Cast in Time: Book 4: Earl by Nelson Ed

Author:Nelson, Ed
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

I watched them unloading the gold and silver ballast from the bottom of the Chinese junk. They had to unload several sealed barrels before taking the last of the ballast out.

“What is in the barrels?” I asked Chan, the head trader beside me.

“Some weird spices we picked up on the islands on the way here. Some we know of; others are new to us. I thought we would buy them and see how they sold at home. It would be nice to have a new product for our markets.”

“May I see what you have?”

“I will have one of each type opened for you.”

The first barrel opened and almost did me in. Black pepper. I leaned in to take a whiff. My advice to you is never to lean over a barrel of black pepper and take a whiff!

I sneezed and had watering eyes for fifteen minutes. Chan was roaring with laughter. He knew what it was and thought it would be a good joke. Some of us weren’t laughing.

Tom Smith was a traitor. He thought it was as funny as all get out. That wasn’t the one that hurt, though. My daughter Cathy was hysterical at the sight of my condition.

Not hysteric about her poor father’s condition. Hysterical laughter was more like it. There will be paybacks!

After thoroughly washing my face and rinsing my eyes, I could check what was in the other barrels, which had been opened for my perusal.

Chan had seen our cannons fire, so he understood me when I explained that a way to kill a person was to bend them over the barrel of a cannon and blow them in half. I think he got the message because there were no more tricks.

There were barrels of cumin, turmeric, caraway, anise, cinnamon, ginger, clove, and, of course, black pepper. There was one group of barrels that weren’t opened.

“Chan, what are in those?”

“Oh, that is only sugar. We always try to pick some up in India, as we know we can sell it.”

“May I please see what you have?”

It turned out they had seventy tons of cane sugar in granular form. He agreed to sell me twenty tons as he nervously looked at the cannon I had sent for.

I had no intention of harming him, but it wouldn’t hurt for him to sweat a little. I broke down and told him he would come to no harm and asked him what he wanted for that much sugar.

“It is worth a silver pound at home.”

That was not the number he quoted me, but what it translated to in our terms.

“I will pay a silver and a half for twenty tons.”

He perked up at that. “Deal!”

He thought momentarily. “Would you be interested in all of it at that price?”

“Yes.”

We shook hands, and I was now the proud owner of seventy tons of sugar. Call me Mr. Tooth Decay.

Sugar is best stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. So I was torn between opening each barrel and checking or keeping them sealed.

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