Elsinore. Another room in the Castle. Enter Horatio with a servant.
Horatio: Who wants to speak with me?
Servant. They're sailors, sir. They say they have letters for you.
Horatio: Let them in. [Exit Attendant.] It must be a message from
Hamlet. I don't know anyone else who's traveling right now.
[Enter Sailors.]
Sailor: Good day to you, sir.
Horatio: Good day to you, too.
Sailor: Thanks. Here's a letter for you, sir, from the ambassador that was
bound for England. You are Horatio, aren't you?
Horatio: [Reads letter.] "Dear Horatio: After you have read
this, send the messenger(s) to the King, because they have letters for him, too. Before we
had been at sea two days, a bunch of pirates came after us. Our ship was too slow to
outrun them, so we fought them instead. I swung over and boarded their ship, but as soon
as I did, they sailed away and I was stuck as their prisoner. They weren't a bad sort,
really, for pirates. Be sure the King gets the letters I have sent, and then come to me as
quickly as you can. I have urgent news for you. You won't believe it! Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern are still on their way to England. Have I got a story about them to tell you!
See you soon...Hamlet". Hmm. Okay, you can go deliver the other letters to the King
now. But first, show me where Hamlet is.
Exit.
