Hal's Task a Missing Lass
A long time ago
on a bridge
far, far
away âŠ
Halâs Task a Missing Lass
by
Lillian Raae-Vea (9 đŽââ ïžđž) & Ola Vea
Only in nightmares
has Hal ever been so
squashed & pressed
by other people.
Faces loom up
and flash by
singing, laughing,
drunken. Gone in
a dizzing whirl
of colour. Hal
swallows, blinks,
his head spins.
«Surely this IS
a nightmare.»
Hal mumbles.
Hal tails Sneaky
Rat-Face through
The singing,
the clapping
the crush, the joy
and confusion.
Hal has people on every side,
pushing,
jostling,
singing.
Hundreds of them.
«Move!» A shoulder
knocks Hal roughly
aside and is gone.
hide inside a
parrot stall.
«Ahoy Hal. Out
stalking again» Whispers
Parrot-Paulie.
«Good day to you
Parrot-Paulie. See
you later at
the concert.» Whispers
Whispers Hal.
Lotta takes
over the tail,
she dances and slides
through the busteling
crowds.
«Sausage-inna-waffle!
Real beef. Hot
sausage-inna-waffle!»
«Drums! Tambourins!»
«Mieouw-
Miiieoooouuuw!»
«Oi! Lotta
I gotta get
this kitty down off
the wall.» Hal
whispers.
«Donât dawdle
Sneako
Ratface
might BE
Lucyâs kidnapper.»
Lotta hisses back.
«But whereâs our Ratface
gone to?» Hal has a good
view of the street ahead,
all the way past
their own house.
No Sneako
Ratface in sight.
Hal climbs up
the wall of the house
in no time. «Iâve saved
kitties from here
before. Youâll be
safe inside my pocket,
Hal quikly climbs
down and sprints
to Lotta.
«Gone?»
Whispers Hal.
«Yeah. Gone inside
a house maybe?»
Whispers Lotta.
«Drat! Iâll check
our house.» Hal
whispers.
«Oh yeah, forgot
to lock our door
again?» Lotta
whispers.
«Did NOT.» Hal
whispers.
«Did TOO.» Lotta
whispers.
«Nope. Youâre the
one who lost
him.» Hal
whispers.
«Well our door IS
unlocked
âŠÂ» Lotta
whispers.
They sneak inside,
Hal hand signals
for each of them
to go in through
a separate kitchen door.
«ALARM! THIEF!» Hal
hollers towards the
open door, knowing
his voice will carry
outside. Ratface
whirls to face Hal.
«Hah! You boy! You
and me then.»
«Others will come
Ratface, The
neighbourhood watch.»
Hal walks confidently towards Sneako.
Ratface smiles with
yellow teeth and
a clawlike blade
glints in his left
hand.
The kitten rears
itâs orange head hissing
Sneako
stumbles
3 steps back and goes
down right over Lottaâs
leg sweep.
Lotta grips
Ratfaceâs knifehand and
headlocks
Ratfaceâs neck and arm.
«GAH!» Ratface drops
his curved knife with
a tinkle.
«I yield. I yield. AAAH!»
Hal sees the
first of the
neighbourhood watch
Mrs Luhan, the muscular
wife of the blacksmith.
Coming into the kitchen.
Mrs Luhan gives a âdonât
stop for me.â wave.
«AAAA!» Screams Ratface
«Who sent you?» Lottaâs
voice is low and menancing.
«Iâll say nuffink!» Shouts
Ratface.
«Iâll show you ânothingâ.
You think THIS hurts.
THIS is NOTHING! Here
it comes.» Says Lotta
with a smile.
«GAAAH! NOOOO! MUH!
MUH-Murdred. It was
MUH-Murdred sent me⊠AAAAH!»
Shouts Ratface.
«Liar. NO way. No ugly ratface
like you work for
Murdred. Heâs lads
are all pretty as dancing
girls.» Lotta keeps
squeezing.
«AAAH! Iâm freelance.»
Gasps Ratface
out of breath, his
face contorts in pain.
«Let him go now,
Werlinâs concert
is about to start.»
Says Hal, but too
late. Ratfaceâs
eyes rolls up and
he goes limp. Lotta
letâs him go.
«Neat, you put him
straight
to sleep.» Mrs Luhan
looks impressed.
«He bored me.» Says
Lotta.
«Murdred Huh?! What
if itâs true? Canât
get worse than that.»
Says Hal.
«Yeah you two best
leave town for a while.»
Says Mrs Luhan.
