by Ruth Chew
The floor was flat and covered with long grass-like leaves. A little fire burned in a ring of stones. Merlin was sitting at a table, drinking out of a mug. Alice saw a few bones in a wooden bowl. Merlin seemed to have been having a feast.
He was so busy drinking that he hadn’t heard Alice call him. Now he caught sight of her standing at the entrance to the cave. “Welcome,” he said.
“What happened to the cave?” Alice asked. “And where did you get the food?”
“Have you forgotten the magic herbs, my child?” Merlin asked.
Alice remembered the wading pool. “You mean you just wished for all this?” she said. She thought for a moment. “I brought you some milk and cookies for supper, but I don’t suppose you’ll want them now.”
Merlin wiped a drop from the side of his mouth. “The food you bring is often new to me,” he said, “and often most tasty. May I see what you have?”
Alice handed him the box of Fig Newtons. The old man chose one. He looked at it closely before taking a bite.
“I don’t like them much,” Alice said, “but my father loves them.”
Merlin chewed slowly. “I am of the same mind as your father,” he said. “These little cakes make a fine ending to a meal.” He put the box of Fig Newtons on a shelf which was cut into the wall.
Alice noticed that Merlin had made other changes in the cave. He had a pile of soft furry skins that looked as if they would be good to sleep on. Several strange musical instruments hung on the wall. But at the far end of his big cave the winding drainage pipe still went back into the hill.
“It’s late,” Alice said. “I’d better get home before my mother misses me. Good-bye, Merlin. Tom and I will be back to see you in the morning.”
“Where were you, Alice?” Mrs. Nelson asked.
“I’m sorry, Mother,” Alice said. “I had to take something to a friend. And I wanted to do it before it got dark.”
“You should have told me you were going out,” her mother said.
Alice picked up the dish towel and began to dry the dishes. “Where’s Tom?”
“In the yard,” Mrs. Nelson said. “I wonder what he’s doing there all this time.” She opened the back door. “Tom, it’s time you came into the house.”
“I’ll get him to come in, Mother.” Alice went into the yard.
She could hear the water in the wading pool lapping against the wall. Alice strained her eyes in the darkness. There was no sign of Tom.
Could he have gone back into the pool? He wasn’t in his bathing suit. Alice leaned over the pool.
Suddenly a hand yanked her over the wall.
“Here’s another one,” a voice said.
Alice found that she was sitting in a small wooden boat. Near her a lantern gleamed. A thin man with long hair and broken teeth was rowing. Another man stood near Alice. He had a black patch over one eye and was wearing a single gold earring. Both men looked like pirates.
Now she saw Tom sitting on a coil of rope at the other end of the boat. His hands were tied behind him, and his feet were roped together.
The man near Alice scratched his head. “Jake,” he said, “is this a boy or a girl?” He sounded as if he had never before seen a girl in blue jeans.
“I’m a girl,” Alice said. “Why have you tied up my brother?”
“He kicked me,” the pirate said.
“You were twisting my arm,” Tom reminded him.
The thin man stopped rowing. “Do you want me to help you tie this one up too, Barney?”
The man with the black eye-patch scratched his head again.
“I promise I won’t kick you,” Alice said.
The pirate looked at her. “See that you don’t!”
The boat was floating on the same bay that Alice and Tom had swum in that afternoon. The moon was rising behind the line of palm trees. She could hear the boom of the surf on the beach. As the moon rose higher Alice saw a tall sailing ship anchored farther out in the bay. The masts and sails were dark against the night sky, but there was a glow of light from a lantern which hung in the bow of the ship.
Jake was rowing toward the ship. “What do you think these two are doing in this place? I’d have sworn we were the only ones around.”
“Maybe there’s another ship on the other side of that island,” Barney said. “Lass, where did you come from?”
Alice didn’t answer. She looked at Tom. He was dripping wet. “I fell into the pool,” he explained.
The boat had come up alongside the ship. Alice and Tom looked up at the dark wooden hull. An awful smell drifted down to them.
