Mariah Mundi and the Ship of Fools (13 page)

‘Do you think they are dead?’ she asked.

‘Probably,’ he said quietly as he watched a set of stairs being lowered from the front of the gondola as it moved closer to the ship.

‘I wish my mother was … I thought of poisoning her, but Casper Vikash found out. He said it wasn’t a kind thing to do,’ she replied.

‘I think it is better to have a mother alive and hate her, than hate her when she is dead,’ said Mariah thinking of his own mother.

‘It’s better not to hate at all,’ Charity said. He stood in the doorway of his room. ‘Bitterness can eat you from the inside, Biba. The only way you’ll be free from this is if you forgive her and forgive yourself for hating her. Is that why you couldn’t speak?’ he asked.

Biba nodded as tears filled her eyes.

‘I felt so alone. Not natural to leave a child like that. Left me on the edge of Jacobshavn. Lorenzo would walk my mother to a red hut by the Isbrae Glacier. She told me to stay on the beach until they came back. Mother would often disappear for hours with Lorenzo Zane and then just return. Father was working – he didn’t know. I waited and waited and then the bear came. At first it just followed me. It knew I was frightened. I tried to run. It chased me along the shingle beach. I thought I had escaped. I climbed a small hill. My heart was pounding. Then it jumped from behind an ice boulder. Casper heard my screams and he shot the bear. When Casper found me, he told me to say nothing to my father and that he wasn’t to know where mother had gone. He said it was a secret that I couldn’t speak because it would ruin my family.’

‘So you didn’t speak at all?’ Mariah asked.

‘It was easier that way. If I didn’t speak then I couldn’t give away the secret – it was as simple as that,’ Biba said. ‘Now you know, now you both know. Casper will not be pleased.’

‘Have you not told anyone else about it?’ Charity asked Biba as she sobbed.

‘When you are the daughter of the Marquis DeFeaux, not many people ask. My father pays for children to be my friends. He doesn’t let me go to school in case I am kidnapped. There is no one to talk to – but then you wouldn’t understand that.’

There was a dull rumble and a grating noise above their heads. It was as if something scraped the roof of the ship.

‘I take it that the
Bicameralist
has docked safely with the
Triton
?’ asked Charity.

‘My father arranged it this morning. He wanted to be sure everything was working and in order. They have come for some papers – to keep them safe. I heard him telling Casper Vikash to make them ready.’

T
HE
Triton
cut its way through the black, glassy sea. A silver full moon touched the top of the sky. From the forward lifeboat deck, Mariah could see the lights of the
Ketos
near to the horizon. They looked like the glinting of a small town. In the light of the moon, Mariah thought it could be mistaken for New York and the end of the journey.

Biba stood with him, huddled close by. He thought she would see the view as he did, but then again, crossing the Atlantic was not a new experience for her. Biba had sailed many oceans and knew the sea well. For Mariah it was vast, dark, foreboding. He knew not what was beneath the calm waters and his mind conjured creatures greater and more dangerous than the Kraken.

The Marquis DeFeaux, Vikash and Tharakan clustered in deep conversation near to the lifeboat as Captain Jack looked at his watch and counted the minutes to the hour. ‘Five minutes to midnight,’ he said as three sailors packed the last of the gold ingots into the lifeboat and pulled the tarpaulin back across the boat. The red straps dangled to one side as the small boat rocked back and forth, ready to be lowered to the sea.

There was a commotion on the stairway. The hatch door was flung open.

‘They have found Sachnasun,’ Mr Ellerby said as he stormed onto the lifeboat deck. ‘He is injured – a blow to the head.’

Tharakan turned and looked at him. ‘Has he said anything? Does he know how it happened?’ he asked.

Mariah and Biba looked at each other and then slipped out of sight.

‘He is still not conscious-I don’t know if he ever will be,’ Ellerby replied as he looked at Charity. ‘They found him by the entrance to the steam generator. He seems to have been just left there in the last hour.’

‘Then go and be with him,’ Tharakan said as two sailors took their places at the lowering wheels. ‘It is nearly time to put the lifeboat to sea.’

A small crowd had gathered on the passenger deck above. They watched as the lifeboat was lowered to the water from the speeding ship. Some murmured in discontent, wondering why the Captain of the ship should be so concerned with launching an unmanned lifeboat.

‘Should we not stop, Captain Tharakan?’ Charity asked. ‘If the lifeboat sinks then we are done for.’

‘Fret not, Charity,’ he replied. ‘You shall be amazed how we launch the lifeboats on the
Triton
.’

There was a whir of the capstan as the lifeboat was lowered down towards the turbid water. The sea was disturbed by the wake of the ship that rippled out like the carving of a plough. The water appeared viscous and stiff, the wavelets laborious and cumbersome.

‘Then I await to be amazed,’ Charity replied as he watched the boat go lower and lower.

‘The most expensive lifeboat that ever put to sea,’ said Casper Vikash as he caught Charity’s eye.

‘A ransom worth the life of the people on this ship – wouldn’t you think? You have been prepared to give your life for the Marquis – you should know of what I speak,’ Charity replied.

