He was alive. He blinked his eyes and looked around him quickly. There had been two shots, and now he saw what had happened. Someone had shot the Negro, now spreadeagled on the ground, just before Purser had fired, and the sudden distraction had spoiled his aim. He turned and saw Captain Davis marching into the clearing, musket in hand, followed by a squad of sepoys, their muskets leveled at the duelists. Mr Bernard and a party of police peons came close behind.
‘Stand where you are, gentleman, and lay your pistols down,’ Captain Davis commanded. As the two men did so, Mr Bernard came forward and arrested Purser. Sarah ran to Ronnie and wrapped her arms around him, as the relief flooded through her body.
‘We’ve just arrested your partner, Mr Morgan,’ Bernard said to Purser. ‘He’s cooling his heels in the jail. We found three thousand muskets, ten cannon and two hundred bags of saltpeter on board his brig, all bound for Siam, and enough to start a major war. We know you had a hand in this, and I want to know where you got those guns. I’ll wager many came from the pirates that ply their bloody trade on the seas around these parts.’
‘Excuse me, sir, but how do I know where they came from?’ Purser replied. ‘I buy them where I can, and sell them where I can, and don’t ask any questions. You surely don’t intend to charge me for selling these guns––this is a free port, the grand emporium of the eastern seas, if I recall.’
‘That is true enough, but I could charge you with dueling, which is a capital crime,’ Bernard replied.
‘Then we’ll hang together, Simpson,’ Purser laughed, turning towards Ronnie. ‘But we know you won’t,’ he continued, turning back to Bernard. ‘Very bad for business, especially Mr Simpson’s.’
‘You’re right, I won’t,’ said Bernard. ‘But you have two choices, Purser. You’ll be on Captain Murray’s schooner leaving for Brunei on the evening tide, or we’ll send you to the King of Siam on Morgan’s empty brig, and you can explain to him why he is not getting the arms he paid for. I hear the king knows tortures that would make a grand inquisitor flinch.’
‘You leave me no choice, then,’ Purser replied, opening his hands in a gesture of resignation. ‘I have some business with His Highness the Sultan of Brunei that I have been meaning to attend to. I’ll leave on your ship tonight, if you will allow me to retrieve my coat and vest, sir.’
‘Very well, and you may do so,’ Bernard responded. Purser went over to the tree stump where he had placed his clothing, and dressed as calmly and carefully as if he were dressing for dinner.
‘Lead on, then, MacDuff,’ he said, as the peons came to take him away. He paused as he passed by Ronnie and Sarah. ‘I have unfinished business with you, Simpson. We will meet again one day.’ His eyes flashed, and he drew his finger across his throat.
‘As sure as I breathe, Purser,’ Ronnie replied, and then walked back with Sarah to where Captain Pearl was waiting with his father.
* * *
‘But how did you know we were here?’ John Simpson asked when Mr Bernard and Captain Davis approached them.
‘We didn’t,’ Bernard replied. ‘We were following Purser. Father Docherty translated a letter for Morgan that listed the munitions, and he reported it to me. We arrested Morgan this afternoon, and he told us it was Purser that sold him the arms. I have no doubt he bought them from pirates or gunrunners, but there’s little we can do about it. It’s not actually a crime, although such transactions do require government approval, which was never requested. We had two peons keep an eye on Purser and the Negro; they followed them into the jungle, and one of them came back to alert us. We knew they were armed, so I brought along Captain Davis and his soldiers. They don’t give us guns for this job, although I’ve got an old French cavalry pistol for my own use. When we came upon you, the Negro turned his shotgun on us, and Captain Davis shot him between the eyes. An excellent shot, I must say.’
‘And I’m very grateful to you, Captain Davis,’ Ronnie said. ‘Spoiled the man’s aim and saved my life. I was a’ ready tae meet my Maker.’
‘But this was a foolish thing to do, Mr Simpson,’ Bernard responded. ‘You could have got yourself arrested for dueling––or worse, you could have got yourself killed. And what is Mrs Simpson doing here, dressed in your clothes?’
They told him, and he shook his head in wonder.
‘Well, I suppose I’m going to have to turn a blind eye on this. We can’t go hanging a woman, especially with so few women around.’
Then he turned serious. ‘Take your wife and father home,’ he said to Ronnie. ‘If you ever come across this Purser again, let me know and I’ll deal with him. Leave your pistols, now, for I’m confiscating them.’ And, he thought to himself, they might come in handy one day. ‘Now leave, all of you.’
They mounted their horses, and rode back into town. As they said goodbye to Captain Pearl and thanked him, he let out a great sigh.
‘What’s wrong, Captain Pearl,’ Ronnie asked him.
‘Well, that was an exciting adventure, I must say, and I’m glad you both came out of it alive. But it set me wondering, where on earth am I going to find a wife willing to fight a duel for me?’
They all laughed, and wished each other goodnight.
Later than evening, Ronnie and Sarah made love with a passion that left them breathless in each other’s arms. They had both wondered if they would see the night and each other again, and their love blazed with their sheer joy of being alive.