Drummer Boy: The Road North

[Castle Herald]

Arthur

Drummer Boy: The Road North

Chapter 21

[Jay]

WOW,wow... this is the best or one of the best chapter of the story yet. The return of a lost friend Mr. Scully. Injured he maybe his friendship with Thomas made sure he was taken care of. We see that Thomas' fleet is well underway and plans made. We see Thomas making a home on the continent at his bay. I just wonder about his family in England will they be joining him? Will he send for them? He could buy more land beside his family in England from the Morgans. Well we will have to see if this and more will come to pass.

[dtm180]

I am at a loss of words, i am overjoyed to see that Mr. Roger Scully has returned from the grave, as i am sure many of the boys will be. Afterall, Mr Scully is a brother. Also i am happy with the names Thomas has chosen for the ships he has now named, Is there a greater honour then having a Ship named after you by your adopter father/brother. I am sure that many tears of joy will fall in the camp when the face of Mr. Scully is revealed to see that a brother that was presumed dead is alive afterall.

 

As to Thomas Family i have to agree i too am curious what wil be done, i assume Thomas will want to have contact with his parents, but i think he will also want to get to really know his young brother. and Last but not least i am happy that he has decided to make a home in Portugal near Toro Bay.

[WolfLover]

The reading gods favored us who live overseas! The chapter posted early so I was able to go to sleep smiling, happy with the knowledge that Scully was back!!  With the happiness comes the shiver-just what are the guys up to with the last parade that they need Thomas out of the way for several days?  And who exactly is coming?   (Did you notice that even toward the end, Arthur tosses out a RH!)

I love the idea of the house on the bay. It puts Thomas close to those who love him and allows him to take off for adventures if he wants too.

 

 

[R08m4rv]

Dear Arthur, 

Once again you have brought tears to my eyes, Roger Scully  ALIVE ! It was bad enough when Thomas was told at the ball of his friends demise, young Sergeant Fairley will I am sure be most happy to learn that his old Boss is alive as well as Craven Morgan. 

There are going to be some very important guests at the final parade that the guys do not want Thomas to know about , that I am sure of. I am still waiting to see who the Princes spy in the camp is Arthur.

I, as well as all here am not looking to the end of Thomas's adventures just yet. Better get busy with Book 3 Arthur

 

[SussexBoi]

Funny enough I had been waiting for Roger Scully  to reppear for many chapters just a gut feeling I had about his demise, a officers sword is like a Vikings Sword, A warrior cannot die in Battle without his sword in hand and as Scully had sent his sword away he had to survive, best now Thomas does not return it to Roger Scully,  With with his army and shipping company he could form a trading company similair to the East India Company to further his business holdings across the world, With his frigates and being a senior member of the Blackhand gang he could control the trade from the spice islands for a start. There I go running before I can walk:-)., Sorry Arthur.

[R08m4rv]

Well it looks like LOKI or the politicians have done their best to stop chapter 22. I hope that Arthur is well and that this is really Friday, looks like the Chivas will be out when I get back from work.

Maybe there were more storms, anyway I will wish All on here good health and a happy Friday. Arthur will post chapter 22 when he is ready to so we can all look forward to the Parade and what the guys are going to do when Roger Scully turns up to watch it.

[Castle Herald]

Arthur

Drummer Boy Book 2: The Road North

The Final Parade

Chapter 22

[CMSgtZulu]

Thank you Arthur, chap 22 absolutely brilliant, worth the wait, thank god for the TBC at the end. 

[drpaladin]

This was a very moving chapter. It brought tears to my eyes more than once and from me that is great praise. This was well worth the extra wait. I can't help but grow a little sadder as this story draws nearer to the end. All these characters we've grown to know and love are very real. They have been given flesh and blood by Arthur and for that he has my deepest thanks. Today I began rereading Drummer Boy to refresh my memory at how far Thomas has come. It is a world away from that small, underfed young boy living in the slums of Limehouse. Kudos Arthur.

[Quill]

I have watched in awe as Arthur has crafted this brilliant tale. Like many others I have been spellbound waiting anxiously for midnight on Thursday to come around [in England that is the time we receive it] and have come to know these characters as though they were real friends. I have read some of Arthur's earlier work which is good in itself but with the Drummer Boy tales he has surpassed himself. Everything is so carefully thought through - just enough detail about the characters, their relationships, accurate research of the historical setting, knowledge of the locale [I think he has a secret stash of Smithson's maps] but more importantly it is the stuff he has left out and the openings for later enhancements that makes the rest of us feel inadequate. Like the mention of the change in Prime Minister which is alluded to in about Chapter 7 of DB2 which led to my looking up who actually was Prime Minister then and discovering Spencer Perceval who was our only PM to be assassinated.

And I echo all that is said above by the others - a stunning piece of work - and thank God for the TBC!

[Jay]

I am in so much agreement to this outstanding tail. It is Authur's best work to date. We can only hope for a book three. It would be very hard to not have the tails of Thomas to look foreward to. I will add my thanks of God for TBC.

[militarypress]

Chapter22: A grand ceremonial assembly, family and dignitaries,  presentation of awards..., a final military commencement...all that seems left is for Thomas to walk out of his headquarters for the last time..and into the annals of history. Arthur has given us two wonderful books of the official, written record of the heroic acts  of Thomas Marking as they were carried out in full view of his friends, enemies and the general public. Not told by Arthur, are the special details of Thomas's private boy life and how his emotions and affections may have played some role in how his young public life has played out. Every reader, I suspect, has imagined their own version of these private, unspoken details...found between the lines written by Arthur. To spur such speculation and imagination by his readers just shows how appealing Arthur's adventure story has been.

