PART V THE PIRATE SHIP
The pirate ship was a terribly evil-looking craft with its paintedsails, its heavy tarred cordage, and its flag with the skull andcrossbones upon it, flapping grimly at the stern. The poor childrenwere at once driven into the dark and dirty hold, while Hook walkedthe deck, rubbing his hands and chuckling to himself to think that atlast he had them in his power.
"Are all the prisoners chained so that they can't fly away?" he askedSmee, who was very busy at his sewing-machine.
"Aye, aye, Captain," answered Smee.
"Then hoist them up," shouted the Captain.
He seated himself on a chair covered with a white bearskin, waitingwhile the Boys, whose wrists were chained together, were dragged outof the hold and brought before him. Six of them, he said, were to walkthe plank at once, but he would save any two who were willing to becabin boys. The children were not at first sure what walking the plankmeant, but Hook soon enlightened them by roaring out a song inexplanation.
music]
Yo ho! yo ho! the fris-ky plank, you walk a-long it so-- Till it goes down and you goes down to too-ral loo-ral lo--
he sang, waving his hook to show how, when the plank tipped, theywould be shot into the water and drowned.
THE PIRATE SHIP]
Turning towards John Napoleon Darling he shouted: "You look as if youhad some pluck in you!" John hesitated. In his schoolboy days he hadalways thought a pirate's life very attractive, so stepping forward,he said: "Will you call me Red-handed Jack?" The Captain laughed withdelight, and promised to give him that name if he joined the crew.Then Michael went up to him and slapped him on the shoulder. "Whatwill you call _me_ if I join?" he asked. "Black-Bearded Joe," answeredthe Captain, and until another question arose Michael was muchpleased. The cabin boys were told that they must of course swear "Downwith King George!" and to this neither boy would consent. John andMichael were then pushed on one side and told that their doom wassealed, while Hook shouted, "Bring up their mother."
In a moment Wendy was dragged from the hold, and when the Boys rushedto protect her they were pulled back, leaving her standing alone,looking very frightened but pretty in her brown dress, with a longbrown cloak wrapped round her. Hook asked her if she had any lastmessage for her sons who were about to die. Wendy spoke beautifully tothe Boys, telling them she was sure their real mothers would wish themto die like English gentlemen. Her courage so inspired the childrenthat they all cried they would do what their mothers wished. Uponthis, Wendy was cruelly tied to the mast whilst Hook's orders werebeing carried out.
But, just as the Boys' fate seemed determined, something happened tochange Hook's glee into terror. "Tick! tick! ter-ick, tick, tick!" heheard, and at the dreaded sound he yelled: "The crocodile! hide me,hide me!" In abject fear he rushed to a corner of the ship while hismen crowded round him, intent only upon shielding their captain fromthe jaws of the monster. The Boys, too, waited breathless with horror,until with sudden relief and rapture they saw not the crocodile buttheir beloved captain Peter Pan appearing over the ship's side. In onehand, at arm's length, he held an alarum clock, the ticking of whichhad made Hook believe that the crocodile was upon him.
Making a sign to his friends, Peter dashed into the cabin, unseen bythe Pirates, and shut the door. The ticking ceased directly, andHook's terror vanished.
Returning to his dreadful purpose he cried: "Now here's to JohnnyPlank!" Again he began to sing, "Yo ho, yo ho, the frisky plank," butthe Boys, filled with hope and excitement, drowned his voice bysinging "Rule, Britannia," and just as the Pirate was about to venthis rage upon them he was silenced by a shrill and piercingcock's-crow from the cabin.
Struck motionless with terror, the crew looked to their Captain forsome explanation, who ordered Gecco, one of his men, to enter thecabin and see what was the matter. Hook waited, but Gecco did notreturn, and once again was heard the awful mysterious crowing."Someone must bring me out that doodledoo," roared the Captain, and,as no one volunteered, "I thought I heard Starkey volunteer," he said,pointing his hook at Starkey. Mad with terror of the hook as well asof the uncanny creature in the cabin, Starkey rushed wildly round thedeck, and finally, to escape both, flung himself overboard.
Furious at this mutinous behaviour, Hook shouted, "I'll bring thatdoodledoo out myself," but he had no better success, and came rushingback in a cowardly fashion, saying: "Something blew out the light."
A happy idea now struck him. "Drive the Boys in--let them fight thedoodledoo--if they kill him so much the better, if he kills them we'renone the worse."
This, of course, was just what the children wanted, but, concealingtheir delight, they allowed themselves to be driven into the cabin. Inthe meantime, all the Pirates huddled together, hiding their faces.Sailors, you know, are very superstitious, and they all thought theship was bewitched. So terrified were they that no one saw Peter stealout, followed by the Boys, who crept silently up the ladder to thehigher deck. No one saw Peter cut the ropes which bound Wendy, andtake her place at the mast, and cover his face with the brown cloakshe had left, while Wendy joined the Boys.
