Chapter 4

Following Bull’s example, while I would drink the usual served drinks with the meal, I never took a drink in it’s self, nor did I partake tobacco in any form. By habit of a life-time, and how long isn’t as important as how solid the habit, I was used to rising early and being active. With nothing much else to occupy myself with at that early hour, I took to working on my foot-work and using the skip rope. I could be as vigorous as I wished for as long as I could maintain. I enjoyed using my strenght and endurance, and while I was getting stronger and thicker, I was of a leaner form than Bull.

The dining table had been restored to much it’s former glory by some very clever folks from Pennsylvania, although I had to let them replace the manufacturers plate with one of their own, since the replaced leaves equaled the existing core, and the refinishing was a masterpiece. Bull’s bank was now better hidden than before, with hidden spring sleeve latches you had to press down in the middle of to undo. I had no idea exactly what was in that center leg, but if it was all silver, it should be about seventy pounds worth. It took up center place proudly in the yacht’s dining room.

Being eighteen years of age, I was now able to sign contracts and Carlton was officially appointed as my Manager. I finally worked through to someone able to tag me, although I used the bouts as training for both myself and my opponents- The trainers quickly noticed what was going on, but overlooked the impromptu training and coaching sessions which continued as I found my level- although they did slip in a macho hard-head or two to see how I handled myself. If they got mean, I put them to sleep. All within the rules, mind you.

As for those few quick and deft enough to be able to tag me? Bull had tagged me every day near enough, without padded gloves, so I wasn’t shook a bit. I just waded in and gave better than I got. Taking a few punches while standing to is just what a man did.

I told Carlton I was losing the next fight. It was a lesson to him- I guess he only half way believed me because he couldn’t comprehend me throwing a fight, but I put enough doubt in him that he didn’t try to double his money, only half of it. He had been getting greedy, and while I didn’t mind him gambling on me, the games were getting more rigged and rough, and it was time for me to stop, having found my level.

I made my dive look convincing, and suddenly I was a has-been instead of a contender. That was the end of the boxing career of ‘Smoke Swents’. Carlton only had himself to blame- He forgot that a working man kept his word. He forgave me by the time the chef served the warmed aperitif, chuckling at my bruised face.

Maybe Carlton had taken my meaning better than I had thought, and had lost back some of his ‘windfall’ realizing that he had gotten too greedy. Havana was a rough town to get crosswise with the Bosses in.

We stopped by the massive abandoned earth cut over in the Panamanian Isthmus of Colombia, and I instantly saw what the problem the overly-ambitious and optimistic French had. There was no human way to move enough earth for a sea-level canal in less than forty years, even if they weren’t dying in droves from disease. Locks were used throughout Europe, didn’t they use locks in France? I could think of several ways to construct them, just off the top of my head.

We headed for the Mediterranean and with a fourteen foot beam and adjustable keel, we were good for many rivers, although our length precluded many locks. Carlton had a lot of fun, and was even persuaded to teach me the boating skills I needed to skipper my own yacht. (There were locks in France, but not big enough for my yacht.)

Now I could style myself as ‘Captain-Owner’. I laughed at my pretensions, but that didn’t stop me from kicking Carlton out of the Captain’s Quarters. He needed the rest, even if he wouldn’t admit to it. He did eventually relax and stink up the owner’s suite sampling all the cigars he had collected. I had to enforce a ‘no overnight guests’ policy, I didn’t want that reputation for ‘The Duchess’. He had plenty of funds to let rooms ashore.

The Duchess’ was too tall for many bridges over many rivers, so we were actually pretty well blocked from more than a few major waterways. I leased a boathouse in Sicily which had a forge attached, and despite inferior materials to be found locally, Switzerland was within shipping distance, so I was soon able to make a miniature speed craft which would seat four, and skitter atop the water at a tremendous rate! It hung from the davits across the stern, so it was just under fourteen feet, and I had curved the hull so that any turns too tight would just slide to the side, safely ablating the excess momentum into harmless spray.