“Welcome aboard!” said Captain Foster from the top of the gangway. Biscuit, who was standing beside him and who was very pleased at the prospect of more company on the voyage, gave a loud bark of delight.
The whole island had turned out to wave them goodbye, and as the ship slipped out of the harbour, the three children stood on the deck and waved and waved until their arms could wave no longer. The people on the shore were smaller now, and soon they were no more than dots.
Lucy looked at Hermione. Her friend was always very brave, and this made her feel brave too, but now, as they faced the open sea, the thought of pirates made her shiver.
“I hope we don’t see the pirates,” she confessed to her friend. “I’m a little bit scared.”
Hermione smiled. “So am I,” she whispered back. “But let’s try not to show it! We wouldn’t want Sam to know.”
Sam, who was standing next to Biscuit, turned and whispered into the dog’s ear.
“I’m rather frightened, Biscuit,” he said under his breath. “But please don’t tell the girls.”
Biscuit wagged his tail and gave a bark. He wasn’t in the slightest bit afraid of pirates, and if they showed their faces around the popcorn ship again, they were going to get a very nasty surprise from him!
4
Unwelcome Visitors
They had set sail in the mid-afternoon and by the time they lost sight of land it was almost sunset. They had had a busy few hours, unpacking their bags and slinging up their hammocks down below, and now Captain Foster was telling them their duties.
“The night is divided into watches,” he said. “A watch will be four hours long and you’ll have one watch each. You’ll start, Sam, because you’re the youngest, and then it’ll be Lucy and Hermione, one after the other. That’ll take us through to morning.”
“What do we do?” asked Sam. “Do we steer the ship?”
“No,” said Captain Foster. “I’ll put down the sea anchor later on and we’ll switch off the engine. So all you’ll have to do is keep a good lookout for any other ship. If you see anything, come down and wake me up.”
“It could be pirates, you see,” explained Hermione, making everybody shiver slightly as she mentioned the word.
Sam nodded. If there were going to be pirates, he very much hoped that they would come in somebody else’s watch.
They had dinner together, eating two of the pies which Hermione’s father had made. It was dark now, and everybody felt lonely and far from home. The sea around them was gentle, with only the smallest of waves, and the sky above was a great dome of stars. You feel bigger on land, thought Lucy. Out here you feel very, very small.
The best place for the watch was right at the front of the ship. Sitting there in the darkness, one would see the lights of any approaching ship and there would be plenty of time to wake Captain Foster. Sam felt very nervous during his watch, but nothing happened while he was up there and eventually the time came for him to go off to wake his sister. He felt very proud of himself, and very pleased that his duties were over.
Lucy took some time to wake up, but eventually she struggled out of her hammock and made her way up on deck. The hours seemed to pass very slowly, but at last she too was finished, and it was Hermione’s turn.
Nothing at all happened that night, and the children were beginning to feel a bit more confident by the time that Captain Foster got up and started the engines again. Soon they were ploughing through the sea once more, with a fresh wind behind them helping them on their way, and wonderful-smelling breakfast sizzling away on the cooker.
After breakfast, they again took it in turns to sit up on deck and keep a lookout. Other ships were sighted now, but each time that Captain Foster was called he looked through his telescope and shook his head.
“Banana boat on the way from Barbados,” he would say. Or, “Pleasure yacht from Florida, going over to the Caymans.”
There was no sign of the pirates, and everybody began to think that the last time they had struck it had just been bad luck. Perhaps that was the last they had heard from them, and the pirates would just be a bad memory.
Then, shortly after lunch, while Sam was keeping lookout, he gave an excited shout.
“Captain!” he called. “A ship off to starboard, coming our way, I think!”
Captain Foster came out of the wheelhouse and put his telescope to his right eye. Lucy and Hermione strained their eyes to see too, but the ship was too far away and it still looked no more than a black smudge on the horizon.
Captain Foster lowered his telescope and frowned.
