Water chuckled under the stern as wind from the south worked up a chop against the current, and with the anchor rope slack the vessel moved restlessly from side to side. Zamp stretched and groaned, climbed from bed, pulled the bell-cord for his breakfast, and arrayed himself in his morning robe. Chaunt the steward laid the great pfalax table with a white cloth, poured a bowl of tea, arranged a basket of fruit to hand, then served a ragout of reed-birds in a crusty shell. Zamp ate a leisurely and pensive breakfast, then called for Bonko the boatswain, a burly big-bellied man with long arms and short legs, a bony head bald except for bristling black eyebrows and a small mustache under his splayed lump of a nose. Bonko’s demeanor, which was courteous and accommodating, belied his appearance. In addition to his navigational offices, he served as ship’s wrestler and executioner in those dramas which specified such a role. “How goes the day?” asked Zamp. “The south wind is brisk and dead in our teeth.
What do You think about The Magnificent Showboats?
