Song of the Dolphin Boy

by Elizabeth Laird

  Finn ignored him. ‘The point is,’ he went on, ‘you owe me one – especially you, Charlie.’

  Charlie made a sort of gurgling noise and nodded guiltily.

  ‘We looked for you everywhere,’ he said gruffly. ‘All over the rocks. I wanted to say sorry, Finn. I really did.’

  ‘And you, Dougie.’ Finn turned to glare at the little boy. ‘You didn’t invite me to your party. You tore up my invitation.’

  ‘How did you kn—?’ began Dougie, then stopped as a blush spread up his face.

  ‘So now,’ Finn swept on, ‘it’s payback time. You’ve got to help me. There’s something I really, really need you to do.’

  The five children had been staring at him, fascinated, almost unable to recognize in this new, confident, powerful boy the old Finn that they’d shunned all their lives.

  Jas cleared her throat.

  ‘As a matter of fact,’ she said, ‘it’s really nice to . . . I’m glad you’ve come here, actually. I should have invited you up to the lantern room ages ago. We all feel bad about the way we’ve treated you, and we came up here to think about how we could . . . could do something to show we’re sorry. We – well – we’re the Lighthouse Crew, you see, and we want you to be in it too.’

  Finn stared at her for a moment. What was she talking about? A crew? He couldn’t take it in. He latched on to the bit about them being sorry. What she was saying was so surprising that he could hardly believe it. But she had given him his chance, and he took it.

  ‘I’ll tell you exactly how to show you’re sorry,’ he said. ‘There’s something you’ve got to do for me now. Only it’s not really for me; it’s for the dolphins.’

  ‘The what?’ said Kyla.

  ‘Dolphins?’ said Amir.

  ‘Why dolphins?’ said Dougie. ‘Wouldn’t you rather have a ride on my new bike?’

  ‘Are you talking about the pod that’s been out in the bay for the past few weeks?’ said Charlie. ‘My dad’s been telling me about them. Great jumpers they are, leaping about as if—’

  ‘Those dolphins, yes,’ said Finn. ‘They’re fantastic, beautiful, there’s one who . . .’ He stopped himself. There was no time to explain anything, and he wasn’t sure if he even wanted to. ‘They’re in trouble, the dolphins are, I mean. You’ve got to help me get out there and sort it out. They’re going to die if—’

  ‘What sort of trouble, Finn?’ said Jas, frowning at him. ‘And how do you know?’

  ‘Never mind how I know,’ snapped Finn. ‘It’s the balloons, the ones from Dougie’s party. They’ve landed out at sea and the dolphins think they’re jellyfish. They keep trying to eat them. The strings have got tangled in their flippers and are hurting them. It’s horrible! Please, don’t just sit there! You’ve got to come and help!’

  No one said anything. They were looking at him, stunned. Amir cleared his throat.

  ‘I’ve read about plastic bags and bottles and stuff in the sea choking animals, but this thing with balloons sounds kind of crazy. I mean, they’re not made of plastic, are they? I thought they were made of rubber or something.’

  ‘It’s not crazy! It’s happening now! Please, you’ve got to help me!’ Finn balled his fists and shook them in frustration.

  ‘How do you know about it anyway? About what the dolphins are doing?’ asked Jas. ‘Did someone tell you? You couldn’t have gone out into the bay without a boat.’

  ‘You’ve sort of changed,’ said Dougie. ‘You don’t look the same any more.’

  ‘You’ve grown or something,’ said Charlie. ‘You look taller.’

  ‘How did you hide from us all?’ asked Kyla. ‘We looked for you everywhere.’

  ‘There’s no time to explain!’ snapped Finn. ‘I’ll tell you everything later, but we’ve got to get out there now, and fetch those stupid balloons back in.’

  ‘They’re not stupid balloons. They’re from my . . .’ Dougie stopped as it occurred to him that it might be tactless to mention his party in front of Finn.

  ‘I don’t see what we can do, anyway,’ said Charlie. ‘The whole thing’s daft. I’m not saying you’re wrong about the dolphins eating them, mind, but even if we went out to sea, we’d never find a bunch of balloons. The sea’s an awful big place.’

  ‘We’d need a boat, anyway,’ said Jas.

  ‘That shouldn’t be a problem.’ Amir’s eyes behind his glasses were gleaming with fascination as he stared at Finn, like he was an interesting form of wildlife. ‘Charlie’s got a boat.’

