“Make yourself comfortable,” Miranda said.
“Thanks,” Scarlet said weakly.
“Ah. That’d be your father,” said Miranda.
“Really? I didn’t hear anything,” Scarlet replied, but Miranda had already slipped back down the hallway.
“Huh,” Scarlet muttered, peering into another nearby jar on the counter, which appeared to hold several hundred small green beetles. “What does she do with all this stuff, anyway?”
Fortunately, before she could find the answer, the door swung open again, and Admiral McCray walked into the room.
“Scarlet!” He stopped and took off his blue cap, a smile spreading across his face. She stood up and let him pull her into a warm hug. For the tiniest moment, she even let herself relax, enjoying the feeling of having someone take care of her. But then she felt Miranda’s eyes on her back, and she wiggled out of her father’s arms. The voodoo queen was watching them intently, stroking her python’s head.
“Thank you, Miranda,” said the admiral. “We won’t be long.” He pulled out a chair and sat down at the table, dropping his hat between himself and the frog.
Scarlet frowned. How could her father be so comfortable in a place that was so … strange?
Miranda nodded. “There are cookies on the counter if you get hungry.” She narrowed her eyes at Scarlet. “Looks like you could use a good meal.”
“I just ate,” Scarlet said quickly, although it had been several hours since she’d snacked on the nuts Jem had packed. If the jars around the kitchen were any indication of the ingredients Miranda baked with, she’d rather pass.
Miranda shrugged and slipped away again, leaving Scarlet and her father alone.
Even now, it still surprised her to see him. Not that he’d changed much in their time apart; she’d known him the moment she saw him on Island X, about a month before. He’d arrived with his men, scouting the island for trees and spices to harvest, and she’d quickly realized that he’d completely forgotten everything about the island—he didn’t even recognize it as the place he’d called home for years.
“Please, sit down.” He gestured to her chair, and she sat again. He picked up his cap, then set it back down on the table. “So.”
“So,” she said.
“Are the tree houses finished now?”
“Almost,” she replied. “They look jolly—Fitz did a great job.”
“And the garden?”
“Done. Gil took a real shine to weeding and planting. Sina thinks we’ll have squash in a month or so.”
The admiral nodded and fiddled with his cap. “And no sign of that pirate captain… what’s his name again?”
Scarlet shook her head. The Dread Pirate Captain Wallace Hammerstein-Jones led the Dark Ranger, the ship Lucas Lawrence defected to. He was just as treasure hungry as Lucas himself, which meant more trouble for the Lost Souls, since Lucas had Uncle Finn’s treasure map. Scarlet tapped her feet on the floor, wondering if either pirate was in port that night and what her crewmates might do if they ran into them. She peered out the cloudy window, hoping her father wouldn’t keep her long.
“Speaking of captains,” her father continued, “do you have a plan to stop this new one from getting the treasure?”
Scarlet’s head snapped back. “What new one?”
The admiral looked down at the frog in the jar and noticed it for the first time. He grimaced and turned it so that it faced the wall.
“The new pirate captain,” he repeated. “Surely you’ve heard of him.”
Scarlet shook her head, suddenly grateful for her father’s presence in port. This sounded serious.
The admiral frowned. “Everyone’s talking about him, though I have yet to meet anyone who has actually met him. Apparently a new pirate is rising to power, and he’s gathering a crew of the filthiest and fiercest pirates around. Rumor has it he aims to be the most powerful pirate in all the tropics. They call him the Rebel.”
“What?” Scarlet cried, then lowered her voice. “What does that mean?”
“Well, it’s someone who defies authority and—”
“I know what rebel means,” Scarlet snapped. Then she bit her lip. “Sorry. I meant, what does this mean for us?”
The admiral frowned. “Well, he wants the most powerful crew, the fastest and biggest ship, and control of all the treasure around.”
“Shivers!” Scarlet tried to imagine it. Then she started as another thought came to mind. “What if Lucas decides to join this… this Rebel? He’s got the map!”
“My thoughts exactly,” said her father. “He’s just the type to—”
Voodoo Miranda poked her head into the kitchen. “Hungry yet?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at Scarlet.
