Dolphin Watch

by John Vornholt

  The doctor motioned to the small cabin in the bow. “You can finish my dinner and then sleep in my berth. I’m sure you’re tired, and I’m finding it difficult to sleep.”

  “That’s very hospitable of you, Doctor,” said Joshua with a charming bow. “I think we should start over … you and me. I was disoriented and shocked when I woke up.”

  “I understand,” she replied. “That’s even more reason you should try to get some rest.”

  “Steady currents from here on out,” added Taggert. “We should reach Prosperine by morning. We saved you a day of travel—probably two, the way you were going.”

  “Thank you, Captain,” said the youth pleasantly. “I’m in your debt.”

  As he ducked through the bamboo curtain into the small cabin, Joshua spotted a cup of broth and a bowl of fruit. That was one more reason to be nice to his hosts, but there was a much bigger reason. In this sky galley, they had a craft that could take him home.

  CHAPTER 5

  A loud hissing sound awoke Joshua Longacre, and he sat up and banged his head on a wicker ceiling. Feeling a lightness in his stomach, he remembered that he was in the airship, floating over Dinotopia.

  The young man crawled out of the compartment and was instantly blinded by sunlight streaming from below. They were up so high that dawn was like full daylight, with the sunlight bouncing off the vast ocean beneath them. He shivered in the high morning air and tried to shade his eyes.

  Caught in this golden halo of light was a fantastic city with fanciful spires and majestic turrets. Airships floated from many of the towers, and flying creatures plied the sky. The small, brightly colored houses looked like jeweled steps as they sloped down to the beach, where they met a sea of striped umbrellas. Every roof and balcony sported a garden, and the entire city looked like a flower arrangement.

  Pools, fountains, and aqueducts irrigated the great city, and the waterfront was teeming with sailing ships. At this early hour, only a few humans, dinosaurs, and wagons graced the wide boulevards, but the city was awakening. By squinting into the sun, Joshua could see a lovely bay and several islands glistening in the ocean beyond the city.

  “Impressive,” said Joshua, his voice barely audible among the hissing valves and creaking ropes. The old pilot was busy releasing gas from the balloon, while his dinosaur mate worked the rudder.

  “I’m glad you like it,” replied a weary voice. The young man turned to see the doctor, Tavia, huddled in a blanket in the stern of the ship. “I’m glad to be home.”

  “You live in this city?” asked Joshua. “What’s its name?”

  “Prosperine. Yes, I live here, but I’ll be leaving again tomorrow.”

  “You don’t have time to show me around?” asked Joshua hopefully.

  “I’m afraid not. I have to help with brachiosaur inoculations in the south. They’re big, but they’re surprisingly fragile.” The doctor rose to her feet and stretched her long arms. “Galleyman, can you get us close to the library?”

  “Right on top of her,” promised Taggert. He changed the flaps, and the galley dropped toward a city that was bathed in golden sunlight. With a tug on a pulley rope, the pilot set out a new row of brightly colored flags on the bowsprit.

  As they drew closer, Joshua could see statues of fantastic beasts and famous people gracing every facade. Sometimes the images were mixed up, with the dinosaurs having human bodies. Wondrous creatures paraded in the streets, as if in a spontaneous celebration of the new day.

  The public buildings were massive, and they sported great columns and fanciful archways. Joshua felt a thrill, until he remembered that he was a nobody in this byzantine city—just some stranger fallen off the back of a dolphin.

  After skirting close to an onion-shaped spire, they dropped toward a delicate tower. Joshua could see a barbed iron pole in the center of the structure; it reached at least thirty feet into the air. Taggert leaned over the edge of the craft, swinging a metal ring from a rope. As they drifted past the tower, he deftly hooked the iron pole.

  Taggert instantly activated the winch to pull in the slack. “Brace for landing!” he warned.

  Joshua was glad he did so, because they stopped suddenly when the line pulled taut. A bit more maneuvering, and they were soon docked atop the tower in the middle of Prosperine. Once again, Taggert changed the flags.