Ratface is suddenly up, taking
a running jump
through the kitchen
window with a chrash
and a cheer from the
crowd outside.
«Drat, I guess he had
some secrets still
in him. Or he
wouldnât have
jumped. Oh hello
Werlin!» Says Hal.
«Hello again my
beauties! Is it
happening? Are you
listening?!» Says Werlin
with a huge smile under
his big, bushy, black mustach.
«Havenât I
told you to listen.
How can you listen
when you rudely
choke the man out? HMMM!»
Says Werlin.
Lotta looks at the
floor.
«Monstrous Murdred Huh?!
My, my, my. Murdred &
his merry mob of
malignants.
You best listen this
time or itâll be too
late. If Murdred and
his witch hunters gets
a shred of evidence
against you, your DONE.
Instead youâd better
be GONE.
Iâll help you Leave.
But first
I gotta leave for
my concert.
See you
in your
yellow rooftop hut.
After my concert.
Iâll get you
out of here.»
Werlin jogs out.
«Knock. BANG. Knock.»
«What now? Donât knock the door DOWN!» Says Lotta.
«Oh, hello itâs you.»
Hal comes to the door
and sees the Lucas
from two houses down
the street.
«Our Ariadne sent us
a letter.»
Says mr Luca.
«Thatâs good.»
Says Hal. Mrs
Luca sits down
on the floor,
bawling her eyes out.
Hal reaches
for the letter.
«Hal!» Lotta
shouts.
«Put the
kettle on,
thatâs a
dear.» Lotta thinks Hal rub
people the wrong way sometimes, like now.
«Look, thereâs
another letter
attached.» Says
mr Luca.
The Ransom Note
Wanna see
Yer gurl?
Give us the
Treasure Mapâo
Web-Dev
islands.
Best wishes X.
«Whyâd the Lucas come to
Lotta & Hal
with that
ransom note?»
You ask. They are
Detectives Hal & Lotta,
Pirate Detectives.
Their neighbours bring
them cases to solve.
Hal feeds
the Lucas
ginger cookies
as they re-tell
their
tearful tale.
how little Ariadne
went out
to do a
morning
delivery of chocolate
croissants, never
to be seen again.
The Lucas are bakers.
Hal writes down the
address of the chocolate
croissant customer again.
The address
WAS near Southie.
Hal says nothing but
word on our Bridge is,
our lost lass
got kidnapped by
Southies Baddies.
Nor that
The watchmen
havenât
patrolled
into
Southie
for 12 years.
(missing card Our Lost Lassies)
«Leave it with us.» Hal
says to the Lucas.
«Weâll find this
Treasure Map of
these so-called
âWeb-Dev Islandsâ
&
weâll set up
an exchange, donât
you worry.»
«YESS! Weâve got
a new clue in our case!» Says Hal
when they are alone.
«And a tough one.»
Lotta says thoughtfully
tapping her
sharp right
front tooth.
«So whatâs our next
move?» Says Hal.
«Have you
ever heard
of these Web-
Dev Islands?» Says Lotta.
«Not a pip, but
why should I have?
the whole
PLACE
sounds insanely illegal,
âweb-devâ! Itâs pure treason, innit?!» Hal says.
An explosion of roars
and wild clapping from
outside. Werlin starts singing.
«We canât leve now,
we finally got our
first clue in the
Ariadne case.» Says Hal.
«If Murdred gets us
locked up in the Tower
thereâs not much we
can do to find Ariadne.» Says Lotta.
«Yeah, thatâs another
thing. If we leave
now, thatâs like
CONFESSING weâre guilty
of whatever Murdred is
trying to get us for.»
Says Hal.
«Yeah confession, Murdredâs
favourite thing.» Says Lotta.
«And thirdly, sir Ector will
spank us if we leave his
house and his secrets
unguarded
when we promised to
protect all of it.» Says Hal.
«Bang. BANG-BANG-BANG bang bang!»
Hal opens and:
«AH! Good thing you
children are home,
cause youâre staying
for a while. Hereâs
a warrant for your
house arrest. For
choking a mr Green
unconcious. The poor
innocent man is with
the surgeon as we speak.»
Says a sing-song-voice.
«Murdred.» Says Lotta icily.
«Werrreechz!» Sneers
the orange cat in
Murdredâs face.
«Yuck! I hate cat
monsters.» Murdred jumps back, then struts
around with Werlin singing
outside the open door.
«Close that damn door,
the noise irks me.»
One of Murdredâs
twelve thugs slams
the door.
