Mariah Mundi and the Ship of Fools

by G. P. Taylor

  ‘Look, it’s Lorenzo with his father and mother,’ she said excitedly, as if looking forward to greeting an old friend.

  Standing near to the Marquis was the Zane family. They wore their best winter coats. Madame Zane pulled her hat close to her as the blast from the propellers of the skyship ruffled the feather collar of her coat. Sir Lorenzo Zane shrugged the chill from his shoulders and didn’t even look at the airship. He stared at the Marquis, holding tightly to his son as if to protect him from those around them.

  ‘I must tell you both that there is one problem that I cannot solve,’ Vikash said gravely. They both turned to him. ‘The mannequin – the puppet, Shanjing – he is not what he seems.’

  ‘I know, Vikash,’ Biba said. ‘He is a man, a very small man.’

  ‘How did you know?’ he asked.

  ‘I saw him when we travelled on the Ketos from New York and once when he was on stage, a fly landed on his face. I’ve never seen a puppet wince the way he did,’ she replied.

  ‘You should have told me,’ replied Vikash.

  ‘Would you have believed me?’ she asked.

  The Bicameralist sailed closer to the docking bay at the rear of the ship. It kept pace, yard by yard until it hooked itself to a steel pylon that had been hoisted towards it. The extending ladder was lowered slowly until it reached the deck.

  The crowd applauded as if this itself was an entertainment. Casper Vikash led Biba and Mariah to the entrance of the skyship. Mariah looked down the steep flight of steps towards the ship. A thousand faces stared eagerly at him. They clapped and cheered as if they knew what he had done.

  ‘It was announced that we were to rescue you,’ Vikash said. ‘Word had spread that you had been kidnapped. When the ship exploded we knew where you were. It set fire to the sky. We thought you were lost. The Marquis insisted I search for you both. Lorenzo Zane said we could take the Bicameralist.’ He spoke as if they both needed to know before they left the airship. ‘You must be careful – both of you. We have two madmen on this ship and you will not be safe until they are found.’

  ‘Do you know what Markesan looks like?’ asked Mariah.

  ‘His name is not on the list of passengers on the ship. According to Charity, he has never been seen,’ Vikash answered as the engines of the airship dimmed their tone.

  ‘Is Captain Jack waiting for me?’ Mariah asked hopefully.

  ‘We will see him later. The bomb went off and there was an explosion. If it had not been thrown over the side many would have been killed,’ Vikash said uneasily without looking at Mariah. ‘He’s alive and well. He wants to see you. I have told him to rest, and he is well guarded.’

  ‘Guarded?’ asked Biba as if the world had changed since she had been away.

  ‘A precaution, that’s all,’ Vikash replied as he gestured for them to walk the long, silver stairway to the ship.

  The crowds of passengers waved and cheered as Biba followed Mariah down the steps to the safety of the ship. Mariah hesitated as they thronged towards him, hoping to shake his hand.

  ‘Well done, Mariah Mundi,’ said Lorenzo Zane as he took him by the hand. ‘You haven’t met my son properly have you? He is now fit enough to be out and the wound is healing,’ he said as his son smiled at Mariah.

  ‘Lozzy!’ said Biba excitedly as she jumped the last steps from the skyship. ‘I could see you from right up there. You look so well.’

  His mother scowled at Biba. ‘He’s called Lorenzo – just like his father. Lozzy is such a stupid name.’

  ‘Sorry, Madame Zane, I forgot,’ Biba replied as the crowd gathered and jostled around them and the steps of the skyship were retracted.

  ‘You are safe at last,’ said Sir Lorenzo. ‘Your mother will be pleased.’

  Before she could reply, Vikash ushered them away through the crowd towards the bridge. Biba caught a brief glimpse of her father and mother as they stood with Captain Tharakan on a small dais next to where the wicker basket for the Montgolfier was precariously balanced. The Bicameralist turned. The propellers span faster and the skyship set off in pursuit of the Ketos.

  ‘Your father wants me to take you to Deck 13,’ Vikash said as the balloon filled with hot air and rose up like a red, silk cloud behind the ship. ‘The journey will not be long.’

