"Whatever you're having will be fine." Upon your presentation of the money and bank draft she says, "Excellent, I prefer to tend to business up front, no confusion that way. She looks over the bill of sale and bank draft, but does not count the money. All seems to be in order. She slips everything into a small handbag, barely large enough for the purpose." As she arrived you noted that she brought two stout looking sailors, both armed to escort her here and home. She looks about and comments, "A fine ship you have here Captain. I fear you didn't see the Judith D at her best. We ran afoul of a lunatic a few nights ago sailing blindly in the dark with no lights running like the devils of all nine hells were at his stern. He was coming from that den of Pirates Mermaid's Rest, so perhaps there was another ship we didn't see in pursuit. Either way, we had to heave too or the daft fool would have struck us amidships. Just so happened that we were shooting Finnagin's reef at the time. Normally, we might still have cleared, but we were loaded with all the poor girl could carry. The canvas was coming down, but we struck the reef and near full speed. Damn sad business that. I lost two men and had to toss all the cargo lashed to the deck, fortunately it was mostly the fresh water but I let go 3 dozen barrels of good Western Reaches red."
