WesternOutlaw

Inspecting the Sea Ghost and the Minnow; it does appear that the damage was caused by the mechanical crane/hoist. The metal on the Sea Ghost is old and in looking at the outer shell, the Sea Ghost is in poor condition. The Minnow must have struck it in the storm just right, causing the crane to cut a jagged tear in the rusting hull of the ship. ------------------------------------ The crew returns to the galley to discover that Otto and Mr. Mason are singing and dancing to old German beer songs. "Prost", Otto yells as he holds up a huge stein of beer. Mr. Mason does a little kicking maneuver with his legs and feet before falling to the ground face-first. Both men are smashed beyond reason.

Pete responds, "When I write my mystery novels, I will usually say either: To Dan: bla...bla...bla... or Hey Dan, let's bla, bla, bla... So it's clear, you know? - Mr. * ;-)

Yes Captain. He was with us before you took the picture as well. It appears that Otto is also missing. Perhaps we might try the galley? Nothing different on the Minnow, just a bit of water from the storm.

As I recall, right after the creature appeared in the window, you had asked who else saw it? If my memory serves me correctly, Mr. Mason responded: "Egad!! Well that there is bein' er El Hombre Pez if I ever saw one! There's no mistakin' it! I told ye all, but none 'o you mindless swab 'ad listened! Der local fishermen 'o Lierganes says it to be an amphibian human-looking beast taht be it, that be it! When Mr. Francisco de la Vega Casar disappeared while he was 'a swimmin' and Six years later, he was recovered by some Cadiz fishermen, and his body was covered in thick scales 'o fish! And after der nine years 'o livin' underground he disappeared to roam der seas forever, but they say nothin' was ever 'eard 'o him since. He's been here all along! He be the true fate of Mr. Francisco de la Vega Casar! And I will never rest until he is hunted down and destroyed or the such happens to myself! And the savage's remains, no doubt, would be makin' a nice bounty, as well". ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scotty goes to tie up the Sea Ghost with the same rope as previously used before the storm, discovering that the rope appears to have been cut 8-

Damn, should have grabbed the keys. Ditto " ". How many sailors does it take to screw in a... Well, never mind... I'm not an expert at ship hulls, but that large crane/ hoisting/pulley mechanism on the back of the Minnow could have hit the the Sea Ghost just right to tear into the hull. I'm sorry to say that this ship does seems aged and rusty. Not sure what you mean??? The Minnow is successfully pulled in. Does anyone wish to tie it to the Sea Ghost

OK, Let's figure this out, perhaps it's all the whiskey: THE CAPTAIN, MR. MASON, GENE, AND MANNY WERE IN THE GALLEY WHEN THE PICTURE WAS TAKEN. OTTO WAS IN THE KITCHEN (ROOM NEXT TO GALLEY), AND THE FOLLOWING WERE NOT IN THE GALLEY OR THE VICINITY: MIKE HANDY, SCOTTY, JACK TUPP, BENNIE, AND STAN. Keep in mind that this is my recollection.

Scotty ties a rope to himself and climbs overboard. There are some steel mounted ladder rungs along the side of the ship to climb down. The water is pretty rough to swim in, but being pretty strong and in shape, Scotty makes it. He is on the Minnow waiving to all of you *y* .

I thought I had answered you Captain: Everyone else was with us, except for the Skipper and Diver Dan who; as I recall, had not come on board yet.

Not too far, but it is drifting. Perhaps one of the life rafts?

Before we do Skipper and Scotty, you might want to take a look off starboard. I spy the Minnow out in the horizon, but it seems to be drifting...

First, let me take a look at that book. That's not a 1-23. The one is a 12. It reads, 12-23. The writing is a bit hard to decipher ;-) . To answer the Captains's question, I have to think about this. My memory is a little FOGGY, but as I recall: Most of us were in the galley, Otto in the kitchen. Mike Handy went to his cabin. Scotty was in Engineering, and Jack Tupp had run off wildy to the bathroom. Bennie was out in the fog, and Stan had gone looking for him. That's about all I remember.

