Baum, L Frank Oz 30 Captain Salt in Oz

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Samuel, removing the offending piece of lava with a cake turner. "All in
all, a most interesting and profitable day, eh Roger? An island, a visit
from a fire baby, and a real live Preoztoric monster."
"Not bad," agreed the Read Bird, transferring himself to the Captain's
shoulder. Depositing the piece of lava on an iron hatchway to cool, Samuel
strode happily along the deck, stopping to light the red lamps on the port
and the green lights on the starboard. Roger himself had just hung a white
light in the rigging when a lusty call from the galley sent him flying off
to help Ato serve the dinner. "What could be cozier than a life at sea?" he
reflected, winging jauntily into the main cabin with a dish of roast
potatoes. Ato puffed cheerfully behind, bearing a huge tray. On the tray a
steaming tureen of soup, a pot of coffee, seven dishes of vegetables and
two of smoking meats sent up tantalizing whiffs and fragrances. Later, when
the Read Bird brought in the pudding, he and Sammy soberly agreed it was
the tastiest feast Ato had served on the voyage.
The main cabin of the Crescent Moon, with its red leather couches under
the ports, its easy chairs and tables clamped to the floor to keep them
from shifting, with its ship's clock and ship's lanterns, was a cheery
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place to be when the day's work was ended. There was a huge fireplace for
foggy evenings, and every visible space on the wall was covered with
pictures of pirate ships, ancient sailing vessels, and rough maps and
charts of strange and curious islands. While Samuel and Ato sat at their
ease to finish off the pudding, Roger took his upon the wing, darting in
and out between bites to assure himself that all was well on deck. There
was a tiny crescent moon sliding down the sky, and the slap of waves
against the side of the ship and the wind creaking in the cordage made as
pleasant a tune as the heart of a seaman could wish for.
"Now what could be better than this?" said Samuel Salt, exhaling a cloud of
smoke from his pipe and stretching his legs luxuriously under the long
table. "A tidy ship, a good wind, and the whole wide sea to sail on."
"Suits me!" grinned Ato, scraping up the last of the hard sauce and settling
back with a grunt of sheer content. "Did you mark up our volcano on the
chart, Sammy, and what are we calling it, Mates? An island must have a
name, you know."
"I know." Samuel blew another cloud of smoke upward and cleared his throat.
"If it's agreeable to all hands and Roger, I'd like to call it Salamander
Island after Sally."
"Why not? There's a Sally in our galley and a real nice gal is Sally,"
warbled Roger, settling on the back of Samuel's chair and wagging his head
in time to the music.
"Sing like a bird, don't ye?" muttered Samuel, striding over to the map of
Oz and surrounding countries and oceans that covered the west wall.
"I AM a bird," screamed Roger, fluttering up to his shoulder. "FF20'Bout
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here she would lie, Master Salt, sixty leagues from Octagon Island."
As Roger talked on, making numerous suggestions, the Captain of the
Crescent Moon drew with red chalk a small but effective picture of
Salamander Island showing the volcano in action and the Lavaland Islanders
grouped around the crater's top. "Taken this day without a shot or the loss
of a single man," printed Samuel in neat letters under his sketch.
"Don't forget, you shot the baby," twittered Roger, raising a claw
argumentatively.
"Oh, we can't put in small details like that," sniffed the Captain, stepping
back to admire his drawing.
"Seems odd for us to be discovering and taking possession of islands for a
country we know so little about," mused Ato, looking thoughtfully at the
map on the west wall. "Why, we've only been to Oz once ourselves."
"Yes, but everybody knows about Oz," Samuel said, putting the red chalk back
in the table drawer. "Our business is with wild new countries that have
never been seen or heard of. Besides, anyone can see that Oz is [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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