tobacco for him, which he would take round later. Hood wasn’t going to charge for it—he was on good terms with Melvin Shank and wanted to keep it that way.
Gordon Deakin was an entirely different matter. He’d moved to Whitby from York six years ago and was expanding his criminal empire in the area. Thus began the Shank-Deakin War. Melvin Shank had recently stabbed Gordon Deakin in the shoulder. This prompted fights in The Raffled Anchor Inn for several days running between the two men. For some time Hood had been worried that Deakin would take revenge on him, since two men that had either worked for Shank or supplied him with stolen goods had died horrible deaths under mysterious circumstances.
Hood took the telescope away from his eye and checked the messages in his pocket. He flicked through several small scraps of paper. “Billy has a shipment in for us, Percy.”
“About soddin bloody time!”
“Billy bought ten drums of tea in Holland for only sixpence a pound. What is the latest price of tea in England?”
Percy checked the papers in his pocket. “Fifteen shillings a pound. This will make us a tidy profit when we take it down The Frigate.”
“If the landlord gets greedy, we will make him see the error of his ways, but what really annoys me is the bribe we always have to pay to the Customs and Excise man.”
“Couldn’t we make him see error of his ways?”
“We will leave him alone for now.”
Hood brought the telescope up to his eyes once more and focused on the warning notice attached to the side of the far corner of the pier saying D ANGER A REA . K EEP A WAY . He saw David, cleaning his goggles.
“I can see my white rabbit,” he said. “He is swimming in the prohibited danger area with Melvin Shank.”
“I’ll march him back to the studio.”
“John will be taking care of business, so there is no need to worry. Anyway, swimming might do David the world of good.”
“He must be a daft idiot to swim there.”
Hood lifted his cane thoughtfully and rested the handle against his chin. “It reveals a great deal, Percy.”
“In what way?”
“Young David needs excitement and danger in his life...and that is a benefit to us.”
Chapter 20
Saturday 1 st September 1894
D AVID AND J OHN SAT AT THE TABLE IN THE STUDIO . In front of them was the envelope containing Hood’s assignments for the day. David opened the envelope and shook his head.
“Has he lumbered us with six or seven assignments today?” asked John.
“No. The opposite. ‘As a sign of my friendship and generosity, I have ensured that there are no engagements for you today. Please find enclosed your usual ten shillings.’”
John smiled. “I didn’t expect that.”
“It’s all part of Hood’s carrot-and-stick approach to controlling us,” said David as he spread the coins on the table and then handed John his five-shilling share.
“Nevertheless, it’s still nice to have a free day. I’ll be able to go over and see Laura.”
“And I’ll go for a swim.”
“I didn’t see anything unusual on the plates of the sitters from yesterday.” John picked up a stack of prints and handed them to David. “I found some images of people in Marsh’s files. I wasn’t sure if they closely resembled their dead relatives, so I made them as hazy and blurred as possible. Have I overdone it?
“No. You’ve done an excellent job with your new camera. Or did you use Marsh’s Lancaster?
“I had to use the Tate camera since a client wanted to inspect it. But the exposure times were no more than a second.”
David chuckled but didn’t make comment.
“I had time to take a peek in Tate’s journals,” said John. “I think I’ve made a very important discovery. It’s something we should have realised from the start.”
David wasn’t sure whether he should be bemused or irritated on hearing this. “What’s this important discovery?”
“We’re using fast gelatin-bromide, but Tate was still using the
Gordon Deakin was an entirely different matter. He’d moved to Whitby from York six years ago and was expanding his criminal empire in the area. Thus began the Shank-Deakin War. Melvin Shank had recently stabbed Gordon Deakin in the shoulder. This prompted fights in The Raffled Anchor Inn for several days running between the two men. For some time Hood had been worried that Deakin would take revenge on him, since two men that had either worked for Shank or supplied him with stolen goods had died horrible deaths under mysterious circumstances.
Hood took the telescope away from his eye and checked the messages in his pocket. He flicked through several small scraps of paper. “Billy has a shipment in for us, Percy.”
“About soddin bloody time!”
“Billy bought ten drums of tea in Holland for only sixpence a pound. What is the latest price of tea in England?”
Percy checked the papers in his pocket. “Fifteen shillings a pound. This will make us a tidy profit when we take it down The Frigate.”
“If the landlord gets greedy, we will make him see the error of his ways, but what really annoys me is the bribe we always have to pay to the Customs and Excise man.”
“Couldn’t we make him see error of his ways?”
“We will leave him alone for now.”
Hood brought the telescope up to his eyes once more and focused on the warning notice attached to the side of the far corner of the pier saying D ANGER A REA . K EEP A WAY . He saw David, cleaning his goggles.
“I can see my white rabbit,” he said. “He is swimming in the prohibited danger area with Melvin Shank.”
“I’ll march him back to the studio.”
“John will be taking care of business, so there is no need to worry. Anyway, swimming might do David the world of good.”
“He must be a daft idiot to swim there.”
Hood lifted his cane thoughtfully and rested the handle against his chin. “It reveals a great deal, Percy.”
“In what way?”
“Young David needs excitement and danger in his life...and that is a benefit to us.”
Chapter 20
Saturday 1 st September 1894
D AVID AND J OHN SAT AT THE TABLE IN THE STUDIO . In front of them was the envelope containing Hood’s assignments for the day. David opened the envelope and shook his head.
“Has he lumbered us with six or seven assignments today?” asked John.
“No. The opposite. ‘As a sign of my friendship and generosity, I have ensured that there are no engagements for you today. Please find enclosed your usual ten shillings.’”
John smiled. “I didn’t expect that.”
“It’s all part of Hood’s carrot-and-stick approach to controlling us,” said David as he spread the coins on the table and then handed John his five-shilling share.
“Nevertheless, it’s still nice to have a free day. I’ll be able to go over and see Laura.”
“And I’ll go for a swim.”
“I didn’t see anything unusual on the plates of the sitters from yesterday.” John picked up a stack of prints and handed them to David. “I found some images of people in Marsh’s files. I wasn’t sure if they closely resembled their dead relatives, so I made them as hazy and blurred as possible. Have I overdone it?
“No. You’ve done an excellent job with your new camera. Or did you use Marsh’s Lancaster?
“I had to use the Tate camera since a client wanted to inspect it. But the exposure times were no more than a second.”
David chuckled but didn’t make comment.
“I had time to take a peek in Tate’s journals,” said John. “I think I’ve made a very important discovery. It’s something we should have realised from the start.”
David wasn’t sure whether he should be bemused or irritated on hearing this. “What’s this important discovery?”
“We’re using fast gelatin-bromide, but Tate was still using the
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