‘My life would mean nothing to save his,’ Casper replied. He touched the piranha scars on his face. ‘I would do it again to save him.’

‘Such loyalty is worth rewarding – saving the Marquis, Biba and their family life,’ Charity replied.

‘You know too much, Captain Charity. Someone has been speaking out of turn. I told the Marquis it would be dangerous to have you so close. Madame DeFeaux should know when to be silent.’

‘Mergyn has said nothing – the last time I saw her was at dinner with the Marquis,’ Charity replied as the Marquis DeFeaux came and stood with them.

‘Do you think this is an act of stupidity, Charity, or will it save the ship?’ asked the Marquis as he wrapped his checked scarf tightly around his neck.

‘I think we shall see in the next twenty-four hours. I only hope the gold is not lost to the sea,’ he said.

‘You still do not trust me?’ Tharakan asked, overhearing the conversation. ‘What you are about to see is a miracle of science, an invention of –’

‘Lorenzo Zane, by chance?’ asked Charity.

‘Precisely,’ Tharakan replied as the Marquis stiffened his frame.

The lifeboat dangled on the end of two ropes as the
Triton
sped through the water. Captain Tharakan nodded to the man at the lowering wheel. Without speaking he pulled a small brass lever at the front of the cradle that had held the boat in place. There were two loud bangs as the boat touched the water. Incredibly, the lifeboat hit the sea safely and was left behind in
the wake of the ship. It remained upright as it rocked violently from side to side.

‘Amazing, Charity?’ Tharakan asked. ‘It is designed so that if anyone falls overboard we can put a lifeboat in the sea immediately. It takes eleven nautical miles for the ship to stop at full speed – this way we have a chance of saving them.’

‘Then we shall pray that the gold is safe and whoever is out in this blue desert will find it easily,’ Charity replied cordially as he looked for Mariah. ‘Biba and Mariah were here – but now they are not.’

‘They wanted to see the circus,’ said Casper Vikash as he patted Charity on the back. ‘Biba likes to see Shanjing – she is fascinated by him.’

DeFeaux watched this gesture silently.

‘If she were not promised to young Lorenzo, we could have …’ mused DeFeaux as he pulled up the fur collar of his coat and nodded to Vikash to open the hatch. ‘I expect they will turn up sooner or later. Vikash will go and look for them – Biba can take care of herself.’

‘But I never saw them leave. They were by the lifeboat and the hatch never opened,’ Charity replied.

‘Come, Charity. Let us go to my apartment. Tharakan will come with us. We need to search the ship and find the bomb,’ said DeFeaux as he disappeared through the hatch.

Charity took one long look back at the sea. He felt uneasy, as if a small voice spoke to his heart that all was not well. He turned and checked the lifeboat deck once more.

‘Mariah! Mariah!’ he shouted, sure the boy could hear him.

Left behind by the
Triton
, the lifeboat was rocked gently on the cold, black ocean. Not one ripple broke the surface of the viscous sea. The moon shone down its bitter blue rays and outlined the
Triton
as it sailed away.

Softly, quietly, the forward hatch of the lifeboat was lifted
upwards. A white hand, etched in the blue of the moon, reached out and pushed back the red tarpaulin.

‘We did it!’ Biba said as she looked out and watched the ship sailing into the distance.

‘Should never have left the ship – it’s madness,’ Mariah replied.

‘So you don’t want to know who is stealing all my father’s money?’ Biba asked as the
Triton
sailed into the darkness.

‘But we’ll get caught and they don’t know we’re here. Don’t you ever think?’ he said.

‘Father will come for us – he always does. I left him a note,’ she replied.

‘But he doesn’t know you are here. They could search the ship and think we have gone overboard,’ Mariah said as the gravity of what he had done weighed heavily upon him.

‘But …’ was all Biba could say as her voice faded. ‘You came with me …’

‘I came with you because I knew you were mad enough to go on your own,’ he replied.

‘You could have told them,’ she said, now hoping that he had.

‘You jumped into the lifeboat – I had to follow you. Then before I could do anything we were in the sea,’ Mariah said, chiding himself for pursuing her.

‘But – we will get rescued?’ she asked as if suddenly she saw the flaw in her own plan. ‘My father will come – won’t he?’

Mariah held his face in his hands and sighed. It felt as if he was in a dream – a dream from which he would wake soon and find himself back on the ship. It had seemed right to follow Biba into the lifeboat. He sensed her excitement. The words she had said seemed so convincing – ‘Let’s find out who the thieves are …’ It was possible, he could do it without Charity. After all, he too was an agent of the Bureau of Antiquities. Only now, as he sat curled in the forward hatch of the lifeboat, did
he have doubts. He should have known that anything Biba suggested could and would go wrong. Charity had warned him that whenever you ventured into enemy territory, you should always make sure you had a way of escape.

Now, Mariah felt like he was the bait on the end of a hook. That he would just have to wait to be captured. Once the thieves realised they had got hold of Biba DeFeaux then he knew she would be ransomed. He also knew that his own fate was uncertain.

