down his throat. “Bartender, how do you get the beer so cold?” he asked.

  “With ice. There’s a shipping company here in San Francisco that hauls shiploads of ice down from the fields of icebergs off the coast of Alaska.”

  “Great idea. I salute them.” Errin took another drink of beer and turned to Levi. “I like cold beer,” he said.

  “What other kind is there?”

  “Warm of course. Shipping ice as a business seems odd, but then, if a man could start a business that no one else was in, he might make a lot of money.” He looked steadily at Levi. “How are you going to make your fortune?”

  “I hadn’t thought about making a fortune. But I’ve been offered a job. Louden, the boss of the Wells Fargo Company has asked me to take one at six dollars a day to guard their gold shipments.”

  “Gold shipments? From where to where?”

  “Wells Fargo picks up the gold that’s mined in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at towns like Placerville, and guaranteeing safe delivery, hauls it to the mint here in San Francisco.”

  “I’d think highwaymen would rob them.”

  “Outlaws do take some of the gold. That’s why Louden wanted me to hire on.”

  “Why you?”

  “I’m a fair shot with a rifle.”

  “You must be more than fair.” Errin drank some more beer and evaluated his new comrade. “How did he know you could shoot a rifle?”

  “I stopped off in Sacramento on my way here and entered a shooting match. Louden bet on me and made some good money.”

  “I’d like to see some of that kind of shooting,” Errin said He called out to the bartender. “Two more beers.” He turned back to Levi. “I’ve got a feeling that I’m going to get rich in this town.”

  “How are you going to do that?”

  “There are ways, many ways. Working for a daily wage isn’t one of them. All men who become rich do it by having other men working for them.”

  Levi reflected upon the Englishman’s words. “You’re right. They’re surely not fanners. They’re men who own factories, or companies that make and sell things by the thousands.”

  “Or mine gold, or own banks.”

  “It’s been several years since the first gold was discovered. I would think most of the easy gold has been found.”

  Errin grinned. “I wasn’t thinking about prospecting.”

  “What then?”

  “I haven’t got it figured out. But then I just got here.”

  The bartender arrived with the fresh beers and sat them before the two young men. Errin picked his up and held it out to Levi. “Here’s to becoming rich.”

  Levi clinked his mug against Errin’s. “To money and lots of it.”

  They drank, grinning across their beers at each other.

&nb
sp; Errin sat his mug down with a thud on the bar top. “Levi, you seem like a fellow I could get along with. Why don’t you and I become partners in getting rich. We sure as hell don’t know each other and it’d be a gamble on both our parts. But a man can use a friend in a strange city. We’d share everything equally. We could do it temporary-like with either one of us calling it quits at any time with no hard feelings.”

  Levi turned away and looked out the window at the people passing on the sidewalk. Would Errin have suggested they become partners if he knew that Levi had deserted the Union Army and robbed dead soldiers of their clothing, and money? That the horse that had carried his skins, was stolen?

  “There’s something that you might want to know about me before you make that offer.”

  Errin looked into the strained face of the American. “I’m not interested in what you’ve done in the past. We’ve both come to a new land, and a new land gives a man a fresh start with all the old deeds cut off and left behind.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to know?”

  “I’m damn sure.” Errin’s answer was quick and hard. He didn’t want to tell his new friend that he had once been an English highwayman, and a killer, though he didn’t think killing bounty hunters was much of a crime. “I’ll judge you on what you do from here on. Just as you’ll judge me.”

  “All right then, I’m willing to give a partnership a try,” Levi said. “But I don’t think money is going to come easy.”

  “Maybe it will. It just depends on how good our plan is. Drink up and let’s go see what this fine city of San Francisco offers two strong, handsome men.”

  “Handsome?”

  “Handsome enough to get by.”

  They laughed together and drank deeply of the beer cooled by ice from Alaska.

  The two men sauntered down Market Street passing among the well-dressed hurrying businessmen, the laborers, the street vendors hawking their wares, and a few women and some noisy children. Errin also recognized the drifters, rogues, and the chancers, so familiar to him in his native London. San Francisco would very nicely substitute for his native city so far away.

  As they passed one of the few small parks, a young woman in a bright blue dress came running up to them. Her pretty, fresh face broke into a wide smile. “Sammy,” she cried, rushing up to Levi and throwing her arms around his neck. “Oh, I’m so glad to see you again.” She pressed her face to his chest.