 

 

[Drew]

I continue to be amazed at the wonder of Arthur's story, the depth of feeling he expresses in his writing and the fact he brings

a tear to the eye of an old man like myself.  I must echo the statement of another person who said they cannot wait for Book 3.

A brilliantly written chapter and I wait patiently for the continuation of this absolutely fascinating and addicting story. Thank you

Arthur for the most interesting, compelling and well written story I have read in many many years.

[WolfLover]

I agree with all the above. Great chapter.   You can fee the excitement of Thomas' brother 'leading' the horse!  The only thing missing was certain rangers but they probably weren't allowed to come.

I too was glad to see the promising TBC at the end. 

Jay just a note- you wrote tail but I think you meant tale.

[dtm180]

Another splendidly done and emotional chapter, i have to concur with what someone else said that this is probably the best written of all of Arthur's stories.

I loved the fact that Thomas's biologocal family was able to make it, something i just realised however is that to the best of my knowledge we never did learn the name of Thomas's young brother.

And i too will agree to say Thank God for the TBC.

[R08m4rv]

WOW, Arthur you have done it again ! Chapter 22 brought even more tears, maybe that was the delay Arthur you were so overcome that you had to settle down before posting this chapter.

Looking forward to Chapter 23 no matter how long it takes.

[Arthur]

Thank you all for your kind words and I am glad that the emotional side was picked up by you all as it also affected me when I was writing it. I do however have to apologise for ending the story at chapter 20 as...Oh I mean chapter 21...no, no, no, it was ended at chapter 22...wasn't it?

Wait why have I got a page here that says Chapter 23?

Al this is all your fault, you promised I could be finished before Xmas. I am sending Loki to speak with you.

A

[Jay]

Arthur

If you would like to give us all an Xmas gift. Give us a book three. I am not alone not wanting Thomas' tail to end. We all have fallen in love with it. As you know it is hard to give up something you love. We have to thank you so much for bringing a light spot to our lives. Many can not hardly wait till the next chapter as I do. This is not a punishment to you, but praise to such a fine author you are. People will be enjoying this store for years to come. Just a very few can get this kind of praise from their fans, and we freely an glady give it.

[Al Norris]

My Dearest Friend Arthur,

As I sit here in my den, looking at the fire, which warms my room at this spring cold-snap, here in the northern high desert of Idaho, I can't but help think of this story and what it has meant to me and all the readers that roam the halls of Castle Roland.

I am thankful that you sent Loki to be with me, even if for only a little while. Together, we have gone back over your previous tales, admiring your skills at weaving a yarn, here and there.... Gads! You should see what he did to my poor bottles of Glenfiddich Madeira (damn good thing I hid my Bunnahabhain)!!

Yes well, we had a bit of fun, you see. We found an area to split part one into two. Which makes this one actually part three. But only if you end it at chapter twenty-three... Beyond that? Well, Loki and I have laid in plans.

Al

[R08m4rv]

15 hours ago, Arthur said:

Al this is all your fault, you promised I could be finished before Xmas. I am sending Loki to speak with you.

As you said Arthur, you can be finished by Christmas. It is only coming up to June so you still have almost 6 Months to complete Book 3 and complete Book 2 as well. By the way LOKI was with me last night and we both have the same kind of humor

Take all the time you need Arthur, ALL the guys here understand that it takes you some time to research the plots for your awesome story lines. 

[SussexBoi]

I sometimes wish the story would end, then my husband would stop taking the piss out of me. often when i sit here at the computer reading the latest chapters of Drummer boy, he looks at me and asks me if I am reading that bloody story again because  he can the tears running down my cheeks. He cannot understand how a ex warrant office in her majesties infantry can be so emotional over a story.when in real life I have seen my share of the crap that Thomas and his merry bahd have suffered. Trying to explain that the story is so well written and emotive in so much I can relate like others in this forum to events in our real world experiences  it just makes me well up. So Thank you Arthur for Chapter 22 which generated another bucket load of tears. I was pleased to read that Thomas was going to keep Roger's sword and likewise he gave his sword away, so they are both safe for awhile at least

My leading  question is what will he do with his guns, will he return them to the British or hand them over to the Portuguese army or keep them for "book 3"(wishful thinking) where his business interest get so big he need a small army to protect his interest.?

[Al Norris]

I badgered Arthur to let me start publishing "Paulek" this coming Thursday, so that if it takes longer for him to write chapter 23, we will at least have something of Arthur's to read.

I realize that many of us have read this, back when it first came out, but that was in 2012 - 5 years ago. I suspect for many of us, it will almost be a fresh read. For those of you that haven't read this story.... Sit back and enjoy! It's a rollicking good tale.

Al.

[ChrisR]

I am amused that folks here are ready to bid adieu to our Drummer Boys with the withdrawal of Napoleon and his forces from the Iberian Peninsula. Yet wasn't there some subsequent little dust-up or another that re-awakened The Continent's need for brilliant military personnel, leaders and actions?

Then again, I'm just an Ami and we still figure the War of 1812 was ours and fought primarily afloat against the bloody British..

[SussexBoi]

I just found this picture, just though you folks would enjoy.