Jerry grinned. ‘It is, Seamus, one blue funnel, three stripes, two masts and the answer to our prayers has arrived. The next thing I have to do is meet up with Captain Conor or his first mate, Blinks, and find out what they have on board. If he’s been out to the Caribbean, it’ll be full of rum and, knowing Conor, he will have brought plenty back to make the ladies happy.’

Callum placed his hand to his brow and watched as the tugs expertly guided the ship in. ‘Will he have to pay tax on the booze, Jerry?’

‘Oh, the owner of the load will be paying it, not Conor. Our job will be to get our share up the steps smartly and stored along with whatever else he has for us and then doled out without Frank the Skank or anyone else noticing. Then we have to take the rest to sell at the market and via other means,’ Jerry tapped the side of his nose, ‘to make Conor his cut.’

Big Paddy looked panicked. ‘We’ll definitely get our rum off, won’t we?’

Jerry slapped his hand down on Paddy’s shoulder. ‘We have plenty of time to get organised, Paddy, but the only way you will see any of it is if you pull your weight. If there’s a haul coming up the steps, I won’t be taking any prisoners. Seamus, who can we get?’

Seamus looked up towards the streets. ‘There won’t be a man not wanting to help when Babs and Bill find out Conor’s down there. I mean, he does know the carnival is next week and I bet he’s got everything the women need to get the float ready.’

Jerry dipped his head and watched as the tug captain on the bridge called down to the crew on his own boat and they eased the Morry into berth. There was a ship already in the second dock further up, waiting to be unloaded, which looked more promising than the lumber ships of late. It had been there for four days and yet not a single stevedore had been allowed anywhere near and the bottom of the gangway was guarded by two dockside policemen. Jerry scanned the dockside and Seamus could almost see the cogs in his mind turning.

‘Look,’ said Jerry, ‘the police aren’t interested in Conor; yet normally they would be all over the dock like a rash when the Morry sails in.’

‘Yeah, whatever is on that other ship, someone is waiting for their own cut and it isn’t us,’ said Eugene.

Jerry was deep in thought. ‘Aye, well, we need to get those policemen to take a stroll down to the Clarence Dock while Tommy and I organise getting the load up the steps and into Tommy’s outhouse.’