Eustachian stood on the left edge of the boat, smoking a cigarette with a mug of coffee beside him. He was watching the waves as if they were providing a maritime dance performance, and he could have sworn in his mind that he saw a dolphin's tail peeking over the surface.
"Eustachian!" Faust suddenly appeared, interrupting his tranquility. Eustachian twisted his eyes.
"What's the matter, Faust, bored already and want to tell me one of your fake gossip?" Eustachian inquired pedantically.
"Nothing of the sort! What I've come to tell you is completely true!"
"And what is it about?"
"The captain is going to retire..."
"What?" Eustachian vociferated, spitting out some coffee. "This has to be a false rumor of yours. Captain Duncan is a man bound to the ocean, he would never give this up for anything. He once asked us, if he died suddenly, to dump his body in the sea."
"Well, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe he was finally convinced by his brother, Mr. Strauss to move to the mainland. Or maybe he's had enough of the sea and wants to live a quiet life away from the turbulent motion of the waves."
Eustachian shook his head and set angry eyes. "No, I refuse to believe it! And if true, who will they place as captain for us now?"
Faust shrugged as he made another confused gesture with his thin arms.
"Hey, Eustachian!" Old Caville said, his right eye drooping and mouth twisted to the right. "Did you hear the captain is retiring?"
"Yes, Caville, Faust just told me; I still can't get over my astonishment," replied Eustachian as he scratched his hairy chin.
More sailors came into the conversation and began to talk about the captain's retirement. Among them were the Petrucci brothers; thirty-five-year-old blond twins, stockier than the rest, but not very intelligent.
"We can't believe the captain!" Said the twins at the same time, as they both scratched their heads.
"The only way to make sure is to ask him, but I don't know if it's wise to do so," Eustachian asserted as he puffed on his cigarette. He scratched his head in frustration. His dark hair became more matted and his chubby cheeks took on a reddish hue.
"I didn't want to say anything, since it's not entirely truthful, but I heard that, if the captain retires, he would be replaced by a young lordling from the Mainland." Caville related, relaxing his shoulders. His droopy eye closed completely as if expressing sadness.
"What, no way!" Exclaimed the twins in unison.
"That's what made me the angriest!" Faust manifested. "To work so many years on this ship, which has become my home, to end up under the command of a child?" he shook his head angrily.
Eustachian's face took on a color redder than a tomato; he looked like he was about to explode. "I won't allow it either! I'd rather give up this ship and find a job on the Mainland. I don't care if it's wrong or not, I'm going to ask the captain about his so-called retirement, who's coming with me?"
They all bellowed at the same time, raising their fists as they headed for the captain's cabin. The elder Duncan was quietly leaning back in his chair, listening to some music while enjoying his cup of coffee.
Suddenly, the sailors burst into the cabin abruptly. The captain spits out his coffee and stood up suddenly from his chair.
"What the fuck is going on, why are you coming into my cabin without knocking?" he shouted angrily; his white hair and beard bristled like those of an angry feline.
"Pardon the audacity, Captain," Eustachian said, taking off his hat with a little embarrassment. "But we just wanted to ask you to comment on your retirement."
The old man's eyes became huge as saucers. "My what, when did I ever say I was retiring?"
"I heard you talking on the radio last night about retiring," Faust added.
"You heard out of context, Mr. Faust, I didn't say I was going to retire, my brother did."
"But what about the boy you planned to replace him with?" Caville inquired in a high tone. "We heard that a young lordling from Tierra Firme was coming to command us."
"They took that out of context, too," the captain explained, clenching his fists. "Who's coming is my son to spend some time here on the ship - the only one who can command here is me!"
Everyone was dumbfounded and embarrassed and looked at each other with some anger.
"Caville, you were the one who said about the new captain," Eustachian pointed out.
"Yes, because I had heard it from Faust."
They all glared at Faust, while he just shrugged his shoulders and held up his hands like a repentant child for having done something wrong. Again they fell for the sailor's false rumors.
THE END