«Any of you
traitors going to talk?»
Sneers Murdred.
Murdred picks up a kettle, sniffs it, drops it on
the floor. Takes a ladle and drops it.
«Weeeell Iâve got an
anonymous tip that you two
have been experimenting
treasonously with
web-dev witchcraft.
Itâs true isnât it?»
Says Murdred.
«No.» Says Hal.
«Ah. âNoâ is it? So says every lying
traitor. But if I
find evidence, âŠÂ» Says
Murdred.
«Weâre Loyal to
Our Queen.» Says Hal.
«So you say. So you
SAY. HO-HO-HO whoâs
been a bad boy!? I spy
with my eye a banned
book.» Murdred stretches
up to the top shelf of the
kitchen bookcase and pulls
out a blue book. Swings it
in a wide arch, piruetting
like a dancer.
«JavaScript for Kids!
TRRRREASOOOON! MO-HA-
HA-HA! Write it down
notary.» Says Murdred.
The handsome notary scribbles
furiously on his parchment
a pink tip of tounge sticks
out.
The orange kitten bites Hals
hand, gets loose and flies at Murdredâs
face, hugging it like a killer
kraken. Murdred stumbles
backwards clutching the
blue book to his chest.
His thugs backs off
horror on their faces. Smiling Lotta dances
forward snatches the blue book.
as Murdred trips to the floor.
«Run Forrest. RUUUN!» Lotta
shouts handing Hal the book. Hal sprints up the
stairs. Lotta takes the kitten calmly
by the scruff of itâs neck
and lifts it towards the
thugs. One thug opens
the outer door and they
all back off.
Lotta takes a step closer.
«BOOO!» Shouts Lotta.
All the thugs run out the door.
Lotta walks calmly up
the stairs lika straight
gangster.
«Yooouuuuâll regreeet
thiiis!» Murdredâs sing-
song-voice has a catch
in it.
«And you sound like a
lost
little lass.» Lotta says
over her shoulder.
Upstairs Hal has a wild look in
his eyes.
«You wanna stay? In house
arrest? Like a law abiding
citizen?» Says Lotta.
«We canât go. We need to
protect Sir Ectorâs house.»
Says Hal.
«Oh yeah! You smell that?
Smoke. From a fire.
Murdred has put fire to our
house. Thatâs his way when
he has no proof. You know
it.» Says Lotta.
«We can put out the fire.»
Says Hal.
«Nobody puts out Murdredâs
fires. He always brings
cartloads of house burning
materials. Our neighbours will be busy watering their own houses. Letâs go up.» Says Lotta.
They climb the top secret
ladder to the rooftop.
«Thatâs We Are the Champions,
itâs Werlinâs second to
last song.» Says Hal.
«Good thing I packed for
both of us, I see youâve
packed nothing.» Says Lotta.
«Iâm not going, Iâm staying.
Ah hey Werlin! Youâre
already here!»
«Friends! Friends! I saw
Murdred roll up with two wagons, to fuel his fire.
So I made my drummer sing
the last song.» Says Werlin.
«Iâm not going, I need to
find Ariadne.»
«Iâve got a tip for you,
The Merry Mermaid Pub
is the best place to
listen to tales of treasure
maps.» Says Werlin.
«The Merry Mermaid?
Never heard of that
pub.» Says Hal.
«Iâll show you the way,
IF you decide to go.»
Says Werlin.
«Youâll show us a place
were we might find the
treasure map of the
Web-Dev Islands?» Says Hal.
«Yes and much more
youâve never seen before!»
Says Werlin.
«But what about sir
Ectors house?» Says Hal.
«Youâll build a new
one with all that
treasure youâll find.»
Says Werlin.
«Yeah Iâm ready for
a treasure hunt!» Hal
climbs into the yellow
and pink climbing ship
he built with Lotta
when he was younger.
«Oi! This is new!
âBreak Glass In Case
of Treasure Huntâ»
Hal breaks glass.
«That looks like
a sword hilt!» Says
Lotta.
«Yeah itâs an early
birthday gift.» Says
Werlin.
«Now what?» Says Hal.
«Now sweet Hal, you
pull the handle labeled
âRequestâ.» Says Werlin.
«Wait Hal, itâs labeled
âRequest (Do NOT pull
in case of fire)â» Says
Lotta.
«Weâve not a moment to
loose then, before the
fire reach us.» Says Hal.
«What does it do? WAIT!
HAL!» Shouts Lotta as
Hal pulls the âRequestâ
lever.
«Yoouuuuâll seeeee!»
