Peter and the Starcatchers (37 page)

“I can see that.”

“I could start singing!”

“No you don’t!” Slank hissed.

Little Richard hummed instead, the smile never leaving his face. Slank thought about carrying the trunk himself, but feared that he, too, would fal under its spel , and be unable to think clearly. So instead he acted as Little Richard’s bal ast, holding the big man down as though he were a human bal oon. The two of them bounced and drifted along the beach until, to Slank’s relief, they reached the longboat.

“Put it down,” said Slank.

Little Richard—his feet were a foot off the ground now—gave Slank a hurt-puppy look.

“But why?” he asked. “Why would I want to do that?”

“Put it down NOW!” Slank ordered.

Little Richard reluctantly obeyed, gently setting the trunk onto the sand. He looked at it wistful y.

“Now, what?” he said.

“Now,” said Slank, sloshing around in the shal ow water, “we find a rock. Here, this one wil do.” Grunting, he hefted the rock and waded ashore.

“What’re you goin’ to do?” said Little Richard.

“Open the trunk,” said Slank.

“Good!” said Little Richard.

“I’m not opening it so you can amuse yourself,” snapped Slank. “I’m opening it so we can get this boat flying again, and get back to the ship without being swamped by them she-devils. You’re not to touch the contents, you understand?”

“Yes,” said Little Richard, a hurt puppy again.

Ignoring the trunk’s formidably padlocked clasp, Slank focused his efforts on the two old iron hinges. He smashed the rock down on the first; it cracked easily, and on the second blow, fel off completely. He turned to the second hinge, and on the first blow it nearly came free, a puff of golden powder shooting from the widening lid crack and landing on the sand at Slank’s feet.

One more blow should do it….

Slank had raised the rock when he heard the bel ow of surprise from Little Richard. He whirled just in time to see a wooden club coming straight for his head. He dodged it, diving to the sand, rol ing, and jumping up.

Pirates.

Two of them had jumped Little Richard from behind, but two men were no match for him; he rocked forward and easily tossed them head-over-heels onto the sand.

Slank had his dagger out now, its blade flashing in the moonlight. But before he could use it, he felt the sharp point of a sword pressing into the back of his neck, felt a trickle of his blood.

“Drop it or die,” said Black Stache.

Slank let the dagger fal .

“Now, tel your friend to stop fighting,” said Stache, nodding toward Little Richard, who was currently getting the best of three pirates.

“Little Richard!” Slank cal ed out. “That’s enough!”

The huge man, as always, obeyed.

“Tie them up,” said Stache. “Use the line from the longboat.”

In a minute Stache’s men had Slank and Little Richard lying on the beach, arms and legs firmly bound behind their backs.

“You ain’t goin’ to kil ’em, Cap’n?” said Smee.

“No need for us to do it, with the tide coming in,” said Stache, nodding toward a finger of hissing surf, just now touching Slank’s ankles. “I like the idea of them having to think about it awhile. And if the sea don’t get ’em, there’s that big old croc somewheres about, and them savages.” He smiled unpleasantly down at Slank, savoring his triumph for another moment, then turned to his men and barked, “Put the trunk in the longboat.”

The men hesitated.

“Wel ?” said Stache.

“Beggin’ your pardon, Cap’n,” said Smee, “but some of us are thinkin’ this here boat is bewitched, bein’ as how it was flyin’ and al . One of the men seen the dory just down the beach there—it’s swamped, and there’s a piece tore from the transom, but the oars are stil in the oarlocks, and it’l float.”

“The dory’s too smal ,” said Stache. “True, this boat was flying, but that just shows you the power of the treasure we’re taking home. We’l live as kings, men. Kings! Now let’s get our treasure back to the ship and get off this cursed island.”

The pirates, persuaded, hoisted the trunk into the longboat, and hauled the boat into to the water. As they shoved off, Stache cast a glance back at Little Richard and Slank, lying bound in the sand. Slank again met his eyes, but this time, instead of looking angry, he almost looked amused.

Why would that be?
Stache wondered “Tide’l be in soon,” Stache shouted. “Remember to hold your breath.” The pirates laughed, and Little Richard whimpered, but Slank remained annoyingly calm.

“I’l be fine, Mister Stache,” he cal ed back. “But I hope
you
can swim.”

“It’l be you doing the swimming, sir, not I,” Black Stache answered. The pirates laughed again, dutiful y, but Stache was strangely troubled as the longboat, with his men at the oars, surged away from the beach where Slank lay, stil regarding him with that infuriating smirk.

As if he knows something,
thought Stache.
But what could he know?

After pondering this a moment more, Stache dismissed the thought of the two men on the beach, and turned his attention forward, in the direction of the
Jolly Roger,
and escape from this island.

He did not see the four fast-moving
V
s on the surface of the silver water, heading straight for the longboat.

Little Richard, straining mightily against his bonds, grunted, swore, grunted again; but despite his massive strength, he could not break the stout rope, nor unravel the knots, tied with sailor’s skil . Feeling the water lapping at his feet, he whimpered and tried to rol up the beach.

Slank was rol ing, too, but sideways. His eyes were on a spot in the sand next to the indentation left by the trunk. A glowing spot, where the puff of golden powder had fal en when he’d been banging off the hinges with the rock.

He rol ed over, and then again, until he was on his stomach, the glowing spot to his right and a little below him on the beach. He careful y positioned his body, then rol ed toward the spot, onto his back, and…
there.

He immediately felt the pleasing warmth surge through him, felt his body starting to become light. But he didn’t want to fly. Focusing, concentrating—he had some practice with this—he directed the brief flash of power into his arms. With al his strength, he pul ed. He felt the rope give, then, suddenly, part. He was free. He sat up and quickly untied the ropes on his feet.

“Sir!” said Little Richard, not believing his eyes. “How did you
do
that?”

“Never mind that now,” said Slank, scanning the sand until he found his dagger. “Turn over so I can cut you loose. We need to stay in sight of that longboat.” The mermaids, having had some experience, now knew exactly how to attack the longboat. They struck the side in perfect unison, very nearly capsizing it and throwing two of Stache’s men straight overboard.

Stache could not imagine what massive thing had hit them. A
whale? In the lagoon?

Smee was on his feet, shouting, “Cap’n! Men overboard!”

“I KNOW, YOU IDJIT!” shouted Stache. “SIT DOWN!”

Too late. Smee had further destabilized the boat, which rocked violently and sent the little round man staggering to the side. He lost his balance, and grabbing desperately for something to hold on to, he latched on to the trunk’s end handle, pul ing the trunk with him as he spil ed into the water.

“NO!” bel owed Stache, lunging to grab the trunk. But as he touched it, it was swatted away from him, toward shore, by…a tail! A long, green tail.
What kind of whale is that?

At that instant, the boat was struck again. This time it went over easily, completely upside down. Stache and the rest of the men flew into the water, gasping, sputtering and thrashing their way desperately back to the capsized boat.

Stache grabbed it, then lifted his head as far as he could, looking around frantical y for the trunk.

“NOOOO!” he bel owed, as he final y saw it…drifting back toward shore.

Slank and Little Richard ran along the beach in the direction of the commotion out on the water. The belowing and shouting of the pirates meant that the mermaids, as Slank had hoped, were attacking the pirates, for once doing Slank a favor. He smiled as he heard Stache’s anguished yel ; that told him that the trunk was in the water again.