The Delta Pearl, 7 — Catch

Posted on by Teagan Riordain Geneviene

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Pixabay (altered image)
Pixabay (altered image)

Hello, my chuckaboos!  Welcome back to the riverboat, The Delta Pearl.

This week’s random reader things

I could have used this as a “thing” last time, but it seemed more important this time.  What? Paddlewheel! Two readers left it as a “random thing.” One was Ginger, of Murphy’s Law. Thanks for your loyal support, my chuckaboo!  The other reader to leave “paddlewheel” was Kevin Cooper. Check out his blog and music. 

Wait! There are more reader things.  Both are perfect for this Steam Era story.  Sally Cronin supplied a mangle.  Fraggle (aka photographer C.J. Hyslop) gave us a skirt lifter.

Thanks to Dan Antion and for letting me use some of his photos. 

If you need to review, click the link for Chapter 6 — Listen. 

Last time, Émeraude slipped on the deck.  Aside from the danger to her, wasn’t it odd for such a tidy riverboat to have anything that hazardous on its flooring?  Maybe we’ll learn more about that today… then again maybe not.

I went over the rail.  Worse, I knew I wouldn’t land in the river.  A hard deck two stories below awaited.

The sensation of falling engulfed me.

   Let’s skedaddle to the riverboat…  All aboard!

The Delta Pearl

Chapter 7 — Catch

Photo by Dan Antion
Photo by Dan Antion

That humiliating sound, I didn’t remember making it.  Yet I apparently gave a shrill scream as I went over the rail. 

I heard the clockwork owl hoot loudly as my feet lost their tenuous contact with the unexpectedly slippery deck. 

My arm was briefly caught between the carved balusters, but one of the posts broke.  As my body jerked down, I was able to grab onto another slim post.

The next deck down was no broader than the one from which I dangled helplessly.  It would be another story below that one where I would land.  It was a long way down.  I if I fell, I would break a leg or possibly much worse.  I looked down despite knowing the sight would make my head spin.

Scarcely a moment after his owl hooted, I heard Cecil Perlog shout my name.

Pixabay
Pixabay

“Émeraude!  Hold on!” the Captain shouted, as if he already knew I dangled there.

As my legs swung and my petticoat billowed, I could have sworn I heard giggling.

My eyes squinted shut as I struggled to hold onto the carved post.  I tried not to think about falling.  The thin piece of railing couldn’t support my weight for long.  Nor was I strong enough to keep my grasp.

The sound of laughter was overtaken by the louder noise of footfalls pounding the deck.

I felt an instant of hope.  Then the banister groaned.

However, I looked up to find the creak was caused by the Captain’s large form leaning over the rail.  Before I knew it, he had a huge hand around my arm.  He pulled me up and over the railing using only the one hand.  I don’t think I even grazed the banister, he lifted me so high.  His strength was astounding.

When my feet touched the wooden deck, I saw the fear in Cecil Perlog’s eyes.  However, the twinkle quickly returned to those dark orbs when I said that I was fine.

I passed off the giggling I heard while I dangled so precariously.  It must have been my panicked imagination.  No one else had been around besides the Captain and the Cook, who caught up with the much taller man a moment later.

My body felt like I had been through a mangle down in the laundry room.  A large bruise purpled on the arm that had gotten caught in the carved baluster.  I explained that part to the Captain.

Mangle_at_the_Apprentice_House,_Quarry_Bank_Mill 1843 Wikipedia
Mangle circa 1843, Wikipedia

“You’re sure I didn’t hurt your arm picking you up like that?” the Captain asked in a worried tone.  “It gave me such a fright that I didn’t stop to think about the safest way to get ahold of you.”

“That isn’t the arm you caught,” I assured him, holding my sore arm close to my chest.

By then the Cook was beside us.  Also, the First Mate ran pell-mell to the top of the stairs, having seen me dangling over the railing. 

The Mate, Blue John, hesitated briefly to confirm all was well.  Then he hurried into the pilothouse to make sure the riverboat didn’t run into anything while the Captain’s attention was with me.

Agate bent down to touch the darker wood where I slipped.  I could see the shine of oil on her fingertips.  The crew kept every inch of the Delta Pearl immaculately clean.

Obsidian, Sid for short, was the Cadet.  He had followed the Mate up the stairs.  As he came toward us, Agate lit into him.  That startled me.  I had never seen her lash out in anger.

