Episode 5: Bear and Bill in Marseilles
It was a warm September morning when the French merchant ship still laden with an abundance of supplies and enough heavy cannon to protect itself from anything on the water, except a man-o-war. Elizabeth was on deck with Bill, he stared at her profile, the image of his beloved wife was there right in front of him. She asked him about the ramparts they were passing at the entrance to Vieux Port. Bill had been there before when he was fourteen. He remembered how dangerous the port was. Before they went any further he said she would have to stay below until he had made arrangements for her stay at a convent he knew of. Massalia as it was known when founded in 600 BCE was a trading port for tin, which was sent up the Rhone River to Celtic and German kings. The trade wars between Etruscans and Carthage, the two most powerful peoples at that time escalated until they formed an alliance with the Celtic Gauls to destroy Massalia. Massalia turned to a small but up and coming Roman Empire for protection. IN 49 BCE the prosperous city was forced to pick sides in a war between Pompey and Julius Ceasar. They choose Pompey and Ceasar destroyed the city. It was rebuilt but all the lands were divided among others. The Romans renamed it Massilia and it became known over the next 100 years for famous Greek schools educating the Gauls.
Aphra listened intently as this was new information to the knowledge hungry young woman. When he said they decided to fight against Julius Ceasar, she laughed and he reminded her of how good hind sight is. He was so proud of his granddaughter and her fluency in French would be an asset in Paris. She then started a series of questions concerning swords, steel, China, and what did they say the year was in Europe before Christ’s birth. Bill had always had Rebecca to answer these questions back in Philadelphia and Bill was glad to see Effa walk up, having given them time to themselves.
It was almost dark by the time Bill and two of the guards that were staying with the group arrived at the convent tucked high in the mountains. Mother Francis invited them in and had the night’s supper warmed up for them. She read carefully the letter of introduction from the Jesuit priests in Philadelphia, there was no mention of reimbursement. Bill quickly said that wouldn’t be a problem and produced a small bag of silver. She blushed and said times have been hard. Between the Small Pox epidemic of three years ago and last years’ law prohibiting more than four adults to a household to rid France of nomads and vagrants. The men were sent off to work in ship galleys for five years. The women and children were flogged and sent to poor houses. Mother Francis had intervened in as many of the cases as she could, but it had left the convent in financial ruin. Bill felt for the woman and produced a large bag of silver to which she started crying and said God would bless him with riches in the next life. So it was set, Elizabeth, Effa, three of the six guards and Klondike would stay at the convent until Bill could get things arranged for their transport to Paris. When it came time to leave Klondike raised such a fuss that Bill decided Aphra would be safe enough with two of the best swordsmen in France, one being Effa and two other men of strong heart. It wasn’t like they were being dropped off in the middle of town. Aphra said to take the dog so he won’t bark all day and night until Bill returned.
It wasn’t that Bill was out of money but Bear had cost several bags of gold more than anticipated. So Bill was in the mood to grow the coffers in the port of Marseille. Bear didn’t like low ceilings so he would duck down look inside and if he saw a ceiling he straighten back up and move on. Bill quit even looking inside spending his time looking for old warehouses that had been converted to a more pleasure oriented businesses. Bear looked in then stooped over the clear the doorway and was gone just like that. Bill and Klondike followed right behind. Bill’s eyes watered as he looked for Bear in the loud drunken den with smoke so thick you could see only about six feet before all details were lost. Bear had found a big wooden table made from rafters and had pulled it up to him in the corner. He was sitting on some kind of barrel and the table came right down on his legs. His right arm clutched the hatchet and he waved Bill over to join him on his left. Bill slid onto a long bench that ran the length of the wall on that side. Klondike took a position next to Bill on the floor facing outward so as to protect Bill’s left side. It was this way whenever they sat down in a tavern, never standing up at the rail with exposure from many sides of attack. Klondike and Bear awake on either side on alert with a wall at his back, Bill never felt safer than at these times. The original cast who were sitting there when Bear grunted for all of them to get up from his table came back to the table slowly. There had only been one man to say no and Bear slammed the table into him so hard it almost cut him in half and others came over to carry him to the doctor’s office. So there would be any hard feelings, Bill bought a round of drinks for all ten at the table including Klondike who loved beer. Soon the tavern returned to its normal decibel level.
