Second Mate Nick Fadac was the only officer conscious when the PB-Y circled the Possum twice then set down gracefully on the oily sea half a nautical mile ahead of the ship. Fadac ordered the power from the one working steamer cut down to twenty percent and the vessel slowed to a couple of knots. Two crewmen on the seaplane slid a motorized kapok liferaft out the rear cargo ramp and a tall blonde and one of the sailors boarded the tiny boat. The 60 horsepower outboard engine quickly powered the raft alongside the old freighter with its curious cargo, and the mate ordered the captain's chair lowered to pick up the passenger. The blonde stood in the raft to step into the chair, then held tightly to the line as the winch raised her, legs dangling, up to the deck. "Permission to come aboard?" she said in a husky but melodic voice. Fadac reached out a hand to assist her from the chair. She whispered something into his ear, he nodded, and they headed up the companionway to the bridge, watched by the ubiquitous writer, Dylan--who had awakened when the ship's engines slowed. Dylan looked at his watch, then jotted the time and a few brief notes into his notebook, including a reference to the silver possum pendant dangling between the blonde's ample breasts...