The War Chest (18 page)
Authors: Porter Hill
Horne took the tools and passed them to the Marine standing next to him, Jud.
Horne, Watson, and the Marines crowded around as Jud knelt in front of the iron-banded chest. They watched anxiously as the big African began hitting the mallet against the chisel’s wooden butt.
The padlock broke with a snap.
Horne handed Jud the iron bar.
The muscles rose under Jud’s ebony-skinned arm as he prised, finally breaking the iron band with his force on the bar.
Rising, he stood back to allow Horne to open the chest’s lid.
Horne deferred to Commodore Watson.
Dabbing the handkerchief at his forehead, Watson stepped in front of the bow-topped trunk. Taking a deep breath, he glanced apprehensively at Horne. Then, shaking his head, he hesitated and stood back from the trunk. ‘No, Horne. It’s your victory. You open the lid.’
‘Victory, sir?’ Horne appraised the large chest. ‘If there’s no gold inside, sir, nobody can claim a victory.’
‘Ah! But if there
is
gold inside, Horne, we’ll be welcomed back at Bombay Castle with open arms.’ Watson looked at the other five Marines. ‘Who knows? Governor Spencer might be so pleased with your success that he will assign the
Huma
to Horne. She’ll be your ship.’
Horne and the men exchanged hopeful glances.
Watson added, ‘And I’ll get my pension.’
Displeased with himself for mentioning his own
worries
, he scowled, rasping, ‘But here you go jabbering again, Horne. Dash it. Open the lid let’s see what’s inside.’
Watson and the five Marines pushed around Horne. The hinges creaked as Horne lifted the lid and, then, everybody began to laugh. There was more gold than any of them had ever seen.
END
Adam Horne and the Bombay Marines Adventures
continue in
CHINA
FLYER
Bilboes—shipboard shackles devised in the Spanish foundries of Bilbao
Brahmin—the highest Hindu caste
Compagnie des Indes Orientales—The French East India Company
Dhoolie—a covered litter
Dhoti—loincloth
Dongi—small canoe made from plantain leaves
Dubash—literally ‘two languages’, hence an interpreter or secretary
Dungri—blue Indian cotton cloth
Howdah—saddle or house on back of elephant
Feringhi—foreigner
Karma—fate or destiny, a person’s activities in many reincarnations. Hinduism. Buddhism
Kshatriya—the second highest and Hindu warrior caste
Moong dal—a split pea, frequently used in a savoury pancake batter
Pankration—ancient manner of Greek combat, forerunner of Japanese Karate
Panchama—literally, ‘the fifth’, people outside the four Indian castes
Punkah—overhead fan operated by rope
Sari—female garb, long cloth
Sepoy—Indian troop trained by European standards
Sudra—people below the Hindu high castes
Topiwallah—literally, men with hats; hence, foreigners
Vaisya—the third Hindu caste, the powerful merchant class
THE BOMBAY MARINES
First published in Great Britain in 1987
by Souvenir Press, 43 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3PD
This ebook edition first published in 2013
All rights reserved © Souvenir Press Ltd
The right of Porter Hill to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly
ISBN 9780285642126
The Adam Horne trilogy
If you have enjoyed this Adam Horne adventure the other titles in this trilogy are available.
In this, the first part of the Adam Horne trilogy, it is 1761 and Pondicherry, the last stronghold of the French in India, has fallen to the British. Captain Horne is given a secret mission: to capture the defeated French commander, Thomas Lally, from the prison of Fort St. George on Madras – if he fails his unit will be disbanded.
When most of the Bombay Marines are deployed on the east coast of India Horne finds his unit is left undermanned and he is left with only one choice: to take his pick of the motley collection of thieves, rapists and murderers held in the prisons of Bombay Castle and train them for what will be the most closely guarded campaign of the Seven Years’ War.
From the colourful waterfront of Bombay to the sadistic penal colony of Bull Island and the cataclysmic denouement within the walls of Fort St. George Adam Horne, and his ex-convicts, must be prepared for the exotic dangers of India.
In this second part of the Adam Horne trilogy, following
The Bombay Marines
, the dare-devil Captain Horne is re-united with his motley but loyal band of ex-convict fighters.
Horne sails to Madagascar on a mission of such danger and daring that no one in London, where the plan has been evolved, believes that it can succeed. With the war against the French at stalemate, the British Chiefs of Staff are looking for an unofficial means to reactivate the conflict in India and to drive the French from the subcontinent forever. Who better to use than a band of expendable cut-throats, the East India Company’s Bombay Marines?
