Free Kings Pinnacle by Robert Gourley

who worked the docks liked him, and his status
increased through the force of his personality, to the point where
he was their unelected leader. He just seemed bigger than his
stature indicated, hence the name, Big Mike. Big Mike was
protective of his men, and he didn’t tolerate outsiders. But Big
Mike secretly had a heart of gold, especially where women were
concerned. He didn’t really have anything against Alex personally.
It was just that Alex wasn’t an Irishman and the Irish controlled
the docks. There was only enough work for a few men, and they
already had all the Irishmen they needed.
    As soon as Big Mike had
yelled at him, Alex knew that he wasn’t going to get any work. So
he stepped up even closer to the Irishman so that their noses were
almost touching and said, “Maybe you’d better cool off.”
    Alex had slipped his foot
behind Big Mike’s ankle while he was talking, and when he had
finished speaking, Alex shoved Big Mike as hard as he could. Big
Mike had his back to the ocean and the push caused him to trip so
that he stumbled off the dock into the cold, dirty
seawater.
    Big Mike bobbed up from the
cold water, sputtering and yelled at the other Irishmen, “Get him!”
pointing at Alex.
    Alex was already running as
fast as a hare away from the docks before Big Mike had yelled at
his crew. Alex had a huge lead, as usual, and it wasn’t long before
he was so far ahead that the Irishmen chasing him gave up the
pursuit.
    When the other men in line,
waiting to unload the ship, were turned away from the ship watching
Alex and his pursuers, two young women walked down the gangplank to
depart from the ship. Big Mike had just climbed back up onto the
pier out of the cold water and met them at the bottom of the
gangplank.
    “Top o’ the morning to you,
lassies,” said the soaking wet Mike, taking off his cap and bowing
extravagantly to the two young women.
    The two young women giggled
and smiled at Big Mike as they strolled off the dock and into the
city. Their dresses were plain, but clean, and they had just
arrived on the ship from Europe. The two young women were off to
look for work in Philadelphia in order to make their way in the
colonies. Molly and Maggie were both very beautiful and Big Mike
never forgot a face.
     
    * * * *
     
    Robert and Hugh
     
    “ Robber, do ye think it be
dark enough to take a look see?” asked Hugh.
    Robert nodded.
    The two brothers mounted
their horses and rode toward the cattle pens just south of
Portpatrick. They let their noses guide them, just as they had done
the first time they arrived in Portpatrick, and soon the smell of
cattle was overpowering. After riding through the brush and
circling around to the south of the pens, they tied up their horses
to some bushes in a small clearing. Then they crawled up to a rise
where they could lie flat and watch the activity in and around the
cattle pens.
    After thirty minutes of
watching, they decided that the only thing that was moving was a
single night watchman who was riding a slow circuit around the pens
and the ferry dock. Robert thought he recognized the man, but he
wasn’t sure.
    “ You stay put while I
crawl down and look around,” Robert whispered to Hugh.
    Hugh nodded, and Robert
crawled down the slope to get a closer look. When he got close
enough, the moonlight revealed the shining insignia on the collar
of the British Army uniform that the watchman was wearing. Robert
realized that the horseman was not one of the regular night
watchmen, but was in fact a British soldier. This was not what he
had hoped for, since it meant that sailing on the cattle ferry to
Ireland was going to be a problem. Robert stayed where he was and
allowed the night watchman to pass. As he looked around, he saw two
tents near the cattle pens, with a picket line of horses tied up
behind them. The British military was evidently very interested in
the cattle pens and the cattle ferry. Robert was worried that he
and Hugh might not be taking the