BARGEMASTER
a novel containing historical data
They had, in fact, resorted to slipping him
a few extra ounces of liquor in order to “untie his tongue” concerning Riena.
There was apparently a very slim chance that he would spill any details about
his lady friend. The proof was that Sien was rather amused by the effort of her
conniving aunts. Had any success been likely, she would have stepped in to abort
the endeavor.
On one of those occasions, occurring on a hot summer night in
Sien’s house, the Angevaare residence, Peter was sitting in the kitchen. Uncle
Kobus, with a big grin on his face, passed in front of the lad to go out of the
back door for a bit of fresh air. Normally, Peter would follow his uncle; but,
because Sien had been feeding him her gin-soaked sugar, he felt pleasantly
drowsy and remained on his seat.
“Kok is getting double his share again,” said Sien, as she
handed Peter her little gin glass, with a good measure of succulent sugar to be
spooned out slowly for maximum enjoyment. Then, when she noticed that Peter was
nearly asleep, she added: “And I think that you have had more than your share
tonight.” After his treat, the last thing he remembered was uncle going back to
the smoky living room to be interrogated by his aunts.
The next day at the Dunes, Peter asked uncle whether he had
revealed any details about Riena, explaining that Sien had told him about the
aunts’ effort to get him tipsier than usual. Uncle had a lengthy bout of his
contagious laughter. Then, while Peter was still wiping the tears from his eyes,
uncle clarified:
“As you know, I go outside frequently for fresh air. The
others sit in the smoke all night. Also, I take the genever pure, no sugar. So,
although I may end up with a few more than the others, I don’t get to the point
were I lose control of my good judgment. What I tell your aunts will not enhance
the volume of their gossiping. Anyway, their efforts are not malicious; they
don’t do it in Leiden, when I have a bicycle ride home ahead of me. Here, in
Voorhout, it is fewer than a hundred steps to mother’s place.”