The Smuggler's Gambit (Adam Fletcher Adventure Series Book 1)

by Sara Whitford

  “They didn’t work hard?”

  “Oh, goodness! Not because of that, but because they were always so clever and knew the land—with all its creeks and pocosins—better than anyone, so they could escape quite easily, laughing the whole way home. You’d really have to treat them exceptionally well if you wanted them to stay on your land.”

  Adam nodded.

  “So, it turns out that when we were off the coast of St. Vincent—this was late November of 1717—our captain, the young fellow from Bath, determined to capture this great French cargo vessel we had spotted. It was quite a show, but we overcame the French captain and his crew and took the ship.”

  “This all really happened?” said Adam. He never imagined his master had such an exciting history.

  Emmanuel nodded. “It did. And do you know what the cargo was on that French vessel?”

  Adam raised his eyebrows as he waited to hear the answer.

  “Slaves. It was a French Guineaman called La Concorde, but our captain, he gave her a new name, Queen Anne’s Revenge.”

  “Ha! I knew it! You’re talking about Blackbeard! So it was Blackbeard! You sailed with Blackbeard! This is incredible!”

  Emmanuel just nodded. He wasn’t surprised the boy reacted with such enthusiasm. The notorious pirate’s exploits had been published the world over since the Golden Age, and everyone had heard of that most famous sea rogue, though most of what was printed in the papers and literature contained far more sensational fiction than fact.

  “But wait a minute,” said Adam. “I’d always heard that the men who sailed with him—the ones who weren’t killed in that final battle with Lieutenant Maynard—were hanged in Virginia by the governor.”

  “Ah, sure. Everyone has heard that, but you must remember, first of all, not all of us were in that last battle at Ocracoke. It was only our shipmates who fought alongside the captain against Maynard and his men who were dragged off to Hampton and hanged."

  Adam gave Emmanuel a confused look.

  The old man continued, "There were several of us back in Bath who had sailed with him, and we were arrested and taken to Virginia, but thank God, we escaped the gallows. Quite mercifully, before we'd ever even made it up there to face charges, in fact, word arrived from England that His Majesty King George I had granted us his pardon. Remember, those of us in Bath had never taken up arms against the Royal Navy. So it was that Lieutenant Governor Spotswood had no choice but to let us go, but they did tell us to leave Virginia immediately, and that if we ever engaged in acts of piracy again they’d hang us without delay.”

  “Goodness gracious,” said Adam. “I reckon you were relieved about that!”

  “Indeed, I was,” said Emmanuel, “and yet I still felt very sorry for my old shipmates.”

  “You said the experience with the slave trade is what turned you against it. What happened?” Adam inquired.

  “Oh, yes! Of course! You had gotten me so carried away with remembering those days that I forgot how I ended up back there remembering it all in the first place!”

  Adam smiled.

  Emmanuel continued: “We kept a few dozen of those slaves from La Concorde and brought them back to Bath. The rest we left with the French slave ship captain on an island in the Caribbean.”

  “Why didn’t you keep them all?” asked Adam.

  Emmanuel twisted up his face at the recollection. “That ship was the most vile, disgusting thing you’ve ever seen. Those poor Africans—hundreds of them—plucked up out of their homeland, naked, terrified, unable to understand a word we said, nor us them. It was a floating hell. And the filth down in the ship’s hold was unimaginable. Consider most vessels carry casks, crates, and the like. Casks and crates aren’t bothered by the call of nature. A vessel full of terrified slaves, on the other hand—well, let’s just say the stench was unimaginable. The captain, like the rest of us, was disgusted with the whole busineses. He decided we wouldn’t take all of the slaves, so we chose about sixty of the strongest, healthiest of the lot and brought them with us. The rest we deposited on an island, along with the ship’s previous captain, then we set sail for Bath.”

  “You brought the slaves all this way, then?”

  Emmanuel nodded. “We did. Everyone has their opinions about Blackbeard’s treasure, but they don’t know that the cargo we unloaded there on the edge of the Pamlico River that night was the most valuable we ever carried.”