Shouts Werlin.
Like a loose tooth
coming out, the whole
climbing ship lurches
sideways and slides down
the sloping roof. A big,
black square opens in
the roof a bit further
down. They slide into
the darkness. And hit
sloshing water. Werlin
sings a wild wordless
melody at the top of
his voice. The darkness
turns red, then yellow,
orange. Theyâre sloping
downwards. Faster back
to red. Yellow, orange.
Red. Yellow, orange.
Red. Yellow, orange.
Hal sees a black drop
ahead.
«On âthreeâ you breath in!
On âoneâ you hold your
noses!» Werlin Shouts
over the splashing.
Hal wedges himself
with his butt into
a corner and his
legs to the wall.
Clutching the orange
cat, who is calm for
some reason.
Yellow, orange. red.
They shoot over the
edge without leaving
the water. Yellow, orange.
Red. Faster, faster. Down
ahead Hal sees a yellow,
orange and red cavern
zooming towards him.
Growing.
«Three!» Shouts Werlin.
Hal breaths in deeply.
Heâs soaked now.
«Two-ONE!» Shouts Werlin.
Hal holds his nose and
hides the catâs face
on his chest. They shoot
up the side of the cavern,
slows at the top and speed
down again. They hit in an
explosion of white water,
filling the climbing ship.
Slows down. Slides towards
a gaping boy in a black
bicorn hat. Eyes big and round.
They slide to a stop at an
old grey wooden pier.
The boy fumbles at his
belt and clumsily pulls
a rusty cutlass.
«S-s-s-stop! Please.
I mean, ALARM Aliens!»
Shouts the boy.
«No need for THAT lad,
we come in peace. Take
us to your larder.»
Says Werlin smiling warmly.
«I know how to use this!
Donât come closer.» Shouts
the boy with a scared voice.
«Not another of your pranks
Cisco, you woke me with
your splashing ruckus.
Oh MY! MY Oh MY!» A fat
little man stares at them.
«Where are your manners man.
Youâre supposed to toast
our safe landing in your
best rum.» Says Werlin
the closest Hal has
ever heard him to angry.
«Uhm-Ah ⊠awfully sorry
sir. I ⊠Iâll get the
glasses in a jiffy. Cisco!
Put up that old cutlass,
do they look like aliens
to you?!» says the fat
little man and shuffles
of around the corner.
«Well ⊠Yes. Actually.»
Says the boy.
Hal steps onto the pier
and holds out his cat
towards the boy.
«Wanna hold her? Donât
be scared her name is
Jenny» Says Hal.
«Itâs a boy-cat.» Says
Lotta and walks past
the boy to stroke a
stack of pink towels,
printed with lettering,
neatly folded on a chair.
«Itâs a girl.» Says Hal
looking at his cat.
«Pretend to drink
the rum.» Whispers Werlin
out the side of his mouth.
«Hereâs the rum sir. Sorry
about our clumsiness.»
The man pours five tiny
glasses from a small,
brown barrel in the
crook of his arm. He
toasts with Werlin.
Lotta passes her glass
to the boy behind the
mans back.
«Thank you and have a
peacful watch.» Werlin says
and walks off toweling his
head with one of the
printed, pink towels.
«Uh ⊠Yeah, peacful.
Right. Of course.»
Mumbles the man.
«To the Merry
Mermaid then.» Says Hal.
«Yes. Welcome to
Tube Town.» Says Werlin
with his arms outstretch
and showing his crooked
teeth in a grand smile.
«Youâll never find a
more wretched hive of
piracy and tall tales.
We must listen deeply
for clues among the lies.»
Inside the crowded & loud Merry Mermaid
«Hey! We donât serve
their kind here.» The
bartender points angrily
at Halâs cat.
«WHAT?!» Says Hal.
«Your feline! Heâll have
to wait outside, we donât
want him here.» Says the bartender.
«Itâs a girl cat!» Says Hal,
but he finds a little hut
outside with water. Coming
inside again he bumps
into a hard shoulder
in the dim light.
«He doesnât like you.»
Says a scarred face.
«Iâm sorry.» Says Hal.
«You watch yourself.
I have hanging sentences
on twelve islands.» Says
Scarface.
«Iâll be carful then.»
Says Hal.
«Youâll be dead!» Says
Scarface.
«YOUâll be dead!»
Says Lotta pointing
the sailors own
pistols at them.
«Iâll give you a bullet
or a grog. Which will
it be? Bullet or grog?!»
Says Lotta calmly.
