The Ship of Adventure

  ‘You’ve got rid of your uncle,’ said Dinah at once. Lucian grinned.

  ‘Yes. He’s gone. Said he had had an urgent business message and couldn’t fool about cruising around with Auntie and me any longer. Gosh, I’m glad he’s gone.’

  ‘Yes, he’s not a pleasant person,’ said Jack. ‘I’m glad he’s not my uncle. Some of his little ways are not what you might call attractive.’

  ‘They’re not,’ said Lucian, who felt he was quite free now to speak his mind about his uncle. ‘Do you know – he wanted me to take your little carved ship to him and not say a word to you about it? What do you think of that?’

  ‘Not much,’ said Jack. ‘Did you take it?’

  ‘Of course not!’ said Lucian with such indignation that everyone felt he was telling the truth. ‘What do you take me for?’

  Nobody said what they took him for. They felt that it would be a pity to spoil his pleasure. Lucian beamed round at them.

  ‘Now we can have a jolly good time, without my uncle, can’t we?’ he said.

  ‘I can’t say your uncle makes any difference to us one way or another,’ said Jack. ‘I don’t want to talk about him any more. He’s an unpleasant subject for discussion. There’s the gong to dress for dinner, Lucian. You’d better go. You had no lunch and you must be ravenous.’

  ‘I jolly well am,’ said Lucian and went, looking quite delighted with life. The others, however, looked anything but delighted. In fact, they looked distinctly gloomy.

  ‘Well – that’s the end of what looked like a most promising adventure,’ said Philip.

  But he was wrong. It was not the end. It was really only the beginning!

  14

  Things begin to happen!

  Things began to happen the very next day. The ship was cruising along as usual in a purple-blue sea, and the sun shone down from a sky spread with dazzling white clouds and patches of brilliant blue.

  Gulls glided by, and all kinds of other seabirds bobbed on the water, or soared high above the ship. Everyone was peaceful in their deckchairs, reading or snoozing, waiting for the mid-morning drink of iced lemonade brought by the stewards. Even the children were lazing in their chairs, tired after their strenuous morning game at deck tennis.

  Kiki sat on the back of Jack’s chair, snoozing too. She had been chasing gulls, calling to them in a voice so like theirs that the poor things were completely bewildered. Now she was tired out. Micky was curled up in the shade of a lifeboat, fast asleep.

  A small page-boy appeared, the one who ran messages and fetched odds and ends for the passengers. He carried a long envelope on a salver.

  He called out loudly as he went. ‘Radiotelegram for Mrs Mannering, please. Radio for Mrs Mannering, please.’

  Philip nudged his mother, and beckoned to the call-boy. Mrs Mannering looked up, startled to hear her name shouted out. The boy came up to her and presented the radiotelegram.

  She tore it open, wondering who it was from. She read it out loud to the listening children.

  Your aunt seriously ill and calling for you. Fly back if you can, and I’ll take over the kids. Radio me, please.

  Bill

  There was a silence. ‘Oh dear,’ said Mrs Mannering. ‘This would happen on a cruise. What shall I do? It’s all very well for Bill to say “Fly back”. But where from? And how can I leave you all?’

  ‘Don’t upset yourself, Mother,’ said Philip. ‘I’ll see to things for you. I know the second officer very well and he’ll tell me what you’re to do.’

  ‘As for us, you needn’t worry at all,’ said Jack. ‘You know we’re all right on the boat. You wouldn’t want us all to fly back with you, surely!’

  ‘Oh no. Of course not. Especially after I’ve paid such high fares for you all on this cruise,’ said Mrs Mannering, still looking worried. ‘Oh dear – I do hate sudden things like this. I really do.’

  ‘Mother dear, it’s all right,’ said Dinah. ‘You can get a plane from the very next place we stop at if there is an airfield. You’ll be in England tomorrow. And Bill will take over, as he said. He’ll probably meet you at the airport when the plane lands there, see you safely on to your train, and then catch a plane to join us. He’ll enjoy the rest of the trip. Maybe you’ll be back too.’

  ‘Oh no, I shan’t – not if Aunt Polly has got one of her really bad turns,’ said Mrs Mannering. ‘She’s been so good to me – and to you too – that I must stay with her till she’s quite herself again. Oh, I do hate leaving you four by yourselves.’