  I’ll sketch this ship, decided Joshua. Once I get home and can hire people to draw up plans, I’ll have one of these sky galleys, too.

  “You’re getting off here, lad!” called Taggert. He tossed down a ladder, which clattered onto the roof of the building. “This is the library.”

  Joshua panicked for a moment, because he didn’t want to leave the airship. It was his means of salvation!

  “Where are you going to be?” he asked desperately.

  “Here and there,” answered Taggert. He glanced at the doctor to see if she wanted to add anything.

  “We’ll dock near the Aqua Stadium,” replied Tavia. “That’s easy to find, and it’s a place you ought to visit.”

  “It’s not as grand as the one in Waterfall City,” said the galleyman with a shrug. “But it’s still a sight.”

  Joshua heaved a sigh and looked down the ladder at the tiny roof far below him. At least it looked tiny and far away. “All right, I’ll see you later. I hope.”

  “Breathe deep, seek peace,” said Taggert as he helped Joshua over the edge onto the ladder.

  “I know where peace lies,” said the youth, getting his feet set on the rung. “It’s in a dormitory room in Boston.”

  The old man’s face crinkled into a smile. “A wise man once said, ‘When you’re at home sitting in your armchair, you long to be on an adventure. When you’re on an adventure, you long to be sitting in your armchair.’”

  “Try to enjoy your adventure,” said Tavia.

  “I’ll try,” answered the young man doubtfully. He started down the swaying ladder, telling himself it was no worse than the rigging on a ship.

  After a slow descent, Joshua was relieved to bound onto the tower roof. Although only twenty feet across, the space was decorated with manicured hedges and flower patches. With a whir, the empty ladder rose upward.

  The galleyman leaned over the edge of his basket and waved down. “Release the landing grapple! Just pull the lever in the blockhouse!” He pointed toward Joshua’s right.

  The young man walked to a small brick building open to the air. Inside the alcove, he discovered a spiral staircase going down, plus a lever on the wall. A glance outside reassured him that the docking pole was attached to the blockhouse. He waved skyward at the galley, then pulled the lever.

  At once, the hook retracted, and the ring fell off, allowing the ship to drift upward. When he released the lever, it went back to normal. On the sky galley, the crew returned to work, but Tavia continued to wave until they disappeared into the clouds.

  Joshua turned to gaze at the spiral staircase, which descended steeply into the tower. On the walls, strange crystals burned with subdued fire, offering plenty of light. There was nowhere else to go, so he squared his shoulders and started down.

  Even with his soft boots, Joshua’s feet clanked on the metal staircase. He could smell strange aromas—like chemicals, food, and perfume all mixed together. These smells wafted upward in waves, and he realized that the stairwell also functioned as a vent. In the dim light, he saw a stone floor beneath him, and he quickened his pace.

  On the first landing, Joshua found three metal doors; it was clear where the distinct smells were coming from. The good-smelling door had to lead to a kitchen, he reasoned, and the bad-smelling door had to lead to a laboratory. Who knew what wicked experiments were being perpetrated behind those walls?

  The third door was the most mysterious—with its pleasant but strong floral scents. For some reason, Joshua tried that door first. It was locked, and he noticed a keyhole. In alarm, he tried the other two doors and found both of them locked, too. Joshua scowled and balled h
is hands into fists, ready to start knocking.

  A loud banging noise sounded from above, and Joshua craned his neck upward. A thing that looked like a featherless ostrich came bounding down the stairs, chittering. The creature was carrying a purse and wearing a vest and floppy hat. It had a short plume of feathers, too.

  The Struthiomimus stopped when it saw him, regarding the young man with mild annoyance. “You’re early,” she complained. “We don’t open for another hour yet.”

  “I didn’t know that,” he explained. “I was just let off by a sky galley.”

  “Well, of course, or you wouldn’t be at this entrance,” answered the dinosaur. Suddenly, Joshua realized that he was conversing with this birdlike beast. “You can talk?”

  “You’re very good at stating the obvious,” answered the creature. “I am the chief librarian, Nester. So which door are you entering?”

  “I was just trying to figure that out,” admitted Joshua.