«Iâll take the grog.»
The other sailor says.
«Keep your scarred buddy
away from me or heâll
get a round scar between his eyes.» Says
Lotta handing the sailor
two grogs from the bar.
«Yes miss. Thanks miss.
Bye miss.» Says the
other sailor.
«Humph!» Says Lotta and
drags Hal deeper into
the noisy Mermaid crowd. A
big beardy sailor points
them to the roaring fireplce
all the way in the back,
behind a bunch of actors
they see Werlin handing
out grogs from a tray
to a score of scruffy
sailors. Saying âsailorsâ
is not precise, proper pirates
is what they look like.
Werling gives Lotta and
Hal his âshut-up-&-listenâ
look. A rock hard
red head rappes her
now empty grog on
the table top and
lookes around the group
with half lidded eyes.
«Web-Dev Islands? Yeeeeah.
Thatâs where Capân Crook
dug his treasure down.
Innit!?» Says the red head
and pulls a thumb-sized
wad of chewing tobacco
out of her jaw.
«Yall heard the one
about olâ Capân Crook?
How he aaalmooost lost
both his hands? Hmm?»
Says the red head.
«Noooo!» Shouts a
chorus of coarse voices.
Some banging on the table.
Both Hal and Lotta had heard
THAT terrible tale. But
Werlin watched them so
they listened in silence.
«He wasnae old back then, our
Capân Crook. Was he a
Captain?» Says the red head.
«Noooo!» Shouts are eager pirate pals.
She smiles wolfishly
and downs a grog she gets handed.
«A beardless cute, cook boy
and his name wasnae even
Crook! Mo-Ha-Ha-HA!» They all
join in the infectious laughter.
«We were boarding a frog
in the Biscay. A fair french
frigate. Blessedly legit,
mind you. We HAD the proper
paper work. The Kings writ
with red wax on it. Those
were the days my friends!»
Shouts the red head holding
her cup out while a
peg-legged pirate pours
grog sloppily.
«Horray! More Grog!
To the King! Down
with all frogs!» Shouts the
pirates and Werlin pours the pitcher.
«Aye, the bad, big Biscay.
The sun hid behind a
cloud blazingly fast
and a wind came up from
nowhere. Slapping our
ship around. Next thing our
Captain is down in the drink.
Captain Pan hisself, out cold.
Floating around. Helpless as
a babe in a Bahamas jungle.»
The red head empties her grog
and holds it out. And keeps talking.
«Lilâ cook boy Crook
dived down and a white
shark surfaced straight
away. The boy punched
the shark straight on
the snout. And a surprised
shark it was. That shark
gave our boy a sulky
stare. Our boy didnât blink,
he stared straight back.
Holding his guard up lika pro.
And we got a line around
Captain Pan and hoisted him
outta the drink. He always was
a wee fairy-like thing our
Captain Pan. So we hoisted
him way to fast and hard.
Flew up he did. Booped his
head on the yardarm. We
booped him back to wakefulness.
Not a bit blissful about being
booped. The most creative
cursing Iâve heard before
or since. Aye our Captain
Pan had a piraty mouth
when he was in the mood for it.
Cook boy Crook looked up,
open mouthed. And THAT
was when a colossal
crocodile clamped itâs
chops onto BOTH of Crooks
hands. Crook pulled the ONE
hand unstuck. Grabbed and
ripped the other arm loose.
We hoisted Crook up.
He lay down on deck.
With his arm aloft, held
by his other hand. Where
was his hand?»
«GOOONE!» Shouts the pirates.
«Datsright! GONE baby gone.
Blood was spraying up
in spurts and what did
Crook saaaay?»
Says the Red Head.
«Pardon me for laying down.»
Shouts the pirates.
«Datsright. Always polite
was Crook. âThat swim
took the wind outta my
sails.â he said. Pan
was grateful for
Crook guarding him
from the shark and
paying with his paw.
So on his deathbed Captain
Pan gave Crook a map.
A treasure map of the
Dead-Dev Islands. Or the
Web-Dev Islands as
people call them nowadays.
And THAT folks is how
it REALLY happened.»
Ext street outside the Merry Mermaid
«Bleh»
«»
«»
«»
«»
«»
«»
«» Says Hal.
«» Says Lotta
«» Says Werlin.
«» Says Hal.
«» Says Lotta
«» Says Werlin.
«» Says Hal.
«» Says Lotta
«» Says Werlin.
«» Says Hal.
«» Says Lotta
«» Says Werlin.
«» Says Hal.
