Arguably the best of Earl B. Pilgrim's works, Curse of the Red Cross Ring was first published in 2000 and has been praised as a "tour de force" (Atlantic Books Today) and "the greatest Newfoundland story ever told" (The Downhomer). An epic tale of betrayal set in outport Newfoundland in the 1920s, it is more than just a murder story: it is a masterfully crafted saga that is the Newfoundland character defined. Azariah Roberts, the author's grandfather, was a respected fishing captain and community leader in the small town of L'Anse au Pigeon. Living in a remote community on the Great Northern Peninsula, "Uncle Az" and his loved ones were unprepared when a murderer came to town. Sod Mugford, whose name resonates with infamy throughout Newfoundland and Labrador, had perpetrated a heinous crime in 1928 — and it was only a precursor to the horrific events that were to follow. source
Scene
“The sun looked boldly through its bloodshot eye as it peeked over the boiling ocean, and the breath of the toiling men mixed with the salty spray to give a pinkish hue as they hauled the huge cod trap. Giant swells slammed into the solid granite only a few hundred feet away. 'Listen, men,' said Az, 'you'd better start dipping the fish in right away, and make sure the cuts are wrapped tightly around the pins.'”
The publisher description on the same fetchable page anchors the scene to 'the small town of L'Anse au Pigeon' on the Great Northern Peninsula, and the verbatim excerpt is the moment Azariah Roberts loses the Red Cross ring while hauling his cod trap there.
Earl B. Pilgrim, Curse of the Red Cross Ring (Flanker Press, 2000), publisher description + excerpt — source
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