
                                  CHAPTER THREE

         It had been almost  two months  since the  Valfreia sailed into 
       Vancouver Harbor and the  time there had  brought about a time of
       refreshing to Bayard. A degree of healing of the pain of Valery's
       death had come with the time since leaving Los Angeles.
         He liked Vancouver  and would spend  hours  walking  around the
       streets and had become acquainted  with many  of the shop  owners
       around the harbor. Many times he would walk down to the docks and
       watch the  dock workers  load ships with  goods bound for various
       nations of the world.  He had come  to be at ease in the presence
       of the hard working, crude  talking  sailors.  Soon talk began to
       circulate among the merchants about the fine  yacht  and the very
       wealthy owner who had come to Vancouver.  Some  of  the merchants
       would deliver  supplies ordered for the Valfreia for a  chance to
       go aboard the vessel.
         It was a  cold  morning now and  Bayard  stood on the  dock and
       looked out across the bay.  He could see the Valfreia moored next
       to two large merchant ships.
         A light snow was falling as he breathed in the crisp, cold air. 
       He enjoyed a walk  in the cold, winter days. It gave him a chance
       to think of things past and to contemplate the future.
         Bayard was  beginning to get restless.  He like  Vancouver  but
       was thinking much of the  open sea and had  talked to Chris about
       setting sail for somewhere else.  Chris  was  also ready to leave 
       Vancouver and  had hired two more crewmen for  the  Valfreia.  He
       had spent the last two weeks just breaking them in for their ser-
       vice aboard the vessel.
         "Mister Bayard Nelson."
         Bayard whirled around to face a short, middle aged man.  Bayard
       fixed his eyes on the man's thick, bushy eyebrows that  seemed to
       grow out of dark horn rimmed glasses. The man's face was fat with
       a small scar running across the tip of his chin.     
         "Who addresses me?" Bayard backed away from the man.
         "My name is Calvin Boyd. I come from our government in Washing-
       ton."  
         "What do you mean by,"Our government in Washington?" questioned
       Bayard, unable to hide his surprise.
         "Yes, I need to talk to  you about  something big." Calvin Boyd
       walked over to a small bench beside the dock and sat down.
         Following him,  Bayard  stopped a few feet  from  the bench and
       faced Boyd. "Just a minute, how did you  know  me and what do you
       want of me?"
         "Our government  wants you to do us a favor," replied Boyd. The
       man shifted his position on the bench.
         "I'm not interested,"  said Bayard. "You are wasting your time.
       Why me?"
         "We know you can be trusted. Also, we need the use of your fine
       vessel, the Valfreia. You will be paid well."
         "I don't need any money."
         "We know that, Mister Nelson,  but we will  pay  you anyway for
       your services to our government."
         "I don't know. You can  come aboard the  Valfreia  tomorrow and
       talk some more.  Bayard turned and  walked  away, leaving  Calvin
       Boyd sitting on the bench.  After returning  to  the  Valfreia he
       met Chris on the deck.
         "Good morning Bayard. I decided to wait for you to return.  The 
       Chow is almost ready."
         "Good, I'm hungry."
         Chris led the way below.  Bayard followed him to the chow hall.
         As they ate  the good  meal that Pounds  set before them Bayard
       told Chris about  the  meeting  with Calvin Boyd.  Just as Bayard
       expected, Chris was less than  enthusiastic about the prospect of
       becoming involved with the government.
         "Why you?" asked Chris. "They  have plenty of others they could
       use that are a lot  closer  to the   people in Washington than we
       are."
         "I asked him that,  and he said  something about they knew they
       could trust me."  Bayard  pushed his  plate aside. "I told him he
       could come aboard tomorrow and we can discuss it."
         "At least we can find out what it is about," replied Chris.
         "How are the two new crewmen working out?"
         "Real good," answered Chris. "They seem to be  well experienced
       and everyone acts like they are anxious to sail."
