فصل 70

CHAPTER 70

FIGHT OR FLIGHT

THE CANOES WERE NOW CLOSE enough that Molly, from the deck of the ship, could make out the red-painted faces of the howling Scorpion warriors. Some of the closer ones raised their bows and shot; the poisoned arrows arced through the air. Most splashed into the sea, but several thunked into the hull.

“Father,” said Molly, “they’re getting awfully close.”

Leonard, his eyes on the canoes, nodded. “Steady…steady…” he said to Hook, whose dark eyes danced between the Scorpions and the sails. The De Vliegen continued on a steady course that kept her broadside to the oncoming Scorpions—an easy target.

Leonard turned to Peter—actually, to Tink, on Peter’s shoulder.

“Now,” he said.

In a flash, she was over the side.

More arrows thunked into the hull. One, then another, hissed across the deck.

“Take cover!” shouted Leonard. Molly ducked below the rail, peeking over the top. Peter and the other boys, having climbed to various posts in the rigging, hid behind masts and spars. Leonard and Hook crouched by the wheel. All eyes were on the onrushing canoes. The closest Scorpions were crouching in the front of their war boats, ready to make the leap toward the ship, now only yards away. The warriors rose to their feet, howling.

In an instant, their howls turned to cries of fear as the forward canoes rose straight out of the water, lifted by the blunt snouts and powerful tails of Ammm and the other porpoises, shooting upward from the depths in perfect unison. Four canoes were hoisted high and flipped over, sending the Scorpions and their weapons flying into the sea.

With a flash of tails, the porpoises disappeared, diving deep. The next wave of Scorpions, fearful of capsizing, stopped paddling and grabbed bows and spears, warily watching the water around them. Suddenly they heard hoots and whistles coming from behind. They turned and saw…

Women?

A dozen mermaids had surfaced among the canoes; they waved and beckoned to the Scorpion warriors, who stared at them, openmouthed, not knowing what to make of these strange creatures. As it happened, they had no time to decide, as seconds later they, too, were hurled upward and out of their canoes as the precision porpoise team struck again.

Now the water foamed with chaos. Scorpions splashed in the water as they tried to pull themselves into the remaining upright canoes. These, in turn, were capsized by the porpoises and the mermaids. The would-be attackers—now set upon from every side—struggled to keep from drowning. They paid no attention to the De Vliegen.

“Mr. Hook,” said Leonard, surveying the scene, “I believe the time has arrived.”

Hook spun the wheel, shouting out orders. George interpreted and repeated them. As the ship began its turn, the boys quickly changed both the arrangement and the angles of the sails. The effect was exactly as Hook had planned. Slowly, the bow began to rise. Water slapped against the hull; timbers groaned; masts and yardarms shook; lines sang. A shudder passed from bow to stern. For a moment it sounded as if the ship was going to break apart.

Instead, it flew.

The bow lifted free of the surface, followed by the rest of the hull, water cascading from it like a rainstorm. The deck tilted steeply. The boys hanging on to the rigging let out a cheer.

“Well done, Mr. Hook,” said Leonard. Hook’s lips twisted into what could possibly be described as a smile.

“Slightly!” called Leonard. “Take your crew and man the starboard cannons.”

“Yes sir,” answered Slightly, climbing quickly down the rigging. Reaching the deck, he paused and said, “Which one is starboard again?”

“That side.” Leonard smiled, pointing to the right.

The De Vliegen soared over the capsized canoes. The Scorpions, already spooked by the porpoise-and-mermaid attack, pointed and shouted in fear as the dripping hull passed overhead. When the flying ship had passed over the Scorpions, Hook put it into a starboard turn; the ship was now between the island and the dozens of swamped canoes. One by one, the porpoises and mermaids surfaced beneath the ship, forming a line in the water.

The Scorpions struggled to get their canoes righted; they bailed them out with their bare hands. They had recovered some of their paddles, but most of their bows, arrows, and spears were lost. They now faced a choice: they could try to get back to the island, which meant fighting their way past the demonic sea creatures that had capsized their canoes and the flying ship—a flying ship!—only to face the wrath of their chief, a man who was not merciful to those who had failed him. Or they could do something unthinkable for a Scorpion warrior—retreat.

BOOM!

The fire-thrower blazed from the ship’s side; a cannonball hurtled across the water, barely missing a just-righted canoe. It skipped twice across the water before sinking.

BOOM!

A second ball—this one blasted an overturned canoe to smithereens as the warriors who had been in it swam for their lives.

The mermaids, hooting and whistling, began swimming toward the Scorpions. The porpoises, squeaking and clicking and dancing high on their tails, did the same.

The Scorpions were panicked. How could they fight this enemy?

BOOM!

Another ball whistled past.

The line of mermaids and porpoises drew closer. One of the canoes in their path began to turn away, its occupants using hands and paddles to escape the oncoming creatures. Another canoe turned with them, then another, then another…

Panic swept through the Scorpions as the unthinkable became thinkable. They all turned away, every canoe, the entire attack force, paddling out to sea as fast as they could, away from these magical foes, away from their wrathful chief, away forever from this cursed island.

A cheer went up on board the De Vliegen. “Cease firing!” Leonard shouted to Slightly and the gun crew below. A moment later Peter landed on the deck next to him, soon joined by Molly.

“That was brilliant, Father,” she said.

“The credit goes to Mr. Hook and the crew,” said Leonard.

I beg your pardon? chimed Tink, alighting on Peter’s shoulder.

“Not to mention Admiral Tinker Bell and her naval forces,” said Leonard.

Tink glowed brighter with the compliment.

Peter watched the Scorpions paddle toward the horizon. “Is that all of them, do you think?” he asked.

“Not likely,” said Leonard, his voice suddenly grim. “They wouldn’t have left the Mollusks unguarded. There will be more of them on the island, and they will be well-armed. We’ll have to face them without the element of surprise, and—unless we can get them into the water—without the help of Ammm or the mermaids. We’ve improved our odds considerably, but I fear we may still be in for a battle.”

Just then the De Vliegen lurched again, this time more violently than the first time. Leonard looked at Hook, who shrugged, having no idea of the cause. Peter quickly vaulted over the side. He returned less than a minute later with a worried look on his face.

“The bulge is worse,” he said. “There’s a good-sized crack in the hull now.”

Leonard and Hook exchanged glances.

“It didn’t do her no good, coming down in the water,” said Hook. “No telling how long she’ll hold together.”

“No,” agreed Leonard. “If we’re going to attack, we must do it now.” Leonard looked his crew over. Children…But what choice was there?

“Mr. Hook, make your course for the Mollusk camp.”