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PART III
Chapter 11
MARCH, 1789
YORKSHIRE – KEIGHLEY
The first day of March started as a cold blustery day. But, by midday, it became warmer and calmer. Richard liked that the days were becoming warmer and he had more hours of light. January and February had been very cold.and dark. Many days his hands and feet were numb as he worked in the yard. He had returned to the orphanage only once since Christmas. Elsie had wanted to see Bunty and to help the children. Richard had walked with her and helped the orphanage staff.
On alternating weeks, Matt Truman had come to the inn to see Elsie. Almost every visit, Matt would threaten Richard to stay away from her. Richard tried to ignor Matt and stick to his work, but Matt would trail him around the yard calling threats and insults. At some point, Matt would bump Richard. Then they would fight. Although Richard was bigger than Matt, Matt fought to win. He would throw dirt into Richard’s face, poke fingers into his eyes and more. Richard used what he had learned from Dan when they fought. Every time, Elsie or Mr. Willett would find them and stop the fight. Richard was happy that for the past week, Matt had not come by. Today he could focus on his work.
Midday was approaching when a man came into the yard. He yells to Richard, “You! We need help. Our coach lost a wheel.”
Richard calls for Mr. Willett who goes to the man. “Lost a wheel? Where?”
“Keighley Square. Some of us passengers who were willing to walk, came here. The others are inside now. Driver is with the others at the coach.”
“Dick, come with me.” Richard and Davey walk quickly to the Square. When they arrive, the coach’s driver greets them, then tells Davey that a wheel came off as he made the turn through the Square. Davey examines the axle.where the right front wheel had been.
“Dick, take two of the horses back to the yard. Hitch a new team to the spare coach.”
To the driver, “Go with Dick. He’ll have a coach ready for ye. These passengers can ride to the inn when ye return.”
Richard unhitches two horses, then leads them to the yard. The driver walks with him. “We were lucky that the wheel came off when we were going slow. If’n it came off when we go at full out on the open road, we would have rolled. Could have kil’d a few of us. Ever seen a wagon that rolled? Lots of bodies everywhere. Ever seen dead bodies?”
Richard still remembers the man he killed last year. Dead from a wrecked coach wouldn’t be the same. Someday he will be able to talk to someone else about the struggle to kill the man to save Maggie. Not today. “Saw a man hanged in London.”
“Hanged. Hanged people die fast. Poor soles in a wreck get all broken up. When I was in the army, saw lots of broken bodies. Wrecked coach more like bodies in a battle.”
“You were in the army?”
“Yes. American Colonies. Hurt my foot at some with a memorable name. Brandywine Creek. Like brandy and wine. That place wasn’t so good for me though.”
Richard notices that the driver limps when he walks.
“How did you get hurt?”
“Rebel musket ball. Shot in the foot. Messed the bones up. Couldn’t march. Sent me home. Was able to walk away from the battle. Till then, army wasn’t so bad. Served with the 15th Regiment. Fed me. Clothed me. Good times with lads from here in Yorkshire. At Brandywine we served with old ‘No Flint Grey’.”
“No Flint Grey? “ “Flints strike the pan on a musket to spark and light the gunpowder to fire the musket ball. Sometimes nervous soldier fire too soon. If there is no flint in the musket, no spark. Firing too soon would alert the enemy.”
“After Brandywine, our regiment went to someplace called Paoli. General Grey sent the boys in after dark with no flints in the muskets. Surprised the colonials with bayonet only. Kil’d or captured hundreds of them rebel boys. Yes, General Grey knows how to fight a battle. Would follow him into any battle, yes, sir.”
Richard is curious about the army. All that he has known before is that he remembers being told that the army killed his ma.
“Did you kill any women?”
“Kill women?! Hell no, boy. We killed rebels with our muskets and bayonets. Soldiers taught to respect women and children. Not to say that some what drank too much rum or ale didn’t sometimes rough up some women. Kill? No. Why?”
“Gertie told me soldiers killed my Ma in London.”
“Killed your ma? London? When?“
“Maybe nine years ago.”
“Hmmm. That would be 1780. Gordon Riots? Yes, you could be old enough for that. Parliament sent soldiers to stop the riots. Many got killed. Not all were rioters. Happens sometimes.“
Killed like that is different than killed from wrecked coach. No matter how though. Dead is dead.” The driver stops talking while they finish walking to the inn.
