Brass Monkeys

by Terry Caszatt

  “Why can’t you just stay and fly the dumb thing?” I yelled out.

  “‘Cause,” said Eddie, mysteriously, “me and the brothers have another part of the mission to work on. Just relax and repeat after me. Hydrostats!”

  “Horse states,” I mumbled nervously. I watched in confusion as Eddie snapped a series of buttons.

  “Release vitreous oxygen,” Eddie called out.

  “Release vicious oxen.”

  “Ignition and Bunsen burners!” bellowed Eddie.

  “Buns burning!” I cried, my mind a total blank. A terrific whining sound rose from the engines. Harriet and I exchanged a frightened look as the huge rotors began to turn.

  Eddie beamed. “That’s high octane fuel for you!”

  “What is it?” I asked weakly.

  “Pea soup!” said Eddie proudly. “It has tremendous gaseous qualities. Okay, now repeat after me. Bring to 400 rpm …Hokey Esmeralda!”

  I mumbled “Hokey Esmeralda” like a dutiful stupe before I realized Eddie was staring off at something. I followed his gaze, and what I saw sent a little zing of fear through me.

  Jack was running toward us from the shop hangar with Adjana right at his heels. She was waving her arms like crazy, and I knew right away what it meant: Jack was coming after me with revenge in his eye. I began struggling with my straps.

  “What are you doin’, man?” yelled Eddie.

  “I gotta hide,” I blurted out. I was half out of my seat when Jack and Adjana poked their heads into the cabin. Jack’s tunic with the “U” was gone, and he had on a t-shirt and some cotton cargo pants. Instinctively I put my hands in front of my face, like a fighter waiting for the first blow.

  52

  is the old jack back?

  Jack shot me an amused look. “What’s the matter with you, Bumpus?”

  I peeked through my fingers. “Listen, I know you hate me and you want to break my neck,” I said in a rush.

  Jack laughed abruptly and shot Adjana a comical look. “You didn’t tell me he’d gone off his rocker.” He fixed me with that old glinty, blue-eyed look. “Look, kid, how about getting out of my seat?”

  Adjana smiled happily. “Mr. Hastings has agreed to fly the Rumble Fish.”

  I sat there for a stunned moment, then I began grinning. “Well, good for Mr. Hastings,” I blurted out, and I just about broke a leg trying to get out of that seat.

  “I knew you’d change your mind,” Lilah said to Jack. Her face was flushed, and I don’t think she’d ever looked prettier. She signed something else to him and he actually laughed, a sound that reminded me a lot of the old Jack.

  “Nah, you’re dreaming,” he said, as he signed back. “I wasn’t worried about the Wild Bunch at all. I just didn’t want to retire here and become a member of the Grotto’s Old Coot Club.”

  “Why not?” I said. “You’d have been perfect for it.” I grinned, vastly entertained by my remark.

  Jack leaned toward me. “You’re really an irritating kid, Bumpus, you know that? But if I were you, I wouldn’t grin because I haven’t forgotten what happened down by the pool.”

  Now he was grinning heartily. All I could say was, “Oh.”

  I didn’t have time to worry very long about that because Eddie was making a big fuss about switching people around. He now wanted me in the copilot seat, with Lilah handling just the navigating duties. Harriet would be the radio operator while Ray operated the waist gun and Teddy stayed stuck in the tail.

  While Eddie and the other Tats fussed over Jack, Adjana nodded at me to come over and talk. “I’m sorry it took so long to get him out here,” she whispered. “We had to find some dry clothes for him. I hope you weren’t too frightened?”

  “Frightened?” I said. “I was so scared I couldn’t put two words together. But how did you ever talk him into it?”

  Adjana’s eyes twinkled. “I didn’t. You did it by pushing him into the pool. The power of the Grotto water hit him quickly, and he’s a different man. I’m not sure he’s totally himself again, but he seems humorous and quite concerned about your safety in this flying venture.”

  My jaw sagged. “You’re joking. My safety?”

  “Well, yours and the others, too. He said it was crazy to let you do the piloting with no experience. The next thing I knew, he insisted on going along as pilot.”