“I don’t like the look of that,” he said. “I can’t be certain – it’s still a bit far away – but I’m going to increase our speed a little and change our course by a few degrees. You keep a very close watch on her, will you?”
He passed the telescope to Lucy and pointed in the direction of the distant ship.
“Let me know the moment she does anything unusual,” he said. “I’ll be in the wheelhouse.”
Lucy took the telescope and trained it on the other ship. She could make out a bit more now, but it was still very far away. As she did so, she heard the note of the ship’s engine change slightly as Captain Foster increased speed.
For the next fifteen minutes, the children kept an eye on the distant ship. It seemed to be on the same course as themselves, they thought, and very slowly it was getting closer. They were now able to make out its masts, and at one point Lucy thought that she could see one or two people on the deck.
“Go and tell Captain Foster that it’s following us,” Lucy said to Sam.
Sam passed on the message and Captain Foster came up on deck and took the telescope from Lucy. He studied the other ship for a few moments, and then lowered the telescope.
“It’s them,” he said. “I recognise their ship!”
“Can’t we go any faster?” asked Hermione. “Can’t we just sail away from them?”
Captain Foster sighed. “I’m going full speed as it is,” he said. “But they’ve got a pretty stiff wind behind them and they’re gaining ground.”
The children looked at Captain Foster in dismay. Did this mean that the pirates would catch them? And if they did, what then? Would they all be tied to the mast, as the pirates had done to Captain Foster the last time? Or might they even change their minds and make them walk the plank?
Captain Foster saw how worried the children were, and he tried to reassure them.
“We’re not beaten yet,” he said. “You stay up here. I’m going to go down below and see if I can tinker with the engines to get a bit more speed. Lucy, just take the wheel for me, will you?”
Ten minutes later, Captain Foster came up on deck again. The pirate ship was a bit closer now, and it was possible to make out the rigging on its high masts and see the distant fluttering of its black flag. Captain Foster looked at the approaching ship and herded the children into the wheelhouse. Then he addressed them gravely, as a captain might before his ship goes down.
“It looks as if they’re going to catch us,” he said. “I have a duty to make sure that you people are not harmed. So what you are going to do is hide, all three of you, and Biscuit too. I don’t want him making any trouble with the pirates.”
“But what about you?” asked Lucy. “We can’t just let you face them alone.”
“It will be far better that way,” said Captain Foster. “They’ll take the popcorn and then they’ll probably tie me up, the same as before. But once they’ve got back on to their ship, you can come out and set me free. It’s the best thing to do, as far as I can see.”
The children had to agree, although they all felt that they were rather letting Captain Foster down. He showed them to their hiding place, which was at the back of the wheelhouse, under a pile of old popcorn sacks. If they stayed quite still, then none of the pirates would dream of looking in a dusty old pile of sacking. They should be perfectly safe.
“Right,” said Captain Foster briskly. “I
n you get. Stay absolutely quiet and don’t make any movements, whatever happens. And if anybody wants to do any sneezing, you’d better do it now!”
Lucy and Hermione fitted under one sack, and Sam and Biscuit under another. Then Captain Foster stood back and checked to see that they were properly hidden.
“Good work,” he said. “Now remember what I said about staying still.”
The children did not have long to wait. Ten minutes later they heard a shout from above and a jolt ran through the ship.
“They’re coming aboard,” whispered Hermione. “The pirates are here!”
5
Biscuit’s Mistake
It was difficult trying to keep still under those old popcorn sacks. Lucy’s legs were in an uncomfortable position and she would have loved to be able to stretch them, but she couldn’t, of course. For Hermione, the worst part about it was not being able to see what was happening. If only she had had a little hole in the sacking to peer through, she would have felt much better. There’s nothing worse, she thought, than being hidden and not knowing whether somebody is standing right next to you, or even looking down at you, wondering what those peculiar shapes under the sacking might be.