  “I’m fascinated at all this,” said Adam. “In fact, I can’t even believe I work for you, sir! I’ve heard all about the pirate Blackbeard, but I never imagined I’d meet a real pirate myself!”

  “Ah, well, thankfully those days are long behind me now. But to speak of you working for me, I suppose we need to turn our attention back to the matter that brought us together at this table tonight.”

  Adam lowered his head. “Your life story was so exciting, I’d forgotten all about that.”

  “My life story . . . Ah, well, you’ve only just learned about a few days in this old man’s life,” said Emmanuel. “So much more I could tell you, so many adventures, but now I’ve already told you so much that they could run me out of this little port if they wanted to. Young lads such as yourself may be excited to hear pirate stories, but there are a great many more who think us to be devils.”

  “I’ll never betray your trust, sir. I pray you will believe me on that.”

  “I do, I do . . .” Emmanuel nodded. “So, on the matter of Richard Rasquelle—”

  “I won’t tell him anything!” said Adam. “I’ll tell him I’m not spying or doing any other sort of work for him—that I don’t want to be a part of this.”

  “And what? Land yourself into trouble for being suspected of aiding and abetting a smuggler? Don’t be foolish, boy. Use your head. Go along with his ruse for a while. Tell him what you want. Enough people in this town know me. I’m not worried about what he might say. It’d be his word against mine, anyway.”

  “I’m not telling him anything, sir. I was thinking that maybe I can give him useless information. Maybe he’ll grow tired of me and turn me loose.”

  “Well, we’ll just have to see if he does, but for now, let’s pray that nothing comes of it. We’ll soon find out what sort of game he’s playing.”

  Adam nodded.

  “And son,” he said, “I would never ask you to spy on Richard Rasquelle for me, but I would encourage you to keep your eyes open. No need to report anything back to me. Just observe what you can. You never know. It may be helpful.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  ALTHOUGH THE SUN WAS JUST now appearing over the horizon, the dock in front of the warehouse was already bustling with excitement. It was busier than Adam had ever imagined it could be.

  The crisp, cool air of the spring night was beginning to warm as the morning that had been eagerly anticipated by all the men in the company finally arrived. Emmanuel Rogers’s sloop, the Carolina Gypsy, was about to set sail.

  A few local farmers had brought livestock—pigs, cows, and chickens—which had already been lowered down into the ship’s hold and placed in their respective stalls. Adam watched the dock workers roll the last of the casks up the ramp.

  The men who would crew the vessel were enjoying tender last moments with their wives and children before departing for their nearly four-month-long voyage. They promised their families they would return before autumn.

  When the ship’s captain, Carl Phillips, lifted up each of his small children in turn to embrace them once more before the voyage and then kissed his wife, Adam could tell that the time had come for the vessel’s departure. His stomach felt nervous as he thought about what these men were about to do. On the one hand, he knew any such journey had its potential dangers, but on the other hand, a part of him deeply desired to be able to make such a voyage one day.

  Finally, Captain Phillips and Emmanuel went up the ramp of the ship, where the old merchant stood and beckoned the rest of the crew to come on board so he could offer a prayer for t
heir safe journey. Tears were shed, final hugs and kisses were given, and then the men all made their way up the ramp in single file.

  “Good morning, family,” Emmanuel called out in a loud voice. “I would like to first thank you dear ladies and your children for lending us your husbands and fathers for a time so they can make this journey. Of course you all know that I’d never allow men to leave my dock for a voyage such as this without asking for the Lord’s protection over the Gypsy—her captain and crew. If you all would, please bow your heads as we pray.”

  The crowd fell silent, and everyone bowed their heads.

  Emmanuel prayed, “Heavenly Father, we are gathered here today to see this vessel, the Carolina Gypsy, make her voyage to the West Indies, with Captain Carl Phillips at the helm. Father, we know it is only by your good grace that I have this company—and this vessel—and a capable crew to sail her. I pray that you would show traveling mercies to these men. Grant them fair winds and following seas. Keep them safe under your watchful eye. Grant them wisdom to respond rightly to every situation, and bring them home again to us safely when their work is done. In Jesus’s most precious and holy name we pray, amen.”

