Read Online In The Belly Of The Bloodhound by Louis A. Meyer - Free Book Online

surely be made a private, at least. Maybe even a corporal.”
    Randall looks at me with fire in his eye, but he nods and decides to smile at my banter. He gets to his feet, bows low,
    and says, “I believe I saw my sister’s fat friend Pickering down below. Shall we all go to dinner and hear more tales of your adventures?”
    Hey, Ezra ain’t fat, he’s…well…sleek is what he is. Sleek, like a well-fed seal. Or, hey, maybe even a Silkie…
    Dinner is a jolly affair, with Ezra seated beside Amy, and me next to Randall. Randall drinks too much wine, but that’s to be expected. At least he is not the kind to get mean when he’s in his cups but is more likely to sing and tell rude jokes and put his hand on my knee. He actually gets on well with Ezra and refrains from insulting him, which surprises me. Maybe he figures that it wouldn’t hurt for one as reckless as he to have a good lawyer as a possible brother-in-law. He’s probably right.
    “You said the British were looking for you?” asks Randall. He gestures for his glass to be refilled, and it is. “What do they mean to do with you if they find you?”
    “I think they mean to hang me. I believe it’s been decided that this would be the best resolution for all concerned,” I say, as I let my eyes go all hooded. “‘Cept maybe for me.”
    “What? But why?” This from both Amy and Randall. Ezra already knows, of course, and he sighs and gives out with a wry “Why, indeed…
    I put my hand inside my jacket and pull out the WANTED poster that I had torn down that day in Newport. I hand it to Amy. “That is why. Soon these will be all over Boston. When that happens, I will have to stay a virtual prisoner at the school. As for now, if I keep my face hidden, I believe I shall be all right.”
    Amy’s eyes go wide, yet again, as she reads. “Oh, Jacky,
    no!” she says, as she has said so many times before in regard to me and my ways.
    Randall reaches over and snatches the paper from his sister’s hand and reads. “Well, I’ll be damned. You[_ have_] been up to some serious mischief. Not only do you single-handedly save Mother England from destruction, you also dip your dainty little toe into the waters of vile piracy. Amazing!” He brings the palm of his hand loudly down upon the table. “I demand that you become my mistress immediately! It has been ordained by the gods of war and of love. One such as you and one such as I? I will hear nothing against it.”
    “This cannot be true exclaims Amy. “Is it?”
    “Wellllll…” The corners of my mouth pull down in a rueful grimace. “It all depends on how you look at it.”
    “Perhaps you had best start at the beginning,” suggests Ezra.
    “Yes,” says Randall, beaming at me with all the lust that’s in him. “At the very beginning, and spare us nothing in the telling of it.”
    Amy says nothing, but only looks very,[_ very_] anxious.
    And so after I take a sip of wine, I take a deep breath, then begin to tell it, and, as I did with Mistress, I mostly tell the truth. However, so as to spare Amy’s Puritan sense of propriety and so as not to give Randall even more reason to try to jump me, I leave out the naughty bits. Most of them, anyway.
    Later, lying in bed, with Amy sleeping contentedly beside me, I look off into the darkness and smile.[_ Ah, it’s good to be back at Dovecote and forgiven my wanton ways, once again._]

Chapter 8
    “Till later, Ezra. Have a good day, and I thank you for everything.”
    We have returned from our short stay at Dovecote and are back in Boston, Jim having brought in the[_ Star_] neatly and tied her securely to the dock cleats.
    Ezra steps carefully off the boat and climbs the ladder to the pier. Jim had found this excellent mooring for her tucked in between the Crane and Woodward’s and the Hollowell’s wharves. There’s a little floating dock attached to the pier that goes up and down with the tides, so she’s easy to get in and out of. This is good for Ezra,