The Fourth Life of Sean Donoghue by Trish Hanan (children's books read aloud .txt) 📕

The Major did not. He did glare at those who did.
“So you admit that you smuggled them into the country and failed to pay the tax on them and therefore won’t protest too much when I have you arrested and tossed into jail,” Major Steinbeck smiled when he finished his statement. Sean shook his head.
“I didn’t pay any tax of the rifles because in March of ninety-six when I purchased the rifles, Major, there was no tax on rifles,” he informed him and then reaching around to his back pocket Sean pulled out some folder papers. The title on the first one read: Tax Code, March sixteen ninety-six. The Major snatched from his hands and began to read it. It contained a list of everything the Hamish taxed in that year and month and how much tax was owed. Nowhere on the list did it list rifles.
“This is obviously a forgery,” the Major snapped. Sean shook his head.
“No, Sir, it is not, the Hamish didn’t actually begin taxing rifles until June of sixteen ninety-six so since I bought the rifles in March, there was no tax on them,” he explained as patiently as he could. The sergeant snorted.
“You could have bought those rifles in July or August and you’re just saying you bought them in March to avoid paying the tax,” he stated and all the soldiers nodded. The Major smiled. Sean reached into his back pocket and pulled out another piece of paper and handed it to the Major.
“If you look here you will see this is my invoice for three hundred rifles and it is dated March seventeenth, sixteen ninety-six,” he told him and the Major read it carefully. Then he handed it back and glared at Sean.
“You mean to tell me you’ve been carrying those papers around in your pocket for two years now waiting for someone to ask to see them?” he snapped. Sean nodded.
“I knew that you Hamish would find out I was selling rifles and start looking for tax receipts and finding none would come to ask me why,” he informed them. “You may be slow but you’re the nosiest bunch of people I’ve ever met.” A lot of men laughed. The soldiers were not amused.
“You knew that there would be a tax on those rifles,” the Major snapped at him. “What you should have done, you and this Captain Gaston who sold them to you, was go to the purser’s office, tell him you had merchandise that wasn’t on the Tax List and ask him how much tax to pay. That would have been the responsible thing to do.” All the soldiers nodded, especially the sergeant. Sean shook his head.
“Now, Major, that sounds like a job for the Hamish and I’m not Hamish. I’m not one for sticking my nose into other people’s business and telling them how to do their jobs. That’s a job for a busybody and I’m just a simple farmer,” he explained and everyone in the room nodded.
“Yeah, we’re just simple farmers,” someone shouted. The sergeant glared at him. The Major looked around and noticed all the rifles. He frowned.
“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about the five thousand rifles that disappeared from the Giovanni warehouse in Ennis would you, Mr. Donoghue?” he asked, his eyes narrowing. Sean shook his head.
“I’ve never been to Ennis, Major, I lived all my life in Topanga before I moved here to Anamylia,” he offered just to watch the man flinch again. Behind him Ryan chuckled again. The Major glared at him and turned to leave.
“Well, if you ever decide to go to Ennis, make sure you stop by my office in Portsmyth and let me know, Mr. Donoghue, I’ve got a feeling I should keep my eye on you,” he spat. Sean shrugged.
“As far as I know, Major, Anamylia is a free country and its citizens are free to travel anywhere whenever they want,” he informed him. The Major snorted.
“Maybe everyone else is, Mr. Donoghue, but you are not, report to me or I’ll have you arrested,” he snapped and they left.
“Well, I don’t think the Major likes me, do you, Ryan?” Sean asked as he took his seat. Ryan burst out laughing.
“Every time you said Topanga, I thought the poor man was going to have a heart attack, Granddad, you are a wicked, evil creature,” he chortled and the whole tavern broke into laughter.
“They do hate being reminded about that little uprising don’t they?” Sean commented and Ryan snorted.
“Uprising my arse, it was a God-damned revolution and a good one,” he sighed with pleasure remembering it. And of course everyone had to hear the story of it and how it came to be. Then someone in the back spoke up.
“It’s a damned shame what Count Parker is still doing to those Topangans on his plantation south of here,” Henry Rogers said and gave a big sigh. Sean and Ryan looked at each other.
“There’s Topangans in Anamylia?” Sean asked and went over to Henry’s table to get more information. When he got back to his table he told his grandsons they had to leave so they went home to talk about it.
“What are we going to do, Granddad, tell me we’re going to do something, we can’t just leave them here,” Ryan stammered. Sean patted him on his shoulder.