And as for Sam, he was busy trying to keep Biscuit still. The little dog had started off being quite happy under the sacks, but now he was showing signs of having had enough of this peculiar game and wanting to get out. So Sam had to stroke him and tickle him under his hairy chin to keep him amused.
After some time, the sound of thumping and bumping from the hold came to an end. The sacks must now have been unloaded, and, with any luck, the pirates might sail away.
“Only a few more minutes,” Lucy whispered to Hermione. “Then we can get out and –”
She was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. They heard the door of the wheelhouse open and there were voices.
“So where do you keep your money?” asked a rough voice.
“There isn’t very much,” came Captain Foster’s voice. “I keep telling you that. Anyway, it’s not here – it’s down below. There’s nothing in here for you.”
“Oh, yes?” came another voice, a cruel, horrible voice that sent shivers down the spine. “You seem very keen to keep us out of the wheelhouse, doesn’t he, Bert? So what are you hiding in here?”
“Nothing,” said Captain Foster quickly. “Nothing at all.”
“We’ll be the judge of that,” said the first voice. “I think that we might take a little look round, just to be sure. What do you think, Stinger?”
The pirate called Stinger grunted his agreement. “Why not, Bert? You never know your luck. That’s what I always say.”
Lucy reached out and gripped Hermione’s hand. This is the end, she thought – they’re bound to find us.
They felt the vibration of footsteps through the planks of the deck. Then they stopped.
“What’s in those sacks?” asked Bert.
“Nothing,” said Captain Foster, his voice almost breaking with fear. “They’re just old popcorn sacks.”
Bert snorted. “You should keep your ship tidier,” he said. “Just like us.”
Then Stinger spoke. “Come on, Bert,” he said. “We can’t spend all day heve. Let’s go.”
And at that point, Biscuit barked.
You couldn’t really blame Biscuit. He had been very good until then, but at last it was just too much for a dog to bear, and he barked. He had recognised the voice of one of the pirates, and he was filled with indignation. How dare these people come back on to his ship? No self-respecting dog would allow them to get away with it.
“Ah!” shouted Stinger. “I suppose you’ll be telling us that that’s the ship’s cat! Well, let’s just take a look.”
The sack covering Sam was torn off and the boy and the dog were exposed. Then, with a deft flick of the wrist, Stinger pulled the sacking off Lucy and Hermione, and they too were revealed, crouched on the floor.
“Ah ha!” crowed Bert. “So, what have we here? Are these stowaways, my good Captain, or was you just lying to us all along?”
“Just leave them alone,” said the Captain. “You’ve got what you came for. Now leave us alone.”
Bert shook his head.
“Oh, no,” he said. “I think that we might go away with rather more than we’d expected. What do you think?”
He turned to Stinger, who was a mean-looking man with a narrow face and lips that curled downwards in a constant snarl.
“We could do with a couple of extra hands in the galley,” he said, pointing to Lucy and Hermione. “And as for that young man, he’d do fine for climbing up to the topsail. Boys like that can get places we can’t get. They loves high rigging!”
“Good idea,” said Bert. “Now let’s just tie up the good Captain here. We don’t want him getting any funny ideas about chasing us, does we?”
The children were powerless to help and Captain Foster, who did not want to do anything which could endanger the children, had no choice but to allow himself to be securely tied to his chair in the wheelhouse. Then, with a shout to the other pirates, Bert and Stinger led the children off to the side of the ship and tossed them, as if they were sacks of popcorn, on to the deck of the waiting pirate vessel.
The children huddled together miserably on the deck while the pirates busied themselves with getting their ship under sail. Then, when they were on their way, and pulling away from the sad sight of the drifting popcorn ship, the children were led by Stinger to Bert’s cabin. Bert, it appeared, was the chief of the pirates, and he had the best cabin on board.
