The Golden Flask (56 page)

"Come, sir, I realize you jest — yes, you play the fox,
twirling my leg. Well, sir, I will indulge you. Nay, I will
encourage you. You have earned a little laugh."

"I've earned a rest, I think."

"We have many miles to ride, and then you will
rest," said van Clynne, adopting Jake's usual line of argument in these conversations. "Really, sometimes I
wonder how you ever became a spy with such a shallow
constitution. Let us board our horses and be off. We
have but a few hours before darkness, and even if we
ride all night, we will be hard-pressed to make the camp on time."

And so once again Lieutenant Colonel Jake Gibbs
found himself in the familiar position of shaking his
head as he traveled with van Clynne. There was, it will
be admitted, a vague pleasure attached to the Dutchman's company, even as he complained that the trees
were no longer as green as they once were.

"You know, Claus, you look quite young without your beard," ventured Jake as he boosted himself onto his horse's back. "I think you are not half as old as you pretend."

"Thank you, sir, for your kind words, but there is no need to win my affections with flattery. I already hold you in high esteem."

"I am surprised that you allowed your beard to be cut at all. Did you harbor some secret admiration for Alison?"

"Please, sir, let us not be so impertinent. Nor should you forget that I found you holding a British noblewoman in your arms. What will General Washington say to that, I wonder?"

"He might well ask if I kissed her," said Jake, spurring his mount. "And I will have to say I did."

Van Clynne prodded his horse to follow. The white-gray stallion was a sturdy beast, provided by a Jersey patriot. For once the Dutchman had the faster horse, and he quickly caught up to his companion.

"There was a time when a gentleman refused to tell whether he kissed or not. Now, if Governor Stuyvesant were here, I can assure you, things would be different. There was a gentleman, sir, despite his occasional show of temper. A gentleman was a gentleman under his direction; he inspired them."

"Indeed," answered Jake. "Indeed."

H
istorical Note

H
owe’s
“B—“
letter
and his attempt to confuse Washington is well documented, though there had always been some question of how and when the American general realized Philadelphia was the true British target.

The existence of the New York spy ring, with the code-named Culpers as the organizers, is also amply authenticated by historical sources, though my interpretation is that the original writer of the Gibbs stories argues for a far more active – and I would think jollier – underground than previously known. While the records are understandably less than complete, no record of the activities described here seems to exist, though it will be admitted that there are also no firm contradictions.

Students of history will realize that Alexander Hamilton did indeed fall in love with Betsy Schuyler, reputed to be one of the most beautiful women in America, though the first meeting between them has always been thought to occur several months after this tale claims.

Many young women donned men’s clothes to fight in the war, as pension petitions and other records show, so Alison’s bravery did not seem unusual to me.

I believed that we had finally caught the original author out with his far-fetched tale of the madstone. Yet Cynthia Blair, a fellow writer, graciously shared some of her own research on the subject, proving that the stones were not only common but held in some esteem at the time.

As usual, I received considerable help deciphering the old manuscript and making it somewhat presentable for contemporary readers. Local historians and librarians, and even my niece Domiana, have all helped a great deal. And of course without the support of my wife Debra (who converted and retyped much of the original three manuscripts into e-book format) and other members of my family, I should not have been able to complete the work. I’d also like to thank the many readers who have spoken to me and written to me for their ideas and suggestions.

Avid followers of the series first two books,
The Silver Bullet
and
The Iron Chain
, may be surprised to find that there is apparently a month’s gap between the present installment,
The Golden Flask
, and its predecessor.

This is not due to a flaw in the publisher’s work schedule, but an apparent gap in the original manuscript. Clearly, big events took place in Jake Gibb’s career in the weeks immediately after
The Iron Chain
ends. As this book opens some six weeks later, the hero-spy has just recovered from wounds that apparently brought him to within an inch of meeting his Maker.

What happened? The present author is as much in the dark as the reader. There remains a mountain of old manuscripts to sort through, and perhaps the answer lies within them.

For more about this series and others I have written, visit my website at Jim DeFelice.com.

Thanks for reading.

- J.D.