condensed master

Will Bonner
"They sure are an odd trio."
Everyone knew that the Goanese as a race, were for the most part passive,
happy and contented, worked hard and never gave trouble, and Will concluded
that these three were the exception, no doubt a result of their connection in
Bombay, and they must have known the severity of what was going on there. Will
listened as Blondie continued, it was rare for him to be giving information.
"They are never with the others, and you were fighting outside the fat man's
linen locker. Every night between the 8 to 12 p.m. watch, they play cards there."
Thanks Blondie, Will was thinking, that's a prime piece of information!
The crews quarters were buzzing with the news, but Will could bank on the
gossip petering out after a day or two. The incident was minor and not infrequent,
so once everyone found out that it had been just another fight, without blood being
drawn, there would be no more interest. His most predominant thought was the
constant fear of being ambushed again during the remainder of the voyage.
There was no one he could ask for help, but supported by the information
from Blondie, he would have to take some positive action soon. Will decided that
he would go to the locker the following evening and try to eliminate the problem.
The intervening time was an example of what the remainder of the voyage
would be like. Constantly on the defensive, always in the presence of others, never
walking the deck at night, and much more. A virtual prisoner for the next three to
four weeks.
Will sat in his cabin waiting for the appropriate time. The two Scotsmen were
getting some sleep, prior to their twelve midnight to four a.m. watch and Will,
taking his kitbag from the locker removed the contents and turned it inside out.
Roughly sewn into the base was a palm size derringer pistol with an ivory
handle, given to him by someone, as a memento. He had only fired it once before,
just to see how it performed. Refilling the bag and stowing it away, he made his
way up to the fat man's locker.
It was about 10 p.m. and there was no activity in the corridors. Removing the
pistol from his pocket, Will burst through the locker-room door, and as Blondie
had described, all three were playing cards around a small collapsible table.
Practically all the space was taken up by the three men, and the weedy one had
his back to the door.
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