The Welsh Knight: Knight Magick 2 by Sams Candace

Author:Sams, Candace
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Candace Sams
Published: 2018-01-25T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

Galveston, Texas

September 7, 1900

Friday—one day before the hurricane

“I don’t like it, Mr. Pratt. I’ve talked to some of the other captains. The storm has got ‘em spooked. I think it’s gonna be worse than just some tropical storm.”

“Why?”

“The waves are high swells that are coming far apart and slow. I know you might not reckon by such things, but I’ll stake my reputation on my gut feelings, sir.”

Scott gazed at the man for a long moment. “What’s your suggestion, Captain Ellis?”

“Get the boats out to sea. Wait to offload the cargo. We can do that after the storm blows through.”

“That will cost money. We need to get those goods to the rail, and on to the warehouses in Houston. We’re running this company on deadlines.”

“Sir, I know. But I’m telling you, something’s wrong with this storm. I really suggest gettin’ the boats out of here, as far to the south as we can. Even as far as Mexico. There’s no time to waste with offloading.”

“It’ll blow in tomorrow. You won’t have time to get far.”

“You asked me, sir. I’m telling you what I think.”

“Where is my father? You should go to him about this.”

“Your father didn’t show up this morning. We need to make a decision now.”

Scott frowned, pulled his pocket watch out of his britches, and checked the time. “Father should have been her over half an hour ago.”

“Every minute counts, sir. We do this now, or we take our chances with the boats and the cargo. I’m tellin’ you, I don’t like the feel of this. I’ve been on the ocean all my life, and I haven’t ever seen the way the waves are hitting the shoreline. I tell you true, Mr. Pratt, this is going to be a bad blow!”

Scott considered the man, and the intensity exhibited in his expression. Darrell Ellis was one of the finest captains along the entire Gulf. Still, he didn’t have the seniority in the company to make such a monumental decision. Then again, if he was wrong, and the storm was just another of so many tropical depressions that blew over the island, Houston still wouldn’t get its deliveries on time. Nobody was going to haul anything to the railways. Not if a good rain and wind kept the delivery drivers from hauling perishables, and if some of the goods were fragile cloth and staples that couldn’t get wet.

“Use your best judgment, Mr. Ellis.”

“Thank God, sir!”

The man quickly left the office. Scott saw him running down the dock, toward the boats and the other captains standing nearby.

Apparently, the rest of the crews had been waiting to see what orders Ellis, as most respected among them, would be given. If they were all so nervous about the coming storm, then things were worse than anyone thought.

“Where the hell is he? Father should have been here by now,” he muttered to himself.

Ellis and the other captains had to have noticed his father’s diminishing mental capacity. Maybe that was why they’d waited for his sire to be gone, and had come to him about moving the boats out with such short notice.

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