I could see Sam was close to losing his temper, so could Adie. Almost apologetically she added,
“But what if when they do stop him and make him open a barrel or two, all they find is ale. Then they’re going to have to let him go, aren’t they?”
For the first time, Sam looked curious and my blood ran cold as he said,
“Alright then Jabez. Let’s have a look at this barrel. I can see the girl’s not going to give up. Where do you keep it?”
“That’s another good thing about it.” She wasn’t going to miss this chance. “It’s in the cellar with all the other barrels; you couldn’t tell it apart.”
He looked at me and said,
“Just fetch it, will you? Quick as you can.”
As I got up, Adie said,
“While you’re fetching it, I’ll get the fire bucket from the fire and maybe Sam could get the one from out the front?”
I began to say that I’d get it as soon as I’d got the barrel, but Sam waved me away, telling me he’d get it and that the sooner we got this over with, the better. After I returned, Adie showed Sam every detail and when she finally invited him to find the hidden plug, she was delighted when he failed.
Carrying the barrel out the back, I again filled one side with water and the other with sand. Space was tight, but we rolled the barrel to and fro and then left the water for a couple of minutes just to be sure. After emptying the water out the backdoor, we finally turned the barrel over, removed the blind plug and poured out the sand. Adie took great delight in pointing out that, just as Sam’s salt would be, the sand was completely dry.
I could see Sam was thinking, so I was ready to say nothing and just wait for his opinion, but Adie wasn’t as patient and started to speak.
“So what do you…”
Sam raised his hand to stop her, but it was the piercing look he gave her that was the real reason she stopped mid-sentence. Lowering his hand, he turned to me and asked,
“Who made it?”
I told him; I didn’t know if he’d approve. Whether or not he did wasn’t clear, he just said,
“And do they know what it’s for?”
I assured him they didn’t. He thought some more, then said,
“So how many have you got?”
Finding her voice again, Adie said,
“That’s the only one. Jabez said we had to show you before we had any more made.”
“That’s true,” I told him, “but I did explain to Harry and John that if this one was satisfactory,” I tapped the barrel, “I’d need another dozen. They said they could do it, but I don’t know how long it would take them. This one took four days to make, so I suppose the rest will take about another month to a month and a half.”
I wanted him to say that the best part of fifty days was too long and he’d abandon any plans he might be forming. Of course I got my first wish, but he definitely had no intention of giving up his plans. Grasping the barrel, he said,
"Tell Harry that whatever you paid him for this one, you’ll pay him double for the rest. But you can also tell him you want the first six in a week, the rest in two.
I don’t care how you do it, but you make sure he knows he’d need to get them finished on time, that’s if he knows what’s good for him."
Whilst Sam was talking, Adie had been on her knees next to me, using cupped hands to shovel sand back into the buckets. But now I felt her bristle and she stopped shovelling. Getting to her feet, she looked straight at Sam and said,
“Why do you do that? Why do you always threaten people?”
He looked back at her. I could see she’d thrown him again and he was searching for a reply. Finally he said,
“I need them to be more frightened of me than of anyone else, pan owners, the Excise Supervisor, Magistrates, even the King if it comes to it. If they’re not, then I can’t be sure they can’t be bribed, threatened or just plain scared into telling all they know.”
When she replied, I heard tightness in her voice. She knew the line had been crossed already, but that didn’t stop her.
“You can trust me and Jabez. Remember I thought of the barrel and Jabez had it made, we could have kept quiet, then you wouldn’t have known anything about it. But we didn’t keep quiet. We told you because we thought it might be of use to you – especially now.”
I tried to read Sam’s face but it was impossible. Unblinking, those piercing eyes were still staring at her, but his thoughts were hidden. Just as on their first meeting, Adie met his stare and carried on.
“Harry and John don’t need threatening either. They’re desperate for work and know, if they want to carry on getting ours, they’re going to have to keep quiet about it. Also, if Jabez tells them he wants the rest of the barrels quickly, they’ll make them as fast as they can. It stands to reason, they’re going to hope if they do a good job there might be more work coming their way; threatening them won’t make them go any faster than the chance to put food on their family’s table will.”
I was getting used to this slip of a girl speaking her mind, but I wasn’t sure Sam ever would. But I’ll give him credit – he tried. Turning to me, he said,
“As I said, I want six in a week and six the week after.”
Then he spoke to Adie.
“You’re young with a lot to learn, so for now all I’ll say is that if I want your advice, I’ll ask for it.”
He started for the door, but before leaving, turned to me and said,
“Jabez, if this works, it could dig me out of a hole, but I need those barrels fast and I need them right first time; get them made and I’ll explain.”
With that, he was gone and I was left looking at Adie.
“What?” she said defiantly. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
The truth was I admired her, but what I said was,
“I think you must have a death wish. That’s the second time you’ve spoken to him like that and I honestly don’t know why he keeps letting you get away with it.”
“It made a difference though, didn’t it?”
I couldn’t see what she meant.
