Excerpt
Bill was rather impressed. Wow, Paul! You should seriously think about becoming a physic hotline advisor.
Paul laughed. Yea, Id probably make a decent wage for once in my life.... Hey, Bill, as I scan through this book, Im noticing a lot of captains diary notes that are written in a mixture of Old English and Latin. I really hope you know some Latin.
Bill smiled. Its a good thing Im an old dinosaur, Paul. Back in high school and college, Latin fundamentals were required.
Paul was relieved. Thank God! So it looks like Ill be microfiching while you check out the Mystic Diaries. Do you have any idea where I should start, Bill?
Bill took off his glasses and stared at the ceiling. Ya know, Paul, if I recall correctly, the 1780's to 1840's were prosperous whaling years.
Paul picked up a microfiche of the Mystic Sentinel dated 1782. As he was loading the film he responded to Bills comment with, Okay, Bill, thanks. Ya know thats certainly different from my prosperous whaling years of 1979 to 1981 when I dated Sue Grafton.
Bill let out an uncontrollably loud laugh. To-shay, Paul! And to think that Joy wants me to improve your sense of humor. Quite unnecessary!
As the two finally committed themselves to the task at hand, the room fell silent. Except for the gentle humming of the microfiche reader that is. Bill broke the silence after twenty-five minutes. Hey, Paul, take a look at this.
Paul stood up, stretched his arms and shuffled over to Bill. Whoa! You hit the jackpot! Paul pulled a chair over as the two noted scientists were fixated on the screen for ten minutes. Holy shit, Bill! I think Im in love with Captain Jonathan Cooke. He even drew a crude picture of one.
The Mystic Sentinel article dated September 14, 1792 detailed the encounter that Captain Cooke of the whaler Mystic Pride had with an unknown creature of the deep: ...As my able crew of fourteen were heading home after a successful day at sea, we noted a large silhouette along side our thirty and six foot catch. This large creature was equal in length to the Mystic Pride. Its neck was long and slender, about half the length of its body. Its mid-section was shaped like the bellows my wife uses for the fireplace. It was a most gentle creature; it would swim most rapidly around and underneath us. Then from time to time we would feel a small turbulence. This turbulence happened when it would feed on our whale carcass. It had a scaly pattern like a crocodile, except a bit different. It never broke the surface so we were never able to get a good look. At first we feared for our lives. There was almost a mutiny. Five of my crew wanted to try and harpoon the gentle giant. They kept saying, Lucifer is here to punish us for our sins. I had to draw my pistol along with my first mate. We talked down their harpoons. I made it clear to all my crew that ignorance will not be tolerated. This was not Salem. I expect my men to be of intelligent and modern thought. I knew in my heart that to provoke this gentle creature of enormous strength would possibly result in our demise. I truly felt that it had the ability and strength to overturn the Mystic Pride if it so chose to.
My advice to fellow whalersdo not provoke this gentle and most graceful giant. You must accept the thought of losing some of your catch to this creature. In return you will have the privilege and honor of seeing a wondrous creature that most will not
Paul and Bill just looked at each other for a long ten seconds before Paul spoke. Wow! I cannot believe that this man was such a progressive thinker. I really didnt know that the human animal was this intelligent two hundred and twenty years ago.
As Paul was conversing, Bill read further. Captain Jonathan Cooke is a magna cum laude graduate of the Maritime Academy in Falmouth, Mass. He and his crew have taken in six whales during the months of August and September.... Bill then stopped, ripped his glasses off and started to massage his temples as Paul retorted, You see that, Bill? I knew Henry Eagle Feather was genuine. He said that his forefathers in this area would perform the Serpent Warrior Dance to attract any Plesiosauria in the area so that the whalers were not bothered by them when they brought home a carcass.
Bill smiled. Yes, I remember you mentioned that yesterday. Now Id love to find some literature on this Indian dance along with more journals detailing the sightings by those more progressive thinking whalers.
Paul glanced at his watch, 3:45, then grimaced. Damn it! I wish we could keep doing this all day. I need to start back soon.
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