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

you are still innocent.”
    That
again.
    “Yes, Mistress,” I say, and think to myself,[_ It was a close thing a few times, but…_]
    “When last I asked that question, you blushed. This time you did not. Why is that?”
    “Much water under the bridge, Mistress.”
    She nods. “Will you come back?”
    “I would be honored, Mistress?” I say.
    “Where are you staying?”
    “I’ll stay the night with the Byrnes sisters. Tomorrow, I must go see Miss Trevelyne. I hear she is poorly.”
    She considers this. “Very well. But when you come back into this school, you will be completely under my guidance and tutelage. Is that understood?”
    “Yes, Mistress.”
    “Good. Now you will join me for dinner.” She reaches up to pull on her tasselled cord. Far off, I hear a bell, and I know that Annie or one of the others will be on her way up. “And you will tell me of your travels.”
    I will and I do.

Chapter 7
    “You know?’ says Ezra, “this is not entirely unpleasant.”
p. He certainly had looked dubious about the whole notion of getting to Quincy by boat this morning when first he shakily boarded the[_ Morning Star,_] but now, as we cut cleanly through the calm waters of Boston Bay under a sky of brilliant blue, he appears to have changed his mind. He relaxes against the railing, then says, “Ah yes, me, for the life on the open sea. And I did not even need my coat. Yo, ho, he I have to smile at the notion of the newly nautical Mr. Pickering. “Indeed, it is a fine day, Ezra?’ says I from my place at the tiller. “But you can never trust the sea completely, as Father Neptune can turn nasty in a minute. It is his nature to suddenly test those who would presume to ride in comfort upon his ocean.”
    “I shall take that advice to heart, Miss Alsop,” says Ezra, using my alias for the benefit of Jim Tanner, who is trimming the sail and who, while proving to be a good lad, cannot be completely trusted yet. Two hundred and fifty pounds is a lot of money and would be a mighty temptation to a penniless boy.
    “Here, Master Tanner, be so good as to take the tiller. Steer between those two islands up ahead. I must check the chart.” Saying that, I get up, hand the tiller over to him, and duck down into the cuddy to get the map. He squints up at the sail and alters his course a bit. It seems he does know a good bit of small-boat handling.
    Jim is now decked out in new shirt and trousers, of which he is most proud. If he proves worthy, he shall get shoes and, when winter really sets in, a monkey jacket that will hold him in good stead if he continues to follow a seafaring life…Have[_ your monkey jacket always at your command, for beware the cold nor’westers on the Banks of New Found Land,
] as the song goes. I intend to put both the[
Star_] and Jim to work. When we return from Dovecote, I will buy some fish-and-lobster traps and Jim shall tend them with the[_ Star_] so we’ll make some money so I’ll be able to pay for his keep. I really don’t think I can chance playing in any of the local taverns, and Mistress ain’t gonna allow me out, anyway. Buying the traps and keeping Jim fed will be a drain on my meager finances, but I should see a good return on my money. I don’t have much, but I do have a sturdy little boat and a promising young coxswain.
    Yesterday, after I had dinner with Mistress and before I headed to the Byrnes’s place, I went back down to the docks and found that Jim had indeed found a more permanent and secure mooring for our[_ Star_] and was standing by, as ordered. I noticed, too, that he had bailed the bilges completely, without being told to, and that pleased me greatly.
    So pleased was I that I took him up into the town, bought him a meat pie from a vendor in the marketplace, and then went into a dry-goods store. There I purchased the pair of trousers, the drawers, and the blue striped shirt he now wears, all of which I refused to let him put on just then. We then proceeded up the