What had seemed like a dream was turning into a nightmare. There was something horrible about the ship. Alice did not want to go aboard.
Up above there was the sound of men’s voices. Someone threw down a rope ladder. Barney grabbed it. “I’m going to untie you, son,” he said to Tom, “and you’re to climb that ladder. Mind, no more kicking.”
“No more arm-twisting,” Tom said.
“Agreed.” The one-eyed sailor untied the ropes that bound Tom. “Up you go.”
When Tom reached the deck it was Alice’s turn. “I never climbed a rope ladder before,” she said. Really she had always wanted to climb one, but she couldn’t stand the smell of the ship.
“Get a move on,” a man yelled from above.
“Don’t be afraid. I’ll see that you don’t fall, lass.” Barney lifted Alice so that her feet were on the bottom rung.
Alice grabbed the swaying ladder and started to climb. Higher and higher she went. Her feet slipped on the ropes. The ladder banged against the side of the ship. Alice was sure she would fall off at any moment. She wondered how Tom had climbed up so fast. Would she never get to the top?
At last a sailor pulled her over the side of the ship. The horrible stench was all around. Alice felt sick from the smell. “Another one!” the sailor said. “Any more, Barney?”
The one-eyed man was climbing onto the deck. “That’s all,” he said.
A voice from the other end of the deck called, “What’s going on over there?”
Suddenly everyone was quiet.
“It’s the Captain,” Barney whispered to Alice. “Mind your manners.”
A tall man was walking down the deck toward them. His fingers were covered with rings that flashed in the lantern light. On his head was a cocked hat. A big sword swung by his side.
“What a charming surprise!” the Captain said. “Where did these young ones come from?”
“Barney found them floating in the bay,” said the sailor who had pulled Alice onto the deck.
The Captain was still looking at Alice and Tom. “Barney,” he said, “tell me about it.”
The one-eyed sailor edged out of the group of men. He stood in front of the Captain. “Please, sir,” he said, “Jake and me was coming back in the dinghy from the island. I found the boy swimming in the water. It was no easy job to get him into the boat. We nearly capsized.”
“He fought you?” the Captain asked.
“Yes, sir. We had to tie him up,” Barney said.
Tom interrupted. “You’re a couple of bullies. That’s what you are!”
The Captain stared at Tom. “Speak when you’re spoken to, boy!” he hissed.
Tom opened his mouth. Alice jabbed him with her elbow. Tom decided to be quiet.
“What about the other one, Barney?” the Captain asked.
Barney looked at Alice. “Oh, she gave us no trouble.”
“Was she in the water too? She isn’t wet.” The Captain’s eyes narrowed as he watched Barney’s face.
For the first time the one-eyed sailor noticed that Alice’s clothes were dry.
The Captain tapped the hilt of his sword. “Answer me,” he said.
Barney trembled. “W-what?” he stammered.
“Was she in the water?” the Captain repeated.
“I—I don’t really know, sir,” Barney said. “At the time I thought she was. It was dark, sir, and I sa
w the girl near the boat. I pulled her into it.”
“Barney,” the Captain said. “I hope you’re not lying to me.”
Poor Barney! Alice was really sorry for him. He seemed so afraid of the Captain. All the crew were afraid of him. Suddenly Alice was afraid too.
Now the Captain was staring at her. Alice wanted to run away, but there was nowhere to go. “Where are your parents, child?” the Captain asked.
Alice felt cold all over. Her mouth was dry. “I left my mother in the kitchen when I went to look for Tom. My father was somewhere else in the house.”
“Then you live on the island?” the Captain said.
Alice remembered that when she and Tom went ashore on the island they found themselves at home. She nodded in answer to the Captain’s question.
He smiled again. “Take the children to my cabin. They can sleep there.”
Alice and Tom were both expected to sleep in the trundle bed that pulled out from under the Captain’s big bed. Tom took off his wet clothes. The Captain threw him a shirt.
