by Philip Roy
I steered around the ship slowly and took a peek. Her rudder was damaged. She was floating all right but couldn’t sail anywhere without a rudder. She smelled like a barn. There were definitely animals on board. When I got right up under the stern I saw a sign painted on a wooden plank: Noah’s Floating Circus.
No way! A circus ship?
It was so quiet I had the feeling the ship had been abandoned, except for the animals, but probably everyone was just sleeping. It was early in the morning. Then, I heard a splash. Had something fallen overboard? No. Someone was swimming towards us. A girl came out of the water and hopped onto the hull just like a seal jumping onto a rock. She didn’t even use the handles. She bounced to her feet and came right over to me.
“Bonjour . . .? Guten tag . . .? Hello . . .?”
“Uhh . . . hi.”
“I saw you!” she said. She stuck out her hand. “I’m Cinnamon.”
I couldn’t use my right hand so I stuck out my left hand and she grabbed it and squeezed my fingertips. I had Hollie in my arms. His nose was going crazy trying to sniff her. She didn’t seem to notice him. “Cinnamon? Is that your name?”
“Yes. What’s yours?”
“Alfred.”
“Is that a pet or food?”
“What?”
“The dog. Is it your pet or are you going to eat it?”
“Are you serious?”
“It’s your pet.”
“He’s not a pet, he’s a sailor. Like me. He’s my second mate.”
“Does he have a name?”
“Hollie.”
Hollie stretched his head over and licked Cinnamon’s arm. She broke into a smile. “He’s kind of cute. Better not bring him on board though. There are snakes.”
“Snakes?”
“Yes. Big ones and little ones. Visible ones and invisible ones.”
“Invisible snakes?”
“Well, one went missing three years ago but we know it’s still on the ship. We know that because we find a skin every now and then. And it keeps getting bigger. We used to have rabbits and cats but they’re all gone now. It really likes little dogs. We used to have one too. She was really sweet.”
I held Hollie more tightly.
“Where are you from?”
“Canada.”
“Why are you so far away from your home? And why are you in a submarine?”
“I’m exploring.”
“Exploring what?”
“Lots of things. Right now I’m on my way to Saipan.”
“That’s our next stop! You’ll like it there. Saipan is nice. They have parties on the beach. And great food. They eat dog there though, so you’d better be careful. You are bringing your dog to a dangerous part of the world.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him. Is this . . . are you . . . a circus?”
“Yes. We’re the best circus in Micronesia. Well, we’re the only one. But we’re the best one.”
“How?”
“How what?”
“How do you make a circus? Do you have tents and everything?”
“Of course! That’s what a circus is.”
“Oh. I’ve never been to the circus.”
Her face fell. “You’ve never been to the circus? Ever?”
“No. But I saw one on TV. Did I hear elephants and lions on your ship?”
“Yes, you did. We have one elephant. Mindy. She’s very small. And we have two lions. René and Louis. But Louis is very old and doesn’t really like to perform anymore. Can I see inside your submarine?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t let you.”
“Why not? Is somebody else in there?”
“No.”
“Then why not?”
“It’s a rule I have. It’s dangerous.”
“Is it dangerous for you?”
“No, not really.”
“Then why would it be dangerous for me?”
“I don’t know; it’s just a rule. I have to make sure nobody gets hurt on my sub.”
“So, change it for me.”
“I don’t want to change it.”
“Hmmf! What happened to your arm?”
“I got shot.”
“You got shot? Who shot you?”
“Some fishermen.”
“Why did they shoot you?”
“Because I was trying to free turtles and dolphins from their net.”
She furrowed her brow. “Why would you do that?”
“To rescue them.”
“But why did you want to rescue them? They’re good to eat.”
We stared into each other’s eyes. We were about the same age and almost the same height. But we were from very different worlds. I was guessing she was from India, or maybe Arabia. “Is there a medical person on your ship who could give me a tetanus shot?”
“We have everything. But don’t bring Hollie, unless you want him to be eaten by a snake.”
“I won’t.”
“Okay, I’ll drop the rope ladder.”
She dove into the water so gracefully there were almost no ripples. And she swam away fast. “How will you climb up?” I yelled after her.
“I can climb anything!”
I didn’t know how she climbed back up the ship but she dropped the rope ladder and I tied the sub to it. I left Hollie inside. Seaweed stayed on guard on the hull. Something about the circus ship spooked him. Normally he would be exploring it for food already. He must have seen something he didn’t like.
It was not easy to climb the rope ladder with one arm, and that gave Cinnamon the impression I didn’t know how. And that bugged me.
“Don’t worry, you won’t fall.”
“I know I won’t fall. I’m just being careful to protect my arm.”
I didn’t even think I needed a tetanus shot. My arm was just really weak and sore. But I had to take Ziegfried’s advice.
“I’ve never seen anybody climb so slowly before.”
“I have a broken arm!”
“I thought you said you were shot.”
“I did. That’s what I meant.”
“Are you making it up?”
“No! Why would I make it up?”
“I don’t know. I’ve just never seen anybody climb so slowly before. You won’t fall.”
“I’m trying not to hurt my arm, or it will take forever to heal.”