  Biba tried to see her father again. She was too small to see over the men and women who gathered on the deck, pressed tightly together in their winter coats. Vikash pushed Biba through the crowd as Mariah followed. She turned again and again to try and see her father.

  ‘Can we wait here and watch?’ she asked as they got to the flight of steps that led to Deck 13.

  ‘Only for a moment,’ Vikash replied. ‘Your father doesn’t want you on the deck. It will be safer for you in your room.’

  But Biba refused to be led inside and they stayed to watch the balloon inflate with hot air. It towered over the back of the ship, blotting out the horizon. The basket was made ready and an acrobat from the circus helped Tharakan and Biba’s parents to step inside.

  Her father looked up. Biba waved. He smiled softly and silently said the words, ‘I love you.’

  Her mother looked not to her but to Sir Lorenzo Zane. She bowed to him and giggled, then cast a glance with a raised eyebrow to Biba. With that she and the Marquis stepped into the basket as the ropes that held it to the balloon tightened.

  From the deck below, a brass band struck up a German march. The music seemed brash and out of place. People began to clap in time and stamp their feet as the Marquis and his wife made ready for the balloon to set sail. Turned by three sailors in white jackets, a large winch handle cranked and clattered as the ratchet turned slowly. The Montgolfier staggered momentarily. The acrobat pulled a cord attached to a large brass handle and a gush of flames roared upwards, heating the air within the balloon. In the fresh morning light the Montgolfier was illuminated like a gigantic lamp holder.

  The crowds gasped as, with every blast of heat, the balloon slowly lifted from the deck of the ship. Madame DeFeaux waved regally, her eyes fixed on Sir Lorenzo Zane. Biba could see her smiling. She waved to her father, but he didn’t see her. He talked to the acrobat and rubbed his hands and laughed as the balloon went slowly higher and higher.

  The brass band played on as the queue to be next on the Montgolfier got longer. People bustled on the deck below, impatiently waiting their turn. The crewmen turned the handle of the ratchet-winch and let out the rope as thick as a man’s arm.

  The balloon went up and up, dragged along by the Triton. It was a bright and still morning. A faint sun climbed higher above the horizon, reaching up into a cloudless sky.

  The winch rolled out the line yard by yard. Every hundred feet the rope was painted with a red mark. Biba counted these as they went by.

  ‘Can you see the icebergs?’ a man shouted mockingly from the deck below as the balloon reached three hundred feet above them.

  ‘How high will the balloon go?’ Mariah asked Vikash.

  ‘Four hundred feet,’ he replied as the rope tightened and the crowds cheered. The last red marker appeared as the line pulled even tighter.

  ‘Is it safe?’ Biba asked as her heart beat faster.

  ‘They will pull them back now,’ Vikash said as he watched the crewmen stop the winch and reverse the winding.

  There was something about a glance that one of the men gave to another that made Mariah feel all was not right. The winch crackled as it turned, as if the teeth were broken inside. The rope juddered. The balloon trembled on the end of the rope, four hundred feet away. Due to the drag of the ship, the Montgolfier was only about a hundred feet above the sea. The Marquis and his wife were still waving and taking in the view. The crewmen pulled at the handles and slipped the catch on the top of the winch back and forth as if it was stuck.

  Mariah didn’t want to say anything in front of Biba. He looked at Vikash and then to the rope. Vikash had already seen it. He secretly put his finger to his lips, a clear warning for Mariah to sa
y nothing.

  ‘Stay here, I just need to speak with Lorenzo Zane,’ he said as he went down the steps to the deck below.

  ‘Is everything all right?’ Biba asked. ‘Why aren’t they pulling them back?’

  Mariah was about to reply when the crewman gave a shout of relief. The winch began to turn and the rope was wound tightly onto the capstan. Vikash turned and smiled as if to say all was well. The balloon drew nearer and then stopped. Mariah looked at the capstan – the winch was still turning and he could see the rope going into the winch but the balloon didn’t move.

  ‘Stop!’ he shouted as he set off after Vikash, his words swallowed by the din of the brass band. No one heard him. Biba gave chase.

  ‘What is it Mariah? What have you seen?’ she said as she ran after him, her long fur coat trailing on the deck.

  ‘The rope, stop turning the rope!’ he screamed again as he pushed against the crowds.