  Charlie’s chest swelled. His father had bought a new dinghy for the Janine and he’d given Charlie his old one. The Peggy Sue was Charlie’s pride and joy. Mr Munro had taught him how to row and sail, and Charlie was allowed to go out in her on calm days, as long as he wore a life jacket and took Amir with him to crew.

  ‘Where is it?’ said Finn urgently. He’d forgotten that Charlie had a boat.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Your boat!’

  ‘She’s pulled up on the beach. Oh, you mean . . .’

  ‘Yes, I do mean.’ Finn nodded vigorously. ‘I’ll help you launch her.’

  ‘Well, I don’t know,’ said Charlie. ‘You don’t have a clue about boats. I’m not being mean, but you’re hopeless at doing stuff, Finn. You know you are. Anyway, it’s like I told you. You’d never find a few balloons out there in the bay. It’s just too big.’

  Finn took a step forward. The space in the lantern room was so tiny that Kyla had to pull back her knees. He pointed a finger into Charlie’s face.

  ‘Payback time, remember? You could have killed me. I was terrified.’

  He couldn’t believe what he was doing. He’d never before dared stand up to Charlie. Charlie reared backwards, away from Finn’s finger, looking scared, a flush of shame creeping up his neck.

  ‘I know. I told you I’m sorry. I was out of order. I’m not saying I believe in all that stuff about the balloons or anything, but I don’t mind taking you out in the boat if that’s what you want. Like you say, I owe you one. You’ll love the Peggy Sue, Finn. She’s a grand wee—’

  ‘Well, come on then,’ said Finn, turning towards the stairwell. ‘Let’s go.’

  ‘Hold on a minute!’ Charlie was getting up with maddening slowness. ‘You can’t just jump in a boat and go. We have to fetch the oars and the sail and the life jackets and everything.’

  ‘Where are they?’ demanded Finn.

  ‘In the shed on the harbour. By the Janine’s berth.’ His grin suddenly faded. ‘I’m not supposed to take her out on my own, though, without permission from a . . .’ He stopped, hunting for the word. ‘A responsible adult.’

  ‘Your dad’s out lobstering,’ said Finn. ‘We can’t wait for him to come back. He could be hours.’

  ‘I’ll come,’ said Jas. ‘I love sailing. There you are, Finn. You and I will go out in the boat with Charlie. We’ll be the crew.’

  ‘You’re not leaving me out,’ said Amir indignantly. ‘I’ve sailed with Charlie loads of times. And I can do life-saving.’

  ‘We don’t need to worry about the “responsible adult” bit either,’ said Jas. ‘My dad’s an adult. He doesn’t know a thing about boats and sailing. If I ask him casually, he’ll think it’s all quite normal. He probably won’t even hear me. He’ll be too busy writing his paper on limpets.’

  ‘He’s not in,’ said Finn. ‘He left a note on the door. It’s why I came up here.’

  ‘Oh, he’s in all right,’ said Jas. ‘He always does that when he doesn’t want people to disturb him.’

  Dougie had been wriggling uncomfortably on his cushion.

  ‘I wish I could come, Finn, but I can’t,’ he said unhappily. ‘I’d be late for my dinner, and Mum would go crazy. It’s so unfair. Kyla stays out all the time, but Mum won’t let me.’

  Kyla was shaking her head.

  ‘You’re nuts, all of you,’ she said. ‘Go out to sea with Charlie in a little boat? What if a storm comes up? What if there’s killer whales out there?
They come in close to shore sometimes. My dad’s seen them. You could all be knocked into the sea and . . .’ She realized that no one was taking any notice. ‘Well I’m not coming, anyway. It’s far too risky,’ she finished lamely.

  ‘That’s just as well,’ Jas said crisply. ‘We need you to stay here at HQ for back-up. Got your mobile with you?’

  Kyla nodded.

  ‘Good. You wait up here. We’ll send you an SOS call if anything goes wrong. You can alert my father, or—’

  ‘Or any responsible adult,’ said Amir.

  Charlie had pressed his face up against the glass wall and was looking out to sea.

  ‘What do you mean, If anything goes wrong? I’m a good sailor, so I am. You can trust me. And like I said, it’s great weather for a sail,’ he said. ‘We won’t be seeing any dolphins, though. You never do when you’re looking for them.’

