was met with gasps of despair from the bound trio. “There is one small favor I can offer you,” the chief went on. “We’ll let you choose your own method of death from what we have captured from other explorers”. Some of the tribal members begin walking by displaying various implements of war and death. The first explorer chose a crusty looking musket. Thankfully the powder load still fired, and he was dispatched without much fuss. The second chose a knife and quickly drew it across his throat. Both carcasses were hauled off by various tribesmen. The third explorer stood there resolute and deep in thought. After a few moments the chieftain, “There is no escape, you need to decide now, or I’ll decide for yo…” “Do you have a fountain pen in any of that junk?” the explorer interrupted? Baffled the chieftain sent two of his men to rummage. They came back bearing the pen and a bottle of ink. When the explorer noticed the ink was Noodler’s Baystate Blue, his grin spread from ear to ear. Gathered round the explorer, spears in hand, the cannibals looked on as he was released and set to work filling the pen with ink. Confused, the chief began to speak, “I’m afraid we have no paper and even if you wrote a final letter, we’d have no way of sending it anywh…” Cackling with triumphant glee, the explorer raised the pen into the air and began ramming it into his torso nib first again and again. He then fell upon the ground gasping a death rattle. Horrified, the chief drew close as the man beckoned him for one final word. “But why this painful death? When you had so many other more merciful options?” the chief asked. Laughing, the man gasped his last statement into the chief’s ear, “You’ll make no boats from me now, and your mouths will be blue for months!”