5

Slip of the Lip

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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 shift 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 passed. 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?”

“I’m going to tell you something that may sound strange, even… supernatural, but it’s the truth.” She took a deep breath. “I can tell things about people, if they’re good or evil, by touching them, or simply being near them.”

Davy seemed to freeze beside her – she hoped he didn’t think she was mad with her fey talk. She hurried on with her explanation. “My da calls it the second sight. That’s how I know Paddy is a good man. I could feel it about him.”

Several expressions crossed Davy’s face at once; finally, he raised his eyebrows sceptically in a gesture Ailish knew only too well. She’d seen it on the faces of loads of unbelievers. “It’s not malarkey. I can!”

“Is that so? And what does this sixth sense of yours say about me?” He crossed his arms and waited.

Closing her eyes to concentrate, she searched for the feeling that told her what the inside of someone looked like. She felt a tingle that warmed her right down to the tips of her fingers and toes. It was like nothing she’d ever had before, and it told her nothing about Davy she recognized, either good or bad. She wiggled a little closer, but still nothing.

Several tense minutes passed, then Ailish frowned. “Very odd.” Tentatively, she reached out a hand for his. She had hoped it wouldn’t come to this; since he didn’t believe she really could see the invisible, he might get the wrong idea.

Davy shifted away and exclaimed in irritation, “Who, me? You think I’m odd!” Ailish yanked her hand back and Davy jumped down off their perch. “Thanks a lot.”

“No, no, that was only a, a… slip of the lip. It’s simply that, well, I don’t feel anything from you. If I could just...” Ailish felt heat rush into her cheeks, “hold your hand to get a proper reading.” She held her own hand up and wiggled her fingers.

“Oh, I see. I’m not good enough to register on your gypsy gauge.”

Now she was irritated. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m sure if I touched you…”

“So, I’m ridiculous now!” Davy cut her off.

He was tangling her words, changing what she meant. “You don’t understand,” she said curtly.

“Maybe I’m too thick to figure out what a grand lady like you means!”

Storm clouds gathered in Ailish’s eyes. “Stop right there! You’re putting words in my mouth.”

“Am I? I’m only a simple bash boy and maybe ‘simple’ is the right word.”

Now Ailish slid off the crate. “Simply pigheaded, yes!” she shot back.

“You have a strange way of treating your friends, Ailish O’Connor. I think I hear Charlie calling.” He spun to leave, then stopped and turned back to her. “It’s you who doesn’t understand, Ails.”

Ailish caught her breath at the familiar nickname.

“Anyone out here on the briny knows the ocean has many supernatural mysteries that no one can explain. And as for the cable” – his tone became superior again – “it’s a long way to Newfoundland and only a fool would believe all the problems are over.”

And before she could say another word, he stomped away into the darkness.

Ailish was so angry she could spit. Davy Jones was the most stubborn, obstinate, rude and unreasonable boy she had ever met! Pigheaded seemed a particularly accurate description.

The anger fuelled a new burst of energy and Ailish decided to go top side to find Dalton. It had been a couple of hours since Paddy had gone for his forty winks which meant a shift change was due. She’d thought about where she’d hide a valuable statue that couldn’t be locked in the ship’s safe, and the answer was obvious. She was sure Rufus Dalton had it stashed in his cabin. At shift change he’d be heading there for some bunk time, so this was her chance to find out where that was.

She stepped through the hatch onto the main deck and stopped in her tracks. The dreaded gong sounded once more!