Eric's Tales of the Sea

You look a little peaky, David, said The VeloDrone. Did you have a late night?

Not all that late, said Le Bon David. But I am exhausted from going up and down the stairs in the Ambassadors Hotel.

Why did you have to do that?

Because the performance was upstairs, and I went up the stairs several times to see if it was beginning.

Why didn't you just stay up there?

A young lady asked me to go down again. So I went down. Then I saw some other people going up. So after a while, I went back up. But they were just standing on the landing. So I went back down again and had a glass of wine.

Good idea. And how was the show? I assume it started eventually.

You would not have liked it, Vello, for it was all about submariners and their lives. And I know that you are nothing if not a landlubber. But I enjoyed it very much indeed. It brought back memories of my own time spent at sea.

You! When did you go to sea, David?

I went to France, remember. I sailed there, I stayed a year or two, and I sailed back again. With Rousseau in tow. He was not a good sailor. But I had no trouble at all.

I see. That sounds as much a tale of the sailing life as your going up and down the stairs. Well, tell me more about the show. Was it funny?

Yes, funny, but more than that. Eric's tales were rivetting. He escaped many dangers, including
death by practicing how to escape from a submarine, being eaten by sharks, being run in for getting back late from shore leave, being tricked into performing an embarrassing act, and killing his best friend. Well, no, he didn't escape that second to last one, but all the others he escaped.

David, I don't know why you think I wouldn't have liked it. I love daring escapes.

They were not daring, they were lucky.

I love lucky escapes too.

Well then Vello, you are about to hear of another one.

What?

Tonight is your turn to go to a show, right?

Right. I'm going to see Red Bastard. What is the lucky escape?

Mine, Vello. Because I am not.