The "Phoque A' Capuchon" or the Hooded Seal in English, is a heavy armed merchantman fresh to the West Indies trade route. Captained by Pierre Le Fue; a short man, shorter on temperament and, exhausted of patience or tolerance for savages of the Caribbean. Seemingly his reference to the English. Pierre refuses to take on crew not fluent in the only language fit for business: Langue
française, and will not speak directly to any one not using his native tongue. Some speculate, other witnessed, many share the story of his violent outburst at the slips of Port Manteau when he flailed a harbor master for addressing him as "Peter Le Fue" Captain of the " Fuc' a Capuch'n". Since then the first mate, fluent in 17 different dialects acts as a translator, sometimes even in the port of Martinique where they speak French, but not to the satisfaction of Pierre.
The Phoque runs laden with cannon, and the order's to "Fue" rings out more often than the crew would prefer, sometimes even in port. Most of the seasoned crew wait for orders to filter through the officers before taking action. No Phoque, n'est-ce pas?
 |
The Hooded Seal
|
