Shooting For Justice, G. Tilman [best historical fiction books of all time .txt] 📗

Did you get a look at the ship?”

“No, my grandfather did. We have been watching the coast for a month or so now based on a tip about suspicious activities on the beach. He said it was a small steam powered ship. Maybe one hundred fifty feet in length.”

“Would your office be interested in helping us get the ship?” Bey asked.

“We sure would. But how?”

“If we could offer a deal to get these men to talk, we could find out the next delivery and get them to set it up. I can have a Navy ship standing by out of sight up the beach and when the men hit the beach with the next load, we could disable their small boat and fire a flare to alert the naval vessel to come and intercept the smuggler’s ship.”

“I believe I could disable the wooden rowing vessel with some bow shots with a couple of buffalo guns. Then, you could fire a flare, and the marshals and my deputies could move in on the men stranded on the beach.

“I think we have a plan, assuming these Tong members will rat out their friends. I have found they are pretty loyal to their organization. Loyal so their family members won’t be raped and executed in front of them,” Bey said.

Pope took the party to the jail and full charges were made. Then hours of questioning, threatening and cajoling followed.

By the end of the day, the prisoners broke, and a plan was set to fake a telegram to the distributor and have the ship return early.

“We are good except for one thing,” Bey told Pope.

“We cannot trust the prisoners to serve as pickups. But we don’t have any Chinese deputies.”

Pope had an idea based on Sarah’s recantation of the Black Bart case.

“Go ahead and set it up. I will take care of the Chinese part.”

He telegraphed Harry Morse and told him he needed Detective Lee. Pope then tapped Howell who he knew had access to several Chinese patrolmen he could recruit. They had four smuggler impersonators on call after an hour of telegraphing. Pope thought how much easier the Washington phones were for matters like this. There were a few phones in San Francisco, but none connected with San Rafael.

The telegram was sent to have another drug run made sooner due to “extremely high sales”.

The response was for the run to occur at the same beach four days later. Little time was left to put the final touches on the operations plan.

A hitch appeared when the US Navy did not have a ship it could send in time. The US Revenue Cutter Service, which was operated as an anti-smuggling marine agency anyway, had a Revenue Cutter, the US Grant in San Francisco. The Grant had bark rigged masts and large steam engine. It could go thirteen miles per hour under power. The hundred sixty-three-foot cutter carried seven officers and thirty-four enlisted men. It had four twenty-four-pound howitzers and could outrun the smuggler’s vessel or sink it, if needed.

Pope was excited. This was going to be fun. He made Israel a special deputy and asked him to bring his Sharps Big Fifty buffalo rifle. It was the same .50-90 caliber model as fellow mountain man Billy Dixon had used to drop an Indian chief seven eights of a mile away. Dixon made this shot at the Battle of Adobe Wall in Texas during a siege of the trading post. Dixon fired his nine years before the two Popes planned theirs.

The night before, Howell showed up with several detectives and three Chinese police officers. Bey and his deputy marshals came. Harry Morse came with Detective Lee.

Bey and Pope briefed the men in detail. They were instructed to not discuss the operation anywhere someone could hear them and to report to the sheriff’s office at dawn. Pope rented several small carriages from the livery and Israel drove his buckboard at his grandson’s request. With luck, they would have lots of contraband and a number of prisoners.

At dawn, the men filled themselves with strong black coffee and piled into the carriages and wagons for the trip to the beach. They left Israel’s buckboard at the woods and hid the rentals in case some other smuggler familiar with the transfer showed up. The two Popes led the men down the hill carefully as the sun began to rise.

They took branches and driftwood and built a barrier to hide the lawmen.

The US Attorney stayed on top of the cliff. He had borrowed a Very pistol and three red flares to shoot to signal the Revenue Cutter. Bey climbed to the tallest point so the cutter hidden around a point could see the flare and steam towards the smuggler’s ship.

A small ship approached at nine-fifteen. Israel said it appeared to be the one he saw earlier.

Pope brought his small brass binoculars from the investigative kit in his left saddlebag. He watched as crew members loaded bags onto the small boat. Three crewmen climbed aboard, and it was winched down to the water.

As it was rowed up to the beach, Lee and the Chinese policemen, all dressed as workmen, waved at the incoming boat. They waved in a manner Israel had witnessed. The officers thought the wave must be some sort of all-clear signal.

The bow hit the beach and the crewmen jumped out and dragged it further up into the sand.

The two Popes, one with a massive single shot Sharps and the other with his fast-firing Marlin .45-70 lever action opened up. Within seconds the bow of the wooden boat was holed and wooden laps in the hull were shattered. The three would not use it to escape.

Pope handed the Marlin to his grandfather and led a couple of his deputies and the deputy marshals from behind the makeshift barrier, guns out. The Chinese officers pulled their revolvers. Soon the three smugglers from the ship were surrounded.

Bey fired the Very pistol at the Popes’ first shots. A red meteor flare