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Perluests into his kitchen, poured two more cupfuls of New Guinea coffee, and doled out the early brunch on three Lies plates They all sat around a polished wooden kitchen table, one of the few flat surfaces in the carriage house not piled high with books

“Sorry for the early-ency to our search We’re trying to track down the 1848 logbook of a New England whaling vessel named the Princess We hoped you could tell us where to start”

Perlmutter’s bushy brows bobbed up and down

“Caleb Nye’s ship!” he exclaimed

Gahed in surprise

“You never cease to a ship, one of hundreds, and you have the naue”

“Only because the young man had an experience that was quiteCaleb was not the captain He was the ship’s green hand, the designation given the newest crew member He claimed to have been sed by a sperm whale The story enjoyed wide circulation in his day”

“Is that even possible?” Paul asked

Perlhtfully on a croissant, then said, “That question has been debated going back to Jonah Nye wasn’t the only one who claimed that a sperm whale had sed him In 1891, some years after Nye’s adventure, a whaler na aboard the Star of the East off the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, reportedly disappeared after a sper the whale up later for blubber, they found Bartley alive doubled up inside His skin and hair were bleached white, supposedly froastric juices He went back to work after a feeeks of rest Or so the story goes”

“I detect a note of skepticism in your voice,” Paul said

“With sound reason Bartley’s story is one of those tales that never die, like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster Occasionally, a writer who’s resurrecting that old chestnut will contact s of Edward B Davis, who thoroughly investigated the story”

“His conclusions?” Paul asked

“Davis scoured every document he could find on Bartley’s story There really was a ship na to substantiate the report that Bartley had been checked out at a London hospital for daastric juices Moreover, the wife of the ship’s captain said the story was made out of whole cloth The Star was not a whaler, and the British did not go whaling off the Falklands at that time Despite these disclaimers, stories about Bartley’s supposed ordeal have persisted through the years”

Paul turned to Gamay

“You’re the ist in the family Would it be possible for a sperm whale to s a man?”