When To Speak Up And When To Be Silent

The mountain shrimp floats tail up on the surface of the lake.

At last! says Gaius. There's one!

So it is, says C.H. Cook. Looks like a dead one.

So much the better, says Gaius. Arthur, will you please wade in and pick it up.

Arthur takes his shoes off and wades into the icy water of Lake St Clair.  He picks up the mountain shrimp between two fingers.

Quick! says Gaius. Something to put it in!

Here, says Unni, handing Arthur the cling film from her sandwich.

Arthur wraps the mountain shrimp in cling film.

So that's one more for the ferry trip. A dead one.

Taking leave of C.H.Cook they make their way along the muddy track beside the lake to the ferry pick up point, a wooden jetty.

The ferry leaves at three o'clock.

Let me see that mountain shrimp, says Gaius. I shall examine it while we're waiting.

Arthur hands him the wrapped up shrimp.

Gaius unwraps it.

Interesting, says Gaius. Two sets of antennae, soft body in fifteen segments......

Plurp! says the mountain shrimp. I'm dying. Wrap me in peppermint leaves and say a prayer. Make me a bier, float me down to Camelot.

Dear me, says Gaius. He's alive and hallucinating!

Let me see, says Captain Louttit. He peers at the mountain shrimp severely.

Man up, says Captain Louttit. A little bit of salt won't have hurt you.

Plurp! repeats the mountain shrimp, bringing up a little piece of Vegemite Fudge. Where am I?

We're about to take the round trip on the ferry, says Captain Louttit. You are lucky.

My death canoe, says the mountain shrimp.

No, says Captain Louttit. Not your death canoe. A ferry.

The mountain shrimp racks his memory. Ferry.... ferry.... Yes! the Ida Clair. And Eddy.

It's three o'clock.

Four for the round trip? says Eddy, the captain of the ferry. That's forty dollars each.

It seems expensive for just half an hour on the water, but Schopenhauer pays up.

At least there is no charge for Captain Louttit, Goose and Wally, and the mountain shrimp.

Brurrrbrurrrbrurrrmmm, the ferry starts moving in a northerly direction.

It is pleasant on the water. Eddy waves vaguely at the scenery.

Mountains, says Eddy. Lake. Trees. Alpine huts. We head for Echo Point, then up to Narcissus. Then turn back to Cynthia Bay.

May I ask, says Schopenhauer, the names of the individual mountains?

Mmnnm, says Eddy, pretending to be doing something important to the engine.

Does the lake have an aboriginal name? asks Unni.

Not that I know of , says Eddy.

What trees are those? asks Arthur, just to annoy Eddy further.

Errm, says Eddy. Not sure about that one. But those ones over there are gums.

This isn't very good. The mountain shrimp feels ashamed of Eddy.

Ought one to show up the captain though, while one is still on board?

The mountain shrimp turns to Captain Louttit and whispers, while indicating with his eye stalks:

Mount Hugel, Mount Olympus, Mount Orthys, Mount Byron, Mount Ida. Lake Leeawuleena. The trees are cabbage trees.

You don't say? says Captain Louttit. Can I believe you? You with your life span of three or four years.

Wrong, says the mountain shrimp. We went to London!

That is not incompatible with dying at some point in the future, says Captain Louttit.

The mountain shrimp remembers that he has nearly died already this afternoon, and recovered.

He shrugs. He doesn't care what Captain Louttit thinks. The future is cloudy.

Captain Louttit is now faced with a dilemma. Disseminate the information or keep mum.