⛵ ⛵ ⛵ ⛵. . . "Tour of the Gulf of Aden". . . (cont.)
[Last time...]
“Potzblitz! Whit kin a pearl trader hav ta say ‘att kin be o’ great importance?!” The captain said as he stepped closer and eyed Asif hard, “Veery weel...take heem doon tae mah quarters an' Ahh'll givs heem mah ear! But warn heem! Onie shenanigans an' Ahh'll spill his bowls oot upon th' guid oak planks o’ thes ship!"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Seaman- Able Seaman Andofzara and the Arab trader Asif sat on one side of the map table while Commander Galligan and the Captain sat on the other. The chart room was dimly lit by three lanterns.
Pushing himself back in his chair and lighting his pipe, the Captain locked eyes with Asif as he stoked the bowl of his pipe red-hot and let out a large plume of blue smoke into the air above them.
“Alright pearl diver, oot wi' it! Teels heem..." He said as he sat motionless in the big chair.
Andofzara conveyed the remark and Asif wasted no time as he carefully laid out his information. A good two minutes went by with Asif speaking slowly in Arabic before he stopped and glanced at Andofzara, who then turned towards the Captain.
“He says…he is no pearl diver."
“Teel me somethin' Ahh dornt awreddy knows..."
"He is a commissary for the Jinn of Aden and his mission was to strike a treaty with the King of Seychelles!”
"Go oan."
“He says he was tae secure a treaty tae allaw th' Jinn tae use Victoria as a base tae pirate th' entire Indian Brine, but…” Andofzara hesitated as if he was making sure he had it right.
“But whit?”
“But the Jinn did not receive his results well and cheated him and his crew out of half of their pay...”
“Hmmm… Hoo braw. An' whit has aw 'att got tae dae wi' me?" The Captain said, locking eyes with Asif.
Andofzara translated and Asif continued…
“He says Sairrr, 'att the Jinn has sent heem back tae Seychelles tae spy...spy oan... ye Sairrr!"
The Captain sat up straight in his chair and his eyes began to glow red.
“Spy oan me?! Wa?!”
“He says 'att his mission was tae spy oan yer warship an' send a spyug back tae Aden th' moment ye left Seychelles!"
The Captain now laid a heavy eye on the Arab trader as he spoke…” An' did he dae 'att?”
Andofzara translated and Asif answered without hesitation.
“He says…he did! An’ he also tauld th' Jinn ye hud sailed west towards Indiar!"
“He did, did he? An' wa woods Ahh believe 'att?!" The Captain said as he took a long draw on his pipe.
Andofzara and Asif exchanged words and then the seaman translated…
“He says ye can troost everythin' he is tellin' ye coz he wants tae kill th' Lord Jinn an'..." Andofzara said hesitating.
“An’?”
“An’… he wants tae join uir crew!"
“Fock th' queen an' aw 'er coort!!" The Captain barked in heated disbelief as he bolted upright in his chair!
⛵ ⛵ ⛵ ⛵
"Confused? Ascared? Seasick? Need a private chat with the Captain?" - joshua.slane@aol.com
References: Pictures froms: www.freeimages.com, www.pexels.com, pixabay.com, steemit.com an’ www.google.com/maps. Data loosely interpretted froms: www.wikipedia.org an' sometimes reit from th' author's extensiff personal experience an' such.