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If Henry was surprised to find himself suddenly accompanied, he didn’t show it. Without looking, he put up one hand and punched the newcomer gently in the shoulder. “Ha!” he exclaimed, and then grinned up at the man who stood beside him. “Not even a minute late. A man could set his watch by you, Mr. Troost. ”
“And some men do,” he smiled, cataloging Maria from the ground up as he responded to Henry. “Hello there, ma’am. My name’s Kirby Troost. I’d give you a fake one, but that don’t seem fair, since he knows mine already, and I know who you are. ” He reached behind himself and drew up a seat, then removed his gloves and rolled himself a cigarette from a pouch he kept in his left breast pocket. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. ”
“Is it?”
He shrugged. “I meet a lot of shady customers. Not many are women of your stature. Or caliber. ”
“I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not. ”
“Take it however you like; I meant only what I said. I’ve heard great things about you, from a surprising source or two. ”
“Oh, really? Care to name your sources?”
“A certain Captain Hainey sends his regards. ”
She was pleased, but did her best to keep from letting on. Besides the fact that she didn’t wish to admit he’d surprised her, she didn’t feel like recounting her old adventures to Henry. It’d take too much explaining, and he’d have too many questions.
While she calculated a response, Troost continued, sparing her the trouble. “I must say, I never would’ve pegged you for a pirate queen … but if Hainey says you’re all right, I’ll take his word for it. Now, Henry,” he changed the subject, then paused while he lit his tobacco. “I understand you’ve got something for me. ”
Henry looked back and forth between Kirby and Belle with no small measure of confusion, but when no one seemed ready to fill him in on the secret, he produced a thick envelope. “This is everything you ought to need. Next stop’s … well, won’t be Oak Grove, I don’t expect. ”
Troost shook his head. “Not doing Indiana. Shooting for Middlesboro instead. It’ll put us up closer to our favorite uncle. ”
“How long you think it’ll take?”
Troost considered this while he took a long draw on the handmade cigarette. The paper crinkled, burned, and flicked away to ash. “To Middlesboro? No more than a night or two, assuming nothing goes wrong with the travel arrangements. The rest of the way? Another couple of days. Shouldn’t be too bad, once we’re past the bluegrass. ”
“Travel arrangements?” Maria was perplexed. “Middlesboro … Are you going by air?”
“Unless you know a better way to get there in less than a week. The train lines don’t run that way, not since Sherman went barreling through the place in the seventies. But I’ve got a small rig set up on the Georgia side of Lookout. Would’ve rather come with my own crew, but the summons didn’t give them time to make arrangements. So I’m here on my own. ”
Henry’s left eyebrow lifted. “Your own crew? You’re not an air captain these days, are you?”
“Captain? Who wants that kind of responsibility? Not me. I ride with a good bunch, though. The kind who don’t mind if I keep my head down. ”
“Pirates,” Maria said flatly.
“Unincorporated merchants,” he corrected her. “Nobody worse than anyone you already know, madam. And the Naamah Darling’s gone about as straight as possible, these days. Her captain wants out of the nasty side of the business. Got a lady to impress, and she ain’t impressed with what he was running before. ”
“So what’s he running now?”
“Supplies,” he said vaguely. “Now, Henry, where will we put our cargo when it arrives? Are we headed for the Land of Lincoln, or does the uncle have
other ideas?”
Henry knew he meant D. C. Softly, he said, “Baltimore for now. Details are in the packet. So’s the money and their free papers. Get ’em there safe, and there’s another fifty percent waiting for you. Our good uncle knows you really bent over backwards to get here. ”
“I guess he knows how I feel about the District, too. ”
Henry cleared his throat. “You might-could talk an extra bonus out of him, considering. ”
“Nah. This is what we agreed, and it’s enough. This one’s important. ”
Maria asked, “Because of the scientist?”
Troost nodded. “That man’s got a bigger brain than anybody I ever met, and if you knew the crew I run with, you’d know that’s saying something. If it’s true what he says about his toy, and what it’s told him…” His voice trailed off like he was thinking of something else, and he wasn’t very happy about it.
“You know about his machine?” Maria asked. “I thought it was of the utmost secrecy. ”