“Right,” said Bert, in a businesslike voice, pointing to Lucy. “You two girls are to report to the galley. You tell Mrs Bert that you’re her assistants. It’s your new job. Now, let me see, what about pay? You always gets told your pay when you gets a new job. So, what are you landlubbers worth, eh? Ten hours work a day, at … oooh, nothing an hour, makes …”
“Nothing, boss,” said Stinger, laughing.
“Well done, Stinger,” said Bert. “You was always very good at arithmetic. Pity you’re so stupid at everything else.”
Stinger laughed. “You’re the one with the brains, Bert,” he said cheerfully. “I always knew that.”
“Thank you, Stinger,” said Bert. “That’s how I got where I am today. Brains. There’s no substitute for brains, I say.”
He turned to Sam, whose knees were knocking with fear, although he hoped it didn’t show.
“Now you, young man. What’s we got for you? Got a head for heights, have you? I hope so, because if you hasn’t, then I’m afraid you’re going to fall in. And pirate ships never goes back. If a man falls in, then it’s the sharks for him, I’m sorry to say. I’ve seen many a man eaten by sharks, hasn’t I, Stinger?”
“Oh, yes,” said Stinger, smiling at the thought. “Old shark likes nothing better than a boy for breakfast. Or lunch, come to that.”
“So you hold on to those ropes as tight as you can,” said Bert. “Because if you doesn’t, then it’ll be as our friend Mr Stinger here says. Sharks.”
Their interview with Bert at an end, the children were led off to their new jobs. In the galley, Lucy and Hermione met Mrs Bert, who was a large lady in a striped apron. She had false teeth, which she kept in a glass beside the pots, and whenever she wanted to taste anything, she would have to put her teeth in first. She was not unkind to the girls, and told them that if they worked hard she would give them a piece of cake at the end of the day.
Sam was taken by one of the pirates to the mast and told to climb up and tighten some of the ropes. It was hard work, and the pirate in charge kept shouting at him when he made a mistake, but what was worst of all was the way the ship rocked backwards and forwards. When he was out on one of the cross-spars that held the sail, he could find himself dipping down towards the water at an alarming rate, only to be tipped heavenwards again before he knew where he was.
At the end of the day, Mrs Bert gave the children their meal at a table i
n the galley. They were almost too tired to eat, and Lucy and Hermione were longing for the hammocks which they had been given in a little cabin off the galley. Sam had not even been given a hammock; he had been told to sleep under a table in the galley, and a blanket had been placed there for him.
“Do you think we’ll be rescued?” asked Hermione. “I can’t bear the thought of being here for the rest of my life.”
“I don’t know,” said Lucy. “I’m worried about Captain Foster. Will anybody find him in time, or will Biscuit know how to save him again? What if Biscuit can’t get into the wheelhouse – what then?”
Hermione could not answer these questions, and nor could Sam. He had fallen asleep in his chair, and it was left to the two girls to lift him up gently and put him down on his blanket on the floor.
6
Stowaway
The children were all woken up at six o’clock the next morning and set to work. Lucy and Hermione were ordered to sweep out the galley and polish all the pots and pans. Sam was set to scrubbing the deck, a back-breaking job that seemed to go on forever.
The pirates were delighted to have somebody to do this work for them, as they all seemed to be rather lazy. Bert sat in his cabin all day giving orders, Stinger walked around checking up that everybody was carrying out these orders, and the other four pirates, who were called Bill, Ed, Charlie and Tommy, liked nothing more than to lounge about on deck, whittling pieces of wood and spitting over the side of the railings.
They were a dreadful lot, thought Sam. Charlie had scars all over his face and arms – each of them from a different fight, he explained – and Tommy had a mouthful of blackened teeth and spiky stubble on his chin. This made him look as if he had swallowed a cactus, which wouldn’t have surprised Sam, as the pirate was always eating whatever he could lay his hands on – sugar cane, liquorice ropes and large pieces of fudge specially made for him by Mrs Bert. Bill and Ed did not look as bad as the other two, but they both had six or seven large gold rings in each ear, and this made them rattle when they walked.
Explosive Adventures Page 2
