Death on Beacon Hill (Nell Sweeney Mysteries, Book 3) by P.B. Ryan

Author:P.B. Ryan
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: romantic suspense, mystery, historical fiction, gilded age, love story, amateur sleuth, boston, americana, historical novel, beach read, women sleuths, mystery series, historical mystery, governess, boston irish, nell sweeney, boston history

“You’d think he would have learned,” Nell said when she saw the big revolver lying right out in the open on top of Orville Pratt’s desk. The massive ebony writing table—ormulu-encrusted, ivory-inlaid, and topped with a thick sheet of red marble—was the centerpiece of Mr. Pratt’s elegantly masculine study. The walls were of carved oak paneling, the mantle red marble, the paintings age-crackled Old Masters. Hanging above and to either side of the imposing fireplace were racks and racks of swords and knives, shimmering malevolently in the dark: cutlasses, sabers, machetes, broadswords, daggers, even a few spears and battle axes. Many of the weapons looked Oriental; several were clearly of ancient or medieval provenance.

They had closed the door, of course, and lit just one small oil lamp on the desk, but Nell still agonized over the consequences—especially as regarded her position with the Hewitts—should someone discover them poking about in Orville Pratt’s private study.

Will lifted the gun, turned it over in his hand. “This is a LeFaucheux Brevete, all right.” He held it in the light of the oil lamp and pointed to a trio of tiny initials carved in the upper part of the gun’s grip: TJJ.

“Thomas Jonathan Jackson,” Nell said.

Will looked at her and smiled, as if pleasantly surprised that she knew that. “Yes.” He swung the gun’s cylinder aside, revealing six empty chambers, and snapped it shut. “Have you ever loaded a revolver?”

“I’ve seen it done. The bullets go in the chambers...no, first the powder, then the bullets, then sometimes a little dab of lard or wax on top of each bullet, and then the firing cap last, for safety. Oh, and I’ve seen it where the bullet and the powder are wrapped up together in a piece of paper.”

“Paper soaked in potassium nitrate,” Will said, “to make it more flammable. Those are called cartridges. They can be made of metal, too.”

“Metal doesn’t burn.”

“They work very well, nonetheless. They appeared shortly before the war, but they’re just now catching on. There’s a tubular metal casing which houses the bullet, the gunpowder, and the cap. When you pull the trigger, the hammer strikes the cap, which ignites the powder, which shoots the bullet. Eh voila!”

“What happens to the casing?”

“With a revolver, it stays inside the gun. Of course, it has to be a gun especially designed for that type of cartridge.”

Handing Nell the gun, which was remarkably heavy, Will lifted the lamp and started tugging one by one on the desk’s many drawers. Those few that were unlocked received a swift but thorough search before he moved on to the next one. “Eureka.” He produced a rattling tin box, which he set on the desk and opened. It was about half full of bullets, each encased in a copper cartridge. There was a little white label on the inside of the lid.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.