"How long will your ship need to be overhauled?" Judy's father asked, clinging to a final sliver of hope.
The manager shook his head. "It's hard to say. The inspection could take two or three days. If there are no problems, it can be put into service."
Before Judy's father could feel relieved, the manager continued, "But if they find a problem, no one knows how long it'll have to remain out of service."
"What about the other ships? Are any of them returning to port in the next couple of days?"
The manager took a notebook from the desk and flipped through several pages. "A ship will return in four days. Loading and unloading will take about two days. It should be able to leave port around this time next week."
Next week? By then, even the ashes would have gone cold! Judy's father couldn't help swearing. He knew he couldn't blame the Transportation Company. Running aground was something that happened from time to time; this time, though, the timing was simply too unfortunate.
He looked at the manager. The manager immediately realized what he meant, stepped back, and raised both hands as if warding something off. "We don't refund deposits..."
That was right—they didn't refund deposits. A deposit was required to reserve cargo space, and whether the party ordering the service continued to fulfill the contract or not, the money would not be returned.
And it wasn't a small amount, either. Judy's father realized that he might have to shoulder the loss himself and left the room cursing under his breath.
Fortunately, he could still recover some of his losses. He could contact others who wanted to ship goods and transfer his reserved space to them at a low price. That way, he could at least claw back