  I felt like there was a missing piece to this explanation, but frankly, I was so relieved I didn’t care. “So does this mean he’s going to help me find McGinty and then free my friends?”

  Adjana looked troubled. “I think he’ll help you find McGinty because he wants to find a way out of the underworld. But the rest is a question mark. I’m afraid you’ll simply have to wait and see.”

  “And what about you guys?” I said. “Can you hold Ming and the Stormies off?”

  She hesitated, and I saw a look of sadness pass over her face. “We’ll do our best. And now, Billy, you must get to the mountains quickly and find McGinty. You have his book safely tucked away, I hope?”

  “Right here under my shirt,” I replied, patting the book.

  “And you have your trumpet for inspiration?” Her blue-green eyes gleamed.

  I lifted up Todd Lemons’s silver trumpet. “Actually, I think it’s supposed to be more for courage,” I said. “That’s been kind of a problem for me. Sort of.”

  “It’s a problem we all have,” said Adjana, smiling. At that moment I saw the same deep look flit across her face, the one I’d seen down on the beach when Jack stalked off. There was something really neat about it, something mysterious and exciting at the same time. I kind of wished I were more grown-up so I could understand what it meant.

  “Goodbye, Billy, and good luck,” said Adjana.

  Before I could answer, she’d turned and hurried down the aisle. Eddie grabbed my arm and hustled me into the co-pilot’s seat. “Be cool out there, my man,” said Eddie. “And you too, Mr. Hastings.”

  Jack nodded in a distracted way. He was going over the controls with O.D. and Fiddler.

  Eddie gave me a grim look. “One last thing, Bumpus. Watch out for Devos.”

  That gave me a start. I had totally forgotten about the little man and his lethal hovercraft. Eddie gave me a thumb’s up, then he, O.D., and Fiddler headed for the cabin door.

  “Spanish music, man,” O.D. yelled back at me.

  I nodded and called out, “Cool beans!”

  I turned to ask Jack what he wanted me to do, but he was busy checking the flaps. Eddie and the others appeared out on the runway next to Adjana, and I saw O.D. give us an “All clear” sign.

  “We can go,” I said to Jack.

  “Shut up and don’t rush me,” Jack muttered. He snapped a gauge with his finger, then looked outside while he adjusted his cap. Now he slowly eased back on the stick. “All right, let’s see if Rumble Fish will fly.”

  53

  look back if you must, but go on you will

  Just like that we lifted off. And fast. The overhead rotors took us upward swiftly for about four hundred feet, and everybody on board yelled bloody murder. Then we sank like a stone for two hundred feet, while practically screaming our brains out. Finally Jack got it leveled out, and we went roaring across the beach and out over the small bay. A minute later he brought us back, and we passed low over the school and the launch area.

  I spotted Adjana in her blue robe along with three kids I figured had to be Eddie, the Fiddler, and O.D. They waved, and then we were past and rising again. No one in the Rumble Fish said a word; we were all frozen with fear.

  Jack was sweating and his jaw was clenched. “At least we’re off the ground.”

  “Yeah, but we’re not up very high,” I said in a squeaky voice.

  He shot me a snappy look. “You want to fly this thing, Bumpus?”

  “Heck no. I just thought I should point it out.”

  “Yeah, well try pointing out the fuel switch. The mix is too lean.”

  “Is that why the plane is—
whoa!” I yelled out. “It’s really shaking!”

  “The switch, you biscuit-head!”

  In a frenzy, I snapped a half-dozen switches before I hit the right one. Almost immediately, the Rumble Fish stopped vibrating.

  “Wow, that’s cool,” I said. “I didn’t know pea soup had so much power.”

  “Listen,” said Jack, “there’s a ton of stuff we don’t know about this contraption, and it’s probably a good thing. Speaking of things I don’t know, ask the navigator if she’s looked at the map and checked our course?”

  I turned and mouthed to Lilah, “The map?”

  She nodded and called back, “I’m looking at it. Give me a minute or two. Right now we need to head north until we come to the Cliffs of Notes, then we change course and go due west.”

  Jack flashed her a thumb’s up, then glanced at his compass. “Let’s grab a little altitude,” he said to me. “Give me some power on the rotors.”

