School Ship Tobermory

  Ben’s brow knitted into a frown of concentration as he thought the matter through. If you want people to notice you are doing something, it might be because you do not want them to notice that you are really doing something else. And that something else might well be something that you should not be doing …

  He turned to Thomas. “They’re up to something, aren’t they?”

  Thomas had been thinking exactly the same thing. “Yes,” he said. “But what?”

  Ben’s gaze moved to the companionway leading to the ship’s lower deck. Whatever it was the director had to hide would surely be down there. They had not been taken down below since they started filming – not once. “If there’s a secret,” Ben whispered, “it’s down there.”

  Thomas did not say anything, but Ben could see that he agreed.

  “So what do we do?” asked Ben.

  Thomas looked pensive. “I think we should try to take a look.”

  Ben gave an involuntary shiver. “But they’re down there. The director, that woman with the radio, the cameraman – they’ve all gone below.”

  This did not appear to put Thomas off. “We just wander down,” he said. “Act casual.”

  “And if we’re stopped?”

  Thomas smiled. “We just tell them we were looking for the heads.”

  Ben was uncertain. He felt angry that they had been misled, but he was not sure that he wanted to take the risk of being caught snooping around below deck. If these people were up to no good – and there was now no doubt in his mind that this was so – then they could be dangerous. If only Fee were here, he thought. He had always talked to Fee when he had been in difficulty in the past, and it had always helped. Or Badger. In the short time he had known his cabin-mate, he had formed a high opinion of the other boy and he would trust him in a tight spot. He liked Thomas, but he did not know him so well, and he was uncertain himself. It was possible that they both might do something reckless.

  “I’m not sure about it,” said Ben. “And anyway, what are we going to do if we find something?”

  “We jump that fence when we get to it,” said Thomas.

  Ben suddenly made up his mind. He could jump fences as well as anybody else – he hoped. “All right,” he said.

  “Let’s go.”

  They made their way as casually as possible towards the companionway, the steps that led down into the heart of the ship. Although there was no sign of the director and his friends, there were several members of the ship’s crew on deck. They were busy with the tasks of sailing, though, and did not seem to be paying much attention to what the extras were doing. Most of them were still enjoying the lunch that had been laid on for them, although a few were chatting to one another up at the ship’s bow.

  When they reached the companionway, Thomas gave a quick glance over his shoulder, and then made a sign to Ben. “Right,” he said from the side of his mouth. “The coast is clear.”

  Nobody saw them. One moment they were on the deck, the next they were halfway down the steep wooden stairs leading into the heart of the ship.

  “Where now?” asked Ben.

  Thomas pointed to a further flight of steps. “Down there,” he whispered. “This deck will be where they have their radio room and so on. We need to get further down.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I believe that’s where we’ll find evidence of … of whatever it is we need to find evidence of.”

  Again Ben gave a shiver. “But …”

  He did not have time to finish. Somebody had come up behind him and had grabbed his arm. The shock made his heart leap in his chest.

  He spun round. William Edward Hardtack was immediately behind him, and Geoffrey Shark was behind Thomas, whose arm had also been seized.

  “Well, well,” said Hardtack. “MacFish, no less! What are you doing down here?”

  “We’re only …” began Thomas.

  “I didn’t ask you,” snapped Hardtack. “I asked MacFish here. Well, MacFish – why are you trespassing?”

  “We’re looking for the heads,” stuttered Ben, struggling to free himself of Hardtack’s grip. “And let go of me. You’ve got no right to touch us.”

  Geoffrey Shark, who had been silent until now, sniggered. “You’ve got no right,” he imitated. “You sound like a girl, MacFish.”

  Suddenly Hardtack slackened his grip. “You know that there are heads up on the top deck,” he said. “They told us yesterday. So you shouldn’t be down here.”

  Following his leader’s example, Shark had also let go of Thomas, who was glaring angrily at his captor.

  “Then why are you here?” challenged Thomas. “If we shouldn’t be here, you shouldn’t either.”

