The Miscreant (11 page)

“He tried to pull me from my tent while I was sleeping!” Garran defended.

“I was just out to take a piss!” Dominic countered.

Clyve smiled. “It seems the facts are in dispute. Let’s save everyone a lot of unnecessary trouble. You trade me the fish for one of my men and we’ll be done with it.”

“He’s as free a man as any of us. I’ll not make a trade, and I’ll not give you what ain’t mine to give.”

“Suit yourself.” Clyve turned his predatory smile to Garran. “We have our own laws here, boy, and one of them is what’s yours is whatever you can protect. Now, theft is against the law, but your life and your virtue are up for the taking. This is a dangerous place, and the soldiers can’t be everywhere. Sometimes a man can make sure they’re somewhere else.”

Dominic shared Clyve’s sadistic grin.

Garran turned to Tye who sat as large and as impassive as the mountain he appeared to be. “Tye, I can’t imagine this place can properly feed a man your size. I’ll give you half my food for a month if you kill Clyve should he, Dominic, or if any agent of theirs cause me harm.”

Clyve laughed. “You think anyone is going to take up for a fish like you over me?”

“Make it a third for two months,” the giant rumbled without looking up from the ground.

Clyve’s mouth gaped open. “Tye, why would you take up for this fish?”

“Because I’m hungry, and I don’t like you none. Don’t no one like you, Clyve.”

The red team leader looked around the campfire for support but found none. “I’ve got more friends than you think. You all can go to hell.” He and Dominic stood and made to leave, but he turned and pointed a finger at Garran. “You’ll be the first one I send there.”

Evert broke the tense silence left behind in Clyve’s wake. “You have a knack for attracting trouble.”

“He does a fair job of creating it too,” Colin said.

“Is it true what he said about keeping only what you can protect?” Garran asked.

“Mostly,” Evert answered with a nod. “Every man has to protect himself and what’s his on his own. It keeps the camp from falling into anarchy. The entire operation would fall apart if our teams turned against each other like rival gangs.”

“Was I wrong to ask Tye for help then?”

“No, you made a fair trade, and that’s acceptable, but you also made Clyve your enemy as well as that Dominic character. They each have a legitimate beef with you now and will likely seek retribution. If they do, our laws say we can’t take up against them unless it brings harm to us as well. Then we have our own claims to settle.”

“What about the soldiers? Aren’t they supposed to protect us?”

“They are and they do up to a point, but I haven’t met a man yet who couldn’t be persuaded to look the other way. Even so, Commander Godfrey runs an orderly camp, so whatever they try ain’t likely to be overt. No one is going to jump you in the chow line or take an axe to you in the middle of camp. It’ll be sneaky and preferably look like an accident.”

“Great. What’s slavery without a heaped helping of paranoia to keep it interesting?”

“That’s the spirit!”

CHAPTER 9

Garran chewed mint leaves and rubbed lavender blossoms under his armpits. Weeks had passed without major incident, so he was letting his guard down just a bit. Other than some stare downs and an occasional, uncomfortable sandwiching in the chow line, Clyve and Dominic had not made any aggressive moves toward him. Perhaps they had decided that getting their petty revenge was not worth the risk of incurring Cyril’s discipline. Besides, it was date night, and not hell or high water would keep him from Rose.

“Sneaking out again, eh?” Colin asked.

“You betcha.”

“You know, if you get caught messing with any of the camp women, you’re in a lot of trouble.”

“I know.” Garran traced his body with the backs of his hands. “But I can’t deny her all this. It would be cruel.”

Colin rolled his eyes. “Oh, please.”

“Beg all you want, you blew your chance.”

Colin pursed his lips and shook his head. Garran tossed on a clean shirt, grabbed a small parcel wrapped in linen from his footlocker, and headed toward the outer fringes of the camp. Instead of going into one of the latrines constructed near the woodline, he looked around to make sure no one was watching, slipped between two of the small structures, and darted down a narrow path cut through the wild rhododendrons and sage.

Rose stood in a clearing a short way off the trail and smiled when Garran approached. She looked around nervously like a girl afraid her father was going to burst from the bushes at any moment, a feeling Garran understood all too well.

“Hi, I brought you something,” Garran said.

Rose took the cloth-bound parcel, untied the corners, and smiled at the batch of wild blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. “Thank you, they’re lovely.”

Garran saw her smile falter for a brief instant before returning. “What’s the matter, don’t you like them?”

“Of course I do, It’s just…nothing, I’m being stupid.”

She plucked up one of the berries and made to pop it into her mouth, but Garran gently grabbed her wrist. “Something is wrong. You can tell me.”

Rose dropped the berry back into the bunch and sat down. “I just…oh, there’s no way to say this without sounding awful!”

Garran sat down beside her and held her close. “You can tell me anything.”