There were three decks on the ship and they were cluttered beyond belief. There were metal and wooden boxes fitted into every nook and cranny, and lengths of rope tied to everything, no doubt to tie it all down. They had just come through the typhoon too. There were heavy burlap sacks filled with rope and canvas and all kinds of things that should have been inside the hold. It turned the gangway into a maze. I followed Cinnamon in and around the maze and thought how many great places there were for snakes to hide. I looked at every rope carefully just to make sure it wasn’t a snake.
“I don’t see any snakes.”
“They’re here. They just don’t want you to see them. They smelled you before you even climbed onto the ship.”
“They did?”
“Yup.”
We turned a corner into an alley and suddenly everything became darker. Things above our heads looked like snakes moving to me. “Are there snakes up there?”
“Probably.”
“Are they poisonous?”
“No. They’re just hungry.”
“How many snakes are on this ship?”
“Nobody knows. Okay, you have to bend your head to come this way. This is where Mr. Chee lives. He’s the one who can fix your arm.”
“Is he a doctor?”
“Mr. Chee is everything.”
“Do I have to pay him?”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to with Mr. Chee.”
We climbed down a ladder from the upper deck, twisted through aisles of supplies, went up a little way, down a longer way, wound through a few more aisles and up a few steps. It was dark most of the way. I kept turning m
y head quickly from side to side and could have sworn I felt things dropping down my back.
“Why is all your cargo on the decks?”
“Because we need the holds for the animals and circus practice.”
“Oh.”
“Okay. This is where Mr. Chee lives. You have to take your sneakers off here.”
“What if he’s sleeping?”
“Mr. Chee never sleeps; he just meditates.”
Cinnamon knocked lightly on the door and we entered a small cabin that led to a larger one. There were candles hanging here and there, giving a soft coloured light. There was incense burning that reminded me of Sheba. Sheba would have felt comfortable in this room, I thought.
“Close the door tightly behind you; Mr. Chee doesn’t allow snakes in his cabin.”
“I don’t blame him.”
Mr. Chee was sitting crossed-legged on a seat that hung from bungee cords just like my cot. If the ship tossed and pitched, his seat swung free and kept him still. He was sitting up but he looked asleep to me. Cinnamon stood in front of him and spoke very gently. “Mr. Chee?”
“Good morning, Cinnamon and friend.”
We both answered, “Good morning.”
“How can I help you?”
I stepped forward. “I hurt my arm and I was hoping maybe you could give me a tetanus shot.”
“When you hurt your arm?”
“Umm . . . about a week ago, I guess.”
“No tetanus needed. If you need tetanus, you dead already. You have pain?”
“It’s very sore. It’s swollen.”
“You can open hand?”
“Not very well.”
“Let me see.”
He hopped off his seat, lit two candelabras and carried them to a carpet on the floor and sat down. “Here.”
I went over and sat down. I unwrapped my bandage and showed him my arm.
“Ahhhhh . . . gunshot wound.”
He looked me directly in the eye. He was old and wise. I liked him. “You are living dangerously.”
I shrugged. “Sometimes, I guess.”
He held my arm with both of his hands and felt it very gently. He brought it close to his face and drew his eyes over my skin like an x-ray. “When you were shot, you were thrown back, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Not just cut skin. You have chipped bone and torn ligament. Very sore.”
“It is very sore.”
I looked at Cinnamon. I told you, I wanted to say.
“I will make pain go away, but you must let arm rest. Live less dangerous.”
He smiled. Then he reached for a long box, opened it and pulled out a whole bunch of very long needles.
Chapter 15
NEEDLES WERE STICKING out of my arm, but all I felt was a curious tingling and a warm, pleasant sensation. When Mr. Chee removed the needles, the pain was gone. It was the most amazing thing. I couldn’t believe it. “Thank you so much, Mr. Chee. I don’t know how it works but it really works.”
Mr. Chee bowed his head. “Ancient Chinese medicine. Now, you live less dangerous.”
“I will. How much should I pay you?”
He looked at me and smiled. “You rich?”
“No.”
“Ten dollars.”
“Okay. I will go to my sub to get it.”
He pointed his finger at me. “No more dangerous living.”
I shrugged. Cinnamon looked suddenly worried. “Alfred.”
“Yes?”
“Did you leave your sub open?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Oh my gosh!”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“I’m afraid to tell you.”
“What? Tell me!”
“Snakes can swim.”
I stared dumbly for a second, trying to understand what she meant. Then I burst from the room and raced through the decks of the ship like a mad man. Cinnamon came after me, shouting at me which way to go. I ran around things, jumped over things and ducked my head. I went up and down ladders with my feet barely touching the steps. When we came out on deck I raced towards the stern. Cinnamon was still yelling something to me but I couldn’t listen now. I could hear Seaweed squawking in alarm. No! No! No! No! I took a quick glance over the edge of the ship and jumped.
On the way down I tried to tuck my arm in close to my body. I knew it was going to hurt a lot. And it did. But I ignored it. I swam to the sub. I heard another splash. Cinnamon was coming. The worst thing was that I couldn’t hear Hollie barking. Hollie would always bark at an intruder. I climbed the hull and jumped inside. I looked around but didn’t see anything. Then I saw I had left the engine compartment open. “Hollie!”
