فصل 21

CHAPTER 21

NO TIME TO LOSE

MOLLY WAS AWAKENED by two taps on the door of her tiny cabin.

“Yes?” she said sleepily.

“We’ve sighted the island,” said her father.

Instantly, Molly was wide awake, hunting for her shoes by the dim light filtering in through the lone porthole. “I’ll be right there,” she said.

“I’ll be on deck,” came the curt answer, followed by the sound of receding footsteps. Leonard had been civil but distant toward his daughter since she and George had been discovered as stowaways.

At least he woke me, thought Molly. She finished putting on her shoes and went to George’s cabin, pounding on the door until a grumpy voice answered.

“What?”

“We’ve reached Peter’s island,” she said.

“How lovely for young Peter.”

Molly smiled at George’s annoyance. She would never admit it, but she quite enjoyed the fact that George was jealous of Peter.

“Fine, then, George Darling,” she said. “If you’re not interested, you can stay in your smelly little cabin. I’m going on deck.”

“Hang on! I’m coming.”

When Molly and George reached the deck, the rising tropical sun was a reddish-orange ball on the horizon. The sticky sea air was already warm; soon enough the day, despite the steady breeze, would be blazing hot. Molly and George found Leonard Aster on the quarterdeck with the captain of the Michelle, a stocky, solid man named Stavis. Dead ahead but still distant was Mollusk Island, its jungle-covered volcanic peak rising steeply from the sea.

Molly stared at the island, remembering the tumultuous time she and Peter had spent there after being shipwrecked in a storm and washed ashore, along with a trunk of starstuff. In their efforts to protect that priceless cargo, she and Peter had somehow managed to overcome greedy pirates, angry natives, and Slank, a brutal agent of the Others.

As Molly gazed at the island, her father studied her. He, too, was remembering her bravery. When he spoke to her, his voice carried a warmth that had been missing for days.

“It will be good to see Peter again,” he said.

Molly smiled and nodded. “It will. Though he may not be happy to see us when he learns we’ve come to take him back to London.”

Leonard’s expression became serious. “I agree,” he said. “And I’m counting on you to help me convince him that he’s in grave danger and must come with us. Will you help me, Molly?”

“I thought I wasn’t to be allowed on the island,” said Molly.

“You won’t be,” her father said firmly. “But I’m sure Peter will want to see you. Which means he’ll have to visit the ship.”

“Father!” said Molly. “You’d use me as bait to trap him?”

“If I have to, yes,” said Leonard. “For his sake and ours, we can’t risk letting him stay here, where the Others could get him. You understand that, Molly?”

Molly nodded glumly. She hated the thought of deceiving Peter, but she knew her father was right.

“Who else lives there?” said George, looking at the island.

“There’s a tribe of natives,” said Molly. “The Mollusks.”

“Mollusks?” said George.

“Yes, Mollusks,” said Molly. “The chief is named Fighting Prawn.”

“Fighting Prawn,” snorted George. “You’re joking.”

“I wouldn’t laugh if I were you,” said Molly. “They’re quite fierce.”

George looked at Leonard Aster, who nodded and said, “Not to mention the fact that Fighting Prawn detests the English.”

“Would they attack us?” said George, suddenly less amused.

Molly and her father exchanged a look.

“I think we’ll be safe enough,” said Leonard. “Fighting Prawn owes his life to Peter and knows we’re Peter’s friends.”

“Unless, of course, we try to kidnap Peter,” said Molly.

Leonard frowned. “Good point,” he said. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

They fell silent, watching as Mollusk Island grew steadily larger off the bow. When it was about three miles away, Captain Stavis ordered the sails reduced and, with help from Leonard, guided the ship through a series of reefs into a bay fringed with a white-sand beach. They dropped anchor in twenty feet of water, about two hundred yards from shore. When the anchor was set, Stavis ordered the crew to lower a rowboat. Leonard climbed down a rope net to the boat. He was unarmed. As he prepared to push off from the Michelle, Stavis called down, “Are you certain you don’t want some men to go ashore with you?”

“Yes,” replied Aster. “The Mollusks know me. I want them to see there’s no threat.”

He pushed off from the Michelle. As he rowed, Leonard glanced frequently over his shoulder at the island. He saw no sign of life on the beach, human or otherwise. This troubled him. Surely the Mollusks had seen the ship approaching. They were very protective of their island; why hadn’t they come to the beach to confront the visitors?

When he was halfway to shore, he heard a splash beside him. He turned and saw, poking out of the water, a sleek silver gray shape topped by intelligent eyes and a permanently smiling mouth.

“Ammm!” exclaimed Leonard, delighted to see the porpoise who had long served as a staunch ally of the Starcatchers. Switching to the porpoise’s language, Leonard began making a series of clicks and whistles, speaking carefully, as he was a bit rusty. He had barely begun the traditional porpoise salutation—loosely translated to English, it means “It is pleasant to hear your noises again”—when Ammm interrupted him with a burst of chittering sounds so rapid that Leonard understood only one word: Go.

