Lee and Chip spent the following morning arranging for the Clampetts tour of Seaview. They needed special badges in order to enter NIMR and Seaview. Lee had them tucked into his pocket when he stopped by to pick up the family.
Elly answered the door in a powder blue sundress, her hair tied back with matching blue ribbons. Lee Crane found himself openly staring in awe at the beautiful hillbilly girl. “Elly, You look positively wonderful,” he said, a sheepish grin on his face.
“Ya look wonderful too, Lee,” she said. ‘I surely do like this man in uniform, especially when he looks so good in it,’ she thought as she ushered him inside. “Granny is just getting dressed. Pa and Jethro went for a walk on the beach. They should be back any time.” Elly told him.
“That’s ok Elly. We don’t have to be at NIMR for two hours. Chip is arranging for a car to pick us up in plenty of time.”
The door to the room Elly and Granny shared opened and the older woman came out. She was dressed in an ankle length cream coloured dress. It was trimmed at the collar, waist and hem with a slim line of brown ribbon. In her hand she held a small hat that would perfectly accent her dress. On her feet she wore her black boots that laced up the front. Lee couldn’t help thinking she had more energy and wisdom than most women half her age.
“Good morning Lee,” she said.
“Good morning Granny. I hope you slept well.” Lee told her.
“Slept like a log. I must say ya really know how ta wear out these old bones of mine.”
“I’m sorry, Granny, I didn’t realize yesterday had taken such a toll on you. Maybe we should postpone the tour of Seaview until you’re ready,” Lee said, a worried frown on his face.
“Aw Go On with ya, Lee. Granny’s jus pullin yer leg, she’s got more gumption than anyone I know.” Elly laughed.
“Elly’s right, Lee. I’m jus kiddin with ya. I’m ready and rarin ta go,” she said, glad to see the young mans face relax a little.
“Ok, Granny, I believe you.” Lee told her laughingly.
The main door to the room opened and Jed and Jethro walked in, “Good Morning, Lee,” Jed said warmly.
“Howdy, Lee. Yer so lucky ta be livin so close ta the ocean.” Jethro said enviously.
“Good Morning Uncle Jed, Jethro. If you think the ocean is beautiful from the shore wait until you see it from Seaview.” Lee said, watching Jethro’s face light up with pleasure.
“Ya mean we git ta go fer a ride in yer Submarine!” Jethro said.
“That’s right Jethro. Admiral Nelson gave the ok this morning. It will only be a short trip, but at least you’ll get to see what it’s like to ride in a sub,” Lee said.
“Yee-Haw,” Jethro whooped.
“Do we all get ta go?” Elly asked.
“Of course Elly. First we’ll tour NIMR then we’ll take the Seaview out for a short run. How does that sound?” he asked.
“That sound great, Lee. Boy oh boy, I’m goin on a Submarine,” Jethro shouted as he lifted Granny up in his arms and swung her around the room.
“Put me down, Jethro,” Granny told him.
“Put Granny down boy, before ya hurt her,” Jed told him.
“But Uncle Jed, I can lift her easy.” Jethro said.
“I know ya can boy, but put her down before she hurts ya.” Jed stated seriously.
Jethro glanced at Granny’s face and realized he could be in for a serious whuppin if he didn’t do as he was told. He gently placed the tiny woman back on her feet.
As soon as her feet touched the ground Granny swung her small bag connecting with his head. “I tol ya never ta do that again.” Granny said as she continued to chase Jethro around the room until Jed caught her by the bow on the back of her dress.
“That’s enough Granny. I think Jethro’s learned his lesson. Right Boy?”
“Yes sir Uncle Jed.” He said, rubbing his head where Granny had repeatedly hit him.
“So hep me Jethro, if ya ever do that agin, ya won’t sit down fer a month. I’ll find me the biggest switch and tan yer hide.” Granny told him.
Crane smiled at the hillbilly antics and decided he’d try and diffuse the situation, “Why don’t we all go outside and wait for Chip. It’s a beautiful day and I believe the fresh air will do us all some good.”
“I think yer right about that.” Jed said ushering them all out the door so he could lock up the room.