  ‘I told you. You can leave that bit to me,’ said Finn, who had been dancing with impatience. ‘Now come on! And, Jas, bring some scissors with you. We’ll need them to cut the strings.’

  ‘What strings?’ said Jas.

  ‘The strings tying up the dolphins! I told you!’ Finn almost yelled.

  ‘Oh yes, of course – the strings,’ she said soothingly, and Finn could tell she was humouring him.

  I don’t care if they believe me or not, he thought. As long as Charlie gets me out to sea. I’ll show them!

  It seemed like an age to Finn before the Peggy Sue was ready to be launched off the beach. He ran off to the harbour with Charlie and Amir to fetch the kit for the boat, while Dougie headed off unhappily for home, and Jas went to find her father, leaving Kyla alone in the lantern room, sitting on a pile of cushions, finishing off her drawing.

  ‘Dad,’ said Jas, putting her head round the door of her father’s study. ‘I’m going out for a little sail with Charlie and Amir.’

  She’d expected her father to say, ‘Hmm? What was that, darling? Now come and look at this! I’ve just made an extraordinary discovery.’

  But instead, Professor Jamieson gave her a sharp look over the rims of his glasses, which he was wearing, as usual, on the end of his nose.

  ‘Sailing? With Charlie Munro? What’s the wind like? Is his father going out with you?’

  Jas put her hand in her pocket so that he wouldn’t see her crossing her fingers.

  ‘No, but Charlie’s passed loads of proficiency tests, and Mr Munro lets him go out alone, and I’ve got my mobile, and Amir’s coming, and we’ll be wearing life jackets, and—’

  ‘Well, don’t go far,’ said Professor Jamieson. ‘I’ll come down to the beach in a little while and watch out for you.’

  Jas gently closed his study door, letting her breath out with relief, and dashed off to join the others at the harbour.

  Finn had been watching out for her. He was afraid that someone would come and tell them not to go, or that Charlie would change his mind.

  ‘Here, take these,’ said Charlie, dumping a bundle of life jackets into his arms. ‘Jas, you bring the oars. Amir and I will take the mast and sails.’

  A few minutes later, they were on the beach, watching as Charlie methodically prepared the Peggy Sue, setting up the mast, and sorting out the ropes. Finn almost had to bite his tongue to stop himself begging Charlie to hurry. He didn’t want to annoy him now.

  But as he helped the others to shove the boat down the beach and launch her into the water, Finn felt anxious for a different reason. He would have to tell them what had happened when he’d fallen into the sea, and he didn’t know how to begin.

  He waited until the wind had caught the sail, and they were a good distance out from the beach. The little town of Stromhead, with its old stone harbour walls, its white painted cottages with their grey slate roofs, and the lighthouse pointing its white finger up to the sky, was rapidly shrinking as they scudded away across the rippling water.

  ‘Happy now, Finn?’ said Charlie. Then, speaking more gruffly, in the voice of a skipper, he barked out, ‘Jas, move over here or she’ll list to starboard. Amir, ease the sail to pick up the wind. Go on, Finn – where are we supposed to be going?’

  Finn gulped.

  ‘Listen,’ he said desperately. ‘There’s no easy way to say this, so here goes. You know that poem we’ve got to learn for homework? The one about the selkie?’

  Charlie groaned.

  ‘Haven’t even read it yet. I hate poems.’

  ‘I’ve read it. I love it,’ said Jas. A fisherman sat on the lonely shore . . . It’s beautiful.’

  Finn looked at her gratefully.

  ‘Well, the thing is, the poem’s true. It’s about my – my mother, and – and me. She was a selkie. My mum, I mean. Only a dolphin one, not a seal. And I’m the . . . Well, I know it sounds stupid . . . but I’m the magical boy. When I fell into the sea, a sort of power came over me. I could swim, really fast, and hear everything through the water, and – well – understand the dolphins. I felt like I was one of them.’

  Charlie let out a disbelieving grunt.

  Amir laughed incredulously.

  ‘It’s a scientific impossibility, Finn. You’re not telling us you’re serious? We’re not idiots, you know.’

  ‘I know you’re not idiots,’ said Finn. ‘And I know how weird it sounds. But it’s true. Didn’t you wonder where I’d disappeared to when I fell into the harbour?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Jas slowly. She was frowning at him, trying to understand. ‘The tide was out, and we thought you’d waded round the harbour wall and run out up the beach.’

