“’Ere we are, Miss Boyd,” Alfred Higgins said quietly yet not without a faint suggestion of a dramatic timbre, looking at the ten-foot-high wall surrounding the grounds of the medium-size mansion that was currently being used as the home and headquarters for General Wilberforce Crumley of the Confederate Army’s Quartermaster Corps. “Everything’s all gay, but are you sure you want to go through with it?”
“I’m sure,” the girl replied, her sotto voce tone showing not the slightest hesitancy. During their short acquaintance, she had learned among a number of other things pertaining to what they were planning to do that, in the argot of the criminal circles of London, England, where her companion had been born and raised, the words “all gay” meant there was nobody in the vicinity to see what was intended. “But you don’t need to come with me.”
“Oh yes I do!” the little Cockney burglar stated, in a manner that implied he would brook no objections. “I’ve managed to teach you a lot in the time you’ve been me ’prentice. ’Fact, I’ve never had a better, but you might still need a bit more know-how afore you can call yourself a regular crib-cracker.”
A wry smile twisted at Belle Boyd’s lips at the last part of the declaration made by Higgins.
When deciding to try to join the South’s Secret Service as part of her quest to find and take revenge upon Alfred Tollinger and George Barmain, the girl had never imagined she would need to employ the method she was intending to use as a means of being brought to their attention.
Nor, Belle told herself, had she envisaged that she would find herself clad in attire similar to that now worn by Higgins when, after having climbed from the street up the outside of the building—acting upon information that he had acquired suggesting there was a quantity of valuable jewelry and money there and the occupant would be absent—he had broken into her room on the second floor of the Sanford Hotel. As an added precaution against being noticed and later recognized, she had her now short-cropped black hair beneath a dark beret and her beautiful face covered with black burned cork.
But then, the girl told herself wryly, she had not anticipated how taking the precaution of learning the tricks of the professional duelist would culminate in her being stripped to the waist in front of a number of men—some of whom would have recognized her without the cloth mask she had on and an alteration in the color and style of her hair—while she was pretending to fight with the Englishwoman called Roxanne Smethers-Fortescue.
In fact, Belle mused, her whole life had changed drastically since the night her parents were murdered and her home burned to the ground.
Even before she had set out upon her mission of revenge, the girl had accepted that such was certain to prove the case.
However, Belle could not avoid having momentary qualms over the means she was intending to use that night under the faint light of a three-quarters moon.
But in spite of her feelings, the girl refused to allow herself to be deterred from the course she had adopted.
Without realizing it, the curvaceously slender Southron beauty was continuing to demonstrate the beginnings of the resolve that would allow her to earn and deserve the sobriquet Rebel Spy.
Belle Boyd could not complain that time had passed slowly, or been wasted, since the night three weeks earlier when she had met Alfred Higgins. As was the case before the destruction of her home and way of life, rising early regardless of how late she had returned or how late she had been up at one of the functions for which Baton Royale Manor had been famous, she had commenced each morning by doing the exercises that helped to keep her in excellent physical condition for whatever arduous tasks might lie ahead. After breakfast, contriving to leave the Sandford Hotel dressed in a manner suitable for the less affluent area of Richmond where she had gone to visit the Cockney, she had spent her time learning such tricks of his illicit main occupation as she believed might prove of use if she achieved her ambition to be admitted into the Secret Service of the Confederate States.
To prevent the police from thinking he was a gentleman of leisure, as he put it—although not in those exact words—Higgins ran a small, never very busy, and far-from-lucrative shop specializing in the locksmith’s trade on the fringes of the better part of town. Except on the rare occasions when the business of the establishment had demanded his attention, he had instructed Belle in the ways access to buildings of various kinds could be gained and things inside opened by using one from a set of what he termed “twirls,” but were more generally known as “picklocks” and would eventually be described as “skeleton keys.”
Having a keen brain and a possibly inherited manual dexterity, which her parents had encouraged to flourish instead of trying to crush it, as would have been the case with many wealthy Southern families, the girl had quickly acquired an affinity toward manipulating twirls. This had led the little Cockney to exclaim on more than one occasion, “You’re a bleeding natural, Miss Boyd!” He had claimed that, as a result of his guidance and her own ability, she showed a similar aptitude for other aspects of the housebreaking trade. Furthermore, he had said that if the need arose, he felt sure she would prove capable of effecting an entry at above ground level in the fashion that was his own specialty. In fact, he was so satisfied by her progress that he had agreed without demur to let her put the training into effect in a way of bringing herself to the attention of the people she was seeking.