  Hardtack moved closer to Thomas, so that he was speaking to him just a few inches from his face. “You,” he said, pointing a finger at Thomas’s chest, “are an ordinary extra. My friend Geoffrey and I are proper actors. Proper actors can go where they like.”

  “That’s right. We can go where we like,” Shark repeated.

  Ben and Thomas both realised that there was no point in drawing out this unwanted conversation.

  “Suit yourselves,” said Thomas, as if he did not care in the slightest. “Let’s go back up on deck, Ben. The company’s not so good down here anyway.”

  They turned and began to make their way back up the companionway. As they did so, Hardtack called out to them. “Did you guys see my press conference? Did you see all the photographers? How about that!”

  “William’s a star,” added Shark. “And don’t you forget it.”

  “And you too, Geoff,” said William Edward Hardtack. “You were pretty good yourself.”

  Up on deck, Ben and Thomas went to join the other extras. Their boats had now been brought round to the side of the ship, and a member of the crew was helpfully preparing the ladders down which they would climb. Finding himself standing next to this crew member, Ben asked him when the movie would be finished.

  “I don’t know,” said the man. “I’m just crew.”

  “By the way,” said Ben. “What’s the movie called? I don’t think they told us.”

  “Search me,” said the crewman. “As I said, I’m just crew. Nobody tells me anything. Especially that stuck-up director, always prancing around with his megaphone. What a landlubber!”

  Ben laughed. For a sailor to call somebody a landlubber was about the biggest insult he could muster. “You don’t like him?” he asked.

  The crewman looked over his shoulder. “Who does?” he said. “Nobody, as far as I know.”

  Hardtack and Shark now appeared. It was time for all to go. As they rowed across to the Tobermory, Ben watched the Albatross get smaller behind them. They were close to the shore of a small island, and he imagined that both ships would anchor there for the night. He did not think, then, that they had seen the last of the Albatross.

  Thomas evidently thought the same. As the two boys climbed up the rope ladder to the deck of the Tobermory, Thomas turned his head and said to Ben, “We have to talk about that so-called film ship.”

  And Ben said, “Yes, we do.”

  Matron makes a suggestion

  Once again at dinner that night everybody wanted to hear about what had happened on board the Albatross. Ben and Thomas told them about William Edward Hardtack’s press conference, which led to grimaces and expressions of disbelief.

  “How did those reporters not see through him?” said Poppy. “Aren’t they trained to spot somebody like that a mile off?”

  “They thought he was great,” said Ben, shaking his head at the memory. “And you should have seen Shark trying to get the attention of the cameras, patting his hair into shape, smiling that smile of his, showing his teeth.”

  “Ugh!” exploded Fee.

  “Yes,” said Thomas, “it was terrible.”

  They did not talk about their discovery of the empty camera, as there were too many people at the table and the matter was too important to be discussed so open
ly. During a lull in the conversation, though, Ben leant across the table and whispered to Poppy: “Can we meet – all of us – after dinner? Somewhere private.”

  Poppy looked surprised. “Yes, of course. But why? What’s it about? Not Tanya, I hope.”

  “No, not that. I can’t tell you. Not here. But it’s very, very important.”

  He went on to say who should be there. “Bring Fee. And Angela Singh. I’ll tell Badger and Thomas. The six of us must meet.”

  Poppy agreed and suggested that they could meet in the cabin that she shared with Fee. Ben said that he would make sure that all the boys knew; Poppy would tell the girls. Badger, like Poppy, was eager to know what the meeting was about, but Ben did not tell him. “Not just yet,” he said.

  “Is it about that ship?” asked Badger.

  “Yes,” said Ben.

  “You saw something?” Badger pressed.

  “It’s more about what we didn’t see,” said Ben.

  “You’re being enigmatic,” said Badger, who liked using the occasional word he picked up from the mystery stories he enjoyed reading.

  Ben said nothing. He was not sure what enigmatic meant, and decided he would ask another time.