“What is the meaning of this?” the Cook railed, sticking her oily finger in the Cadet’s face.  “It’d be a cauld day in Hell before I let me kitchen get like this.  Whoever let this happen better be afeart for their life!  Did ya not see that I nearly slid and landed on my arse?  And poor Emmie!  She went over the rail, poor bairn.  She near enough went all the way doon there.  Doon there, Obsidian, do you see that?” Agate demanded, thrusting her finger toward the railing. 

Crewmen of HMS Trafalgar with dogs Malta 1897
HMS Trafalgar Crew 1897, Wikipedia

The Captain finally managed to shush Agate.  Although poor Sid was white as a sheet in the face of her wrath.

“Now son, just tell me what caused that noise and lurch in the paddlewheel,” the Captain asked in a calm voice.

“Sir, someone dropped an oar from one of the lifeboats down into the paddlewheel.  We found the broken oar.  Or rather, I don’t know how it could have gotten there unless someone dropped it,” Sid answered.

A few minutes later I was back on course with my errand from the Captain, to have the Dealer “keep an eye on” a pair of passengers he refused to name.

I went down the narrow stairs.  The little clockwork owl made a quiet hooting sound, as if he didn’t want to startle me.  A second later he alighted on my shoulder.  Onyx really was a polite little thing.  I supposed the Captain had second thoughts about the Dealer knowing “who” he meant after all, and sent the owl to let him know.

Captain Cecil Perlog went back to the pilothouse, but he allowed the Mate to deftly guide the Delta Pearl away from the dock and into the expanse of the river.  Rainfall had been plentiful that year, allowing the river to be broad, deep, and fast-flowing.

There was no need for me to rush.  I still felt shaken, so I paused on a deck with my elbows propped on the railing, enjoying the breeze and the view that rolled past.  Green riverbanks seemed to glide away.  I watched the shore idly as a boy threw a stick for his big chocolate colored dog.

Victoria-Transvaal Diamond 1951_Wikimedia
Victoria-Transvaal Diamond 1951_Wikimedia

Mrs. Eliza Needleman also watched the display.  She was holding that fuzzy dog of hers.  She began to yap excitedly — the dog that is.  Poorly arranged words of my thought gave me the image of Mrs. Needleman, with that huge sparkling Pharaoh Diamond, yapping along with the dog.

However, the fancy just didn’t fit.  Eliza Needleman with the constellation-like gemstone was definitely more Ursa Major, the Great Bear, than a yapping dog.  I had to admire that in her.

I still wasn’t sure what to make of her husband, Randal.  Was he truly such a dabbler?  How could anyone be so wealthy and yet not seem committed to or passionate about any cause or occupation?  I supposed if one simply grew up with that being the norm…

I told myself not to judge.  For all I knew he accomplished more charitable work, more advancement to humanity by simply signing his name than a hundred other people could with a lifetime of hard work.

My stomach rumbled.  I decided to head downstairs and make my way to the kitchen.  I knew we had taken on a shipment of cheese.  A couple of slices of Guerue and a bit of bread would tide me over until dinner.

I still felt left out, regarding the Captain’s cryptic message to Jaspe.  I looked at the clockwork owl speculatively.

Louis Jourdan in Madame Bovary 1949
Louis Jourdan in Madame Bovary 1949

“Who did the Captain mean by those two?” I asked Onyx the owl.  “And why would he want the Dealer to keep an eye on them?”

With a series of clicking sounds the owl turned its head at a discomfiting angle to peer at me.  It made my neck hurt to think about that impossible position.

Onyx gave a slow blink of his bright eyes and simply said “Who?”

“By those two, he could have meant either of the married couples, or even the governess-student duo.  For that matter, he could have meant the two men who boarded singly,” I added to no avail.

The clockwork owl turned away from me, as if he was bored silly.  However, Onyx continued to ride on my shoulder.  The Captain must have told him not to share information with anyone other than the Dealer.

The lazy little thing, I thought.  Onyx might could at least fly on his own, if he wasn’t going to tell me anything.

Instead, he chose to add the indignity of hitching a ride on my shoulder to the insult of not telling me anything.

“Be that way then,” I muttered.

As I descended the stairs, I caught a glimpse of the young governess and her charge walking toward to a lower deck.  The boy took a furtive glance over his shoulder, which immediately aroused my suspicious nature.

The Chandelier Deck held one of the lounges and the gaming area.  When I reached that deck, the owl flew inside toward the game tables in search of the Dealer.  Still feeling suspicious of the two young people, I continued to the boiler deck where I expected they were headed.

I walked quietly toward a little used area.  My steps quickened when I heard a low moan.  Someone else might have gotten hurt when the riverboat lurched.  Listening hard, I tried to catch the sound again.

