Dolphin Watch

by John Vornholt

  The vessel listed badly, and it was bedlam on deck, as the crew and most of the rigging tumbled overboard. At once, the dolphins leaped into action, and Joshua was dragged along for the ride. Milos and Lilith followed at a cautious distance.

  Someone on the doomed ship had the good sense to shoot off a distress flare. The rocket zoomed into the dim sky and exploded with colorful sparks. Milos hoped it would be enough to attract a rescue ship, but there would have to be one in the area.

  Suddenly a dorsal fin cut through the water, and it wasn’t a dolphin. “Shark!” he warned Lilith.

  The Cryptoclidus cut loose with a warning in the dolphin language, and soon half a dozen dolphins veered off from the rescue effort to attack the shark. They butted the predator with their snouts and drove it off, but there were probably more where that one had come from. The water teemed with injured pirates. Two of them were trying to hold their captain aloft.

  Milos looked around and saw the lifeboat from the ship cutting through the waves. The lifeboat stopped, and two dolphins brought a survivor to the side of the rowboat. Strong arms reached out and dragged him aboard; Milos was relieved to see that it was the old prisoner from the hold.

  The other dolphins recognized the lifeboat as the swiftest way to save the victims, and they began to bring them to the craft. “Keep watching for sharks,” Milos told Lilith. He jumped off the back of the reptile and swam to the lifeboat.

  As he figured, there was Joshua, saving the very pirates who nearly killed him. “Need some help?” asked Milos.

  “Hurry!” answered Joshua. “I’ve seen sharks in the water.”

  Milos climbed aboard the lifeboat and immediately began to pull people to safety. That allowed Joshua to continue rowing, and the boy could see why his friend had been a rowing champion in college. With the help of the dolphins, they picked up injured men and women until the lifeboat was full.

  The sailing vessel continued to take on water and sink into oblivion. Someone shot another flare, and its light rivaled the sun peeking over the horizon. In the distance, another flare shot into the dawn sky, answering theirs.

  “There’s another ship out there!” said Milos, pointing toward the dying embers in the sky. “A ship is headed this way.”

  “We haven’t gotten them all!” said Joshua, looking around worriedly. “We’re missing someone.”

  “It’s a steamship,” answered Milos, peering into the distance. “Everyone will be saved. Look, the dolphins are still rounding them up. But we have to go. I mean, I have to go. You can stay here and be rescued.”

  Joshua looked around at the destruction and the dazed faces of the pirates. He looked at the victims floating in the water, clinging to wreckage. The ship coming to rescue them was probably the same one they had planned to attack, but the pirates were as weak as lambs now. Sometimes there was justice even in his cruel world.

  Smiley screeched at him, telling him it was time to leave this place. As far as they were concerned, the danger was over. Everyone in the water would soon be saved.

  “I have to go back,” said Joshua finally.

  “If you have to,” said Milos, “I’m glad I saw you again. Good-bye.”

  “No, I’m going with you!” snapped Joshua. “There are things I still have to learn … in your world.” He leaped over the side of the lifeboat and grabbed Smiley’s harness.

  With a big grin, Milos hit the water and looked for Lilith. He found her just under the waves, trying to stay out of sight. With a tap on her shoulder, he told her it was time to go.

  Some of the dolphins stayed behind to ward off the sharks, but Smiley and Lilith headed straight for the reef. For two tired young men, the adventure was almost over.

  CHAPTER 13

  Milos and Joshua staggered ashore at Crackshell Point, surprised to see a group of people, dinosaurs, and wagons waiting for them. Then Milos realized that the wagons were there because the dolphins had brought some of the survivors ashore. Among the onlookers were both his parents.

  “Joshua!” cried a voice. From the crowd, a young woman wrapped in a blanket ran forward to hug the young man. Milos smiled when he saw Joshua’s shocked face. It was the girl Milos had freed from the hold on the sailing ship.

  “Rebecca!” croaked Joshua, gripping her tightly. “You’re here! You’re safe.”

  “Thanks to the dolphins,” she answered, “and your friend.” She smiled warmly at Milos; then her face darkened. “But what will become of my uncle?”

  “Joshua pulled him onto a lifeboat,” answered Milos. “And a steamship was headed that way, so I’m sure he’ll be rescued along with everyone else.”

  A moment later, the lad was surrounded by his parents and several well-wishers. It seemed as if the whole village had turned out to make sure the boys were safe.

  “What was it like … on the outside?” asked his father.

  “Scary,” answered Milos. He glanced at Joshua and Rebecca, who were still gripping each other in shock. “I don’t plan to make any more trips out there.”

  “I don’t understand where we are,” said Rebecca, staring at the strange creatures and colorfully dressed humans. “They said it was called Dinotopia.”