Calling All Crew and/or Participants of Mystery Ship: The story is nearing the ending chapters. I REPEAT. The story is nearing the ending chapters. Now is the time that it would be nice to see all of the participants actively participating. If not, I have to write for your characters. This takes the fun out of the story. In any case, we are on Chapter 9 as the crew tries to figure out various clues and sort through the suspects.

Chapter 9: The Suspects Scotty, Mike, and the others weld quickly as the water continues to poor into the Sea Ghost. Water has reached the Engineering Room and is beginning to wet the generators. Lights are flickering as the water rises higher... Just as Scotty completes the welding, a loud sound echoes through the ship. "The bulk head doors are a closing", Manny yells with excitement. "Let's move us quickly"! he adds. The men grab their tools and climb out of the hatch in the top of the room. The stabilizer pumps activate as water begins to pump out of the ship. In all of the excitement, the crew notices that the storm has lessened considerably and the ship is on calmer waters. Rain trickles gently in the horizon. The men return to the Steering Room to find a relieved Captain and others. The frantic attempt to close the bulkhead doors was successful. Scotty states, "We were able to stop the leak and with the pumps on, the water should be emptied in an hour or so. But what took you so long Captain? We almost didn't make it". The Skipper looks down at the book that he found in the Utility Access Room to discover a book entitled, "Secrets to Cryptology". Within the book is a piece of paper with the following numbers written on it: 4-9-23-8-21 22-6-4-21-12-17-10 5-8-17-17-12-8 26-12-23-11 23-11-8 21-24-5-5-8-21 16-4-22-14 1-23 26-4-22 22-23-18-15-8-17 9-21-18-16 23-11-8 6-11-8-22-23 "Maybe is the combination to the lock", Manny states. The Crew analyze the numbers closely.

Just a few more. I won't provide an exact number, but the story is nearing the end.

Haunting tone?

Since Chapter 8 has concluded, let me answer a few questions and clarify a few things. The view of the Minnow from the Steering Room looked as if it was sinking. I did not say it sunk. Some of you made the assumption. There are a lot of large waves in a big storm. Also lost in translation when reviewing Mason's book collection, I had said that there was nothing of interest. I was referring to the Old Man from the Sea novel. There is a hatch in the Engineering Room. Closing the bulkhead doors will not trap the crew inside. Steel vs. wood, etc. Don't worry about the engineering/material aspects of repairing the ship. Don't get too technical. I'd like to keep it fun, Sailor! ;-) Much more will be revealed in Chapter 9. The story is getting interesting now. But where did everyone go???

This news; unfortunately, does not surprise me. I said a while back that the future of the 9V line looks grim, and now it has come to fruition. I am; however, still disappointed at Lego's decision. As others have mentioned, how could Lego expect 9V train sales to be better than marginal when it is a dormant theme. I am glad that I didn't bother buying the new RC train(s). I figured my dollars were better spent on 9V tracks and motors before they sky rocket on E-Bay. Hopefully, the new trains will at least be the same size and use the same wheels parts. If not, then any new trains will be one more thing that I don't buy. Well, at least we have some great new City sets; Castle, and Indiana Jones. PS. To Lego decision makers: Shame on you! Another blow to AFOL, and there's a lot of 9V train enthusiasts across the World. Next, you'll be building your sets in China to save more $$$. Bad! >:-(

The Captain and the Skipper successfully pull the manual override switch. "This won't trap them inside, will it Captain"? The Skipper asks. The Captain answers, "No, there's another hatch in the stem that they can climb out of. This ship may be old, but someone thought of this stuff when they bolted it together. I just hope this switch works. Now let's get back inside, before this storm knocks us overboard". "But wait, what is this on the ground"? The Skipper asks as he picks up a small leather bound book from the ground. "Hold it tight, we'll check it out back in the Steering Room. Now let's go", the Captain yells. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Water continues to flood the ship! The bulkhead doors have not yet closed. Scotty is desperately welding as the water rushes in. "The stabilizing pumps will activate once the bulkhead doors close", Jack advises. The lights begin to flicker as the water starts to flood the Engineering Room! "Push the G-D@%& switch already Captain!", Scotty yells *sing* . -------------------------------------------------- - Will the manual override switch activate the bulkhead doors in time to save the desperate crew of the Sea Ghost? - Is the Minnow still floating, or has it been lost to the sea? - Where has Frank Mason gone? And where are the other members of the crew? - What is the mysterious book found in the Mechanical/Utility Access Room and what clues might it provide? These answers and more in the next thrilling chapter of Mystery Ship... --------------- End Part 8

