[Intro — Coastal wind, a distant thin whistle] [Barnacle — Male spoken] Blackwater Broadcast. The rain has stopped. Something behind the shack has not. [Tack — Male spoken] Before anybody asks— I have not counted its teeth. [Verse 1 — Barnacle, male lead] Tack called out, “The tin's near full!” And Brine took up the task, Carried it out between his jaws, Then brought it empty back. We'd barely put it underneath The corner of the roof, When something gave a dreadful shriek— And Tack shot off the roost. [Tack — Male tenor] I landed on the doorway beam, My wings against the frame. I said, “There's something in the reeds!” [Mara — Female spoken] Good. Don't give it a name. [Chorus — Mara, female lead] Oh, what's that calling out back? Who's making that terrible sound? Keep your tails out of the doorway, Keep your guessing on the ground! Could be trouble in the mangroves, Could be wind across the bay— On the wet old coast of Titans Maw, We'll look before we run away! [Verse 2 — Captain Brine, male bass] I slid around the outer wall, My belly on the sand. No grand announcement, no admission, No guided tour was planned. The whistle rose; I stopped right there. It stopped. I looked at Tack. [Tack — Male tenor] I flew above the reed tops— Nothing moving at the back. No shape beneath the leaning stalks, No footsteps I could see. [Barnacle — Male spoken, from the doorway] An invisible predator! [Mara — Female spoken] Or insufficient evidence. [Chorus — Mara, female lead] Oh, what's that calling out back? Who's making that terrible sound? Keep your tails out of the doorway, Keep your guessing on the ground! Could be trouble in the mangroves, Could be wind across the bay— On the wet old coast of Titans Maw, We'll look before we run away! [Fiddle solo — Eight bars, growing suspense] [Bridge — Tack, quiet male tenor] A gust bent down a broken reed, The whistle climbed again. I perched beside its hollow end And waited for the wind. [Music stops] [Tack — Spoken] There. [One high whistle] [Captain Brine — Male bass] That? [Tack] That. [Mara — Female lead] We nearly gave a piece of grass A terrifying past. [Barnacle — Male spoken] Correction: hollow reed. No monster sighted. Please disregard the invisible part. [Final Chorus — Mara, female lead; crew answers] Oh, it's wind calling out back! [Crew] Wind in a broken reed! [Mara] All that noise behind the station, Not a single tooth to feed! Brine came back around the corner, Tack came flapping through the door— We can laugh at what we thought we heard, Then check the next strange noise once more! [Outro — Accordion softens] [Barnacle — Male spoken] All four back inside. The roof still needs repairing. The crossing remains closed. [Captain Brine — Male bass] I wasn't frightened. [Mara — Female spoken] You asked the reed to identify itself. [Captain Brine] Basic courtesy. [Wind whistles] [Brief silence] [Tack — Male spoken] It's doing it again. [Mara] Let it finish. [End]
