Jake’s excuse was perfect, but he could not have angered Howe more had he accuse the general of trying to steal the queen’s handkerchief. To a man, the British officers on deck held their breath as their leader’s fury simmered.
“ The same man was assigned to deliver your last message to Burgoyne,” Jake said quickly. “He was clearly a double agent, and saw van Clynne get his assignment.”
The general shouted for the staff officer in charge of dispatches. The man came running from another part of the ship; asked if a Major Herstraw worked for him, he responded affirmatively.
“ Did you know he was a rebel?” demanded the general.
The officer began a vigorous defense, saying that Herstraw was among the best of his men.
“ Why do you think he was able to get through such hostile territory so quickly?” Jake asked.
“ What proof do you have?” the staff officer countered.
“ If you’ll unbind my hands, I can give you the message he intended to trade for the real one. The coward handed over the silver bullet when he saw I had him cornered, and confessed it all before his escape. Apparently, the rebels have laid a trap and wish you to attack north.”
The guards loosened his binds enough to allow Jake to reach inside his boot and retrieve the bullet.
The two notes from Burgoyne were quickly compared. Obviously, one was a forgery. But which one? The note that van Clynne handed over had purportedly been written by a secretary, with the general merely countersigning. The other was a full, if brief, letter in what seemed to be the general’s hand.
“ The signature is certainly his,” said Howe, examining van Clynne’s message. “But this letter you say is a forgery seems to be in the same hand.”
“ Does it make sense, General, that such a man as Gentleman Johnny would stoop to write an entire letter himself?” asked van Clynne.
“ No, it doesn’t,” said Howe, crumpling the note in his hand. “Nor does this sound like the braggart, begging for assistance.” He threw the letter overboard.
Jake barely kept himself from breaking into a smile. Finally, he thought, his mission was at an end.
Not quite.
“ But we have no positive proof of your identity either,” said the general. “Take them to prison.”
“ I have the coin that all messengers carry,” said Jake. “Burgoyne gave it to the squire, and he gave it to me in case I was captured.”
The captain of the messages inspected the token. It was, of course, authentic, having come from Herstraw himself.
“ But he could have taken it from our man as easily as he stole this bullet.”
“ True,” said the general. “It seems to me they’re a little too clever, especially this Dutchman — take them away and call my officers to conference.”
“ The knife,” hissed Jake.
The knife?
“ Ah yes,” remembered van Clynne, producing the weapon from inside his coat.
The soldiers surrounding Howe did not know the significance of the weapon and jumped to their commander’s protection. A short scuffle ensued as van Clynne attempted to peacefully hand over the blade and the soldiers fought not to receive it.
“ Bring me the knife,” said Howe, who of course did understand its significance. He eyed it — or more accurately, the man who had produced it — suspiciously. “Why did you not show me this before.”
“ Well, sir, I, uh, didn’t. Considering my orders.”
Howe pursed his lips. The agent was quite right not to speak of his mission or his identity. On the other hand, he could not think of a more unlikely member of the Secret Department.
“ How did you come by this — and why would someone of your station be asked to deliver a message?”
“ I can say nothing, except that I am a Dutch cousin, as it were, on borrowed assignment.”
Such was the mystery connected with the branch that Howe was not sure whether or not van Clynne might actually be telling the truth. He was about to send for the one man who might have some hint — General
Bacon — when Bacon’s boat pulled up alongside the Eagle, unbeckoned.
“ Another nest of vipers crushed,” said the intelligence chief preemptively as he walked onto the quarterdeck to report to Howe. A flock of subordinate officers traipsed at his heels, careful to keep several paces back. “My men apprehended several Sons of Liberty in German uniform. Dr. Gibbs — what are you doing here?”
“ It’s a long story, General, but the short of it is, I have been mistaken as a Whig.”
“ You know him?” asked Howe.
“ We’re to have dinner Sunday,” said Bacon, “to discuss certain aspects of the voodoo. Your name came up earlier today, Gibbs, in connection with a plot by these rebels. Have you gotten involved with them?”
“ A good question,” said Howe, pulling the general aside. Bacon’s men gathered around him, listening to the discussion. Their backs were between Jake and the two generals, effectively screening them from view.
The nature of the Secret Department meant that only a handful of agents were known to Bacon, and at any given moment there were bound to be a few operating in his theater whom he had no authority over or knowledge of. A man assigned to Carleton or Burgoyne could easily be a stranger to him.
But this Dutchman?
“ The doctor, perhaps,” said Bacon. “I sense something about him that stands out. On the other hand, we used foreign agents in Spain for the prince’s assassination.”
The two generals punctuated their debate by stealing glances at the pair of prisoners. Though he couldn’t overhear, Jake knew precisely what the problem must be — who would believe van Clynne as a secret agent?
And yet, wasn’t that the most powerful argument in his favor?
Howe called one of the ship’s officers over to join the conference. In the meantime, Bacon took a knot of men aside and dispatched several back to the city, whether on this or other business, there was no way for Jake to tell.
“ Once more the debate was rejoined, this time continuing for nearly a quarter of an hour — a comparatively short time for a British command conference, as anyone familiar with Howe’s notorious delays attacking New York will realize. Finally, the remaining subordinates parted and the two generals emerged nodding. They directed their attention toward Jake, not van Clynne. Which was fine with all concerned.
“ You’re a doctor?” Howe asked.
“ I’m not admitted in London,” said Jake, “but I attended Edinburgh.”
“ My officers say he has the best headache remedy in the colonies,” said Bacon. “But of this profession as a messenger I’m completely unaware.”
“ It’s not a profession, Sir Henry. I met Squire van Clynne while on a trip to obtain rattlesnake venom from the Indians near Canada. WE fell in as fellow travelers, and when he needed assistance, I rendered it. I had not realized he was in the service of the Crown. I assumed that, since he was Dutch — “
“ Careful,” said van Clynne, warming to his role. “Remember your oath.”
“ What oath is that?” said Bacon, his birthmark glowing.
“ I have taken an oath not to reveal his oath,” which itself is based on a prior oath of my own,” said van Clynne. “Kill me for it, if it is your pleasure.”
“ It may well be a pleasure,” said Bacon, turning back to Jake. “You have been north before.”
“ Many times, Sir Henry. My travels take me far and wide.”
“ Behind rebel lines.”
“ I have sworn allegiance to the king, and will do so at any time or place the general proscribes. I have lost my land for hit. I am not a traitor, sir. Science requires me to travel. My headache cure, for example.” Jake turned to Howe, who had a skeptical look on his face. “Unfortunately, my latest duties detained me from obtaining the ingredients necessary for my potion, General, but I will gladly supply you with a complimentary bottle from my next batch. It would be most beneficial to me, actually, to have your endorsement.”
It would be fitting, would it not, if the matter of Jake’s identity could be settled by some headache powder? After all, the Americans were the biggest headache Howe and all of Britain could ever have, and the expedient of using a cure for a much small one to escape would be but poetic justice. Unfortunately, neither Howe nor Bacon was much on poetry. When they retreated a ways on day to discuss the matter once again, Jake would not have bet a farthing that Shakespeare entered the discussion.