  As soon as he was finished praying, Emmanuel shook the hands of the captain and every member of the ship’s crew, then came down the ramp and joined Adam, Boaz, Martin, Elliot, and Joe on the dock. They, along with the company’s dock workers, the families of the ship’s crew, and the farmers who had stayed to see the vessel depart, all watched and waved as the crew of the Gypsy bade them farewell.

  Once the ship drifted out of sight and the crowd began to disperse, Emmanuel called his warehouse crew to attention.

  “Men, thank you for all your hard work these last several weeks. As you know, we’ve been expecting the arrival of the Elizabeth Ella from Liverpool any day now. The seas can be unpredictable, so she could be here as soon as today, or not for several more days. No matter when she arrives, I want you all to be ready. Be on constant standby.”

  Emmanuel turned his attention to the group of idlers. “You lot—since you all work all over the place, I expect you to keep an ear to the ground and be here just as soon as you know that a ship is coming. I don’t want to have to send out messengers to fetch each of you once the Elizabeth Ella is already here. I want you to be ready to get the vessel unloaded and then loaded up again as soon as possible. We have another shipment coming in right behind the one from Liverpool, and we may not have much time to rest in between. I certainly don’t want to deal with the possibility of the two shipments overlapping because some of you are too slow to get here and get the job done. Is that understood?”

  The men all nodded and said that they did before they all went in their separate directions.

  As the coopers followed Emmanuel back into the warehouse, Martin put his arm around Adam’s shoulder and said, “So what’d you think of that, my friend?”

  “That was incredible! I’ve never been part of anything like that before.”

  “I figured you’d be impressed,” said Martin. “I’ve been working here since I was not much older than you, and I remember my first time helping out with a voyage. I’ll tell you what, it’s still as exciting today as it was the first time. And there ain’t too many things in life you can say that about, is there?” He chuckled as he elbowed Adam’s side.

  Adam smiled and laughed along with him, although he really didn’t understand what Martin was talking about.

  Everyone was in a good mood, but quite unexpectedly Boaz soon put a damper on the excitement.

  “Hey, Fletcher! You do know if you run into your old buddy Rasquelle, this is none of his business, right?”

  Adam rushed across the work area to where Boaz stood. “What’s your problem? Do you think I’m a fool?”

  “I thought we’d already established that you were after what you did on Saturday,” said Boaz. He laughed at his own comment.

  Adam shoved him. Boaz shoved him back, but his force was so hard, Adam landed flat on his back.

  Emmanuel quickly went over and got between them. He reached down to help Adam back to his feet, then turned to face Boaz. “I’ll have none of this. You just leave the boy alone and don’t provoke him. He’s here because I want him here, whether you like it or not.”

  Then Emmanuel turned his attention to Adam. “And don’t you forget that Boaz is your superior on this floor. You will show him respect whether you like what he says to you or not. And fighting will not be tolerated in this company. I won’t fire you, but I’ll make your life miserable if you try to bring that here. Boaz could easily tear you limb from limb. You just consider yourself lucky that he only pushed you to the floor rather than knocking you in the head.”

  Emmanuel looked over at Martin and motioned for him to see the boy out of the warehouse. Adam sighed and went willingly. He understood that Emmanuel just wanted everybody to cool down, and that wouldn’t likely happen with him and Boaz stuck together in the same room.

  Chapter Fourteen

  ADAM LET MARTIN CONVINCE HIM to take him to the Topsail to have breakfast. Martin had told him that he hoped by the time they had full bellies, both Adam and Boaz would have cooled down enough to work together in the warehouse again.

  “Adam! What are you doing here this morning?”

  “Good morning, Mama.” Adam leaned over and kissed Mary on the cheek, then introduced his coworker. “This is Martin Smith. He’s a cooper over at the warehouse.”

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Smith,” said Mary.

  “Oh, the pleasure is all mine,” cooed Martin. “Adam never mentioned his mother was such a lovely woman.”

