Prelude to Year 3
Part 3
Manny leaned proudly on the bannister outside his cabin and reflected on the past few days' events. The Limbo had docked in Puerto Dregonia for refilling and repairs. As usual, Glottis was in a bad mood the whole day. To him, docking in a port for repairs was a mockery of his mechanical genius. The other crew-members were either hauling supplies onto the ship or involved in the repainting works. Manny was planning a crew party on the ship tonight. None of the other crew-members knew that Manny was also planning to rename the ship tonight. He had a special cartload of the crew's favourite Premium wine (yup, you guessed it, Premium Walker wine) brought in from the local liquor store. "Tonight sure is gonna be grand", mumbled manny. He tried to walk back into his cabin but couldn't. His sleeves were stuck to the bannister! Suddenly Ensign Arnold's face popped out from behind a wall. He was holding a wet paintbrush. "Captain? That bannister hasn't dried out yet!" Manny groaned. " I just found out."
Meanwhile, back in El Marrow, a sinister figure sat gloating in Casino la LeMans' administration office. An ashtray bearing the initials H.L. stood on the table with a smoking cigar in it. The figure's grossly bulky outline was silhouetted against the wall as light streamed into the office through the open doorway. Another, much leaner figure emerged through this doorway and cleared its throat. The fat man in the chair asked, "Is that you, Dom?" "Yes", came the reply from the standing figure. The fat man turned his chair around and stared menacingly at the newcomer. Domino Hurley stood there in a yellow and black suit. "Do sit down", the fat man urged. Domino obliged. "Well?" asked the fat man. Domino cleared his throat again and continued, "The Double-N tickets you shipped to Puerto Riefa were stolen. Sources say they were taken by a man called Calavera."
"WHAT?!" The fat man burst out of his chair and spun around to face Domino. Dom continued calmly, "He took the whole case and dropped it off at the train sta- tion, where the tickets were returned to their rightful owners." The fat man looked like he was about to burst. "GET YOUR MEN TO HIM NOW!!" he screamed. Domino stood up and said, "Now Hector, remember your blood pressure..." The fat man screamed, "WE'RE ALL DEAD, YOU IDIOT! WE DON'T HAVE BLOOD! NOW GET OUT OF HERE AND GET ME CALAVERA!!!" Domino scrambled out of the office. He had never seen Hector in such a rage before. "Oh Manny, what a fool you are", he said as he hurried downstairs.
Manny happily downed a glass of Premium Walker as Glottis finished off a keg of wine opposite him. The celebrations on the newly-renamed "S.S. Lola" were in full swing. On the deck, a scottish dance had started up, with the Puerto Dregonia townsfolk joining in. Manny rested on the bannister and stared out to the rolling waves. "Ah, the life of a sailor", he sighed. Behind him, Glottis was undergoing some turbulence. "S.S. Bone Wagon to control tower...reporting heavy tides...huge waves...uh, erp...gloop...", the demon snorted. Finally Glottis couldn't stand it any more. He turned to the bannister and spilled his watery "cargo"...all over Manny.
"GLOTTIS!"
"BUUURRP...sorry Manny."