There was King George, a small wiry sneaky looking fellow with a top hat and fancy vest. Next to him was his bodyguard TommyBoy, a barrel-chested sailor with tattoos over every square inch that was visible. Bill thought he was deaf since The King kept signing to him. Next to them was a tall black man some said was a Zulu warrior on the run for something that happened back in Africa. The only other unusual member of the table was a big Gypsy looking woman with a monkey sitting on her shoulder and two of the biggest pistols Bill had ever seen hanging from each of her massive shoulders. Outside of a small, frail, and incredibly old looking Asian man at the opposite end of the table the rest appeared to be what you would expect to see in any large port of the world.
The King was arguing with obviously a French Catholic at the table about the 1701 English law that no Catholic would sit on the throne of England. The Frenchman laughed out loud at the pious stance of the King, and said that if the Pope Innocent XIII bribe of 10,000 ducats to reestablish Roman Catholicism in England had been 100,000 or 250,000 England would be a mandatory Catholic nation. He might have gotten away with the implication, but when he said it was the same difference between a lady and a whore– the amount of the money exchanged, the King jumped to his feet screaming curses about French women. TommyBoy had been nodding off was startled by the sudden movement to his left when the King jumped up. He looked up to see his employer all red faced and pointing a finger at some man across the table. He slowly reached down for a throwing knife he carried in his boot since he couldn’t reach the man by bending over the wide table. Two other men at the table agreed with the Frenchman that all royalty were for sale. The King sat back down finally realizing the comments were about his King not his mother. TommyBoy slumped back into a comfortable position and table continued on with discussion.
Cardinal Andre Hercule de Fleury had just been appointed Prime Minister of France and had begun cleaning up questionable financial practices that had put France in a weakened condition. Pierre, the Frenchman, then turned his attention to Bill the obvious American colonist and asked if America ruled by Freemasons. He went on to say the Roman Catholic had recently condemned Freemasonry and he figured America was part of the problem. Bill had heard the word before, but only at social functions in passing and never in detail. Bill was generally careful with what he said in public and especially in bars with drunken men. He just said he had heard of them but didn’t think he knew one. Pierre tried again to get Bill to react by asking him why the colonists didn’t brand their slaves like the cattle to show ownership. Bill just said the colonies were not nations maybe some day they would, just like Holland, England and France. Still Pierre pressed Bill by asking if the big man next to him was his slave or his master. All eyes at the table turned to see Bill react as it got quiet at the table. All side conversations stopped. Bear’s right hand slid over the handle of the hatchet he called “divider,” the most deadly 40 pounds of killing machine ever made. Bill waited until the tension was almost unbearable, then simply said that neither Bear nor himself have known a master. Bill followed up by saying that they travel as brothers, but the dog is mine alone. Pierre just couldn’t let go of Bill that easy. As he started his final accusation that all three had a same mother, he started to pull a pistol from his waistband, knowing full well Bill would have to react. But before the end of the barrel had cleared his belt, Klondike was air borne. Pierre tried to dunk but it only made things worse by bringing his head down in perfect alignment to Klondike’s arc and fit neatly inside the jaws as Klondike landed. There was a loud pop as the skull gave way, a couple of quick jerks of a massive head and it was over. Four seconds into an unfinished insult a man lay still on the floor. Klondike returned to his place next to Bill and assumed a contented look of being by him master. Bill reached over and scratched his huge neck making Klondike close his eyes and throwing his head back to allow full access to his throat and chest. Since what happened didn’t involve anyone else at the table and in particular that mass of flesh in the corner didn’t get up everyone sat still while Klondike finished off a very irritating Frenchman, even the other Frenchmen at the table went back to talking about politics. No one gave another thought to Pierre now under the long bench out of the way.
