The Guns of Tortuga by Brad Strickland, THOMAS E. FULLER Read Free Book Online

hole,” he murmured in his accented English. “
Mon Dieu,
it is lucky that you did not strike twice upon such a reef.”
    â€œIt is, at that,” agreed Captain Hunter, though I thought that du Pont knew as well as we did that the “reef” that made the hole was a twenty-four-pound cannon. “However, the ship is sound. We hope to have her afloat in another week.”
    â€œ
Bien,
” du Pont said, his lipless smile splitting his face. He prodded at the gravel with his cane. “I have in fact come to extend to you an invitation, Captain. My good friend Monsieur Etienne Gille would be grateful if you would favor him with your presence at dinner tonight.”
    â€œI am very busy here,” Hunter pointed out.
    â€œ
Oui,
the repair of the ship, it calls for attention,certainly,” agreed du Pont. He waved his fat right hand in the air delicately. “But my friend Monsieur Gille is, how do you say, an important man, a grandee, as the Spanish call them. Very wealthy, and he has a voice in the government of the island, too. He could be someone you … need to know.”
    â€œSo?” asked Captain Hunter, with a quizzical tilt of his head. He appeared to think the matter over for a moment, and then nodded. “Very well. What time?”
    â€œAt seven in the evening. The plantation is not far from town. I will give you directions there—or your surgeon may accompany you. Monsieur Shea knows the way by now.” M. du Pont smiled again, though the expression did not light his dark, bulging eyes at all. “Tortuga can still be a friendly place for a gentleman who knows his allies. I hope we both may benefit from your acquaintance with Monsieur Gille.”
    â€œThank you,” Captain Hunter said in a wry voice. “Now if you could find me a few square yards of copper sheeting, how happy I would be.”
    M. du Pont’s smile widened, making him even more froglike. “Monsiuer, I am at your service. Ifyou have the gold, voilà! Like an alchemist, I can change it to copper.”
    The port admiral had begun to stroll away, when Captain Hunter called after him: “I say! One question. Will it truly be acceptable for Doctor Shea to come along? I’m sure he would like to see his patient again. He tells me the poor devil was badly hurt.”
    M. du Pont spread his hands, grasping his walking stick as if he were a conjurer and it was his wand. “But of course! I may speak for Monsieur Gille when I say he would be delighted of Doctor Shea’s presence.
Au revoir.”
    That evening all three of us set out, for I had talked my way into the party as a servant. It was a hot journey, even in early February, and as we toiled up the winding streets in our finery, my uncle constantly grumbled about his discomfort. “We might have taken a chaise,” he pointed out. “Five miles of walking is no joke, not when the ground underfoot is this unyielding rock. It was rough enough in that blasted carriage.”
    â€œI think it’s as well to get the lay of the land,” Captain Hunter coolly replied. “Especially since wemay need to bring Captain Brixton away suddenly.”
    My uncle shot him a dark look. “Faith, and if ye bring him away suddenly tonight, ’tis a corpse you’ll bear. I tell you, ’tis still a toss-up whether he lives or dies. We’ll be in port for another week or ten days, Mr. Adams says. Give Captain Brixton at least that long to mend before you play some harebrained trick.”
    Hunter smiled sweetly, but he would not swear that he would abide by my uncle’s advice, so Uncle Patch was in a foul mood by the time we had left the town behind and sighted once again the grim iron gates of the Gille plantation.
    A servant wearing splendid purple satin livery showed us into a grandly furnished room where M. du Pont rose from a chair to make the introductions. M. Etienne Gille was a sleek and elegant