“I can’t wait till we go on yer sub, Lee, can’t we do that part first?” Jethro asked hopefully.
“Well now, Jethro, it’s really important to stick to schedules. We are taking the NIMR tour first so that the men have time to finish loading supplies. That way when we do board Seaview we aren’t interfering with anyone’s duties.” Lee explained. “The tour should take a couple of hours. Then we’ll board Seaview where Cookie is preparing one of his specialties for you to enjoy.”
“Cookie?” Granny asked.
“He’s Seaview’s chef. He’s one of the best in or out of the navy. You’d love his Navy bean soup.” Lee said; smiling as he remembered the last time Cookie had made a batch of his favourite soup. “Here’s Chip,” he said.
“Hello everyone. Are you ready to go?” Chip asked.
“All set,” Lee answered.
The air-conditioned car pulled to a stop in front of the main gates. Lee rolled down his window and waited for the two armed guards to walk over to him. “Good morning, Terry, Stephan. Is Admiral Nelson in his office?”
“Good morning Captain Crane,” Terry said lowering his head to get a better look at the occupants of the car. “Oh, good morning Commander Morton. I didn’t see you there.” Chip acknowledged the greeting with a smile and the guard turned his attention to the other four people. He took note of their special visitor permits, “and these people must be our special guests.”
“That’s right, Terry, this is the Clampett family. They’re the reason we’re able to launch the new mini sub three weeks in advance.”
“You can go right on in Captain.” Terry told him, and Lee told the driver to take them up to the building that housed the main offices, including Nelson’s and Cranes. “Why don’t we check in with Admiral Nelson? Maybe we can convince him to give us his own personal tour of NIMR. Chip, I’d like you to oversee that preparations for Seaview’s departure are proceeding as planned.”
“I’ll see to it, Lee,” Chip told him, knowing he was only one of three men Lee trusted to take care of his boat, Nelson and Crane himself, being the other two. “I’ll see you all in a few hours. Enjoy yourselves.”
“Thanks, Chip,” Lee said to Morton’s retreating back. “Ok, if your ready we’ll go inside and find the Admiral.” He led them in through the main doors where they stopped at a desk, “Hi, Theresa, this is the Clampett family. They’ll be our special guests for the next couple of days. Is the Admiral in his office?” he asked, trying to mask the contempt he had for the woman sitting at the desk.
“Yes he is, Lee,” the red head said in her sultry voice.
“Thank you. Let’s go,” he told the Clampetts. Teresa was a beautiful woman, and she was always trying to get Crane or Morton to take her out. She couldn’t seem to take no for an answer, but neither man had any interest in the cold hearted woman.
The cunning redhead instantly intrigued Jethro, “Howdy Teresa, I’m Jethro Bodine. I’m a double knot spy and a world famous playboy. Will ya go out with me?” he begged.
“I’m sorry Jethro, I don’t think you could afford to take me to the places I like to go,” she told him, “You’re just not my style.”
“I’ll change, I’ll be whatever ya want. Yer so perty and I can take ya anywhere ya want ta go. My Uncle Jed ere’s got twenty-five million dollars in Mr. Drysdale’s bank. He gives me an allowance every week. Please say you’ll go out with me,” Jethro whined childishly. When she didn’t answer immediately he lowered his head and walked back to his family.
Teresa looked from Jethro to the older man with hunger in her eyes, ‘how can this old coot have that much money. If he does why doesn’t he have better clothes. Maybe I’ll keep an eye on the younger one. If his uncle does have that kind of money, maybe I can get Jethro to spend some of it on me,’ she thought greedily.
“Lee, can I speak with you?” she asked.
“Wait here,” Lee told the Clampetts. “What do you want Teresa?” he asked, not bothering to hide his obvious contempt for this money hungry woman.
“Is it true that Mr. Clampett has twenty-five million dollars?” she asked, her greed apparent to Lee Crane.
“Teresa, I’m warning you not to interfere with this family, or you could find yourself on the unemployment line.” Lee told her flatly.
“What I do on my own time is my business!”
“Not when it involves people I care about. Especially when they’re not used to your conniving ways. Leave the Clampetts alone.” Lee said, as he turned his back on her and rejoined the family.
