Part 3 (1/2)
Again there was a general outcry.
”Hang the traitor!”
”Throw him overboard!”
Ailish saw an imposing man in a crisp Navy uniform step forward. This, she reasoned, had to be Captain Anderson. Things were very tense and it was not the time to spring an unexpected cabin boy on him. She melted further back into the crowd.
”I will personally conduct this investigation.” The captain's voice boomed over the noise, stilling the ruckus. ”I want the Fenian scoundrel arrested and sent to England for treason a” if we don't keelhaul him first. I will not tolerate any interference with this project.”
Ailish saw Dalton look at Paddy, then draw his thumb across his throat in a gesture that made her blood run cold.
The captain called for order. ”We will splice the cable and continue on our mission. Thousands of men have worked for many years to make this dream come true and we shall not be defeated. This is our chance to make history, gentlemen. Let's make that history a glorious one!”
A chorus of enthusiastic a.s.sent rose from the men and they set to work. The captain's words stirred something in Ailish, too, and she saw how, small as it seemed, the cable was bigger than any single person here. She had a feeling the transatlantic telegraph cable would change the world as she knew it.
”What happens now?” she asked Paddy, who had slid farther back into the crowd to stand beside her.
”They'll cut out the bad section and splice the end to fresh cable from the tanks. If it's still dead once we've completed this, then we have naught else to do but sail for home. We'll have done all we can.”
The sun scribed its brilliant arc as it climbed ever higher in the clear blue sky but no one left Oxford Street while the splice was made. The crowd milled about, men offering help wherever needed. Paddy pulled out some sailor's hardtack and broke her off a piece. With the biscuit, Ailish was able to wait the long, tense time until at last, the cable was whole once again.
Cyrus Field left for the telegraph testing caboose to see if the freshly repaired wire would actually work. The very air around them stilled as every man and one young girl stood silently awaiting the verdict.
5.
Slip of the Lip.
.- .. .-.. a -.. .- -.-. .- .-.. .-.. a a. . .-. --. .. ..-. - - a. .. a
Moments later, the American gentleman emerged from the caboose and the crowd held its breath. His face remained inscrutable but then he lifted his head and spoke the welcome words.
”The cable is working perfectly! Ireland is engaged again.”
A cheer swelled from all on deck. Ailish felt her spirit leap. She was truly glad the cable was repaired and she raised her voice along with the others.
”Time to cadge a quick forty winks,” Paddy said with a yawn. ”Dalton's keeping an eye on me and knows when he goes off s.h.i.+ft in two hours I'll be left on afternoon watch. I don't want the crew chief to have me up on orders for falling asleep at my post. I think you'll be safe enough on deck now that the crisis has pa.s.sed. I'll see you later, O'Connor.” With a wave, he left her standing amid the hustle and bustle.
Everyone else, excited at the happy news of the signal, remained to watch as the cable was returned to the sea.
Ailish herself desperately needed sleep. But first, she wanted to tell Davy what had happened. She threaded her way through the crowd, then past several cabooses to the hatch that led belowdecks. As she reached for the iron door, it flew open and Rufus Dalton stood in her path.
Ailish was so surprised, she stood rooted to the spot.
”You again! Where are you off to, boy?”
”Ah, going to get some sleep, sir.” She ducked her head, not wanting to look him in the eye.
He stared down at her suspiciously. ”What did you say your name was?”
Ailish gulped. ”O'Connor, sir.”
”Why don't I remember seeing you before today?”
”I'm not sure, sir. I'm small, maybe you overlooked me.” Ailish kept her eyes downcast. For someone who was supposed to be an example to his men, Dalton was downright scruffy. His boots and wool trousers were coated in dingy black dirt, and he smelled of rank sweat.
Dalton grunted and pushed past her. ”Stay out of my way, stupid boy, or I'll have you paying the devil!”
It must be another seafaring term, Ailish thought, but whatever ”paying the devil” was, she knew it wouldn't be pleasant. Grateful to escape once more, she fled below to find Davy.
Davy was in the hold where Ailish had first met him, sitting on a large crate.
”You'll never guess what's been going on topside,” she began, hoisting herself up onto the box next to him. ”It's incredible.” Quickly, she explained what had happened.
”At first, I wanted the cable to fail so we could go home, but now, I truly would like to see it succeed. I would be part of a great event in history, something to tell my grandchildren, that's for sure,” she finished with a flourish.
”Oh, aye. To be part of this is marvellous, indeed,” he agreed.
”And going home is out of the question until I solve the matter of my stolen property, anyway.” Ailish thought of Dalton and his threat against Paddy. ”There's something else I need to tell you, Davy, and it may take awhile.”
”I'm not going anywhere and I crave a good story.” He swung his legs in a most casual manner.
Wiggling in a vain attempt to get more comfortable on the hard wooden crate, Ailish explained about overhearing Dalton blackmailing Paddy for his money.
”Aye, that Mr. Dalton has been a bad one for years. Not a good soul, at all.” Davy agreed. ”If there's something rotten belowdecks, you can bet Dalton is behind it.”
”And I haven't told you the worst part yet. He's going to make it seem like a Fenian plot is being hatched on board and Paddy is the culprit. This is why the cable fault is so frightening. It plays right into Dalton's plan and now everyone is looking for the traitor. Besides myself, Paddy is the only other Irishman aboard.”
Davy shot her a teasing look.
”Irish person aboard,” she amended. ”This could go very badly for Paddy and I like him. I don't want anything terrible to happen. Now that the cable is working, I hope this tempest will blow over and the rest of the trip will be uneventful.”
”And what if this friend of yours is a Fenian and did put that nail through the wire?”
Now came the tricky part. How could Ailish explain her gift without sounding as crazy as a bedbug? ”I know Paddy didn't sabotage the cable,” she began.
”Oh, and how is that?”