Mister Tidwell Gunner by L. Ron Hubbard

Mister Tidwell Gunner by L. Ron Hubbard

Author:L. Ron Hubbard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Galaxy Press
Published: 2014-06-19T00:00:00+00:00


Chapter Three

ABOUT eleven o’clock that morning we were preparing to get underway once more. The cockney-Indian cook had attended to the re-provisioning, and Bingo had climbed over the side early enough to attend to the details of filling all tanks. Everyone was tense with excitement.

I was standing up on the quarterdeck, watching the clouds for possible weather signs, when I heard something scrape against the side. Looking down, I beheld a little cockleshell rowed by a black oarsman. A lank Englishman snatched at our Jacob’s ladder and swarmed up the side. He dusted his whites when he reached the deck. Then he removed a sun helmet and wiped the inside of the sweatband with a silk polka-dot handkerchief. Spotting me, he came up the two steps to my level and approached, clearing his throat.

“I beg your pardon, but I fancy I address Mr. Harry Rankin. Is that correct?”

I assured him that it was, with some amusement. That was the last smile I had for some time to come.

“I represent the crown,” said the Englishman, tweaking his mustache and regarding me with watery eyes.

He lifted his hat and then wiped it again. I could see that he had something on his chest which was burning at him. Finally, after several weather comments and polite questions about how we had left business in the United States, he came out with it.

“I … er … have been ordered, Mr. Rankin, to forbid you to search for treasure off Hurricane Hill.”

“I’m sorry,” I replied, “but I’m busy just now. We’re getting underway.”

“Then,” said the Englishman, “in the name of the king, I demand that your clearance papers be turned over to me immediately for cancellation.”

“I know,” I said, “that this is Britannia’s ocean, but it so happens that this is a United States ship. Get the hell over the side.”

Once his foil became engaged, there was no stopping him. “Sir,” he cried, “do you realize that we can have you interned here under grave charges? The government forbids any search for treasure without a special order guaranteeing that fifty percent of the total gain be given the crown. All treasure garnered must be turned over to the government for accounting.”

“And how long does this process take?”

“Scarcely more than a year.”

I laughed in his face. “It’s my turn to beg your pardon. But it happens that I am in a slight rush. Sorry to see you leaving us so soon.”

“You are insolent,” he stated, fuming and sputtering. “It will be my solemn duty to order out a warship to picket you. That is the only way we can guarantee that the crown will benefit by your search.”

“We do all the work and you guys get all the dough. That it? Do you realize that it may cost fifty percent of the take to get that stuff out of there? And do you think we’re going to work for nothing?”

“I know nothing of these things,” snapped the Englishman. “If you do not agree to this, I cannot allow you to leave the harbor.



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