«» Says Lotta
«» Says Werlin.
«» Says Hal.
«» Says Lotta
«»
«» Says Lotta
«»
«»
«»
«»
«»
«»
VÄre savnede smÄjenter
Det er ikke bare fest og moro pÄ brua vÄr. SÞr for oss ligger Southie.
Og denne ene vÄren har 2 smÄjenter blitt borte fra brua vÄr.
Ryktet pĂ„ brua er at smĂ„jentene vĂ„re đ blei kidnappa av slemminger fra Southie. đ
Nattevaktene har ikke patruljert inn i Southie pÄ 12 Är.
Lotta & Hal vÄkna av hamring pÄ dÞra.
«Ah, det er DERE.» Hal slapp inn herr of fru Black fra to hus bortafor.
«VÄr Lucy sendte oss et brev.» Sa herr Black. «Det er jo bra.» Sa Hal fru Black satt seg pÄ gÞlvet og hylgrein.
«Se her er et vedlagt enda et brev.» Sa herr Black og Hal strakk seg etter brevet.
«Hal.» Ropte Lotta «Sett over tevannet, er du snill.»
Lotta synes jeg ⊠, som nÄ.
( Lotta thinks I rub some people the wrong way sometimes, like now. )
Utpressingsbrevet
Vil dere se jenta deres? Gi oss skattekartet over web-dev Ăžyene.
Beste Ăžnsker X.
«Hvorfor kom herr og fru Black til Lotta & Hal med det utpressingsbrevet?» SpÞr du.
Vi er Detektiver, Lotta & jeg, Pirat Detektiver.
Hal fora herr og fru Black med pepperkaker, mens DE fortalte sin tÄrevÄte historie.
Om lille Lucy som dru ut for Ă„ gjĂžre en morgenlevering med sjokolade croissanter og aldri blei sett igjen.
«La oss ta oss av dette.» Sa Lotta.
«Vi skal finne dette kartet over de sĂ„kalte âWeb-Devâ Ăžyene og
sÄ setter vi opp et bytte, ikke bekymr dere.»
«.»
«.»
«.»
«JAAA! Vi har en ny SAK!» Ropte Hal da vi var aleine.
«Og en tÞff sak.» Sa Lotta tankefullt og klikket pÄ den skarpe fortanna si.
«So whatâs our next move boss?» Said Hal. «Have you ever heard of these âWeb- Dev Islands?» Said Lotta.
«Not a pip, but why should I have? The whole PLACE sounds insanely illegal. âweb-devâ! Itâs pure Treason , innit.» Hal said.
«Yeah ⊠Letâs go have some egg & bacon breakfast down at the Dolphin and see what gossip we can pick up about these âWeb-Dev Islandsâ.» I said
So Hal and I popped into the Dodgy Dolphin for a spot of breakfast. As always there was a loud group of musicians and actors drinking at the bar. We ignored them and went to the fireplace. A handfull of sailors were sitting close to the roaring fire. I say âsailorsâ, but they were proper pirates. We knew them from the âTarquin Todd caseâ last summer.
Hal & I brought the pirates a round of grog and a piece of paper with my sketchnoted Web-Dev Islands Treasure Map. Hal & I ate our baconân eggs in silence. Itâs a mistake to ask a question off of a pirate, sheâll clam up. But shut up yourself and a pirate will start chatting like a magpie. Canât help herself. Silence is torture to a pirate. Uncle Walsingham told us that.
A hard looking redhead slammed her empty grog on the table.
«Yall heard the one about how olâCapân Crook aaaalmost lost BOTH his hands?» She whispered huskily and pulled a great wad of chewing tobacco out of her upper jaw. Iâve heard several versions, but I wasnât worried because the tales were all GREAT.
«He wasnae old back then our Capân Crook. A beardless cook boy he was. We were boarding a french frigate in the Biscay. Totally legit mind you, we HAD the paperwork. The weather turned treacherous, slapping our ship around. Next thing Captain Pan hisself was down in the drink. Captain Pan floating around unconscious, helpless as a babe in a Bahamas jungle! Young Crook jumped right in after. And wouldnât you know it a shark showed up instantly. Some say Crook had read about the trick in a book, but anyway the boy punched that shark straight in the snout. The shark gave Crook an insulted stare to the countâo 10. Crook though, didnât blink. The boy stared right back into that sharky eye, holding his guard up lika pro. That gave the crew juuuust time enough to hoist Captain Pan» Said .
«.» Said . «.» I said «.» Said Hal.