  ‘No. I – When the – the change came over me, I swam out to sea. I met this dolphin and he led me to the group.’

  ‘Amir! Loosen the boom! I’m going to tack port!’ snapped Charlie. ‘Finn, stop telling us a silly fairy story. Where are we supposed to be going?’

  ‘I’ll show you. I’ll hear them whistling, and I’ll lead you to them. Just follow me.’

  And under the horrified and astonished eyes of the others, he threw himself over the edge of the boat.

  ‘Finn! No!’ shrieked Jas. ‘Amir, go in after him! He’ll drown!’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ said Amir, in a strange voice. ‘Look.’

  The three children peered over the side of the boat into the green water. All they could see of Finn was a pale shape shooting through the water away from them as fast as a fish.

  ‘What’s happened to him?’ breathed Jas.

  ‘He looks like . . . an Olympic athlete or something,’ said Amir.

  Charlie was busy with the rudder.

  ‘What are you idiots talking about?’ he grunted.

  ‘Just look, Charlie,’ said Jas.

  Charlie looked over the side of the boat.

  ‘Can’t see anything. He’s disappeared. Thought he said he could swim?’

  ‘He can. He’s just gone so far, he’s out of sight,’ said Amir. ‘Hey, look – he’s coming back!’

  Finn’s head emerged from the water.

  ‘What are you waiting for?’ he said angrily. ‘Why aren’t you following me?’ He slapped a hand down on to the surface of the water in frustration. ‘There’s no time to lose! We’ve got to get further out. Follow me!’

  He plunged under the surface of the water and began to surge through it, his body a silver streak tinged with the green of the sea.

  For a moment, no one in the boat moved. Then Charlie said, ‘That’s odd. The wind’s changed. It’s right behind us now. I suppose we’d better follow him.’

  Chapter Seven

  When Finn jumped off the boat into the water, he plunged down deep, further than he’d expected, and for a long scary moment he was filled with panic. But almost immediately, the change began. There was that kindly, embracing feeling of the sea again, the same glorious sense of power, and the amazing sights and sounds of the underwater world.

  He had already picked up the whistles of distress from his dolphin friends further out to sea and was desperate to reach them.

/>   Surfacing, he looked back and was relieved to see the Peggy Sue sailing after him, foam creaming along her bow wave. He had to go much more slowly than he wanted to. The wind wasn’t much more than a breeze, and the little boat could go at only half his speed. And all the time, way out ahead, the dolphins’ agitated whistles were calling to him.

  After what seemed an age, he heard Jas’s excited shout, and he lifted his head out of the water.

  ‘Look! Over there! Balloons!’

  ‘I don’t believe this.’ That was Charlie’s voice. ‘Am I dreaming?’

  ‘This is really . . . It’s just all wrong. I’ve got goose bumps,’ Amir said.

  Finn was suddenly afraid that the dolphins would panic if the Peggy Sue came right up on top of them. He let out a few experimental whistles, not sure if he was doing it right, and felt a jolt of relief when he heard the answering whistle of his first dolphin friend.

  Then, suddenly, he was with them, right there inside the pod. The young female with the string caught round her flipper was writhing feebly. It was clear that she was exhausted, nearly ready to give up the struggle. On the surface there were fewer balloons now, and a couple of dolphins had strings hanging out of their mouths from the balloons they’d swallowed. It was too late to do anything about them. A couple were still playing with the few balloons that hadn’t deflated, tossing them up into the air with flicks of their beaks.

  Finn turned back to the Peggy Sue, which was now only a few metres away from the dolphins.

  ‘Slow her down,’ he called out Charlie. ‘Don’t scare them.’

  There were rattling, creaking sounds as Amir released the jib to let the wind out of the sail, and the Peggy Sue glided to a halt.

  Finn darted back into the mass of dolphins. His first friend came up to him, with clicks of greeting. Finn briefly buzzed him in reply, then made straight for the female tangled in the string. He moved alongside her, stroked his hand along her flank, and buzzed in what he hoped was a friendly and reassuring way. Then, moving gently, he began to nudge her towards the boat.

  She was so tired that she could barely swim, and had only enough energy to come to the surface and breathe. She let Finn push her the last few metres until the two of them were right alongside the dinghy.