Clementine Read Online Free PDF Page A

she said, “You’re right. This stinks.”
    “I’d like to refer once again to the aforementioned shit-wagon, yes. But it’s not your job to sort out the particulars. It’s not your job to find out what the Clementine really carries, and it’s not even your job to apprehend and detain Croggon Beauregard Hainey or bring him to justice. Your job is to make sure that nothing bothers the Clementine and that she delivers her cargo to Louisville without incident.”
    “How am I to do that without apprehending and detaining Croggon Hainey?”
    “Ah,” he said with a wide, honest, nearly sinister smile. “That is entirely up to you. I don’t care how you do it. I don’t care who you shoot, who you seduce, or who you drive to madness—and I don’t care what you learn or how you learn it.”
    He leaned forward, setting the slip of telegram paper aside and folding his hands into that roof-top point that aimed at his grizzled chin. “And here’s one more thing, Miss Boyd. Should you apprehend or detain the captain of this pestering vessel, and should he turn out to be, in fact, the notorious Croggon Beauregard Hainey, I don’t care what you do with him .”
    She stammered, “I…I beg your pardon?”
    “Listen, the Union wants him, but they don’t want him badly. Mostly they want him to go away. The Rebs want him, and they want him badly as a matter of principle—in order to make an example out of him, if nothing else.”
    “You’re telling me I should send him back to Georgia, if I catch him.”
    “No,” he shook his head. “I’m saying that if you want to, you can . Whatever’s riding aboard the Clementine is more important to the Yanks than catching and clobbering a bank robber—”
    “More like a pirate, I thought we agreed.”
    “So much the stranger,” Pinkerton said. “He’s a bad man, and he ought to be strung up someplace, but that’s not part of our assignment. And if you think you can score a few points with your old pals down in Danville, then if you can catch him, you’re welcome to him.”
    Again she fell into quiet, uncertain of how much to take at face value, and how she ought to respond. When she spoke again she said, “I’m not often rendered speechless, sir, but you’ve nearly made it happen today.”
    “Why? I’m only giving you the same permissions I give all my men. Do what’s convenient and what’s successful. And if you find yourself in a position where you can nick a little extra for yourself, I’m not looking too close and I won’t stop you. If it makes you happy and if it’s easy, score back some of the credibility you’ve lost with the Rebs. The more friendly connections you have under your belt, the more useful you’ll be to me in the future.”
    “That’s very kind of you to consider,” she said carefully.
    And he said in return, “It’s not remotely kind. It’s practical and selfish, and I won’t apologize for a bit of it.”
    “Nor should you. And I appreciate the vote of confidence, if that’s what this is.”
    He waved his hand dismissively and said, “I appreciate your appreciation, and all that back-and-forth politeness that people feel compelled to exchange. But for now, you’ll find a folder on the last desk on the left—and inside that folder, you’ll find everything you need to know about the Clementine , the ship that chases it, and everyone within them both.”
    “Really?” she asked.
    “No, not really. The folder will barely tell you anything more than I’ve told you in here, but it’ll tell you how the money works, and it’ll give you some footing to get started. You’ll report every development to me, and you’ll report it promptly, and you won’t go more than seventy-two hours without reporting anything or else I’ll assume you’ve gotten yourself killed. Kindly refrain from getting yourself killed, lest you cause me deep aggravation and distress. Breaking in a new operative is expensive and annoying. It’ll gripe my