Hook frowned when Jack reported Boyce’s death. “He was a good man,” he said and examined the cargo manifest. “Do you know the significance of this document, Windrush?”
“No, sir.”
“I thought not.” Hook tapped the paper. “Two days ago, Windrush, we had a skirmish with Arabi’s men. A few hundred marines and seamen, with a single gun, marched to a village a few miles south of Fort Mex, across the causeway over Lake Mariout. They were to blow up some gun cotton rather than leave it to Arabi.”
Jack nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Hook continued. “A detachment of marines was working when a horde of Bedouin cavalry charged from behind a sandhill. The marines formed a square and held off the charge until the seamen and the rest of the marines joined them. After that, the Bedouin withdrew.”
“A nice little