Go? Aster asked, in Porpoise.

Go now, the porpoise answered. Bad men. Go.

Leonard was about to speak again when he heard shouts from the ship. He looked up and saw Captain Stavis and his crew yelling and pointing frantically toward the island. He whipped his head around and gasped. The once-empty beach now swarmed with activity, as howling men, their faces and chests painted red—hundreds of them, it appeared—poured from the jungle, dragging long canoes.

Immediately, Leonard turned the rowboat around and began rowing hard back toward the Michelle. Aboard the ship, Stavis had his men taking in anchor line and raising sail, readying for a quick departure.

But would it be quick enough? Aster saw that the first canoe was already in the water, with men leaping in, grabbing paddles, and skillfully propelling the sleek craft through the surf with astonishing speed. Leonard feared that even with its head start, the rowboat would be overtaken by the canoe, which…

…which was capsizing! It happened so fast that Leonard’s eyes could barely follow it, but as the canoe was spilling its occupants into the sea, he caught a glimpse of two powerful green tails and two heads of blond hair. He smiled grimly and said a silent thank-you to the Mollusk Island mermaids. A second canoe went over, and then a third. The mermaids had bought the little rowboat time to reach the ship.

As he approached the Michelle, Captain Stavis leaned over the rail and shouted “Leave the rowboat!” Leonard complied, jumping from the boat to the netting and clambering up the side of the Michelle. The ship was already moving, but agonizingly slowly. The canoes were coming fast, the paddlers howling.

“Mr. MacNelly, is the stern chaser ready?” Stavis yelled.

“Aye!” came a voice from below.

“I want grape,” the captain hollered.

“Grape it is, Captain!” shouted the voice.

“Fire on my command,” shouted Stavis, watching the canoes draw closer, closer…

“Ready,” called Stavis. “Fire!”

BOOM. The stern-mounted cannon, packed with “grape”—small iron balls—sent a lethal hail flying across the water. The first three canoes stopped instantly as the paddlers fell backward, most of them wounded, some of them screaming. The other attackers immediately slowed their canoes, not eager to meet the same fate.

“Reload!” shouted Stavis. But there was no need to fire the cannon again; the Michelle was picking up speed, and the attackers had apparently lost their appetite for the chase. The ship would escape.

Leonard made his way to the quarterdeck, where he got a relieved hug from Molly, then turned to Stavis. “My compliments, Captain,” he said. “That was a fine piece of seamanship. I apologize for the loss of the rowboat.”

“Thank you, Lord Aster,” said Stavis, “and never mind the boat. I’m glad that’s all we lost. If not for that…was that a dolphin?”

“A porpoise, actually,” said Leonard, winking at Molly.

“Ah,” said Stavis. “Well, it’s a good thing it came along. If you hadn’t stopped to look at it, those savages would have had you. It’s almost as if the porpoise was warning you!” The captain grinned at the absurdity of that.

“Yes,” said Leonard, with another wink at Molly. “Almost.”

“I thought you said the Mollusks wouldn’t attack,” said George.

“Those weren’t Mollusks, were they, Father?” said Molly. “The red paint…”

“No,” said Leonard, “they weren’t.”

“They’re Scorpions, I believe,” said Stavis, looking back toward the receding canoes. “You can tell by those scars on their shoulders. The red paint, too. A bad lot, the Scorpions. Very bad lot. We’re lucky to be out of their hands. Very lucky.”

“But what about Peter?” said Molly, looking back at the island. “We can’t leave him back there.”

“I hate to say this, miss,” said Stavis, “but if your friend has been captured by the Scorpions…” He shook his head.

“Father,” said Molly. “We must help Peter. We can’t leave him on that island.”

“And we won’t, Molly,” said Leonard, frowning. “But we can’t go ashore until we have some information.”

“But how will we…”

Molly stopped as her father gave her a significant look and a subtle nod toward the water.

“Oh,” she said. “I see.”

“See what?” said George.

Molly pulled George aside and whispered, “Father’s going to talk to Ammm and find out what’s happened on the island.”

“Who’s Ammm?” said George.

“Perhaps,” said Leonard, before Molly could answer, “we should continue this discussion below.” He instructed Stavis to keep the ship within sight of the island, then went down to his cabin, followed by Molly and George.

“Who’s Ammm?” repeated George when the door was closed.

“He’s the porpoise Father was speaking to,” answered Molly.

“Ah,” said George, who knew from firsthand experience that Starcatchers sometimes spoke with animals. “What did he say?”

“Only that there were bad men, and I should go,” said Leonard. “But I’m certain he has more to tell us. I’m also certain he’s following the ship. He’ll stay out of sight until nightfall, when we can speak without being seen by the crew.”

“That’s all we’re going to do?” said Molly. “Sail back and forth for the rest of the day?”