The Captain and the Skipper exit the steering room. The storm is thrashing the Sea Ghost about on the open sea. Water poors down with gale-like winds against the ship. Lights from the Minnow can still be seen in the distance. Scotty and his group continue to weld the steel panel against the wall. Water is filling the ship rapidly! "Why hasn't the Captain closed the bulk head doors", Scotty yells!

Scotty, Jack, Mike, Manny, and Bennie are in the the starboard stem bulkhead as water repidly poors into the vessel. Mike Manny and Bennie are holding a steel plate against the jagged tear in the ship's side as Scotty and Jack attempt to weld it closed. The water is about at knees length and quickly getting deeper. The Captain, Gene, Stan, Skipper, Diver Dan, and Pete have rushed to the Steering Room where the Captain is attempting to lock down the bulk head doors. "There seems to be some sort of short in the electronic emergency switch", the Captain says, "I don't know what to do"! Gene advises, "There should be a manual override switch in the mechanical/utility access room, but to reach it, someone has to go above deck and risk the storm". :'-(

A view from the Steering Room:

The storm is rough! Water is pooring over the deck. In the distance, the Minnow looks like it is sinking. Mechanic Jack Tupp runs over. He yells, "The ship is taking on water! The Minnow must have hit it in the storm. This doesn't look good! :'-( Scotty, I need some strong hands. Please... Mike, Manny, Bennie, please come now!" Scotty states, "Captain, you might want to go to the Steering Room! You need to lock down the bulk heads, NOW! I'll go with Jack and the others".

Looking at the lantern, it appears that it has been used recently. A closer inspection of the small writing desk reveals a hidden drawer. Inside the drawer is a pen and a small piece of paper. On it, the following is written: D - 7 After turning to Mr. Mason for his explanation, you discover that he has left the room. Suddenly, a large jolt is felt sending all of you to one side of the room! 8-

Appears to be just a novel. Nothing of interest here. Smashing the large chest open, you discover a few items within. - An old antique ship's lantern - A small leather sack of gold dubloons - A page torn out of a book that has a picture of the Creature from the Black Lagoon Of noticeable interest, there is about a half inch of water in the bottom of the smashed chest? Nothing of interest in the skull lamp. Appears that the gold dubloon collection on the wall is complete. - no missing coins. Nothing of interest, Just old fish bones, shark teeth, and the mouth of a squid.

The men make their way to the cabin of Frank Mason, 1st Mate. He objects to the searching of his cabin, but the Captain insists for the sake of the investigation. Once inside his cabin, the crew notices that it looks like the quarters of an old pirate ship. Several pirate flags are draped along the walls along with fishing nets with shells, bones, and teath of various large fish and marine life. A bookshelf stands in the corner with several large hard-bound books including: - Moby Dick - novel - Jaws - novel - Orca's Revenge - novel - Mutiny on the Bounty - novel - The Old Man from the Sea - novel - Pirates of the Carribean - picture book with lots of images of Johnny Depp - Discipline through Fear - How To book - Tales from the Deep - illustrated book of legendary Sea Monsters - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - novel A smaller shelf on the wall contains a coin collection with various gold dubloons behind glass. A modest bed with sheets and blanket neatly tucked in stands on the other side of the room next to a small end table with a small lamp in the shape of a pirate skull. Also inside is a small writing desk with chair, and dresser containing normal clothing items. And lastly, at the foot of the bed is a locked pirates chest. An angry Frank Mason stands growling at you as you search his things.