         "I'm going to the library.  Let Bodo  bring  me a pot of coffee
       later."
         Chris stood to his feet.  "Sure, I  need  to go topside and see
       Norman. I think Bodo is up there also."
         As Chris came out of the companionway door he met Norman.
         "I need to see  you in  the  pilothouse  Norman," he said as he
       crossed the deck to the  pilothouse door.  He opened the door and
       Norman followed him inside.
         "Keep it quite, but tomorrow I  want  you and  Pounds to go and
       buy supplies tomorrow for a long voyage."
         "Are we going to sail?"
         "Probably. Bayard is acting like he is about  ready to sail but
       he hasn't told me yet. I want to be ready when he is.  Be sure to
       keep this between yourself and Pounds."
         Chris went out on the deck when he left the pilothouse.  He saw
       Bodo sewing patches on a sail.
         "Bayard wants you to  bring him some  coffee  to the library in
       about an hour."
         "Aye Cap'n," replied Bodo without looking up from his work.
         Bayard was reading a book  when Bodo knocked on the door. "Come
       in."
         Bodo entered the library  and found Bayard  sitting behind his
       desk. Crossing the floor he put  a coffee pot on  the desk. "Good
       evening Mister Nelson.  Cap'n Chris told me to bring you some hot
       coffee.  As he turned to leave Bayard spoke.
         "Hold on a minute, Bodo. Bring a chair closer and sit awhile." 
         Bodo took a chair and  placed  it in  front of the desk and sat
       down."   
         "Yes Sir, Mister Nelson."
         Bayard took a sip of hot coffee and looked into Bodo's eyes. He
       watched the young seaman shift in his chair.
         "How is your education? Can you read and write?"    
         "Pretty good. Cap'n Chris taught me how."
         "How about arithmetic?"
         "He taught me that also," replied Bodo.    
         "Very good. How would you like to be my ships clerk?"
         Bayard smiled as Bodo shifted to the edge of his chair.
         Silence gripped  the air  as Bodo  searched for words to answer
       with. "I would like it Mister Nelson,  if you think I can do it,"
       he finally managed  to  speak.  Bayard noticed a slight quiver in
       his voice. 
         "I have no  doubt that you can or I  would not have asked you,"
       replied Bayard.  I'll fix it up  with  Captain Bynum  and you can
       have an office here in the library.  That way you can have access
       to any books you want.  Of course, you  will still be expected to
       do any other duties Captain Bynum has for you to do."
         By now Bodo was  standing. "Yes Sir, Mister Nelson. I thank you
       Sir."
         "That's all then.  You  may  go  now." Bodo  closed the library
       door behind him as he left.  Bayard finished  his coffee and left
       the library. He climbed the companionway to the upper deck.  Sea-
       gulls were flying  about  the  harbor  and Bayard watched them as
       they caught  bread  crumbs a  crewman  tossed into the air. For a
       long time he watched a merchant ship as it sailed into the harbor
       and tied up at a pier  not far  from the  Valfreia.  Somewhere on
       shore he heard bells ringing and  proclaiming  the end of another
       day to the city of Vancouver.  The sun was disappearing below the
       western horizon and dusk was settling over the harbor.
            
         Bayard  and Chris had  just finished breakfast the next morning
       when Norman came into the chow hall.
         "A Mister Calvin Boyd  is  asking to come  aboard the Valfreia.
       He said you were expecting him."
         "Yes, I am," answered Bayard.  Chris will bring him aboard in a
       few minutes. Norman left to return to the upper deck.
         "He didn't waste any time getting here," said Chris."It must be
       pretty important business he has."
         "I wonder," mused  Bayard. "Tell  Norman  to show  him into the
       library. No, you show him in. I want you there also."
