Rough Passage to London(137)

“How much time do you have, Mr. Dickens?” Morgan asked. “The tale I am thinking of is a long one.”

“Indeed, Captain Morgan.” Dickens took another pleasurable puff on his cigar. His expressive eyebrows inched upward. “Does the story have a happy ending?”

“I believe so,” Morgan replied as he felt the smooth surface of the lead pennywhistle in his coat pocket. A broad smile broke across his face like the sun emerging from behind a dark cloud. “Yes, I believe it does.”

“What is it about?”

“The search for a sailor feared to be lost at sea.”

“How does it begin?”

“It begins with a letter from another sailor.”

“A message from the sea,” mused Dickens. “I like the sound of that.”