Barnacle Combine
"Sorry about the water, ma'am. I never seem to get all the way dry. Just leave little puddles and drops of water everywhere I go.
"I'm not one of them water spirit things. No, ma'am. Josiah Swansey is a proud member of the Barnacle Combine.
"Don't surprise me that you ain't heard of 'em. Not many folk have. Not e'en the ship captains who depend on us, not that they'd ever stop to thank us. You'd think one of them fancy hat-wearing folk would look over the sides of their ships now and then when they're in port. Guess they're too busy makin' sure the cargo gets loaded or unloaded. Makin' sure they get their pay, that's what they're doin'. And makin' sure the rum gets loaded.
"If they just took a peek over the ship when they're in port, they'd see the Combine hard at work, yes, ma'am. They'd see the raft with one or two of the 'prentices workin' the bellows and the tubes and hoses goin' into the murk.
"Why if they looked close enough, they just might see some bubbles comin' up from under their ships. I reckon that'd make 'em stop and think for a bit. Wonder what nasty creature was swimming 'round under their livelihood.
"'T'ain't no monster from the deep. It's just good ol' Josiah and a couple of his mates. Swimmin' around every ship in port. And not just here in Ananport. The Combine got members all up and down the coast. Yes, ma'am, we paddle around in the bays and harbors, clutching those tubes and hoses I mentioned between our teeth like our lives depended on it. 'Cause they do, ma'am, that they do.
"It takes a bit of time to scrape barnacles and what have you off them merchant ships that come in. You get a large frigate and you're down for a quite a bit of time, quite a bit. You can't be poppin' up every 10 seconds to gulp some salty air, not if you want to get the job done. You need to stay under to work for the Combine.
"So the 'prentices pump their bellows and the rest of us suck on the tubes like we was little ones suckin' at our momma's teats. Pardon my language, ma'am. I don't get to talk to folks outside the Combine much. And we tend to be a rough folk. Even the women.
"Yes, ma'am, we've got women in the Combine. And they swim around with the rest of us once they've served their time on the rafts. Hellsfire, some of 'em are better cleaners than the men.
"Cleanin' is what we do. The Combine gets paid outta the port fees. Ev'ry ship that comes in gets a good goin' over by the Combine. And not one of them e'en takes the time to thank us or e'en see what we're doin' for 'em. Why, if we weren't scraping off ev'ry last one of the 'narcles and makin' sure none of them keel planks were showin' signs of rot, who knows how long those ships would be ploughin' the seas?
"The Combine, ma'am, is what keeps the ships afloat. And keeps goods goin' from port to port."
"I'm not one of them water spirit things. No, ma'am. Josiah Swansey is a proud member of the Barnacle Combine.
"Don't surprise me that you ain't heard of 'em. Not many folk have. Not e'en the ship captains who depend on us, not that they'd ever stop to thank us. You'd think one of them fancy hat-wearing folk would look over the sides of their ships now and then when they're in port. Guess they're too busy makin' sure the cargo gets loaded or unloaded. Makin' sure they get their pay, that's what they're doin'. And makin' sure the rum gets loaded.
"If they just took a peek over the ship when they're in port, they'd see the Combine hard at work, yes, ma'am. They'd see the raft with one or two of the 'prentices workin' the bellows and the tubes and hoses goin' into the murk.
"Why if they looked close enough, they just might see some bubbles comin' up from under their ships. I reckon that'd make 'em stop and think for a bit. Wonder what nasty creature was swimming 'round under their livelihood.
"'T'ain't no monster from the deep. It's just good ol' Josiah and a couple of his mates. Swimmin' around every ship in port. And not just here in Ananport. The Combine got members all up and down the coast. Yes, ma'am, we paddle around in the bays and harbors, clutching those tubes and hoses I mentioned between our teeth like our lives depended on it. 'Cause they do, ma'am, that they do.
"It takes a bit of time to scrape barnacles and what have you off them merchant ships that come in. You get a large frigate and you're down for a quite a bit of time, quite a bit. You can't be poppin' up every 10 seconds to gulp some salty air, not if you want to get the job done. You need to stay under to work for the Combine.
"So the 'prentices pump their bellows and the rest of us suck on the tubes like we was little ones suckin' at our momma's teats. Pardon my language, ma'am. I don't get to talk to folks outside the Combine much. And we tend to be a rough folk. Even the women.
"Yes, ma'am, we've got women in the Combine. And they swim around with the rest of us once they've served their time on the rafts. Hellsfire, some of 'em are better cleaners than the men.
"Cleanin' is what we do. The Combine gets paid outta the port fees. Ev'ry ship that comes in gets a good goin' over by the Combine. And not one of them e'en takes the time to thank us or e'en see what we're doin' for 'em. Why, if we weren't scraping off ev'ry last one of the 'narcles and makin' sure none of them keel planks were showin' signs of rot, who knows how long those ships would be ploughin' the seas?
"The Combine, ma'am, is what keeps the ships afloat. And keeps goods goin' from port to port."
Type
Agricultural / Fishing / Forestry
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