“Oh no!” Scarlet said. “I’m full.” She patted her stomach, which proceeded to growl.
“Thought so,” Miranda said, sweeping through the door. The striped viper was still nestled in her hair, but the snake on her wrist was nowhere to be seen. Scarlet glanced around nervously and lifted her boots off the floor. “I baked them just last week.” Miranda grabbed a plate piled with small gray lumps off the counter and thrust them at Scarlet.
“Oh, I couldn’t—”
“Try them!” Miranda pushed the plate toward her.
Scarlet snatched up a gray lump and took a nibble. It tasted salty and a bit like the hardtack the Lost Souls used to eat on board the Hop. But there was something else… some flavor she couldn’t quite put her finger on. “Um… what kind of cookie is it?”
Miranda licked her purple lips. “I call it ‘rodent surprise.’ The snakes love them.”
Scarlet’s mouth fell open, and she looked down at her half-eaten cookie. Sure enough, the tip of a tiny hairless tail was sticking out. She gagged and sputtered. Miranda was watching her closely, as was the viper in her hair. It took all her will to swallow.
“It’s good,” Scarlet told them weakly.
Miranda straightened and gave her another wide purple smile. “I know,” she said, and slipped back out the door.
Scarlet swallowed hard again and turned back to her father. “Look, as fun as this is, I can’t stay much longer. I’ve got to get back to my crew. We’ll need another plan to protect the island from this… this Rebel.” She stood and pushed back her chair. “Keep notes on everything you hear about him, will you? Then you can fill me in next time I’m in port.”
The admiral nodded and checked his pocket watch. “Wait,” he said. “There’s one more thing.”
“About the Rebel?”
“Well, no. This is… something different.”
Scarlet sat back down and watched him fiddle with his cap again. Could he have even worse news? Maybe one of the King’s Men had spotted them after their last meeting and guessed her identity. Or maybe they’d guessed what the admiral was up to. Then—
“Your uncle Daniel is coming for a visit. From the Old World.”
Scarlet cocked her head to the side. “My what?”
“Your uncle Daniel,” he repeated. “My older brother. You’ve never met him.”
“Oh.” Scarlet relaxed, relieved that her identity and her father’s new mission to protect the Lost Souls and Island X were still secret.
“He won’t be staying long. Three weeks at most, and he’ll be bringing his daughter, who’s about your age. Her name is Josephine.”
“I see,” Scarlet said, although she didn’t see what this news had to do with her.
“Daniel is a very high-ranking King’s Man. In fact, he’s a deputy advisor to King Aberhard himself.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“When we moved away from the island after the fever, he used his influence to get me a position with the King’s Men again. They would have never taken me back otherwise.”
“Because, God forbid, you’d gone off and married an Islander,” Scarlet finished sarcastically.
The admiral paused. “Daniel means well,” he said carefully. “He doesn’t understand the tropics. He�
��s only ever advised from afar. But he’s my brother, and he’s always taken care of me. He was going to take care of you, too, when I wanted to send you back to the Old World. So when you disappeared, I… I didn’t tell him. I knew he’d be on the first ship over to search for you. It would have turned my family upside down.”
This only went to prove Scarlet’s theory that grown-ups made no sense. If you couldn’t call them for help because they’d only make more trouble, what good were they? But she stayed quiet, a pit beginning to grow in her stomach.
“But now he’s coming on business for the king. I’m not sure what it’s about, but the point is, he’s family.”
“And?” Scarlet prodded, not entirely sure she wanted to hear the answer.
“And I need you to come stay with me in port.”
Scarlet’s mouth fell open. “You what?”
The admiral nodded, hardening his jaw as if he were giving orders to another King’s Man. “It’ll be about three weeks, according to Daniel.”
“Three weeks?” Scarlet couldn’t believe her ears. “Father, this is absurd! I can’t leave the island for three days, let alone weeks!”
Her father frowned. “Believe me, Scarlet, we have no choice here. I cannot have my brother finding out that you live by yourself on another island with a group of children. He wouldn’t understand.”