Richard is sad talking about dead people. But, he is interested about what he has heard about the army. Until now, army has meant only the death of his ma. He has never seen anyone in the army.
At the inn, he puts the horses away, then prepares two of the rested horses. Quickly he has the spare coach ready for the driver.
“Climb up, boy. We’ll ride back to the square.”
Richard climbs up next to the driver for the short distance back to the square.
Davey had unhitched the remaining two horses and tied their reins to a rear wheel of the crippled coach.
“Help transfer the bags to t’other coach, Dick.” Davey hands Richard bags. While Richard loads them onto the fresh coach, Davey escorts passengers between the coaches. When Richard has moved all the bags, Davey signals the driver to go.
“Dick, walk back the road. Find the wheel. We may be able to reuse it. The axle looks good. Look for the hub and boxing too. May be they came off a long way back the road. Don’t look too long for them.”
Richard walks away down the south road. He travels only a few hundred yards when he sees a wheel lying next to the road. It will be easy to find when he returns. He continues another five to six hundred yards, but sees nothing along the road or adjacent to it that looks like a hub or a boxing. They may have come off much further away but the wheel stayed on until it was forced off by the coach taking a curve. Davey had said not to go too far. He returned to the wheel and took it back to the Square.
“Found the wheel. Nothing else.”
“I’ll have to get another hub and boxing. Will be right back.”
Before Davey leaves, Richard notices that one of the horses is missing.”
“Davey, we have only one horse.”
Davey looks to the rear of the coach. “Darn horses. Didn’t see it go past me to the inn. Did you see it to the south?
“No. Saw nothing.”
“Darn animal must have gone west.”
“Look down Oakworth Road. I’ll take this horse back when I go for the parts for the wheel. Will bring it back when I return. Hope you have the other. Horse will most likely stop somewhere soon to eat.”
Richard walks off towards Oakworth. He had gone only three hundred yards, just beyond the last building in town when he sees the horse. It was standing in a grassy area on the far side of a ravine which channels the North Beck stream. To get to the horse he crosses the bridge that spans the North Beck. As he tries to get the horse, the horse avoids him and goes into woods that line both sides of the North Beck. Richard moves more quickly to grab the horse’s reins, but repeatedly misses. Each time, the horse retreats further along the stream into the woods.
“Should have brought some grain to lure her.” Richard thinks to himself. “Must be four hundred yards into these woods by now. Horse should be tired of walking in this water. I am.”
As he tries to grab the horse again, he stumbles and falls into a bush on the left side of the stream. Behind the bush he finds a small cave. Richard is curious about the cave, but needs to catch the horse. Maybe another day, he can come back to explore along the stream. If he ever needed to store things so that no one else could find them, this cave could be useful. After two more attempts, he is able to catch the horse by backing it into two trees that the horse could not fit between.
“There. What a chase you gave me. Let’s go find Davey.”
When he returned to the coach, Willett had the wheel ready to mount on the carriage. “Why are ye wet Dick?
“Horse took me for an adventure in the stream.”
“Darn horse likes to roam. Let’s get this wheel on so she can be cornered in the yard. Don’t trust her long tied to anything here.”
Richard helps to lift the coach while Davey places the wheel on the axle. When Davey is satisfied the wheel is set and locked in place correctly, they hitch the two horses. Davey climbs up to the box.
“Ever ride IN a coach, Dick?
“Today was first ride on a coach.”
“Well, ‘your lordship’.” Davey flourishes a bow before Richard as he holds the door to the coach. “Climb in.”
Richard looks at Davey, then climbs inside. He’ll remember this day for his first rides ON and IN a coach, that is when he was not trying to steal from the coach. As he rides in the coach back to the inn, Richard considers the cave that he found and the coaches that come and go. If he could steal from coaches that could not be traced to Keighley, he could hide the stolen items in the cave until it was safe for him to sell or use the items. From what he had learned in London, he should be able to steal from coaches. But, not in the inn’s yard. He will have to be able to leave the inn to catch a coach before it arrives at Keighley or after it leaves. It would help if he could take sometimes after a coach had stopped at one of the other station inns. Mr. Eagleton’s pay has been good so far. He does not need to rush into stealing. There will be plenty of time to find a way to steal without having the theft trace back to Keighley. For people that can afford to ride inside a coach like this, they can afford to lose a bag or two. While he eats his meal, he will think on thieving.
