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"Not a godda that ship’s carrying I want the ship itself, because it’s mine"

"Yours?"

The motion of the Valkyrie’s new course htly, and they both swayed as they spoke "Yes," he said "It’s o, and I want it back"

She looked frankly puzzled, and she admitted as much "I’m not sure I understand It’s only a ship, and as I understand it, it’s not half as nice as this one You’ve got this one nohy not turn around, call off the chase, and call it a day?"

He nearly bellowed "Because I don’t want this one!" He kept the volu so chatty--why did Pinkerton send you after us? Who paid them to do it, and why?"

"The Union Army," she said "And now you likely know ot a bit sidetracked from my initial task Look, I had no idea you had any interest in this ship whatsoever until I heard yoursoh the sanatorium is actually a front for a weapons laboratory"

With a puzzled expression that mirrored Maria’s, Hainey said, "Then there’s been a ra the weapons run, not this shiny black bird The Valkyrie was on her way to New York City--she’s going to be fitted with a new ball turret" He quickly clarified, "They were going to stick one on top, up front I suppose Though now, if it ever uess they’ll have to fix the botto another moment of mutual uncertainty, their faces both went crafty

Hainey said, "You fellows keep her flying straight, and when you think she’s safely over nothing at all, pull us to a stop and hover Me and Maria Boyd here are going to dig around in the cargo hold and see e can find"

Sied at each other, and Siorous indication of confusion

But the runaway slave and the ex-spy retreated to the cargo hold, where the wind from the busted ball turret nearby was loud and the air was even colder than the un-ware locker and turned up a pair of prybars, one of which he tossed to Maria

He said to her, "I swear on my mother’s life, I don’t knohat’s in any damn one of these boxes So be careful with the bar God knoe’ll turn up"

"The need for caution is duly noted," she said, and then she said, "I’ll start at this end You start at that end We’ll work our way toward the an at the far corner The captain brought his prybar down into the cracks of the nearest crate’s lid, and Maria did likewise on her end of the hold

One after another, they bashed and pried their way through the stacks, and when they were finished they’d unveiled a vast assortment of wonders Their haul included four loads of boot polish, a stash of rough-woven linens, enough lye soap to fill a wagon, soineer’s assortment of bolts, screws, and washers, a tobacco pouch that had probably been dropped by a laborer…and two dead mice

They also found three crates of auns The rest looked ordinary enough, and when Maria stood over this final crate she said, "This can’t possibly be it This is stocked like a ship that was loaded out of convenience, because it was headed the right direction There’s nothing special or important about any of it"

Hainey nodded "We’ll keep the ao overboard e stop and hang"

"You’re not surprised?"

"Surprised about what?"

"That we didn’t find anything significant on board?"

He said, "Nope Because I’ve already got a real good idea of what the sanatoriuot on order--and what Pinkerton’s been paid to protect That’s the point, isn’t it? You’re supposed to distract us long enough to let the Cleet to Louisville to make this delivery?"

"Pretty much But in Kansas City I met an old friend, a fellow Confederate who possessed, shall we say, so built, so made to fire on Danville…and…and…old loyalties took precedence," she said defensively

Hainey said, "Old loyalties I knohat those are like"

"Really? And to whoht you be loyal?"

"Nobody you’d know," he said "And nothing I care to elaborate upon None of itsituation between the two of us, don’t you think?"

"I beg your pardon? A situation?"

"Yes, a situation," he said grouchily, with a hint of false cheer "You know about half of what’s going on, and I know about half of what’s going on, and there are spots where our information…" he hunted for a phrase "Fails to overlap"

"That seems to be the case, yes" She was half a head shorter than hiaze over the contents of the last crate, and she didn’t flinch or retreat

He sounded alether, you and s, and you have pero to places I’m not allowed"

"You can take me to Louisville"