“It’s why I’m here.”

“What about it? I don’t care what you did.”

“You would if you knew.”

“No I wouldn’t. Tell me.”

A tear ran down Rose’s cheek. “I was poor and alone. I was working at a tavern, but they were going to start putting out some of the women working there to save money. I was the newest and the first one dismissed. I had nowhere to go, so I put on my best dress to find a man who would take care of me. I met an aide to one of the government ministers, and I was determined to do whatever it took to get him to love me, but when we went to his home, he attacked me. He didn’t care for me at all. I was just a plaything for him to enjoy for the night. When I tried to get away, he started hurting me and hitting me, so I struck him with a small bronze statue. I kept hitting him until he let me go. When I crawled out from under him, he wasn’t moving. I was arrested and accused of murder. No one believed me that it was self-defense. I thought I was going to hang, so I agreed to work in the camps.”

Garran wiped the tear from her face and held her tighter. “I believe you. He got what he deserved. Why did you think that would upset me?”

“It’s not just that. Some of the girls say the men sometimes find gold when they bust up the rocks or pan it out of the creeks. Garran, I don’t have anything, and I’m terrified to go back to what got me here in the first place. I was wondering…if maybe you could help me, if you found some gold like the others you could share just a little with me. Even if I could get away from the camp, I wouldn’t know how to find it on my own. I’m so helpless and worthless.”

Garran cradled her face in his hands. “You are not worthless. Of course I’ll help you. I don’t know if I’ll find much or anything, but I’ll try.”

“Thank you. I’m so humiliated having to tell you all this.”

“Trust me; I’m no stranger to social disasters.” Garran made a show of patting at his pockets. “In fact, I wrote up a little consent contract I wanted you to sign…”

Rose giggled, pushed him onto his back, and dropped onto his chest. “You’re teasing me!” she said before pressing her lips against his.

***

Clyve watched the young couple through the bushes from just a few yards away. It was all he could do to restrain his chuckling and not reveal his presence. The boy was a fool and was thinking with his prick. He had all he needed to formulate a plan, but he kept watching as things heated up and became interesting.

***

Colin looked up from the limb he was hacking at with his axe. “So how’d your date with Rose go last night?”

Garran dropped his reaping blade, grabbed Colin in a headlock, and shoved his hands down his pants before sticking his fingers under his friend’s nose. “You tell me.”

“You’re such an ass!” Colin shouted as he struggled to break free of Garran’s grip.

“Come on, I’m just trying to share the love.”

“I can’t smell the love over your unwashed balls!”

Trent and Frank laughed uproariously, but they fell silent when a group of men approached. Sensing the intrusion, Garran released his hold, and Colin shoved him away. Cyril, Evert, Trent, Clyve, Dominic, and two soldiers approached looking as dark and foreboding as an impending storm.

“We were just horsing around,” Colin said.

Cyril locked eyes with Garran and replied, “Despite the fact you should be working, that’s not what this is about. It seems Mr. Blagun is missing some property and thinks you may have had a hand in its disappearance.”

“If I was going to go anywhere near Clyve it would be to drop off a bar of soap.”

Colin snorted. “Like you own any soap.”

“I have soap…I’m just saving it.”

“For what, your funeral?”

“You two monkeys shut up,” Cyril snapped.

Colin looked at Garran. “What’s a monkey?”

“It’s an animal that looks vaguely like a man. I heard the zoo in Leva has some.”

“What do they look like?”

Garran looked pointedly at Dominic, traveling his eyes from toe to head. “They’re about six-two, hairy, with a sloping brow, a slack-jawed, moronic expression, and they like to throw their shit when they aren’t eating it. That’s why they have ungodly bad breath.”

“They sound disgusting.”

“Oh, they are, but I’ve heard some of them are clever enough to be trained to perform tricks like balancing on a ball or chopping down trees.”

Dominic took a threatening step forward. “Smart-assed little prick!”

Cyril stepped between the two men. “This is very serious, Mr. Holt. Both Mr. Blagun and Mr. Mercier claim they saw you skulking about in their area a few hours after dinner chow.”

“That’s right, I saw you by our tent last night,” Dominic said. “I didn’t think much of it until Clyve found his gold missing this morning.”

“Why would I take your gold, Clyve? What am I going to spend it on out here in the middle of nowhere?”

“Maybe you thought to give it to one of the whores, like that young, pretty one on the serving line.”

“Were you out of your tent last night?” Cyril asked.

Garran glared at Clyve, willing the man’s head to explode. He obviously saw him with Rose and possibly overheard their discussion.

“Of course not. With the exception of a couple trips to the toilets, I was in my tent all night.” Garran leaned toward Cyril, placed his hand next to his mouth, and loudly whispered, “I think I got a bad piece of meat last night.”