When the contingency had been discussed, the Cockney had concurred with Belle’s opinion that the intended victim would probably prove too embarrassed to take legal action should they be successful, and might even decline to do so on that account if they were caught. If the latter assumption was incorrect, she had promised to do everything in her power to prevent his suffering the consequences regardless of what her own fate might be. She had considered that her father and mother had enough friends—some of whom were holding down positions of importance, if not at the highest level, in Richmond—who would exert pressure for her to be the recipient of lenient treatment despite having declined to help her make the contact with members of the Secret Service she desired. Nor, due to her determination to take revenge upon the men whom she had seen personally murder her parents and, she had learned, led the mob of drunken rabble that burned down Baton Royale Manor, would she have been deterred if this had not been the case.
With the instructions of the day completed, Belle had returned to her room at the Sandford Hotel to make ready for whatever activity she had selected as offering the best chance of achieving her desire without needing to employ the methods she was contemplating with the aid of the lessons in “crib-cracking” she was receiving from Higgins. She had alternated attending the balls and soirees to which her social standing gave her access without the need for a formal invitation and visiting the less luxurious places where the lower ranks of the Army and, to a lesser extent, Navy spent their off-duty hours in more rowdy and less inhibited fashion than their superiors did openly.
Although the girl had not thought that she had made progress toward her goal at either type of venue as far as she was aware, she had chosen the person she felt was the most suitable—and deserving—subject for the more risky means she was planning to put into effect.
Wilberforce Crumley was large and overweight to the point where it was fortunate that he would never be called upon to see active combat duty, not that such had ever been his intention when choosing to join the Army instead of continuing to run his most lucrative business as a cotton broker along the Mississippi River in Louisiana. From personal experience, Belle knew him to be pompous, overbearing, and not above stooping to sharp practice when granted the opportunity. In fact, she suspected that to be the main reason political pressure had been exerted to have him appointed as a one-star brigadier general without needing to go through the usual military process of gaining practical experience while rising through the lower ranks of officers. It had been thought that this was not needed for him to perform his duties as head of the Quartermaster Corps. She had heard that, probably because he had the backing of men who had spent years in that department of the Union Army prior to coming back to their Southern birthplaces when it became obvious that war with the North was unavoidable, he was running things with at least passable efficiency. In spite of this, having found him no more likable in his present capacity than he had been in civilian life during their one meeting since arriving in Richmond, she had felt he would receive less sympathy when it was learned what she was hoping to bring off than would have been the case of a senior officer in a more active command.
Having reached her decision, the girl had not rushed blindly and recklessly into putting her scheme into operation. Once again calling upon the practical knowledge of how to carry out the kind of robbery she envisaged long experience had given Higgins, she had set about learning all she could to help bring her scheme to fruition. Accepting an invitation to an afternoon soiree given by Mrs. Crumley—who possessed most of her husband’s outer physical appearance added to an aura of arrant snobbery that had ruled out any misgivings Belle might otherwise have had over the selection of the victim— she had contrived to learn and make an accurate sketch of the building’s interior layout and the grounds, which had caused the Cockney to repeat his assertion that she had a natural bent for such matters.
Contriving to meet Mrs. Crumley’s white maid off the premises on the day following the soiree, dressed suitably so as to avoid recognition as a guest who had attended it and posing as having a similar and equally unsatisfactory position with the wife of another senior officer, Belle had made her acquaintance and, through her—taking care to avoid arousing any possible jealousy by stating her firm attachment for a sergeant major in a Cavalry regiment—that of a corporal attached to the General’s staff with whom she was soon on good terms. It had taken only a short while in their company for the girl to conclude that the pair were ideal for her needs. Neither had the slightest loyalty toward nor liking for their employers, and when away from the house, made no attempt to conceal their hostility.