JULY, 1789 YORKSHIRE – KEIGHLEY
It was a sunny summer day when the driver whose coach had broken down in March brought a coach into the inns yard with news from London. As he climbed down from the driving box he sees Sharpe.
“Dick is it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“My name’s Hook. You helped when my coach lost a wheel.”
“Yes, sir.”
“News from France, Dick. People have revolted against their king. Rumors in London that there will be war. Not even six years since last war ended.”
“Revolted?”
“Took control of the country. Locked up the King and family.”
“They will make war?“
“Our King is afraid people here will try the same. Our King will try to put the French King back on the throne. We will fight with France again. Army and navy will need men. Stay away from redcoats with drums. They’ll have you in the army faster than you can blink.”
“Me? Why me?
“Young, strong boy. Army would love to have you. Send you to a find regiment. Pack you off to fight the Frogs or Senors for King and Country. War is coming boy. Keep away from the recruiters, boy. You have a future here. No future with the army.”
“Frogs? Senors?”
“The French. The Spanish.”
“Did you fight them?”
“No. Just the American rebels. We English have been fighting the French and Spanish for hundreds of years. Fought them both while we fought the American rebels. We lost. Most times we win.”
Richard is not sure where the French, Spanish and Americans are. He knows that they are far away.
“Will the army go to fight them?”
“Most likely, Navy will fight first. Then the Army will go to the West Indies and other lands.”
“West Indies?”
“Islands in the Caribbean Sea. Near the Americas. Bad place boy. Terrible sickness. Stay away from the Army. Stay away from the Indies. Sickness kills men fast.”
“How do I stay away?”
“When you hear drum or fife music, don’t go to the music. Stay away. Run back here. Don’t go with any who wear the red coats. You’ll hear promises of drink, food and money. Will make it sound like you will be rich. Get to have great adventures. They’ll have you in tow with them before you know what happened. When you open your eyes to see what you’ve done, you’ll see that you are a slave to the army for life.”
“Slave? No money?”
“What you will owe the King and country for the privilege to be a soldier will be more than what the King pays you. The fancy red uniform will cost you. The food and drink will cost you. You will owe them money.”
“Soldiers work, fight and die and owe money?”
“Yes, boy. Not right, eh?”
Richard doesn’t fully understand. But, here he earns enough money to have a few shillings of his own. He eats good food. Has a roof over his head. Works hard, but not like the orphanage. Likes the people here. This Army that Hook tells him sounds bad for him. He likes Keighley.
“Thank you Mr. Hook. I will stay away from the recoats.”
“Good boy. We like you here. You do good work with the coaches. Danny tells us coach drivers that he trusts you with our coaches.
“I like working here. Maybe, someday, I can ride on a coach. Or, maybe become a driver.”
“You? A driver? Why a driver?”
“I want to go fast.”
“Don’t need to become a driver to go fast. Passengers go fast too. I’ll talk to Davey. Maybe one o’ my trips, you can ride with me to the next inn. Another coach can bring you back. You can learn what we drivers do. Then you can decide how much you want to drive, eh?”
Richard smiles. “That would be more than I could hope.”
“Good boy. I’ll talk with Davey.”
Richard remembers when Mr. Eagleton talked with him. “Will you get in trouble with Mr. Eagleton if I ride with you?”
“As long as I don’t let you drive, no trouble.”
“I will wait to hear. Thank you Mr. Hook.”
“You are a bright, eager lad, Dick. You can go far. As long as the army doesn’t get you. Heed my words, eh?”
“Yes, Mr. Hook. When the army comes, run away.”
“Good boy. Until next time.”
Richard returns to working on the horses. He recalls Mr. Hook’s adventures with the Army. Traveling to a foreign land sounds exciting. But, if the dangers he talked about are real, it could be dangerous. Today, the Army has not come to Keighley. He has work here. Friends here. And, Mr. Hook will talk with Davey about letting him ride on a coach. Riding a coach is enough adventure for him now. He will heed Mr. Hook’s warning about the Army.
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