“But—”
“And what’s more, it could be dangerous. Daniel’s loyalty lies first and foremost with the king, and if he were to find out about Island X and its treasure—the very treasure King Aberhard is looking for—I’d hate to think what he’d have to do.”
“But… but can’t you tell him I’m at boarding school?” she pleaded.
Her father shook his head. “He’d insist we go visit you. He wants to meet you, Scarlet. When you didn’t come to the Old World like we’d planned, he was disappointed. He was hoping you could be like a sister to Josephine.” The admiral placed his hands, palms down, on the table. “Trust me, Scarlet, I’ve thought this through. There is no way out of it.”
Scarlet fought the rising panic in her throat by swallowing hard. “When are they coming?”
“Their ship docks tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” she cried. “You’ve got to be joking! My crew—”
“Will survive without you for three weeks,” he interrupted, his voice firm. “They’re smart and strong, and nothing will go wrong in your absence.”
“But—”
“Scarlet.” This time his voice was heavy, and she knew there was no use arguing anymore. “Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want. That’s what having a family is all about.”
And that just absolutely scuttled.
“Three weeks?” Jem repeated, certain he couldn’t have heard her correctly.
Scarlet looked as if she wasn’t sure whether to smack someone or burst into tears. “Three weeks,” she said hopelessly.
It was now after midnight, and the Lost Souls stood on the dock near their rowboat. Nothing but a slender crescent moon illuminated the crew’s faces, but Jem could see the shock on each one.
“But… but what’ll we do without you?” Edwin asked, wide-eyed. “Anything can happen in three weeks! Think of how much has happened since we got to the island!”
“The Dark Ranger pirates invaded twice,” Emmett pointed out.
“Then the King’s Men came,” Edwin added.
“And killed that smelly wild pig. Then—”
“So you’ll be hosting Old World relatives?” Jem cut the twins off before Scarlet threw herself right into the ocean.
Scarlet wrung her hands. “Can you believe it? I’m going to have to spend three weeks showing my stuffy Uncle Daniel around skuzzy old Port Aberhard. And his niece, too. Josephine.” She said the name as if it tasted like slimy oysters.
Jem couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for Josephine, whoever she was. She had no idea what she was in for.
“Sink me.” Scarlet suddenly turned pale. “I’m going to have dress up, aren’t I?” She turned to Jem, eyes wide. “I hadn’t thought of that. I’m going to have to wear a dress! And petticoats! Blast!” She shook her fist at the moon, nearly punching Edwin in the head.
Jem turned away for a moment, to sort things out in his brain. It was a perplexing situation, no doubt. But it wouldn’t be the first time Scarlet had left him in charge. He’d had to lead the crew several times in the past few weeks while she’d been off chasing an irritated monkey or an ara with indigestion. It had been tricky at first, getting them to listen to him, but now it was easier, especially after he’d overseen the tree house–building project. Three weeks was a long time, though.
I’ll be Deputy Captain, he thought, then brightened. That’s a good title. Maybe I can handle this. And he turned back to Scarlet to tell her so.
“And I’ll have to comb my hair,” Scarlet was saying. “And use those… those things to eat with,” she went on. “What’re they called again, Fitz?”
“Cutlery,” Jem said.
“Exactly.” Scarlet nodded. “I detest cutlery. Knives are for cutting off pirates’ noses, not buttering bread.”
“But what about the panther?” Edwin asked. “How are we going to fend it off without you?”
Jem’s stomach dropped. He’d forgotten about the panther.
Scarlet paused and stared at Edwin. Then she shook her head. “You’re right. I can’t do it. I can’t stay here. I’ll go tell him right now.”
“Wait.” Jem reached out and laid a hand on her arm. “You have to,” he said, sounding a hundred times more certain than he felt. “Your father’s right—you have to keep up appearances so your uncle doesn’t find out about the island. You’ll… you’ll be protecting it, in a way,” he added.