         Chris left the chow hall to  make his  way to the upper deck of
       the Valfreia.  As he made his exit from the  companionway, he saw
       Calvin Boyd standing on  the dock  as light snow  drifted down on
       him. Even from the  companionway exit  Chris  could see the dark,
       bushy  eyebrows of the  man  Bayard had told him about yesterday.
       Just seeing the man brought about a distrust to Chris. He decided
       that Bayard  would do well to stay  clear  of  this  Calvin Boyd.
       Stepping over to the rail of the Valfreia Chris called out.     
       "Mister Calvin Boyd."
         "Here," Boyd shouted back.
         "You now  have  permission to come aboard the Valfreia.  Mister
       Nelson will see you in a few minutes.
         Chris and  several of  the crewmen  watched as Calvin Boyd made
       his way up the gangplank.  As the man  stepped aboard the vessel,
       Chris and Norman greeted him.
         Mister Timkin and I will escort you  to the ships library where
       Mister Nelson will see you," said Chris.
         Chris led the way  down the companionway  with  Boyd behind him
       and Norman bringing up the rear.  Knocking on  the library  door,
       Chris led the way inside. Bayard motioned for Boyd to sit  in the
       chair that Bodo had used yesterday.
         "Alright, Mister Boyd, what can  I do for you? First  though, I
       want to  know  how you  knew  I was  in Vancouver."  Boyd  leaned
       forward in his chair.
         "We tried to contact  you before you left Los Angeles  but your
       friend Charlie Winsted said you had left for Vancouver.  I quick-
       ly followed you here  to  Vancouver.  I will  assure  you  Mister
       Nelson, we need your help for the good of our country."
         Bayard leaned back in his chair.  He watched  Boyd's thick eye-
       brows shift up and down as Boyd blinked his eyes.
         "What makes me so special?  There are  other ship owners in Los
       Angeles  that can  serve your  purpose  as well  as I.  What's so
       important that you would follow me all the way here? Besides, I'm
       not very fond of getting tied in with the government."
         Calvin Boyd stood to his feet and  walked  over to the porthole
       and looked out  across  the bay.  The snow was coming down faster
       now. All at once he turned on his heel and  spoke. "Don't  say no
       until you have heard me out, Mister Nelson." He  walked  back  to
       the chair in front of Bayard's desk and sat down.
         "Very well, let's  have  it  all  so I can give you an answer,"
       said Bayard.
         "Good. To begin  with, our government is making a deal with the
       Russians to purchase  Alaska from them.  If everything goes well, 
       they expect to close the deal soon."
         "So what does that have to do with me and the Valfreia?"  asked
       Bayard.
         "That's what I was sent to you for.  The  Russian  governor  at
       Sitka  has  a great  wealth of  fine furnishings and artwork that
       will be returned to Russia.  Also we understand  there  will be a 
       fortune  in gold and other goods aboard the governors ship  being 
       taken back home with him to Russia.  The United States government
       also wishes to keep this all  very   quite, but the Russians have
       asked for a private escort from Sitka to Nome, Alaska. After that
       they will be in their territory and will not need us anymore."
         Bayard leaned forward in his chair. As he looked in Boyd's eyes
       many thoughts rushed past his mind. First, he didn't buy the tale
       that the Russians  wanted a private escort instead of the  United
       States Navy.  Besides, even  if that  were  so, there were  other
       ships on the west coast that had a much closer relationship  with
       the United  States  Government  than did himself and the party of
       the Valfreia.  With everything  considered, Bayard  figured  this
       Calvin Boyd was a man that could not be trusted.  But if Boyd was
       lying to him, what could  be the motive  behind his visit. Bayard
       stood and moved his chair back away from the desk. Facing Boyd he
       spoke. "I'm afraid I'm  not the  least  bit persuaded to help you
       Mister Boyd and I must tell you no."
         "But Mister Nelson, I," Boyd started to speak as his pudgy face
       turned red. He came to an  abrupt halt in whatever  he was trying
       to say. He turned toward the door.