“Calm down, lad, we’re going to do something alright,” he assured him. “Fucking Hamish, Topanga’s been free for forty-two years. Those people should have been freed and sent home. This is barbaric even for them.” Danny didn’t understand why they were getting so upset over some slaves but if they wanted to do something to help, he was going to help them.
Sean left the next morning with Lonnie and Todd to scout out the Count’s plantation and what he saw appalled him. It was just like Queensland all over again, overseers in the fields with whips and women in the fields along with the men. And the people half-starved and half naked like they were no better than animals. Lonnie and Todd were appalled just like he was.
“Granddad, we’ve got to do something to help these people,” Lonnie whispered. Sean nodded.
“Ah, lad, we are,” he told him.
It wasn’t hard to figure out, all they had to do was find a ship, hire the Captain to take the people back to Topanga where they belonged. All they had to do was find a way to get them from the plantation to the ship. Then Sean thought of a way and he went to visit some old friends that he had helped once, the Malweenahs.
“Sean Donoghue, we remember your great-great grandfather, he helped us make a stand against the Hamish,” King Thunder Cloud said proudly. “He is the one who helped us build our great city. That is why we named it Donoghue. What can we do for his child?” he asked. Sean smiled.
“On a plantation south of the Ridge where I live there is a group of people who don’t belong in this country, they belong on an island country far from here,” he explained. “The Hamish have enslaved them and I wish to free them and return them to their home. My family and I will do the dangerous part; we merely need your people’s help in transporting these poor people through the forest to the ship. They will be weak and defenseless and unable to ride alone, they will need much help.” The King frowned.
“Do you think my men cowards, afraid to face danger?” he asked. Sean shook his head.
“I say nothing of the kind, Your Majesty, I merely want to keep your people away from the Hamish in case they are identified, the Hamish would be very angry with the Malweenah and might come here to the valley to harm you,” Sean explained. The King laughed.
“I have five thousand soldiers, white and Indian, let them come,” he declared. Then he smiled. “Let my people wear hoods during the rescue, then they will not be identified and the Hamish who cannot find their asses with both hands normally will not see them.” Sean laughed and promised the King five hundred rifles, a bullet press and gunpowder, which he was going to give them anyway, for their assistance. The King was most grateful.
Finding a ship was easy, Sean just offered him enough emeralds until the Captain said yes and left several of his men onboard to make sure he didn’t change his mind. Plus he kept the emeralds until the cargo was onboard. Now they just had to get it.
The Malweenahs were impressed that Sean could speak their language, especially since they had never seen him before and he used old words that weren’t used anymore. They sneaked in the forest and watched the guards. There were only four and they were stupid, they all hung around together, smoking and laughing. They were easy to sneak up on and knock on the head. Sean sneaked into the first filthy hut. The occupants looked up at him in horror. The woman gasped when she saw it was a white man.
“I am a friend, I have come to take you home to Topanga, I have friends outside to help, you are safe with me, please come quickly and quietly, please don’t make any noise,” Sean told them. They quickly got up and began to dress. They trusted him completely. Of course it helped that he had said the whole thing in Topangan. Sean led them outside and turned them over to the Indians who led them into the forest. More Indians took their place and Sean entered the next hut and did the same until all the huts were empty.
“Is this everyone, is everyone here?” Sean asked several people, everyone nodded. They made their way to the mules and horses that were waiting and the Indians helped them up. Some of Sean’s family was there also. Sean put two children on a mule and smiled at them.
“You’ll soon be in your country Topanga and free,” he told them in Topangan. They smiled at him.
They traveled through the night. Sean passed out rolls with meat and cheese and milk when they were a mile from the plantation. The people were staved and ate furiously.
“Eat slowly, you don’t want to get sick,” he told them. They nodded and tried but several were sick anyway.
“Those fucking bastards Hamish,” Douglas spat and Sean put his arm around him.
“Now you know how Ryan and I felt when we first went to Queensland, now picture a whole country like this,” he said and Douglas shook his head.
“No wonder they had a revolution,” he said and grinned. Some Topangans looked at them.
“What do you mean, what’s a revolution?” they asked. Sean informed them that they were returning to a free country. Queensland was no more, Topanga was a free country and they would be free when they got home. They all got excited when they heard that.
It took them four days to reach the ship and then another to put the people on, they went in the hold and into the cabins. Sean gave each of the families an emerald to cash in when they got there so they would have coin to start their lives. He