  Mrs Eppy could not help overhearing all this. She spoke to Mrs Mannering. ‘I can keep an eye on the four for you till your friend comes, you know. After all, I have to look after Lucian, and he’s much the same age. I shall be pleased to do what I can.’

  ‘Well, that’s good of you,’ said Mrs Mannering, getting out of her deckchair, helped by Philip. ‘I suppose it’s idiotic of me to worry about them – they’re all quite big now – but they do seem to get into such awful scrapes sometimes!’

  She went off with Philip. He was very useful indeed. He found the second officer, and very soon he had worked out all the details with him. The ship would go out of her way a little and call at an island that had an airport. A radio message would be sent immediately so that a plane would be waiting. In no time at all Mrs Mannering would be back in England.

  ‘We could wait at the island till your friend comes on his plane,’ said the second officer after consulting with the captain. ‘It would only mean altering our programme a very little – it is a very free-and-easy one, as you know. Now – do you want to radio instructions to Mr Cunningham so that he will know what time to meet your plane at the airport?’

  It was amazing how easily everything was arranged after all. ‘I was silly to get upset and flustered,’ said Mrs Mannering to the children. ‘Thanks to Philip it’s all been arranged beautifully. I’ll be away tomorrow, and Bill will arrive later – probably that evening. It’s wonderful!’

  The girls helped her to pack. The Viking Star steamed to a large island where there was a good airport. The children saw aeroplanes taking off as they came near, for the airport was on the coast.

  A motor boat came out to take Mrs Mannering off. She kissed all the children goodbye. ‘Now don’t get into any scrapes,’ she begged them. ‘Be good. Keep away from danger and trouble. Give Bill my love and tell him if he leads you into anything I’ll never, never forgive him!’

  They waved goodbye as the motor boat chuffed away to the port. They watched it through their binoculars and saw Mrs Mannering getting out on to the jetty with a porter carrying her cases.

  ‘She’s got into a taxi,’ announced Jack. ‘Now she’s off to the airport. She’ll soon be away!’

  Half an hour later an aeroplane took off from the airport on the coast and rose into the air. It flew towards the ship, circled it twice and made off to the west.

  ‘That was Mother’s plane,’ said Philip. ‘I think I even saw her waving. Well – safe journey to her! And now we must look out for old Bill.’

  A curious silence fell on the children. They were all thinking the same thing, but nobody quite liked to say it. Jack cleared his throat.

  ‘Er – you know – now that this has happened – er . . .’ He stopped.

  Everyone waited politely. ‘Well, go on,’ said Dinah.

  ‘Er – I was just thinking,’ said Jack, ‘just thinking that now – well – with old Bill coming and all. Er . . .’

  He stopped again. Dinah gave a little giggle. ‘I’ll say it for you,’ she said. ‘It’s what we’ve all been thinking, I know. Dear old Bill is coming – and we can tell him all about the map and the Andra treasure – and Mr Eppy. And maybe – maybe, he’ll do something about it!’

  ‘Gosh, yes,’ said Jack. ‘I didn’t know how to put it without seeming a bit heartless, as Aunt Allie has only just gone. But things are a bit different now. Bill may think we ought to do something.’

  ‘How – simply – super!’ said Phi
lip, drawing a deep breath. ‘Just as we’d given up hope!’

  ‘We couldn’t possibly drag Mother into an adventure,’ said Dinah. ‘But Bill’s different. I mean – he won’t want us to plunge into an adventure, I know – but he may quite well think he ought to do something about it.’

  ‘And we shall at least know what’s happening,’ said Jack. ‘Won’t it be grand to show him the little carved ship – and the map – and tell him everything! Good old Bill!’

  Lucian came up with rather a solemn expression on his face. ‘I say! I’m awfully sorry about all this. I do hope your mother arrives safely, Philip, and that her aunt will get better. I hope all this won’t spoil the rest of the cruise for you. I am most awfully sorry. ’

  ‘Thanks,’ said Philip. ‘We shall get over it.’

  ‘Oh, I say, I quite forgot to give you this,’ went on Lucian. ‘I’m so sorry. My uncle gave it to me before he left and said I was to hand it to you. I can’t imagine what it is.’

  Jack took it. He guessed what it was, and he was right. It was the piece of the plan that Mr Eppy had ‘borrowed’. He had put it into a sealed envelope with a little note.