Bill was amazed at the things that were discussed at that table. Things he hadn’t heard of in Philadelphia society or would ever hear being discussed. Like in 1722 a Mir Mohammad of Afghanistan had conquered Persia. The next year Austria becomes its own country, not just a part of Germany. That China had banned the teaching of Christian religion ten years ago. And taken over Tibet in 1720, according to the small man at the end of the table. The King told of horrible fighting in 1715 when the German George I of Hanover defeated the Jacobite house of Stuart and began the house of Hanover better known as the house of Windsor. Bill knew of George I but didn’t know he was German. For that matter, he just learned last year that Richard the Lion Hearted, King of England leader of the great crusades had never been to England. He was a Frenchman that didn’t even speak English. Bill’s contributions to the night’s discussions were few and far between. He said the first American settlement was in Jamestown in 1607, the first Pilgrims landed in 1620 running from religious persecution, but before he could add another tidbit about the first slaves in 1679, a slender fellow down a ways at the table said “speaking of religious persecution.” He wasn’t the type of man one would notice in a crowd and he wore a beaver skin hat that reminded Bill of the western territories. Gerard was one of the few Huguenot Protestant survivors of the early 1700 persecution that drove thousands of hatters to London and points west. He didn’t actually finish his thought and settled back in his chair quietly. Bill later heard that the fumes of the mercury to make fine pelts left men senile or “mad as a hatter” if you will.
Everyone at the table nodded when the black plague was brought as a terrible way for the equivalent of all the colonists dying in one year like Europe faced in 1711. And though almost every man could tell a story of someone they knew that died, it was the huge Gypsy woman, Rosetta that reminded the table that plagues don’t count as religious persecution. She went on to tell the story of Gypsy men being hanged without a trial on the spot by towns people once an accusation was made. That the Roma women and children were separated from the men and taken off to be mutilated with knives and hot pokers beyond their families’ ability to even recognize them. By 1712, The King had lost count after reaching tens of thousands. Bill was getting a little sick thinking of thousands of mutilations and wanted to change the subject. Bill said he wanted to do some betting while in port. The King piped up that he knew just the place and said to meet him tomorrow at the North end of the main dock around nightfall.
Bill found an almost kept up hotel on the waterfront at the North end of the dock. It was the last hotel in sight and beyond it were warehouses as far as the eye could see. Bill asked for a room facing the street and the clerk said only one left at the top floor turn left end of the hall number 444. The clerk kept looking at Bear and the hatchet and mumbling about how they run a respectable establishment and wouldn’t want any trouble. Bill said, “Great, neither do we.” On the way up a step gave way under Bear and he fell forward and when he grabbed the railing the whole rail went too. The room was small and smelled of stale air. Bill opened the window saw a large overhang six feet out from the building and figured it would take an acrobat to swing in the window from the roof. So he opened the window all the way open and looked to see a sheer hotel front, no railings or ledges. The door was blocked with the headboard of the bed where Bill slept. Bear as usual was on the floor on his back, not that there was a bed that would hold him. And Klondike slept under the bed with his nose at the crack at the bottom of the door. Klondike could smell any change in the hallway and could easily tell the difference between a man going to the facilities at the end of the hall and men creeping up to the door they’re behind.