         "Very well Mister Nelson, have your man show me  off the ship."
         Bayard  nodded to Norman. "Show Mister  Boyd off the  Valfreia,
       Norman."
         "Aye, Mister Nelson." Norman followed Boyd from the library.
         Bayard spoke to Chris. "Well, this  calls  for a  good  cup of
       coffee. Let's go to the chow hall."
         In the chow  hall Bayard and  Chris sat  down as Pounds brought
       over a pot of coffee. Chris was the first to speak.
         "One thing about it, he  was plenty mad."
         Bayard answered, "There is  something about him  that  makes me
       want to stay a great  distance from him  in any  kind of business
       dealings. I think he is  lying but I can't figure out what in the
       world his motive can be."
         "That's right," replied Chris.  He's up to  something though. I
       don't think that is the way the United States Government would go
       about things." Bayard  poured himself  another  cup of coffee and
       changed the subject.
         "Have the Valfreia  prepared  for a  long voyage.  I don't know 
       how long we will be gone but I want plenty of food and supplies."
       Bayard set his cup on the table. "Keep  it quite  but I  think we
       will be heading for Hawaii."
         "Very well,  Norman  and Pounds  can go for  supplies," replied
       Chris. Bayard pushed his chair back from the table.
         "Let's try to get under way as soon as possible."    
         "Sure," answered Chris.
         Calvin Boyd was  very  angry  as he made his way down the gang-
       plank of the Valfreia after  talking  to  Bayard.  It was snowing
       hard and the icy blast of the wind made the snow pile  up in deep
       drifts beside the buildings.  Twenty minutes later he entered the
       Salmon Head Cafe.
         The Salmon Head Cafe  was a  third  class  dive where the usual
       clientele was  sailors from the merchant ships who liked loud and
       boisterous conversation along with hard drinking of cheap liquor. 
       As Boyd entered the  cafe  the  smell  of  rancid cigarette smoke
       filled the air.  In the far corner he saw Carl Bateman sitting at
       a table.  Bateman  was a small man that gave one the feeling that
       he belonged  behind the counter at a clothing store instead of in
       the smoke filled water front cafe.  He had a thin  moustache that
       curled down at the ends.  His  receding  hairline  made  him look
       older than his actual age. He greeted  Boyd as he  approached the
       table.
         "Well, how did your meeting go with Nelson?"    
         "Not so good. He didn't want to go along with me."
         "I didn't think he would go  for the help our government tale,"
       replied Bateman.  "How much did you tell him about the treasure?" 
         "No more than  enough to  get him  to take us to Alaska  on his
       ship. With all his money, treasure doesn't mean much." Boyd asked
       the bar tender for a drink.
         "If we are going  to use the Valfreia we'll  have to take it by
       force," Bateman said as the waiter brought Boyd's drink.
         "That's right.  I've already thought  of  that and I have some
       plans," answered Boyd.
         "How do you intend to do it?" asked Bateman.
         "I don't know the answer yet. One thing for sure, we  will need
       some help.  In any case, there will be much too much gold on that
       Russian vessel to let slip from our hands."
         Bateman leaned forward as he spoke. "Nelson  will  be surprised 
       when he  finds out you are not  from the government in Washington
       after all, but instead....."
         "Yeah, but instead we want  to use  his  ship so we can rob the
       Russians." Boyd gave a deep chuckle.  
         By now it was dark outside.  It  was getting  much colder. Snow
       was not falling hard but  the wind blew swirls of the powdery ice
       in the faces of  Calvin Boyd and Carl Bateman as they stepped out
       in the street.  A few blocks away the two men entered  Frenchie's
       Saloon to find it crowded with customers.  Through dense  tobacco
       smoke Boyd saw a man he knew sitting at a table in a corner.  The
       man looked up at them as they approached the table.