  Thanks. Not very interesting after all.

  P . Eppy

  Jack laughed. ‘Not very interesting, says he! I bet he’s got a careful tracing of it. Much good may it do him!’

  He went off to put it into its safe place – in the lining of his shorts. He was glad that Mr Eppy hadn’t seen all the other pieces of the plan. Still, he probably did not need to. He might guess where the treasure was, if he knew the island. If so, it wouldn’t be there long!

  The day went by rather slowly. Mrs Eppy was rather annoying because she took very seriously her promise to look after the children. She hunted them out at meal-times, and even told the table steward to seat them at her table.

  But Jack was not having that. ‘No, Mrs Eppy,’ he said firmly but politely. ‘We expect our friend, Bill Cunningham, tonight – or at the latest, tomorrow morning. We will keep our own table and eat with him. Thank you all the same.’

  Lucian was disappointed and sulked. He did not even smile when Kiki and Micky had a fight over a banana and ended by pulling it in half.

  After the evening meal the children went up on deck, hoping against hope that Bill would arrive that night. The second officer had had no message, so thought he probably would arrive.

  ‘He would surely have radioed me if he was coming tomorrow,’ he said. ‘He knows we’re holding the ship here for him. All the same, I’d go to bed if I were you kids – he may come in the middle of the night!’

  They would not hear of going to bed! They sat up on deck and watched the sun go down in a blaze of gold. They saw the clouds turn rosy-pink. Then they watched night creeping over the sea from the east, and saw the water turn more and more purple, till at last they could hardly tell it from the sky. Then the stars came out brilliantly, and the water sparkled again.

  Lucy-Ann was almost asleep in her deckchair when Jack nudged her. ‘Wake up! There’s a plane. It may be Bill’s!’ She was awake at once, and went to the deck rail with the others.

  The plane went down to the airport landing ground. It must be Bill’s ! After about half an hour they heard a motor boat starting up its engine in the port.

  ‘It’s Bill coming out now!’ cried Lucy-Ann in excitement. ‘Dear old Bill!’

  The motor boat came nearer and nearer. It stopped by the ship, and a ladder was thrown down. Someone began to climb up. Lucy-Ann could contain herself no longer.

  ‘Bill!’ she cried. ‘Is it you, Bill? BILL!’

  Up came a familiar voice. ‘Ahoy, there! Bill it is!’

  And Bill it was. He came climbing on to the deck, and the four children ran to him at once. They smothered him, hugged him, and were bear-hugged back.

  ‘Dear Bill! Good old Bill! It’s grand to see you. Now everything’s fine.’

  ‘Yes, everything’s fine!’ said Bill, swinging Lucy-Ann right off her feet. ‘Gosh, it’s good to see you all! Now we’ll have some fun!’

  15

  Bill hears the tale

  Bill was hungry and thirsty. The children, excited and happy, took him down to the lounge, where he ordered chicken-and-ham sandwiches and a drink for himself, and, for a treat, some sandwiches for the children.

  ‘Though, let me tell you, you’ll have awful dreams tonight, having a meal so late,’ he warned them. ‘So if you are chased by bears, fall out of aeroplanes or get shipwrecked in your sleep, don’t blame me!’

  ‘We shan’t,’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Anyway, now I know you’re here, I shan’t even mind having nightmares – you’ll turn up in them to rescue me!’

  The steward brought the meal, smiling. He had also brought a banana each for Micky and Kiki, on two separate plates. Kiki was very much impressed with the plates – it wasn’t often she had a plate! She insisted on putting her banana back on her plate each time she had taken a bite, which amused the children immensely.

  ‘Kiki’s gone all polite, I see,’ said Bill, taking an enormous bite of his sandwich. ‘Gosh, this is good. I haven’t had anything to eat for hours. Well, kids, how’s things?’

  ‘We’ve a lot to tell you, Bill,’ said Jack. ‘Jolly interesting too. We’ve happened on something very exciting.’

  ‘You would, of course,’ said Bill. ‘But don’t think you’re dragging me into any hare-brained escapade this time! I’ve had enough of you and your adventures! I’ve come out for a nice, quiet, restful trip.’

  Kiki gave a tremendous squawk and made him jump.