“I’m afraid it’s the best we can do,” said Leonard.

They passed a long, uneventful, and thoroughly unsatisfying day staring at the island as the ship tacked back and forth, back and forth. When sunset finally came, Leonard had Stavis order the crew belowdecks, except for Stavis himself, who took the helm and stared straight ahead, studiously ignoring whatever went on behind him. Leonard, Molly, and George stood along the rail at the stern of the ship, staring at the frothing white moonlit trail of the ship’s wake on the dark water, waiting.

And then Molly heard it. Not squeaks or whistles—bells.

“It’s Tinker Bell!” she exclaimed.

She pointed off toward the left, where a streak of green-gold light, reflected as a zigzagging lightning bolt on the rippling sea, was shooting toward them from the direction of the island. In a few seconds, Tink reached the ship and landed on Leonard’s shoulder, from which perch she delivered a burst of bells several minutes long directly into his ear. Leonard listened intently, his expression growing somber. He was among the very few people in the world—Peter was another—who could understand Tink.

Molly, to her great frustration, was not.

“What’s she saying?” she demanded.

Tell her to shut up, said Tinker Bell.

“She asks that you let her finish,” said Leonard.

Tink emitted another long burst of bells while Leonard listened intently and Molly tapped her foot impatiently. Finally Tink finished, and Leonard said, “How long ago?”

A short burst.

“Oh dear,” said Leonard.

“What?” said Molly, unable to restrain herself.

“Well, to begin with,” Leonard said, “Peter’s not on the island.”

“What?” said Molly. “But…”

Leonard raised his hand. Molly closed her mouth. Leonard continued: “There was an attack early yesterday. This Scorpion tribe overwhelmed the Mollusks. During the battle, that pirate, the one called Black Stache…”

Tink interrupted; Leonard listened, then nodded.

“Apparently, since his encounter with Peter, the pirate goes by the name Captain Hook. In any event, during the battle, this Captain Hook and some of his men managed to capture the boys. Tink didn’t see it happen, but the monkeys told her that the pirates took the boys to the beach, stole one of the Scorpions’ canoes, and set out to sea.”

“Why didn’t Peter fly away?” said George.

More bells from Tink.

“Peter is sick,” said Leonard. “He was wounded by a poisoned arrow, and he’s unable to fly.”

“Oh my,” said Molly. “This is awful.”

“I’m afraid it gets worse,” said Leonard. “The canoe was overturned, and Peter and the other boys were…” Leonard hesitated and looked at Tink, who chimed a few notes.

“Were what?” said Molly.

“We don’t…that is, Tink doesn’t know for certain. When she got to the overturned canoe, only pirates were left on the surface. The boys were gone.”

“Oh no,” said Molly, covering her mouth with her hand and looking down at the black water. “Then we’re too late.”

“Perhaps not,” said Leonard.

Molly looked up with tear-flooded eyes. “What do you mean?”

“There was something underwater when this happened,” said Leonard. “Something very large. Tink didn’t see it, but there were dolphins nearby. They told Ammm there was…It’s quite strange, actually….”

“Was what, Father?”

“An iron whale,” Leonard said.

“An iron whale?” said George.

“That’s how they described it to Ammm: an iron whale. And it was being pulled by…” Leonard turned to Tink, who emitted some odd-sounding chimes. “I suppose the best translation is ‘monsters,’” Leonard said.

“Monsters,” said Molly.

“Sea serpents pulling an iron whale,” said George. “I think the dolphins got into the grog.”

“It must be some sort of underwater ship,” said Leonard. “But the important thing is this: the dolphins say they could hear human voices inside the ship.”

“So Peter could be in there,” said Molly. “Alive.”

“We must hope so,” said Leonard.

“Where is this wh…this underwater ship now?” said Molly.

“It left here more than a day ago,” said Leonard. “It’s moving very swiftly—far faster than any ship can sail. Tink says Ammm has been tracking it using a sort of relay system—dolphins and porpoises and the occasional gull. Ammm also sent a message back to England to tell us what had happened; he and Tink had planned to wait for us here. It’s very fortunate that we were already en route—though we’ve still lost valuable time. We’ll begin our pursuit immediately. Ammm and his friends will guide us. Tink says they will…ah, here they are now.”

Leonard nodded toward the water. Molly and George looked down and saw the sleek smiling face of Ammm poking up through the ship’s wake, along with four other porpoises.

“Ammm!” cried Molly. She immediately shifted to porpoise language, chittering and squeaking a heartfelt greeting. Ammm responded with equal warmth, concluding with the question: Are your teeth still green? Molly, despite her worries, managed a laugh.

“Sir,” George asked Leonard. “Have you any idea where the underwater ship is going?”

Leonard looked grave. “From what Tink tells me, the destination appears to be Rundoon.”

“So the Others have Peter,” Molly said softly. “And he’s wounded.”

“Yes,” said Leonard. “And we have no time to lose.”