The Merry Men of the Riverworld by John Gregory Betancourt Read Free Book Online

their silence. A bit to his surprise, the guards paused and stared at him.
    “I have come,” he shouted, “to free this city from tyranny! Look around you—you are surrounded by my men! Lay down your weapons or you will all be killed!”
    For the first time, Capone's men began to look around the meeting hall. Robin's archers had been waiting motionlessly up against the walls. Now forty-five of them stepped forward, arrows notched.
    A sudden, confused babble of voices rose from the guards. Bewildered questions—puzzled demands—angry threats.
    Robin shouted them down. “Drop your weapons and put your hands on your heads!” he instructed. “This is your last warning!”
    One by one swords began to thud against the floorboards. Two of Robin's men moved forward and began collecting them, while the others kept the guards covered.
    Chuckling, Robin descended to take charge.
    Outside, he could already hear scattered gunshots, as the smiths and their apprentices took care of what other guards remained. It would only be a matter of mopping-up after this.
    The city had completely fallen to Robin and his men. By noon the last of the fighting had ended, as the last few holdouts among Capone's men were disarmed and locked into the meeting hall with the others. All told, three hundred and forty-four of Capone's guards and lieutenants had been rounded up. Another sixteen lay dead, and eighteen more were wounded and not expected to live through the night ... mostly due to New Chicagoans settling old grudges with their former captors. The whole city had joined in the revolt at the end. Robin hadn't lost a single man.
    Of Capone, though, there was no sign. Robin assumed he'd somehow made his way from the city and fled. With such complete victory in hand, though, it seemed a minor detail. They'd send out patrols to try and find him later. Considering all he'd done to the land and people, Robin through Capone would have few friends willing to aid his escape.
    That afternoon, as the Belle Dame sailed close under its skeleton crew, Robin's men raised a red flag over the council building as a signal that all was well. A long whistle blared from the Belle Dame in reply.
    Musicians were already playing in the streets, and men and women were dancing in the plaza with joyous abandon. The gates to the city had been thrown wide; most of the population of New Chicago and Pisstown had come in to join the celebration.
    Emile van Deskol and the other gunsmiths and their apprentices had organized themselves into a police force, and the threat of their guns kept order. Truly, a new age had come to New Chicago.
* * * *
    “Look!” Mutch said, grabbing Robin's arm and pointing toward the River.
    It took Robin a minute to see what he meant. Two outriggers had cast off from shore and were sailing toward the Belle Dame . In the lead boat ... was Al Capone!
    Robin counted quickly. The outriggers held a total of twelve men ... all armed killers. The Belle Dame had a crew of eight at the moment, and two were little more than boys. They wouldn't stand a chance against Capone and his men.
    “They must have been waiting near the water,” Mutch said. “We weren't guarding anything but the city. They saw their chance to escape and took it ... and the Belle Dame just happened along at the wrong time.
    Robin felt an electric shock run through his body. “We've got to stop them!” he cried. “If they gain control of the riverboat—”
    “Get two boats ready,” Little John said. “I'll fetch some of our boys with guns. It's not too late. We can still stop Capone.”
    Robin and Mutch raced for the water.
    Ten minutes had passed by the time twenty armed men made it to the outriggers from New Chicago. Robin had to stand helplessly and watch as Verne and his men scurried across the Belle Dame shutting hatches, fastening wooden shutters over the windows, doing anything and everything they could to protect themselves before Capone and his men could board. At Verne