The men from theConcordshifted uncomfortably in their seats. Alexis had her answer. She addressed her first mate. “In light of what you know, Mr. Jordan, are you having any second thoughts about going after him?”
Jordan shook his head. “If it’s possible, I want to get him out of there more than I did before.”
“Mr. Jordan is speaking for me as well,” she told them. “Captain Cloud is the only one who can tell us what’s happening. If Howe, Davidson, Farthington, and Granger have some sort of scheme in mind, then he is the only one who can stop it. I had not intended involving you men in this except for the necessary information concerning the captain’s whereabouts—but now I know I’ll need more from you.”
“Don’t ask us, Captain Danty,” Frank responded. “You know we are ready to help.”
Alexis smiled. “I wasn’t going to ask you, Frank. I knew you were prepared to help when you first came in here. I wanted to let you know I have changed my mind about accepting it.” She stood and walked over to her desk. She returned to the table with paper, quill, and ink. She laid the blank paper down and smoothed out its edges.
“I want a drawing of the stockade and where the guards are positioned. There are probably more of them than we anticipated. I need to know how many are in the prison as well. Also give us a rough idea of the surrounding buildings and what route we’ll have to take from the stockade back to the ship.”
Frank seized the paper and began providing the information. As he worked Alexis conferred with Jordan.
“The plan we talked about earlier. Do you agree we can still make it work?” she asked.
“I doubt if Howe anticipates you returning for the captain,” he answered thoughtfully. “Surprise will be on our side. I think we’ll need more men in hiding in case something goes wrong. The core of the plan is still workable. It would have been easier if Howe hadn’t turned him over to the real authorities.”
“I agree. What about an additional diversion?” She looked down at Frank’s work. “This building,” she said, pointing to a square near the prison. “What is it?”
“It’s not a building, Captain,” Frank explained. “It denotes the lumber pile. They keep extra lumber there for the ships. It’s guarded almost as well as the prison. People are always trying to get into the yard and carry some off.”
“Mr. Jordan, what do you think? A fire there would certainly cause a disturbance.”
“We have the extra powder. We could blow it sky high.”
“I don’t want it blown sky high,” she said firmly. “I want it to look like an accident. If they suspect it was deliberate they’ll guard Cloud more carefully. Can we manage an accident?”
Jordan grinned. “No problem. Davie Brandon can do what you want.”
“Good. You explain it to him. Ask him to pick three men to help. No more than that. We’ll have to leave some on the ship.”
“What else do you want us to do?” asked Harry.
“I hadn’t forgotten about you.” She laughed. “What I don’t want is for you or any of your crew to show your faces within two hundred yards of where they have the captain. Do you think your new commander is excited enough with his new command to give all of you a last night in Washington?”
“I’ll make him see the merits of it,” said Landis. “He knows we were all loyal to Tanner. He’ll be eager to start off on the right foot.”
“Then I want you to be at your drunken best. I want you to get in the way of every man who comes after us. Send them in any direction except the one we’ll be heading.”
“That’s easy enough,” answered Mike. “But what makes you think they’ll follow? Aren’t you going to make an assault on the place?”
“You mean kill the guards?” Her voice was filled with disbelief. “Hardly, Mike. I am not going to add murder to the problems I already have with your government. Our plan doesn’t call for killing. We’ll knock out as many as we can. That’s why I know we’ll be followed. We can’t hope to get them all.”
Jordan added, “There’ll be some time before they realize Captain Cloud is gone. We should be able to outdistance them.”
“Who is actually going to get the captain out?” asked Mike. He sounded a little skeptical of their plan.
“Prepare yourself,” Alexis warned. “My cabin boy is going to do it.” She and Jordan laughed as Mike’s mouth opened and Frank dropped his quill.
Jordan calmed himself enough to explain the plan. When he was done they looked at him with new respect and grudgingly admitted it was better than anything they had been able to think of.
Frank slid his completed drawing toward Alexis. “How soon do you plan to get started?”
“We’ll be ready as soon as you send word back about your leave. We’ll go ahead without you if need be but it’s better to know how much help we’ll be able to count on.”
While the others gathered their jackets, Frank explained his sketch to Alexis and Jordan. When he had answered all their questions satisfactorily he joined the others at the door. “No matter what happens tonight, Captain Danty, it will be a long time before we see you again. We’ll be chasing you tomorrow as ordered. What direction will you be going?”
“South. Then to New Orleans.”