Colin wiped his nose with his sleeve. “I can vouch for that. It’s definitely rancid.”

“Was Mr. Holt in his bunk last night?”

“Yes, he was,” Colin confirmed.

Cyril looked to Frank and Trent. “What about you two, you see him leave the tent last night except to use the latrine?”

“I don’t pay attention to others’ toilet habits,” Frank said.

Trent merely shrugged.

“Have you checked my bunk?” Garran asked.

“Not yet, but that’s where we’re all headed now. I like to have the accused and the accuser present during a search.”

“Well, let’s go resolve this thing.”

Clyve smiled at Garran. “Yes, let’s do that.”

Garran felt very uneasy with Clyve’s confidence in his guilt. It was an easy frame-up job to pull off, one that would see Garran severely punished with little to no way of clearing his name. Even if seeing Rose was not against the rules, it was a poor alibi considering what they discussed. Clyve obviously overheard them talking about gold and came up with this little scheme. Garran had to admit, it was clever and almost certain to succeed.

The tent was empty except for the accused, accusers, and their escorts. They stopped at Garran’s bunk located about a third of the way down the length of the tent.

“Open your footlocker and step away,” Cyril commanded.

Like everyone’s trunk, a leather cord with a specific series of knots secured the lid closed. Locks were expensive, and the knotted cord slowed down would-be thieves enough to risk someone seeing them. Garran had a piece of string attached to the inside of the lid that would snap if anyone opened it, but it was intact. He slipped the loop at the end of the string off the small nail and opened the box.

Cyril rummaged through the contents with everyone watching his every move. Satisfied, the commander placed everything back the way he found it and closed the lid.

“Check his bed!” Clyve insisted.

Cyril looked at Garran and nodded to his bunk. Garran sighed, grabbed his blanket near the center, and whipped it off the bunk. Cyril picked up his pillow and smashed it with his hands to feel for any objects hidden inside then flipped up the thin mattress to reveal the tautly stretched canvas beneath.

“Shake out the blanket,” Cyril instructed.

With a roll of his eyes, Garran held the wool blanket over his head while pinching the corners, shook it, and turned it around for everyone to see.

“Goddam it, I know he’s got it!”

“How do you know for sure unless you put it there?” Garran asked.

“I…”

“Mr. Blagun, I think perhaps you jumped to conclusions and are mistaken about Mr. Holt’s involvement.”

“No, goddam it, I know he took it!”

“Maybe Dominic took it,” Garran said. “After all, he’s the only other one who claims he saw me.”

“That is certainly a possibility,” Cyril agreed.

Dominic snapped, “I didn’t take nothing!”

“I know he didn’t take it,” Clyve supported.

“I think Clyve’s insistence hints at something more nefarious than a mere mistake,” Garran said.

“Are you saying there is some sort of conspiracy?” Cyril asked.

“It is not beyond reason. I have had issues with both Dominic and Clyve. Maybe they contrived to set me up?”

“That’s a load of crap!” Dominic shouted.

Garran shrugged. “There’s one way to find out.”

Dominic and Clyve exchanged nervous glances as they made their way to the red camp. Something had obviously gone wrong with their plan, but neither of them could say exactly what. Not only would Clyve possibly lose his gold, it would mean severe punishment if Cyril decided they did indeed consort to falsely accuse Garran of theft.

Dominic went through the same routine as Garran had just a few minutes ago with the same results. The big man breathed a sigh of relief when they did not find the gold there either. He did not know what had gone wrong, but it was not looking like total implosion.

“You see, I didn’t take it.”

“That only means he isn’t a thief,” Garran said. “If we find the gold still in Clyve’s possession, we know they both worked together to falsely accuse me since both insisted they saw me.”

“Mr. Blagun, please take us to your bunk,” Cyril ordered.

“Fine, but I didn’t steal my own damn gold!”

Clyve’s bunk was near the middle of the tent a few paces beyond the iron stove set in the center. As they neared the middle of the tent, Garran edged closer to Dominic and guided him toward the stove. Predictably, Dominic forcefully shoved Garran away with a muttered curse. Garran made a scene of stumbling and falling to his knees at the edge of Clyve’s bunk.

“Step away, Mr. Holt,” Cyril ordered.

Garran stood with his arms up and his fingers splayed and backed away. Cyril went through the footlocker first and found nothing except Clyve’s spare clothes and a few personal effects. Clyve pulled the blanket off just as Garran had done and shook it out, but when Cyril lifted the sleeping pad, there sat a small pouch with Clyve’s initials burned into the leather. Clyve stood unblinking at the small bag, his mouth agape as if he was staring at a tiny fairy about to grant him wishes.

Cyril snapped him out of his stupor. “Is that your missing property, Mr. Blagun?”