Sebastian Darke: Prince of Pirates (30 page)

'You'll just have to wait here for us,' Sebastian told him.

'I'm not staying here a moment longer,' protested Max. 'I've been skulking around this old hulk for days. I want to feel the good earth beneath my hooves – something that doesn't sway up and down when you stand on it.'

'Well, what do you intend to do,
swim
?'

In the end Max insisted that he would do just that, staying alongside the boat as it was rowed to shore. There was no dissuading him, so the crew dutifully rigged up some pulleys and a system of ropes, which they passed under Max's belly. Once the boat was sitting in the water and the expedition party was safely aboard, Max was lifted from the deck and lowered gently alongside it. Then the ropes were released and Max was left bobbing, like a hairy island in the crystal clear water. Sebastian looked anxiously down at his old friend, painfully aware that a series of triangular fins were already cutting through the water only a short distance away. He and Cornelius had armed themselves with long paddles, with which they intended to dissuade any kelfers that came too close, while Jenna had brought her bow and arrows.

'Whatever you do, don't stop for anything,' Sebastian told the buffalope.

'Don't worry, young master,' said Max through gritted teeth. 'I'm not quite ready to be fish food just yet.' And with that, he kicked off and started heading towards the island. Lemuel and Cassius, who had come to ferry the party ashore, dipped their oars into the water and began to row, while the others sat in their seats, ready for action if it should be required.

It wasn't long before a first inquisitive kelfer came nosing through the surf. Sebastian could see its shiny striped flanks and the great jagged opening of its jaws. As it swerved towards Max, Sebastian thrust his oar into the creature's snout and it veered away, startled. Sebastian glanced at Jenna and saw that she was staring into the water with an expression of intense loathing on her face. She slid an arrow from her quiver and nocked it, ready to fire.

When a second kelfer came speeding towards the swimming buffalope, she let go a feathered shaft right into its snout, and a few moments later the stricken beast was writhing in the midst of a whole school of its former comrades who, lured by the fresh blood, were intent on tearing it to pieces. As they watched the frenzy in the water, a much bigger fin cruised by, and they saw what must have been the biggest kelfer ever, a huge white creature that was twice the length of the rowing boat. It rose momentarily to the surface, its soulless black eyes staring ahead, and Sebastian noticed a long-healed, straight scar running across its side.

'That fellow looks like he's been in the wars,' he said grimly.

'I hope he stays well away from us,' muttered Lemuel. 'He'd turn us over with one flip of his tail.' Happily the giant creature didn't come any closer, but sped on by at an astonishing rate.

The fighting kelfers caused just the diversion they needed. A few minutes later Max's pumping legs touched the sea bed and then the boat was nosing into the shallows beside him. The treasure-seekers hopped out into the water and hurried up onto the beach, where they found Max dancing about on the sand like a skittish calf, relishing the feel of real sand beneath his hooves.

'Land!' he cried. 'Real land. What joy!' He shook himself vigorously, spattering his companions with salt water as they approached.

'You made it, Max!' observed the Kid brightly.

'Yes,' agreed Cornelius. 'Let's hope he does as well on the way back.' He handed the Kid a knapsack.

'What's this for?' asked the Kid.

'For the treasure of course,' said Cornelius. 'If we find it, we'll need some way of carrying it back.' He handed two more packs to Sebastian and Jenna and strapped one on himself.

Sebastian turned to Max. 'Are you all right?' he asked.

Max tossed his horned head contemptuously. 'It'll take more than a few oversized sprats to stop me!' he boasted. 'I was just hoping one of them would come within range of my horns.'

'Did you see the big fellow, though?' said Sebastian. 'I wouldn't like to get too close to him.'

'He didn't scare me,' said Max.

Jenna instructed Lemuel and Cassius to take the longboat back to the
Sea Witch
. 'I don't want to risk leaving it on the beach,' she told them. 'We don't even know if this island is inhabited. But keep an eye open for our return, just in case we need to come back in a hurry.'

'Aye, aye, Captain,' said Lem. 'Good hunting!' He and Cassius started rowing back to the ship.

Sebastian, meanwhile, was studying the thick ranks of jungle foliage ahead of them. There was one spot where a narrow track led into the greenery, and this was flanked by two tall pillars of grey stone. Cornelius must have spotted them from the ship.

'
Enter through the narrow way, past two tall sisters dressed in
grey
,' said Cornelius quietly. He reached beneath his breastplate and pulled out the ancient chart. 'It's written right here in somebody's blood.'

'Sisters, eh?' Jenna studied the stone columns doubtfully. 'They look more like brothers to me.'

'I think you'll find I'm right,' Cornelius told her. 'Come on.'

He led the way forward and the others trailed after him more cautiously. Only a few yards past the columns, the track narrowed and the jungle pressed in closer around them. There was only room for them to walk in single file. Jenna followed Cornelius, with Sebastian and Max bringing up the rear. In the gathering heat they all began to sweat profusely. Sebastian wondered how hard the going would get if and when their packs were full of treasure.