“I don’t know why you say that. He still wants half the barrels in a week, the rest in two.”
She gave me a knowing smile.
“That’s true, but do you remember him issuing a single threat after I spoke out, ’cos I don’t.”
I had to admit she was right, but that didn’t stop me from being outside the smithy at dawn with two empty barrels strapped to the jenny waiting for the blacksmith and his son to appear.
Harry appeared at half past six.
“Mornin’ Jabez,” he said as he opened the smithy, “I don’t need to guess why you’re here so early. John’s barrel must have been what you wanted and now you want to talk about the rest.”
I hadn’t yet worked out how I was going to tell him how quickly I needed the rest, but he seemed to be in a good mood, so I just agreed with him and told him John’s work couldn’t have been better.
Harry smiled and said,
“You’re lucky to find me here. I got some gate work in yesterday and I promised it would be finished today, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. Hold on a minute while I light the forge. It takes a bit o’ time to heat up. Then we can talk about your work.”
I was surprised John wasn’t with him but Harry must have read my mind.
“John’ll be along presently. Today’s his turn to clear the muck.”
I’d forgotten that Harry and John shared a job in town and that each morning one of them cleared mud and manure from the shop doorways of those whose owners were willing to pay. Even though it didn’t pay too well, I was sure they wouldn’t want to give the work up, which meant they’d have even less time to complete my barrels.
I decided I needed to tell them the whole truth; what they were making and who for, so I told Harry I needed to talk to both of them as soon as John arrived. I thought I saw a trace of a smile, but he said nothing just shrugged his shoulders and carrie
d on stoking the forge.
About half an hour later, John appeared whistling to himself.
“You’re in a fair mood son. People must have paid up.”
John stopped whistling and said,
“Not only did everyone pay up, but even that tight bugger who owns the apothecary settled his bill.”
Harry laughed. “You can’t mean old Jeremiah Hunt? He must owe us for nigh on a year.”
“That’s exactly who I mean and that’s just what he paid us; for a whole year. And that’s not everythin’, ‘cos I found a bob in the street. I nearly missed it. I’d just cleared a doorway and was about to sweep the muck into the gutter when I saw something glitter. It was nearly hidden and it’s only because the sun had just come out from behind a cloud that I saw it. Anyway Dad, the ales on me tonight, no argument – at least ’til the shillin’s run out. Mentionin’ ale, good mornin’ to you Jabez. Me chunterin’ on, you must be here about your ba…”
“That’s right John. Jabez is here to talk about the work he needs doin’.”
Harry signalled for us both to keep quiet and then walked quickly and quietly out of the smithy. Moments later, we heard him speak.
“Can I help you?”
Hearing Harry talking to someone, I started to follow John out of the smithy. Neither of us had heard anything and both of us were keen to see who was there. But before I turned the corner into the lane, I recognised a familiar voice.
“No, no, I was just passing and I thought I heard someone I knew, but I must have been mistaken.”
I stopped in my tracks. I didn’t want another argument with Tom Rider and I certainly didn’t want him finding out why I was there. Harry must have been thinking the same way because I heard him say,
“No one here but me and John. It’s him you must have heard.”
John pointed at their wood store. It was the only place I could go in the smithy where I couldn’t be seen. I tried as quietly as I could to conceal myself, whilst John strolled out the front and started talking to Tom.
The store was small, cramped and almost full, but I managed to find a fixed but tolerable position where I could wait for Tom to leave. With nothing to do but wait for Harry and John to re-appear, I began to think about Tom and why he was outside the smithy this early in the morning. It struck me that he must have been following me because the smithy was at the end of a lane, so unless he had business with the blacksmiths, he had no reason to be there. As I thought about it, more incidents fell into place: the morning after that first salt delivery when he was hanging around my stable, how, on several occasions I’d heard noises outside the pub when returning from a delivery, that Sam had told me his men had spotted Tom hanging around the Boar on more than one occasion and finally, I remembered how on the morning I’d overslept and Adie had found and woken me, she’d said that the front door had been wide open when I was sure I’d locked it. It dawned on me that the earliest incidents may have just been plain nosiness, but from the day Adie started working in the pub and certainly after she moved in, he’d been trying to find out what I was doing and I didn’t think it was just to satisfy his own curiosity.
Although at first tolerable because I was unable to move, my position was fast becoming unbearable. I was just trying to work out how best I could move without creating too much noise, when Harry opened the door to the store and helped me out.
“Tom’s gone. John’s just making sure he’s not doubled back.” He looked serious. “But I think he knew you were here and more than that, I think he’s got some idea why.”
It didn’t worry me that Tom knew I was there, although I wanted to avoid any sort of quarrel with him, but I was very concerned that he might know why. Harry must have seen that I looked worried because he added,
“I’m not saying he definitely knows about the barrels, but we can’t be sure how much he overheard and I bet he already had an idea about the salt.”
There was no doubt that I’d been rattled by what Harry had said, but at least it was clear that him and John had already worked out what I wanted the barrels for, so at least I wouldn’t have to explain that to them.
