[Stephen Attebrook 11] - Missing by Jason Vail

Author:Jason Vail [Vail, Jason]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independently published
Published: 2021-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Stephen and Guy Mortimer collected five men-at-arms, twenty spearmen and archers, and a wagon at the camp, and crossed Alney Island on the causeway road to Over Bridge, which spanned the west fork of the Severn and connected the island with the mainland.

The bridge here was like the one to the east, a wooden structure wide enough for two horsemen abreast, three infantrymen or one cart. The toll booth on this side of the bridge was deserted. It was quiet. There was no movement in sight but that of ducks on the river.

The chain house here was a squat tower made of red stone. It sat at the shoulder of the bridge on the downriver side, where a path ran through the water weeds and grass to it.

They left their horses at the foot of the bridge and went around to the chain tower.

Stephen expected to find the door locked, but it had been chopped apart by axes. The top quarter of the door hung by a hinge. When Stephen pushed it inward, the surviving hinge gave way with a long shriek of tortured iron. The remaining chunk of the door fell to the ground.

The interior was illuminated by light coming through the door, slit windows and a slot in the wall to allow the chain to rise when it was winched out of the water.

Stephen stepped into the dimness, his heart hammering, his face just beginning to feel the flush of embarrassment, although he had no real reason to feel embarrassed. None of what lay before his eyes was his fault. But he could already hear Duke Richard’s ridicule.

For there was no chain attached to the winch. There was only an iron lug in the center of the winch where the chain should have been attached.

Guy, who had followed Stephen, bent and recovered a portion of an iron link that had been sawed through. This will have been the link attaching the chain to the winch’s lug.

“Someone’s stolen it!” Guy said.

“Enterprising fellows taking advantage of the chaos of war,” Stephen said, bitterly. He held out his hand for the broken link. He had never seen iron sawed before. It was as neatly done as if it had been wood. He wondered how the thieves had accomplished the feat.

“That’s that, then,” Guy said.

“No, it isn’t,” Stephen said.

“What do you mean?” Guy asked.

“There’s always the boom chain at West Gate. We steal that one.”

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