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

the Mermaid,” Ryan remarked casually. Sean shrugged.
“So I lied, sue me,” he retorted and both brothers laughed.
When they got to the Mermaid, Sean asked to speak with the Captain and was directed to a tall, thin dark-haired man who bore a remarkable resemblance to Armand Gaston and to Pierre his father. Sean smiled; this man had to be a Gaston. He talked to his mate and glanced over to the three men, frowned and then walked over to talk with them, it was apparent, he had more important things on his mind.
“My mate says you wanted to talk with me,” he said briskly. Sean nodded.
“My great-grandfather sailed on a ship called the Mermaid with a Pierre Gaston and my grandfather sailed on the North Star with an Armand Gaston, you bare a remarkable resemblance to both of those gentlemen, you wouldn’t happen to be a Gaston now would you?” he asked with a sly grin. The man grinned and held out his hand.
“Pierre Gaston at your service, and you would be?” he asked. Sean shook his hand and received a firm grip in return.
“Sean Donoghue,” he told him and saw a light come into the Captain’s eyes. Obviously he had heard tales of smuggling with the famous Sean Donoghue.
“My grandfather had told me many stories of your grandfather, those two rascals were quite the devils,” Pierre teased and they both laughed. They Sean introduced the older gentlemen as his two uncles. Danny thought that was strange but he didn’t say anything. They Sean offered the Captain a bottle of whiskey he had brought with him and they went below to his cabin.
They chatted a few minutes about family and grandfathers and then Sean leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.
“When I saw that this was an Ennis ship and it was called the Mermaid I was hoping that the Captain might be a Gaston,” he told the Captain oh-so-casually. Pierre lifted his eyebrow.
“Oh, did you?” he replied as casually in return. The two brothers watched and held their breaths.
“Yes, I thought we might go on where the old men left off, sort of a family tradition so to speak,” Sean said meeting the Captain’s glance with a twinkle in his dark, green eyes. Pierre grinned.
“The Hamish do tax us poor sea Captain’s unfairly and the stupid bastards couldn’t find their own asses with both hands,” he remarked. Everyone in the room grinned. Pierre lifted his glass up.
“To family traditions,” he toasted. Sean lifted his glass up and they clinked them.
“To family traditions,” he said.
“I do have something rather special that I really don’t want falling into Hamish hands,” Pierre said and they walked down into the hold. He showed them a long box and carefully opened it revealing six long metal objects with wooden grips. They had a long barrel on one end with a trigger looking thing and a handle with a bolt and Sean felt a shiver run up his spine just by looking at them. He waved his hand and Pierre nodded. Sean lifted one out and held it correctly pointing the barrel towards the wall and looking through over the barrel. There was a metal notch with a ‘v’ cut into it on the barrel and he could tell it was to look through so you could aim better.
“It’s called a rifle and some men named the Giovanni brothers are manufacturing them in Bismol in Ennis, I have three hundred and they cost me a hundred gilders apiece,” Pierre informed them. Ryan and Danny whistled.
“What are they for?” Ryan asked. Sean looked at him.
“They’re for killing, lad,” he answered and Pierre nodded. He picked up a small oblong object and held it up for them to see.
“They shoot these things, they’re called bullets and the bottom part is called the shell casing and the top part is the slug,” he explained and showed them how to load it into the gun which the rifle was also called. He pulled back the bolt which was how it was loaded. Then before you could shoot it, you had to arm it by cocking the handle and then you shot it by pulling the trigger. Then you slid the bolt again the empty casing popped out. You kept that for refilling and using again.
Then Pierre showed them the red gunpowder that was used to fill the bullet and the slug that went on top and you put it in the press and then pulled the handle down and it put them together. He was willing to sell Sean a dozen barrels of the gunpowder, ten thousand bullets, extra slugs and casings and the press. All for a hundred and fifty gilders a rifle and he would throw in the press and extra slugs and cases for free. The powder would be extra. Sean nodded.
“I’ll need coffee, sugar, tea, whatever else you’ve got too, the stores on the Ridge are empty because of the taxes,” he informed him. Pierre nodded.
“That’s a lot of coin, my friend,” he told him. Sean grinned.
“I won’t be paying in coin unless you really want it, I was thinking of another kind of currency,” he teased and Ryan grinned. Danny looked confused. Sean reached into his pocket and took out a small leather pouch. He handed it to Pierre.
“Take what you think is payment enough for what I need,” he said. Pierre nodded, opened the pouch and spilled its contents onto the lid of a barrel. He and Danny gasped at the sparkling green stones.