Alice kicked off her sneakers and slipped under the coarse blanket. The Captain left a lantern burning. When he went out he bolted the cabin door on the outside.
Tom and Alice were locked in.
They huddled together in the trundle bed. Tom whispered, “What do you think they plan to do with us?”
Alice had seen a lot of pirate movies on television. “Hold us for ransom, of course.”
Tom thought about this for a while. “Al,” he said, “will they end up in our backyard if they land on the island?”
“I don’t know,” Alice said. “I wish Merlin were here. He’d know what to do.”
“If we had the magic herbs,” Tom said, “we could do something ourselves.”
Alice felt in her pocket. There was not so much as a tiny leaf or stem left there. “How about the window, Tom?”
Tom ran to the small porthole. “It’s too high up. And we don’t have a rope ladder.” He peered into the darkness. “Hey, Al, there’s something going on out there.”
Alice slipped out of bed and ran to the window. Looking down she could see the Captain and several men getting into the small boat.
Alice put on her sneakers. “Get dressed, Tom.”
“My clothes are still wet,” Tom said.
“They may get a lot wetter,” Alice whispered.
Tom took off the Captain’s shirt and began to struggle into his wet jeans.
Alice rolled up the shirt Tom had taken off. She stuffed it under the blanket in the trundle bed. While Tom dressed, Alice looked for more things to put into the bed. There was a pair of boots in one corner. Alice took a blanket off the big bed and used it too. When she had finished there were two rounded forms in the bed.
An old-fashioned razor was hanging on the wall. Alice used it to cut off two long locks of her brown hair. Then she went over to Tom. He was trying to tie his soggy shoelaces.
When Tom saw Alice with the razor he backed away. Tom had argued with his mother and father about his long hair. He wasn’t going to let Alice cut it now.
“Please, Tom,” Alice whispered. “I’ll cut it where it won’t show.”
Tom shook his head.
Alice spread the hair she had cut from her own head across the pillow. If Tom hadn’t known better he would have been sure that the lump in the trundle bed was his sister.
“See?” Alice said.
Tom stood still while Alice whacked off a lock of his red hair. She tucked it beside her own hair in the trundle bed.
“Now what?” Tom asked.
“We have to wait until someone comes.” Alice put everything in the cabin the way it had been. Tom joined her in a shadowy corner near the door.
While they were waiting Alice explained her plan. They sat together in the corner for what seemed like hours. At last Tom fell asleep with his head in Alice’s lap. Her head kept nodding too.
Suddenly Alice was wide awake. She heard voices and a thumping noise. The dinghy had returned from the island. The pirates were coming aboard. Alice shook Tom.
The children flattened themselves against the wall. Soon they heard the bolt on the door scrape. The door was flung open, and the Captain strode into the cabin. He walked to the trundle bed and looked down at the two lumpy shapes in it. “Sound asleep,” he muttered.
Like silent shadows Tom and Alice slipped out of the open door of the cabin.
Alice and Tom dodged among the shadows on the deck. Tom’s heart pounded, and his hands were sweating. Alice felt as if she could hardly breathe.
The sailors were busy around the main mast of the ship. The children hid behind a huge barrel. After a while the crowd of men around the mast scattered. Now Tom and Alice saw that a sailor was roped to the mast.
“Al,” Tom whispered, “it’s Barney.”
Alice didn’t know why she liked the one-eyed pirate, but she did. She couldn’t leave him here with that awful Captain. Besides, Alice had a feeling that it was all her fault that Barney was in trouble. “Tom,” she said, “help me untie him.”
The children slipped behind the mast. “Barney,” Alice whispered, “be quiet.”
Tom loosened the knots at the pirate’s ankles. Alice uncoiled the rope that bound his body to the mast. In a few minutes Barney stepped clear. “Make for the dinghy,” he said.
The three ran to the rope ladder which was still dangling over the side of the ship. One after the other they climbed down to the boat below. Barney untied the dinghy from the iron ring on the ship’s side. Silently in the darkness, they pushed away.
Alice took a deep breath of the fresh air. It was so good after the stench of the pirate ship.
