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"You could lay him out with your bloody breath!" one of the others said, and the third ht you are, at that! Cole! Thank Christ we&039;ve got a fair wind for a change tonight!"

Matthew lifted his head and watched as the men returned to their oarboat They pushed it off the beach, Rawlings clambered over the side first and then the otherchief - and the vessel h the lathery surf It was quickly taken by the darkness

Matthe that if he waited long enough and kept a sharp enough eye he er craft at anchor out there - possibly the flare of asail He did not, however, have the time or the inclination Suffice it to know that an oar-boat was not a vessel suitable for a sea voyage

He looked in the direction Winston had gone, back toward Fount Royal Satisfied that he was alone, Matthew got up from his defensive posture and immediately went on the offensive He found the disturbed area beside the palmettos where the buckets had been buried, and - two painful palripped his hand on the concealed shovel

as Winston had specified, the buckets were not buried very deeply all Matthew desired was one The bucket he chose was of co of dried tar, and of weight Matthew estiain to fill the cavity, then returned it to the palmettos and set off for Fount Royal with the bucket in his possession

The way back was no less difficult than his previous journey It came to him that he was most likely locked out of Bidwell&039;s ain entrance; did he wish to let anyone in the household see hiame Winston was up to, Matthew didn&039;t want to tip the man that his table had been overturned He trusted Mrs Nettles to a point, but in his opinion the jury was still out on everyone in the damned town So: what to do with the bucketi

He had an idea, but it wouldone person implicitly Two persons, if Goode&039;s wife should be counted He was eager to learn the bucket&039;s contents, and most likely Goode would have an iree of thankfulness Matthew put the swaotiated the pinewoods to avoid the watchtower, and shortly thereafter stood before John Goode&039;s door Upon it he rapped as quietly as he thought possible, though the sound to his ears was alarly loud and rin, he had to knock a second tiht blotched the &039;s covering of stretched oilskin cloth

The door opened a candle was pushed out, and above it was Goode&039;s sleepy-eyed face He&039;d been prepared to be less than courteous to whoever had co at such an hour, but when he saw first the white skin and then ore it he put hi that needs looking at" Matthew held up the bucket "May I enteri"

Of course he was not to be denied "What is iti" May asked froht Matthew in and closed the door "Nothin&039; that concerns you, woman, " he said as he lit a second candle fro a threadbare covering up to her neck

Goode put the two candles on the table and Matthew set the bucket down between theentleo, " Matthew explained "I won&039;t go into the particulars, but he has more of these buried out there I want to see what&039;s in it"

Goode ran his fingers around the tar-sealed lid He picked up the bucket and turned it so its bottoht There, burnt by a brand into the wood, was the letter K and beneath that the letters CT "Maker&039;s mark, " he said "From a cooper in Charles Town, &039;pears to be" He looked around for a tool and put his hand on a stout knife Then he began chipping the tar away as Mattheatched in eager anticipation When enough of the seal had been broken, Goode slid the blade under the lid and worked it up In another moht was ave its testi his nose Matthew put the sharp odor as being of a bris of pine oil and freshly cooked tar Indeed, what the bucket held looked to be thick black paint

"Might I borrow your bladei" Matthew asked, and with it he stirred the foul-s concoction as he did, yellow streaks of sulphur appeared He was beginning to fathoht be confronted with, and it was not a pretty picture "Do you have a pan we ht put some of this ini a spoon, as welli"

Goode, true to his name, supplied an iron pan and a wooden ladle Matthew put a single dip of the stuff into the pan, just enough to cover its bottoht, " Matthew said "Let us see e have" He picked up one of the candles and lowered its flame into the pan

as soon as the wick ed flame, and burned so hot both Matthew and Goode had to draw back There were ss as nited Matthew picked up the pan and took it to the hearth so that the fuht be draard Even with so little an amount, the heat on his hand was considerable

"That&039;s the Devil&039;s own brew, ain&039;t iti" Goode said

"No, it&039;s made by men, " Mattheered "Diabolical chemists, perhaps It&039;s called &039;infernal fire, &039; and it has a long history of being used in classical naval warfare The Greeks made bombs from it and shot theoin&039; on abouti Uh beggin&039; your pardon, suh"

"Oh, it&039;s all right I think the use of this entleentlehtly in the pan, "likes to see houses alight With this che fire to even daht paint it on the walls and floor with a brush Then the stuff is touched off at several strategic places and the firemen will inevitably be too late"

"Youon Goode "The man&039;s been usin&039; this to burn down housesi"

"Exactly His last strike was against the schoolhouse" Matthew set the pan down in the fireplace&039;s ashes "Why he would wish to do so, I have no idea But the fact that this bucket was fashioned in Charles Town and was brought by sea bodes ill for his loyalty"

"Brought by seai" He stared long and hard at Matthew "You knoho the man be, don&039;t youi"

"I do, but I&039;m unprepared to speak the name" Matthew returned to the table and pushed the lid down firmly on the bucket once more "I have a request tofor a short tiarded the bucket with trepidation "It won&039;t blow us up, will iti"

"No, it needs a flaht wrap it up and treat it with the same care you treat your violin"

"Yes suh, " he said uncertainly "Only thing be, I don&039;t believe nobody ever got blowed up from fiddle music"

at the door, Matthew cautioned, "Not a word to anyone about this as far as you should be concerned, I was never here"

Goode had picked up both candles to remove them from the immediate vicinity of such destructive power "Yes suh Uh you&039;ll be co, won&039;t youi"

"I will I expect I&039;ll need it very soon" But not until he deter down his eht have added

"The sooner I&039;ll like it, " Goode said, already looking for a piece of burlap hich to wrap the offensive visitor

Matthew left Goode&039;s house and walked to the mansion, which was a relatively short distance but a world away froet to sleep quickly, as there wasto be difficult in the few hours of dark that remained, be-cause his mind would twist this new revelation into every possible shape in an attehts was the equine lust of Seth Hazelton; the crier, for the ly ascribed them - as did Bidwell and everyone else - to Rachel&039;s pact with the Devil

Matthew had every intention of going to the door and ringing the bell to gain entry if necessary, but between intention and deed he shifted his course a few degrees and soon found hi He sat down, pulled his knees up to his chin, and stared out across the smooth water, his ht be

Presently he decided to stretch out, and lying on his back in the grass he looked up at the strea clouds His last conscious thought before he drifted to sleep was of Rachel in the darkness of her cage; of Rachel, whose life depended on his actions in the hours that remained

Of Rachel