"It's the girl!" cried Hook, "there's never luck on a pirate ship witha woman aboard; let's throw her over." All the men knew that theirCaptain was right, and one of the Pirates started up and shook hisfist at the brown-robed figure at the mast. "There's nothing can saveyou now, Missy," he cried. "There is one," came a ringing voice, andthe brown cloak was flung aside and there stood Peter Pan. "Down,Boys, and at them," he shouted, and with a rush the Boys, armed withweapons which Peter had found and given them in the cabin, swarmeddown upon the lower deck. The Pirates believed that all the Boys hadbeen slain by the mysterious doodledoo, and were panic-stricken asthey saw them with swords and daggers. Some of the crew rushed to thebulwarks and leapt overboard; others with their knives fell upon theBoys, while Hook backed into the cabin fighting for his life. "Putup your knives, Boys, that man is mine!" cried Peter, pointing toHook. The Boys turned their attention to the remaining members of thepirate crew, who were one by one forced into the sea, while the twomortal enemies appeared at the cabin door closed in deadly combat.Each was determined to kill the other. Step by step Hook was drivenback to the side of the ship. He felt himself weakening. In despair hecried out: "'Tis some fiend fighting me! Who are you, Pan?"
"THAT MAN IS MINE!"]
"I'm youth!" cried Peter, "I'm a little bird that has broken out ofthe egg. I'm youth! I'm joy!"
With that he wrenched Hook's sword from him and pushed him into thesea, right into the jaws of the waiting crocodile, who caught him atlast.
RIGHT INTO THE JAWS OF THE CROCODILE]
The Boys burst into ringing cheers as they and Wendy crowded roundtheir hero, who stood like a conquering Napoleon while the pirate flagwas lowered.
THE FATE OF THE PIRATES
All the pirates save two, Smee and Starkey, jumped into the sea andwere drowned.
Smee, the Irish Pirate, who was not so wicked as the rest of the crew,managed to swim ashore, and subsequently became a reformed characterand a brave sailor in His Majesty's Fleet.
Starkey, who had never shed blood, but had been guilty of many crueldeeds, was captured by the Redskins and led a miserable life, forGreat Big Little White Panther, the Indian chief, compelled him to actas nurse to the papooses of the tribe--a sad come-down for a pirate!
NURSE TO THE PAPOOSES!]
PART VI HOME, SWEET HOME
But at home in the Darling household all this time there was deepsorrow. Mr. Darling, as a punishment to himself for taking theirguardian Nana away, had vowed that he would live in the kennel tillhis children's return. For months now he had lived in it, and had beencarried to business in it every morning, much to the disgust of theprim little housemaid Liza. Mr. Darling had become quite a celebrity,and great ladies, leaders of society, found him so interesting andtouching, that they all cried out as he passed by, "Oh, do come todinner at our house, do come in the kennel!" All the newspapers hadasked him to w
rite the cricket and football news for them, and hispicture postcards were to be seen in every shop window.
But it happened one evening, when he returned from business, carriedas usual in the kennel, he was taken up to the now desolate nursery,where Mrs. Darling spent most of her time mourning for her lostchildren, while the faithful Nana tried in vain to cheer her up."George, George, I believe you are beginning to _like_ that kennel,"she said reproachfully, as he crawled out. He denied the charge,however, and tried to comfort Mrs. Darling, who never for one momentforgot the little empty beds and the silence and cheerlessness of thenursery. Then he left her, and sitting down by the fire, Mrs. Darlingwas alone with her sad thoughts.
HE WOULD LIVE IN THE KENNEL TILL HIS CHILDREN'SRETURN]
Scarcely, however, had she closed her eyes when three little figuresflew in at the window and nestled cosily in their beds. Then softlyWendy called to her mother. But when Mrs. Darling looked round shesimply couldn't believe that the children were really there. So manytimes before she had dreamt of their return, that it was not till theyall three crowded round her that she realised that they had indeedcome home. Oh! what joy to feel once more those dear faces, cool andfresh from the flight through the night air, pressed against hers, hotwith tears; to hear once more the sound of those sweet voices as theyall talked at once. At last, when she was a little calm, Wendy begantelling her about Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, who with Peter Panhimself were all waiting outside. Directly Mrs. Darling saw them, andheard that they had no mothers, she instantly adopted them all. Thoughthe house would be rather crowded, she could easily put up extra bedsin the drawing-room, she said, and with a screen on her "At Home"days, all could be comfortably managed.
The only difficulty lay with Peter. Much as at first sight he lovedMrs. Darling, much as he loved Wendy, he couldn't consent to grow up.So at last it was arranged that he should fly back alone to theNever-Never-Never Land, and that once a year Mrs. Darling would allowWendy to go and stay with him for a whole week to do his springcleaning.
THE TREE TOPS
High in the tree tops of the Never-Never-Never Land, Tinker Bellplaced the little house that was built for Wendy. The tree tops aresoft as velvet, and in the evening at twilight are all bejewelledwith tiny mauve, and white, and blue lights. The mauve ones are boyfairies, the white, girl fairies, and the blue lights are darlinglittle sillies who are not quite sure what they are.
And the still air is filled with the singing of birds and the ringingof hundreds of little fairy bells. But the sweetest sound of all isthe fluting of Peter Pan's pipe as he sits outside the little houseand calls to the spring to make haste, because with the spring comesWendy.
THE END]
The Story of Peter Pan, Retold from the fairy play by Sir James Barrie Page 5