I thought I heard him whine. I rushed into the engine compartment. The snake was there, coiled around the engine. It was huge! Where was Hollie? I looked and looked but didn’t see him. “Hollie?”
Now I heard him whine for sure. He had wedged himself underneath the engine in an impossible position. The snake’s head was so big there wasn’t enough room for it to open its mouth wide enough to grab him. It could reach him but it couldn’t bite him. And it had been trying. Hollie was frightened to death.
“It’s okay, Hollie. I’ll get him!”
I reached for the biggest wrench. The snake started to coil more tightly. I tried to push it with my foot. I was going to strike it on the head if I could get a clear shot. It didn’t like me touching it but it wouldn’t leave. It didn’t want to lose its prey. I raised the wrench.
“Don’t!” Cinnamon screamed. “Don’t hurt it!”
“Why not?”
“You don’t have to hurt it. It’s okay. I will take it away.”
“How?”
The snake was at least twelve feet long; it was hard to tell exactly because it was coiled up. Cinnamon stood in front of me. “Please. Just back away for a moment and I will take it out.”
“Okay, but if I see it go for Hollie I’m going to hit it with all my strength.”
“Please don’t. It’s okay, he’ll come with me. He’s just hungry.”
I stepped back but stayed ready. Cinnamon bent down close to the snake and spoke to it softly, then she reached her hand very gently towards its head. The snake turned and stuck its tongue out at her. It was smelling her. Slowly its whole body began to move. It moved all at once, almost magically. Its head began to run up Cinnamon’s arm and across her shoulder.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“Shhhhh. When I start to move, very gently pick up the tail, okay, and follow me. He’s really heavy. He has grown so much. Megara will be amazed.”
“Who’s Megara?”
“The snake lady. Okay. Can you carry his tail? Carefully. Don’t make any jerky movements.”
As much as I didn’t like snakes, I picked up the back end and followed Cinnamon. She was wearing the rest of him like a really long scarf. Together we made our way towards the portal. I looked back at Hollie. “It’s okay now, Hollie. You can come out.”
Cinnamon went up the ladder first. But the snake started to leave on its own before we got to the top. It slithered down the side of the hull, across the water and up the rope ladder. I went back inside, into the engine compartment, crouched down and coaxed Hollie out. The poor thing. I reached in with both hands and helped him out. I didn’t know how he got in there in the first place. It was probably the only place in the whole sub where the snake couldn’t reach him.
I carried Hollie to his blanket and we sat down together. Now I felt pain. It was twice as bad as before. I could tell that Hollie wasn’t feeling so great either. I patted his fur and spoke gently to him to help calm him down. I told him what a brave and smart dog he was, and I promised to take better care of him. But Hollie knew, as I knew, that there were no guarantees. His first owner had thrown him off a wharf because he was the runt of the litter. I figured he carried few expectations in life after that: you could see it in his eyes. And yet he fought fiercely for the life th
at he had. I figured any other dog would have been in the belly of that snake already. I saw feet coming down the portal.
“Are you okay? I never saw anybody move so fast before. I never saw anybody jump so high from the ship without looking.”
“I looked.”
“It didn’t look like it. How is your arm?”
It was so painful I almost couldn’t speak. I shut my eyes and concentrated.
“You’ve got to come back to Mr. Chee, Alfred. He’ll help you.”
I couldn’t argue with that. “You see that little room there, at the stern? Could you please go into it, open up the tool bag there and empty it on the floor, then bring the tool bag back?”
“You want the empty tool bag? Okay. Why?”
I tried to get up, and winced with the pain. “That’s how I carry Hollie. He’s coming with me this time.”
“Are you sure you . . .?”
“Yes. He’s coming with me.”
I shut and sealed the hatch behind us. I wouldn’t let Hollie out of my sight. If any snakes tried to attack him while we were on the ship I would kill them. I really would. I had strapped my knife onto my belt.
Cinnamon helped me up the rope ladder. It hurt so much now it made my eyes water, though I wasn’t crying. Hollie sat in the tool bag, a tough nylon mesh bag that hung over my shoulder. He had travelled in it before and was comfortable and safe.
People were waking up on the ship. I saw a man covered in hair. His face and arms were thick with dark brown hair a couple of inches long. He looked as surprised to see me as I was to see him. “Morning, Cin. Find a stowaway?”
“Good morning, Tomas. This is Alfred. He has a submarine.”
“Interesting.”
I reached out my left hand and he crunched my fingers. We stared at each other and I wondered if he thought I was joining the circus.
“I’m just visiting.”
“He’s the wolf man,” Cinnamon said as we went down a ladder. “He was born that way.”
“Cool.”
Then we ran into a thin, quiet man who stepped out of our way to let us pass.
“Good morning, Edouard,” Cinnamon said.
“Good morning.”
I said good morning too, but Edouard didn’t respond and didn’t make eye contact with me. He seemed extremely shy.
“He’s the Master of Ceremonies,” Cinnamon whispered.