  There was a sudden and sharp crack. It was as if a beam of oak had smashed in two. The people near to the winch began to scream as it spun faster. It was out of control. The weight of the balloon pulled against the rope, drawing out more and more.

  ‘Grab the rope,’ Vikash shouted as a crewman was knocked over the side of the deck by the flailing capstan.

  Two passengers rushed forward just as the final yard of rope was pulled from the winch. They took hold and were lifted in the air.

  Biba began to scream. ‘No! No, Father, no!’

  He could not hear her words so far away.

  As the balloon broke free of the ship it went higher into the sky until the rope dragged along the deck like the pendulum of a large clock. The two men hanging on were now joined by other passengers who frantically tried to hold the balloon. Biba could see her father waving his hands as if to signal the distress.

  Casper Vikash took hold of her and tried to turn her away.

  ‘They will be safe,’ he said over and over as she fought with him to see what was happening to the balloon.

  Mariah ran the length of the deck towards the men holding tightly to the rope. As it reached the front of the ship, one man twisted the rope around the railings. It held fast. The balloon steadied and then, as if it were a hot knife, the rope cut through the railing and slipped from the ship.

  Mariah could hear Biba screaming for her father. The mooring rope dangled over the sea, just out of reach of the passengers who frantically tried to seize it. A man in a camel coat leapt from the deck. He took hold of the rope, held fast and then began to climb.

  The balloon went higher and higher, carried by the wind. The man began to scream, his words faint as he went further away. Then suddenly he let go of his grip. He fell to the sea and disappeared beneath the water. The crowds screamed. Women covered their faces.

  Mariah looked on. He turned to see Biba. Vikash was holding her back. She held out her hand towards the Montgolfier. It was as if she reached out to touch her father one last time. She sobbed as the balloon drifted towards the west. It spun around and around as it was pushed westwards, trapped in an invisible vortex.

  Everyone on the deck of the Triton stood and watched silently until the balloon was out of sight. The Bicameralist had gone at great speed beyond the horizon. A pillar of cloud could be seen far to the west as the Ketos billowed steam from its engines.

  Biba gripped the wooden deck rail and screamed for her father. When she could see the Montgolfier no more she went silent, gulped her breath and then fell to the deck.

  [19]

  The Dumb Waiter

  IN the panic that followed, no one noticed Mariah Mundi as he edged his way through the crowds towards the winching capstan. Vikash carried Biba DeFeaux to Deck 13. She was limp and silent, her eyes were open but she was unable to move. He had told Mariah that the shock of losing her parents had caused her to faint. Mariah had waited purposefully and allowed the frightened passengers to get in his way. The crowds had thronged the walkways, hoping for a glimpse of the lost balloon that had taken the Marquis, his wife and Captain Tharakan over the horizon. Mariah stood by the brass capstan, and when he looked inside he could see the severed strands of rope. The cogs that held the device were broken and three brass bolts lay on the deck. He bent down and, without letting anyone see, picked them up and slipped them into his pocket. He glanced at the last bolt in his hand and noticed that it had been cut through.

  ‘What do you have there?’ asked Lorenzo Zane as he stepped from the crowd unexpectedly.

  Mariah panicked. ‘Nothing …’

  ‘I saw you pick something from the deck – what is it?’ Zane insisted angrily as he took hold of Mariah’s clenched hand and squeezed until Mariah winced with pain.

  ‘A bolt – I found it on the floor – nothing else,’ Mariah said as he tried to pull away from the man.

  ‘Then let me see. If the capstan has failed I need to know.’ Zane opened Mariah’s hand and snatched the bolt. He studied it carefully as he sniffed and then took a magnifying glass from his pocket. He examined the bolt closely. ‘Nothing of consequence. It has fractured under the stress. I advised DeFeaux he would be foolish to use the Mongolfier, but he wouldn’t listen.’

  ‘What will happen to them?’ Mariah asked.

  ‘With the wind in the right direction I would presume they will get to America. There is enough fuel in the Montgolfier to keep them afloat for two days. I made it myself,’ Zane said as he tried to change his face to a smile. ‘I will signal to the Bicameralist to search for them and if they go down into the sea, then hopefully they shall be rescued.’