  “I don’t see why—the signs are working perfectly.”

  “The signs?” asked Joshua, glancing at the three blank doors.

  “Yes, floral fragrance for the natural sciences, chemical odors for the chemical and physics library, and food for arts and history. They feed the soul, you know. Have you never been to a library with smellable signs?”

  In frustration, Joshua shook his head. “I’ve never been to a library on Dinotopia at all. I just arrived via dolphin yesterday.”

  “Why didn’t you say so?” asked the Struthiomimus magnanimously. From her vest pocket, she pulled out a key and dangled it on her claw. “Not everyone on Dinotopia can read, but they can all smell. I imagine you want Dinotopian history.”

  “We can start there,” agreed Joshua.

  The gangly dinosaur unlocked the leftmost door and swung it open. Joshua stepped inside and was disappointed to see that all the delicious smells were coming from an atomizer on a long tube.

  “There is a cafeteria downstairs,” said Nester, noticing his long face.

  She led him into a high-ceilinged room that was the shape of a slice of pie. They wandered through a maze of shelves filled with books, scrolls, and maps. Some kind of document was crammed into every nook and cranny. Near a beautiful picture window were several strange machines that looked like printing presses.

  “I only need to know one thing,” said Joshua impatiently. “Is there a way off this island?”

  “Hmmm,” answered the long-necked creature. “Our history is full of people who arrived as you did, but it’s empty of people who have left. Very few try, and something always prevents them. Just last year, we had some excitement off this coast when a fellow tried to steal a strutter and a ruby sunstone.”

  Bounding on her heavy legs, Nester ducked into the shelves of books and scrolls. “I’ve got several concise histories.”

  “I don’t want to read about failed attempts,” muttered Joshua, settling himself into a chair. “Get me charts on the reefs and the air currents of Dinotopia. And some breakfast would be nice.”

  Nester looked down at him and snorted. “Are they all so rude where you come from?”

  “No, some are quite meek and mealy-mouthed,” answered the youth with a smile. “I’m not one of those sheep. If it makes you feel better … please.”

  The Struthiomimus clicked her tongue and disappeared between the shelves of books.

  Four hours later, Joshua Longacre pushed away a plate that had contained his lunch. The plate from breakfast was still on the library table, too, and so were piles of books, maps, and charts. There were only two scrolls in his collection, since they were mostly written for dinosaurs to read.

  Nester, the head librarian, sat at one of the printing-press contraptions, copying scratch marks onto a scroll. She glanced over at the young man and looked more sympathetic than she had before.

  “You were quite diligent in your research,” said the Struthiomimus, sounding impressed. “You might make a very good librarian. If you ever wished to apprentice here in the main library—”

  “Spare me!” snapped Joshua. “I’m not looking over these musty old charts to impress you. I’ve found out what I wanted to know—that you people haven’t tried very hard to get off this island.”

  “Why should we?” asked Nester. “Whenever we find out anything about the outside world, it always seems to be a place to avoid.”

  Joshua pointed to a topographical map of Dinotopia. “That reef is all that’s separating you from the outside. And I can’t see how it’s enough—”

  “The Great Belt of Jewels is the reason you can’t leave Dinotopia,” said Nester smugly.

  Joshua laughed out loud. “I don’t know much about this place, but I know that a person can get through the reefs. I’ve seen it done. But that’s probably not the best way.” He picked up a seasonal wind chart and jumped from his chair. “Can I borrow this?”

  The dinosaur squinted warily at him. “Perhaps, for a day or so. Where are you going?”

  Joshua smiled charmingly. “Everyone said that when you’re in Prosperine, you have to see the Aqua Stadium.”

  CHAPTER 6

  When Dimitri stopped pacing the deck of the houseboat, he nodded and tugged on his beard. “Okay, Milos, I’ll cover your watch on the beaches. You can go to Prosperine. I know you want to see what happened to that dolphinback of yours.”

  “Joshua Longacre,” said Milos with a mock air of importance. “I think he was really rich back in the world he left. It must be hard for him … coming here.”