He missed the angry glare from the woman behind the desk. ‘You’ll regret that Lee,’ she thought.
‘I’ll have to speak with the Admiral about getting rid of that Barracuda. I don’t want her hurting Jethro, and that’s exactly what’ll happen if she gets her claws into him. He’s to naive to know what she’s like.’ Lee thought. “The Admiral’s office is just around the corner,” he told them as he led the way through the long corridor. “Here we are,” he said, opening a large door that held a brass plate with Nelson’s name and rank on it. “Hi Angie,” he greeted warmly. “Is the Admiral alone?”
“Yes he is, Lee. Is this The Clampett Family?”
“Yes, Angie, it is.”
“Welcome to NIMR. I hope you enjoy your stay with us.”
“I’m sure we will, Ma’am,” Jed told her.
Angie had her fingers on the voicelink when the inner office door opened and a smiling Harriman Nelson came through, “Hello, Mr Clampett, Granny, Jethro, and Elly. It’s so good to see you all again. Has Lee been taking good care of you?” he asked jokingly.
“He surely has, Admiral,” Granny told him, the others nodding their heads in agreement.
“Where are you taking our guests now, Lee?” Nelson asked.
“I haven’t really decided, Sir. I was really hoping you could join us and give the Clampetts the benefit of your knowledge.”
“As a matter of fact I haven’t a thing planned and I’d love to join you. Angie, why don’t you take an early lunch? I’ll be gone most of the afternoon.”
“Yes sir, Thank you, Admiral. Have fun everybody.”
“Uncle Jed, can you guys wait here for a minute. I need to speak with Admiral Nelson privately for a moment.” Crane asked.
“Sure thing, Lee. We’ll be here.” Jed told him.
Nelson followed the Captain into his office, “What’s wrong, Lee?” he asked, closing the door softly behind him.
“Teresa!” Lee said.
Nelson knew the woman vaguely but was well aware of the effect she was having on his two friends. “What’s she done now?”
“Jethro asked her out and she maliciously told him he wouldn’t be able to take her to the places she wanted to go.”
“Lee, I know that wasn’t a nice thing to do but she’s like that.”
“I know, Admiral, the problem is Jethro inadvertently gave her some information that could change her mind. He told her about his Uncle’s money.”
“Uh oh, I see where you’re going. We’ll have to make sure and keep her away from Jethro and Mr. Clampett.”
“That’s not going to be easy. Jethro seemed thoroughly enamoured of her,” Lee explained.
“I think I know what to do, Lee,” Nelson said, laughing as an idea began to take form.
“What have you got in mind, Admiral?” Lee asked, knowing it had to be something good by the smile on the Admiral’s face.
“Well, if she does decide to take him up on the date we’ll just have to arrange for it to be a double date. Jethro and Teresa, You and Elly.”
“A double date. What would that prove?”
“Lee, think about it. Jethro only gets fifty cents a week from his uncle. Where could he take her on that? I’d like you to be there to make sure she doesn’t take advantage of him.”
“I like the way your devious mind works, Admiral. I’m just glad it works on our side,” Crane said with a grin. “Maybe I’ll arrange a special trip out to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. I don’t think she’ll be very impressed with that, do you?”
“And you say I have a devious mind. I’d love to see the look on her face when she realizes where you’re going. Are you going to warn her of your plans, or just spring it on her at the last minute.” Nelson asked.
“I think surprises are always nice, don’t you?” Lee asked. “I guess we’d better start the tour or we’ll be late for the Clampetts mini cruise on Seaview.”
“After you, Lee,” Nelson said, opening the office door.
“Ok, we’re all set. Are you ready to see the best research facilities in the world.” Crane asked the Clampetts.
“Ready and willin,” Granny told him.
Lee led the way back down the corridor. As they were passing the front desk, Teresa glared at Lee Crane. ‘Watch me work, Lee Crane, I always get what I want!’ “Jethro,” she called to the young man in a low sultry voice, “I’ve changed my mind. Do you still want to go out with me?”
“Yee-haw!” Jethro exclaimed loudly. “I surely do Miss. Teresa.”
