The old captain was sitting up in bed and he looked a lot better than Claire had expected from his last letter.

The old captain had stretched out at Rap's feet, too weak to stand longer.

You never have to be unarmed, the old captain had said.

"Do you remember those old captains who always took their courage in a bottle?"

But, then, his old captain had always been an improviser.

So tell the old captain what your problem is.

But an old captain used to tell me that there was a proper time for everything, including panic.

"She's going to be surprised to see her old captain," Buck said.

He let the words drop off and handed his to the older captain.

But this is one time when the old captain blew it.