“My God, Topangan emeralds,” Pierre whispered and he looked at Sean who nodded. “You know the Giovanni brothers love Topangan emeralds and they’re getting ready to sell the Hamish army five thousand rifles next year,” he informed and Sean frowned.
“When do you leave port?” he asked. Pierre smiled.
“A week,” he answered. Sean nodded.
“Don’t leave without me,” he told him and Pierre nodded. Ryan looked at him and frowned. Pierre took two emeralds and reluctantly put the rest back. The three men left the ship. Ryan didn’t say a word until they were back in their room and then he turned to Sean.
“What do you mean don’t leave port without me, we just got here and you’re going to run off and leave me and go to Ennis?” he said and tears came to his eyes. Sean put his arms around him.
“Ah, lad, I would never leave you, ever,” he said firmly. “If I decide to go to Ennis, then you and Danny will go with me.” Danny looked surprised.
“I’ve never been off the Ridge,” he said. Sean looked at him.
“Well, don’t you think it’s time you had an adventure before you go and die?” he asked him and Danny laughed.
“Why the hell not,” he chortled. Ryan patted him on his back.
“That’s the spirit,” he told him. Then he looked at Sean.
“Why are we going to Ennis anyway, we just got to Anamylia?” he asked.
“I know, lad, but just think of five thousand of those deadly rifles in the hands of the Hamish army. Think of the damage they could do,” he said. “Now think of those five thousand rifles in the hands of every man on the Ridges here in Anamylia. It would be the same as putting swords into the hands of all those Topangans back on Queensland,” he explained and Ryan’s eyes lit up.
“Ah, lad, two revolutions in one lifetime, how lucky can one man be,” he said with a big grin. Danny looked confused.
Sean left them at the inn to keep Annie company while he made the trip up the river with the long boats. He stored everything in the old cave, it was still there and the boulder still moved when they rocked it into place. Then he returned to Portsmyth and they bought food and supplies for the journey and loaded it onto the Mermaid. He had to hire two men to see the ladies safely home. Annie, of course, bitched and complained and tried to force her brother Danny to stay home.
“Daniel Donoghue you’ve never been off the Ridge in your whole life and you’re too old to be gallivanted off on some fool adventure with these two fools,” she snapped at him. Sean sighed and tried to take her hands. She pushed him away.
“No, don’t you dare touch me,” she spat at him, angry tears in her eyes. “It was bad enough that you took my baby brother away for forty-nine years but now you’ve come back and want to take both of them off with you, well maybe you get to live forever Sean Donoghue but look at them, they are old men and they’re too old to be running around the world risking their lives for some damned foolish reason.” She began to cry. Sean sighed. Ryan sat on the bed next to her.
“Annie, lass, first of all, Granddad didn’t take me away, I left because I wanted to go and I would have left even if he hadn’t taken me,” he said and when she tried to turn away, he put his hand under her chin and forced her to look at him. “Because of Granddad I had the most wonderful life, Annie. I was in love with the most wonderful man in the world and he loved me too. We had eight beautiful children and two wives and a magical adventure. Now me and Danny might be old but we’re not dead yet, don’t make us live like we are. Maybe we’ll die on the trip, maybe we won’t but at least we’ll die doing something, not just sitting on the porch waiting to die like a couple of slugs.” Annie sighed.
“But what if I die before you come back?” she whispered. “What if I never see you both again?” And they knew that was the real reason for her outbreak. They had just come home and now they were leaving for a year and she would never see them again if she died. Sean grinned.
“So come with us, lass,” he suggested and she looked shocked.
“I’m sixty-nine years old, I can’t be gallivanting across the ocean just like that,” she snorted. Sean took her hands.
“Why not, lass, are you scared you’re going to die on the trip? You’re going to die one of these day, why not doing something you’ve never done before?” he said and she shook her head.
“No, I’m not the traveling sort, but you boys have a good trip and maybe I’ll still be alive when you come back,” she whined and went home with her granddaughter. Ryan just shook his head.
“She’ll probably spend the next year wishing she’d come with us,” he commented and they all nodded.
The trip across the ocean was fun. Sean skipped being a sailor and spent all of his time playing cards with his grandsons and talking with the Captain. They had a blast and got special privileges the other guests didn’t get like hot food occasionally and a hot bath once in a while. He bribed the night watch and took both Danny and Ryan up the rigging so they could fly. Danny had the time of his life and swore he now knew what it was