“When do you want to go?” she asked.
Jethro frowned and turned to Lee, “When can I take Miss. Teresa out?”
“Well, Jethro, it can’t be today. We’ve got the tour, followed by the cruise on Seaview. Tomorrow is out as well because of the dedication ceremonies and dinner afterwards. Why don’t you plan on Sunday? Actually, if Elly is free maybe the four of us can go somewhere together. Kind of a double date you might say. How does that sound?”
“Sounds great, Lee. If it’s ok with Miss. Teresa.”
Teresa glared at Lee Crane, but could see no way out of the double date without seeming rude to the Clampetts, “That’s fine Jethro. Sunday it is. You know where I live, Lee, and since you’re going with us, you can pick me up at my place.”
Nelson cringed at the barely contained anger on his friends face, “Lee, can you and the Clampetts wait outside for me? I need to speak with Teresa for a moment,” Nelson said
“Of course, Admiral.” Crane said, ushering the family out the door and into the bright afternoon sun.
“Teresa,” Nelson began. “Do you remember the rules of conduct at NIMR?”
“Yes Admiral,” she told him.
“Then you know you are not supposed to interfere with any of the clientele. That includes dating them.” Nelson explained angrily, knowing what this girl could do to an unsuspecting, naive young man like Jethro. “You can either cancel your date or I’ll have to let you go.”
“Are you kidding, Admiral. I wouldn’t dream of cancelling my date with Jethro. Imagine all those millions just waiting for me. I think when Jethro and I are married I’ll convince him and his uncle to withdraw all monies from NIMR. Believe me Admiral I can do it. I’ll save you some money right now, I Quit!” she stated, grabbing her purse and walking away from the desk. “I’m going to clean out my locker.”
“Make sure you do. I’ll send security to escort you off the institute grounds. They’ll collect your security pass as well. Good by Teresa,” Nelson stated, glad to be rid of the woman.
“Humph,” she exclaimed as she moved away from her desk.
‘Good riddance,’ Nelson thought as he rejoined the group outside. “Ok, why don’t we start with the Marine Biology Laboratories? I think you’ll really find this an interesting place Elly. We have many species of flora and fauna here.”
“What’s flora and fauna?” Granny asked curiously.
“Well, Granny, Flora is plant life and fauna is animal life. In this building we have everything from common Kelp found almost anywhere to samples of coral from the Great Barrier Reef. We pride ourselves on our ability to keep specimens alive by trying to duplicate their natural habitat. Here we are,” he said, standing in front of two very large double glass doors. “Please come inside and I’ll show you around.”
The door was opened by a man dressed in a security guard uniform with NIMR written in bold black letters on the pocket of his jacket. “Hello Admiral Nelson, Captain Crane. I see you have guests with you today,” he said.
“That’s right Mickey, we’ll be showing them around the biology lab. Is Dr. Midland in?” Nelson asked.
“Yes, sir, she’s in her lab.”
“Thanks Mickey,” he said as he led the group towards the lab. “Dr. Laurel Midland is one of the most respected Marine Biologists in the world and we were very lucky to have her come work with us. She’s been instrumental in discovering and classing a lot of the samples you’ll see in this lab,” Nelson said, his pride for his employee’s accomplishments apparent in his voice. Using a specially encrypted card he keyed in the six-digit access code and opened the door.
An older woman with black hair streaked with grey looked up at the intrusion. Recognizing Nelson and Crane she smiled and put down what she’d been working on. “Harriman, Lee, so good of you to drop by like this. And to bring such distinguished guests. This must be the Clampett family. Am I correct?”
“That’s correct, Laurel. This is Jed Clampett, his daughter Elly, his Mother-in-law Daisy May Moses and his nephew Jethro Bodine.” Nelson said, by way of introductions.
Laurel Midland had an amazing ability to judge people immediately. She prided herself on never being wrong when it came to people and personalities. “Welcome to what I call my home away from home, why don’t you take a look around and if you have any questions, please, feel free to ask.”
“Dr. Midland, would it be ok if I showed Elly your special project.” Lee asked.
“By all means, Lee.” Midland told him. “Would you like me to tag along?”
