Chapter 2 Chapter 2: “Meeting Captain Sam”

Plaf, boom, scratch!!! Auch! What‘s just happened? Merlin restrained his big blue eyes and found himself in the middle of a cobbled street. There were people dancing and singing everywhere!

“Dansons la Carmagnole Vive le son, Vive le son, Dansons la Carmagnole Vive le son du canon”.

“I’m lost! Help!! Help!! Anyone there?” Cried poor Merlin, but nobody paid any attention, they were all dancing, singing and drinking wine!!

“Danger! Danger!! They will trample me!” Merlin crouched and sneaked out to one side of the road meowing frantically.

“Hey!” Said a man who was wearing a funny hat, a rather shortish pair of trousers and big buckled boots, “Poor thing! You are terrified!”

“Meow, meooooow, meowwwww! Answered Merlin.

“There, there, come with Sam” As he was speaking, Sam took Merlin in his arms and tiptoed silently towards a solitary alley.

Merling hates being in arms, but on this occasion, he didn’t complain, after all his life was in grave danger. The mob was violent, it was dark in the night and the most important fact… he had no idea where he was!!!

“Excuse me Sir…” Started our hero, “Where are we?”

“Ha, ha, ha… I see you’re lost” chuckled Sam, “This is Paris, 1793, and we are in what is being called the reign of terror, no wonder you are afraid, we all are!!

“But what’s going on? And you speak English! Not French!”

Sam was not just any Sam, he was Captain Samuel Clough, an American merchant, very wealthy by the way and he transported luxurious items from France to the United States.

“Well, not easy to explain in simple words… but, let’s say, the people is not happy with the king, well the nobles in general… and they started a revolution… and now there is no government… and everything is out of control… and they want to kill all the members of the nobility including the queen, Marie Antoinette!!!”

“Mon Dieu! I mean meow!!!! What a mess!” and why are you here? I mean, it looks dangerous!” Stammered Merlin.

“Well, you see, I know Marie Antoinette, such a charming queen! She is suffering from bad propaganda, they want to blame her for everything… and I am a great admirer of hers…” Sam scratched his head under his hat, “some Americans and me, myself, have a plan, to rescue her”.

“Sassy!” Exclaimed Merling, opening his blue eyes wide, “But, how?” “Nowadays, she is imprisoned in La Conciergerie, a big castle by the river

Seine… we must rescue her! And you are just the secret agent we are needing!”

“What?” Gulped Merling, “no way, I have nothing to do here, and I am not a secret agent! No way!!

“Please, please, it is not just the queen we must save! She has five cats, she loves them very much and we must save them too!”

“Meow… cats?” Merlin made a pause to recalculate… “Well, since I’m already here… you can count me in.”

Sam smiled a little and the two accomplices lost themselves along the streets of a very bloody Paris.