  Ten minutes later they were all in Poppy and Fee’s cabin. It was a bit crowded, as the cabin was not intended to accommodate six people, but they all found somewhere to sit or perch.

  “What’s this about?” asked Angela Singh.

  Thomas tapped on a table. “Ben and I are worried about something,” he said.

  “That ship?” asked Poppy. “You’re worried about what happened today?”

  “Yes,” said Thomas. “Ben, you tell them.”

  Ben drew in his breath. His father had once told him how to tell people about something you wanted them to know. Start at the beginning, he had said. Tell them where, when, and why. Then describe what the problem is. Then shut up and sit down. That’s the way to do it – every time. Now he tried to apply this advice.

  “Today we were on the film ship,” he began. “There was me and there was Thomas. And Angela was there too.”

  Angela nodded. “Yes, I was there,” she said.

  That was “where”, and “when” too. Now he had to say “why”.

  “We need to talk to you about it because we think there’s something suspicious going on.” That was “why”.

  “How do you know?” asked Poppy. “Why do you think that?”

  Angela now joined the conversation again. “Yes,” she said. “That’s exactly what I thought. I didn’t say anything to anybody, but I just felt uncomfortable. You know that feeling? You can’t say why, but you just feel uncomfortable.”

  “That’s exactly how we felt,” said Thomas.

  “But it wasn’t just that,” said Ben. “Thomas and I found out something really odd. You tell them, Thomas.”

  Thomas explained about the cameras. He told them about his uncle’s camera and he explained about how those particular models worked. Then he revealed that there had been no memory cards in the camera on board the Albatross.

  “What this means,” said Ben, “is that they never filmed anything. They’ve set the whole thing up to get people to think they’re making a movie, but they aren’t.”

  “Then what are they doing?” asked Poppy.

  “That’s what we don’t know,” said Ben. “Thomas and I tried to find out, but we were stopped by Hardtack and Shark.”

  “They became friendly with the director,” said Angela. “Very friendly. You know how pushy they are – always wanting to be at the front of everything.”

  Poppy looked thoughtful. “But why have they gone to all this trouble just to make people think they’re making a movie? Do you think it’s something criminal?” asked Poppy.

  Badger joined in now. “It’s bound to be,” he said.

  “But what?” asked Poppy.

  “Smuggling?” suggested Angela.

  Poppy shook her head. “No, I don’t think there’s much smuggling round here.”

  They looked at one another. None of them could think of any explanation, even if everyone was now sure that something strange was going on.

  It was Badger who spoke next. “I think we should tell the Captain,” he said. “If we’ve discovered a crime, then the Captain should know. He can tell the police.”

  Fee agreed. “I think Badger’s right,” she said. “We can’t do anything ourselves, so we should tell the Captain.”

  There was a short silence. Ben had not expressed a view, and now everybody was looking at him. “You say we can’t do anything, Fee,” he began. “But why are you so sure? We could try to find out.”

  “You already did that,” said Fee. “You told us that you and Thomas tried, but you didn’t find anything.”

  “We did – we found out they hadn’t really been filming,” said Ben. “But we were stopped by Hardtack and Shark before we could find anything else. That wasn’t our fault. If they hadn’t been around, then we might have discovered more.”

  “Are you saying that because there are now more of us we can go over there?” asked Poppy. “Is that what you’re suggesting?”

  Ben had not thought it through, but he was starting to think of something. “Yes,” he said. “We could go there. We could go in one of the boats. We could go tonight.”

  Ben looked to Thomas for support. The other boy hesitated, but then he nodded. “We would have to be careful, but I think we could do it,” he said.

  Badger looked doubtful. “What if they see us coming?” he asked.

  “We wait until it’s darker,” said Ben.

  Badger looked unconvinced. “Or hear us?” he added.

  “We make sure we don’t make any noise,” said Ben. He turned to Angela. “What do you think, Angela?”

  Angela looked uncertain. “I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe, but then again, maybe not. I’m not sure.”