         Terral Stinton  pulled  a  half  smoked  cigarette from a mouth
       almost completely covered by a thick, black beard.  As he exhaled
       the smoke, it seemed to fight the natural rise to the ceiling and
       clung to the coarse, bushy hair of his beard.
         "Hello Stinton," greeted  Boyd as his thick eyebrows drew tight
       on his forehead.
         "Boyd, Bateman."  Stinton  told  them to bring chairs up to the
       table. "Now, what's on your mind?"
         Boyd lifted his eyebrows. "We have a proposition for you."
         "I've heard your propositions  before and can't  remember a one
       of them being worth anything," answered Stinton as he took a deep
       draw on his cigarette.
         "Yeah, but this time it's different. This time it's a real sure
       shot."
         "All right,  let's have it." Stinton  blew  a big ring of smoke
       across the table that caused Bateman to cough.
         For the next half hour Boyd and  Bateman explained  the plan to
       capture the Valfreia from Bayard Nelson and force them to Alaska.
       They explained the plan to use the vessel to capture the  Russian
       governors ship and rob it of the  treasure being transferred from
       Sitka to Russia.
         "All right, I'm in," said Stinton. "Greenway will probably want
       in on it too. I'll contact him.  I also  might  know one more who
       will want to help."
         "Good," replied Boyd. "This must  be kept very quite.  Remember
       what is at stake."  Boyd and Bateman  pushed  back from the table
       and stood up. "We'll see you tomorrow."
         Back out on the street,  Boyd  spoke to Bateman. "No one on the
       Valfreia knows you, so I  want you to keep a close watch on their
       activities so we can know when they are planning to sail.  Let me
       know at once if you see anything that looks like action."
         "Right," replied Bateman.  He turned and started walking toward
       the dock.  At the dock he found a good place to hide  and observe
       the Valfreia  from  behind a large stack of  burlap underneath an
       open side shed a short distance from where the vessel was moored. 
         The sun was out  and  warming the air  when Bateman saw Norman
       Timkin and Pounds Logan walk down the  gangplank of the Valfreia.
       He decided to follow them so he  fell  behind them,  staying back
       far enough so that he would not be seen.
         Several blocks  from  the  waterfront Norman and Pounds entered
       the Steiner's Trading Post.  In a  few  minutes Bateman  followed
       them  inside  and  pretended  to look at the well stocked shelves
       while he  worked  his way around to the counter so he could  hear
       Norman and Pounds  as they  discussed the  purchase of goods with
       Steiner. Several minutes later he overheard Norman as he spoke to
       Steiner.
         "We need this delivered aboard the  Valfreia tomorrow.  Captain
       Bynum will pay you when you make delivery."
         "Real good. Are you sailing soon?" asked Steiner.
         "We don't know.  We  were told  to buy some supplies,"  replied
       Norman.
         "Very well, I'll deliver them in the morning."
         "Aye, then we will look for  you in the morning,"  said Norman.
       As they left the Trading Post they saw Bateman as he pretended to
       be  interested  in a display of knives.  Bateman turned away from
       them as he saw them look in his direction.
         Waiting until  Norman and  Pounds  had time to get a short dis-
       tance down the street,  Bateman  followed them.  He stayed out of
       sight and  outside as they entered several other stores.  Finally
       he decided he would hunt Boyd and make a report to him.  
         "Boyd will be glad to find out about this news,"  he thought to
       himself. It was growing dark and when Bateman entered the  Salmon
       Head Cafe he saw Calvin Boyd sitting by himself in a dark  corner
       of the cafe.
         "I think I have some real important news."  he  said to Boyd as
       he sat down at the table."I don't know their names but I followed
       two sailors from the Valfreia to several stores."  After  Bateman
       had related all that had  transpired  with   his following Norman
       Timkin and Pounds Logan, Boyd drew  his  thick  eyebrows together
       and stood to his feet.
         "All right, we'll have to move fast.  It looks as if  Nelson is
       getting ready to sail. Let's find Stinton."