She didn’t look convinced. And frankly, neither was he. Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t just the panther that stood to cause him trouble. He couldn’t understand the other animals like Scarlet could—suppose they needed to tell him about an intruder? And communicating with the Islanders was no picnic, either. Only Scarlet knew how to do those things.
“Well, it scuttles for sure,” Tim finally spoke up. “But it might actually be helpful.”
Scarlet looked at him incredulously. “How could it possibly be helpful?”
“Well, Liam and I heard a nasty rumor while we were stealing daggers from some swabs’ boots. Didn’t we, Liam?”
Liam nodded. “We didn’t hear the whole story, but it sounds like there’s a new captain sailing around, and he’s going to be trouble.”
“I heard that, too,” Smitty said.
Scarlet snapped her fingers. “That’s right! My father told me about him, but I completely forgot about it after he told me the other news.”
“What’s this? What’s going on?” Jem demanded. He hadn’t heard anything about a pirate captain while searching for the hooks and nails he needed for the tree houses.
“Some pirate’s determined to be the most powerful in all the tropics,” Scarlet told him. “They call him the Rebel, and he wants the fastest ship and all the treasure around. And he’s gathering a crew of the dirtiest scoundrels to back him up.”
“Like Pegleg Ted,” said Tim. “And Deadeye Johnny. You remember old Deadeye, Jem?”
Jem’s stomach dropped down to his toes. “How could I forget?” He’d once stolen a silver and ivory–handled pocketknife from Deadeye Johnny, before learning that the pirate was one of the fiercest around. Deadeye had chased him around port, threatening to cut off his nose, and Jem didn’t doubt for a moment that he’d do it, even now.
“Which is why I can’t be stuck in port,” Scarlet said, just as Tim concluded, “Which is why you need to be in port.”
“What?” Scarlet spun toward him. “Swig, are you crazy?”
“We need a spy.” Tim straightened his spectacles. “We need someone to find out everything they can about this new captain.”
Jem nodded. Tim had a point. “That way, we’ll be tw
o steps ahead of him if he finds out about the treasure. He’ll never take us by surprise, and you’ll be protecting the island from afar,” Jem finished, now far more convinced in his logic.
Scarlet thought about this for a moment, then agreed that it made sense. “But I don’t see why it has to be me. Emmett could do it. Or Edwin.”
“Doubt I could pass for the admiral’s daughter,” Emmett quipped.
“I’d look terrible in a dress,” added Edwin.
Scarlet groaned. “I’ll look just as bad!”
“Not possible,” said Smitty. “Have you seen Ed’s legs?”
“Hey now!” Edwin protested.
“Captain, come on,” Jem cut in. “It won’t be that bad.” Actually, a few weeks in port with square meals and a real bed sounded like a nice holiday to him. The admiral probably even had a library in his quarters. If there was one thing Jem missed about the Old World, it was reading before bed at night. He briefly thought about asking Scarlet to steal him a book or two, then decided it wasn’t the time.
Scarlet shook her head. “Oh, it’ll be bad, all right,” she growled. “It’ll absolutely scuttle.”
Jem opened his mouth to protest again, but she cut him off.
“But I’ll do it for the island,” she said. “On one condition.”
“What?” asked Jem.
“That none of you lunkheads say the word dress again till I’m gone.”
“Hey, Fitz, wanna see what I got for Sina?” Smitty asked Jem once they’d weighed anchor and begun to sail for home. After finally bidding Scarlet farewell, they’d rowed back out to the Hop and tried to get a few hours of sleep before sunrise. Jem had failed miserably, and he could tell by their droopy eyes the others had as well.
Jem looked up from the sail he was mending, sitting cross-legged on the fo’c’sle. He shaded his eyes from the sun. “You found a gift, then?”
Smitty nodded, crouching down beside him and digging in his pocket. “Whaddya think?” He pulled out a hair clip made from a tortoise shell. “Nice, hey? I think it’s supposed to look something like this.” Smitty snapped the clip around a bunch of his hair, so that it spouted like a dirty blond fountain off the crown of his head. “Except nicer. Sina’s hair is much nicer.” A dreamy look spread over his face.
Hunt for the Panther 3 (9781101610923) Page 3