  ‘Micky! You’ve taken Kiki’s banana!’ said Jack. ‘Philip, smack him. There’ll be a fight soon, if you don’t . All right, Kiki, I’ll get you another. Poor old thing, that’s what your good manners brought you – you put your banana down politely on your plate after each bite – and Micky goes and takes it!’

  ‘Nice little monkey,’ said Bill, tickling Micky under the chin. ‘Yours, I suppose, Philip. It beats me how you collect pets wherever you go. Let’s see – you’ve had a fox cub, a lizard, a slow-worm, a snowy-white kid, two puffins, white rats, and now a monkey. Well, well – so long as you don’t collect a hippopotamus or a flock of lions I don’t mind!’

  The children were bursting to tell him about the treasure plan, but they felt they ought to let him eat his sandwiches first. He told them how he had met Mrs Mannering at the airport in England, and had seen her safely off to her aunt. Then he had taken his own private aeroplane and set off.

  ‘Alone?’ asked Jack.

  ‘No. With a friend of mine – Tim Curling – don’t think you’ve met him,’ said Bill. ‘Don’t you want all your sandwiches, Lucy-Ann? Right, I’ll help myself. Yes, Tim came too, and I’ve left him with the plane. He’s going to hire a motor boat and do a bit of cruising.’

  ‘Oh! I wish we could too,’ said Dinah.

  ‘Do you?’ said Bill in surprise. ‘But I thought you liked being on this big, comfortable ship. You’re used to rowing boats and sailing ships and motor boats – this big ship must be a real change.’

  ‘Yes, it is. But – well, shall we tell you our news, Bill?’ asked Jack eagerly.

  Bill ate the last vestige of the sandwiches and finished his drink. He yawned a vast yawn and Kiki immediately did the same. ‘I suppose it can’t wait till morning, can it?’ he said. Then he saw the disappointed faces of the children and laughed. ‘Oh, all right. Out with it.’

  ‘Fetch the little carved ship, Lucy-Ann,’ said Jack. ‘I’ve got the four bits of the map. Hurry. We’ll wait till you come back before we begin.’

  Lucy-Ann sped off. She came back very quickly, panting, with the little ship in her hands. Bill took it. ‘What a beauty! This is valuable, you know. Where did you get it?’

  Then out came the story of how Lucy-Ann had discovered the ship in the bottle, with Lucian, and had bought it for Philip’s birthday. In low, excited tones, so that no one else could hear, the children told of the breaking of the bottle an
d the unexpected finding of the parchment inside the ship. Then Jack produced the parchment, still in its four quarters. Bill glanced at it with great interest. Then he stood up.

  ‘Come on down to my cabin,’ he said. ‘I think it would be wiser to talk there. This is all rather extraordinary.’

  Very pleased with Bill’s reception of their tale, the children trooped down the stairs to the cabins. They all crowded into Bill’s . They knew it well because it had been their mother’s . They managed to squash themselves on to the bed, with Bill in the middle.

  ‘Move Micky up a bit, will you?’ said Bill. ‘He keeps breathing down my neck. Now then – what’s this map? It’s very old, I can see that. Why is it in four pieces?’

  They told him. They told him the old legend of the lost Andra treasure. They told him of Mr Eppy’s strange behaviour. They told him of his departure and all that they feared.

  Bill listened intently, asking one or two curt questions now and again. When they had finished he took out his pipe and began to stuff it very slowly with tobacco. The children waited. They knew that Bill was thinking hard. Their hearts beat fast. What did Bill think of their tale? Would he take it seriously? Would he do something about it?

  ‘Well,’ said Bill, putting his pipe into his mouth and speaking out of one side whilst he hunted in his pocket for matches. ‘Well – I think you’ve got something there – but I’m basing my feelings on Mr Eppy’s behaviour, not on your map, which I don’t know enough about to decipher. You’ve been very ingenious in trying to get it explained to you, and you’ve fitted various curious facts together very well – such as finding the name Andra on the little ship, and noticing it again on the map.’

  ‘Yes – that was a bit of luck,’ said Jack. ‘You really do think the map is genuine, Bill? I mean – do you think there’s any hope of its really showing where the old treasure is?’

  ‘I can’t say,’ said Bill, puffing away at his pipe. ‘Can’t possibly say. I’d have to take the map to an expert, get it deciphered properly, find out all I can about the old Andra legend – it may be just a tale, you know – and see if there really is an island called Thamis, and what it’s like.’