         "He'll probably be at Frenchie's," said Bateman.
         Thirty  minutes  later  Boyd  and Bateman  arrived at the dark,
       smoke filled Frenchie's Saloon. It was crowded and a piano player
       was doing his best to bang the instrument hard enough to be heard
       above the noise of the crowd.  Seeing  the  bearded  Stinton at a
       table, they sat down in chairs already at the table.
         "I thought you said you would  see me  tomorrow.  It's a little
       early, ain't it?"  Stinton  managed  a  forced  smile as he lit a
       match on the edge of the table and put it to a fresh cigarette.
         "Yeah, but we are going to  have to move fast,"  answered Boyd.
       "It looks like the Valfreia will be sailing  sooner  than I first
       thought."
         "Did you find Greenway? asked Bateman."
         "Yeah, he said he wanted  in on the deal.  We can't find anyone
       else to help us though," answered Stinton.
         "We will have to do with the four of us then," replied Boyd.
         They sat in silence several minutes.  Stinton pulled a pouch of
       tobacco from a shirt pocket and carefully rolled a cigarette.  He
       lit it, drew  a  long draw  into his  lungs  and  blew a cloud of
       smoke across the table as he spoke.
         "How do you  intend to do this?" Boyd moved his chair closer to
       the table as he spoke. "Here is the plan. Tomorrow, there will be
       some stores who are making deliveries  to  the  Valfreia.  We can
       really use that to our advantage.  Stinton, you and Greenway will
       wait until the traffic clears and take some boxes,  I do not care
       what you put in them, and pretend to make  a delivery of goods to
       the Valfreia. As soon as you get aboard,  you will  force Captain
       Bynum to take  you to  see  Bayard Nelson.  When  he takes you to
       Nelson, you will take  Nelson hostage and  then instruct Bynum to
       let me and Bateman aboard. When Bateman and I come aboard we will
       be brought to where you are holding Nelson.  We will force him to
       take us to Alaska.  Then, my good men, we  will be on  our way to
       becoming very wealthy.  Not only will we  take  the treasure from
       the Russian Governor but there will probably be much worth taking
       from the Valfreia.
         "What  will we use for weapons?  Where will we get them?" asked
       Stinton.
         "I'll bring  revolvers with me in the morning. You just be sure
       Greenway  understands the  plan  and  tell  him to keep his mouth
       shut."    
         "Don't worry  about  Greenway,  he will be all right,"  replied
       Stinton.
         "Good, then I  will see you in the morning. We will meet at ten
       o'clock at the Salmon Head Cafe. Let's get some sleep."
         Snow was falling again as  they left  Frenchie's.  The clanging
       of a ship's  bell  could  be heard  somewhere out in the bay as a
       cargo ship made its way into the harbor.  The  Valfreia showed no
       sign of life except the  deck  watch  walking  back and  forth on
       the deck.
         At ten o'clock  the next  morning Boyd  entered the Salmon Head
       Cafe  and  found  Bateman,  Stinton and Greenway waiting for him.
       Greenway was a man of about the same build as Stinton except that
       his beard was scraggly and  thin.  Boyd greeted them as he laid a
       package down on the table.
         "There are pistols for you all in the package.  Be sure to keep
       them out of sight. Stinton, do you have some boxes ready to carry
       aboard the Valfreia?"
         "Yeah, they are stashed in the  burlap shed down on the docks." 
         "All right, you  and  Greenway  can go  ahead and wait for your
       chance to board the  Valfreia Bateman and I will not  be  too far
       behind you.  I have to stay  out of  sight  until  after you have
       taken Nelson hostage.  We will be  watching you  from  the burlap
       shed."
         They all  pushed away  from the table  and Bateman paid for the
       coffee.  Stinton  and  Greenway  left  the  cafe.  Soon they were
       watching the activity aboard the Valfreia from the burlap shed.
       
       End of Chapter
       
