Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Pt 3: Jenny and the Shadowy Harbour

Now the group was enthralled and Pirate Jenny’s voice quietened as she went on telling her story. "Every night at a late hour," said Jenny, "things became quiet in the ratty hotel. That was when the big time gamblers and their floozies slumped helplessly drunk in massive armchairs." Lapinette wrinkled her nose in disgust but Jenny was warming to her narrative and now she smiled an affectionate smile. "It was at that hour, in the deep dead of night, when Rabbit Jenny hopped to the window and watched the harbour to see the boats crawl in. She saw figures creeping out of the shadows and her ears pricked up as she heard them talking. All across the dock the air hung heavy like blunted daggers ..."  Jenny paused as her audience shrank back and her voice grew bold as she continued her tale. "Rabbit Jenny tried to make out the sound of hollow voices and she closely watched the men glance over their shoulders as they exchanged notes for cargo.  It wasn’t easy to see what everything was and Jenny knew she had to remember every single exchange that took place. But there were so many." The audience murmured with interest, but Wabsworth couldn’t contain himself. "How did she remember everything?" he asked. "Did she take notes?" Everyone shushed Wabsworth to be quiet but Jenny smiled nicely at him. "It was too dangerous to take notes," she said softly. “But Rabbit Jenny devised her own way of remembering ..."