Hired in the belief that she gave an indication of greater wealth than would have been the case with the more usual colored servant in that category, the maid was embittered by having to serve a demanding and far-from-generous mistress. An old soldier disenchanted by a failure to rise higher in the ranks, the noncom had a hatred of all officers. This was even more the case with the one on whose staff he was currently compelled to serve. Because Crumley was wise to all the tricks he had hoped to employ, he was unable to augment his pay by the means he had intended to use.
From the disgruntled pair, with the aid of a few drinks in a tavern that she had claimed to be purchased with money acquired from her much-disliked and unsuspecting mistress, she had gathered information about how the household was run. The most important factor to have emerged from her point of view was that Crumley did not have the grounds guarded in any way at night. Higgins, on being informed of what she had discovered, offered the equally satisfactory news that, as neither Crumley nor his wife could abide dogs anywhere near them, there were none on the premises to make what was intended more difficult.
Although the girl would have preferred a better-guarded place, as this would make the successful outcome of her scheme more impressive, Higgins had stated that they should be thankful for small mercies and take what was more readily available than was likely to prove the case elsewhere. Never one to ignore what she knew to be good advice, despite having declined to do as Colonel Myles Raines had suggested at the conclusion of their meeting, Belle had yielded to his greater experience. He had carried out a personal reconnaissance under the guise of seeking any employment for which his legitimate specialized knowledge would qualify and had returned from it satisfied that she had done a most excellent piece of work in discovering all she had to help make the task easier.
Aware that General and Mrs. Crumley were attending a ball being given by a prominent politician and would not be home until the early hours of the morning, a situation of which the girl had discovered the domestic staff would be taking the fullest advantage, they had set out to put her plan into operation.
~*~
After having made sure that there was still nobody in the vicinity to see what was happening, Alfred Higgins deftly tossed a padded sack, brought along for the purpose of covering the shards of broken glass on the top of the wall, to where he had decided would be the most suitable point at which entry could be gained to the property. Belle Boyd and he were meaning to remove certain items of no especial financial value, as her intention was to arouse interest from the people she was trying to contact by returning them the following day. With the necessary precaution against being cut while going into the grounds taken, he was about to turn, with his back against the wall ready for the next part of the way they were to gain access, when he was forestalled.
Adopting the position for the same purpose before the Cockney could do so, the girl held her cupped hands downward before her with interlocked fingers. Then she braced her shoulders against the wall and gave a cheerful smile accompanied by an upward jerk of her head. Both gestures served to satisfy Higgins that she was not having second thoughts about engaging in what, regardless of its motives, was an illegal action and, considering the identity of the intended victim, might be construed as something even more serious in time of war. He had known male beginners at the house breaking business to be affected in such a fashion when taking part in similar ventures. However, she gave no indication of flinching from her resolve. In fact, her demeanor suggested the opposite. She was determined to go ahead and willing to face whatever consequences might result should they be caught in the act.
Also grinning and making no attempt to comment upon the change in the original arrangements, ensuring that the items suspended from his belt were unlikely to be shaken or slip free, the Cockney placed his right foot in the cupped hands. Combined with the bounding movement he made, the upward thrust from Belle’s far-from-puny slender arms raised him until he could hook his arms over and swing himself astride the padded sack. Making sure it was firmly in position beneath him and he had lost nothing from his belt, he bent at the waist and extended his hands. With that done, he braced his legs more tightly on the protective covering and gave a nod.
Moving around, thankful for having decided to fetch a pair of boots intended for savate boxing with the rest of her attire, the girl sprang into the air. Her upraised hands closed on Higgins’s wrists, and setting her feet against the wall, she ascended swiftly, helped by the pull his small wiry body was capable of exerting, until she too was sitting on the wall. A quick scrutiny of their surroundings located no cause for concern and the absence of any outcry indicated that they had been spotted, so she turned to first hang and then drop to the garden. A moment later, having a similar lack of difficulty and making no more noise, her smaller companion joined her.
Exchanging looks redolent of satisfaction, the pair advanced stealthily side by side through the decorative bushes and across the lawn, which was now poorly kept by the temporary occupants, or rather by those whose duties it should have been to carry out the gardening duties. They arrived as intended at the right side of the house, still without having been challenged. Not that either was particularly surprised by their invasion of the property having gone unnoticed. Going by what she had seen of them and been told, General and Mrs. Crumley were not the kind of employers to arouse the liking or loyalty of those they hired. Therefore, as she had been informed by the embittered maid would be the case—in the course of their latest seemingly innocuous discussion regarding the less-than-likable qualities of their respective mistresses— the almost total darkness of the building and absence of noise from anywhere inside suggested that the whole of the domestic staff were making the most of the couple’s being absent by taking the night off.
