22. Neptune

Holy smoke! Where on earth were we?

"Uh--Constable Crab," said one of the fish in black, "were you thinking of KING Neptune when you were wanting to go to him to return his trident?"

"Well, I repeated the name Neptune three times..." I said.

"Wrong!" said the fish in black, "You have brought us to Planet Neptune! And these Neptunians don't look exactly pleased to have visitors!"

...

Vacation

Hi Fans!

I'm gonna take a short vacation.

See ya back at your favorite computer monitor in a week or so...!

Fun to you!   

Tomasito

21. Try

The trident! 

It produced a free pizza and a hurricane for me--maybe it would produce a fictitious mythic figure.

These bizarre fish in black seem convinced that it would.

I might as well give it a try.

I held the trident up high as I supposed might be the way to hold a magical talisman if one believed in magical talismans--closed my eyes--started walking--and thought "Neptune, Neptune, Neptune."

  

...

20. Going Home

"I would like to. I would like to meet your King Neptune--but it is probably a long way to travel and I have my work here.

"Nah," Isaiah said, "Its a lot closer than ya think! You got the magic trident, havantcha?

Well, all ya gotta do is think o' Neptune and start walkin'--the trident gets ya there instantaneously."

"But I don't believe in magic." I protested--"and I don't even know what Neptune looks like or where he lives." 

"You got the trident." Isaih retorted, "It knows what ta do. Ya don't hafta believe in anything-- it still works!  Just like Dorothy's red slippers knew how ta get her back home to Kansas. And in this case ya don't even hafta click yer heels three times, ha!"

"But--"

"NO BUTS! Just think the name "Neptune" and don't forget about US 'cause we wanna go back home too!

...

19. No myth

"King Neptune? You mean the party guy in charge of the ceremony for people crossing the equator in ships?" I asked.

"No, not that phony. I mean the real King Neptune." Saul Sole replied.

"But King Neptune is only a myth!" I said reasonably.

"Oh, Better not let HIM hear you say that!" Saul said, "He gets very upset whenever anybody says he is only a myth and sometimes reacts with storms, strong currents, riptides and whirlpools."  

"But isn't he a myth?" I said--still not convinced.

"Nope. He's as real as you and me!" Saul replied. "Tell you what-- you can go with us and return his lost trident to him in person if you like."

 

...

18. Whose Trident

"Good morning, sir." one of the fish in black said, "Nice trident you've got there."

"Thanks." I said.

"We have a--er--friend, who is missing his trident. It looks just like yours! Would you mind if we looked at your trident a little more carefully?"

"As a matter of fact," I said, "I recently found this trident on some underwater rocks near here..."

"Ah, well," said the fish in black, "our friend's trident has some very peculiar characteristics--have you noticed anything unusual since you found it?"

"I sure have-- and it's getting as hot as a firecracker to hold the longer I have it! And it seems to know what I am thinking and it makes things happen--like provides me with pizza and makes hurricanes blow--and..."

"That's our friend's trident. No doubt about it! You might even say it is magic, couldn't you?" said the fish in black.

"I have never believed in magic--but if I did I would say this trident is magical!"

"Ah yes, Mr.--uh..."

"Crab. Constable Crab. I am the constable of this portion of the ocean from about ten fathoms down in the water and up the beach to the high-tide mark and from the harbor pier to the river mouth."

"So you are a busy fellow--and an honest one."

"Yes I am and I try to be."

"I am Saul Sole. I am an adviser to King Neptune. This is my Chief of Staff, Isiah Halibut."

...

17.Strange Visitors

While back in Crab Country:

Whoo! That hurricane was no joke!

I picked myself up  from where I had been blown over and rolled away by the wind and checked to see if I was all together.

I was. 

And I had not lost my grip on the magical trident--though it was getting too hot to hold with any comfort.

It looked to me like the hurricane had been a local disaster but had not caused any damage farther away.

I guess it was just the trident showing me what Bahama weather could be like. Not so pretty after all.

I walked down the beach and headed on through the surf into deeper water to see if anyone out there needed any help--and saw a strange sight.

Two fish--they looked like haddock or hake, halibut or sole--in black suits and dark glasses were heading toward me.

...