“That would be great. You know more about your special project than I do. Elly loves animals and I really think she’d enjoy seeing your collection,” before Midland could correct him, Lee laughed, “I know, I know, Dr Midland, they are not animals. But I still think Elly would enjoy seeing them.”
“Yes I would, Lee. Thank-you Dr. Midland. I’d love ta see yer critters. Maybe someday ya’ll come visit us and see all my critters.” Elly told her.
“I just may take you up on that, Elly. Thank-you for inviting me. My special collection is in here,” she said as she opened one of three inner doors.
Elly was unprepared for what she saw. One full wall housed a large enclosed tank. There were two dividers in the tank, which made for two very distinct underwater worlds. “I ain’t never seen nothin like this,” Elly stated, walking up to the nearest tank. It seemed to be filled with multiple coloured fan shapes of different sizes and dimensions, as well as tiny strange fish like creatures, swimming leisurely around. Elly gasped as a tentacle from one of the fan shapes reached out to grab a small creature that swam to close to it, “What’s in ere?” Elly asked her natural curiosity piqued.
“Well, Elly, this first tank contains what I like to call my own personal Great Barrier Reef. The samples in here are from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and we’ve been having a devil of a time keeping them alive and flourishing. It seems the Coral doesn’t like enclosed spaces,” Dr. Midland explained in simplest layman’s terms. “We’ve even included some of the smaller fish as well as other species. The coral feeds on the tiny creatures, and some varieties of fish feed on the coral. We’ve had it growing here for about six months now and I’m hoping we’ve worked out all the kinks.”
“This is really beautiful,” Elly stated, totally fascinated by the samples in the tank.
“Look at this one Elly,” Crane told her.
“What are those critters?” Elly asked, gazing at the ocean life in the second tank.
“This tank contains a fish that I’ve always been fascinated with. It’s called a flying Gurnard.” Midland explained.
“A fish that can fly? Yer pullin my leg, there ain’t no such thing,” laughed Elly.
“That’s right Elly. It can’t fly. That’s part of my fascination with this particular fish. Its fins are like wings, but it can’t fly and it’s very strange looking. If you look at it from the side you’ll notice that it looks a little like a frog. It walks along the bottom on its fins in search of food. The wing like fins can help it move in bursts of speed, and also makes it appear larger than it actually is. It’s diet consists of inverts, crustaceans and other smaller fish,” Midland explained.
“What does it feel like?” Elly asked.
“Well, Elly, you don’t really want to be touching this fish because of its prickly type armour it can do a lot of damage to your hands. Now, if you’ve had enough of my private collection we can go have a look at the rest of the specimens.”
“Thank you Dr. Midland,” Lee told her as they left Midlands’s private sanctuary.
“Elly, come see this. They got this thing ere called a lobster, I swear it’s the biggest dang crawdad ya ever did see!” Granny called. “Look in there,” Granny said, excitedly pointing at another large tank.
“That sure is some big crawdad, Granny. I ain’t never seen one that big.” Elly agreed.
“As I was explaining to everyone, these are not crawdads. They are called lobsters. If you look closely you’ll also see king crabs. If you’ll follow me to the next tank you’ll see something else you might find a little strange. Look carefully and you’ll see tiny creatures called Seahorses,” Nelson explained, once again using the laymen’s term.
“Aw Go On with ya. There ain’t no such thing as a seahorse,” Jed stated unbelievingly. “And if they were horses I’d hate ta be the one had ta put a saddle on em.”
“They aren’t very big Uncle Jed,” Lee explained, and they are not really horses.”
“Then why call em horses?” Jethro asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine Jethro,” Lee told him.
“Why don’t we continue with our tour? Is there anything else we can show you in here or would you like to have a look at some of the other buildings.” Nelson asked.
“Can we see what’s behind those doors?” Jethro asked.
“Sorry, Jethro but those areas are off limits. You have to have special clearance to enter those labs. I’m sorry.” Midland told him. “Thank you for visiting my lab,” she said, walking them to the doors.
“Thank you fer lettin us visit, Dr. Midland,” Jed Clampett told her.