  “It takes some getting used to,” replied Joshua. He looked back at the surf, where Smiley and Lilith were playfully chasing each other. “I’ll be happy to show you the ropes. It may take a while, but you’ll learn to like it here. I did.”

  “So … will you come back to the village tonight?” asked Milos.

  “Yes, old chum, I believe I will.” He cleared his throat and gazed at Rebecca. “I mean, we will.”

  Two days later, Joshua, Rebecca, Milos, and his family were gathered on the houseboat, eating dinner in the galley. Rebecca had a million questions, and they patiently answered them all. Milos’s two little sisters had the most fun explaining Dinotopia to the newcomer.

  “And when we’re older, we’re going to work in the hatchery,” explained his younger sister. “That’s where they take care of the dinosaur eggs and the baby dinosaurs.”

  A knock sounded on the door, and Dimitri got up to answer it. When he returned, he bellowed, “Look, Milos, it’s the doctor come to see you.”

  Tavia followed the fisherman into the galley and gave them all a smile. “I’m sorry to interrupt your dinner, but I heard about the daring rescue on the open sea. You’re quite a hero, Milos.”

  The boy looked bashful, but Joshua quickly answered for him. “He saved both of our lives—me and Rebecca. Without him, we’d still be prisoners … or shark food. He’s one brave Dinotopian.”

  “I’ve reached that conclusion,” said the doctor, folding her hands thoughtfully. “In fact, I’ve talked to the elders in both Waterfall City and Prosperine about Milos’s unofficial position on dolphin watch. As you know, the dolphins are the habitat partners of the bays and beaches, and we feel they have clearly recognized both Milos and Joshua as their helpers.”

  The doctor smiled broadly. “Henceforth, the dolphin watch is a recognized trade on Dinotopia. Milos is the first master, and Joshua is the first apprentice, if they so agree. There will be many more apprentices, I’m sure. In fact, I think we can promote Joshua to master fairly quickly, so that he can help train others.”

  Milos just stared at her with his mouth open, but his parents beamed. His mother leaned across the table and whispered to her son. “This is perfect for you. No apprenticeship—you’re already a master!”

  “I know.” The lad gulped at the seriousness of the proposal, then grinned happily. “I accept!”

  There was applause all around the table, and the only one who looked confused was Rebecca. At once, Milos’s sisters began to explain matters to her. The doctor was invited to stay for dinner, and another place was set at the table.

  “What about you, Joshua?” asked Milos. “Will you be my apprentice? You already know the job.”

  “Who could turn it down?” asked the young man with a happy grin. Then he gave them a pu
zzled frown. “There’s just one problem. About this habitat- partner business—does that make Smiley my boss? I’m not so sure about that.”

  The family laughed, and chattering, squeaks, and screeches sounded through the open window. Milos looked out the window of the houseboat to see Smiley and Lilith frolicking in the shimmering waves.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  JOHN VORNHOLT has spent time as a freelance writer, a stuntman, and a writer of animated cartoons. He has written more than forty books for children and adults, including several New York Times bestselling Star Trek novels. He currently lives with his wife and two children in Tucson, Arizona. Please visit his Web site at www.sff.net/people/vornholt.

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  Milos gulped down his fear

  and put his trust in his friends.

  He hunched down and closed his eyes, not even bothering to watch the ever-shifting kaleidoscope of color. The sea grew bright pink as they passed through a stand of dead coral. He took some comfort from the thought that no creature bigger than Lilith could ever make it through those treacherous reefs. No human alone would ever stand a chance.

  They surfaced again for air, and he felt stinging rain and cold wind on his face. Dinotopia was nowhere in sight, and neither was anything else.

  We’re in the open sea! Milos realized with a start.

  For Sarah, animal lover

  Copyright © 2002 by BDSP, Inc.

  Cover art copyright © 2002 by BDSP, Inc.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Based on Dinotopia® by James Gurney. All rights reserved.

  RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  www.randomhouse.com/kids

  www.dinotopia.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Vornholt, John.

  Dolphin watch / by John Vornholt.

  p. cm. — (Dinotopia ; 15)

  SUMMARY: After thirteen-year-old Milos helps rescue a sailor in the open sea beyond Dinotopia’s coral reef, he and some dolphins become involved with the young man’s efforts to return home.

  [1. Adventures and adventurers—Fiction. 2. Islands—Fiction. 3. Dolphins—Fiction. 4. Dinosaurs—Fiction. 5. Fantasy.] I. Title. II. Series.

  PZ7.V946 Do 2002 [Fic]—dc21 2001041919

  RL: 5.7

  DINOTOPIA IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF BDSP, INC.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-89017-8

  v3.0