The following morning there was a knock at the door Klondike had already been growling so Bill called out who was at their door. The answer surprised Bill some. They said they were the police and wanted to talk about the death of Pierre Dubonnet last night in the bar. Bill said to push their badge under the door since they could be his family with guns loaded. The badge looked official and Bill opened and invited them in. Captain Coffey was an imposing looking man. Over six feet tall, big chest, big arms, long mustache, square jaw, and a couple of the coldest eyes Bill had ever seen. The Captain normally wouldn’t concern himself with a death of a known troublemaker that should have been killed in a duel long ago. He had come to see the “Beast from Hell” for himself. His deputy waited outside which seemed just fine to him after looking in and seeing Klondike growling in the corner. The Captain went on to say he wasn’t going to do any paperwork on this incident after talking to three of the men at the table. They swore it was self-defense and they didn’t feel the dog was wild since it returned to its master’s side immediately without so much as looking at anyone else at the table. Bill told the story about Klondike carrying his owner with two broken legs on his back over three mountain ranges, covering 180 miles of waist deep snow. The Captain offered to buy Klondike for 5000 ducats after watching Klondike watching him for several minutes. A man could live quite well for years on such a sum and Bill was careful in his answer since it was obvious the Captain could do whatever he wanted in this town. My friend here Bear the Mohawk and I travel extensively and this is the first man or beast that allows us a full night’s sleep after a hard day of travel. Not only do we get warned in plenty of time, we also have the first several men leading the attack lying dead by the time we’re up and joined in battle. This dog has no monetary value other than my life and the life of a Chief of the Mohawks, the most dominate tribe in the Americas. The amount agreed to, to have Bear join me on this adventure was to be quadrupled if he does not return to the tribe. Instead of two years support, it would eight years supporting the entire tribe of 4300 with all the food, shelter, supplies, and protection from other tribes, the cost of which I cannot estimate well. The Captain was impressed with such an elaborate story and went no further with the subject. Bill on the other hand saw an opportunity to make an offer of his own. Bill said he was thinking of doing some rather large risky investments on this end of the dock and needed some way to ensure payment should the venture be successful. For the first time the Captain’s hard face broke into a huge warm smile as he instantly caught the offer. Bill Seaworthy if that is your name, I believe I can provide that payment security for a reasonable percentage of the winnings, say 20%. Bill was delighted with the figure, he was worried that it would be more like 331/3 or even 50%. The two men shook hands and began discussing the details of the venture that night.
The Captain said the only big money going down in the port luckily for Bill was the dogfights in a warehouse two blocks north of the end of the dock. He told them that there were men who came in for the weekend only from around the world bringing their dogs they were just sure would finally beat the pit bull of Marseille. The pit only knew one way to fight. As soon as it was put down on the floor of the arena it would run as fast it could to the other dog jump up into the throat section and sink its teeth into the jugular and hold on till the dog dropped from blood loss. Every dog breed in the world, including other pit bulls have been brought, but this dog has so much experience that no dog has lived through the fight. To date the count is in the hundreds and his owner has started a farm to breed for the next champion by having dozens of pit bulls kill each other to have one ready to take over when “Death” gets too old. The Captain said he would show up around 7:00 as usual since he has made a small fortune off “Death” himself over the years. Only this time he was going to put his money on Klondike and a lot of it. He explained half of the twenty percent would go to paying his men to insure the debt gets paid. There will be a dozen strongmen employed by the King that will have to be arrested the second “Death” is dropped to the floor. Then the exits will have to be blocked and the Kings home secured to secure the balances of the debts he will owe all of us. We’re talking forty men to see you get paid when your dog wins instead of them killing you and your dog. Bill had the Captain show him the exact dimensions of Death. Bill bound some of the bedding no one would sleep on for fear of getting bed bugs or lice on them. He bound it with cord and reshaped the bundle until the Captain said that was the size and shape of the dog Klondike will be facing. The two men shook hands to seal the deal, and the Captain disappeared down the worn hallway.
That day until after noon Bill practiced throwing the rag dog at Klondike’s throat until he couldn’t get it past the teeth. Then he worked on Klondike opening his mouth and catching it every time. Finally he showed Klondike how to catch the head in his mouth, throw his head up right after the head and shoulders were inside the row of teeth, and then jump up and down till the rag was down his throat without gagging. Bill would then use the end of the sheets to pull the rag bundle up out of his gut where it would be wet with stomach acid. A few more tries from different angles the dog may try from and it was time to take a nap. Bear and Bill laughed as they lay there thinking how shocked the King will be when his prize killer disappears down Klondike throat as Klondike is jumping up and down, letting gravity do all the work. They were giggling like little girls while Klondike slept in spite of stomach acid breath. The afternoon dragged by as they lay on the floor. The sun started to go down over the hill tops, once down, the air turned colder instantly and they began to check their guns, knives, hatchet, and belts. Bear pulled out the New Zealand fighting herb they agreed on in case someone got a shot off before either of them could stop them. They took a pinch themselves since their reaction times would be twice the normal speed. In twenty minutes all three were feeling rushes of energy that wouldn’t die down enough to effective for an hour or so then the final hour was practicing while on the herb. Klondike was flawless no matter what angle, speed or combination he catch each with open mouth, threw his head up even though they added enough buckshot to replicate the true weight of the pit bull, and jumped up and down as it quickly disappeared. Finally after four hours of practice the first upward jump with the head inside forced the entire dog into Klondike’s belly in a single motion. It was time to meet the King on the dock. Bill pried the floorboard up and retrieved half of the remaining bags of silver 20 in all. The amount the pope tried to bribe the King of England with, 10,000 ducats. Bill knew from the Captain most big bets were running 1000-2000 ducats, at even odds. He hoped to goad the King into a much bigger bet at higher odds.