  Luckily I remembered the right lever and pushed it a bit. The rotors howled loudly, and slowly we began to gain altitude. I glanced over at Jack a couple of times, and I was amazed at how he seemed to be his old self. The grumpy look was gone, and he appeared relaxed and under control.

  He caught me looking at him. “What are you staring at now?”

  “Nothing. I just wondered how you learned to fly this thing.”

  “I didn’t. I’ve done some flying in the military and a little back in Ohio, and that’s it. Does that make you feel better?” He grinned at me.

  “Oh, hey,” I said, “I’m totally relaxed now. Maybe I’ll take a little nap.” I couldn’t keep the smart-aleck tone out of my voice. The truth was, I felt so relieved. Happy even. I had no idea whether Jack had truly changed his mind and was going to help me free the Grindsville kids or not. I was simply glad to have him back, and for some reason I started singing an old rock and roll song my dad used to like—Del Shannon’s “Runaway.”

  I was totally shocked when Jack joined in. The next thing I knew, Harriet, Ray, and Teddy chimed in. I glanced back and saw Lilah’s eyes sparkling. She was snapping her fingers right on the beat. We flew like that for several minutes, and it was the high point of the trip because after that things got scarier.

  Lilah started singing “Hero,” and we all joined in. We hadn’t sung very long before Jack saw something ahead and stopped abruptly.

  Then I saw it too, and my voice trailed away.

  The Cliffs of Notes. There they were again, rising up from the deeps, white and billowing with blowing paper. Far off to the west I could make out some gray shapes that rose to the very top of the underworld.

  “The Book Mountains,” Jack yelled back in a tense voice. The others stopped singing. Jack glanced at me. “Now we’re coming to the fun part. We’ve got to clear the rim of the cliffs and then rise another four thousand feet so we can land in the Mountains. Give me a little more rotor power.”

  I hit the rotor lever. With a surge of power, we began rising. We were approaching the cliffs at a rapid rate, and I could see the drop-off.

  “Looks like it might be a close shave,” I said nervously.

  “Piece of cake,” said Jack, “and make it chocolate.”

  We flashed upward past the edge of the cliffs, and the Rumble Fish was knocked about by the wind. Then we were above it and still rising, but banking to the west.

  “I want my navigator,” Jack called out. “Tell her to bring the map.”

  I mouthed this message to Lilah and she understood immediately. She hurried forward and spread the map on the control console.

  “We’ve got a problem,” Lilah said. She hesitated. “I think Eddie forgot to leave part of the map with us.”

  Jack gave her a stunned look. “You’re kidding.”

  Lilah flattened the map in frustration. “I’m not. I can understand the course right up to a point, then zero. Let me show you.” She ran her finger along a red line. “We hold the westerly course we’re on right now until we come to Narnia Peak, right here. We pass over the Peak at two thousand feet.”

  Jack whistled. “Oh, really? That means altitude, co-pilot.”

  I pushed the lever all the way over and the rotors whined in protest.

  Lilah went on. “From Narnia Peak we turn and fly straight north until we see the Nancy Drew Pinnacles. You need to be at thirty-five hundred feet to get over them. Then we descend to two thousand and continue until we spot the Bobbsey Twins, which are four large peaks right here. Now, the problem—no more map! There’s a note at the bottom that says, ‘See landing zone next page.’ But there is no next page.”

  Jack stared at her, then braced a knee against the steering yoke so he could sign while he spoke. “Well, that’s just peachy. We’ll have to call Adjana and get the info. Tell Harriet we need—”

  “I’m right here,” said Harriet. She looked troubled. “I just came to tell you guys that I was talking to Adjana and suddenly I was cut off. I tried to call back several times but there’s no answer.”

  Jack’s lips tightened. “There’s nothing? Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. She was just talking to me, and then nothing.”

  Jack said, “Adjana doesn’t answer,” to Lilah, but she already understood. No one said anything for several seconds. Harriet and I exchanged a worried look.

  “Stormies, right?” I said.

  Jack’s face hardened. “Probably. My guess is, Adjana and the others are fighting for their lives right about now.”

  “Maybe we should go back and help?” I said. “I mean, what do you think? Jack?” His hands were flashing everything to Lilah.