Skirt lifter 1870 Wikipedia
Skirt lifter 1870 Wikipedia

I was still shaky from my fall.  With the sway of the boat, my foot caught in my petticoat.  That caused me to stumble against the guardrail.

“Damfino why I had to give up my skirt lifter!  It might not go with an elegant gown, but at least I wouldn’t be tripping over my own clothes,” I grumbled.

The moaning sound came again, louder.  Something really must be wrong.

Then I saw.  If my view had been from any other angle, I would not have seen.

***

End Chapter 7

***

Thanks for reading, my chuckaboos.  There’s more to come!  However the riverboat will detour next weekend.  Instead I’ll be working on my book launch for a 1920s culinary, supernatural, whimsical mystery — A Ghost in the Kitchen.  Stay tuned!

***

Now for the obligatory shameless self-promotion…

Universal link to my Amazon Author Page

Novel-book-The Three Things Serial Story-Teagan Riordain Geneviene-The Writer Next Door-Vashti Q-spotlight-author

USA:  The Three Things Serial Story: A Little 1920s Story Kindle 

Amazon UK

Bijou front only 2

USA:  Murder at the Bijou — Three Ingredients I

Amazon UK

Amazon universal link (Kindle/e-book) Brother Love — a Crossroad

Amazon universal link (paperback) Brother Love — a Crossroad

 

USA:  Atonement in Bloom

Amazon UK

Pigs collection cover banner

USA:  The Glowing Pigs, Snort Stories of Atonement, Tennessee

Amazon UK

Atonement Video Cover copy

USA:  Atonement, Tennessee

(E-book still on sale at 99¢ )

Amazon UK

This is a work of fiction.  Characters, names, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

Copyright ©  2019 by Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene

Dan Antion’s images Copyright ©  2019

All rights reserved. 

No part of this work may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.  Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

All images are either the property of the author or provided by free sources, unless stated otherwise.

 

86 thoughts on “The Delta Pearl, 7 — Catch”

  2. Pingback: The Delta Pearl, 8 — Think – Teagan's Books
  4. Pingback: Take Me Out to the Ballgame – No Facilities

  7. Reblogged this on Smorgasbord Blog Magazine and commented:
    Time to catch up with live aboard The Delta Pearl and her eclectic crew and even more interesting passengers. Teagan Geneviene gives you a run down of where the story has docked and then it is all steam ahead. Last week we were left on a cliffhanger and that has to be sorted out sharpish or one of the characters would have been missing this week.. Then suspicions start flying around the deck as to is up to mischief, and the clockwork owl knows more than he is letting on. But just when you think it is safe to walk the decks… a strange sound catches Émeraude’s attention…thanks to Teagan for featuring my mangle.. I wondered where it had disappeared to..#recommended

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. So pleased the Captain was nearby to haul Émeraude back over the railings.. Such a detailed account, and where oh where do you find such interesting pictures from… Loved them all as they highlighted your chapter..
    I have been sorry to say Teagan I have been missing in action from here and many other blogs of late..
    Just so many hours in the day and when I have five minutes I have just not wanted to turn the modem on..
    So I was delighted you called in my friend, I really DO appreciate that.. I know how busy you must be..

    I have to congratulate you again on your excellent series… I have missed out, but can catch up at my leisure. Your story telling is superb..
    Sending much love your way.. Take care of YOU.. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. It’s always lovely to see you, Sue — any time you have a moment. I certainly know what you mean about the limitations of time. It seems like each week there are suddenly fewer hours in the day — and they fly by at an ever faster rate of speed… Thanks for spending part of your weekend here, my chuckaboo. Hugs on the wing.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  12. This was another exciting episode! Thank goodness Emmie is okay. And now someone else is hurt. Such a cliffhanger ending. And so much suspense woven throughout the episode. Thanks, Teagan!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. It’s lovely to see you, Denise. That darned Onyx… he seems tight lipped (or beaked) unless he’s gossiping to his captain, but I’ll see what I can find out. 😉 Heartfelt thanks for reading and commenting, my chuckaboo!

