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... tauter and they were humming as the strain increased. Standing on the dock, he could place a hand on the steel cable which was growing hot. The ships inched apart. If they could keep this up for a few more minutes, it would be possible to fulfill his captain's orders without having to rig the fo'castle and wake his secondary crew. He couldn't yet tell if the cable would hold, but Heiman's next maneuver would test them to the utmost. He was hooking up the eels, his special eels. He frisked his hands together, eager with anticipation. He'd been psyching them up with tapes of Phyllis Diller Christmas Carols, and as far as he could tell, it was working. Of course, they were not the most expressive of critters, and it had only been a month since the back-ordered shipment had arrived. Still, he was sure they swirled around more energetically now than before, and some were breaking the surface at the sound of the ship's hum. After dousing the warming cable a last time, Heiman moved to the eel tank's release catch. The whistle blew from the pirate ship startling his men, but energizing him to action. He popped the pin with a mighty grin and stepped back to watch his lovelies emerge out into the water between the two ships, now a good half foot apart, but still held by the harnesses. He'd timed the junior high girls' camp free swim a half mile off perfectly, and the squeals echoed through the sound. His pretties dug in with a will. The ships lurched into motion, the crates of moonshine threatening to tumble over into disorderly piles. Thankfully, the straps held; the merchants of Mobile would blow a gasket if this shipment arrive damaged. Now under way, he made his way down to the captain's room to report their progress. After finishing breathlessly his report, the captain motioned for him to sit. "Now son," he began, "you're all spirit and youth, so I can overlook some things, but," he paused, "the eels and 'gels' have got to go. They make me squeamish."
