Page 54 of The Swan Syndicate
Once they reached the horses, Beckworth rubbed his forehead. “Do you think they’re part of Cheval’s crew or MacDuff’s?”
Lando shrugged. “Could be either or someone else.”
“Your merchant friend seemed to think it was Cheval.”
He nodded. “And most of the time he’s right. But he’s been wrong a time or two.”
“He wasn’t wrong about the barn or the firearms.”
“We’re not sure about the weapons.”
“Those weren’t kegs of whiskey or ale.”
Lando grinned. “Maybe they were filled with mead.”
Beckworth laughed. “You’re right. They could have been filled with anything, but a smuggler is still a smuggler. And even Cheval knows the value of carrying more than fine lace or Irish whiskey.”
Lando ran a hand over his short-cropped hair. “That doesn’t help us. Do we follow?”
“We haven’t been out here long. Even if Jamie gets a response from Hensley today, I doubt he’ll want to leave before morning.”
Lando nodded. “What are you thinking?”
“They don’t have many options with a wagon. I doubt they’re taking their cargo back to the docks, but it’s possible.”
“You think they have a ship nearby?”
“How well do you know the area?”
Lando scratched his chin then turned in a half circle. He pointed to his left, which led to the road they’d traveled to get to where they currently stood. “Let’s get the horses well off the road. They should come this way. There’s a narrow path that veers to the right about a mile before town, just wide enough for a wagon. It leads down to a small cove.”
“It’s worth checking out.”
They walked their horses deeper into the woods. With it being winter, the trees were bare, and it required a longer walk than he preferred, but it wouldn’t take long to catch up to a wagon once it passed. They settled the horses by a patch of winter grass to keep them quiet and found a spot to wait.
“Did any of those men look familiar to you?” Beckworth hadn’t recognized them.
“Maybe. But not anyone I would have considered following.”
“Probably a quick pick of sailors happening to be standing by the captain when he gave the order.”
A half-hour passed before they heard the wagon. Once it passed and the sound of the hooves and a squeaky wheel faded, Lando took off on foot. He was back in five minutes.
“They took the road to the cove.”
“Let’s give them another fifteen or twenty minutes.”
Once enough time had passed, they mounted and followed the trail. The path curved around a scattering of trees before sloping down to the cove. They tied the horses in the trees and slowly worked their way toward the edge of the road where it began its curving path around boulders to the shoreline. There was a wide section of dirt where a wagon could turn around.
The men were already loading the cargo onto two jolly boats. Beckworth and Lando were close enough to easily make out the ship, but Beckworth pulled out his binoculars to get a closer look at the men onboard.
“Cheval?” Lando asked.
Beckworth nodded. “And I recognize one of the men from the pub. He might be the first mate.” He passed the binoculars to Lando.
“I’ve seen the one next to the first mate. He was on the boat at the cove where they loaded the crates they traded to MacDuff.”
“Looks like they’re getting ready for another trade.”
