فصل 83

CHAPTER 83

CONCERNS

THE SUN WENT DOWN on a boisterous celebration in the mollusk village. There was much to celebrate, with the safe return of the children and the recovery of the chest. There was also much to talk about. Peter, with considerable prodding from tink, told of his harrowing adventures in the strange place called london. Shining Pearl, Little Scallop, and the Lost Boys told of their ordeal at the hands of Nerezza and O’Neal. There was laughter, a lot of hugging, and some crying, including a tearful promise by Shining Pearl to her father that she would never, ever, ever again disobey the rule about leaving the village at night. She also promised him she would give him something for his birthday, although it definitely was not going to be a white starfish; Shining Pearl had decided those weren’t such good luck after all.

Fighting Prawn, though happy about the return of the children, still had some concerns. One was dealing with the starstuff chest, which sat now in the center of the village, guarded by warriors. Fighting Prawn had decided that the starstuff had to be returned to the underground pool it had been taken from. When Peter was strong again, the Mollusks would take the chest back up to the cave. There, Peter could open it and pour the starstuff into the pool. The Mollusks would then block the cave with rocks, so it could never be violated again.

But that was for another day. Fighting Prawn’s greater concern at the moment was the fate of Bold Abalone and Fleet Snail. He had faith in them—they were both resourceful warriors, especially his son. He had every reason to hope that they had been able to avoid the crushing jaws of Mister Grin.

But he would not sleep until they returned.