  Adam swiftly elbowed Martin in the ribs. “We just got done seeing off Mr. Rogers’s ship. We’ve already been up for a few hours. Figured we’d come by and fill up on one of Aunt Franny’s delicious breakfasts.”

  “Well, you boys go on and find yourselves a table. I’ll go let her know you’re here so she can whip up something you’ll like. Mr. Smith, what will you have?”

  Martin smiled, “Hmm . . . Surprise me.” He winked at Mary.

  Mary wrinkled her eyebrows—Adam could see she was unsure of how to take his flirtatious friend—then disappeared into the kitchen.

  “Martin,” said Adam, “you’re a nice fellow, and I’m glad we’re friends, but that was my mother. You are not allowed to flirt with my mother. Ever.”

  “Why is that? Because she’s your mother, or because it’s complicated?” Martin grinned, then leaned back in his chair and rested his elbow on the windowsill.

  “Because she’s my mother. And there are a dozen other reasons. But mostly because she’s my mother.”

  “Fair enough,” said Martin. “But she’s still a beauty.”

  Adam rolled his eyes.

  Martin changed the subject. “Boy, you’ve really got Bo hoppin mad.”

  “Yeah. Let’s talk about that. What in the world were you thinking telling them about that whole mess with Richard Rasquelle? I told you I was going to talk to Valentine. I thought you and I agreed we’d talk about it when I got back.”

  “You sprang all that on me right before we got to the warehouse,” said Martin. “What was I gonna say? I didn’t think you understood the danger of the situation, and I wanted to give them notice in case you decided to do something stupid.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, like telling Bo first, for instance. I made sure to tell them both at the same time. If you’d have just told Bo—well, he’d might’ve tore your head off.”

  “Yeah, I guess. I don’t think I’d have said anything to him first, though. He doesn’t like me very much. Never has.”

  “Eh, I wouldn’t say that,” said Martin. “I think he’s just a bit jealous.”

  “Jealous? What for?”

  “Well, just think about it. Emmanuel ain’t taken on an apprentice since he brought Bo in when he was even younger than you. Bo’s like his son. I reckon him taking you on as an apprentice, too, took him by surprise.
And it’s not just that. He’s real protective of Emmanuel. Matter of fact, he once killed a man who was stealin from Emmanuel.”

  “He did what?”

  “Yep. I reckon you hadn’t heard about none of that then, have you?”

  Adam shook his head. “Boaz killing a man? No! I’d have sure remembered if I’d heard anything about that. What happened?”

  “Well, it was all just awful. Before I came to work there. In fact, it was before I was even born—you, too.”

  Just then Mary came over to the table with a pot of coffee and two mugs. “Here you go, boys. Your breakfast’ll be here directly.”

  Adam smiled up at her. “Thanks.”

  She disappeared again to wait on other tables.

  “Alright, so tell me what happened. Who was the man?” asked Adam.

  “I don’t remember his full name. I just know his name was Freddy something or other. He was the brother of a girl that Bo was sweet on. In fact, Bo was planning to marry her. The brother was working at the warehouse as a cooper back then—the only person Emmanuel ever had in his shop who wasn’t connected to him by family or old friends.”

  “Bo killed the brother of the girl he planned to marry?”

  Martin nodded. “Yep—well, something like that. Turns out the brother and sister had cooked something up. Back in those days, Emmanuel used to be away from the warehouse a lot more than he is now. Those two—Freddy and his sister; her name was Josephine—apparently had been planning the whole mess for a long time. They had this whole complicated scheme where Josephine would work her feminine charms on Bo. Freddy used to tell Bo to go on and spend time with her, that he’d cover for him with Emmanuel. Everything seemed to be going along fine. Bo would go see the girl every Saturday and she’d fix him a meal. Well, one Saturday apparently the plan was for the girl to entice Bo with something more than a meal—something that would keep him away for a while longer. Meanwhile, her brother had his eye on a lot of the antiques in Emmanuel’s apartment. He planned to load up, and by the time Bo got back that day, he’d have moved all of the loot to some secret location and would be back at work like nothing ever happened.”