“You’re quite welcome, Mr. Clampett,” she told them.
Walking out the doors, Nelson began explaining what each of the buildings were used for, “The building in front of us houses the Hydrodynamics lab.”
“What’s Hydro.... hydrodynamics?” Jed asked.
“Hydrodynamics means water movement. In this building we study things that are affected by water. This is also the lab that helps us work out the best and fastest boat designs. Normally I’d show you around but they’re renovating and most of the front lobby has been torn down.” Nelson told them, trying to keep his explanations simple and understandable. “The building on our right houses the environmental labs and the one on the left is the tank facility.”
“You have tanks ere!” Granny exclaimed, gazing around trying to catch a glimpse of the big guns she’d seen only on TV. “I don’t see no tanks. I want ta see them big guns. Where are they?” She asked excitedly.
“I’m sorry, Granny, that’s not the type of tanks we have at The Institute. We’re talking about tanks that hold marine life. We have a few specimens there now, including a couple of sea lions and dolphins.” Crane told her.
“Now, Lee, you’ve shown me some mighty strange looking critters including that big old crawdad, but there is no way you can convince me that there’s such a thing as a lion that lives in the sea. Even I know cats hate the water,” Granny said, seriously beginning to doubt Lee’s sanity.
Crane glanced at Nelson, who was trying, without much success, to hide the amusement on his face, “Come on, Lee, explain to Granny what a sea lion is,” he said, the grin broadening on his face.
“Granny, they are not really lions, at least not the Wishbone type of lion. I think the best way for you to understand is to see them. Would you like that Granny?” Crane asked, deliberately giving Nelson a smug look.
“Can I see them too?” Elly asked.
“Me too,” Jethro yelled.
“I guess we all want ta ave a look at these lions. Is that ok, Lee?” Jed asked.
“Sure, follow me. It’s just around the corner.” Lee told them as they walked past the hydrodynamics building. It only took three minutes for them to reach the tank facility, and they were immediately shown to the main holding tank, “This is where we keep a lot of the bigger marine samples. The sea lions are part of a group we’ve been studying, and as soon as the Lab technicians have finished collecting their data from the miniature recording devices attached to the sea lions they’ll be released back to the ocean. Why don’t you all come over to the side and we’ll let Mandy coax our friends into coming over so you can have a closer look.”
The Clampetts did as Crane asked and were surprised to see a small female, dressed in a wetsuit, walk out onto a wide deck that overhung the tank. She held a bucket in her right hand and to the families surprise she pulled a fish out of it and held it out over the water. It wasn’t long before a large, dark brown, shiny, streamlined object came straight out of the water and grabbed the offered treat.
“Is that a sea lion?” Elly asked.
“It certainly is Elly.” Nelson told her. The sea lion once again came out of the water to grab another fish from Mandy’s extended hand. “Did you notice the front flippers?”
“Is that what they’re called?” Jethro asked.
“Yes Jethro, Those flippers are what the sea lion uses to move quickly through the water. It uses both its front and back flippers to move itself around on land. Their large eyes are extremely helpful for underwater sight.” Nelson explained. Turning to another tank he asked, “Since we’re here anyway, would you like to see our Dolphins?”
“I think we’d like ta see just about anything ya’ve got a mind ta show us,” answered Granny softly. The family followed Nelson and Crane to a second large tank. The water was clear and the Clampetts could see two large forms swimming quickly through the water. To their surprise, Mandy came out on the protruding platform and dove into the tank.
“Unlike the sea lions these dolphins actually return here whenever they want. There is an opening in the bottom of the tank where they can come and go as they please. Mandy has been working with them for almost two years.” Nelson explained.
As the family watched in awe, Mandy climbed onto the back of the larger Dolphin and rode it around the inside of the tank.
“These are bottlenose dolphins, as you can see their colouring is from dark grey on the back, to a lighter shade on the sides. The belly area is a whitish colour,” Nelson explained.
“Do they have names?” Elly asked.
“Yes, Elly, they do. The larger one is a male. We call him Romeo. The smaller is female. Her name is Juliet. Mandy is a Shakespeare fan.”
“We saw that play when they did it in the park. It was such a sad story,” Granny said softly.
