Bryan Talbot tells us that John Paul Jones was deterred from approaching Sunderland when he sighted a small army of redcoats - which were really fishermen's wives in red shawls awaiting their husbands' return.
Cue for a Time Patrol story: a Time Patrolman knows that Jones will be deterred by sighting redcoats but also finds that there are no redcoats to hand so he tells the wives that their husbands' boats are returning...
The Time Patrol can be inserted at almost any point in history. They must ensure that Harold of England defeats Harald Hardrada but is defeated by William of Normandy etc. That series could have been continued indefinitely but Poul Anderson had a lot more other things to write.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I read a biography of Adam Smith years ago and I recall him writing of the anxiety he felt over John Paul Jones raiding of the British coasts. Smith at one time was a fairly high ranking commissioner in Scotland and helped with arranging defenses.
One wonders what might have happened in history if Harald Hardrada had not been taken by surprise by King Harold Godwinsson at Stamford Bridge. I can imagine time travelers/criminals trying to make sure Harald of Norway would win and the Patrol intervening to prevent that.
Sean
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