⛵ ⛵ ⛵ ⛵. . . "Tour of the Gulf of Aden". . . (cont.)
[Last time...]
The officer glanced nervously out towards the bay and then back at Galligan. It was obvious that he was caught between a rock and a hard place. With no further words spoken, he led the way to the interior court of the palace. There, sitting in a large golden throne sat a small, nervous man…King Radwan.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[On the Arabian Dhow…]
The night was brightly lit with moonlight as the dhow rounded the northern peninsula of the main island of Seychelles and headed south. Fair winds carried them at a good clip and asif began to scan the coastal lights with his scope. On the bridge deck, Abdul slept soundly on a pile of empty canvas bags…
“Where is he…” asif said to himself as he ran his scope up and down the coastal inlets, “I know he must be here somewhere!”
[In the Palace…]
Commander Galligan walked into the great hall and looked at the King without any gesture or nod. The King was obviously agitated and alarmed by all that had just transpired as he fidgeted in his chair.
“Who are you and why have damaged my palace!!!” The King yelled in a high pitched voice.
“Commander Galligan o’ th’ Royal Scottish Frigate Silverton…” Galligan began sizing the man up quickly, “An thes is mah crew."
“Who sent you here?! What do you want?!”
“Ahh come at th' order o’ Keptin Joshua Slane..."
“Slane?!” The King said in a small panic, “He is pirate! He is a marauder!!”
Galligan ignored the insults and continued, “Ahh come fur information…"
“What information infidel?!” the King blasted.
“What is yer relationship tae an Arab trader named 'Asif'?" Galligan said in a stern tone.
The King’s eyes grew wide as boiled eggs and he quickly sat upright in his chair, his brow now breaking beads of sweat…
“An Arab trader you say? I know no Arab trader Asif!!”
Galligan reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a silver one ounce coin that bore the Royal Seal of Victoria on it’s obverse side. He flipped the coin through the air and the King caught it instinctively in his small hand. Again his expression flashed fear!
“Dae ye recognize 'att seal King?" Galligan said as eyed the man closely, “We pulled fifty-eight o’ these oot o’ th' hands o’ th' Arab skipper 'Asif'...looks like they cam froms Victoria tae me..."
(See: “Boy- Tipper quickly slid…” https://steemit.com/steemsilvergold/@joshuaslane/silver-adventures-captain-joshua-slane-19fe19-they-ll-be-war-in-th-gulf-of-aden-mate )
“Fifty-eight! There should be two hundred!!” The King exclaimed in rage before his better wits took hold and he realized what he had said.
Galligan raised an eyebrow and stared him directly in the eye…
“Dae ye see thes black spyug King?” Galligan said as he pointed to Groober, sitting on Seaman- Quarter Gunner Ilipino’s shoulder, “If Ahh sit thes wee beest tae wing, in fifteen minutes Ahh can rain fire an' heel doon oan thes palace an' aw fowk in it!"
The King’s face went pale! He bit his lower lip and took a deep breath as his eyes grew dark with fear…
⛵ ⛵ ⛵ ⛵
"Charonia Tritonis, common nam th' Triton's Trumpit ur th' Giant Triton, is a species o' veery large brine snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in th' fowk charoniidae, th' Tritons. Reachin' up tae two feit (Blye me, whit a meal!) in sheel length thes is one o' th' biggest mollusks in th' coral reef o' Seychelles an' sae forth. Thes species is foond throoghoot th' Indo-Pacific brine, Red brine included. Tritonis is one o' th' few animals knoown tae feed oan th' Crown-of-Thorns starfish. Occasional plagues o' thes destructiff starfish hav killed extensiff areas o' coral oan th' stoatin barrier reef o' Seychelles. Th' Triton has bin described as tearin' th' starfish tae pieces wi' its file-like radula. (Imagine 'att?! Wa thes big dobber is quit scrapper!)"- Keptin
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"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.