It was Saturday night and while they waited for the King, half a dozen mean looking dogs passed by with muzzles on and men struggling to hold on to them, followed by wealthy fat men in their fineries and several bodyguards to carry the money bags and surround their master. Bill wanted ahead of them, he didn’t want a tired dog for Klondike to swallow. There was to be no argument that if “Death” wasn’t tired, he would have finished Klondike off with no problem. Bill was worried the King might send men after them to retrieve his money as it was, with no question which dog won. Then he was there with six men, one was Tommy-Boy from last night only today he seemed a lot bigger and awake and somewhat irritated. Bill had already said Bear was to take out TommyBoy first thing if there’s trouble. The King and Bill shook hands and exchanged pleasantries about the beautiful night, then Bill got right down to it. “I take it by the looks of the dogs that have passed by that dog fighting is the sport of the bet tonight.” The King smiled and said he had arranged for the first fight to be them betting their own dogs. Bill said that was what he had hoped for also. He didn’t want a tired dog when they finally got down to betting. Bill then added that Klondike has defended him a couple times successfully but has not fought another dog before and that there would have to be some serious odds to risk such a valuable watchdog in an arena fight against a proven veteran. In fact if the odds weren’t to his liking there wouldn’t even be a fight at all. Bill said he could always get more money but he was sure there are few dogs this size that can be of any protection. The King wanted “Death’s” reputation to include a man killer so he was open to discussing the matter. It was 6:30 and the Captain was due soon. Bill opened with 10 to 1 odds and the King countered with 3 to 1. Bill 7 to 1. The King 4 to 1. Bill 6 to 1. The King 5 to 1. Bill agreed. Then they shook. Now Bill started the money amount with “I hope 5000 ducats is agreeable.” The King frowned and said there have been very few bets that size in Marsielle. Bill asked if the King’s dog has ever been injured seriously and when the King laughed, Bill said that it looked to him that he could easily leave town 5000 ducats lighter and without Klondike at his side. More than the money, the King wanted Klondike in the arena. He wanted to brag that even though Klondike could kill men, he was no match for “Death.” Agreed. Just then the Captain walked up and said good evening to both men. Most of the policemen were in regular clothes and were already in the arena. Bill asked the Captain if the bet was a foolish one and both the Captain and the King laughed at the same time. The Captain then said that any bet you could lose is a foolish bet. Then all three laughed, for different reasons of course.
The three men walked through the double gate together and into one of the loudest, most threatening places Bill had ever been. Just inside the gate, were several tables of men taking bets on the night’s fights. A huge board with each dog’s name and which dog they would fight and the odds of that match up with places for the winners to fight other winners till at the far right two spot for final fight. The odds would change throughout the evening so men ran along the board changing numbers at a furious pace. There they were Death and Klondike, the last of the first round and Death was favored slightly in spite of his history. The word had gotten around about the tavern. The arena was 20 feet across with a six-foot high, reinforced chicken wire fence running all the way around the pit. With occasional doors for putting in the dogs when the fight was to start. The bleachers went up to a thirty- foot ceiling allowing fifteen rows of seats in a three quarters circle with walkways just wide enough to get inside. Hundreds of men were crowded in the seats, yelling above the din into ears inches from their mouths. The kennels at ground level were 16 to end up after three rounds with two dogs. The kennel area was the most crowded of all. Trainers, owners, guards to stop poisonings, and heavy betters who paid 1000 ducats each to look at the dogs before betting. There was a lot of money to be made before “Death” killed his fourth of the night. The first round were eight fights and Klondike was last. The barking of big dogs before a fight is frightening. Bear stood in front of Klondike’s cage and no one came near. Bill joined the King and the Captain at center, bottom row. All sixteen of the King’s men had two policemen close to them.