‘Why did you do it?’ he asked indignantly.

‘It was a quest and quests are to be followed,’ Biba said as she looked again from the hatch. ‘It seemed like a good idea – a spur-of-the-moment good idea … My necklace! I have lost my diamond necklace!’ she gasped as if the weight of her venture now pressed on her heart.

Mariah wasn’t listening. His fingers fumbled with the lock on the inside of the hatch that led into the lifeboat.

‘There could be a way. It has to be that they will come for the boat. We could hide,’ he said, his voice strained. ‘They might unload the boat or lift it from the water – just pray they don’t decide to sink us.’

He scrabbled through the hatch and into the lifeboat. There, under the thick red tarpaulin, was the gold. The ingots were stacked five high, covering the deck in between the wooden seats. They were wedged in place with life-jackets pushed against the gold. Mariah pulled back the tarpaulin so he could see more. In the corner was a black box. The lid was tied with a rubber seal.

‘Flares,’ he said to Biba as he pulled the tag on the box and its lid fell open.

There, held in place with a rubber strap, was a brass pistol and five thick cartridges. Mariah pulled the gun from its holder and pushed the cartridges into his pocket.

‘We can use this,’ he said, closing up the box and replacing the seal the best he could. ‘If we’re going to get out of this you’ll have to do what I say, understand?’

Biba nodded. Then she spoke: ‘I think you’d better come and look,’ she said, her eyes saying more than her words.

Mariah pulled back the tarpaulin and crawled into the forward hatch. He shut the small door and then reached up to peer out of the top hatch. Coming towards them was an old ship. It had river paddles, one steam funnel and two sail masts, half-rigged. As it cut through the water it looked as if it were a stack of small thatched houses piled on each other. The starboard light glowed dimly as it got nearer.

‘Do you think it’s them?’ Biba asked.

‘It’s a paddle steamer. Shouldn’t be this far out at sea. It’ll be lucky if it makes it across the Atlantic,’ he said.

‘But do you think it’s them?’ she asked impatiently.

‘We’ll soon find out,’ he said as a small cannon fired high into the night sky.

There was a blinding explosion that lit the horizon. The blast roared towards them, rippling the water with small waves.

‘Get down!’ Mariah shouted. ‘They’ll see us.’

Biba pulled the hatch lid and slammed out the light. They sat together in the darkness. The sound of the steam trader got closer and closer. The engine churned relentlessly, paddles beating the water as it drew alongside the lifeboat. Mariah held his breath as the two craft rubbed against each other and footsteps crunched against the side of the boat.

‘Hook it on – we have to get the lifeboat into the hold,’ a man shouted. ‘Then we can signal to the
Triton
.’

Mariah put his hand over Biba’s mouth. He knew she was going to speak.

The lifeboat juddered slightly. It felt as if it was being plucked from the water by giant fingers and that the sea wouldn’t
give it up. There was a moment when the boat didn’t move. Then it burst from the water and hung in the air, spinning back and forth as it clattered against the wooden side of the steam trader.

‘Be still,’ Mariah whispered. ‘We are being lowered into the hold.’

The lifeboat went down and down as a winch whirred and crunched. Even inside the forward hatch they could feel the icy cold as they went deeper. Muffled voices shouted overhead and steel cables scraped against the side of the hold. It was as if they were being swallowed into the belly of a gigantic fish. Then suddenly the lifeboat halted. It tipped to one side as the cables slipped from the mooring rings.

Mariah heard the chains rattle as they were pulled from the hold. Men laughed drunkenly.

‘Rich, Mr Chamberlain, very rich,’ shouted a voice above them.

What light there was that came from the moon through a crack in the hatch soon vanished, as the deck above them slid into place.

‘What shall we do?’ Biba asked as she gulped back tears. ‘I want Casper Vikash …’

‘We’ll wait and see who comes. When they find out who you are, they will realise they have more than gold,’ Mariah replied. Just then the cannon on deck fired again, rocking the steam trader from side to side.

‘Will they kill me?’ she asked.

‘Ransom you,’ Mariah replied.

A door opened and stopped their conversation. It creaked on its hinges, giving them warning. Mariah tried to work out from which direction it came. Before he could think, a rope was thrown over the boat and then another and another until it was tied down. He could tell there was just one man outside. The
man never spoke but occasionally he would whistle the end of a song and then another, changing tunes with every breath.

The red tarpaulin was pulled back. Mariah saw the shining of a lamp through the crack in the hatch. A shadow crossed back and forth. The man stood on the side of the lifeboat and then jumped inside. He lifted a heavy ingot and then threw it to the floor of the hold. It thudded heavily.

‘All the gold I’ll ever need,’ the man said. He jumped from the boat to the deck, opened the creaking door and then slammed it behind him.

They waited until they could wait no more. Mariah spoke first, his mouth dry, yet so close to Biba that he could feel the warmth of her face.

‘I’ll go and see what I can find. Stay here,’ he said.

‘I hate the dark … I’ve never never been alone in the dark – I’ll have to come with you,’ she stuttered anxiously as the blackness of the ship pressed in on her like a tomb.