  “If he won’t take help, you can’t give it,” said his father, shaking his head. “To be an adult, he’s got to learn more than just our customs. He can dream about the future and yearn for the past, but he has to deal with the present. That’s when you’re an adult.”

  “I’m not an adult yet, am I?” asked Milos with a joking smile.

  “No, and you remember that!” said Dimitri, tousling his son’s hair. “That’s why you have to be careful around him—he’s headstrong and used to getting his own way. Okay, let him follow his path, but you follow yours.”

  His father snapped his fingers. “Hey, that reminds me. About your apprenticeship—”

  “I’ve got to pack!” responded Milos, rushing to the back of the houseboat. “I’ll decide when I get back from Prosperine. See you in a couple of days!”

  “Say hello to Aunt Marta!” yelled Dimitri.

  With that good-bye, Milos rushed to his quarters and grabbed an air tank, his mask, snorkel, mesh goody bag, and Lilith’s harness. A trip to Prosperine was a fun time, although it usually took the better part of a day to swim around Crackshell Point and down the eastern coast.

  He figured that he and Lilith ought to arrive about the same time as Joshua, even with his head start.

  With all his gear, Milos dashed to the end of the pier to meet the Cryptoclidus. Lilith didn’t complain about the harness, because Milos used it infrequently—only on long trips, such as this one, or on a deep dive.

  The air tank was just a precaution, too. Plus he could use the air if they decided to perform in Aqua Stadium.

  So he and Lilith set off only a few hours after Joshua Longacre. It was already dark, but this was a trip they had made many times, both in daylight and darkness. They knew how to pace themselves, and they stopped for short naps. A traveler along that desolate coast might have seen a boy and a great sea reptile curled up on the beach, sleeping.

  Normally, Lilith slept in shallow water, but when she was traveling with Milos, she slept on land. She didn’t want to leave her friend alone.

  Once they reached Sapphire Bay, they were on extra guard for predators, such as Megalodon, and they often swam underwater and not on the surface. Milos had to trust his reptilian comrade, because he was in darkness most of the time. At one point, they dove deep and raced hard, and he used about half of his air tank. He didn’t want to know what had spooked Lilith.

  Traveling by night, they weren’t distracted by the usual spectacu
lar sights, such as the ruins of Poseidos. After many hours, they could see the glistening lights of Prosperine in the distance, rising like a multilayered cake above the shimmering lagoon. They pushed onward through the dark seas with one or the other watching below for predators.

  At dawn, Milos and Lilith grabbed a quick bite of shellfish, then continued their swim. They both would have preferred to take a more leisurely route and speed, stopping to explore old ships, caves, and coral. But not this time. As they pressed onward, the powerful Cryptoclidus never seemed to tire, although Milos knew she had to be exhausted.

  It was midday by the time they swam up the channel toward the entrance to the Aqua Stadium. Crowds of people and dinosaurs lined the boardwalk, eating lunch, and they waved as Milos and Lilith swam past. The lad scanned the faces of those gathered along the waterfront, but he couldn’t spot Joshua among them.

  The city towered above them like bluffs made of honeycomb, and the tree-lined boulevards were crowded with humans and dinosaurs enjoying the fine day. Kites and flying creatures zipped through the air, and sky galleys hung over the spires like party balloons.

  It was just another day in Prosperine, but spring fever lent the city an air of festivity. It felt as if a parade might begin at any minute.

  Milos wasn’t cheered, because the number of people only lessened the chance of finding Joshua. Perhaps he had been foolish to make this trip at all. Prosperine was a hundred times larger than Abalonia, and he could spend days looking for Joshua.

  Soon they were caught up in the excited traffic swimming in the channel. Milos could see pennants and streamers flapping from a great archway just ahead of them. The entrance to the Aqua Stadium was open to the sea, so that performers and swimmers could come and go as they pleased.

  Often there were planned events at the stadium, and the stands would be full of spectators. The events might be contests, races, or synchronized water ballet like the Sky Jumpers performed. This seemed like a normal day to Milos, when the vast pool of water was open to all.