More gloom. Although...I must say, for my part it's more gloom mixed with relief. I feel terrible for saying that, but the way things stand with baby orca, well, I have to put myself first, after all. What choice do I have?
Readers will remember (if not, please delve back through previous posts) that baby orca pursued me for ages in a relentless attempt to seek revenge for his mother's death. He's still after me - hence the deal that we struck recently, in which I agreed to provide him with "fresh meat" on demand. (How did I manage to strike a deal with a killer whale? well, I used the heliograph, over by the old coastguard hut, and signalled to him in morse code from the cliff top. He replied in the following manner - one blast from his blowhole for "yes", and two for "no".)
Today's emotional "melange" comprises a) "gloom" because naturally like (almost) everyone else I do have feelings, can empathise, sense another's pain blah blah blah yawn oops! I mean etc. and so forth, and so when Tuppence's wrecking light succeeded in grounding a ship on the rocks close to shore early this morning, I was quite distraught, horrified, appalled and so on, and hurried down to the shore to see what could be done; and b) "relief", which, despite my efforts to dismiss it from my mind, forced itself into the emotional sunlight as I realised with (I'm ashamed to say) some joy that here before my eyes was the perfect breakfast for Baby Orca.
Geoffrey observed me jumping up and down with excitement, and knew immediately that something was up.
"What have you been up to, Tuppy? there's something you're not telling me. Out with it!"
"Let's get back to the outcrop first Geoffrey, and I'll tell you all about it over a glass of madeira. In fact, I think I see a barrel floating in the water over there. Hand me that stick. I'll just..."
"No you won't! you'll help the rest of us rescue the survivors. Have you no decency?" It was the Tupfinder, waxing "stern".
I gulped. Here I was, thinking of looting barrels of illicit madeira, when there were arms and legs waving helplessly in the bay. How could I be so callous?
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