The river has been open to trade, and the River boats are rolling in. Bring trouble in spades. Gamblers, Mistresses, bad guys galore and so much more, BG has in store.
A collaborative western story written in poetry, that continues as the character...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Remember Your Place
The smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, followed by a series of instructions.
"I want this deck cleared and that means you to Tallulah. I want the Captain's Table set within two hours, with seats for you and me, the Bean Counter, the Captain, my Cabin Boy and a couple of spares, other than that the room will be empty with you know who guarding the door.
Oh, the lad will also need a decent set of fresh clothing, suitable for the table, so please ensure they're delivered in time for him to change before we come to the meal."
She could take almost any humiliation handed out in her stride, but not the insult of a Cabin Boy elevated above her.
He sensed and enjoyed her reaction, which brought forth a quirky smile and a steely glare and added.
"Don't hesitate and remember your place".
The words slipped from his lips with a hint of malice, just enough to make her think twice and keep her mouth shut.
She regained her composure and once again fluttered her eyelashes, turning away she ushered the entourage from the deck with pretentious enthusiasm, whilst reluctantly giving out orders to satisfy his demands.
As they scuttled away, the commanding figure of Barton Denver inserted the key in the lock and unlocked it with the slightest pressure, then using his boot he nudged it open and waved the lad in.
The lad's mouth dropped like a drawbridge, he was aghast with the splendour he saw, there was nowhere else on the boat like this.
Right lad the first thing I need is for you to tug off these boots and give them a good clean, I want to see my face in them.
When that's done you can step into what's left of my bath, after which we can have a good chat, the lad couldn't believe his luck.
However, in truth, Denver was just being shrewd for he knew instinctively that the lad would have the nose of a bilge rat, the eyes a cat and the ears of a bat, honed to keep himself safe from harm at the hands of the bullies and the perverts below deck.
By the time they were ready to go to the Captain's table, he'd gathered valuable knowledge about all the scams, both little and large that were running on the boat.
As far as he could tell, there was very little going on that he didn't expect apart from some particularly scurrilous dealings with the Comancheros, a practice that was going to be stopped and its wrongs put right.