  “Your call, kid. But I thought delivering the book was the main idea here. You go back and I’m guessing the Big Lady will be thumbing through it by last blink.”

  Lilah bit her lip. “Everything you’ve worked for, Billy, would be gone.”

  I knew they were right and I nodded. “We can’t go back. Adjana is counting on me to find McGinty and I have to do it. Of course, we’ve got a little problem now ‘cause we don’t know where in the heck we’re going.” I tried to grin.

  Jack snorted. “Relax. Right from the start we haven’t known where we were going. So what’s different now?” He cocked an eyebrow at Lilah and she laughed.

  “That’s probably the first time you’ve been right about anything,” she said.

  The Rumble Fish shuddered, and Jack dropped his knee and quickly fed more power to the rotors.

  “Narnia Peak coming right up,” he said, his voice sounding all business again.

  As we whizzed over the top of the giant mound of books, we all had a good look at the summit. For a moment no one said a word.

  “It’s huge,” murmured Harriet. “I wonder where all those kids are now—the ones who owned those books?”

  “Gone and forgotten, I guess,” said Jack.

  Lilah must have read lips here because she shook her head quickly and said, “No, not forgotten if Billy delivers the book and McGinty finishes it.”

  “Exactly,” said Harriet, her eyes flashing.

  Jack laughed. “All right, before we all break into a camp song here, let’s get back to work.” Slowly he banked the Rumble Fish to the right. “We’re headed north right on course, and I say let’s follow the map as far as we can. From that point we’ll ask Lady Luck for help. So, navigator, what’s next?”

  Lilah nodded. “Before we get to the Nancy Drew Pinnacles, we should see the Beverly Cleary Hills.”

  “Oh, fantastic,” Harriet said to me. “I love her books.”

  “And after that,” Lilah continued, “we’ll fly over Watership Down Mesa—”

  “Whoa, cool,” cried out Ray, and I realized he was standing behind Harriet. “Man, that’s my most favorite book.”

  “Wonderful,” said Jack. “And I hate to break up this literary tea party, but—”

  “Does that say John Christopher Summit?” I asked, peering over at the map. “I’ve read his White Mountain trilogy about four
hundred times.”

  “Hey, you guys, can I come up front?” Teddy called out.

  “No!” yelled Jack. “We’ve already got too much weight up here.”

  Teddy paid no attention and came clumping forward. “Do you see any Harold’s Purple Crayon stuff?” he was saying.

  That was when the Rumble Fish went into a dive.

  “Back!” Jack bellowed. “Too many people up front!”

  This sent the others crashing off toward the back. That brought the nose up, but now we slowed perilously and the front of the plane yawed upward.

  “Don’t let it stall!” cried Jack. He fed more power to the engines and we sank a bit, then began surging forward again.

  I started to let my breath out, when Teddy cut loose with his tail-gun, and the plane shuddered with the thumping racket.

  “Now what’s that nougat-brain doing?” snapped Jack. I started to unbuckle my belt. “I’ll find out,” I said. Jack held up his hand. “Don’t bother, kid,” he said grimly. “Take a look.”

  I turned to the see the huge shape of Devos’s hovercraft pulling alongside.

  54

  eye to eye with the junior classics

  I could see the small, hump-backed man himself sitting in the cockpit. He waved gaily. I started to say something to Jack, but my voice was drowned out by a thunderous barrage of shots that ripped into us.

  In a twinkling, part of our windscreen was blown away and Jack was grabbing at his arm and yelling in pain. The Rumble Fish shuddered and the nose dropped.

  “Pull it up!” Jack cried through clenched lips.

  I hauled back on the stick while hitting the rotor lever for more power. The engines howled and slowly the nose came up. Devos stayed glued to our left side and pounded us with more shots. I heard Lilah scream, and then Harriet cried out, “Lilah’s hit!”

  The Rumble Fish vibrated, and I realized Ray and Harriet were firing back at Devos. I could see pieces of paper pelting the hovercraft. They obviously weren’t doing any damage, but for some reason Devos rose quickly and disappeared from view. The Rumble Fish was climbing faster now, the engines screaming. I eased off on the power, but we continued rising.