      Like

      Reply

    1. Thanks so much, Resa. I’m glad that for this rewrite, Emeraude became a teenager, rather than the adult she originally was. I do think she’s more fun that way. I’m looking forward to writing about a girl coming of age in the time of early feminists. Happy weekend, my chuckaboo!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Oh, chicanery is such a good word of the day, John! I like it so much that I’ve just added it to my story matrix as a “thing.” The giggling is what makes me wonder, but then you never know when I’m tossing in a red herring. 😉
      Heartfelt thanks for reading and commenting, my chuckaboo!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  19. Well, thank goodness Emeraude was okay! But, now what a place to leave us in. I do hope the moaning is coming from being pleasured and not from pain. 🙂 But, of course, I will have to wait to find out. I’m developing a fondness for our good captain. He seems to genuinely care for Emeraude, as does Agate. Great segment, Teagan! You know how to keep us in suspense!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. Hmm, the mystery grows! Now I’m wondering if the giggle came from the boy instead of a female? But then, someone is moaning- who could it be?
    This story is shaping up nicely, Teagan. Early congrats on the new book release!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks so much, my chuckaboo! Although I still have a ton of work to do. I hope I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew with my launch date! o_O
      I hadn’t thought, but I suppose giggling is rather usually associated with the females. Hmmm. 😉 Hugs on the wing!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  21. Good grief, another cliff hanger! Are you trying to give this old broad a heart attack? 😂😂 So we still don’t know who oiled the deck, and now who placed an oar in the paddlewheel. (Thank you for using the “thing” both Kevin and I thought of. Apparently two great minds…..!!!)

    Then there’s the ‘giggler’, yet unknown. And the ‘two’ the Captain wants the Dealer to keep an eye on. Are they all one and the same? Hmmmmm, this is getting to be a sticky wicket, isn’t it?!! 🤗🤗

    You really are a master at descriptions Teagan. You bring everything alive and clear without cluttering it up with hundreds of unnecessary words the way some authors do.

    Hoping you are having a restful, fun-filled, enjoyable weekend……the kind of weekend you don’t want to end! 😜
    🐾Ginger🐾

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Ginger.
      Oh, it’s a good weekend. Although from now through the week, I’ll be working very hard to get everything ready for my book launch next weekend. I hope I can make it! Wish me luck. Hugs.

      Like

      Reply

  22. You are your readers come up with the darnedest things. A skirt lifter by itself is worth a giggle or two. My grandma had a duel tub manual washer with Mangle like rollers that she called it a Ringer. I turned one of the tubs into a print washer in my first darkroom many years ago, but the ringer was too worn out to be used to squeeze the water out of prints. I have a print Mangle in my current darkroom to squeeze water out of prints with.

    If mishaps are not by some sort of design, then the French saying “les choses sont contre nous” is very prevalent on the Delta Pearl.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  25. Wow, Teagan. This was a delight to read. You know I admire your descriptions but today’s are so vivid. Nothing over the top, nothing drawn out, but perfect. You had me thinking and feeling like I was part of the drama unfolding. From hanging with Emeraude, to bring hoisted with super-human strength, to the chewing out being given. Wonderful. Now we have to wait two weeks to find what that moaning is, and how an oar got in the paddle wheel.

    It’s ok. I can wait. Wishing you a wonderful weekend and all the best on the book launch next week.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Haha! Thank you, Dan. I’m so glad you liked Agate’s angry moment. I was a little concerned about having so much “dialect” in that passage. Agate’s hands became a big part of my thought process — the oil on her fingers and putting her finger so near Sid’s face. I felt her flare-up as she looked at that oil and put 2 and 2 together.
      Heartfelt thanks for reading and commenting, my chuckaboo!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. GP, that truly means a lot to me. (I had lived in Albuquerque for 5 years before moving to DC a decade ago. Back then, the state gave big incentives to get the film industry started there. However, before I relocated to a different part of NM this year, someone had told me that wasn’t the case any more, that the industry was no longer growing in NM. Then, a friend here recently told me it was still strong. The point of this long story going nowhere is that I hope to learn about the process of screenwriting. So many things I want and need to do… So little time.)
      Thanks for reading and commenting, my chuckaboo.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Heartfelt thanks for using your magic lamp to share this chapter, Aladin. Next weekend we’ll see you on the magical trolley for the virtual tour of haunted Savannah, Georgia! Thanks for agreeing to be the captain of the trolley, my chuckaboo.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Hi Robbie. Time has been the challenge the past few weeks, as I try to get A Ghost in the Kitchen ready to launch. Research said September is a good time to publish a book, so I started pushing myself harder. I still have a ton of work to do before the 21st… That’s why there won’t be a Delta Pearl episode next weekend.
      I’m delighted that you enjoyed the chapter. Your comments mean a lot to me, my chuckaboo.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  31. Pingback: The Delta Pearl, 7 — Catch – Teagan’s Books | Fantasy Gift Resources: Books, Art, Music, News

  34. Love the skirt lifter as well! Oh, too many things going wrong to happen by chance, I think. And a mystery ahead. Can’t wait for the next one, Teagan!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to The Story Reading Ape Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.