"Declared war?" I murmured.
"Yes. She said, if that was the way they wanted it, that was damn well the way they could have it. She could get just as rough as any lace-pants bureaucrat in Washington. They'd damn well wish they'd thought twice before they tangled with Robin Orcutt Rosten. That was how it started. She found some men with unsavory connections, I don't know how; communist agents-"
Teddy stirred. "But hasn't it occurred ~o Mrs. Rosten what will happen to her and her property if those people ever get into power?"
Rosten laughed shortly. "I tried to make that point. My dear wife says she'll worry about the dreadful reds if and when the time comes. She says she knows from bitter experience what happened to her under the people who are actually in power now. They took her land, she says, and she has to hire batteries of high-priced lawyers and tax experts to keep them from taking her money, too, and giving it away to people who are too lazy to work and nations that are too stupid to- Well, you can complete the argument for yourselves. She says it came to her when she was down at Mendenhall preparing to stand them off with her shotgun: instead of peppering a few stupid yokels in soldier suits, she was going to do some damage where it really counted. She might not win, but those bureaucrats in Washington would know they'd been in a fight, by God!" He grimaced. "I told you. She's insane."
"Yeah," I said. "Insane."
He was right of course. The lady was cracked; she had to be. And still, there was a kind of romantic appeal in the idea of a lone woman in a sailboat setting out to wreak vengeance on the forces of progress: the taxes, the bridges, the military installations. Even if you didn't agree with her point of view, you could have admired her-or at least her courage-if she'd only been a little more careful, or patriotic, about picking her associates; if she'd refrained from kidnapping and killing people. I stopped that line of thought, as something changed around us. Aft, the diesel went silent; the engine vibrations stopped. I glanced out the porthole. The schooner was rushing along with apparently undiminished speed. I looked at Rosten.
"What does that mean?"
"My wife seems to have shut down the auxiliary," he said. "The wind has been rising steadily; she must figure we'll do well enough from now on under sail alone."
I said, "There's a storm to the south of us, I understand."
"A little more than just a storm, Mr. Helm," he said, rather pompously. "There's a hurricane off the Carolinas; but it's veering out to sea, according to the latest weather reports. However, we'll get the fringes of it before the night is over. I hope you have a strong stomach. The Freya is seaworthy enough to take anything we're apt to run into, but she can get quite active in a blow." He laughed, with a hint of malice. "She looks like a pretty big boat, doesn't she? I think you'll find her looking somewhat smaller shortly."
I said, "If things get good and rough, we'll have a better chance for a break. The timing will have to be right. Are you willing to help?"
He hesitated, and avoided answering directly. "Anything you do had better be done before we reach Mendenhall tonight," he said uneasily. "There'll be two men bringing Dr. Michaelis aboard-you heard about that; I heard my wife telling you. These men are trained professionals, like you. After they get on board, you won't stand a chance against all of them."
Teddy started to speak angrily. I put my hand on her knee. "I think we'd better wait for her daddy to get aboard, if we can," I said, and tried not to notice the quick look of gratitude she gave me.
Rosten said, "But that's ridiculous! We've got to act while we-" He checked himself, confused.
I said, "So now it's we. Thanks."
He ignored that. "-while we have the advantage of numbers, at least. Let me get on deck. I'll leave the door unlocked. I'll station myself where I can reach the shotgun. When you slip on deck, forward, and create a dis.. turbance, I'll grab the gun and we'll have them."
It sounded beautifully simple and easy. I had to act a~ if I was tempted by the idea. To tell the truth, I was.
"Well-"
Teddy asked quickly, "What about Papa?"
"After we get control of the schooner," Rosten said, "we can radio the authorities and have him rescued. He's being held in the wine cellar of the old Orcutt mansion on the island. My wife discovered it as a child, playing among the ruins. It was her secret, and she covered the entrance with brush and rubble so no one else would find it. No one has, not even the Marines. They don't really use the island for anything; they just keep people off because it's right in line with a small-arms range they have on shore. The men holding Dr. Michaelis have plenty of supplies in there, and a rubber boat, and a portable radio receiver-"
"Ouch," I said. "What makes you think they won't be listening when we start broadcasting for official help?"
Rosten said impatiently, "That's a risk we'll have to run. Anyway, even if they're warned, how far can they get in a little rubber boat on a stormy night? Our first concern is to take over the Freya while we have a chance."
Teddy said hotly, "Maybe it's your first concern, but-"
"All right," he said irritably. "We won't use the radio. We'll land somewhere and find a telephone."
"Ha-ha," she said. "How many places along the Bay can you land an eighty-foot schooner drawing ten feet of water, and who's going to take her in with a gale blowing? You?"
He said stiffly, "I can handle the Freya, Miss Michaelis."
"Yes, I've seen you! You put us aground in the James River in broad daylight, the time Papa and I came cruising with you all. It took high tide and a couple of powerboats to get us off, remember? If you do that here, Papa dies or vanishes again." She turned to me, breathlessly. "Matt, you're a government man. You know Papa is an important man, you said so. You think we'd better wait, don't you?"
I didn't trust Louis Rosten very far, and I didn't want him thinking I considered Dr. Michaelis particularly important, in case he should talk out of turn.
I said, "Well, rescuing Dr. Michaelis isn't strictly speaking in my department-"
"There's an alternative," Rosten said quickly. "We take over the ship and sail to the rendezvous ourselves. The two men with Dr. Michaelis won't be expecting trouble when they come on board. We should be able to overpower them easily."
The kid asked quickly, "And what makes you think you can bring us into Mendenhall Bay in the dark, no better than you navigate? I know I couldn't. Do you even know the right place? What if there's a special signal? There must be some kind of a signal to bring them out. Do you know what it is?"
I was watching Louis while she threw her objections at him. Maybe they were valid and maybe they weren't, and I could see it didn't matter in the least, because Louis had no intention of effecting a rescue at the slightest risk to himself. I could see his mind working as clearly as if his skull had been transparent. He wasn't brave, but he wasn't stupid, either. He had the essential point clearly in mind: the fact that when we finished taking over the ship according to his plan, he would be the man holding the shotgun.