John returned and after he closed the doors, I explained what I needed and more importantly by when. I’d also decided to tell them exactly who they were getting involved with.
“The modifications you made to the barrel were perfect John, but now I’m going to need some more with exactly the same changes – that’s the easy part. Probably what’s most important is who’s behind this…”
“Sam Baker?”
It was Harry who spoke and I must have looked taken aback.
“It is Baker, isn’t it?” he asked.
I admitted it was.
“Only someone involved in salt smuggling, as much as Sam Baker, is going to make this much effort. We don’t like getting involved with him, I’m sure you don’t either, but we’ve got used to the idea.”
I wasn’t sure they’d be so used to it when I told them how quickly the barrels would be needed.
“He wants six barrels in a week’s time, another six in two,” then remembered,
“Oh, and he says he’ll pay you for each barrel double what I paid you for the first one. But I’m sure you know he’ll exact a much higher price if you don’t deliver on time.”
I attempted a smile, but the truth was I was as fearful of Sam Baker as they were, so it slid away almost as quickly as it tried to form.
Harry said,
“I don’t suppose it makes any difference, but do you know why he wants them so soon?”
It was too soon for news of the arrests to be known by many and although I knew the Supervisor would make sure it was spread far and wide by the end of the day, I made sure Harry and John were amongst the first to hear.
“The truth is Sam’s in a bit of a spot. Two of his smugglers have been arrested and he’s had to stop all deliveries. Now he’s seen the barrel, he thinks he might be able use them to supply his most important customers right under the Excise men’s noses.”
Whilst his dad was talking, John had been silent, but now he spoke, the light-heartedness of earlier was gone.
“We’ll be pushed and we’ll have to change the way we do things, but I think it’s possible.”
I was pleased that he thought he could do it, but Harry wasn’t so sure.
“John, it took you four days to make one barrel. He wants six in a week’s time – that’s about one a day; and that’s without our other work.”
“I know Dad, but as I said I think we can do it. I need you to do all the muck clearing in town, ’cos we don’t want to lose that work, especially now that it’s paying. If you can do any other work that comes in the smithy, then I’ll concentrate on the barrels; if I need to work late, then I’ll work late. Don’t forget, he said he’d pay us double to get ’em all done in a fortnight and we could really do with that money.”
When I think back over the fortnight, starting that morning I believe I saw a father begin to hand over the reins of a family concern to his son.
“Now, while I’m working on the barrel in here, we can keep things to ourselves, but I’m not sure how we move them between here and the Boar.”
I had already given this some thought and decided the best way to hide them was not to hide them at all, so I said,
“I’ve been thinking about that. What we’re doing isn’t breaking any laws, is it?”
John agreed.
“So I think I should bring them down here over the next few mornings then, as you finish them, you or your dad can bring them back. I don’t suppose anyone will be that interested, but if someone is meddlesome enough to enquire…”
Laughing, John said,
“Like Tom Rider.”
I was beginning to realise that Tom might be more of a danger to me than even the Excise Supervisor. Whilst the Supervisor wanted to catch anyone smuggling salt, especially Sam Baker, it was becoming clear Tom was only interested in ruining me by any means. So I said,<
br />
“If anybody should ask questions, we tell ’em I’ve had some damaged barrels in the cellar for years and the brewery won’t pay me anything for them. We’ll say it hasn’t been worth my while sending them to the cooper’s to be fixed ’cos he charges too much, but that you need the work and have offered to mend them for me for a lot less. Everyone knows that most blacksmiths are having a hard time, so it’s a story most people are likely to believe – apart from Tom Rider.”
Elizabeth
My Hero?
What a few days I’ve had! On Monday, Tom was out really early on one of them walks he likes to have. When he came back, he didn’t say a word, just had his breakfast and set off for the pans. I didn’t think much of it at the time because he’s been pretty quiet since Will left, even more so since Adie went, but on Tuesday evening, we had a visit from Mr Sweetman, the local Excise man. I didn’t know him, but when I answered the door, Tom seemed to be expecting him because he slipped on his jacket and without a word stepped out. They both disappeared into the night and when he returned half an hour later, again he said little and when I enquired just told me I was better off not knowing.
But on Wednesday, all thoughts I might have had about these events and whether they might be connected was forgotten. It was fortunate I was in, because I’d spent the morning in town shopping and after returning, was about to go gathering wood. I was just putting my coat back on when I heard a lot of noise outside the door. Before I could open it to find out what was going on there was loud and urgent knocking.
When I opened the door, there was Tom, looking like death and held up by two men. For a moment, I thought he was drunk, but then I realised his face was etched with pain. The men, who looked like father and son, brought him in and laid him, not too gently I may add, on our bed and it was only then I saw that his right hand was heavily bandaged. I looked to the men for an explanation, although I had a good idea of what must have happened.
“Scalded his hand in the brine, he’s lucky he didn’t fall right in.”
There was a groan from Tom and the men looked at him strangely.
Admonition Page 20