When they had floated some distance from the ship, Barney began to row. Then Alice asked him, “What happened?”
Barney rested his oars. “The Captain didn’t find anybody on the island. He thinks I lied to him about you two. In the morning he was going to punish me. I don’t want to talk about that. I’ve seen the Captain’s punishments.”
Tom said, “What will we do now?”
“Once we get to the island we’ll be all right,” Barney said.
“What’s the island like?” Tom asked.
The pirate looked astonished. “I thought you lived there,” he said.
“Tell us about it,” Alice begged.
Barney started to row again. “I’ve never seen a place I liked so much. There are fruit trees and coconuts. And the water’s full of fish. I wouldn’t mind staying there for the rest of my life.”
“Won’t the Captain come looking for us?” Alice asked.
Barney laughed. “We’ve got the dinghy. He’d have to swim ashore. And the Captain’s no swimmer. Anyway he wants to get away from these waters. There’s a fleet of warships looking for him. It’s my guess he’ll sail away in the morning.”
The pirate rowed in silence for a while. The moon was getting low in the sky. Barney stopped to rest. He pulled a little leather bag out of his shirt and took two gold coins out of it. He gave a coin to each of the children. “Something to remember me by,” he said, “when you get back to your parents.”
Alice and Tom took the coins and thanked him. Then Barney started to row again. They were getting close to the island. The trees gave off a sweet smell. When the water became shallow Barney stepped out of the boat and began to wade. He grabbed hold of the dinghy to pull it onto the beach. Alice jumped to the sand.
The smell from the trees changed. It was still sweet, but it was different now—like roses and peaches. Alice was in her own backyard. A moment later Tom was beside her. The island had disappeared, and so had the pirate.
The back door opened. “Alice,” Mrs. Nelson called, “I thought you were going to get Tom to come into the house. It’s much too late for you children to go into the pool.”
All those terrible hours Tom and Alice had spent on the pirate ship had taken no time at all on the kitchen clock. Alice rubbed the gold coin to be sure it was really there
.
Next morning, after Mr. and Mrs. Nelson went to work, Alice made the beds while Tom washed the breakfast dishes. Tom looked out of the kitchen window at the sparkling wading pool. The day was hot. It would be nice to splash in the cool water. But Tom’s arm was still sore from being twisted and the ropes that bound him had left red welts on his wrists and ankles.
Alice came into the kitchen. “Aren’t you finished yet, slowpoke?” She picked up the dishcloth and pushed Tom away from the sink.
“I want to go into the pool,” Tom said, “but I’m afraid I might run into a shark this time.”
“Don’t you dare to even go into the yard,” Alice said. “We’ve got to talk to Merlin. I’m sure he’ll know what to do about it. Anyway, you haven’t seen what he did to the cave.” Alice told Tom about her visit to Merlin the night before.
“If you’d taken me along we wouldn’t have run into all that trouble.” Tom rubbed his arm.
Alice had finished washing the dishes. She called Freckles. The spotted dog jumped around in such excitement that Tom had to hold him for Alice to put on the leash.
The sky was blue. A blackbird sang in the top branch of a beech tree as the children raced across the meadow. They hurried along the hills above the stream. Alice saw that the stump of the old oak was sprouting tiny green shoots. The upper part of the tree had been sawed into sections and piled alongside the stump.
Merlin was sitting in the sunshine on a rock by the stream. He was just finishing a bowl of cornflakes. “Can I offer you something to eat?”
“You mean you can magic-up anything you want?” Tom asked. “I could go for an ice-cream pop.”
“I’m sorry, Tom,” Merlin said. “I can’t offer you that. I’ve never seen an ice-cream pop. I can’t get something by magic unless I know what it is.”
Alice told Merlin about their adventures in the wading pool. He shook his head when he heard about them. “Magic is dangerous,” he said. “I should never have let the herbs out of my sight. It took me years to learn how to use magic.”
“Merlin,” Alice said, “what can you do about the wading pool?”
