Friday Fictioneers – At the Sign of the Porpoise

~ Neil MacDonald
PHOTO PROMPT © Ted Strutz

Swirls of pipe smoke hung low in the air, occasionally stirred by gusts of boisterous laughter. The barmaid eased between the tables, lithely avoiding over-friendly hands. The fleet was in. Ale flowed easy and copious, and the hubbub rose, so folk had to lean in to hear each other’s quips and insults.

A chair scraped back. A flash of steel. An angry shout. “Oi! You be trying to scry my cards.”

The accused shook his head, vigorous and aggrieved, but drew his knife too.

The innkeep sighed and started towards them. Sailors were good drinkers, but terrible brawlers.

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Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here

33 thoughts on “Friday Fictioneers – At the Sign of the Porpoise”

  10. Poor losers should never play games, and as for drunken sailers in a sleazy bar; it’s the Wild West. I had visions of the old Wild West saloon where tensions are rising as the poker game turns nasty.

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  11. Ha! Great scene. You drew me in and set the scene perfectly with the barmaid and the rowdy sailors early descriptions. The end was exactly where i saw the scene going. Beautifully done.

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  14. Your story reminds me–in the 1920 and ’30s, a barbecue place where I grew up served brisket and sausage on butcher paper with no forks. Knives were chained to the tables, not to protect the knives, but to protect the customers.

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