  ‘And what about the ship now that Captain Tharakan has gone?’ asked Mariah.

  ‘I shall make Ellerby captain. It is only right,’ Zane said, then paused as he looked into Mariah’s eyes. ‘And you, Mariah. What a journey you have had. It appears to have been steeped in trouble.’

  ‘I have to see Captain Charity – I believe he was injured by the bomb,’ Mariah replied as he stepped away from the man.

  ‘Ah, the bomb … Someone tried to blow up my ship. How inconvenient,’ Zane replied just as Ellerby came to him. ‘Mr Ellerby, I was just getting to know all about Mariah Mundi. And I was just saying that with Captain Tharakan indisposed, you would have to take his place.’

  ‘It is already done,’ Ellerby gloated his reply. ‘Do you have any orders for the crew?’

  ‘I think we need to double the guard around the engine room. With a saboteur on board we cannot be too careful,’ Zane said.

  ‘Is there something wrong with the ship?’ Mariah asked.

  ‘Why should you ask such a question?’ said Ellerby as he pushed Mariah back.

  ‘From the skyship I noticed that the rudder was hard to starboard to keep the ship straight and that only one engine was pushing out steam,’ Mariah replied.

  ‘And all this from such a young lad,’ said Zane. ‘We were testing the engine and had to turn off the power. It is restored again. You must be the same age as my own son. He is no more than sixteen and would never have noticed such a thing.’

  ‘I sailed at school. On the Thames. We had a small steam cruiser,’ Mariah replied.

  ‘Then you must be from the Chiswick Colonial School if I am not mistaken?’ asked Zane.

  ‘I am,’ replied Mariah. ‘Do you know of it?’

  Zane didn’t answer, but turned to Ellerby. ‘I think we should give Mariah a tour of the engine room. He is obviously quite bright and we may be interested in what he knows.’

  There was something about the way in which Lorenzo Zane spoke that made Mariah feel uncomfortable. He stared at Mariah for too long, as if he was examining him for some fault. His eyes were sharp, like a hawk’s. Mariah had never seen a man with such vivid green eyes. They were the colour of spring grass after thunder.

  ‘That can be arranged, Sir Lorenzo,’ replied Ellerby. ‘If that is what you wish.’

  Zane nodded that it was what he wanted. He turned to Mariah.

  ‘You would like that, wouldn’t you?’
he asked.

  Mariah felt he had to agree. The two men stood before him. They would not let him go until he complied with their wishes.

  ‘I need to see Captain Charity – he has been injured,’ Mariah said. ‘I will be free in the afternoon.’

  ‘Of course you will be free,’ Zane laughed. ‘This is a ship, you have nowhere to go – not unless you want to jump in another lifeboat … Mr Ellerby will collect you from Deck 13.’

  With that both men walked away in deep conversation. Mariah watched as they pushed their way through the crowds towards the bridge of the ship. He decided not to go straight to Deck 13 but instead found a windless place overlooking the rear deck and looked out to sea. He watched the waves created by the whirring of the steam engines. They were just as he had seen from the skyship, just the same. Zane had lied to him. The engine was still not working.

  Mariah walked once around the entire deck. He heard the passengers talking as they promenaded, linked together in gossiping of the loss of Captain Tharakan. It was his greatest love to watch people as they went about their lives, but now he could sense an edge of fear. They spoke of bombs and rescues and the loss of the Montgolfier. He heard a man in a striped suit telling another that in his opinion the ship was cursed and they would never reach America. He said it was the vengeance of Poseidon, the god of the sea, for the Triton being able to sail so quickly across the ocean. Mariah stole upon another conversation in which a woman with a pug face insisted that she would sleep in her life jacket or else she would be drowned in her slumber.

  Whatever it was, Mariah could now sense a growing anxiety amongst his fellow travellers. Together, they were trapped on board with not enough lifeboats to save everyone.

  By the door of the Saloon Theatre was a poster. Mariah read the words: THE SS TRITON – THE UNSINKABLE – NEVER FEARS THE STORM. It showed the ship crashing through a great storm and those inside drinking and eating as if they were on a millpond. He smiled to himself as he opened the door and went inside. The Saloon Theatre was empty. He walked to the steam elevator, went inside, took his card and slotted it into the aperture.