John Flanagan
John Flanagan
wise mother ducks
Gundar seemed to come to a decision. "Well, as my old mam used to say, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck and walks like a duck, it's probably a duck." "Very wise," Halt said. "And what exactly do your mother's words of wisdom have to do with this situation?" Gundar shrugged. "It looks like a channel. It's the right place for a channel. If I were digging one, this is where I'd dig a channel. So. . ." "So it's probably the channel?" Selethen said. Gundar grinned at him. "Either that or it's a duck.
shellfish surprising decided
It's surprising how often history is decided by something as trival as bad shellfish.
axes flying sound
Get rid of their mast, knock holes in the hull, then get back on board." "You want us to sink her?" Gundar asked, and Halt shook his head. "No. I want her badly damaged but capable of making it back to port. I want the word to go out that the strange ship with the red falcon ensign"—he gestured to Evanlyn's ensign, flying from the mast top—"is manned by dangerous, hairy maniacs with axes and is to be avoided at all costs." "That sounds like us," Gundar said cheerfully.
ideas sometimes wonder
Crowley shook his head. "I sometimes wonder if it was a good idea having Halt train apprentices. He seems to teach them no respect for authority." "Oh, he teaches us to respect authority," Gilan said innocently. "He just teaches us to ignore it when necessary.
done ifs
If everything is done for me... how will I ever learn?
leader care knows
A good leader is someone who knows what he's bad at, and hires someone who's good at it to take care of it for him.
winning people important
You can always win points; winning people’s respect is a lot more important.
mistake learning what-if
But what if I make a mistake?' Will asked. Gilan threw back his head and laughed. 'A mistake? One mistake? You should be so lucky. You'll make dozens! I made four or five on my first day alone! Of course you'll make mistakes. Just don't make any of them twice. If you do mess things up, don't try to hide it. Don't try to rationalize it. Recognize it and admit it and learn from it. We never stop learning, none of us.
figured game hits
I figured if we got the first game it would keep us going. The hits and everything.
came china cotton demand exports good increase news seen surprise
The increase in U.S. exports came as a surprise and it's good news. Export demand for U.S. cotton is very good and encouraging to the market. The U.S. exports are to go to China as seen in their increase in imports.