“Let’s find out whether Fanny was making it up when she said they always leave the French windows of that guest room unfastened,” Belle whispered, pointing upward. “It’s done so they can sneak in, since they got back late one night and everything was locked up. They had to sleep in the stables, which she said they would have enjoyed if they hadn’t needed to make sure they were up before the Crumbs woke up, as they wouldn’t have approved of such goings-on between the lower classes.”
“They must have a ladder to do it,” the Cockney guessed in a similarly low voice, scanning the wall that rose to where a balcony jutted out. “I could shinny up easy on the climb, but I wouldn’t think a skivvy wearing a frock could.”
“Or even one wearing this what you call clobber,” the girl supplemented sotto voce, making a gesture toward her masculine attire.
“Well, I haven’t had the time to learn you how to go on the climb, else I bet you could have,” Higgins answered, and placed one of the items from where it was suspended on his belt behind his back so it would not be in the way while he was coming over the wall. “And you don’t need their ladder with this.” Wanting to relieve any anxiety the girl might be feeling, he continued, “I got the idea back home from Charlie Peace. You won’t heard of him over here, I don’t suppose, but he’s a real nasty little bleeder. Which’s why I steered clear of him as much as possible, although he knows how and where to pull a job.”
“I thought you said you always worked alone?” Belle queried, wanting to quell the tension that was growing within her.
“And I allus did,” the Cockney confirmed, having told the girl some of the more amusing parts of his career as a criminal in England. “And if I’d ever wanted to go on a job two-handed, it wouldn’t’ve been him, ’cause I’m sure he’ll come to get topped one of these days.”
On being removed and carefully operated by Higgins while the brief whispered conversation was taking place and achieving its purpose where quietening the girl’s apprehensions was concerned, what had looked like a bundle of short sticks proved to be a collapsible ladder. Under his manipulations, it extended like lazy tongs upward so the hook at the top passed over the edge of the balcony’s decorated protective wall. With it in place, he climbed up swiftly and, on going over, checked the security of the device before signaling for the girl to follow. There was an admiring grin on his face as she made the ascent as swiftly as he had done. Because no suitable height was available at his place of legitimate business, she had been unable to practice going up the device. However, she had claimed she would be able to do so and had justified her confidence.
Having attained the place where they wanted to be, neither Belle nor the Cockney wasted any time in talking. A twist at the handle of the French windows confirmed the story told by Fanny: they opened to a push and gave access to the unused guest room. Making use of the small bull’s-eye lamp that Higgins was also carrying on his belt lit but with the cover over the front, they crossed to the other door and, not unexpectedly, found that this too was unlocked. Going through brought them into a wide passage with several other doors; making use of the information Belle had acquired while paying the visit as a guest at the soiree, she led the way to one. This proved to be locked, the illumination emanating from beneath the door provided by a lamp left burning for the benefit of the couple on their return from the ball, but the skill that the girl had acquired enabled her to open it with one of the twirls made and presented to her by the Cockney.
“Why does he have his bleeding office up here?” Higgins inquired, looking around with the aid of his bull’s-eye lantern at what had apparently been converted from a fair-size bedroom into a place where business could be conducted.
“To make more work for the servants, according to Fanny,” Belle replied. “I’m sure we’ll find what we need here.”
Examining some of the bulky files and other documents, the girl selected half a dozen that covered only the most mundane military subjects and placed them into the sack she had carried tucked in the back of her belt. While she was doing so, the Cockney was standing at the door through which they had entered and keeping watch along the passage. Pulling tight the drawstring, she carried the far-from-valuable or-secret loot to join her companion.
“Well, that is that,” the girl declared. “Now let’s get away, and tomorrow I’ll see this gets back to him. Perhaps that will make them realize I can be of use to the Secret Service.”
“If it don’t,” the irrepressible Cockney replied, “you can allus start working two-handed with me.”