  Ben turned to Poppy. “Right, Poppy,” he said. “We’ve heard what everybody feels. Badger wants to tell the Captain, and so does Fee. I want to go and take a look, as does Thomas. Angela isn’t sure, and so she’s not voting – correct, Angela?’

  Angela nodded. “I just can’t make up my mind,” she said.

  “So it’s up to you, Poppy,” said Ben. “What you say will swing it one way or the other. At the moment we have two votes on each side. Your vote will decide it.”

  They waited as Poppy thought about the options. It took her almost five minutes – but then she was ready.

  “I’ve decided,” she said.

  “And?” said Thomas.

  “I’ve decided we should tell the Captain,” announced Poppy. “It’s safer.”

  Ben and Thomas were disappointed, but they respected the outcome of the vote.

  “In that case,” said Ben, “we should go straight away – all of us.”

  “To the Captain’s cabin?” asked Fee.

  “Yes,” said Ben. ‘To the Great Cabin.”

  Poppy knocked on the Captain’s door.

  “Enter!” called a voice from within.

  Poppy went in first, followed by Ben and then by all the others. They saw that the Captain was not alone, but was enjoying a cup of coffee with Mr Rigger and Matron. He seemed surprised to see them.

  “My, my!” he said. “A deputation? How many of you are there? Six. Well, to what do we owe the pleasure?”

  Poppy, being the oldest, spoke first.

  “There’s something we think you need to know, Captain,” she said.

  The Captain smiled encouragingly. “And what would that be, Poppy?”

  “Ben here can tell you.”

  The Captain transferred his gaze to Ben. “Well, MacTavish B? What is it?”

  Ben swallowed. Once again he tried to follow his father’s advice: when, where, why. He told the Captain of the discovery that he and Thomas had made of the empty camera. Then he went on to mention the unease that he and Thomas – and Angela too – had felt.

  The Captain
held up a hand. “Hold on, MacTavish. First things first. How did you know the camera was empty?”

  Thomas stepped forward. “Because my uncle has one just like it, Captain. I know where you put the memory cards. There were none in it. I looked.”

  “And how do you know the cameraman hadn’t removed them?” asked the Captain.

  Thomas looked flustered. “I don’t think he had.”

  “You think that,” said the Captain. “But do you know it?”

  Thomas shook his head. “No, I don’t, Captain.”

  The Captain looked thoughtful. “You said that Hardtack and Shark spent a lot of time with the director. Is that correct?”

  “Yes,” said Ben. “They had main parts.”

  “So they might have something to say about all this,” said the Captain. “What do you think, MacTavish?”

  Ben looked down at his feet. He was not sure what to say.

  Mr Rigger now joined in. “Well, MacTavish?” he said.

  “Perhaps,” said Ben. “I don’t know, though.”

  “I think we should get them in,” said the Captain.

  Ben was aghast. He looked at Poppy, who shrugged, but said nothing.

  “You, Badger,” said the Captain. “Run along and fetch Hardtack and Shark.”

  Badger exchanged a quick look with Ben. It was a look that said: I have to do this. “Aye, aye, Captain,” he said, and left the cabin.

  The Captain looked at Ben. “I know you and many others don’t like those two,” he said. “But they’re members of our school, just like everyone else, and I must listen to what everybody has to say.”

  “Of course, Captain,” said Ben. He knew that the Captain was a fair man and that he was only doing his duty in calling in Hardtack and Shark.

  A few minutes later they arrived.

  “You wanted to speak to us, Captain,” said William Edward Hardtack, smiling in an ingratiating manner. Shark smiled too, showing his brilliant white teeth. Just like a real shark’s, thought Ben, and gave a shudder.

  “Yes,” said the Captain. “Now, I’ve heard a report on today’s activities over on that other ship and I thought I might find out what you two thought of things. Did you enjoy yourselves?”

  “Oh, immensely,” said Hardtack quickly. “Geoffrey and I had major parts, Captain. We had a lot to do.”