'Are you sure this is right?' grumbled Max, who had already acquired a tangle of leaves and thorns draped around his horns. 'I'd hate to think we were wasting time wandering down the wrong path.'

'Wrong or not, somebody else has used it recently,' said Cornelius. He pointed to a piece of muddy ground at his feet and everybody crowded around to look. They could see, quite clearly, the imprint of a man's bare foot.

'Who could it be?' asked Sebastian. 'Some primitive tribe perhaps?'

Cornelius shrugged. 'Who can say? We'd better keep our wits about us. We don't want anybody leaping out at us on this secluded track. They could cut us to pieces before we have time to move a muscle.'

'You really are a ray of sunshine,' grumbled Max.

Cornelius glanced back over his shoulder and gave him a tight little smile. 'I try to make an effort,' he said.

They continued on their way, and after trudging along for quite some time they came to a place where the undergrowth thinned dramatically and found themselves in a small clearing. Ahead of them they could see what could only be a manmade structure, a little hut built out of branches overlaid with what looked like palm leaves and grasses. A short distance from the hut was a campfire, still burning; and scattered around it were a few odd bits and pieces, all made from natural materials. There were a couple of hollowed-out fruits that were obviously used as bowls, some crudely carved wooden implements that might have been for eating, and a log had been covered with the hide of a wild animal for use as a seat.

The party approached the hut cautiously, pulling out their swords and holding them ready for action. But there was nobody at home.

'Can't be much of a tribe,' muttered Max. 'They've only got one hut; and that looks like it's about to fall down.'

'I don't think we're dealing with savages,' said Cornelius. He stooped and picked up the crudely carved implements from beside the fire. 'Whoever heard of a savage making himself a knife and fork to eat his dinner?'

'Perhaps he has ideas above his station,' suggested Max.

'You'd know all about that,' said Cornelius.

'It's not a savage,' said Jenna. She had found something else beside the fire, and she opened her hand to show it to them. It was dented and battered but there was no disguising the fact that it was an old silver pocket watch. 'If he managed to make this out of coconuts, then he's not your usual run-of-the-mill wild man.'

'Here, let me look at that!' said the Kid, and took the watch from her.

'Wherever he is, he can't be far away,' said Sebastian. 'The fire's still burning and—'

He broke off as a figure emerged from the trees on the far side of the clearing, a tall, skinny man dressed in ill-fitting clothes made from animal hides. He had a thick growth of

red beard and was wearing a strange wide-brimmed hat that appeared to have been made from the leaves of a palm tree. Sebastian noticed that he had a long spear slung across his shoulders and a bundle of firewood under one arm. He was strolling back towards the hut, seemingly without a care in the world, but then he suddenly noticed the group of people standing around the fire and reacted as though he had seen a bunch of ghosts.

He shrieked, dropped the firewood and went into a defensive apelike crouch. He pulled the spear from across his shoulders and, holding it protectively in front of him, started backing off, moving towards the trees from where he had emerged.

'Wait!' shouted Sebastian. 'We mean you no harm!'

The man stopped in his tracks and tilted his head to one side, a curious mannerism that put Sebastian in mind of some wild animal. The man grunted in apparent amazement. He stood there for what seemed ages, staring at them as though he simply couldn't believe his eyes.

'Are you all right?' asked Cornelius. The stranger flinched as though he'd been struck. Then, quite suddenly, he whooped at the top of his lungs and came running towards them, tossing the spear aside as he did so.

'You . . . you is civilized men!' he cried. 'You is sailors! Hoop dee hoy! I don' believe it! I must be 'sleep and dreamin'!' He stopped a short distance away and began to circle them, his eyes wide and staring, as though he was trying to burn every little bit of them into his memory. Then he began to pinch himself, and when that didn't settle the matter, he gave himself a series of hard slaps in the face, almost knocking himself off his own feet. 'No, reckon I'm 'wake all right,' he giggled.

Up close, Sebastian could see his mad blue eyes and his dark skin, baked and lined by exposure to the sun. He was grinning like a maniac and was so painfully thin that his teeth seemed rather too big for his mouth.

'It's no dream, sir,' Jenna assured him. 'We have come here in the
Sea Witch
, a merchant ship. I am the captain and—'

The man stopped still for a moment and pointed a finger at her. 'Captain?' he said. 'Captain? I knows that word! And I knows that accent. You . . . you is from Ramalat!'

Jenna smiled, puzzled. 'Well, yes, but how—?'

'Hoop dee doo! I don' believe it! My dreams have been answered, you've come at last!' He fell onto his back and started kicking his skinny legs in the air like a lunatic. Sebastian and Cornelius exchanged worried glances.

'You . . . are from Ramalat too?' ventured Jenna.