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Smee found Captain Hook in the great cabin, reading. It was in fact, getting difficult walking up to him, for chest and stacks of books, some of the latter already toppled.
“I guess if we’re keeping all of those, we need to clear up some stowage.”
Hook did not look up, and flipped to the next page. “No, we can trade most of them next time Pan sends us out somewhere civilised. Nothing pertinent, or nothing new, in our recent acquisitions.” The plan to use the lifetime gained by staying in Neverland was not going well so far. None of the histories and legendaries and (very few) books of magic they had brought back as side-benefits to their forays into other lands at Pan’s orders had surfaced information on how to destroy the Dark One.
Smee held a fearful admiration for Captain Hooks tenacity when it came to sticking to this plan. Smee also dreaded the next step. His speciality was finding things worth selling for a lot. The problem with that when it came to books was, it was complicated and involved more reading that he liked. Anyway, he asked, “So, are there any I should have a look at?”
The Captain looked up at that, and waved his hook to indicate the whole cabin. “The ones to keep are on the shelves, the rest I’m through with.”
“Oh.” Smee went to pick up an armful of books that had fallen on the floor. “Any hope for the one you’re reading now?”
“Hardly. It’s a thesaurus and dictionary.”
Smee hesitated, but he had to ask. “You are not reading the dictionary front to back, are you?”
“I am indeed.” He looked up at Smee with an aggressively sincere expression. “Pan is quiet, we are about as safe and well-supplied as can be, here, so why not?”
“Right, right. Knowledge is power, I guess.”
“I hope so.” The Captain returned to his reading, and let Smee leave.