The first five fights were predictable, bloody and fairly long before one finally dominated the other and finished him. The sixth was different. An Irish Wolfhound went after a wolf-husky mix and bite through the jugular in the first bite. The crowd howled at the spectacle and began stomping their feet in anticipation of “Death.” Bill leaned over to the King and asked, “If Klondike wins, does he have to finish the rest of the rounds?” The King smiled and said no one will let you and your dog out of the building until the night is over. There can be only one dog alive of the 16 that entered the building. Bill then said, “In that case I want to double the bet or give you the 5000 and concede the fight. I’ll take my chances at getting out of here alive with my dog and my Mohawk friend.” The King just sat there through the seventh fight staring down at the two dogs biting each other’s necks. Bill knew the King didn’t want the 5000 ducats. “Done”, as he wrote the bet on a piece of paper and signed it and handed it to Bill without looking at him. As they drug the dead dog out of the arena, the stomping and yelling reached a deafening pitch as everyone stood for the night’s main attraction.
Klondike was put in first on one side. He quivered with anticipation and watched the hatch on the opposite side of the arena. Then he appeared a smallish muscular dog with a head almost bald with scar tissue and eyes red from something unnatural. Bill flushed at the sight of the dog held tightly by TommyBoy. For the first time he was scared for Klondike and regretted putting him in this position to have to not miss the only chance he would have to win. If he missed, “Death” would find Klondike’s throat and it would be a very ugly thing to watch. TommyBoy dropped the beast and Bill was shocked how fast the creature covered the sixteen feet between them. Klondike lowered his head slightly and braced for the impact. “Death” left the ground three feet before reaching Klondike with his jaws open aimed perfectly for Klondike bulging jugular. Bill’s heart skipped three beats while Klondike opened wide and accepted the entire front third of the beast into his mouth. But the force was so strong it took him back into the wire mesh until his back was straight up and down. He still managed a powerful jump that carried the two of them well above the top of the rail and all could see clearly the rest of the beast disappear down the throat, hind feet included. The arena was totally silent except for the muffled sound of whining from “Death” as the burning began from the stomach acid. Then the screaming started as those who had bet on Klondike began jumping for joy. Bill leaned over to the King, our bet was on the first fight I’ll take my money now. The King was not a bit happy at this point and threatened to kill Bill and his dog if he didn’t get out right then. Bill showed the note to the Captain and the Captain told the king that he may kill all three some other day, but tonight he’s going to pay the man with the big friends, 50,000 ducats. The Captain raised his arm straight up in the air and every one of the King’s men was forcefully slammed to the ground and handcuffed with irons. The only exception was TommyBoy who flung his three men into the stands and drew a big throwing knife to kill Klondike with. But before he could get the knife into a throwing position he felt his back fall to each side with the head still attached to his right side. He had just been chopped in two so fast he was still getting old messages to his brain while lying in two separate places in the arena floor where the dog blood sat in pools an inch deep. The arena got quiet again and stayed so until Bill, Bear, Klondike, the King, and several policemen left the arena.
After Bill handed over 10,000 ducats to the Captain outside the King’s house, the men shook hands and smiled about the evening’s venture. The Captain said he was glad Bill and his friends are just passing through because he didn’t think new people moving into the city could keep up with the body count Bill and his friends could generate. They both laughed at that one and said good night.
Bill had originally planned for five fast carriages for a quick trip to Paris, but this late at night he was lucky to buy 3 wagons and 12 horses on the spot. They quickly checked out and headed up the mountains to the convent to leave in the middle of the night. There just wasn’t time to line up five carriages!
TO BE CONTINUED!