_THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER_
TOO-TOO, THE LISTENER
HAVING thanked the sharks again for their kindness, the Doctor and hispets set off once more on their journey home in the swift ship with thethree red sails.
As they moved out into the open sea, the animals all went downstairsto see what their new boat was like inside; while the Doctor leant onthe rail at the back of the ship with a pipe in his mouth, watching theCanary Islands fade away in the blue dusk of the evening.
While he was standing there, wondering how the monkeys were gettingon—and what his garden would look like when he got back to Puddleby,Dab-Dab came tumbling up the stairs, all smiles and full of news.
“Doctor!” she cried. “This ship of the pirates is simplybeautiful—absolutely. The beds downstairs are made of primrosesilk—with hundreds of big pillows and cushions; there are thick, softcarpets on the floors; the dishes are made of silver; and there are allsorts of good things to eat and drink—special things; the larder—well,it’s just like a shop, that’s all. You never saw anything like it inyour life—Just think—they kept five different kinds of sardines, thosemen! Come and look.... Oh, and we found a little room down there withthe door locked; and we are all crazy to get in and see what’s inside.Jip says it must be where the pirates kept their treasure. But we can’topen the door. Come down and see if you can let us in.”
So the Doctor went downstairs and he saw that it was indeed a beautifulship. He found the animals gathered round a little door, all talkingat once, trying to guess what was inside. The Doctor turned the handlebut it wouldn’t open. Then they all started to hunt for the key. Theylooked under the mat; they looked under all the carpets; they lookedin all the cupboards and drawers and lockers—in the big chests in theship’s dining-room; they looked everywhere.
While they were doing this they discovered a lot of new and wonderfulthings that the pirates must have stolen from other ships: Kashmirshawls as thin as a cobweb, embroidered with flowers of gold; jars offine tobacco from Jamaica; carved ivory boxes full of Russian tea; anold violin with a string broken and a picture on the back; a set of bigchess-men, carved out of coral and amber; a walking-stick which hada sword inside it when you pulled the handle; six wine-glasses withtourquoise and silver round the rims; and a lovely great sugar-bowl,made of mother o’ pearl. But nowhere in the whole boat could they finda key to fit that lock.
So they all came back to the door, and Jip peered through the key-hole.But something had been stood against the wall on the inside and hecould see nothing.
While they were standing around, wondering what they should do, theowl, Too-Too, suddenly said,
“Sh!—Listen!—I do believe there’s some one in there!”
They all kept still a moment. Then the Doctor said,
“‘Sh!—Listen!—I do believe there’s some one in there!’”]
“You must be mistaken, Too-Too. I don’t hear anything.”
“I’m sure of it,” said the owl. “Sh!—There it is again—Don’t you hearthat?”
“No, I do not,” said the Doctor. “What kind of a sound is it?”
“I hear the noise of some one putting his hand in his pocket,” said theowl.
“But that makes hardly any sound at all,” said the Doctor. “Youcouldn’t hear that out here.”
“Pardon me, but I can,” said Too-Too. “I tell you there is some oneon the other side of that door putting his hand in his pocket. Almosteverything makes _some_ noise—if your ears are only sharp enoughto catch it. Bats can hear a mole walking in his tunnel under theearth—and they think they’re good hearers. But we owls can tell you,using only one ear, the color of a kitten from the way it winks in thedark.”
“Well, well!” said the Doctor. “You surprise me. That’s veryinteresting.... Listen again and tell me what he’s doing now.”
“I’m not sure yet,” said Too-Too, “if it’s a man at all. Maybe it’s awoman. Lift me up and let me listen at the key-hole and I’ll soon tellyou.”
So the Doctor lifted the owl up and held him close to the lock of thedoor.
After a moment Too-Too said,
“Now he’s rubbing his face with his left hand. It is a small hand anda small face. It _might_ be a woman—No. Now he pushes his hair back offhis forehead—It’s a man all right.”
“Women sometimes do that,” said the Doctor.
“True,” said the owl. “But when they do, their long hair makes quitea different sound.... Sh! Make that fidgety pig keep still. Now allhold your breath a moment so I can listen well. This is very difficult,what I’m doing now—and the pesky door is so thick! Sh! Everybody quitestill—shut your eyes and don’t breathe.”
Too-Too leaned down and listened again very hard and long.
At last he looked up into the Doctor’s face and said,
“The man in there is unhappy. He weeps. He has taken care not toblubber or sniffle, lest we should find out that he is crying. But Iheard—quite distinctly—the sound of a tear falling on his sleeve.”
“How do you know it wasn’t a drop of water falling off the ceiling onhim?” asked Gub-Gub.
“Pshaw!—Such ignorance!” sniffed Too-Too. “A drop of water falling offthe ceiling would have made ten times as much noise!”
“Well,” said the Doctor, “if the poor fellow’s unhappy, we’ve got toget in and see what’s the matter with him. Find me an axe, and I’llchop the door down.”