- Damn that captain, - he thought. - All this fuss over statues. Fine, if they were gold, like the ones in the Haibad mountains. But these, it's almost embarrassing to say, are made of granite. And he wouldn't even let us explore the island. We're returning empty-handed. I swear to the devil, we could have searched the entire island in no more than 3 months. And if there's anything valuable there, it wouldn't have escaped us...
Peter spat overboard, knocked the ashes out of his pipe, and went to the deck, which the sailors had already cleaned. He settled comfortably near the bowsprit, took out a greasy piece of felt and a box with some foul-smelling mixture, and began to clean his sword, which shone as brightly as the armor of the National Guard soldiers. This action always calmed Peter down. And sometimes it even helped him find the right solution...