Schiller looked at the next letter. This one was also from Jeff, and it was full of complaints about how hard life had been lately. His eldest son had gotten married, his second son had lost his job, his wife had fallen ill, and his youngest daughter was about to start school. With no other choice, he could only sell a few sheep, but there were not many livestock left at home to begin with, and breeding next year would still be a problem.
This letter told Schiller that Jeff had no money, and that his family really did raise livestock. Though calling it livestock farming was not entirely accurate; they were just an ordinary family keeping some animals for food and sale. Jeff's family mainly raised goats, specifically the kind of meat goats that were fairly popular.
Many people might think the sheep they ate were the same as the sheep raised for wool, but mutton was actually not that tasty, especially from sheep bred for shearing. Some specially bred goats, on the other hand, had a remarkably good texture and flavor.
Schiller looked at the next letter and found that it was from Jeff again. This time, though, he could tell from the handwriting alone how excited Jeff had been.
Sure enough, the letter said that the boss of the fleet had finally started hiring again and had taken a liking to him. He planned to let Jeff go to sea with the first voyage next year, and the pay was quite good—more than enough to cover his youngest daughter's schooling.
Schiller checked the postmark and found that it was very close to the outbreak of the incident, just a few days before the sheep went missing from Jeff's home.
In this letter, Jeff lavished praise on the