“Not fer me. I thought it was stupid,” Jethro stated.
“Yeah sure, Jethro, that’s why you kep askin Granny fer some tissue.” Elly told him.
“I wasn’t sad, I had somethin in my eye!” Jethro exclaimed, embarrassed that Elly was disclosing his weakness for sad movies.
“Lee, would I be able ta get one of these dolphins as a pet?” Elly asked, effectively changing the subject.
“Well now, Elly, I don’t think that would be a good idea. Dolphins are more comfortable in the wild. We have special facilities here that allow us to study these mammals. They can leave this tank at any time. I know you’d look after them but I think you’ll agree that they are better off in the ocean where they can be with others of their species.” Crane explained.
Elly looked at the beautiful creatures swimming with Mandy. “Can I touch one?” she asked hopefully.
“I think we can arrange that.” Nelson said, signalling to his trainer to bring the dolphins closer.
As soon as the two dolphins were close enough Nelson reached in and gently stroked the area directly behind Juliet’s beak. Juliet immediately let out a succession of shrieks, trills and whistles that brought a smile to an already enamoured Elly.
“They really are beautiful critters,” she stated.
“Yes they are, Elly,” Nelson agreed. “Now if you want to touch them just reach over the side and do what I’m doing,” he told her, as he continued to gently stroke the dolphin. Elly, Granny, Jethro and Jed each took their turns at touching the dolphins.
When they had finished, Mandy again gave a signal and the dolphins started racing around the tank. As soon as they reached the centre of the tank they bolted straight up out of the water and did a back flip before continuing on around the tank. As they reached the area where the Clampetts stood they came out of the water in a parody of a water ballet. The resulting splash made by the two dolphins reached the admiring group, causing them to laugh happily.
“Those critters can certainly swim!” Jed stated, watching as Mandy climbed out of the tank.
“Well, are there any other places you’d like to see?” Lee asked the family.
“I’ve a hankerin ta see yer mess hall,” Jethro stated, immediately sending Granny into fits of laughter.
“Yeah right, Jethro. A mess hall. That’s what we should call yer room. It’s always a mess and whenever I tell ya ta clean up yer room it ends up in the hall. This place is to clean ta have a messy place like yer room,” Granny rambled on, holding her sides as they began to ache from the unrelenting laughter. Her laugh became infectious and soon everyone but Jethro was laughing as loudly as Granny.
“That’s not funny Granny, and yer wrong it’s not a messy place it’s a place where they serve vittles,” Jethro said, proud of himself for knowing something the others had not.
Granny’s face became serious, “are ya tellin me that a place like this can’t afford ta get a maid ta clean it up and they have ta serve vittles in a messy hall. Well I won’t be eatin in there unless it’s cleaned up!”
“Not a messy hall, Granny, A mess hall. But it’s so clean you could eat off the floor. Although you won’t have to because there are lots of tables,” Crane finished quickly. “Would you like to see it?”
Always meticulous in her cleaning Granny frowned before answering, “as long as it’s clean,” she said.
The group waved good-bye to Mandy and made their way to an oblong shaped building, “here we are,” Crane said, opening the door and holding it so the group could enter. “Well, Granny, what do you think?”
Granny couldn’t believe her eyes. Rows of gleaming stainless steel tables ran the length of the large spacious room. Chairs lined both sides of the table, leaving enough room for someone to walk down the centre. There were twenty tables with twenty chairs at each one. The floor looked as if it could be eaten off of and Granny shook her head unbelievingly. “How many people eat ere?” she asked.
“Meals are served at the same time everyday and usually every chair is full, so that would make it four hundred men and women, three times a day.” Crane explained.
“That’s a lot of vittles.” Jed exclaimed.
“Do we get to eat ere?” Jethro asked.
“Sorry, Jethro, but they’ve only just begun preparing the evening meal. We’ll be eating on Seaview,” Nelson said, glancing at his watch, “As a matter of fact I think it’s time we went down to the docks. I have a couple of things to pick up at my office so I’ll meet you there in ten minutes.”
“Yes, sir,” Crane said, ushering the family out of the building.
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