his own examination.
“How do you know this?” Nathan asked warily. Edmund Montagu handed him the lens, so that the smith could take a better look himself.
“By the shine within the false mill marks,” Longfellow said helpfully. “And, if you would care to bite down on one, you'll find it somewhat softer than you'd expect.”
“I would have to agree,” Nathan said eventually. “But you say you have no idea who to suspect?”
“That may not be entirely true—you're the first I've questioned. No suspicions of anything else unusual? None of your customers has dropped a hint?”
“Many men come in here, of course. But I work alone while they pass the time of day with one another. Since I came to this village no more than a few years ago, there are things they won't tell me—not yet. I've often been glad of it, for it frees me to think my own thoughts, and keep my own council.”
“That is an advantage,” Longfellow agreed, having long enjoyed the same benefit. “But you might tell us this: in your opinion, would such a moneymaking scheme be difficult to accomplish? What tools would be required, and what sort of talent?”
“As for the tools, plenty of farmers have small forges; they often make and mend things at home. And you're right about a need for talent. Ordinary coins, I believe, are pressed from sheets of silver. Here, someone seems to have poured them into a finely etched mold, most likely one of steel. I myself might have suggested one with room to make several coins at each pouring. I expect inferior metal—pewter, by the look of it—was added to the silver, once that was well melted. The marks along the edges, now, seem to be cut with some sort of small knife; but they're not quite alike from coin to coin, are they? So perhaps more than one man was involved in that tedious job.”
“As we, too, suspect. Does anyone come to mind as a possible candidate for casting these things?”
“Well, now! To begin with, your friend Mr. Revere can tell you that even a master silversmith such as he may not be much of an etcher. That is something a man is born to—like being able to paint, or carry a tune. Even after working at it for years, a master may do no better at the task than a promising lad.”
“You think, then, that a young man—?”
“Who knows? He would surely need to know how to handle a firebox and bellows. But with a little practice, silver isn't difficult to pour, for it melts with less heat than iron, which is hard to work. That's the reason most of us buy iron bars and rods of different sizes. Then, we need only heat them to the point where they can be hammered out.”
“That's some help—”
“Beyond anything else,” Nathan decided, “I think your man would need a delicate, steady hand to make his faces. And to etch several, he'd need to spend a great deal of time, probably for little reward. He would surely make more at honest labor, if he'd only apprentice himself. Unless, for some reason, he was unable to do so? He—or perhaps she?” he asked, looking to Charlotte.
That was a possibility, and one she'd overlooked.
“An interesting idea,” said Longfellow. “Yet unlikely. The women of the village have been carefully kept from hearing of this endeavor—by their own husbands. Where do you think something like this could be carried out, Nathan?”
“Not in the village, I would agree. Or neighbors would see the frequent smoke, and then, wouldn't one of the women have gone to see? Nor along the main roads, I should think…”
“How about Boar Island?”
“Now there's an interesting thought. Somewhere Alex Godwin went quite often.” The smith considered the idea. “Do you think he's been doing this?”
“No—though it could be someone he knew, and planned to expose. Mrs. Willett found a silver spoon near the island's landing a few days ago, something with no more business there than she. This spoon was stolen from John Dudley's wife, with several others like it.”
“Trouble for someone! What does Dudley have to say?”
“I plan to ask that, the next time I see him. But you're sure you've heard no gossip? No suggestion of anything improper going on?”
“Sir, if you were to ask me to come and tell you of everything of that sort that's said in this place, I would take up far too much of your valuable time. But about these coins, no.”
“Well, you