Rapscallion by James McGee

Author:James McGee [McGee, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Published: 2010-10-11T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

"This is Thomas . . . Tom," Jess Flynn said. "As you can see, he is flesh and blood."

Thomas Gadd was sixty if he was a day; a short, wiry man with powdery grey hair secured in a plait at the nape of his neck. His leathery brown complexion and labourer's hands spoke of a life spent outdoors. His limp was noticeable but not severe and despite the injury he appeared sprightly for his age. The scar, on the other hand, was a lot more livid than Hawkwood had envisaged from Jess's description. It looked as if it had been made by a blade. It was a miracle the man had not lost his eye.

Gadd had seaman written all over him. His grizzled countenance and braided queue were a dead giveaway, as was the tattoo of an anchor emblazoned on his right forearm.

"Tom, this is Captain Hooper, and Captain Lasseur."

Gadd's face betrayed no surprise, as if being confronted by prisoners of war on the run was an everyday occurrence.

"These gentlemen would like to earn their keep, Tom," Jess Flynn said.

Hawkwood and Lasseur felt themselves perused in turn.

"Been tellin' you I could do with some help," Gadd said. He stared hard at Hawkwood. "Jessie tells me you're a Yankee, Captain."

"That's right."

Gadd nodded. "Won't hold that against you. Met a fair few in my time. Liked most of 'em." In the same breath, Gadd said, "You'll be a soldier, too, Captain Hooper, and your friend's a seafaring man, I'm thinking."

Lasseur blinked in surprise.

Gadd sniffed. He regarded Hawkwood levelly. "You walk straighten I saw you and I said to myself, now there's a man who's done some marching and carried a pack or two in his time." He turned to Lasseur. "You, though, Captain, you've the mark of a man who's used to the wind and spray on his face. You only get that look on the deck of a ship. Am I right?"

"You are right, my friend," Lasseur replied, impressed and not a little bemused.

"Then you and me have got something in common. Reckon I've sailed on just about every kind of rig there is, and then some. Did time with John Company and the Dutch navy before I joined the King's service. Got the wounds at the Nile, in case you were wondering, but don't worry, I ain't a man who holds a grudge; leastways, not for that long."

"I'm very glad," Lasseur said.

"Speak your lingo, an' all." He favoured Hawkwood with a grin. "Enough to get by, anyways. Picked up a bit of Spanish, too; an' I can curse in Portuguese if I've a mind."

"Tom was in the navy with my husband," Jess Flynn said.

"Served together on Orion," Gadd said. "Jack was an able seaman. I was a quartergunner. Got paid off in '02."

When the peace had been signed at Amiens, Hawkwood recalled. Though it had not lasted long. Hostilities had broken out again just over a year later. He wondered why Gadd and his friend Jack Flynn had not returned to sea.

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